Evening star., 1944-07-18
BY THOMAS r. HENRY,
Star War Correspondent.

WITH UNITED STATE FORCES
IN NORMANDY, July l8.-The
French call 1t Les Hauts Vents-the
high winds. 1t is 4 400-foot hill
northwest of St. Lo. On its bare
summit infantry with tanks drawn
up to form a gigantic horseshoe
stood isolated for six days with con-
stant mortar and artillery pro-
jectiles falling like rain. Through
those six days they fought of fire.
quent counterattacks by a crack
German Panzer division.
This hill constituted the Ameri-
can strong point in German terri
tory around which American in
fantry could move as a pivot In the
st. Lo encircling movement.
The enemy was deployed to the
south, east and west. There was a
wide space between the Americans
to the north and the defenders of
the hill.
Our tanks. with foot soldiers act
ing as their eyes and ears, took the
height in face of bitter opposition
from Germans armed with bazookas S
and grenades and in the face of
150-caliber cannon pouring pro-
jectiles from high ground to the
south.
The German defenders of the
hill had already beaten of four in
fantry attacks
RarraSe PrAr>d>N Attack
AS our tanks ascended the hill
they were preceded by terrific bar
rage. Each farmhouse was a Ger
man strongpoint. Our tanks re-
duced each farmhouse with a tech
nique peculiar to this division. A
tank first would shoot an armor-
piercing 75-mm shell through the
wall OF the house. 1t would follow
that with a round of high explosive
through the breach to raze the
building. Then a round of white
PHOSPHORUS would set it on fire,
driving out any OF the enemy still
alive.
The crest seemed at first too hot
to hold. Our forces found better
shelter on the northern and south
ern slopes.
The colonel in command, display
ing shell-fragment hole through
his trousers, told me how he and a
sergeant and private occupied a
precarious position on the summit
in deep foxhole with a tank for a
roof. They took turns on guard the
first night. After the second night
the infantry advanced. covering one
flank and making the position less
precarious.
The loss of this hill was serious to
the Germans as it is one of the
important keys to st. Lo. Frequent
efforts to regain it were beaten OF
Atop this hill is 4 high stone
tower. The colonel believed the
Germans had observers there. He
radioed for a demolition squad OF
engineers.
Daring Sortie Skaters Tower.
The response was one OF the most
daring exploits of the siege. A
group of engineers led by 1t. George
Connolly OF Springfield, N. j., and
Seret. Leon Suprenant of Van
Nance, Ill.,, made its way cross
country through enemy territory at
2:30 am. carrying load of TINT
with which they shattered the tower
at down.
A sortie behind enemy lines with
tanks alone. led by 1t. Col. Roswell
King of Uxbridge, Mass, recalls
Civil War cavalry raids and German
penetrations in the Battle of France
In 1910. The tanks swept down
sunken roads lined with hedges
their turrets whirling wildly as they
sprayed the countryside with shells.
The disabled tank of Capt. George
Stallings of Haddock, Ga, former
Southern Association professional
baseball player. halted in the road
Ahead was German flame thrower
mounted on a half-track and spurt-
ing fire.
Capt. Stallings hit the ditch. A
German erenadier escorting the
haf-track jumped into the same
ditch to avoid the flames. Fol
two minutes Capt. Stallings lay
under the German, pretending tc
be dead. The flame thrower passed
and the German rose with a snort OF
disguest at having lain on a corpse
Sara 0f One Tank
All in one tank crew were killed
or wounded except Corpl. Dwaine
Morris of Gernia, Nebr. The tank
turret jammed. The enemy was on
all sides. Trapped in a sunken road
maneuvering was impossible. The
drivers view was cut of. Corpl