Bastogne: The Story of the First Eight Days - US Army Center Of ...

THE SECOND MARVIE ATTACK 121
the enemy now had it covered with crossing bands of machinegun
fire. They were able to withdraw without casualty and mortar
fire was then put all around the road junction.
In the early hours of December 22 one of Team O'Hara's patrols
going forward saw an eleven-man patrol enter their own
lines. The night was clear and crisp. The small group from the
54th Armored Infantry first heard the crunching of the snow as
the other patrol came toward them. They lay quiet, not firing
because they were outnumbered. Too, the strangers were moving
as if they were wholly familiar with the ground. They had no
visible weapons and they did not carry themselves stealthily.
They went boldly over the fences and entered the American lines
along the ground that lay between the 327th and the 54th. They
walked right by the sentries, moved to within 100 yards of the
command post of the 327th Glider Infantry and within 200 yards
of the command post of the 54th Armored Infantry.
Four different groups reported the patrol later and all four said
they had seen eleven men. Yet the patrol was not challenged
anywhere simply because it had moved so confidently. They got
in and out without provoking any fire or interest. When Headquarters
heard casually how this group had been drifting about,
they checked to see whether any nearby unit had put out such a
patrol and found that none had done so. Whether the eleven
were friend or enemy was never learned. The visitation and its
mystery became one of the legends of Bastogne. 7
At 1725 on December 23, the 2d Battalion, 327th, in Marvie
(plate 27) was heavily shelled by enemy tanks concealed in a
small plantation of firs within the hollow just above the village of
Martaimont. 8 From their position the tanks could shoot directly
into Marvie. It was a characteristic enemy action for throughout
the siege it was the German practice to use tanks as artillery, perhaps
from fear of hitting their own troops if they used field guns
from far back. II
At about 1735 the 2d Battalion, 327th, was attacked by tanks
and infantry coming from the same general direction (map 15,
page 120), though they had debouched from a larger wood lying
a little farther away from Marvie. 10 The attack developed very