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79th Infantry Division - Saverne Gap: Objective Barbas and Beyond. 

Posted by Pierre Fallet on Dec 5, 2022 6:04:40 AM

Before the war, Barbas, a village of perhaps seventy-five houses, huddled rather closely together was a very quiet village in the French countryside. It is on low ground between two fairly steep hills. A small stream, Le Vacon, flows just to the North of the town. The roofs of the houses are made of  dull red tile. A small orchard is just to the right of the road coming into town from Le Hameau d’Ancerviller. 

At first sight it seems to be a peaceful Lorraine village lost in the middle of the countryside but course of the Second World War decided otherwise and turned it into hell for the men of the 79th Infantry Division. 

Consolidation of the line at Barbas

Once the high ground above Montigny and its area secured by the 79th Infantry Division, next step during the Saverne gap battle for those boys was to seize the village of Barbas. Road leading from Le Hameau d’Ancerviller to Barbas winds to the North and a little East for a distance of about two miles, passing through a large wooded area with on the left "Clair Bois" and on the right "Bois Banal".

(Note: There are discrepancies between the 1:20,000, Sarrebourg Nos 5-6 Map and the 1:50,000, Cirey-sur-Vezouze, XXXVI-16 Map used by Officers. On the Sarrebourg N°s 5-6 Map "Clair Bois is at the East and not at the West of the  Montigny-Barbas Road.  In the After Action Reports "Bois Banal" is called "Noir Bois" but Normandy American Heroes has chosen to call it "Bois Banal" according to French Maps". 

clair bois

Barbas was the next enemy strongpoint which had to be silenced, and “C” Company under the command of Captain Albert J. Muehlman will do the main effort. Captain Muehlman received the order by phone at 0800pm on November 15th, the only difference with Montigny was that this time it would be “C” Company leading the assault on Barbas but otherwise “D” Company will continue its job of supporting the leading Company and Artillery Battalions will continue also its support.

On that evening “C” Company was in position on a line running from the northeast edge of Bois Banal and Clair Bois straddling the road about 1500 yards South of Barbas, this was necessary as on its right flank about 400 yards away men of the 3rd Battalion were in position; patrols-maintained contact.

Men launched the attack at 07:30am on November 16th, with the 1st Platoon in lead commanded by 2nd Lieutenant Michael Ivanushka using the cover of the woods to push forward while 2nd Platoon was on its right flank as a support. 3rd Platoon commanded by Sergeant Cecil Jackson, on the left had to cover the advance with heavy and light machine gun fire.

On their way toward Barbas, it was learned that Germans took defensive positions between them and the town and were returning the fire, after a quick estimate of the situation 2nd Lieutenant Ivanushka sent Staff Sergeant Albert E. Shamro’s squad to the right to flank the enemy positions while the rest of the Platoon was attacking in the front. This was successful as fifteen Germans have been killed and forty prisoners were taken and none casualties was accounting.

While Sergeant Shamro and his men were flanking the enemy, because of the confusion due to the heavy enemy fire, he swung toward the Barbas - Nonhigny road and a small patch of woods “Bois de Chêne Creux”. Precisely men were advancing along a trail between two roads: Barbas -Nonhigny and – Barbas – Le Hameau d’Ancerviller.

Bois Clair

 

While advancing toward their objective, a group of thirty to sixty Germans was coming out of Barbas toward the other members of “C” Company but Sergeant Shamro and his boys stopped this enemy force with small arm fire. Some of them were killed others were either trying to find cover in the woods but were welcomed by the rest of the 1st Platoon or either back to Barbas, but approximately fifteen of them took position in the ditches along the road where they were later taken prisoner.

Group of troops

While 1st Platoon was clearing up its area, 3rd Platoon was brought in combat and 4th Platoon was told to act as a support. While “C” Company was reorganizing 2nd Lieutenant Robert Weinstein, the artillery observer and Captain Muehlman took position in a neck of woods which was on the left flank and asked for mortar and artillery fire on the ridge in preparation for the next step of the attack on the town.

When troops arrived on the top of the ridge, they have been welcomed by heavy machine gun fire either from the reserve slope, from the road or from the outskirts of Barbas.

Just out of the town, where the road turns toward villages of Harbouey and Nonhigny, Germans dug-in an antitank ditch over-length of 50 yards on both sides of the road. Hill located at the South of the village was heavily defended and most of the fire received from “C” Company was coming from that direction. It was very difficult for those men to see the enemy positions as they took advantage of the layout and landscape to camouflage them. The hill was covered with scrub in irregular patches, rocks, and a few winding trails which.

The advance was slow down, Captain Muehlman changed his plans, he tried to swing the 3rd Platoon, still in the neck of the woods to the left for an advance toward the town but upon reaching the outskirts, hell started to pour on them.

In the meantime, 1st Platoon has begun edging along the ditch toward Barbas, some Germans were coming out from the antitank ditch over the open ground toward them. One of them who was approximately 800 yards away across the open field found himself unlucky as 1st Sergeant Bernard A. Howell took aim with his rifle, setting the elevation at 1000 yards and got him. While advancing along that ditch one enemy machine gun position has been reduced by the BAR team and men advanced to within 100 yards from the first houses of Barbas.

Wanted to seize the opportunity to enter the town, Sergeant Howell and another squad continued to push on toward the village, with his binoculars, he saw Germans taking position next to a haystack and one tank. One bazooka team was called on to do the work, but all surprise it had only one round. All of the sudden, there were not only one but three tanks in Barbas, which forced the squad to fall back and to rejoin the rest of the Platoon in defensive positions.

Lieutenant-Colonel Olin E. TeagueLieutenant-Colonel Olin E. Teague - CO 1st Battalion - 314th Infantry Regiment - © Texas State Historical Association.

As three enemy tanks have been spotted in town, Lieutenant-Colonel Olin E. Teague, Battalion Commander called for an artillery barrage on Barbas and on the roads leading and around it. This fire support was efficient as two-hundred and fifty Germans have been seen retreating giving “C” Company the opportunity to rush toward the town, to clean it up from last enemy resistance positions and to take nine prisoners. At 0330pm Barbas was under control.

 

One more Effort

Once Barbas liberated, the attention was focused on the area North of the town. Precisely between the town and another place named Blamont which is about not more than a mile.

Blamont was on a hill and once again the enemy took advantage of the landscape by dig-in a network of trenches running through a thick wood. Lieutenant-Colonel Teague gave a phone call to “C” Company’s Command Post to let them know to reconnoiter the ridge to find out if trenches were occupied or not. Job was assigned to one patrol from 3rd Platoon led by Staff Sergeant Arthur Solomon, men found out that those trenches were unoccupied which gave the opportunity to “A” Company to move forward toward the ridge.

As “B” Company was still recovering from its Montigny – Barbas engagements, it was assigned the mission to defend Barbas while “D” Company moved up on the town, still with the purpose to be a supporting unit for the upcoming attack of “A” and “C” Companies.

Blamont-Barbas-Harbouey- MAP©IGMmap.com - Remonter le temps - 2022.

On November 16th, just after dark, “A” Company was on the left side of the road and “C” Company on the right side while moving up the hill. Men of “A” turned a shell crater into a strongpoint which was maned by one squad with a bazooka team, two heavy machine guns and one light manche gun. Even though the last days were rough, night from November 16th to the 17th was pretty quiet but in the early hours of the 17th, Germans opened fire on “A” and “C” Company.

Infantry man

Around noon, an enemy tank supported by thirty infantry men, were coming up the road from Blamont trying to take position on the top of the hill. Those guys could be seen only about 25 yards away from the shell crater turned into a strongpoint.

By seeing a tank Private First-Class Duane Hemmingway fired one bazooka round upon it but missed, which gave the enemy his position. Tank gunners returned the fire, but all of the sudden shell landed too short giving the opportunity to shoot open it once again. According to the soldiers of the “strongpoint” the second shot may have ricocheted as it hit the tank in the nose forcing the enemy tank to back down the hill.

While the bazooka team was dealing with the German tank, heavy and light machine guns were shooting upon the infantrymen, by seeing their tank retreating Germans followed him and were driven off by machine guns. Nevertheless, some of them were successful in getting within 5 yards from the “shell crater strongpoint” but were stopped.

It was not the 314th Infantry Regiment which made it into Blamont first but the 315th coming from the left side of the town. (West)

Men of the 3rd Battalion of the 315th Infantry Regiment re-rolling bed rolls near Nonhigny - ©Combatreels.com

Note: Germans and US Troops were interchanging small arms fire and hand grenade fire most of the day).

Once Blamont under control, 1st Battalion of the 314th was relieved by the 313th on the night of 17th to the 18th then it retired to an assembly area at Halloville.

 

Written by Pierre Fallet - Normandy American Heroes.

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