“90th Pulls a Fast One: … ‘Patton’s Punch’” (Part 3).

We’ve already brought you Part 1 and Part 2 of the World War II period article, “90th Pulls a Fast One: Story of How ‘Patton’s Punch’ Baffled the Germans” on the 90th Infantry Division at the Battle of the Bulge. Please enjoy Part 3.

“Cloaked in a shroud of security, the Division struck again. This time the assault was launched against the strongly held town of Nieder-Wampach, three miles north of Noncols. The Third Battalion of the 358th Infantry ran into intense German artillery and small arms fire in a small woods south of the town. This battle became a match of wits. Softly as a whisper, but potent as dynamite, the First Battalion of the 358th Infantry, under the command of Maj. Arthur H. Nichols, Jr., stole around the left flank of the German position. In two hours, the entire fighting force had covered four kilometers to assume positions on a wind swept hill northeast of the town. A salvo of fourteen artillery battalions plastered the German positions with shells, and behind this withering curtain of fire, 300 American troops of the 90th Infantry Division raced shouting and shooting over the slopes of the flanking hills to out maneuver the confused and baffled Germans defending the town. Six hundred prisoners were prodded from the basements and shelters of the destroyed village.

“The mysterious power of Patton’s forces was rolling up the southern flank of the shivering bulge of Bastogne.”

… To Be Continued.