After the breakout, Task Force S steam-rolled through the countryside. When resistance was met, the task force reduced or contained the enemy before moving on, leaving the rest to the division’s mop-up regiments. In this fashion, the task force continued south along the Vire River, finally contacting the 29th Infantry Division at La Touberie.
Mortain
In August 1944, the division was on its way to Brittany to join the Allied attack there when suddenly a German counterattack struck Mortain. The Santa Fe division rushed to help the embattled 30th Infantry Division. Time and supplies were running out for the Old Hickory men trapped on Hill 314, so the 35th launched a bold rescue mission.
While 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the 320th Infantry Regiment attacked from the west, 1st Battalion mounted its infantry on the back of the 737th Tank Battalion and attacked in a wide flanking move to the south. The two attacks met and took the base of the hill and successfully relieved the Old Hickory battalion on Hill 314.
More on the Battle for Mortain...
With Patton
The 35th joined the Third Army and supported Patton’s advance across France. Its adaptation as a reasonably motorised unit helped it keep pace with Patton’s advance to Lorraine and Belgium, where the division would once again be asked to help relieve an embattled US bastion in Bastogne.
|