THIS was the western edge of the arrow which had sped, in a beautifully curved flight out from Echternach and was even now pointed through Olk and straight down at the heart of Trier. The other edge of the arrow, on the eastern flank, was the 2nd battalion. That last paragraph of the battalion surgeon's diary is significant and typical, for that is just the manner in which these situations usually worked out. " . . . was told that the rest had just about ended!" Any questions?--then move out! Much more prosaically the battalion historian summarizes the conclusion of that phase of action in the following brief sentences: "The attack south of Gilzem was coordinated with tanks and TDs. On March 1st the attack was continued, with five pillboxes being taken in the woods south of Eisenach. At 0825 the 2nd battalion passed through the front lines of the 3rd battalion to continue the attack. At 1700, March 1st, the battalion received an order to withdraw to regimental reserve at Meckel and at 1950 the battalion closed into Meckel. Casualties were heavy during this period. 199 PWs were taken."

Meanwhile, the 2nd battalion had been far from idle, acting as the left flank of this sweeping movement. Beginning with the morning of February 26th they had resumed the offensive, the objective being the Siegfried Line's main supply road running through Alsdorf. The Nims River lay in between them and their mission. Here again, for the sake of accuracy and forcefulness, we quote actual eyewitnesses' stories: "The principle difficulties once more were due to the terrain which, though not as hilly perhaps as that covered the day before, was even more densely covered with timber. The underbrush was so thick that units as small as squads lost contact with one or the other of their flanking units and the advance was forced to halt until the men reformed . . . On arriving at the brow of the bluff (overlooking Alsdorf), the battalion dug in with the exception of the 2nd platoon of F Company which was designated as a reconnaissance patrol to determine whether there were any bridges still intact over the swollen river.

"THE long stretches of open, rolling fields to the front and high hills in the background were strongly defended. Captain Brown, the artillery forward observer, ordered roving fire on the distant emplacements and the battalion mortars were laying shells on the closer open fields. The order to the riflemen was to cross the river, clear the fields and take the distant ridge." At this point the artillery diary interjects a touch of the close, intimate cooperation within the combat team: ". . . at daybreak heard that Lt. Birch (another artillery forward observer) had been evacuated the day before, so, after eating a D-ration, I started out to find the remainder of his section. Found them and we combined the sections and worked for both companies, since we were moving forward, companies abreast. Dodged through harassing enemy shell fire and finally reached the high ground just west of the Nims River. Found a good OP and dug in . . . The companies moved out to cross the river about 1400 behind a rolling barrage of friendly artillery. The doughboys moved so rapidly that they were held up by our artillery. Our radio was jammed by another station and we were momentarily unable to lift the fire. As soon as possible, working frantically, we did lift the fire and continued to do so gradually as our troops moved forward."
And again the 2nd battalion historian takes the story up to the point where the battalion stopped for a gasping breath before moving forward again. "Fox Company moved out first, closely followed by George Company. The two units plunged down the embankment, waded or swam the swift stream, and swept out across the fields beyond. Perfectly coordinated friendly artillery shells, at times bursting less than a hundred yards in front of the advancing foot troops held the small arms fire to a minimum, but the enemy's shelling and machine-gun fire hindered progress forward.
"Taking the left flank position G Company moved to a patch of woods on the left end of the ridge . . . F Company . . . in the center . . . fought its way over the open fields to the ridge a mile beyond the river . . . below which stretched the fields before the town of Meckel . . . Easy Company moved forward, behind the first two units, to the right . . . at this point, the battalion had cut the strategic Bitburg-Trier highway and, under the personal direction of Lt. Col. Richardson, arranged a defense commanding the road. In the distance behind Meckel could be seen groups of Germans trying to pull out and the Forward Observer with E and F Companies, taking advantage of every such opportunity, effectively zeroed in the big guns on the retreating columns."

THERE is no doubt that the Germans must have more than realized how perilous their position had become. In direct proportion, therefore, must have been the bitterness of their opposition. And in like manner the confusion of many of their units must have been equally great. "German soldiers, bewildered by the surprise attack that afternoon, stumbled into the outposts all night as they tried to rejoin their outfits." Because of the rapidity of the advance, food had become scarce with this battalion. For example, in one case an entire company divided up a single box of K-rations, that is to say, thirty-six meals among close to two hundred men. At some spots along the line, the enemy artillery was emplaced only 400 yards away. The inevitable impact of these close positions must have been terrific. Continuous German patrols, like sharp stabbing fingers, kept trying to punch a hole in the perimeter of the battalion defense all night long. "After four sleepless nights the men were dead tired and cold--but morale was still high!" Alsdorf was behind them--although by no means completely cleared of German elements--and the concentration now was upon Meckel. Everything was working in high gear and with close to perfect coordination.
"Although previously wounded, Lt. Bauer refused to be evacuated and . . . led his machine-gun platoon across the river with the forward elements. The battalion Medical Section had been set up previously in Holsthum but now was moved up, under fire, into Alsdorf where it proceeded to do its usual superb job of caring for the mounting casualties and evacuating them. The Anti-Tank men, since they were unable to bring their guns forward until a bridge was completed, spent the long night hand-carrying ammunition to the dough's on the line. The communications crews stayed glued to their long tours on the radios, desperately trying and succeeding to maintain contact among the units of the battalion and from battalion to regimental CP. It was these radio men who finally notified regiment that the crossing was successful; that the advanced command post of the battalion was more than 2200 yards east of Alsdorf; and that, once again, battalion, due to its aggressive drive over the Nims, found itself far ahead of neighboring units, with both flanks exposed." On the 27th of February, Fox, George and Easy Companies moved in, pressing their attack against the town and in the face of bitter resistance were able to converge within it and finally count the village of Meckel as captured. Captured, but not safe--for "Meckel was shelled constantly throughout the time it was occupied by the 2nd battalion, the fire coming from 88 mm and 20 mm guns at almost pointblank range.

AFTER Meckel, Helenenberg--more hills and more woods. This time, however, the situation was a trifle different because enough bridge work had finally been completed over the Pr|m to permit the tanks and TDs to cross and move into support. It was help which was sorely needed since this town was even more strongly defended and fortified than had been the previous ones. The armor had a graphic example of how true this was. By implication, this is told in the story of the heroism of one of the battalion aid-men. "Meanwhile, the TDs had been receiving their share of attention. One, having just topped the ridge, was met squarely by an 88 shell and burst into flames. Ignoring the shellbursts and flying shrapnel, Pfc. Sciacchitano, an F Company aid-man, left the cover of his fox-hole and raced through the barrage to help the trapped crew.

By the time he arrived one man was struggling vainly to crawl out, but already the heat of the burning gasoline was causing the extra ammunition to explode within the turret and the situation seemed almost hopeless. Undaunted, Sciacchitano dragged one man to safety and, while the bombed company looked on, turned and clambered on to the flaming machine a second time. Several litter-bearers, inspired by their gallant fellow medic . . . hurried to assist him in saving a second crewman. Further rescue work was out of the question and the TD was left to burn itself out atop the hill . . . "

THE rest of the armored group, taking their cue from their unfortunate comrade, executed a brilliant flanking movement, hit the enemy from the left and overran their artillery positions . . . the infantry attacked and experienced little difficulty in routing a badly demoralized garrison. Later, as the men were resting, a TD sergeant approached, shaking his head in amazement. "You're the craziest bunch of dough's we've ever seen. Our orders were to support you from the Pr|m River on, and we've been trying to catch up with you for the past three days!" While the mopping up of Helenenberg and its surroundings was taking place word came through that White Battalion was to withdraw and be relieved by the Red Battalion. "The men pulled out of Helenenberg by the same route they had used in entering it, leaving the men of the 1st battalion to cope with a strong force of Jerries on the right which had been missed in the fog . . ." With justifiable pride the historian could add to this the words: "By clearing the territory between the Pr|m and the Nims river and securing the towns of Meckel and Helenenberg, the 2nd battalion had opened a break-through through which the armor could speed to envelop . . . the fortress city of Trier!"

That one phrase, used by the White analyst, " . . . leaving the 1st battalion to cope with a strong force of Jerries on the right which had been missed in the fog . . ." holds a world of significance. This cannot be truly appreciated unless one turns to the words of another eye-witness. The action following the relief of one battalion by the other, gave birth to a phrase which will always invoke an involuntary stomach quiver in any man who was there and who hears that name spoken--"Purple Heart Corner." The Charlie Company historian records it in this manner:
"On February 28th at 0645 hours the fatigued men started out from Meckel and walked four miles to a wooded area outside of Helenenberg. The company mission was to seize high ground south of this town. After relieving Fox Company, which was dug in on the main highway connecting Bitburg and Trier, they started advancing towards the outskirts of Helenenberg. About 500 yards north of the town light mortar fire began registering on the advancing platoons. With the first and third platoons on line the company advanced another 50 yards but by this time the enemy barrages were reaching a point of violent fury. Shrapnel and fragmentation were taking a heavy toll--but the advance continued, not daring, perhaps, to falter for fear of absolute destruction. An ex-cemetery was reached. It had been freshly dug for mass burials. Here, we swatted out an hour of 88mm barrages. And Sgt. Rohrbaugh relieved the tenseness of the situation somewhat by shooting at (and getting) a crow, above the men's heads, where it also had been weathering the artillery. While the explosions continued to take their toll among the men, the CO spotted an enormous monastery at the edge of the town which the enemy had been using as an OP against our advance."

This, incidentally, was the self-same hospital installation which had been the subject of the visit and parleys of the German officers under a flag of truce back at Herborn. There can be no doubt that these officers at the time acted in all good faith. But there can also be very little doubt that they had not counted on the character and disposition of the commander of the retreating Germans. This discrepancy between the German Sanitas-Korps [Sanitaets-Korps - U.Koch] and the High Command and its lower echelons in the field became apparent here--and this was by no means to be the last time that it would be evident. The eye-witness account continues: "The men made their ways along a path for 200 yards and literally tumbled into its interior utterly exhausted. First aid was administered to the wounded, and daring work by S/Sgt. Hardesty saved several men's lives as they lay wounded on the shelltorn 'Bloody Hill.' The company suffered heavy casualties in this less-than-two-hours. That day left a deep scar in the memories of many who were in that attack! . . . At the crack of dawn the ensuing day, Charlie Company started another attack on the high ground east of Windm|hle. The courageous attack proved to be a success because of a daring charge by Major Reithel who had said that he wanted to go along just for the ride!

Actually, though he was armed only with a pistol, he led the bewildered men up an avenue of approach, with the courageous and stouthearted Pfc. Boulay covering his every move with effective BAR fire. (They were both awarded the Silver Star later on.) The gallant charge inspired the advancing platoons and they assaulted the high hill successfully with but few casualties. Then a white phosphorous shell, landing on the crest of the hill, wounded Pfc. Aaron, the lead scout, as he topped the crest. And, meanwhile, as he was making a reconnaissance of the forward ground, Major Reithel was struck by shrapnel from an enemy 88mm shell. He was evacuated with Pfc. Aaron, but not until his courage had burned an indelible trace in the hearts of the advancing troops."
The Medics, both aid-men and aid station, will remember this vicinity perhaps even a little more strongly than others. Theirs were more than rugged hours at Helenenberg. One of them writes: "Meanwhile in the orphanage itself was unfolding a real-life drama, rivaling the best of all the stories which the Medics can tell of the Battle for Germany. During the day's fighting, casualties had been brought to the orphanage by the aid-men in ever increasing numbers. As the list of wounded and exhausted grew it became evident that a separate and distinct organization would be necessary--for the assigning of priorities to the various cases, if for nothing else. Under the direction of aid-men T/4 Stan Levy and T/5 Harold Klosowski, a temporary hospital was born here, staffed by several of the battalion's company aid-men, T/5s James Mixson and Loyce Burgess of Baker Company, Ernest Boyd and Mason Fralin of Charlie, T/5 Llewellyn Roberts and Ernest Gruber of Able Company. These men, under constant harassing fire from the German positions not more than a quarter of a mile away, pooled their meagre supplies and rendered treatment that was (beyond the shadow of a doubt) responsible for the saving of the lives which fell into their hands during that afternoon and through the night. Twice they were supplied by the litter-jeep, "Winnie," with her four-man complement--Dick Feyerabend, Lt. Don Campbell, Howard Sweedy and Arty Keckeisen. When dawn broke and the aid station, with its more complete equipment, raced down the highway and into the orphanage, they found that except for the seriously wounded (who had been evacuated the previous night by jeep) the remaining casualties were in satisfactory condition without further treatment needed for the long journey back to the rear echelons. It was hot, dirty and dangerous work accomplished that night by this little group of intrepid aid-men."

To add a semi-official touch to the above accounts, the battalion historian writes: "On February 28th, at 0645, the battalion started out from Meckel and, after a four-mile march, arrived in a wooded area near Helenenberg. Relieving the 2nd battalion, the men moved forward towards the town along the all-important Bitburg-Trier highway. Charlie and Baker Companies were forward with Able in reserve. Casualties for the day were very heavy since the enemy mortar and artillery fire was probably the heaviest encountered by the battalion from its commitment until V-E day. An entire squad of A & P men became casualties that night when a shell landed in their midst. They were carrying much needed ammunition to the beleaguered forces in Helenenberg. The work of the Medics was superb throughout this attack in particular. Many casualties had to be evacuated from areas under direct enemy fire."

"PURPLE HEART CORNER"