CHAPTER VIII VICTORY

The 76th packed its bags and fast . . . "On to the Russians" . .
On the first day of the offensive ONAWAY pushed forward over the wooded, cut-up, hilly terrain, smothering the enemy, leaving a string of white-flag-bedecked towns in its wake. The next day enemy resistance became heavier and the 1st Battalion of the 385th ran headlong into heavy fire when elements of the battalion moved on Grossalmerode and Company C launched an attack against Hülsa.
Cannon companies were the organic artillery of each combat team . . . .
To the nazis Hülsa was an important town; not only was it an emergency escape route but it housed an ordnance repair shop which the enemy had all intentions of holding. Against a stubborn garrison reinforced by some 400 nazis who had been chased out of Kassel by the 80th Division, the Yanks got no further than the approaches to the village when the nazis cut loose with tank, 20 MM and artillery fire. For hours the ONAWAY troops hugged the earth under the bombardment, unable to move. Finally under a smoke screen, the men were able to pull back to potent positions from where mortar and artillery fire could be directed into the town. At dusk the company was relieved by the 2d Battalion of the 417th which came into the battle with the 417th Cannon Company and the 901st FA Battalion. After firing several telling concentrations into Hülsa, the infantrymen went in and cleaned out what was left of the resistance, including a tank which they got with bazooka fire. Simultaneously the 385th and remainder of the 417th were heading for the Werra River and fully cleared the sector to its banks by nightfall.
Short break . . . . Just enough time to heat a con of K ration beef and pork loaf . . . .
	Early 6 April, the division was directed to advance in its zone to a road running northwest from Gotha to Langensalza and northeast from Langensalza to Kircheilingen. The north boundary was changed to include the strategic towns of Wickenrode, Dohrenbach, Arenshausen, Kalteneber and Büttstedt. As the doughboys continued their attack eastward the roads became more clogged with
liberated slave laborers and Allied prisoners released by the 76th. There were towns which fell without a fight while through others the division had to blast its way. Further action was encountered against strong pockets of resistance in woods necessarily bypassed by the armored division. Company L 417th moved into the woods near Oberkaufungen, a platoon at a time. Alert, tense, each man moved in quietly. There was that inner feeling of being watched by unseen eyes and that futile sensation of not being able to see in return. The enemy was in there somewhere for already there had been sporadic rifle fire and machine guns from the vicinity had been causing the company trouble. The platoons had been assigned certain sections of the woods and were now slipping through the trees and underbrush. Suddenly the quiet was ripped apart by the shattering chatter of a machine gun. The men dropped in their tracks, stunned by the suddenness of the fire. Every man there knew the position was practically suicide, but no one could move. Pvt Savas J. Batsos [ASN -- 31461723] looked around at his buddies and saw them hugging the ground as he was doing. He remembered the long metal object by his side. He caressed the cold steel, gripped it hard, then sprang to his feet, clutching his faithful machine gun alongside his hip. His nerves were steady now and he let go a burst with deadly accuracy into the German lines. The nazis concentrated all of their fire on the lone individual standing erect. Bullets splintered trees around him and kicked up the dirt at his feet but he kept going forward. "C'mon fellows," he yelled, "Let's get em!" and he underlined his words with another burst of fire toward the enemy positions. That was all the men needed. They jumped up and moved forward with a rush, following Batsos as he charged into the face of the fire. The doughboys swarmed over the German positions and knocked them out. While the doughboys were reorganizing, word came that another platoon was caught in a similar trap, pinned down, unable to advance or withdraw. Without saying a word, Batsos picked up his machine gun and started toward the trapped platoon. Sizing up the situation, he immediately worked himself up to the platoon's front and for the second time stood up in full view of the enemy, charging toward them, firing his machine gun from his hip. Once again men were spurred to action by this display of courage. The platoon moved out quickly and plastered the nazis with fire. Those who were not killed or captured, retreated. But the gallant soldier had led his last assault. Batsos was fatally wounded as he fought toward the enemy with his machine gun spitting death. ...
In and around Langensalza the Luftwaffe made a last dying effort . . . Antiaircraft crews had a field day . . . .
The 1st Battalion 385th Infantry moving in on Grossalmerode was repulsed by the heavy firepower of well dug-in nazis. The doughboys reorganized and tried a second time to break into the town but again were repulsed. A sledge hammer was needed to crumple the defense of this town so the men brought out a sledge hammer - marching fire! For the third time they moved in but this time under overhead machine gun fire in conjunction with a rolling barrage of mortar and artillery. The defenses of the enemy crumpled quickly. While the Grossalmerode attack was underway the 2d Battalion 385th had captured Bad Sooden but an hour after its capture a large force of enemy infantry launched a counterattack and forced the Yanks to withdraw. The nazi victory was short-lived when the 385th doughboys waded into the town, recaptured it and held on. The enemy tried the same tactics on Trubenhausen, held by elements of the 3d Battalion 385th, but were repulsed in no uncertain terms. Meanwhile the 304th Combat Team had been motorized for a fifty-nine kilometer advance to Schönstedt where it detrucked and started attacking east. By the morning of 7 April the division had received new orders directing it to advance to "Phase Line B" which was a commanding ridge four kilometers northeast of Langensalza. The days to follow formed a new experience for ONAWAY troops. Working in perfect coordination with the 6th Armored Division the two divisions became an unbeatable combination. At times ONAWAY slugged first and the Armored would come in fast with the final blow and then the roles would be switched with the Armored hitting first and ONAWAY delivering the Sunday Punch. There were to be days and nights of many stops and fast moves and the action and events became just one long blur in the minds of the men who took part in what they called the "rat race".