(8th INFANTRY DIVISION) IN THE ATTACK ON DÜREN, GERMANY,
AFTER THE CROSSING OF THE ROER RIVER,
23 - 25 FEBRUARY 1945
(RHINELAND CAMPAIGN)
By Captain Alexander F. Berol
THE CHANGE OF MISSION
The mission of L Company was soon altered as progress of both I and K Companies was slower than had been expected due to greater sections of the city containing larger and larger numbers of delaying positions as the higher ground away from the river was approached and the attack of the 2d Battalion on the right veered away from the 3d Battalion's line of attack. It is believed much of this German troop strength was forced into this sector by the 104th Division, on the left, which was ahead of the l3th Infantry Regiment. This compelled the battalion commander to commit his reserve leaving the battalion only with a reserve of portions of Headquarters Company.
L Company was committed between I and K Companies, to enable K Company to swing to the right in the general direction of the 2d Battalion, and attempt to establish contact with them. 29
THE ATTACK
L Company joined the actual attack at 1300 hours on 24 February in the western third of DÜREN approaching the heart of the once thriving city of 30,000. The formation for the attack was 2d and 1st Platoons in assault, each with attached machine guns, followed by the 3d Platoon, Company Headquarters and Weapons Platoon minus its machine guns.
In moving up to occupy the area between I and K Companies, the 1st Platoon was to receive its greatest casualties of the attack. This entire platoon sought cover from the ever incoming artillery, in the entrance of what had been a large school, when with German good luck, a very large shell, approximately 240mm, landed near the entrance, killing four men and wounding seven additional, including one squad leader and two assistant squad leaders.
The two assault platoons made their contact with I Company on the left and K on the right and started forward under some light mortar fire, and some machine gun fire from buildings, quite a distance to the front. The orders were to clear out the buildings as the unit progressed, so forward motion was very slow. The buildings, many of them with cellars, somehow standing up under tremendous piles of rubble, at first contained few if any Germans, and those quite willing to surrender, but after about two blocks resistance stiffened. With streets as final protective lines and entrances to further penetration, slow progress slowed down even more. Each squad and platoon started to really fight to gain ground. Artillery supporting fires were not of much assistance, as buildings gave the enemy the necessary cover from fragmentation, so the only gain was by fire and movement, with good use being made of hand grenades. 30
The 2d Platoon after gaining about two blocks to the business heart of the city was held up by one enemy machine gun, apparently high up in a building to their front, firing thru gaps in buildings and between buildings. This fire although plunging, was accurate, as it accounted for one man killed and three wounded. Finally about four men with a B A R by use of rubble for cover, were able to flank this gun to find them in a second story of a false fronted building, and kill two die hard Germans.
The progress of the 3d Platoon continued to move along slowly, as building after building was searched for enemy. A few Germans were flushed out, some to become more or less happy prisoners of war, some to withdraw to the rear and some to be killed by hand grenades, which preceded the men into buildings.
The balance of L Company was following the assault platoons in bounds, without seeing any action of any kind, other than the flow to our rear of the prisoners. The mortar section so far, had not fired a round other than in the original preparation of the city.
This slow progress continued for the units on the left and on the right until late in the afternoon when K Company on the right, on a more or less exposed flank, received a minor counterattack as they paused in a somewhat open area. This became a serious fire fight for a few moments, until artillery from the 8th Division, 41st Field Artillery Battalion landed squarely on the attacking Germans, causing numerous casualties and a hasty withdrawal. 31
L Company's progress was speeded by direction of the battalion commander who contacted the three companies on line thru the wire which each unit was laying as it moved forward. It was now about four o'clock in the afternoon of 24 February with resistance quite light. As the platoons continued in the assault in coordination with the other units of the battalion, the clearing of buildings became somewhat sketchy so that, we learned later, Battalion Headquarters began to take prisoners who realized their part of DÜREN was definitely in the hands of the American forces.
With darkness rapidly approaching, progress slowed down as contact and control were much reduced in a night with a cloud covered sky. The same absence of light which hindered our progress, favored the Germans, who wished to pull back rather than face the assaulting wave of American troops, so even with slow movement forward, it was steady and block consuming. With the approach of daylight L Company as well as the adjacent units were approaching the outskirts of DÜREN after a night of practically no action. Company had received sporadic mortar and artillery fire but without observation, this was merely harassing, as no casualties were received. A few times, one or two Germans had manned an automatic weapon and fired a few bursts along the company front, however no one was killed and only three were wounded. Once these bursts were fired from a point the gun would be picked up, and moved back, so in all but one case a search of the area where it was believed the fire came from was to no avail. 32
The once case occurred in the 3d Platoon area, when one squad was searching for the gun position. The squad had with complete silence covered a large building, and sent two men in as an advanced group to start the search. These men walked thru the main entrance which faced to the left from the line of attack when they rounded a hall and at the same time spotted two Germans in the act of picking up a gun. It was a pleasure, they said, as each man got a German, which completely removed this small piece of resistance.
As day break, 0600 neared, L Company still pushing forward thru the gradually thinning portion of the city, advanced more rapidly. During this period one isolated prisoner who spoke quite good English gave himself up to a member of the 2d Platoon. He claimed he had left his unit in their withdrawal to wait for us, as he had enough of a losing war. This prisoner stated that at about 0400, with the approach of the American forces, the balance of the defenders of this portion of DÜREN had withdrawn to the town of MERZENICH, east of the city.
The statement of the POW must have been accurate, because he was the last of the enemy seen by Company L. At this time progress of the adjacent units was also satisfactory, as all three units were on line, in a wide sweep thru the eastern portion of the city.
The end of DÜREN proper, was reached about 0630, and from there, to the regimental objective, was one smooth clean sweep with no opposition. By 0700 on 25 February, I, K and L Companies stood on the final objective, the railroad around the eastern side of the city. 33
To sum up the results of the operation: L Company, 3d Battalion, 13th Infantry, attacking twenty-four hours behind schedule after elements of the battalion established a small isolated bridgehead, and after long preparations which had been hard and costly, did clear and take its portion of DÜREN, and did assist in taking the regimental objective.
