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358th made the assault behind a well-conceived artillery
preparation. The attack was foredoomed to failure, however, for with the
exception of the Island comparative quiet reigned all along the Normandy
front. This allowed all enemy artillery within range to concentrate its fire
on one focal point... the assaulting troops of the 90th. The
"incoming mail" was accurate and demoralizing. Never before had the Division
been subjected to such sustained massed fire. Machine gun fire and mortars
from the southern banks of the Sèves added their weight of fire and
succeeded in delaying the attack. That delay enabled the enemy to estimate correctly the situation and to draw more troops to the point of attack. A sheet of impenetrable fire was placed across the Sèves. Yet elements of one company braved the fire and landed on the southern banks. Lacking reinforcements, however, they soon withdrew. In the afternoon the 1st Battalion forced a crossing of the Sèves, overcame immediate resistance, and drove deep into the Island. But a man with a rifle is no match for a tank. The 90th's armor waited impatiently for a bridge across the Sèves, but the German artillery and mortars successfully denied the Engineers the opportunity to throw a bridge across the river. In the evening the fire had become so intense that only one company of the 2nd Battalion was able to effect a crossing to support the troops now isolated on the Island. That night a violent counterattack consisting of armor and crack parachute troops was repulsed on the Island. Everything had gone wrong, and to make matters even worse, a dense fog had descended on the area denying the use of liaison planes for vitally needed observation. The following morning came more misfortune. The Sèves overflowed its banks. That, together with the intense enemy fire, continued to deny the 90th's armor a bridge across the river. A new enemy counter-attack on the Island itself succeeded in disorganizing the marooned elements on the far banks. Only limited quantities of ammunition and supplies could be furnished the assaulting troops across the flooded river. In the face of such decided obstacles, both man-made and natural, an immediate withdrawal was definitely indicated. Many escaped the trap by swimming the Sèves. Others failed to reach the river and were captured by the enemy. The battle for the Island was ended. Nowhere, except in this one instance, has the 90th Division in its combat history, failed to take its assigned objective. But nowhere in its history has any military organization exhibited greater devotion to duty than did those who, despite insuperable odds, drove forward into the ill-fate campaign of Sèves.
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Ever since D-Day, the 90th, together with all other Divisions in the invading forces, had suffered from lack of "elbow room". Fenced into a narrow |
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