Early in the morning on 7 April CC 'A' reached its objective and on Division order changed the direction of its attack due south with the mission of cleaning out the enemy in its area north of the Mohne River. No resistance was encountered, and no ammunition was expended. At 1700 the remainder of Headquarters Battery moved up to Lendhoff where the Battalion remained through 8 April with practically no activity.

During this action there was a steady flow of refugees from the Rhur Valley back along the line of march. These were not the reasonably well fed farm hands but workers from industrial regions, bombed out cities and plants. Their lot was not a happy one, and they were a motley crew, wearing garments of all descriptions, mostly well worn. Their physical condition reflected the harsh German treatment at its worst. Some had mutilated bodies, all were under-nourished and none had any apparent spirit left. At times the very ill could be seen dying along the roadside. The great preponderance of these displaced peoples was Russian, and they were little better than mobs in that they lacked organization utterly and in one instance at least, when they raided a German bakery, they fought among themselves for the food wasting much of it. While their hatred for the Germans was intense, they had not yet reached the point where they would sack the villages and kill the inhabitants, but then this may have been due to our presence.

In the vicinity of Lendhoff, the Germans had herded a sizable group of refugees in a barn. The barn was then subjected to artillery fire, and the results could be described only as horrible.

At this location was a group of French refugees under command of a French medical officer. This was the first bit of organization we had seen. When they started the long trek back toward France, they had some of their possessions mounted on wagons which were drawn by hand. The group actually looked somewhat like a military column as it progressed along the road.

Lts Carrell and Klaniecki had a racking experience. Late on a foggy afternoon they were coming down after an observation flight looking for a place to land. Visibility was poor, and the weather was thickening. While they were approaching what appeared to be a reasonable place to land with the motor idling, a phone line loomed up in front of them. The motor failed to respond to the throttle, and the plane struck the wires and slid along them to a pole which it sheared off as it plummeted to the ground. The plane was a wreck, but both officers fortunately walked away from it unhurt save for the shock attendant to the experience and the shaking up.

As the attack progressed between Ulde and Lendhoff, 'B' Battery was marching with the advance guard which was caught by enemy artillery and direct fire weapons while it was in march column. Fortunately the unit came out of it with no casualties and partially buried by the debris from the side of a house northeast of Lendhoff remained a burned out German tank, said to be Mark IV, knocked out by our artillery fire. A short while earlier the same tank had allowed Capt Eagan to pass by its position in a peep without taking him under fire, while he was forward looking for a suitable place to which to displace FDC.

After the first day of relative quiet east of the Rhine the Battery Landhoff at 090700 April, marching west a distance of 22 miles through a misty morning to Volbringen, arriving at 0920. Battalion fired 25 rounds and when CC 'A' was relieved, firing batteries moved west to Bremen early in the evening to support the 405th FA Bn. CC 'A' was ordered to relieve CC 'B' in its attack on Unna, however, and the following morning the Battalion displaced 8 1/2 miles going into firing positions at Hammerley at 101245 April.

The route of march was through a fairly large city which had the remains of a large German airport at the northeast corner of it. Allied Airforces had worked it over; so that the runways were damaged and wreckage of German planes here and there in areas which had apparently been hanger sites.

CC "A" had the mission of attacking Unna, early on 11 April 1945, and the 399th AF Bn was attached to us in this mission. A total of 103 rounds were fired during the day with the great bulk of it expended during the preparation. The attack progressed rapidly, and at 1145 the unit displaced 4.6 miles to Osburen arriving at 1212. Rounds expended here included only a base point registration. At 1630 the Battalion displaced to Kesseburen arriving at 1700. Only two missions were fired at these positions with targets of concentrations of enemy tanks. By 2300 CC 'A' had accomplished its mission of attaining a north-south line west of Unna, which it continued to hold until it was enveloped by the 95th Infantry Division, cutting it off from all contact with the enemy at 121600 April 1945. With a warning order to prepare to move east again, most of the 12th and 13th were spent in preparation for a march.

At 13 830 April 1945 the unit took to the road, marching generally east a total of 170 miles to Wolftenbuttel where it arrived at 141530 April. The whole Division was on the move. Approximately 67 miles were marched under complete blackout conditions. There was but one casualty; an attached ambulance belonging to the 78th Medical Battalion struck a road block during the blackout. While the front end of the vehicle was demolished there were no injuries to personnel. The night was cold, and after 21 days of continuous combat or movement the entire personnel was fairly tired. Additionally, equipment was beginning to show signs of wear. More than 50 bogey wheels were blown on the march, and the entire unit did not close in at the new area until the following morning. At Wolftenbuttel the Battalion was in Corps Reserve.

Billets at this assembly area were the best available in some time. Wolftenbuttel could be classified as a city, and the unit occupied four blocks of city buildings surrounding a square or common. Billets on the gamut from close-together apartment affairs to a chateau and another rectangular structure with an open court (Roman architecture) in the center, which was approached via an arched bridge crossing a brook which provided a moat to the sides of it. The area had been built up several centuries previously; one structure was dated 1635.

Remaining in this area through 16 April this needed time was devoted to personal and vehicular maintenance. Washing facilities, for example, and sufficient time to use them were available for the first time since the Rhine crossing. The problem of keeping out of trouble with civilians cropped out here, giving indications of situations which were likely to arise later with the occupational forces. The city had seen no fighting. Normal activities had been engaged in up to two days prior to our arrival, and the people were generally arrogant. The city was well populated, however, and it was impossible to keep over-willing prostitutes out of the area entirely since it was situated along an entrance to the city from the northwest toward the main part of town a couple of blocks away. Our stay there was too short to organize to ??? but it was sufficiently long to show that enforcement of non-fraternization policies would be difficult in a crowded place unless everyone was kept quite busy.

The lengthy supply lines were beginning to be serious here. Some gasoline and spare parts were flown into the area, but it was necessary to go back to the Rhine and even west of it for many items. At 171350 April 1945 the Battalion departed from Wolftenbuttel, marching 49 miles east to an assembly area at Eggenstedt. The unit was under CC 'A' control, in Corps Reserve. Eggenstedt was a small farming community west of Seehausen where CC 'A' Headquarters was located. It was built along the one main street, and it was quite a comedown from the assembly area at Wolftenbuttel. 'C' Battery, in fact, lived in the open in preference to billets at the west edge of town. Closing in at the new area at around 1740, personal and vehicular maintenance were continued for the next two days, along with a temporary acclimation of the civilian population to their new way of life in territory occupied by U.S. Troops.

During the evening of 18 April Col Dawson assembled all officers at Battalion Headquarters, and presented Air Medals to the two liaison pilots, Lt Carrell and Lt Colozzi and to Lt Klaniecki, air observer. Lt Carrell actually was on pass to Liege. Without discrediting the forward observers, he complimented the recipients on their capability and record, giving them credit for the bulk of the Battalion's effectiveness in conducting observed fires for supported units. A moderate celebration and relaxation was held to the tune of a case of 1918 Bordeaux, supplemented by other excellent wine, which was likewise distributed to the entire personnel in moderate quantities. This was the first sociable get-together of the officers during our combat experience, and the relaxation it afforded was a welcome relief to the tenseness of life during recent weeks. Orders and citations are set forth below.