By the end of the Cerisy Offensive and The Battle for St. Germain d'Elle Uncle Charlie's 15th FAB has been fighting for 34 days without a break.
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| Cerisy Forest |
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| Cerisy Forest |
The Attack Through the Cerisy Forest – CERISY OFFENSIVE
(June 11-19, 1944)
(June 11-19, 1944)
"The push neither stopped nor hesitated at Trevieres. Spearheaded by the 9th and 38th Regiments, the division plowed through Le Molay and the Foret de Cerisy until it struck the first definite enemy defense line running west from Berigny through St. Georges d'Elle. In two days, the division ripped overland 16 miles but had advanced 10 miles as the crow flies.
A well-defined German defense line was struck June 11 in the Berigny-St. Georges d'Elle-Ivon sector. Here, the "Second to None" had its first encounter with the 3rd Parachute Division of the Wehrmacht, took its first prisoners. It was the beginning of a grudge-fight which was to be renewed many times- much to the sorrow of the paratroopers. Between then and June 16 when a halt was ordered to prepare for the attack on Hill 192, the division's tentacles wound around nearby villages and consolidated gains. St. Georges d'Elle, the town that was to change hands several times, was entered by battalions of the 23rd and 38th Regiments. The 23rd also captured Berigny, while St. Germain d'Elle fell to the 9th.
Fighting throughout this sector was fierce. The battle of the hedgerows was on- and with all the stops out. Mounds of earth, sometimes as wide as three feet and almost as high as a man's head, divided the fields. Behind and between these the Germans dug in and waited to spray machine gun and automatic weapon fire on the first American to step into the field. Most fields were no larger than a house lot back home. Sunken roads wove in and out of the fields, providing excellent enemy cover."
STAFF SERGEANT HANFORD MAURICE RICE DIARY
June 11, 1944 (Sunday): "Attacked and gained Powder Keg Hill. Lt. Day hit. (A German) armored car wounded several (Americans) and then got away."
June 12, 1944 (Monday): "Digging in deeper on Powder Keg Hill. (Our front line is) Two miles in front of everyone (else)."
June 13, 1944 (Tuesday): "Still holding and guarding machine gun section. (I Am) Learning a few words of French."
June 14, 1944 (Wednesday): "We can write mail for the first time in France. Still holding (the line). (The rest of the 9th inf.) Regiment caught up (to us)."
June 15, 1944 (Thursday): "Still holding Powder Keg Hill. (Our)Third squad (is now) guarding (our) machine gun section. 3 Jerries got away. Killed a horse."
June 16, 1944 (Friday): "(We) Left Powder Keg Hill. Attacked Purple Heart Valley. Cowboy, Escalera, and Gonzales were killed. (Cleo) Morse (got) wounded. Got relieved by the 1st Division."
June 17, 1944 (Saturday): "I am First Squad leader. It rained all day. We are (resting) in the (2ID) reserve (area)."
June 18, 1944 (Sunday): "Valuenuzla shot himself. Cobb made platoon sergeant. I made staff sergeant. (Charles) Stratton came over. 3 Jerry airplanes came over and 2 (of these were) shot down. I got in a hornet's nest."
June 19, 1944 (Monday): "Still in reserve. Relieved the Second Battalion at night. All drunk. The bazooka men got lost. Hobbs and a recruit mix it up (get in a fight)."
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| Cerisy Forest |
Bazooka
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| Cerisy Forest |
the site for above pictures
From 15th FAB Yearbook
The Battle for St. Germain d'Elle (June 20-July 10, 1944)
ST. GERMAIN D'ELLE, ST. GEORGES D'ELLE, LE PARC DEFENSIVE
"In the battle for St. Germain d'Elle, fighting grew extremely severe. Casualty lists mounted steadily. One company lost 17 men one day, 15 the next. A company commander told of knocking out seven machine guns in one field and five in another only to have them replaced from a seemingly endless chain.
During the entire struggle which preceded the smashing of the forces defending Hill 192, artillery played an important role in holding the Nazis inside holes they had lined along hedgerows. The design was to bring down surprise mass fire on every possible position.
That this "time-on-target" firing, in which shells from multiple guns were timed to rock objectives simultaneously, had the desired effect was attested to by patrols. At any minute, a barrage would batter a position. The Germans quickly learned to crouch in their holes.
Once, when an infantry regiment was staving off a counter-attack, an artillery liaison officer hurriedly called back for fire. Asked the nature of the target, he replied: "Call it machine guns, call it tanks, call it anything. Just give me fire". He got it- from four battalions- and in time.
In the fight for St. Georges d'Elle, Pfc Ralston A. Shepherd, 23rd Inf., saved three companies from mass slaughter. Cornered in an area 30 by 100 yards, with hedgerows skirting both sides, the companies lay in direct line of fire from a flak gun. Shepherd placed his Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) over a gate post and fired more than 1,000 rounds, dispersing the Nazis gun crew before it had the opportunity to go into action. The companies took advantage of the precious time, reorganized and fought their way out of the trap. For his action, Shepherd was awarded the Silver Star.
There were many such heroes. Private Joe Marez, an aid man with the 9th Regiment, disregarded a hail of machine gun and rifle fire during an attack when he ran forward to attend two wounded riflemen. As he applied a tourniquet to the first man's leg, a bullet struck his head. But Marez didn't quit. He started for the second man, then suddenly collapsed. He was evacuated just in time to save his life. For his heroism, Marez got the division's first Distinguished Service Cross (DSC).
There was one corporal of the 38th Infantry Regiment. who was wounded and couldn't be evacuated. When German forces advanced near his position, the corporal, unable to stand, pulled a gas protective covering over his body for camouflage and began sniping at them. Although without food, he kept this up for two and a half days until relief finally came. The bodies of two Germans he had killed and the bloodstains of one he had wounded during this time were found.
It was during this fighting, in which green troops came to grips with seasoned German soldiers for the first time, that "88 Corner" became the best-known crossroad in the area. German artillery had zeroed in on the much-used intersection of the St. Lo – Cerisy La Foret roads. A day never passed without shells landing nearby. Division Military Police (MPs) constantly braved the fire to direct traffic."
STAFF SERGEANT HANFORD MAURICE RICE DIARY
June 20, 1944 (Tuesday): "We find our positions. Get straightened out and dig in deeper."
June 21, 1944 (Wednesday): "We hold for 15 days."
June 22, 1944 (Thursday): "We patrol at night. We have an OP (observation post) three hedgerows in front of our lines."
June 23, 1944 (Friday): "Still patrolling. (Enemy) mortar and artillery falling heavy."
June 24, 1944 (Saturday): "Doc Knelby joined the third platoon. We got some chickens and fried spuds (potatoes) and onions. Our poney stays with us."
June 25, 1944 (Sunday): "Still five miles north of St. Lo."
June 26, 1944 (Monday): "We build a barbed wire entanglement between our OP and front line. (An enemy) flare (at night came down) and hit me (landed) on my back."
June 27, 1944 (Tuesday): "Sgt. Storey came in with the kitchen, so I got hot coffee and biscuits."
June 28, 1944(Wednesday): No entry in his diary on this date.
June 29, 1944 (Thursday): "(Another American soldier with the same last name of) Rice was killed on patrol. Everyone thought it was me."
June 30, 1944 (Friday): "Amacher gets hit in his rear end. Our pony got shot because he would not halt."
July 1, 1944 (Saturday): "Sgt. League hit with shrapnel. We could sure use some rest."
July 2, 1944 (Sunday): "Still holding."
July 3, 1944 (Monday): "Still holding."
July 4, 1944 (Tuesday): "To celebrate the fourth of July each gun in the U.S. army fires one round at twelve o'clock. It was a real celebration."
July 5, 1944 (Wednesday): "We go to the division's reserve area. 3rd Battalion relieves us. Everything smooth sailing."
July 6, 1944 (Thursday): "We have training with tanks. Weather is warmer."
JUST A REMINDER UNCLE CHARLIE'S LAST LETTER HOME WAS DATED JUNE 1st. HIS NEXT LETTER WILL BE DATED JULY 19th.
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