Battle Of Gorges
Continuing the advance the First Battalion hit another strong enemy line in the vicinity of the
town of Gorges. The battle of Gorges was hard fought, but the enemy was forced to relent and withdraw
to still another line along the Seves River. The Third Battalion moved up to the river to a defensive
position while the rest of the Regiment was allowed a few days rest in Gorges – rest that was disturbed
by extremely heavy enemy artillery.
Island Of The White Witches
On the 22nd of July, the 358th Infantry was ordered to attack and seize the Island of Seves – the
Island of the White Witches, by an age old superstition, located in the Seves River little more than a
mile northeast of Periers. As the entire invasion front remained momentarily static, the First and Second
Battalions attacked against overwhelming odds, gaining a foothold on the island, only to be severely
counterattacked, with the enemy throwing in everything he had in an all out an effort to retain control of
his main line of resistance. Eventually, after butting against impregnable enemy defenses and being
subjected to unusually large concentrations of enemy artillery and tank fire, the attack was repulsed
amid heavy losses. However, the stage had been set for the historical Third Army breakthrough. In the
following days, the 358th Infantry was to reap the benefits of a bloody past in the many victories that
were to come. The battle of the Island of Seves proved to be the last major encounter of the 358th
Infantry in the Normandy hedgerow country.
Normandy Hedgerows
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