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| At nightfall the Battalion's ranks were thinned
and weakened but its lines held firm. In the zone of the 358th, the 1st Battalion succeeded in reaching the vital crossroad north of Saint-Jores. In its attempt to take the village itself it encountered a fierce infantry-tank attack which forced it back to the crossroad. All day long the battle raged, with Saint-Jores the contested prize. When evening came, the Battalion had made Saint-Jores American. On the left, the 2nd Battalion made good progress at first, but a strong Boche counterattack, led by tanks, blunted the momentum of the advance and forced a gap between the 1st and 2nd Battalions. In the face of never-ceasing fire, however, the gains were successfully consolidated. The 3rd Battalion was thrown into the battle at noon in order to drive the enemy from the village of Les Sablons, where their counterattack had carried them, and also to close the breach between the 1st and 2nd Battalions. By nightfall, after repelling another determined counterattack, its mission had been completed. During the first day, against the bitterest of resistance, the 90th Division had chalked an average gain of 1,200 yards along its front. If there had been doubt before as to the enemy's disposition and strength within the Division zone, there was none that night. The cards were on the table. It was going to be a fight to the finish, no holds barred, everything goes. That night the Division was constantly harassed by enemy fire. From Hill 122 out positions had been observed and checked and plotted. Mortars and artillery swept the new front lines and rear areas, making the problem of supply a perilous business. There were fireworks aplenty on the Fourth of July, but the 90th eked out small gains in spite of almost insuperable obstacles and direct observation from the hill. Counterattack succeeded counterattack, and always the incessant barrages took heavy toll. Nevertheless, by nightfall the villages of Les Belles Croix and La Butte had been taken, and lines had moved forward again. The third day of battle was a repetition of the preceding two. The fighting continued to be savage, no quarter given or asked. The 357th was committed to action with the mission of attacking south through Beau-Coudray. Furious resistance, typical of that met along the entire front, was encountered immediately, and the attack halted 500 yards short of its goal. But on the third day one battalion had shattered Mont Castre's perimeter defenses and succeeded in reaching the high ground on the north side of the Fort itself. |
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