On 25th Nov. we displaced about 3000 yards to a position south of the town of Borg. The
weather continued to be inclement and we left the Motor Pool and Supply sections at Pen. We were
subject to counter battery fire and remained in these positions for 2 days.
We moved on Nov. 27th in a long move across the German border, to the town of Feurange, a
French town, about ten miles SE of our previous position. This was a move which changed the
employment of the Combat Team to which we were attached. We stayed in these positions about 5 days
and had a chance to clean our equipment and check the Battery for trench foot of which we had no
cases.
On Dec. 1st we moved to the vicinity of Fürweiler. This town is just inside Germany – in fact
some of the gun sections were only a scant 100 yards from France. The weather was turning cold, and
we had some difficulty with out trucks. On Dec. 2nd two men, Pfc. Pellegrin and Pvt. Haney who had
been evacuated months previous, were returned to duty. Also on that day we observed large scale air
attacks by B-26 American bombers. One was hit by German AA fire, and crashed in our area. All of the
crew were seen to parachute to safety.
We moved under blackout on Dec. 4th to Guisingen to positions to support the Division’s Saar
River crossing. We received some of the heaviest concentrations of counter battery fire ever experienced
by us in this position. We had no casualties, but adjoining units had several. The 1st platoon had several
shells hit within a few feet of their gun emplacements
We had our first snowfall on Dec. 8th, a light flurry in the early evening. The weather was
constantly cold and we had another snowfall on Dec. 10th. On Dec. 12th we moved two half-tracks, B-
11 and B-12 to the ferrying site to provide AA protection. The shelling at that point was heavy and both
sections dug in. We furnished a carrying detail of 1 officer and 10 men to the 357th Infantry to carry
food and ammunition to troops across the Saar. We furnished details for the same mission for the next
three nights of 5 men and 1 officer, 10 men, and 5 men each. It was rough going – the men were
subjected to small arms, machine gun and mortar fire as well as artillery fire, and were often up to their
waist in the icy waters of the Saar. We were commended by the Division for this assistance. We carried
quite of bit of maintenance on in this area – checking and servicing all the 1st platoon guns.
On Dec. 17th we heard the news of the German counteroffensive in the 1st Army sector. We
received very little information on it. The weather was cloudy and cold, but we noticed the increase of
air activity by both sides in spite of it. We engaged several FW 190’s which were on reconnaissance
missions, but scored no hits, as they were very high. On Dec. 20th nine of our men were transferred to
the 90th Infantry Division, to be trained and then join an infantry unit. They were Pfc. Squibb, and Pvts.
Duchene, Bala, Nunez, Pagano, Colburn, Todd, Thomas and Musselman.
We moved Dec. 22nd during a mild snowstorm to set up defense around artillery units of the
division which were withdrawn from Dillingen to set up a defensive line further north. The 1st platoon
set up around the 241st FA Bn, in the vicinity of Biringen, Germany, and the 2nd Platoon and Battery
Headquarters stayed with the 344th FA Battalion, once again in France, vicinity of Flatten. Christmas
was spent in this position. We had a traditional dinner of turkey. It was interrupted by aircraft – 2 P-47’s
which bombed and strafed near us. We gave signals, but they persisted in attacking and we opened fire,
driving them off. It was not known if the pilots were friendly or enemy. We made plans in this position
to occupy alternates, and prepared them. This was built from a delaying plan of the division.
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