| All bridges across the Kyll had been destroyed by the
retreating enemy. Thickly wooded hills on the other side of the stream
commanded all approaches to the Kyll, and earth entrenchments were visible
even through the rain and mist. The weather, however, was proving a handicap
to the enemy as well as to the 90th, for the foxholes and the
trenches soon were flooded and rendered untenable for the Germans. Late in the evening of the 5th, elements of the 357th forded the Kyll River, meeting scattered small arms fire of negligible importance. On the following day other units of the Division affected crossings and continued their advance. Gerolstein, strategically important enemy marshaling yard and former American POW (Prisoner of War) camp, was taken by the 358th after a brief fight in which five enemy tanks were routed. (As an added historical note, it is interesting to observe that during the 90th's occupational duty at the conclusion of World War I, Gerolstein was the location of the 358th Regiment's Command Post, the same regiment which was destined, more than a quarter of a century later, to recapture the city). By this time the rout of the enemy was reaching staggering proportions. Everywhere the Germans were encountered they were found eager to surrender to the victorious Americans. Disorganized and thoroughly confused, the enemy troops were unaware of the magnitude of the disaster which had overtaken them. They knew only that their lines had been broken in a thousand places, and through the sieve was pouring the irresistible might of American arms. The 4th Armored Division had reached the banks of the Rhine River in its epic breakthrough, and now the 11th Armored was assigned the mission of passing through the 90th and smashing in similar fashion through the Eifel Hills to that river. The 90th's bridgehead over the Kyll had been expanded to a depth of eight kilometers, an ample springboard for an armored thrust. And still the doughboys forged ahead. Mounted on tanks and tank destroyers, they rode roughshod over roadblocks and scattered enemy resistance. The 359th encountered an enemy force of about 200 in Waldkonigen, and here, for a change, the Germans offered a pitched battle. The fight developed into a house-to-house slugging match lasting most of the night, and ended with the complete subjugation of the defenders. The 90th Reconnaissance Troops ranged almost at will as far east as Kelberg, capturing prisoners and equipment with unprecedented ease. Following in the wake of the 11th Armored, the 90th rapidly swept all within its zone. With fantastic speed the advance continued. POWs (Prisoners of War) clogged the roads, they poured out of the woods begging to be taken. Villages and towns flew white flags of surrender. In many cases, the German villagers themselves drove the German soldiers into the woods rather than risk the destruction of their homes. Slave laborers, freed from bondage by the liberating Americans, cheered and wept as they saw the white-starred vehicles of the Third Army racing toward a victory which could not for long be denied them. |
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