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Atter hard fighting, the 2d Battalion of the
1I6th was able to get past Point 147 on the Martinville
Ridge. The 1st Battalion (Maj. Thomas
S. Dallas) fought into the draw south of 147, then
became involved in a series of small battles in the
hedgerows along the stream. The Germans
counterattacked with three enemy tanks and two
self-propelled 88's which moved along the draw
blasting at the fields. Major Dallas' men countered
with bazookas and brought in supporting
artillery fire, knocking out two German tanks.
But the 88-mm guns were elusive; the crews
changed positions constantly, and their heavy fire
caused many casualties. By the end of the morning
the 1st Battalion was astride the draw just east
of la Boulaye, but it made no further progress.
To its left rear, the 3d Battalion fought all day to
secure the ridgeline south of the highway, and
had not entirely succeeded in this by night. Some
of its difficulties, and many of its casualties, came
as a result of intense artillery and mortar fire,
made accurate by observation from the German
positions on the 101 Ridge to the south, paralleling
the St-LO highway.
As for the I75th Infantry, that unit never got
in position to start its attack, ordered to jump off
at II30. The problem of passing through other
units to reach a line of departure, always difficult
to manage, was complicated by the fact that the
rr6th units were so fully engaged along the route
of approach. The 3d Battalion of the I75th, trying
to move west on the highway, was unable to
get through the 3d Battalion, rr6th and stopped
to lend it aid in attacking south to clear the ridge.
Only late in the day, too late to attack, the 3d of
the I75th came up behind the left of the 1st Battalion,
rr6th. At 1600, Brig. Gen. Norman D.
Cota, Col. Ollie W. Reed, and Col. Charles D. W.
Canham agreed on a scheme for using Colonel
Reed's other battalion, the 2d. This was moved
along the Martinville Ridge, behind Major Bingham,
with the plan of striking southwest through
la Boulaye. Here, again, the attack could not
get started. Both battalions of the I75th suffered
from enemy artillery and mortars.
In addition to mix-ups that came from intermingling
of units, there were difficulties of communications.
The attacking battalions were' not
sure of positions of neighboring units, or were
misled by erroneous reports such as the announcement
in the morning that the 1st Battalion, rr6th
had reached the eastern edge of its objective area
(that is, near la Madeleine). Artillery fires were
hard to arrange under these circumstances. Perhaps
the most annoying accident of the day befell
tanks of the 747th Tank Battalion, supporting the
rr6th Infantry. The Germans monitored all traffic
over the network of the American tanks, and
during the afternoon, cut in with an order in
very good English to "report to the Regimental
CP." The tanks took this order as valid and had
started back for the rr6th CP when Lt. Col.
Stuart G. Fries headed them off and sent them
back. The time lost contributed to the delays of
the infantry.
The attack on the division right made some
progress, though the rr5th Infantry's efforts again
met heavy enemy resistance. The 1st Battalion
secured Belle-Fontaine, and the 3d reached la
Luzerne. But the 2d Battalion, fighting on the
west of the St-Lb-Isigny highway, ended the day
without advance. Twice during the day it attacked
across the stream at Bourg-d 'Enfer and
each time enemy artillery, mortar, and small-arms
fire drove it back. When an enemy counterattack
caused a platoon on the left to break, a rumor of
withdrawal spread, and other platoons pulled
out. This withdrawal was completely stopped
and all men were ordered to reoccupy their own
fox holes on the line of departure. Here the battalion
was ordered by Colonel Ordway to reorganize
and prepare to resume the attack. However,
General Gerhardt decided against a resumption
of the attack by this battalion. With la Luzerne
captured by the 3d Battalion, the 1st Battalion
went into a reserve position on the center of the
now more narrow regimental front.
For the 13th of July, General Gerhardt planned
to put his main effort along the Bayeux- St-L8
highway, to be delivered by the I75th Infantry.