The 3rd Platoon would not advance north of the main road unless ordered. CP would be with the 3rd Platoon. Meanwhile, Lt Falconieri’s 1st Platoon would follow the line of olive trees completely around to the rear of the town, moving across its eastern exit to the railroad tracks. Here they would turn about and using the tracks as the platoon’s left boundary, deploy on a hundred-yard front facing toward Gafsa. Whether to use squad columns or skirmishers was a decision to be made by the platoon leader.

The 1st Platoon would then walk slowly westward, taking what they met. Arriving at the railroad station, Falconieri would shoot a green flare and call the 3rd Platoon to lift fire if that was necessary. The 1st Platoon would then continue their attack through the northern half of the town, moving beyond to the Gafsa road, thence to the waiting trucks. Withdrawal time at 0400 would be signaled from company headquarters. A series of colored flares would be fired. Possibly another reason for this complicated maneuvering was the fact that the several suspected enemy positions had not been exactly spotted; and without definitely known landmarks, it was unlikely that they could be located in the dark. Therefore, since the 3rd Platoon was expected to rouse the enemy first, an opportunity would be afforded to the 1st Platoon to spot enemy guns by sound and flash from the rear. In short, the 1st Platoon might achieve the second stage of surprise provided that it got into position by the railroad station in good order.

As a general rule within the company, for control purposes, it was agreed that the men would be instructed to guide themselves on recognizable bursts from their squad BAR’S, and by means of squad leaders’ tracer ammunition. With this in mind, only squad leaders were to carry tracers. As sign and countersign, the words which the 1-ID had used at Oran were used; Hi Ho Silver Away. These were the main outlines of the attack order given to the platoon leaders and key non-commissioned officers of Love Co in the French barracks at Gafsa. It was then about 1745. Forty-five minutes remained before departure time. The subordinate leaders started to leave the room when two strange men entered. They looked like Red Cross workers at first sight. One of them had a beard.

What the hell do you want? the CC barked. Then he simmered down. He noticed their green armbands and their shoulder patches which read – War Correspondent. I’m Jack Thompson, Chicago Tribune the bearded man said, and this is Donald Coe of United Press. We’d like to get a story from you tomorrow when you get back.

The CC felt his heart leap. Here it was, the big opportunity for real fame. American newspapers! Headlines! Just exactly what Love Co needed! He mustered up every trick of politeness he had ever learned. To these two strange men who represented the power of the press, he offered cigarettes, chairs, and even a drink from a precious, bottle he’d been hiding from his best friends.

He even obliged by promising them a roaster of Love Co, complete with names and addresses. Turning to the little group of Love Co men and officers present, the Company CO said: Let the men know about this too. Unless he was very much mistaken, it would be good for morale.

The Raid

Soldiers eating rations in their Kubelwagen. Note the palm tree/swastika stencil on the doorThe column started out of Gafsa on schedule at 1830 on the night of Dec 16. The weather was good, clear, and cool. The stars were already out and there would be a moon later on. The men were in high spirits but quietly took their places in the trucks. It would be a long ride. The CO rode in the front seat of the leading GMC 2.5-ton truck. He was in the 5th or last truck. For mile after mile, the column churned along the sandy road, past Station Zannouch, and finally past our last outpost at Sened. The black line of the railroad track which paralleled the route and the looming shadows of the mountains to the south served as comforting guides. Otherwise, the road might have been indistinguishable from the rest of the flat, scrub-covered desert. Behind every clump of cactus and in each wadi, it seemed that the enemy was waiting in ambush. The closer the trucks came to Maknassy, the louder the motors whined. Shifting gears seemed to accentuate a noisy warning which rang out for miles ahead of the raiding party. Just how far the sound of the motors carried that night, the CO never knew; but he was glad that a detrucking point several miles short of the objective had been chosen.

At 2230, after four hours of nerve-wracking inaction inside the lumbering vehicles, the troops detrucked in the shadows of an olive grove near la Ferme Lovy. They formed in a column of two’s for the foot march. Col Bowen came up to the CO at this time and asked if an officer had been brought along to take the trucks back to the rendezvous point.

This little item had been forgotten, so the battalion commander decided to take this job on himself, though he had wanted to go along with the Company. Over the route which they had followed the night of the 14, Sgt Harming, Sgt De Cristo, and the French sergeant led the company column toward the Lovy Fram. Incidentally, Henning spoke German, De Cristo Italian, and the French soldier knew both French and Arabic; so that the point of the advancing party was on challenging terms with any of the languages it might run into. M. Lovy had dogs, and as the company moved into his backyard, they barked and yowled. M. Lovy woke up and opened his front door. He was forced to invite the Love Co CO and several other soldiers inside. There were Italian troops in Maknassy, M. Lovy said. Some Italian officers had been to his place that afternoon. They had carried away three barrels of wine. He was unable to give any other coherent information. One of the men found his telephone and cut the wire. He was then permitted to go back to bed. It was still three miles to Maknassy. The company started up again across the open. By this time, the moon was brighter and dogs barked louder.

The column reached the big olive grove and kept moving in along its northern border. Suddenly, the moonlit grayness of the desert on the left gave way to the unmistakable lines of buildings. They had white plaster walls. There were cactus hedges and trees. Except for the dogs who could now be heard barking in the town, not a sound could be heard. It looked pretty peaceful and quiet, in contrast with the tension, suspense, and suppressed excitement of the attacking force. The 1st Platoon kept on marching and disappeared. The 3rd Platoon moved toward the nearest building, thence along the walls and fences in a northwesterly direction as planned. There was a fairly distinct line to follow. The 3rd Platoon was kept in a single file about 35 yards out from the buildings. It was exactly 0130 when things began to happen. Lt Megrail suddenly found himself staring into a hole filled with sleeping men. The dugout was about 15 feet square surrounded by stone bricks piled about waist high. It looked like an old covered-up well. At his feet, Megrail saw a heavy machine gun all set up. Alongside it, a belt of ammunition curled around the tripod; the new cartridges gleamed in the moonlight.

One of the sleeping men woke up and poked his head over the wall. He came face to face with one of Megrail’s men and let out a shriek. The American soldier shot him. The dugout became alive with men, jabbering Italian. Someone magnanimously threw a grenade among them. About 25 yards away, another enemy machine-gun post was aroused. It was located at the corner of a building in a clump of bush. The 3rd Platoon column had already come abreast of it and would have missed it if the companion gun had not been run into. This group was quickly rushed by members of the 3rd squad. Half a dozen Italian soldiers surrendered here without a shot being fired. By this time, however, at least four other machine guns had opened up some distance away, north of the road. An AT gun started to shoot down the road toward Gafsa. The bright tracers illuminated the road. Within a few minutes, the enemy must have realized the stone dugout had been taken, because they smartly shifted their fire to this flank. It was too high to do any damage.

The 3rd Platoon moved quickly over to the shelter of the nearest building. No enemy fire could be heard from the east. The 3rd Platoon and Hqs Co were bunched up wondering what to do next. The CO looked for Lt Megrail and found him still out by the stone dugout. He was trying to work the Italian machine gun, but without success. The CO tried to operate it but quickly gave up because he hadn’t had the least idea how it worked. Megrail and the Company Commander also discussed how the enemy weapon could be destroyed since it was too heavy to carry away. They couldn’t solve that one either. The squads of the 3rd Platoon were dispatched into the town with orders to take the first left and move up to the main street according to plan. The 2nd squad was ordered to make a similar shift beyond that. The 3rd squad was to contact the 1st Platoon. Within its limitations, this part of the plan worked out fairly well. The 3rd Platoon moved through the streets in its assigned area. The 2nd squad surprised a mortar section in action inside a courtyard surrounded by a high wall. The 1st squad destroyed an AT position by means of a rifle grenade and BAR fire at close range. Several more prisoners were taken and sent to the company CP, which had been established near the gun positions first overrun. The 3rd squad made contact with the 1st Platoon at the railroad station at about 0830. By this time also, Lt Megrail had managed to organize his platoon along the main street facing north.

Enemy machine guns continued to fire from positions that appeared to be about 200 yards north of the road. Had 60-MM mortars been available, an effective fire might have been directed at the gun flashes of the enemy machine guns and even the AT guns. The muzzle flash of one AT gun was plainly visible. It was evident that Maknassy had not been built in a way to convenience strangers on a night raid. There were all kinds of courtyards and alley-ways. The buildings were odd sizes built at all angles. They were two-story and one story. Cactus hedges were everywhere. To make control even more difficult, the moon disappeared behind clouds after 0300, but Love Co was having the time of its life. That is unusual in modern war. Jubilant cries of ‘Silver’ could be heard all over Maknassy. Bursting grenades, sporadic rifle fire, and tracers made it look like the Fourth of July. Meanwhile, the 1st Platoon was having a similar field day on the far side of town. Soon after the 3rd Platoon became engaged, contact was established using the SCR- 536 radios. The CO was able to get a running account of the 1st Platoon action. The 1st Platoon had come around exactly as planned. They found a truck parked near the road, they killed or drove the drivers and guards away, all of whom were asleep.

At 0200, the 1st Platoon reached the railroad station, keeping into a single file as they had not yet been discovered. At this time, they could see the enemy fire being directed at the 3rd Platoon from the positions northwest of the station. They were about 35 yards from the station when several men were seen leaving it in a northerly direction. A BAR opened up on this group and killed two Italians. The others disappeared in the dark toward the enemy position. The 1st squad of the 1st Platoon rapidly came up to the station. Falconieri yelled in Italian. Ten men came out with their hands up. Falconieri left one squad at the station and with his remaining squad started following the enemy up the path just west of the station. A stream of fire came at him down the path, wounding two men. The enemy had been alerted to the presence of the 1st Platoon in the area of the station. Falconieri spent about 30 minutes trying to get his bearings on the enemy guns. But the terrain was unfamiliar.

Northwest of the station, he observed, it rose slightly and was covered with random olive trees and cactus patches. It was very dark. In addition to enemy fire, there was also a lot of wildfire coming from the 3rd Platoon area. Although Love Co men should have been able to recognize the sound of their own rifles and BAR, their tendency was to look and listen for any weapon, then shoot. Under these circumstances, Falconieri called the Company CO at 0300. One hour remained before withdrawal time. He wanted to know whether it would be feasible to shoot his green flare and continue the attack as it had been planned.

Falconieri was able to get the first sergeant and Lt Megrail, but not the Company Commander. The latter, not to be outdone in cowboy tactics, had started for the 1st Platoon with his runner. He had no radio. By the time he reached the station, it was 0330. Falconieri, meanwhile, after a talk with Megrail, had decided not to cross the front of the 3rd Platoon. If the 1st Platoon were to walk west along the tracks, it would not only miss the enemy positions but would certainly be fired on by the 3rd Platoon.

To try a coordinated attack farther to the north against the indefinitely located enemy positions, furthermore, would be fruitless at that late hour. For these reasons, Falconieri decided to assemble his platoon and rejoin the 3rd Platoon. This itself was a difficult job in the dark. At any rate, the 1st Platoon moved out in a single file at 0325, preceded by scouts and with complete flank security to guard against being mistaken by the 3rd Platoon. This proved to be about as hazardous as it might have been if they had marched west along the tracks. But it was accomplished without anyone getting hurt. At 0330, the Company Commander arrived at the railroad station to find no one there. He was baffled. Frantically, he searched around to no avail, then hurried back to his CP, where he should have remained.

Promptly at 0400, Love Co departed from Maknassy in good order. The withdrawal was made via the route of entry. About 15 men were not accounted for but showed up along the road to be picked up during the early morning hours. Everyone got a ride back, including 21 prisoners. It was fortunate that Col Bowen had taken charge of the transportation. AT fire had destroyed the jeep which acted as security, and the GMC 2.5 ton truck drivers required a little persuasion to wait for the riflemen who came in piecemeal during the first hour of daylight. Almost all of the ground from Maknassy to Gafsa is flat, except for occasional wadis. The prospect of a four-hour ride back in daylight was bothersome. But three P-40s from Thelepte flew over at daylight to escort the trucks back. These planes also helped to complete the enemy’s confusion in Maknassy by bombing and strafing the place at 0600.

The return to Gafsa was in sharp contrast to the tense ride the night before. The sun came out, bright and hot. The P-40 pilots buzzed the column, exchanging greetings with the troops. The men were now relaxed, happy, and satisfied with their night’s work. The open, desolate landscape and the jagged, towering mountains to the south held no mysteries. As they talked of Maknassy, they thought of it as their own special town. The surprise and terror which they had inflicted on the enemy became the butt of their jokes. Their individual exploits and snafus started to build up the fantastic picture which was to become a Love Co tradition. By the late afternoon, when the conquerors returned through the crowded streets of Gafsa, this picture had taken shape, compounded of both fact and imagination. The war correspondents interviewed the men while they were having chow. The battalion commander praised every man individually. Col Raff was pleased. He sent a message to Algiers immediately. The French were ecstatic; they threw a party for the battalion staff. Love Co remained in Gafsa, and the battalion came down from Feriana. There was no question now about the morale of Love Co. The Maknassy exploit had carried them to the top. Their prestige within the battalion was assured.



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