On October 24, 1944, at 1000 hours, the push for the mountain village of St. Diè began with the 30th Infantry acting as the lead element entering the Mortagne Forest.[1] Phil’s 3rd Battalion took the lead from the center position.[2]

A cold drizzle and considerable ground fog slowed their advance. Nevertheless, under battalion commander Lieutenant Colonel Richard H. Neddersen, the men found a hole in the enemy lines.

They quickly exploited its discovery, pushing forward and moving east along the ridge of the St. Diè hill mass, followed by the 1st and 2nd Battalions.

By dark, the 3rd Battalion had knifed an 8,000-meter salient[3] into the enemy lines.

The battalion dug in at 1840 hours, prepared to meet possible enemy counterattack, but the enemy was utterly unaware of their presence.[4]

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[1] All the roads from the Moselle River led steadily upward into the thick Vosges’ forests, where the Germans had every conceivable defensive advantage. The steep, wooded hills were rarely traversable by vehicles, even by the lighter American tanks and half-tracks, while the narrow mountain roads were nearly impassible and easily defended. Furthermore, heavy vegetation made it difficult to direct accurate artillery and mortar fire, and impenetrable cloud prevented direct air support. The forests also tended to compartmentalize the battlefield, making it easy for advancing units to become widely separated and vulnerable to infiltration and enemy flanking attacks.

[2] Larimore, At First Light, 157.

[3] A salient, also known as a bulge, is a battlefield feature that projects into enemy territory and is therefore surrounded by the enemy on multiple sides, making the troops occupying the salient vulnerable.

[4] Larimore, At First Light, 157-158.

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