September 18, 1944: On the main road to Nijmegen, north of Veghel, near a small village the locals called Voederheil, Captain Speirs lowered his binoculars and swore to himself. The fleeting grey figures he had seen moving about in the buildings ahead could only be Germans, and that meant yet another delay. His men were tired. He was already eight hours behind schedule, and now he had to deal with another blocking force. After conferring with Lieutenant Higgins of Able Company, they moved out. As he turned to leave, Speirs could hear Higgins muttering something about “just another bump in the road”.

Since this was to be a joint operation with Able and Baker companies, Captain Speirs had put Lieutenant Higgins in nominal charge of the combined units as he had the most combat experience. So, Higgins gathered the other lieutenants: Ricci, Kelly, Stillwell, Reynolds, and Garcia. Before he began, Higgins looked across the road at the reduced squads of Baker company. They had been hard hit in the past few days and looked it. Reynolds only had one squad left. Of course, Able company wasn’t much better off.

Looking at a map showing the village and surrounding fields, Higgins went over the plan. “OK, we’re going to hit the village from both ends. Stillwell and Garcia, take your platoons through this woods to hit the south end of the village. Try to take this barn near the village. Reynolds, set up the machine gun and your squad in this farmhouse on the road to provide cover. When Stillwell and Garcia capture the barn, move the machine gun up there. It’s got a good view of the south end of the village. Use your mortar to suppress the buildings on the south end as much as you can before you move in.

“While you’re doing that, Ricci, Kelly, and I will take our platoons west through these woods. Ricci, set up your machine gunner in this barn at the bend in the road. That can cover the west end of the village.

“I’m going to circle around west of the village to occupy these two farms on either side of the road to the north. That way, we’ve got their escape closed off and, if I get there in time, I can move into the village from the north. We start off in ten minutes. Any questions?”

There were none. The lieutenants walked back to their platoons to fill them in.

“OK. What if the Jerries are in those farms?”

“I’ll sit tight. Maybe you can draw them up to the village.”

Higgins watched as Stillwell and Garcia got into the woods. Reynolds got the machine gunner set up in the barn in good time. With that cover, Higgins, Kelly, and Ricci took their squads through the woods to the west. They came to a wide-open field between sections of the woods. They could see the village up on a rise to the east. Most of it was hidden, but if the Jerries had set up in one of the farms outside the village, the men would be exposed as they crossed the field.

Higgins sent Sergeant Matlock and first platoon across the field first, while the others covered them. Matlock moved smoothly across the field as befits his Pawnee heritage. The other men of the platoon looked clumsy by comparison, but they all made it safely. Higgins sent Ricci’s platoons across next. It was still quiet. Finally, Higgins and his remaining platoons crossed. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Ricci took his machine gunner and one of his squads over to the barn to get them set up. Fortunately, the Germans hadn’t occupied it and it afforded a good view of the west end of the village. Higgins took his squads to the far edge of the woods to survey the road.

Higgins swore. The enemy had dug in at a bend in the road and had at least one platoon set up. They had excellent fields of fire all around them. This was going to make it much harder. He called up Ricci and Kelly.

“They’re dug in in the ditch on the other side of the road. You’re going to have to take that first. Ricci, call in mortar on the west end of the village and then assault that road. Once you start the assault, I’m going to take my men across the road, up that driveway, and into that barn over there. From there, we’ll make our way over to those farmhouses north of the village.”

It was then that the familiar rattle of the machine guns sounded across the fields. They all turned to see the buildings at the south end of the village being lit up.

As Reynolds got his machine gunner set up with a squad in the farmhouse near the road, Stillwell and Garcia enter the woods just south of the village. With a little reconnoitering, Garcia found a barn on the east side of the woods. It was out of sight of the village and unoccupied. He put a squad in there to watch their flank. Then Stillwell and Garcia surveyed the south end of the village.

“They’re definitely in that barn there just outside the village,” Garcia pointed out.

“Yea, we’re going to have to take that first before Reynolds can set up the machine gun there,” Lt. Stillwell said.

“OK, let’s have Reynolds provide cover fire on the barn. Then I’ll take my squads across the road and hit it. In the meantime, set up your team for an assault on the village. If all goes well, I’ll join you from the barn.”

“Sounds good.”

Garcia got on the radio and filled Reynolds in. Within minutes, the machine guns started up.

“That’s our cue!”

Stillwell led his squads across the road to the barn. As soon as he left the woods, however, he started coming under heavy fire from the barn. That was just the beginning. Jerry had called in mortar. As Stillwell’s team crossed the road, they were pinned. Shells rained up and down the road. They couldn’t move. The assault fell apart as both squads were horribly scattered. Lt. Stillwell knew his team was in no condition to continue the assault. Fortunately, Reynold’s team in the barn was still giving it to the Jerries. There was no return fire now. Reynold’s work must have been hot enough that the German’s were keeping their heads down. Stillwell pulled his team back into the woods to try to recover.

In the meantime, the shelling had stopped, and Garcia’s squads came running out of the woods, yelling as they came. There was fire from a stone house in the village. Second squad was hard hit and retreated to the woods. But Garcia and first squad made it to the barn and assaulted the machine gun nest. They failed badly. Garcia took a hit, but it was minor. They too fled to the woods to lick their wounds.

Without waiting to see the results of Baker company’s attack, Ricci ordered his machine gunner to open up on the Jerries dug in on the other side of the road. Ricci also had them call in mortar on the west end of the village on the likely chance there were troops there looking down the road. Even so, Ricci’s squads received heavy fire from the machine gun nest. His men hit the dirt and hid behind trees as best they could. With his head down, Ricci lost contact with his men.

Kelly moved his squads out of the woods and into the open right next to the road. He split up his squads and yelled at them to find what cover they could. He didn’t need to tell them. They were already splayed out behind every nook and cranny they could find. At the same time Higgins took his squad across the road and into a barn out of sight of the village behind some low hills.

Ricci’s machine gunner had the wherewithal to call in mortar a second time on the west end of the village and to continue pouring fire over the heads of Kelly’s men into the German machine gun nest. Once he stopped to reload, Kelly’s men jumped up, ran over the road, and assaulted the German’s pit. Finally, some success! Kelly’s men succeeded in destroying the machine gun. They sent a broken squad of German infantry fleeing for a house on a small rise to the north. Kelly hoped Higgins’ team would take care of them. In the meantime, Ricci was still trying to collect his wits. He’d taken a close round on the helmet, and it had knocked him out for a time.

Higgins was leading his men across open ground up a small rise to a stone farmhouse behind the village. Much to his surprise, he saw a broken German squad also running for the farmhouse. Fortunately, Higgins’ men were fresher, or at least faster, and got to the farmhouse first. The German squad changed course and ran across the road and into another farmhouse. “Well, dang, now we’re going to have to roust them out of that house!”, Higgins swore to himself. There was nothing but open ground between the two houses. This was not going to be easy. Higgins’ team kept up steady fire at the distance farmhouse. Hoping against hope of scoring a lucky hit before they made the charge across open ground.

Reynolds continued to pour fire into the barn, but by now the Jerries were back in business and started shooting up Stillwell’s men as they tried to recover in the woods. Fortunately, the trees provided adequate cover.

After a quick conference with Garcia, Stillwell took a squad out of the woods and along the front of a small rise. Garcia and Reynolds continued to shoot up the barn in hopes of suppressing the gunners there. Once Stillwell was in place, he would coordinate another assault on the barn with Garcia. Certainly, with all that fire the Germans were keeping their heads down, but they still managed to get off some shots on Stillwell’s team. Fortunately, they were misses.

Stillwell ran up the hill towards the barn just as elements of second platoon made it across the road and into the barn. Second platoon’s first squad took fire from the village up the road and scattered, so they fell back and did not participate in the assault on the barn. At last, however, second and third platoons together were able to roust the Germans. They ran for the village center and left the barn in the hands of the Americans.

Having won the machine gun pit, Kelly’s men played their guns on the houses at the west end of the village. It didn’t do much, but perhaps it kept the Jerries’ heads down. Ricci was still recovering from his head wound, but his men were active. They crawled through the open terrain up to the west end of the village. That’s when the Germans opened up. They had an infantry support gun in the street up there! Fortunately, Ricci’s men kept their heads down and didn’t take any hits, so they continued their advance. As they got close, the Jerries opened fire with small arms and that IG 75 again. Third squad took hits and scattered. First squad ran up the middle of the road straight into enemy fire. They were devastated and dispersed into the ditches on either side of the road. A small section of Ricci’s men made it into the village but were repulsed. They made a quick exit down the road to the woods. Kelly opened fire on the houses at the west end again in hopes of covering Ricci’s men. Unfortunately, the remnants of Ricci’s first squad were devastated by mortar fire. Ricci himself recovered in the woods just in time to see the decimation of his team.

Garcia brought his team up along the east side of the village but started taking fire. Meanwhile, Reynolds finally got to occupy the barn with his machine gun crew. Fresh with the victory at the barn, Stillwell led his platoons over to the road and into the village, intent on taking the first set of houses and establishing a toehold in the village. It was an ill-fated attempt though. Heavy fire from the village strafed the teams and they took many casualties. The assault faltered before it had even begun, and Stillwell was forced back into the woods once again.

In the meantime, Reynolds, now freshly set up in the barn on the hill, opened fire on the center of the village in attempt to keep them busy. The Germans obliged and fired back! Under cover of this fire, Garcia took a section into the south end of the village along with the first squad from third platoon. Slowly, inch by inch, the Germans gave way. At last, they withdrew down the street and Garcia finally had a position in the village.

Higgins looked at his watch. 30 minutes had passed, and he could see from his vantage point that they weren’t even in the west end of the village yet. It looked like every assault on the village proper had been rebuffed. But he couldn’t see Baker company. Hopefully, they were making progress on the south end and could occupy the Germans while Ricci got what was left of his platoon back together for another attempt on the west end.

For his own work, Higgins split his squads into sections. He and his men sprinted down the hill, across the road, and up the other rise toward the German unit in the farmhouse. First platoon was so spread out, the Jerries had a difficult time choosing a target. But choose they did. Right at Higgins and A section! Sadly, A section, caught in the open, was wiped out by small arms fire. But Lt. Higgins joined his men in rushing the last hundred yards into the stone house where they succeeded in driving the Germans out.

While Ricci collected his platoon, Reynolds and Kelly decided to pummel the houses at the west end of the village with as much fire power as they could muster, but with little effect. Garcia and Stillwell lost momentum and had to regroup for the next phase of the battle: house to house fighting.

The Germans, meanwhile, had reorganized the defense of the village by moving their wounded to the north end out of the line of fire and spreading their other units thinly from the village center east and west.

Garcia and squads from second and third platoon started moving house by house north along the main street into the village. At a three-way intersection, they ran into heavy resistance. This time, the inflicted heavy losses on the Germans. It was a complete rout. They continued their advance into the village center and once again routed the Germans! The success was marred however by the loss of Lieutenant Garcia. At the same time, Kelly and Ricci moved up to assault the west end of the village. Kelly and two of his squads entered the village and began some intense fighting and were, once again, forced back down the road to the machine gun nest. He and his squads were in complete disarray. The only other bright spot was the Germans leaving the northern edge of the village entirely. But it just meant we were going to have to chase them down now.

As Kelly and third platoon recovered, it was Ricci’s turn once again to assault the west end of the village to remove the persistence German infantry and infantry gun. After some fierce door-to-door fighting, Ricci’s men were once again thrown back. Will these Germans ever give up?

While Ricci was fighting, Reynolds moved first platoon into the village center where he was lined up to take a crack at the stubborn Germans from behind. He assaulted the buildings along with first squad from second platoon. Finally, Reynolds’ men succeeded in driving the Jerries from the town. They destroyed the IG 75 to ensure it never bothered anyone again.

With the Germans on the run, the village of Voederheil was finally in American hands though the cost was high. The American companies had lost three full squads, but the worst of it was the loss of Lieutenant Garcia. The only consolation was they had inflicted equally heavy losses on the Germans and punished them hard for trying to hold on to that small town.

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