Hurtgen Forest and Roer Valley
10-17 Dev. 1944 - (Rhineland Campaign)
By Captain Raymond C. Greis
PLANS POR THE INITIAL ATTACK
Late in the afternoon on 11 December the Regimental Commander ordered a coordinated attack by the 1st and 2d Battalions. The regiment was to attack at 1000 hours, 12 December, capture Hof Hardt and the north-south road running through Hof Hardt, and be prepared to continue attacking east toward the Roer River on order. This order called for the 2d Battalion, attacking on the left flank of the 83d Division, to capture Hof Hardt and the edge of the forest in its zone. 11
Upon receipt of the regimental order, the 2d Battalion Commander, realizing there was ample time, decided to call his company Commanders and staff members for a conference. As a result of this conference the following conclusions were reached:
| I. | Fields of fire were limited, and observation was very poor so the battalion would: 12
|
| II. | All troops would carry heavy loads of ammunition since resupply would be difficult due to the condition of the road and the presence of teller mines in the area. |
| III. | The effectiveness of the enemy artillery and mortar fire bursting in the trees ruled out any time-consuming maneuvers. It was decided that the best bet would be to close rapidly, take up the fire fight, dump our own artillery fires, and assault frontally. |
With these considerations in mind the Battalion Commander issued his attack order which read about as follows: 13
| I. | a. | The enemy is known to hold the area between phase line II and phase line III in strength. |
| b. | The regiment attacks east at 1000 hours, 12 December. The 1st Battalion will attack on the right. The 9th Division will attack on the left. The 3d Battalion will be in reserve behind the 1st Battalion. The 322d Field Artillery Battalion will be in direct support of the 329th Infantry. | |
| II. | This battalion attacks east along the road to Duren at 1000 hours to seize Hof Hardt and the edge of the forest in its zone. Zone of action: (see overlay). Formation: two companies abreast; "G" Company on the right; "F" Company on the left; "E" Company in reserve. Artillery and mortar concentrations will be fired on call. | |
| III. | a. | Company "G", on the right, attacking on a 400 yard front, with its left flank on the Duren road, will seize Hof Hardt and that portion of the edge of the forest in its zone. The 1st platoon of Company "H" will be attached to Company "G". |
| b. | "F" Company, on the left, attacking on a 500 yard front, with its right to include the road to Duren, will seize Hof Hardt and that portion of the edge of the forest in its zone. The 2d platoon of "H" Company will be attached to "F" Company. | |
| c. | The mortar platoon of "H" Company will support the attack from its present positions and will be prepared to displace on order. Priority of fires to "F" Company. One observer party from the mortar platoon will report to each assault company as soon as possible. | |
| d. | Company "E" will be in reserve and will move on order behind"F" Company. "E" Company will maintain contact with the 9th Division on the left and the 1st Battalion on the right and will be prepared to attack
through the zones of either forward company on order. (x)
|
|
| IV. | Extra ammunition will be issued to all men prior to the attack --- carry all you can handle. Location of aid station and ammunition dump: --- (see overlay). | |
| V. | Both attacking companies will lay assault wire as they advance. Location of battalion CP: --- (see overlay). |
Before 1000 hours, 10 December all the troops in the battalion were given their orders and knew what was expected of them. Aerial photographs of the terrain, with overlays showing the phase lines and the battalion objective, had been issued to all the officers. The blanket rolls were collected, and the men were issued all the extra ammunition they could carry. In short, the preparations were complete, and now the battalion was ready to move out. 14
