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attack with two battalions in column in the general
sector of St-Georges-d'Elle-la Croix-Rouge,
making its main effort in the west of its zone, on
the eastern slope of Hill 192, in order to cross
that slope and secure the St-LO--Bayeux highway
from south of the hill east through la Croix-Rouge.
The 9th Infantry, on the eastern flank of the division
front, was directed to support the attack by
all available fires.
Because the 3Bth Infantry line was curved back
on the right, Company E on that wing began its
attack at H-30 minutes in an attempt to straighten
the regimental line. The uneven line resulted
from a bloodless advance made on I July by the 3d
Battalion, 3Bth Infantry, which pulled a "sneak
play." Observing that the Germans on this front
were withdrawing from their outpost line (OPL)
to the MLR at night, to avoid ambushes by our
patrols, the 3d Battalion took advantage of this
procedure by a night advance. The move netted
Boo yards, without fighting, on the left (east) but
only 400 yards toward the division boundary.
The enemy made no attempt to retake the OPL.
At 0630 the 3Bth Infantry launched its main assault
toward Hill 192, the 2d Battalion on the
right and the 1st Battalion on the left, following
100 yards behind a rolling barrage. The regiment
was reinforced by two companies of the
741st Tank Battalion, a company of the 2d Engineer
Combat Battalion and a company of the
Blst Chemical Mortar Battalion.
Company E on the right ran into stiff opposition
almost immediately, as it tried to reach the small
ridge commanding a draw leading up to the hamlet
of Cloville. Here was one of the enemy
strongpoints, already known as "Kraut Corner,"
fanatically defended by half a company of Germans
who had survived the heavy artillery pounding
prior to the attack. The 2d Platoon of Company
E tried to work its way up to the first hedgerow
in the fields, but was unable to advance because
of automatic weapons and mortar fire. The
enemy's mortars were registered on the hedgerow
lines and blanketed all routes of advance. The
3d Platoon was sent in to give support; a few men
succeeded in working their way near enough to
the enemy position to throw hand grenades, but
got no farther. The defenses of Kraut Corner
finally gave way when the 1st Platoon got around
the east side of the strongpoint. Scouts streaked
along the flanking hedges, supported by BAR's,
machine guns of the infantry, light mortars, and
the two machine guns on a tank. When eight
or ten riflemen penetrated the enemy defense,
resistance crumbled, and 15 prisoners were taken.
Three paratroopers who still held out were eliminated
by a tank dozer which buried them under
five feet of dirt.
Company E took more than an hour to clear
Kraut Corner. To the left, Company F was moving
more rapidly against lighter opposition. By
the time Company E had passed the strongpoint,
Company F had crossed the Cloville-St-Georgesd'Elle
road, hitting and turning the weak flank
of the enemy. Less than three hours after the
jump-off, the left platoon of Company F entered
a small wood near the west nose of the hilltop.
Company E at this point was a quarter mile behind,
trying to enter Cloville. The advance of
the 2d Battalion had settled into a frontal fieldby-field
battle, accompanied by some house fighting
in Cloville and Ie Soulaire. The enemy positions
in Cloville had been shelled heavily by
American artillery and both villages were badly
damaged. Roofs had been blown off, walls shat·
tered, and the streets were blocked by rubble.
The enemy infantry, supported by automatic
weapons, a Mark III self-propelled BB-mm, and a
Mark IV tank, used the cover of the rubble in an
attempt to hold Company E in Cloville. An
American tank, after a brief fight, knocked out
both the Mark III and the Mark IV, paving the
way for infantry to move in and mop up the
village. An hour and a half was still required
before Company E completed this task and could
move into the fields south of Cloville.
At 1245 the 2d Platoon of Company E, now the
center assault platoon, was pinned down by
machine-gun fire coming from its right rear in
the zone of the 2d Battalion of the II6th Infantry,