An officer of the 120th Infantry examines a knocked out German halftrack after the battle for Mortain.

Mortain   This small French village became the focus of a German counterattack on the evening of August 6, 1944. Operation Lüttich, as it was called, was ordered by Hitler with the intention of splitting the American forces between Hodges' First Army and Patton's newly formed Third Army. The Germans needed control of the vital road network around Mortain to allow a drive to Avranches on the coast. the Germans would later state that their failure to complete the separation of the American forces was a "turning point" in the battle of the western front. This failure was caused by the determined resistance of Old Hickory at Mortain.   Hitler personally ordered this attack contrary to the advice of his generals. It was opposed to such a degree that the commander of the116th Panzer Division refused to follow the order, delaying the attack. Nonetheless, at approximately 0100 hours 7 August the lead elements of the 2nd SS Panzer Division made contact with members of the 9th U.S. Infantry Division. In addition to the 2nd SS "Panzer Lehr" division, the 1st SS Panzer "Liebstandarte Adolf Hitler", 116th Panzer, and17th SS Panzergrenadier divisions also participated.   The disposition of Old Hickory's troops around Mortain was as follows. On the eastern side of the town stood a tall hill, elevation 314. Hill 314 had been recognized by the Americans as a vital defensive position early on and was held by the 2nd battalion, 120th Infantry. The 1st of the 120th was on the west of Mortain holding hill 285. Two platoons of the 120th's company F, a platoon of the 120th's antitank company, along with 3rd platoon of Company A, 823rd Tank Destroyer Battalion had established what would prove to be a crucial roadblock at L'Abbaye Blanche where they could cover the road junctions north of Mortain. Meanwhile, the 117th Infantry was in place at St. Barthelmy, approximately two miles north of Mortain. The 119th Infantry was to the northwest near Le Mesnil-Adelée.   The Germans made significant gains in the early hours of the attack, actually capturing the village of Mortain. However the Nazis failed to gain control of the crucial high ground around Mortain. Such was the disposition in the initial stages of the attack.   Although they held Mortain, they had not gained control of the roads they so desperately needed. The directed artillery fire from Hill 314 prevented this. The 120th held the hill and despite being completely cut off from resupply and relief these infantrymen withstood the repeated assaults of combined German artillery, armor and infantry assaults. The most important function of the battalion's stand was the continuing ability to call accurate artillery fire from the massed guns of ten artillery battalions, 120 tubes in all. The drive around Hill 314 became an artillery duel relying on forward observers like Lt. Robert Weiss on the hill with the 120th. However, due to the inability to resupply the besieged troops, the F.O.'s were running out of battery power for their radios. Despite multiple attempts to fight through the German positions surrounding the hill no penetration could be made.   The situation became so desperate that artillery resupply (packing plasma, dressings, and medicine in artillery shells normally used to fire propaganda leaflets and firing them into the 120th's position) of medical supplies was attempted, with little success. Airdrops were also attempted. After struggling through amazing amounts of beauracracy at corps level, the divisional G-4 was able get some C-47 drops but most of the supplies ended up in German hands, and most importantly, no radio batteries made it through. Even the light artillery spotter Piper Cubs attempted to get through, but they were driven off by heavy German fire. Radio calls were limited to fire missions, and then only the briefest of information could be transmitted.   The plight of the 2/120th on 314 remained grave. They held out against more German attacks and most of the men were certain they would be overrun. Many veterans of the battle stated that the Germans could have walked right through them several times. It even progressed to the point that an SS officer presented a surrender ultimatum to Lt. Kerley, commanding Co. E. Kerley declined the offer, and at 2015 hours on the 9th the Germans attempted to make the doughboys pay for their insolence. The SS attacked yet again, yelling "surrender!" as they ran over the American foxholes. The resulting fight was so bitter that Kerley was forced to call in artillery on his own position to finally repulse the attack. present day monument on Hill 314 This situation continued until the troops on Hill 314 were finally relieved the morning of August 12th by elements of the 35th Infantry Division. The story of the battle is ripe with tales of heroism, sacrifice and determination by regular soldiers. However the drama at the individual level may be overshadowed by the theater level significance of the division's stand in Mortain.   The fact that the 30th division held out against such a major attack is amazing in itself. additionally it was important that the German forces were fixed at Mortain, allowing the air strikes, artillery barrages, and tank hunting infantry teams to exact a terrible toll on the strongest divisions the Germans had in the region. The German losses in this failed attack were remarkable.   Remarkable as well was the opportunity the attack gave the Allies. By leaving the 30th unrelieved at Mortain, General Bradley was able to fix the Germans on this bait and begin an encirclement of the entire German Army Group B. Via Ultra intercepts the Allied high command knew the Germans were not going to retreat from the battle with the 30th. Bradley then developed operation Totalize designed to circle from the south with Patton's troops to meet Montgomery's striking from the north to Falaise.   Although little recognized in popular history, the heroic stand of the 30th Infantry Division at Mortain made a tremendous contribution to the allied victory in France.