AFTER ACTION REPORT 8TH INFANTRY REGIMENT
4TH INFANTRY DIVISION
FOR THE PERIOD 1 NOVEMBER - 30 NOVEMBER

PATCH 4TH INFANTRY DIVISION

HEADQUARTERS 8TH INFANTRY
APO 4
UNITED STATES ARMY.

21 November 1944

The 3rd Battalion again advanced against the enemy at 0830, to destroy all German forces east and west of a road ( from coordinate 019402 to 023393). Company L advanced toward the south, meeting small arms fire. Company I took up a position in support of Company L. A short time later this force met a German tank, half-track and infantry troops and after a skirmish captured 29 prisoners. Elements of the 3rd Battalion then made contact with the 22nd Infantry Regiment. Having mopped up all enemy resistance in this area, the 3rd Battalion pulled back to an assembly area for the night. Meanwhile our intelligence reports indicated that the enemy continued to improve field fortifications along the entire front and shuffled his troops from one point to meet increasing pressure of First Army units driving through the line.

22 November 1944

At 0930, the 1st Battalion jumped off in the attack, supported by heavy weapons of the 2nd Battalion which greatly aided the advance but which brought heavy hostile artillery fire upon 2nd Battalion mortar positions. By 1040, Companies A and B, after having encountered strong enemy resistance, had fought their way northeast to their first objective and had captured a number of Germans. At 1120, the 3rd Battalion moved along the axis of advance of the 1st Battalion until forced to halt temporarily before increasing enemy resistance. At 1300, Companies I and K engaged the enemy in a heavy fire fight, fought their way forward, then turned to the southeast, killing and capturing a large number of German troops. Company C moved to the left of Company B and fought its way through continuous mortar, artillery and small arms fire. Company A reached the vicinity of Jager-Haus (F034424).

23 November 1944

The 2nd Battalion led the renewal of the attack by the Regiment at 0840, and for a short time made rapid progress taking a large number of prisoners. The 3rd Battalion was delayed in its advance by difficulties of re-supply and did not move forward until 0900, when it advanced slowly against intense small arms, machine gun, mortar and artillery fires which pinned down leading elements at several points. Cannon Company, meanwhile, fired on enemy targets opposing the infantry advance. Companies K, I and L moved to coordinates 042421, 037420, and 044416 where they assumed a defensive position. The 2nd Battalion continued its progress southeast toward its objective where Companies E and F tied in with Company G to their immediate rear. Elements of the German 1058th Infantry Regiment and 1057th Infantry Regiment retired to prepared positions before increasing pressure of the 8th Infantry troops, but later in the day launched several counterattacks to regain lost ground. In the northern half of the Regimental Sector the enemy attacked with an assault platoon of 25 men to regain their main line of resistance, which was driven off. In the southern half of the Regiments Sector, after putting up a stubborn defense and retiring only after being severely mauled, the enemy launched a desperate counterattack to retake their former position. Heavy artillery and mortar fire, supporting these attempts, landed all along this segment of the line. The counterattacks were quickly beaten off and many prisoners were taken. Upon interrogation, prisoners captured in this action said that the morale of the average German soldier on this section of the front was rather low. Lack of food, clothing, and other supplies caused by extensive allied aerial activity behind German lines was rapidly weakening the Reich's defensive power. Due to heavy enemy fire in its sector, the 1st Battalion had been unable to move during the day, but at 1515, Company C was able to move behind Company A and tie in on the left flank of Company I. Company B, heavily hit in previous actions, was pulled back to receive replacements and to rest. Although all areas occupied by the 8th Infantry were under continual hostile mortar and artillery fires, the engineers worked without let-up in a desperate effort to build supply lines and roads through the deep woods and over the soggy ground.

24 November 1944

The regiment moved forward in a resumption of the attack at 0830. Company C, leading the attack of the 1st Battalion, was able to move forward early. The 2nd Battalion, with Companies E and F abreast, met extremely heavy machine gun and small arms fire but nevertheless continued advancing slowly and cautiously southeast toward the objective, capturing considerable enemy equipment, weapons and prisoners. The enemy fought a bitter defense emplying direct fire weapons against the 3rd Battalion. In the Regimental northern sector, the enemy launched a small counterattack to regain lost ground but was immediatly driven back. Artillery and mortar interdiction and harassing fires continued to slow down the progress of infantrymen and numerous mines and road blocks restricted routes of advance within the entire sector. By the end of the day, the 2nd Battalion had reached its objective (045427). When the 1st Battalion objective was taken, Companies B and C were drawn to the rear and the 3rd Battalion took over the 1st Battalion area, outposting the roads. The engineers continued to work under fire, clearing the main supply route and supply routes to Battalions but work progressed slowly because of heavy shelling.

25 November 1944

The 2nd Battalion moved forward in attack at 1130, meeting slight small arms and mortar fire. The enemy withdrew in the face of increasing pressure of infantry, supported by heavy concentrations of artillery but at 1330 launched a counterattack with approximately fifty men. This attack was quickly repulsed and the Battalion reached its objective (047407) at 1410. Company K and L strengthened their position while Company I sent aggressive patrols to the North. As Company A was withdrawn, the Fourth Cavalry Squadron took over the defense of the Jager-Haus area and the hill to the northeast of it. Tactical air missions which had been requested to support the 8th Infantry advance, could not be filled because of the weather. However, the 29th Filed Artillery Battalion was able to keep a liaison plane in the air to cover the 2nd and 3rd Battalions as they moved anti-tank guns and tank destroyers into position for further operations. Although enemy artillery and mortars continued to be active through the day, covering the Regimental Sector with recurrent barrages of high explosives, the combat engineers continued to work against time, pushing supply routes ahead. By the end of the day, the supply route to the 2nd Battalion was completed and being used. Critical supplies were now delivered with greater speed and in greater quantity when needed.

26 November 1944

There was little contact with the enemy on November 26th. Enemy units of the 1057th and 1058th Infantry Regiments remained purely in a defensive position, regrouping their forces for further defense while their artillery harassed 8th Infantry troops. The troops had a breathing spell. Although the enemy continued to use extensive artillery against our front lines, 8th Infantrymen were able to obtain degree of rest prior to a resumption of intensive fighting. The 2nd and 3rd Battalions each sent a patrol along the front. Additional patrols from the 3rd Battalion contacted 24th Cavalry on their right flank. While the 24th Cavalry Squadron established a platoon on the right flank of the Regiment, the 1st Battalion relieved the 2nd Battalion, moving into the line at 1445. The engineers continued their unbroken efforts to establish further supply routes to the forward units in preparation for operations during which the 8th Infantry would move on toward open ground.

27, 28 November 1944

The 8th Infantry maintained a defensive line opposing enemy positions. Elements of the German 942nd and 984th Infantry Regiments continued to defend strategic positions opposite the Regimental Sector, delivering artillery, mortar and sporadic machine gun fires upon our troops. As the enemy regrouped his forces, relieved some combat units in the line and prepared to intensify his defensive action to screen the development of successive lines of resistance, the 8th Infantry sent patrols out to establish outposts, capture prisoners and determine the extent of any changes in the enemy situation or deployment. On the 27th, the 1st Battalion sent a strong patrol to the south of the position occupied by Company B, which met heavy small arms fire from well established positions further to the south. Company C then sent a combat patrol to (coordinate 045404) where it encountered a large group of enemy infantry men. 3rd Battalion patrols, having encountered German infantry at several points, drove them back into their own lines and continued approximately 800 yards toward the east without meeting further German resistance. A short time later, patrols from the 1st and 3rd Battalions made contact with each other, (coordinate 043415) clearing a substantial area along the Regimental Front of enemy personnel. On the following day the Regiment again sent aggressive patrols along the front. The 1st Battalion maintained contact with the 24th Cavalry Squadron, during which new well prepared enemy positions were discovered near a Y in the road which the Germans had blocked previously and which they apparently felt would be the focal point of an 8th Infantry attack (coordinate 056431). The 3rd Battalion sent a patrol to contact the 4th Cavalry Squadron through an area occupied by hostile troops at several points. After the patrol had returned, having obtained information more clearly defining the location and deployment of the enemy, 4.2 mortars fired into this area in an attempt to dislodge the enemy at these points which promised to be a material harassing factor to subsequent advances by the 8th Infantry units. During the early part of the day, a Company I outpost received a heavy enemy counterattack. After a short effective fire fight, Company I repelled the enemy attack, having inflicted many casualties upon them with rifle fire. In the afternoon, the 2nd Battalion relieved the 3rd Battalion on the front line. Engineers, continuing to work against time under heavy fires, pushed supply routes ahead toward all battalion sectors.

29 November 1944

The regiment was ordered to continue the attack, the 1st and 2nd Battalions jumped off abreast, the 1st Battalion on the right and the 2nd Battalion on the left. The 3rd Battalion remained in Regimental Reserve. The 8th Infantry, opposed by the German 942nd Infantry Regiment, forged steadily ahead until the 1st Battalion, with Company B on the right and Company C on the left, met heavy enemy small arms and machine gun fires. Both companies, pinned down and unable to go forward (at coordinate 052432) pulled back at 1115 so that supporting artillery could plaster the enemy in this locality, prior to a resumption of the drive. After the artillery had thoroughly covered these positions, Companies B and C were able to advance and attain material gains. The 2nd Battalion, with Company G on the left and Company F on the right, although meeting stubborn enemy resistance and heavy artillery and automatic fires, continued to advance until Companies F and G reached positions well forward of adjacent units (coordinates 049430 and 048432). As the attack progressed during the day, an increasing volume of enemy artillery, mortar and machine gun fires were delivered upon our troops by the enemy who resisted stubbornly at every point of attack and only fell back when driven out of their emplacements by a combination of devastating forces which they could not withstand.

30 November 1944

The 1st Battalion attacked at 0845. The 2nd Battalion moved forward at 0900. Both Battalions immediately came under heavy small arms and machine gun fires. The enemy defended his position with increasing ferocity. When the 3rd Battalion was comitted in the attack at 0930, it commenced moving from its assembly area to a position in the rear of the 1st Battalion. Supporting tanks thrust into enemy territory from a position between Companies A and B. A few minutes later, when the enemy launched a counterattack, Company B fought desperately to push the enemy back. The Germans, attacking in force with rifle grenades and rocket launchers were thrown back. The 3rd Battalion, in spite of heavy enemy fire, advanced to the south and came abreast of the 1st Battalion. Coordinated advances by tanks and infantry pushed the enemy back at many points, but the enemy resisted at other points with increasing fury. At 1640 the Regiment started to dig in for the night after a day of the bitterest type of fighting.

R.G. McKee,
Colonel, 8th Infantry,
Commanding.
HORIZONTAL FLOURISH LINE



Source: N.A.R.A. Archives

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