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| By this time, too, the enemy sensed that the war had
reached its final catastrophic stage. Gone was the smooth-functioning war
machine which had conquered an entire continent ; in its place was a milling
mob searching hopelessly for an avenue of escape, praying for a miracle, for
a secret weapon, even for peace. Here and there resistance was encountered, but it was confused and sporadic. The enemy had little idea as to the location of the lines. The 915th Field Artillery Battalion, in occupying firing positions near Klein Gerau, found itself in a fire fight behind the lines. A few rounds of direct fire on the enemy positions wrote "fini" to the fight in short order. Task Forces Spiess was reformed with the mission of taking the industrial city of Darmstadt on the Division right flank. Little resistance was met in the city, and it fell in the afternoon of the 25th. In the morning, the 90th moved forward against a defense consistent only in its inconsistency. It was impossible to predict where the enemy might elect to defend. On many occasions only a token resistance was offered, enough to salve the German conscience, to be followed by surrender. POW (Prisoner of War) cages bulged with captured Germans for whom the war was happily over. On the 26th the 90th reached the Main River, and by the next morning resistance had ceased on the near bank. The Division was aligned from Hanau on the right to Rumpenheim on the left, just east of Frankfort. The month of March had seen three river barriers crossed ; the Kyll, the Moselle and the Rhine. And now the 90th Division prepared to cross the last major river which barred its way into the heart of Germany. At 03:30 on March 28th the 357th and 358th Regiments crossed the Main in assault boats between Hanau and Offenbach. Though the crossing was expected by the enemy, little could be done to prevent its successful accomplishment. A battalion of Hitler Youth OCS (Officer Candidate School) defenders formed a thin line along the river with varying degrees of success and determination. On the left the OCS men fought doggedly to prevent the 357th from expanding its bridgehead, but was unable to succeed in its mission. On the right, in the face of the imminent assault by the 358th, the OCS defenders solved their problem satisfactorily (to themselves, at least) simply by withdrawing and offering no fight whatever. By noon the bridging of the Main River had been completed, and all elements of the 90th had reached their objectives. The 4th Armored now swept through the zone, utilizing a bridge at Hanau, and proceeded to drive northward. The 6th Armored crossed on the 90th's bridge and it too went about its business of driving through the heart of Germany. A six mile bridgehead had been firmly established by the day's end, and the hills of Hessen loomed on the horizon. |
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