The darkness held a terror of its own—any false movement or unwarranted sound could easily betray the presence of the 16-man patrol that crept ever closer to the enemy lines. It was barely past 11 pm, and so far the patrol had slipped up to the German strongpoint undetected and now deployed along the base of one of a series of troublesome hedgerows that had been dubbed “Kraut Corner.” The corner—a position that bristled with German machine guns and mortars—had been ferociously defended during two previous attempts to take it the preceding month and had been the source of grievous casualties. Now, in the late hours of July 6, 1944, the patrol, led by 1st Lt. Ralph Winstead of Company E, 38th Infantry, had the mission of not only harassing and disrupting the enemy but also garnering information regarding the mini-fortress’s weapons disposition.
Just minutes earlier the patrol had bellied over its own hedgerow under cover of a heavy artillery and mortar concentration to mask its approach. The enemy lines were in such close proximity that they reached their destination within five minutes. From behind the shaggy barrier was heard the occasional flash and thump as enemy mortars fired. Elsewhere, bright tracers stitched the darkness as a machine gun released chilling, sporadic bursts.
On command, the patrol’s demolitions men pitched their explosives over the hedgerow wall in an effort to stun the defenders. Just as one of the demolition men, Pfc. Louie, rose to drop his satchel charge, a German machine gunner opened up from a firing slit directly below him. Bullets flashed between Louie’s straddled legs at 1,200 rounds per minute. He later admitted that his heart was lodged squarely in his throat as he released his charge. As one, the satchel charge and a Bangalore torpedo lit up the night, followed a moment later by a second satchel charge. Then the assault team sprang into action.
