Lieutenant Green replied, "OK, notify them at the CP in
case I can't get them on the telephone, and then come back
here with the j e e p . " 3 3
By this time, the squad on and near the gun could see
"Now
the lead tanks and hear others through the trees.
let's be damn sure they're J e r r i e s let's not mess this
thing up," somebody said.
Others echoed this thought.
Perhaps as a result of this, the enemy tank in third place
fired four rounds before the 57-mm. gun could get off a
round.
One shell, an AP [antipersonnel] tracer, skipped
on the river to their backs. Another zipped no more than
six inches over their heads. Another hit a tree behind
the gun, tipping over the tree and showering fragments in
the area. Then the gun crew opened up, and one of their
early rounds started the leading'enemy tank smoking.34
There was some difficulty at first with ammunition
There were seven rounds for the
for the antitank gun.
gun, and the crew said that if they couldn't repulse the
attack with seven rounds that would be all they would ever
get a chance to use.
It soon became apparent from the
strength of the enemy armored attack that more rounds
would be needed.
Captain Jewett said that he could
observe eight tanks coming around the bend toward his
position. There were no dismounted infantry accompanying
along the road, but about a dozen infantrymen were working
their way along the south side of the road.35 Colonel
Anderson, observing from across the river through field
glasses, counted a total of 19 tanks that came through the
position and later turned right on the road to Stoumont.36
The little crew of defenders started an ammunition bucket
brigade, with Captain Jewett tossing the shells across the
road to Lieutenant Green, who forwarded them to Private
Salazar, who handed them up to the gun crew.
The morale of the defenders was not raised any when a
resounding roar from the town told them that the northern
two bridges had been blown, cutting them off from Trois-
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