[Hermit]

Some northern units continue to advance toward the objective, and the others are getting in place for the hammer-n-anvil maneuver.

Most central units are beginning the climb up the SW side of the big hill toward the objective. A Sherman observation tank was straggling behind and was unexpectedly hit twice by large caliber rounds. After the first hit, the crew began frantically searching for the source of the shells. Just at the edge of their vision, the commander saw the muzzle flash of what appeared to be an enemy AT gun. From that range, almost a kilometer, it must have taken a few ranging shots before scoring a hit, but they flew by unnoticed. It is strongly suspected to be a 76mm, as a 100mm shell would almost certainly have penetrated, even from that range. There is now a large gouge in the front armor; one of the shells must have almost made it through.

Meanwhile, the heavy tanks and two Pershings continued northeast to be the hammer on the enemy infantry fieldworks.

Once again, most of the hot action is in the south. Small arms and MG fire from vehicles is making the air thick with lead. Dismounted infantry continues its slow advance. Two more enemy squads eliminated, and two more forced back from their dug-in positions. Others are being heavily suppressed. There was almost no return fire on our advancing grunts. We also noticed several enemy squads leave their entrenchments and move up from the rear to intercept our advance.

Back on the BIG hill that we crossed in the beginning, there is stil sporadic fighting with enemy flanking squads. As one of the forward observers was sneaking down the southern side of the hill for a better view, he stumbled on some loose rocks, and the noise and movement disclosed his location. An enemy squad across the ravine on another low hill opened fire and one man is down. We couldn't even spot them at first, until one of our snipers looked with his scope. He wasn't able to get a shot off, as his own movement would have placed him in danger of the same fate. One of the 1/2 tracks serving as a tow vehicle for the AT guns ran down to pick up the survivor and lend support, and wandered into view of one of the two remaining T-34's. The 1/2 track narrowly missed eating an 85mm slug. After making a sharp turn to avoid further tank fire, the 1/2 track hasn't made it to the rescue yet. Hopefully our remaining observer man won't also get hit.

As a final bit of bad luck, another 1/2 track that was sent to pick up a 90mm AT gun from a disabled 1/2 track was itself de-tracked when it ran over a big rock. So much for roadside assistance when you need it.