222 Infantry Regiment (USA) four hills captured
At 1900 on March 21 close support aircraft, P-47's, divebombed and strafed the fortifications in front of the 222nd Infantry and that was followed
by a half-hour artillery preparation. Men sat and ciouched in their foxholes and watched the planes and artillery pour their fire into the Siegfried and
prayed that the bombing and the shelling would at least so stun the Germans that they would put up little fight. Artillery shells had little effect upon
the forts but the bombs put cracks in them and certainly the men inside would feel that every minute would be their last.
At 1945 the bombing and shelling stopped and the men of the 222nd Infantry began their advance. They were tense and nervous and they had every right to be. Some of the forts were damaged, but many others were still intact. If the enemy manned the guns they could still put up a terrific fight. But the Germans didn't fight. Some of them had already started to run. Some cowered in their pillboxes and quickly surrendered. There were a few snipers and a couple of machine guns opened fire but they didn't even delay the advance.
The 222nd made its attack with the 1st Battalion on the left and the 2nd on the right. The 3rd Battalion followed the 2nd. The four hills overlooking the Saarbach River were captured without difficulty and the regiment raced ahead through the night to its secondary objective.