BRUYERES AND BIFFONTAINE
A 7th Army report said, “Bruyeres will long be remembered,
for it was the most viciously fought-for-town we had encountered
in our long march against the Germans.” After arriving in
France, the 442nd
Regimental Combat Team joined the 36th Division, as part of
the 7th Army. In October 1944, the 442nd reached the outskirts
of Bruyeres, a quaint little town in northeast France. The Allies
were only 40 miles from Germany. But standing in the way were
the Vosges Mountains and a cornered, yet determined German army.
The town lay in a valley bordered by four conical hills that
the Allies named A, B, C and D. To take Bruyeres, the Nisei
had to take the hills. On October 15, under the command of Major
General John Dahlquist, the 442nd went into combat. The 100th
Battalion attacked Hill A. The 2nd Battalion attacked Hill
B, but after a day of heavy fighting, the Nisei had only
advanced 500 yards.
The Germans had the terrain and the weather on their side. The
mountains were more than 1,000 feet high and were covered with
tall pines. The fog and the thick underbrush limited visibility
to a dozen yards. A cold rain poured down, soaking the men’s
uniforms, socks and boots. Artillery barrages and “screaming
meemie” rockets pounded continuously. Almost every shell
the Germans fired, burst in the trees and showered hundreds of
jagged steel fragments and wood splinters on the men below.
For three days, the infantrymen fought back repeated German attacks.
With the help of artillery fire from the 522nd
Field Artillery Battalion, the 100th took Hill A, and the
2nd took Hill B. The 3rd Battalion routed the enemy out of Bruyeres
but the Germans still held Hills C and D.
During the fight to take Hill D, the Germans wounded a soldier
from F Company. As the litter bearers carried him away, the Germans
fired at the stretcher and killed him. Infuriated that the enemy
shot an unarmed, wounded man, the F Company men charged up the
hill and annihilated the Germans. Nearby, the Germans shot at
another Nisei carrying party. This time Staff
Sergeant Robert Kuroda killed three Germans with a grenade
and killed or wounded three others with his rifle. The carrying
party was rescued, but Kuroda was killed by a sniper. He was awarded
the Medal
of Honor for his actions.
Finally, the 442nd captured Hills C and D. The men began pushing
the Germans north, across a railroad embankment and toward the
forested area of Belmont. It was here, that a K Company soldier
shot a German officer and captured a complete set of German defense
plans.
Using the information in the defense plans, F and L Companies,
led by Major Emmet O’Connor, infiltrated the German lines
during the night. At dawn they attacked the enemy from behind,
while the 2nd and 3rd Battalions attacked in front. The men were
aided by the pinpoint artillery fire of the 522nd. By late afternoon
on October 21, the O’Connor Task Force and the 2nd and 3rd
Battalions had captured the hamlet of La Broquaine as well as
54 prisoners and a supply of German arms and equipment. The action
earned a Presidential
Unit Citation for F and L Companies.
Meanwhile Dahlquist ordered the 100th Battalion to march east,
more than a mile from the nearest friendly troops, and take the
high ground overlooking the village of Biffontaine. The men reached
the ridge and dug in, but soon they were being hit from all three
sides with German artillery, rockets and anti-aircraft fire.
Although they held the ridge, the men were critically low on
water and supplies. Five tanks loaded with ammunition and water
and accompanied by a platoon tried to reach the 100th. But the
Germans ambushed them, killing three and wounding several others.
Meanwhile, German bicycle troops attacked the 100th along the
right rear flank. The 2nd Battalion beat off the attack, but the
100th still needed supplies. Finally soldiers from G and L Companies,
carrying water and ammunition on their backs, found their way
through the thick forest with the help of the French resistance
and relieved the beleaguered 100th Battalion.
Dahlquist then ordered the 100th to descend the ridge and take
Biffontaine, an objective that many men thought was tactically
worthless. The 100th climbed down and quickly captured 23 Germans,
some enemy arms and several houses. But soon the Germans re-grouped.
They surrounded the town and blasted the 100th with anti-aircraft
cannons and tank fire all through the night. Exhausted, the men
in the 100th huddled in the cellars of ruined buildings. Many
had not slept for eight days. The casualties were piling up. Their
cache of captured weapons had run out and the supply lines were
again cut off. The Germans swarmed among the houses yelling, “Surrender,”
but the 100th held the town.
The next day the Nisei attempted to carry out some of
the wounded, but a German patrol captured them. Only three of
the 20 were able to escape.
On the afternoon of October 23, the 3rd Battalion finally broke
through to free the 100th. Biffontaine, a farming hamlet of 300
people, with no rail line, was now in Allied hands. The cost for
the 100th: 21 killed, 122 wounded and 18 captured.
The 100th, 2nd and 3rd Battalions were finally ordered back to
Belmont for a well-deserved rest.
