November 25, 1944. In the morning, the sky was cloudy, but in the afternoon it cleared, and the 9th Tactical Aviation Command provided close air support to the 104th Infantry Division and the 1st Infantry Division. The 104th Division advanced to the heights east of Putzlorn and occupied the Inde valley west of Weissweiler. The 26th Regiment of the 1st Infantry Division, in coordination with the Panzer Corps, made considerable progress and also cut off the Weissweiler-Languewea road. In the area of responsibility of the 4th Infantry Division, the 8th Infantry Regiment advanced more than 700 metres along the Scherfenchüt-Dylan road. Although the 22nd Infantry Regiment launched an attack on the village of Dahao, it was stopped by heavy German anti-tank gun, mortar and artillery fire. The 8th Infantry Division did not conduct significant operations.
- Report on the operations of the 1st Army
On November 25, the 22nd Infantry Regiment aimed to take the village of Dahao. Colonel Ranum planned to repeat the old trick and take the German defenders by surprise from the flank, thereby reducing casualties. If that didn't work, Ranum would have to rely on his infantry and two tank companies to attack. Similar to the regiment's initial operations on 16 November, the offensive began without artillery preparation, and the troops launched a surprise attack from two directions towards the village of Dahao. The 3rd Battalion was to pass through the forest and reach the ridge north of Dahao Village, from where it would attack the village. At the same time, the 2 battalion attacked from the edge of the forest southwest of the village of Dahao. At the edge of the forest in the southern part of Dahao Village, a tank unit with 2 battalions will attack targets in Dahao Village and Xiaohao Village respectively. The 1st Battalion was to garrison the 3rd Battalion's original position west of Dahao Village, covering the left rear of the regiment. The attack was set for 7:45 a.m., 28 minutes before sunrise.
As usual, German artillery and mortars continued shelling the battalion positions throughout the night of 24 November, although the fire was somewhat reduced compared to the previous days. While it was still dark, the soldiers of the 2nd and 3rd Battalions had already risen and moved slowly towards the starting position. At 2:35 a.m., Captain Thomas Harrison, deputy commander of the 3rd Battalion, called the regimental headquarters: "The 3rd Battalion is ready for an attack. ”
3 battalions
At 7:45 a.m., K and L companies lined up on the left and right flanks of the 3rd Battalion and jumped out of their starting positions. The advancing American soldiers soon ran into the Germans, who were attacking almost simultaneously, and a fierce exchange of fire ensued. The U.S. troops advanced at a fast pace, firing from behind the Germans' buttocks in maneuver, crushing the Germans at once, capturing 86 soldiers from the 1st Battalion of the 1057th Grenadier Regiment of the 344th Infantry Division. Most of these prisoners came from the 3rd Company of the 1057th Grenadier Regiment under the command of Lieutenant Walters, who was in the vanguard of the attack, and his unit ran into the muzzle of K Company on a right turn and was disarmed by Lieutenant Burton, the commander of K Company, and a small group of American troops. At first, only Waltés and a few German soldiers surrendered, but under the "threat of force" from K Company, Waltés agreed to let the rest of his men surrender.
Company I's target was a stronghold west of Dahao Village, and for this purpose the company formed a task force with one platoon of infantry and five tanks and four tank destroyers. The remainder of Company I moved to the Dahao Forest Office, marched southeast along the narrow road, and then stopped at the edge of the forest between Company K and Company.
By 8:45 a.m., the companies of the 3rd Battalion were in position at the edge of the forest facing Dahao Village. By all indications, the German defenses in the village were weak, so Major Kemp decided that he could quickly take it down if he had the infantry and armoured forces in concert, and that the K and L companies in the forest would attack with all the tanks and tank destroyers. The offensive forces invested by the American army must have been able to overwhelm the German defensive forces.
Unfortunately, muddy roads and minefields held the armored forces back for a full 3 hours. This gives the opponent plenty of time to redeploy their defenses. Sensing that the American offensive would be launched from the north, the Germans adjusted their defensive focus, and the Americans would have to face a well-prepared opponent after breaking out of the forest.
U.S. infantry advancing in the Hürtgen Forest (photo by the U.S. Army Communications Corps)
The offensive began at 11:45 a.m., three hours later than planned. Nine tanks and eight tank destroyers were planned to attack from the edge of the forest together with the infantry, but only one tank destroyer and three tanks took part. As soon as they drove out of the safety of the edge of the forest, they were destroyed by German anti-tank gunners at almost the same moment. The first tank to go was paralyzed after only about 20 meters, and the other two tanks didn't even go this distance. Seeing that the situation was not good, the commander of the tank destroyer immediately ordered the driver to reverse and retreat into the forest. The infantry was not so lucky. No sooner had L and K Companies advanced into an open area than heavy shelling fell from the sky and drove them back into the forest. On the same day, the German anti-tank guns hidden in the village of Dahao also destroyed three American tanks parked in the forest.
Farther south, Task Force I attacked from the edge of the forest at the same time as the battalion main force, with almost identical results. The first tank to open the road was hit by German anti-tank guns, and although it immediately retreated into the forest, it fell into the mud and could not move, and the crew had to abandon the vehicle. German artillery fire scattered the soldiers of the task force's infantry platoon, and it was not until near evening that they regrouped. When the platoon commander reported over walkie-talkies that he was preparing for another assault, Major Kemp ordered him to stand by and stand.
For the next three hours, German artillery rained down bullets on the 3rd Battalion, which was unsafe. The heavy shelling has blown off almost every tree in the area, and the shrapnel stripped trees look like toothpicks reaching into the sky. The German artillery fire was extremely heavy and accurate, scattered among the 11 foxholes around one anti-tank gun of the 3rd Battalion, 8 of which were directly hit and the other 3 were also hit by shrapnel. The roof above the foxhole is almost defenseless against a direct hit. Lieutenant William Lee, the commander of I Company, who had just been recommended for captainization, was wounded in German shelling and was replaced by Lieutenant John Colville in command of I Company. Major Kemp realized that his 3rd Battalion would not be able to capture the village of Dahao and ordered his troops to stop the offensive at 15 o'clock. In order to continue the offensive the next day, the exhausted company commanders had to reorganize their troops.
U.S. military medics caring for the wounded (Photo by U.S. Army Communications)
Heavy Maurice Harvey felt something hit him in the leg, but he thought it was just a shell. He continued to shoot until he felt a warm current run down his legs. Although his injuries were not too serious, unfortunately, none of his comrades knew where they were or how they got back to the first aid post. Harvey began to retreat on foot to the rear, and did not find his way to the first aid post until he encountered a group of advancing infantry.
Although the 3rd Battalion did not capture the village of Dahao, the attack still inflicted heavy losses on the 1st Battalion of the 1057th German Grenadier Regiment. In addition, the 3rd Battalion also seized the commanding height to the north of Dahao Village, from which it overlooked the village and town and the Gaicun-Dahao Village road. In order to take this height, the 3rd Battalion paid a heavy price, especially in terms of command staff. Of the 122 killed or wounded, 45 were commanders, including 8 officers (2 "newcomers" and 6 "old men") and 36 non-commissioned officers (8 "newcomers" and 28 "old men"), most of whom were from Company I and Company.