Zone base sections checking training and allocating
At St. Malo, with sniper fire still chattering
troops.
on the day the citadel fell, Colonel Fraser led a
reconnaissance party that obtained timely information on
harbor, beach, and railroad facilities. But this was as
close as this 28-year-old, nervously active, and sharp-
minded officer was allowed to come to combat operations.11
Irked by this inactivity, Colonel Fraser went to see
the First Army Engineer on 12 December to ask for a combat
He was so sure he would not return to
assignment.
Brittany Base Section that he took all his equipment to
Spa; two days later he was commanding the 51st. " W h e n I
saw what they were doing at the sawmills and along the
roads," said Colonel Fraser, "I asked whether it really
was a combat outfit. I was soon to find out."12
When the 158th Engineer Combat Battalion departed to
assist in the defense of the Bastogne area, the 51st was
left with the responsibility of defending the [Marche]
area. Captain John W. Barnes, battalion S-3, states,
"Colonel Fraser sat down with a map and decided that the
Ourthe River was a natural defense line, and he prepared
plans to erect roadblocks and prepare key bridges for
demolition. Several days later group sent down an overlay
directing that defenses be established at precisely the
same points which Colonel Fraser had selected."13
It was not only his organizing ability but also his
leadership that made Colonel Fraser a factor in the
success of the battalion. Throughout the defense of the
At times it is im-
25-mile front, he was ubiquitous.
possible to trace his trail because so many men claim that
During the
he was with them at widely separated points.
severest test of the battalion--at Hotton on 21 December--
Colonel Fraser was on the enemy side of the river for a
period. He kept the widely separated forces unified.14
Major Yates had a different task at Trois-Points. His
forces were concentrated in a small area, and his problem
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