Evening star., 1943-11-28
.Yanks in Farmhouse
Defeat Nazi Patrol in
:Frontier-Like Fight
BY DON WHITEHEAD,


: WITH THE 5th ARMY AT FOR
NELLI, Italy, Nov. "a Delayed -
The battle of the house" was one of
those savage, isolated fights which
characterize present operations along
; the Germans touted winter lines
one Of many partrol skirmishes In
which Americans excelled.
The battle site was q three-story
stone farmhouse in a muddy field
, between the little towns of Rochetta
and New Rochetta. The action oc-
Cured a week ago. But troops in
the rainswept hills were still talk
ing about it today.
TWenty-four Germans caught IL
Americans in 'the house" For
three-and-a-half hours the Ameri-
cans fought like their pioneer fore
bears fought when their cabins were
besieged by Indians. When the fight
Ing ended only four Nazis were alive.
Not One Escaped.
Because Of fights like that one"
said 1t. Fordyce Gorham of Will
Transport. Pa. German officers is
sued orders that there were to be
no more patrols into our territory.
We gobbled them all up on three
straight nights. We captured or
killed every man in four enemy
patrols. Not a man got away. That
sort of discouraged them"
In this fight, a young lieutenant
led his reconnaissance patrol of II
y,oep touorJ tho Garroor 1i,,a rT,ov
had tommyguns. pistols, knives
and grenades.
The lieutenant's name cannot be
told. He is dead now. But he had
accounted for a German officer, sew
eral of that officers men and an
Italian traitor.
AS his men slipped into enemy
territory, they saw Germans ap-
preaching from Rochetta. Then they
saw others coming toward them
from New Rochetta. and third
bunch from another direction. Out
numbered two to one, they slipped
into the farm house, hoping to re-
main undetected so that they could
continue scouting.
Italian Reported Them.
But an Italian civilian had seen
them He led the Germans to the
house.
The enemy surrounded the place
and the German officer and the
italian came up and knocked on the
door," said Sergt. Henry S. Furst of
Ephrata, Pa. When no one an
swered they kicked the door in and
then the lieutenant opened fire. He
killed the German officer and the
Italian. That's when the battle
began"
The lieutenant and his men re-
treated up the steps to the second
and third floors to wage one of the
strangest scraps yet fought in this
campaign.
Some Germans set up machine
gun and sprayed the house while
others tried to get in. Every time
they tried they met burst from a
tommygun.
They lobbed conclusion grenades
through the windows. When a
grenade would fall into one room
the Americans would rush into an
other. wait out the explosion, then
rush back to toss grenades at the
enemy.
Tossed Grenade at Nazis.
One German detail was throwing
grenades from a blind spot beneath
a window.
III take care Of the devils" the
lieutenant said.
He leaned out the window and
threw a grenade into their midst,
but before he could duck back in
side a bullet ripped through his
skull. He fell back dead
Sergt. Donald B. Greaber of Salt
Lake City, Utah, took command, and
the fight went on.
AS its intensity increased, Sergt.
Theodore Bachenheimer of Holly
wood, Calf, volunteered to try to
escape and go for reinforcements. .
He dashed out and ran through
hail of enemy fire.
But when Sergt. Bachenheimer
and reinforcements arrived, Sergt. /.
Greaber and his men had everything
under control. The battle of the
house" was over. The Germans
had been caught in their own trap.