The enemy was well acquainted with the possibilities that presented themselves. He had been over the ground before. Four of his best Panzer Divisions were massed to thwart the developing threat to his line of defense. And on 8 August 1944, he struck with all the power he could muster on the main road between Mortain and St. Barthelmy ridge in the misty dawn of early- morning. The German plan called for driving a wedge through the Allies at this point, separating the Americans from the British forces, and driving them back some twenty miles, through Avranches and to the sea. The Third U. S. Army cut off from its supply bases would also be placed in a precarious position.
Typhoons attacking German Armour Convoys
The savage attack succeeded in piercing the American lines. Ground had to be given up. Both sides suffered heavy casualties in the do or die encounter. Then the 30th Division with the aid of the 823rd T. D. Battalion stiffened and held. Enemy artillery took a terrific toll. One Division, with its supporting components, had absorbed the impact of the most determined German drive of the war. But they also suffered heavily. What a welcome sight it was to see the British typhoons come into action! With their rocket firing weapons they piled up the enemy armor and helped slacken the momentum of the hostile offensive. Two days later, ground support arrived -- RCT 12 of the 4th Armored Division, and a combat command from the 3rd Armored Division.
This battle will never be forgotten by the Battalion! It stayed right with the doughboys and did not yield a foot of ground. The enemy used his most elite troops in the effort: the 1st SS Pz Div. (Leibstandarte) "Adolph Hitler", the 2nd SS Panzer Division "Das Reich", the 2nd Panzer Division, and the 116th Pz Div. But they were fought to a standstill. The savage attack which had penetrated to within a few feet of the Battalion destroyers was fought off with machine guns, hand grenades, and rifle fire. 823rd Tank Destroyers blocked the two main roads leading to Avranches and allowed no hostile armor or infantry to get through.
Villagers place flowers on the body of a GI who gave his life for their freedom
The action in and near Mortain and St. Barthelmy was so fast and furious that any attempts to describe it must leave the story only half told. Company "A's" roll consisted primarily of repulsing numerous counter attacks, knocking out tanks as well as general purpose vehicles and killing Germans. On 8 August 1944, at 0130 hours, hostile forces infiltrated friendly infantry lines, cut of Company "A's" third platoon outpost and attempted to enter Mortain from the Southwest. They were driven back, chiefly by fire from .50 caliber machine guns mounted on the TD halftracks. A second enemy penetration proved to be more successful. A large number of troops, presumably from the 116th Panzer Grenadiers, made their way through our lines occupied the town of Mortain. 1st Lt. Elmer L. Miller, the platoon leader could have withdrawn honorably, since no tanks were involved in the action; but knowing how thinly spread were the friendly troops, and that no reserves were available, he chose to fight it out until he was captured.
A Tiger tank in a defensive position
Concentrated small arms fire at close range made it impossible to use the three-inch guns, so the men of the Battalion were broken up into small isolated groups. Sixteen men of the third platoon fought north through the town for five days and eventually joined the first platoon. Nine others were cut off. They withdrew with the infantry and battled along side the doughs of the 2nd Battalion of the 120th Infantry Regiment for five days. One person, Nageeb A. David was so completely separated that he had to remain concealed in a ditch, for a similar period, without food or water, in order to escape detection by the enemy. He was rescued when the counter thrust was finally driven back.
The 1st and 2nd platoons of Company "A" underwent incessant mortar and artillery fire. They repulsed counterattack after counterattack for five long days and nights. Then the attack petered out and the German forces began their trek back to the Siegfried Line. In containing the enemy attack, the 2nd platoon knocked out two Mark IV tanks, two self-propelled guns, and 1 armored car, with three-inch fire. One Mark IV was put out of commission by a bazooka team. The platoon also killed about fifty of the enemy.
Town of Mortain - Aug 1944
The first platoon, with 1st Lt. Springfield leading, was maintaining a road block through the entire fracas; and although it was cut off at one time, it remained in position and accounted for a goodly share of the Panzers, including an estimated 200 Panzer Grenadiers killed. For five days and nights the for threw its strongest weight against the 30th Division line in a fierce attempt to break through, but it could never quite make it. Despite voluminous artillery fire, tanks and armored vehicles, the fighting spirit of the First platoon never wavered.
Company "B" was caught in the prong of the German offensive that was bent upon encircling St. Barthelmy, france. The 3rd platoon in the village was overrun, while the first platoon had a field day knocking out Panther tanks and destroying many of the invaders. At 2000 hours, 7 August 1944 the 3rd platoon moved into St. Barthelmy along with one gun of the second platoon. One section covered the approaches to the town from the Southeast; the other protected the Northwest approaches. At about 0300 hours hostile troop and tank movement could be heard. However, visibility was practically zero because of the fog that enveloped the area. At about 1615 hours, following a terrific artillery concentration for 1¼ hours, a coordinated tank and Panzer Grenadier attack was launched by the foe from the North, East and South. The friendly infantry lines were overwhelmed and had to withdraw West of the town. A few components managed to establish strong points within the village, however, and held their ground. The onrushing foe used every weapon at its command to the fullest extent. Behind extremely heavy small arms, rifle grenade, machine gun, mortar, and tank fire, they drove within sight of the Battalion's 3 inch gun positions. The guns themselves were being manned by abbreviated crews, all excess personnel being used as infantry.
Town of Mortain - Aug 1944
Despite the extreme valor of its men, the 3rd platoon was overrun by the higher superior force, and only a handful managed to escape. Lt. George I. Greene, group leader was last seen by one of the security men who got away, backing into a doorway firing a 30 caliber machine gun from the hip, as it might have been done in the movies .
With disintegration of the 3rd platoon, 1st Lt Leon L. Neel, in charge of the 1st platoon, spread out his gun positions in order to take up as much slack as possible. One gun, placed West of the town immediately accounted for a Panther tank. Pvt. Cecil O. Derr killed the tank commander with his carbine at 300 yards. A few rounds of HE got rid of the supporting grenadiers, and AP demolished the tank itself.
Not long afterwards the three inch gun became a victim of a German 88, and part of the crew was injured by rifle grenades. Lt Neel lost no time in bringing up a replacement which he set up in a field with a 57mm AT gun, and he coordinated their respective fields of fire. However, the 57mm gun departed just as additional tanks arrived, and part of the sector was left uncovered. Visibility was so poor during the early hours that firing had to be aimed at opposing gun flashes. Later investigation proved the system to have been highly effective. As the fog began clearing, a Panther tank was seen bearing down the main road. It was quickly put out of action with AP, and all its crew killed with HE as they attempted to flee the vehicle. Two more tanks were observed on the highway, but they stopped just short of the 3 inch gun range. One of them circled through the fields and assumed a position from which it could dominate the immediate area.
The tank destroyer weapon was in a hastily occupied position. Its crew could observe the marauding tanks, but was unable to fire upon them. For 45 minutes, the tank on the road conducted a vigilant search for the three inch piece. It knocked out two friendly vehicles that was traveling down the main highway, during the interval, but failed to find the concealed gun. Finally it maneuvered into range. The crew fired one round realizing only too well that by doing so would reveal their own position to the second hostile tank. The shot found its mark and another enemy tank was destroyed. The remaining marauder went into action at once. It succeeded in knocking out the three- incher and the crew was forcibly ejected by the impact.
Town of Mortain - Aug 1944
The personnel sought refuge behind a hedgerow, and moved to the rear where they joined other men from knocked-out guns in manning outposts, serving on bazooka teams, and making reconnaissance into enemy territory. Without specific orders they succeeded in recovering a half-track and a gun that had been abandoned in "no man's land". The balance of the company continued to man its weapons, guarding against any further penetration. The town of St. Barthelmy was taken but the foe was unable to make any appreciable gain to the West of the village for Company "B's" stout anti-tank defense.
The powerful enemy thrust had failed far short of its objective. Innumerable were the acts of gallantry performed during those hectic days. With utter disregard for personal safety, and in the face of a superior and fanatic foe, the members of the Battalion fought on. Opportunities for honorable withdrawal presented themselves time after time, but the men refused to quit the struggle for possession of this vitally important area.
In this memorable encounter the Battalion set a new Army record for tanks destroyed in one day's action, and also for the number of enemy vehicles knocked out. When the Germans withdrew, the battlefield was practically devoid of vegetation. Hardly a house or building remained standing. But German equipment, including tanks, half-tracks, motorcycles, anti-tank guns, self-propelled guns, trucks, bicycles, and enemy dead, cluttered the ground.
Additional Sources:
www.ngb.army.mil
home.nc.rr.com/oldhickory
www.823rdtdbn.org
home.earthlink.net/~crcorbin
www.normandiememoire.com
www.army.mil
www.normandie44lamemoire.com
www.dvrbs.com
www.mikerian.com
www.panzer-prints.com
www.skalman.nu
