The Boche still had power and fighting strength as testified by the charred American vehicles at the
outskirts of every town and in front of every strong-point. And the lightning advance of the 712th – as
part, of what General Patton subsequently lauded as “the outstanding pursuit of World War II” – was
made possible and effective only by other units whose mission was to hold the by-passed and half-
encircled Heines who were pressing at all points to cut off the forward elements. The success of this
racing drive was still uncertain and danger was present in the rear as much as in the front as evidenced
by the march of the 712th Trains on the road from MAYENNE to LE MANS where they unwittingly
passed some 1500 yards in front of the huge German force which several hours later cut the road and
made the furious assault at MORTAIN in an effort to sever the American forces. The tankers had also
shared in the joy of the celebrating and liberated French people who lined every road, bedecking the
vehicles with flowers, heaving apples and tomatoes, offering champagne and wine, cheering and waving
their gratefulness, and writing with chalk on the sides of the tanks: “Vive Les Americains!”; “Merci
Beaucoup!”. Bivouac areas were no longer small fields laboriously gained and immediately burrowed
into; they became mere resting places in which the tankers hurriedly assembled, gassed up, and while
catching a few winks, listened to old “Bedcheck Charlie” as he droned overhead sounding more like a
washing machine than a member of the once invincible Luftwaffe.
The 3rdArmy’s VIIth Corps had cut the Brittany peninsula and was moving on BREST. The
rest of the 3rd Army was racing east toward CHARTRES. The 712th was part of the extreme left flank
of the 3rd Army, closely linked with the 1st Army which was now driving toward the British, Canadians
and Poles who were pounding south with juncture as the objective. And the German 7th Army was
desperately trying to avoid this trap, sounding out all thinly held Allied positions. It was in the process
of being crushed in the FALAISE-ARGENTAN Gap and was now directing all energies toward running
its units through the last escape route: the two highways extending northeast from ARGENTAN. One
went to TRUN and one to LE BOURG ST. LEONARD, both angling off to join at CHAMBOIS from
which two other main highways opened up to the north and east.
The campaign which began on 11 August with the advance north from LE MANS and
culminated with the juncture of American and British forces north of CHAMBOIS will forever be
regarded as one of the most brilliant episodes in the Battle of France. The 90th Div. with its attached
712th commenced the action in a support role but later became a prime factor in its success. For 3 days
they closely followed the 2nd French Armd., consolidating the French gains and sealing off all possible
escape routes through ALENCON and SEES. After relieving the 5th Armd. northeast of the latter town,
they took the initiative and pushed forward aggressively. Seizing LE BOURG they stood firm against
repeated attempts by the Deutschland Regt. to break through and they beat that unit to its knees. Using
LE BOURG as a pivot they swung quickly to the northwest, outflanking resistance on the LE BOURG-
CHAMBOIS Road, captured CHAMBOIS and its surrounding high ground. From there they set the
greatest ambush of the war and maintained that ambush against all counterattacks.
The 712th was in this decisive and climactic battle from start to finish, frequently playing a key,
if not the main, role. 90th Div. Operational Reports understandably concerned with the exploits of its
own glorious doughs pay unusual and generous tribute to the tankers. They may be quoted at random : –
At LE BOURG: “A … German attack threatened to envelop (our forces). Prompt and aggressive action,
however, on the part of the supporting tanks … neutralized the … enveloping force.”; “At one time an
attempted German envelopment temporarily cut off elements (of our forces) … But effective work by
the attached tanks … eliminated this threat.” At CHAMBOIS: “Recognizing this serious threat to their
line of retreat the Boche attacked … from both flanks and forced the right … backward … Tanks were
sent to assist this unit … and the situation was restored.”; “(Our forces were) struck … by a column of
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