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Advance To The Saar

 

From the Headquarters Company Diary: 1 November;

 

"Recon. Platoon with the battalion in sections.  Mortar Platoon laid 110 rounds of high explosive in attack.  Assault Gun Platoon still firing indirect fire from south of Sivry.  Weather, fog and mist."

 

From the "D" Company Diary: 1 November;

 

"Attacked successfully.  Weather very foggy and soil very wet and soft.  Enemy could not use direct fire weapons from across the Seille River.  250 prisoners taken.  Platoon came back to original positions."

 

"A" Co. diary entry for November first, states that four of its tanks left for 7th Ordinance to have a modification known as a grouser put on.  A grouser is a device that attaches to the outside of a tank's tracks to give it a wider footprint, thus reducing the problem of sinking into the mud, by distributing the tank's weight over a wider area.  "B" Company also had four tanks receive grousers on this day.

 

The Wizda Diary contains a vivid description of the action on the first, involving "C" and "D" Companies mentioned above:

 

"Our Company's D-Day arrived.  Hour will be 1 P.M.  All tanks are getting ready for a final checkup.  After an early dinner [the] tanks were warmed up.  French men and women crowded around them knowing something was up.  Had a hard time convincing them that we were coming back.  Then minutes after the tanks departed, all hell broke loose - our artillery went to town.

 

Our 2nd and 3rd Platoons supported by the 3rd Battalion, 319th Infantry, had the town of Abaucourt as its mission.  On the way to Abaucourt, our tanks encountered many Germans and the loaders and bogs had a full day with the 30 cal. MG, (First day of hunting season).  Several AT guns were knocked out.  The 3rd Platoon Leader's tank was bogged down but the crew crawled to our lines safely.

 

On the Abaucourt front, there were no casualties for our two platoons.  At Litricourt our 1st Platoon encountered fewer Germans than the others did, but enemy artillery and mortar fire was heavy.  No casualties for our platoon and they accomplished their mission.  With both towns taken, our tanks withdrew.  Our company was given credit for 75 prisoners.  The 2nd and 3rd Platoons returned at 4:30 P.M.  The First Platoon returned at 6:30 P.M.  The whole affair was successful."

 

 

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