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were knocked out; with the enemy armor destroyed
by the 120th Infantry, this brought to 16
the total of enemy tanks destroyed during the
day's operations.
In spite of stubborn enemy resistance, the 120th
Infantry was still making good headway when, at
2000, Colonel Birks called a halt. The 2d Battalion
was somewhat out in front, and Colonel
Birks also was aware that many bypassed enemy
groups had not been cleaned up during the day.
He therefore ordered his troops to consolidate in
preparation for the next day's attack, and requested
GERMAN MARK IV TANK, with a 75-rnrn glln, knocked out at Ie
Mesnil-Durol1d in frontline fighting, while attempting to stop the
drive of the 30th Division along the ridge. Note the strip 0/ flashing
around the tank's turret, as added protection against small-arms fire.
99
air to hit the road junction, and the ridge road
beyond Haut-Denier.
The advance of 16 July brought the 30th Division
almost one-half mile south of Ie Mesnil-Durand,
firmly astride the ridge through the bottleneck between
the Vire and Terrette Rivers. On the right
flank the 9th Division had advanced as far as
Esglandes, but there was a job of cleaning out
along the Terrette to be done by both the 9th and
30th Divisions in order to safeguard that flank, par-ticularly
at two small bridges near \a Huberderie.
As the Terrette River was not any serious barrier