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

THE REPULSE 81
in the first wood and so they continued on to the next plantation
lying south of the tracks and between them and the station at
Halt. In the middle of this journey they met a patrol from the
506th Parachute Infantry. Until that meeting they had believed
that the 506th was already on the railroad track. But from the
patrol they learned that the actual flank of the 506th was about
600 yards north of the railroad track and that Company D, 506th,
had been having a running fight with small groups of the enemy
for control of the station at Halt.
From the second woods, Sergeant Lyle B. Chamberlain of
Company A, 501st, was sent with a four-man patrol eastward
along the tracks to search for the enemy. This was at just about
the time that Lasik was getting back to warn the battalion. Sergeant
Chamberlain's patrol moved through the swampy ground
that lay to the left of the tracks and had gone but a short distance
when they sighted a German patrol coming toward them. It
looked to Chamberlain like the point of a company. Darkness
was already closing around them and the German group did not
see Sergeant Chamberlain's patrol. The patrol fell back on the
company and reported what they had seen. Hastily, the 3d Platoon
of Company A was deployed along the edge of the woods
north of the railroad track to lay an ambush, for the enemy group
which Sergeant Chamberlain had sighted was all northward of
the track. While the platoon was deploying thick fog closed in
around the woods and this coupled with the darkness reduced
visibility to almost nothing. The Germans were allowed to approach
within 10 to 15 yards before Company A opened fire.
The surprise volley wholly disorganized the leading German
platoon and the men who were not cut down ran to the rear to
the swampy ground.
The whole Company A front had by this time become engaged.
The enemy had been advancing with two companies
abreast astride the railway track. On Company A's right, the
lst and 2d Platoons did not get the same chance to close with
the enemy at short range, and after the dispersion of the German
right, mortar, grenade and automatic fire from the German force
south of the tracks beat heavily against the two platoons. Because