242 Infantry Regiment (USA) attack west of Ludwigswinkel
The 242nd Infantry was given a mission of attacking through the 232nd to the west of Ludwigswinkel at a reported weak spot (FV: exact location?) in the line, and then to proceed northward to capture the secondary defenses. If necessary, the 242nd Infantry was to swing in a semicircle to the east to assault the West Wall pillboxes from the rear in the 222nd Infantry area should that regiment be unable to overcome them. As it developed, this was not necessary. The attack was to be opened by the 222nd Infantry on March 21 and to be followed by the 242nd Infantry just prior to dawn the following morning.
Following a half-hour artillery preparation the 242nd Infantry attacked across the Saarbach River at 0430 the following morning with the First and
Third Battalions abreast and the Second in reserve. By 1045 the regiment had advanced to Hill 542 and entered the secondary defenses of the Sieg-
fried. It found them unoccupied and then swung its attack to the northeast and east with an objective to take the high ground immediately north of the town of Dahn.
Now the Germans were on the run and here was the opportunity to catch them on the roads and in the mountains and cut them off before they could make their escape.
This was the day when the 42nd Division Artillery came to the fore. Enemy troops and vehicles were jamming the roads. Horse-drawn enemy artillery was attempting to escape. The Germans were fleeing in trucks and cars and carts.
Over them buzzed the planes of the Division artillery air section, locating targets and directing file not only of the Division guns but of the entire
VI Corps artillery. In addition, they located targets beyond artillery range and directed P-47's to them.
Throughout that day and night the guns of the artillery poured death upon the Germans. Never before had they fired so many observed fire missions and never again did they equal the record. They wiped out whole columns of Germans and littered the roads with dead men and horses and vehicles, wagons and equipment. Four enemy 105-mm. and 150-mm. artillery battalions together with all equipment were totally destroyed. One of them was hit on the road and the others smashed while still in position.
Infantrymen who experienced German shelling saw the destruction wrought by our own guns and knew that the Nazis had nothing to compare with our artillery.