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pressed, they could retire easily to the base. The
nose was only 50 to 100 feet higher than the low
ground on the approaches from the north, and less
than that above the draws to either side, but this
was high enough to afford good observation, and
enemy automatic weapons and mortars were sited
to deliver effective harassing fires over a wider
radius. Heavy hedgerow dikes and a few sunken
roads gave the Germans opportunity for movement
under cover from American artillery fire.
Enemy forces in this area were estimated at about
a battalion.
As it happened, German defense of this sector
was further favored by the disposition of the 35th
Division's attack zones. The boundary between
the 137th and 320th Infantry ran through the organized
strongpoint, putting the greater part of
it in the r37th's zone. The result was that while
two U. S. battalions were actually involved in the
battle for this sector, they were in different regiments,
and neither of them was hitting the Ger-
man strongpoint squarely in a way that would
reveal its full strength in ti,e early attacks. The
2d Battalion of the 137th planned its main effort
down the draw to the west; the 1st Battalion,
320th Infantry operated east of Ie Carillon. The
two units were in contact only by patrols in the
rear areas, directly facing the nose.
On 13 July, the 2d Battalion of the 137th attacked
south astride the stream flanking the nose on the
west-G Company on the left and E on the right.
Each had a platoon of heavy machine guns and a
section of 81-mm mortars attached. A platoon of
medium tanks was available for the battalion.
Tactics consisted of putting heavy concentrations
of mortar fire on suspected enemy positions, then
attacking by small groups of four or five riflemen
who made liberal use of grenades and grenade
launchers to get behind enemy positions.
At the end of the day, Company E had made
about 600 yards, reaching the east-west lane
through la Mare. Company G, on the side of ti,e
SUNKEN ROAD in the German strongpoint near Ie Carillon .
This served tor lateral communications, giving cotler under which
troops could be moved qt4ickly through part of the defensive system.