Ponts. The 880mm. shells hit closer and closer until one
hit at the base of the gun, killing all four of the crew
Realizing the futility of
and stunning Private Salazar.
further resistance, the remainder of the crew piled into
the half-track and proceeded by their only escape
route-- toward Stoumont.
The 2 1/2-ton truck followed.
Lieutenant Green and his survivors from Company C made a
wide circle at Petit Coo and returned to Trois-Ponts at
1500 by coming in from the west on Highway N23, while
Captain Jewett and the survivors of the 526th Armored
Infantry Battalion found their way back to the new group
CP at Modave.37
Almost simultaneous with the battle along the
Stavelot road, the 2d Platoon of Company C, commanded by
Lieutenant Fred L. Nabors, was also attacked by enemy
armor. Lieutenant Nabors' platoon was deployed along the
hill on the Aisomont road. One bazooka was firing south-
east from the road below at (677988), from which it had
a perfect field of fire.
Another bazooka had a good
flanking firing position slightly to the east.
During the morning of 18 December, three enemy tanks
approached the 2d Platoon's position, and they were
detected approximately 1/2 mile away. The first tank had
reinforced armor plate on the front and was allowed to
pass by toward a string of daisy-chain mines across the
road. The bazooka then engaged the second tank, but did
The third tank started to fire its
not knock it out.
machine guns and forced the 2d Platoon out of position by
the intensity of the fire.
Thereafter, the 2d Platoon
retired to the town side of the river and took up
protection of the right (south) flank of the Company C
line.
The defense collapsed because one of the bazookas
failed to fire, another was knocked out of the loader's
hands with m a c h i n e gun fire, and the daisy chain was
exploded by machine guns. None of the three enemy tanks,
however, attempted to follow the 2d Platoon, Company C,
21
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