The Company Commander went forward to the 1st Platoon, it was here that It was decided that the Company was probably in the right town but in the wrong section. It was further noted that enemy was withdrawing and had not detected the presence of the 1st Platoon. It was then decided to push the platoon up to the crossroads in hopes of being able to establish a road block, however, this was not accomplished as the next houses were occupied by the enemy most of whom were asleep. Some of these managed to escape, evidently notifying the tankers. It was not long before enemy tanks were firing direct fire from very close range, into the buildings occupied by the 1st Platoon. It was then learned that the Company had only one bazooka, it had been destroyed by the first round that came through the building. The enemy made no effort to move ground troops against the 1st Platoon’s positions, but continued his direct firing into any building that might be occupied by our troops.
It was evident now that the enemy was withdrawing, as there were vehicles and men continuously on the main road moving to the south. Altogether the Company had six buildings in its possession. It was decided to move the 3rd Platoon into the town to help the 1st Platoon hold its initial gain. The 2nd Platoon and the remainder of the Weapons Platoon were to dig in in the area around the cemetery and protect the flanks and rear. The Company at this time did not have contact with either Charlie Co or battalion headquarters knowing that the battalion had some tanks attached to it, the Company Commander decided to take three men and return to the battalion area for these tanks. It was thought that Charlie Co would be contacted on the return trip, however, no contact was
made and Charlie Co wasn’t in the woods where they were last seen. Moving on through the forest the patrol met Lt Col Neilson who was coming forward with a platoon of tanks. After orienting him on the situation he returned to Bihain to notify Regiment, also to try to locate Charlie Co by radio. The Company Commander and patrol returned with the tanks to a defiladed area in the rear of the 2nd Platoon and detailed a squad from the Platoon as close in protection for the tanks. The Tank Platoon was told to keep their position until being told to move. The Company Commander returned to the 1st Platoon area only to find that in his absence that Charlie Co had finally arrived on the scene. The Company Commander had moved the entire Company into the buildings occupied by Able Co.
By now it was around 0600 and the majority of the enemy force had withdrawn to the woods south of town. Their tanks were still firing at the buildings held by our troops. Since the enemy tanks had withdrawn Able Co pushed across the main road and set up a road block that succeeded in stopping the enemy foot elements. By daylight, Able Co had succeeded in clearing all of Charlie Co sector, realizing that the southern edge of the town was the more important. The Charlie Co Commander refused to assist, in any way, the attack on the town, the Company never moved from the buildings they initially occupied. The 2nd Platoon with the mortar section of Able Co was still in the cemetery area. Around 0800, firing broke out in the tank platoon assembly area this firing appeared to be from friendly weapons. On investigating this firing it was found that the tank platoon was moving from its assembly area toward town. As they moved forward they were firing their weapons to the front. The tank cannons were firing into the buildings occupled by friendly troops. The machine guns were raking the entire area.
As the tanks approached the 2nd Platoon area their machine gun fire killed one man and wounded four. As there was no communication with the tanks there was no way in which to stop them. They moved into town in single file, with one tank at the crossroad and stopped, at this moment they were taken under fire by enemy tanks in the edge of the forest about 600 yards south of the town. Four of these tanks were knocked out immediately, the other managed to get under cover behind one of the buildings. As the tanks were moving into town they must have been observed by the enemy. Just at this time enemy artillery began to fall into the town along with direct fire from tanks and self-propelled guns. This barrage was one of the most terrific that Able Co had ever encountered. This fire also was very accurate. This put both companies in a cross fire, the enemy from the south and friendly tanks from the northwest. Movement of any kind in the town was now impossible. The enemy fire continued until after the four tanks had been knocked out. After that, terrific barrages, came at irregular intervals throughout the day. This artillery greatly hampered the movements of Able Co and it wasn’t until 1120 that all buildings had been cleared and contact made with the 329-IR.
This contact was made with a patrol from the 2/329-IR. At 1300, January 12, 1945, the town of Langlire was officially reported to Division Headquarters as being cleared of all enemy troops. At 1400, the 2/329-IR relieved the 1st Battalion of responsibility of the defense of Langlire. The Battalion remained in the town awaiting its next mission. Evacuation of the wounded had been impossible sines there was no means available to do so. The aid station being in Bihain was over 2000 yards away. No litter bearers were made available to the assault companies and the only medical personnel present were the aid men with the Company. These aid men did a wonderful job with their limited amount of supplies, they had to carry morphine syrettes under their arm pits to keep them from freezing.
Able Co had thirty-four wounded men in Langlire that could not be evacuated due to the intense artillery fire from the enemy. These men weren’t evacuated until late in the afternoon and then by an armored ambulance borrowed from an armored unit in the area. Casualties for Able Co for this operation was thirty-five wounded, one killed. Several men were evacuated within the next 84 hours due to exhaustion, frozen feet and hands.
