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Our task force moved toward its first objective with this company's tanks in the rear of the column. The reason for this was because we spearheaded the last town taken, Alderkerk.

We were now moving, passing through Lintford, with its shattered and machine gunned buildings on both sides of the street. Here we received news of the first casualty of the company. He was shot in the stomach by a sniper. As we later learned he died that same night. Lintford was considered taken, and we weren't stopping to check, we continued, through the town with our next objective in mind, Rhineberg.

Nobody was worried, because we were told that the G-2 reports said there were only five hundred German troops with just a few heavy guns between us and the Rhine River. That's all they had against our tank force. They were totally wrong. The Germans were well armed for their final stand to prevent us from crossing the Rhine.

While about a mile past Lintford, on the outskirts of this easily taken town, all hell broke loose. Five of the leading medium tanks were knocked out and set on fire by heavy anti-tank guns. The enemy was opening up with its machine guns, mortars and all different types of weapons. The column stopped and the men in trucks and peeps were pinned to the ground. The column tried to move again, but a natural tank trap was blown upon being reached. It was one o'clock afternoon, and we had many light hours ahead to enable us to handle this situation.

The sixteen tanks of this company were called up from the rear to help in this assault. The tanks tried to get around this blown bridge, but to no avail. Nobody knew the exact enemy situation ahead of us, because the RCN was held up due to enemy fire. We now realized our lack of resistance after crossing the Roer River to the outskirts of Lintford, was the enemy's plan to save all its troops for this last stand before the Rhine River. As we later found out, our task force consisting of one thousand troops was attacking over twenty thousand well dug in enemy troops defending with all types of weapons and tanks.

Finding the main road to Rhineberg impassable, the company was ordered back to Lintford to take another road out. This road was well protected by German troops. Fox holes were spaced every ten yards apart on both sides of the roads, holding many bazooka men. The fields on both sides were mined and full of zigzagged trenches and heavy artillery, and anti tank guns of all sizes were overlooking this road.

Company D attacked in full strength in column formation alternating their tanks and guns, so as to have a withering fire on both sides of this road which ran through the center of their defenses. Our tanks were drawing fire from countless enemy guns overlooking this area. Of the sixteen tanks, four were disabled due to direct hits. Some men in the other tanks were wounded from shrapnel. The twelve remaining tanks withdrew to evacuate the wounded and reorganized for the next assault. In the next attack six more tanks were lost, but they were not being forfeited cheaply. The enemy was paying heavily in men and equipment. The remaining six tanks withdrew with the wounded and reorganized for the company's third attack. The battle was reaching a pitched fury, the enemy was determined to hold this approach to the Rhine and we were more determined to break their defense. On this third attack, four of the six tanks were knocked out of action, leaving only two tanks of the original sixteen.

By the rules of all human endurance and courage, the company had done more than asked of, but the two remaining tanks backed by the thirty survivors of our knocked out tanks acting as infantry, attacked for the fourth and last time. One of these tanks was rendered useless by two 88 shells, but the other continued on with the remnants of the company, fighting on foot as infantry. It was dark now, causing the only remaining tank of the company to withdraw. It was now strictly an infantryman's fight.

The 35th Infantry Division was now on the scene and moving up in battle formation to take over. The Infantry which had earned the title "Queen of the Battle", paid the greatest compliment to the survivors of the company. Some of them said, "You boys really softened them up for us, and showed more guts than we believed was possible for the odds against you".