appendix awards and decorations - The George C. Marshall ...

186 THE 398TH INFANTRY REGIMENT
sault boats in the village and carried them to the banks of the stream.
Company E was on the left flank, Company G in the center and Company
F on the right. The leading platoons from each company pushed
off at approximately the same time and reached the far shore without
meeting any opposition. The men quickly unloaded and began running
across the one hundred and fifty yards of open terrain towards the
railroad embankment, which bordered the high ground and wooded
area directly ahead. As the riflemen moved across the grassy field they
were suddenly fired on by enemy machine gunners and riflemen entrenched
in the woods on both flanks. Some of the men hit the ground
immediately, but the majority of them continued on until they reached
the embankment, which offered some protection. Seeing what had happened,
the men left on the Duttenberg side immediately formed a skirmish
line and began firing back at the foe. However, it became apparent
that if we were to hold the bridgehead already established, the
remaining units of the companies would have to cross over and continue
the attack. A patrol from Company E discovered a small dam
across the river a short distance upstream and it' was decided that both
Companies G and E would be able to infiltrate across the narrow wall
and make a run for the embankment. Two sections of heavy machine
guns were emplaced and they attempted to pin down the enemy while
the riflemen forced their way across the stream. Although one of the
guns was knocked out of action, the other three continued to deliver a
steady stream of covering fire and both companies reached the far
shore. However, Company F was receiving fire from three sides and it
was impossible for them to fight their way ahead. The commanding
officer decided to continue on down the river, hugging the bank as
long as possible, until they got within the city of Jagstfeld. After reorganizing
Company E was ordered to continue on down the tracks
to the village of Heuchlingen. As they moved out the 81mm mortar
platoon began laying smoke shells along the railroad to partially conceal
their movements. At the same time they fired high-explosive shells
into the small patch of woods on the right in an attempt to keep the
Germans in their dugouts. The mortar fire was so close that out own
men were in constant danger of being wounded by shrapnel, but it was
the only way that the foe could be effectively pinned down. Later in
the day one platoon from the company was cut off while trying to outflank
the enemy positions and forced to fight its way back to Duttenberg
under cover of darkness. Company G started across the flat farmland
northeast of Jagstfeld at approximately 1100 hours, but they soon ran
into the enemy's main defense line and were stopped dead. By 1500
houts the company's effective combat strength was cut down to less