THE BATTLE OF SINGLING

6 DECEMBER 1944

For nearly a month, the 4th Armored Division had been fighting in difficult terrain under adverse weather conditions. Casualties in both men and material had been heavy, mainly because constant rain prevented air cover and the soaked ground confined the tanks to the roads and reduced their cross country mobility. This caused them to become easy prey to German anti-tank guns. During this period the 4th Armored had been using small flexible task forces, consisting of one company of tanks and one company of infantry, with usually, two or more teams to a combat command. These "teams" were formed as needed to deal with enemy strong points, take villages or to hold a position.
The attack on Singling, France was the farthest advance by the 4th into the Lorraine region. Singling was an agricultural village of about 50 stone houses situated along about a ½ mile of highway from Achen east to Bitche and Germany.
Some of the farm houses in the village had 3 foot reinforced concrete walls and high thick garden walls. There were also concrete pillboxes at the east and west entrances to the village, on the hills, valley, and on the ridge. In 1940 it was part of the Maginot Line. For the Germans in 1944 it was used as a fortified outpost for defense against attacks toward Rohrbach and Bining.
Operations against Bining and Rohrbach could not be separated from those against Singling. The main road to Bining/Rohrbach followed high ground along the west edge of a valley. This route came under interdicting fire from a series of knobs. One way to bypass this route was to follow the trace of an old Roman road along the reverse slope of the ridge west of the valley. This route could, however, be brought under fire from Singling. To use this route to attack Bining it would first be necessary to take Singling. An attempt to take the town was made on the 5th but was stopped about 1000 meters short by a combination of terrain, artillery, and direct gun fire. Another attempt was planned for the 6th using Combat Command B (CCB). CCB consisted of the 37th Tank Battalion, 51st Armored Infantry, 94th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, and B Company 704th Tank Destroyer Battalion (minus one platoon). Task Force Abrams (Lieut. Col. Creighton Abrams) Teams A and B would lead. Originally Team A was to attack Singling and Team B was to sweep into Bining. Units moved out around 0700 but around 0830 plans were changed so that Team B wound up spearheading the attack on Singling and Team A headed toward Bining. The Germans forces in the area consisted of elements of the 1st Batt. 111th Panzergrenadier Regiment, 11th Panzer Division. The forces in Singling consisted of 150-200 Panzergrenadiers, one towed 75mm anti-tank gun, five 81mm mortars, eight to eleven machineguns, three 20mm anti-aircraft guns, and a Wurfgerat (a rocket launcher firing 2 rockets). Their support consisted of two or three SP guns from Panzer Lehr Division's 130th Anti-tank Batt. Five batteries of the 119th Artillery Regiment with three or four 105mm howitzers per battery, and elements from another five battalions of the 208th Volks Artillery Corps, with guns ranging from 75mm to 210mm. There was also at least a company of tanks in the area (unit unknown). The defense of Bining was entrusted to a company of the 61st Anti-tank Battalion. They had eight 75mm guns on a MkIV chassis and fifty men.
The Germans were told they were facing "one of the best divisions in the American Army", the 4th Armored Division. Before the attack batteries of the 94th fired smoke and HE on the village; the 94th continued to fire HE while the mortars of the 37th took up the smoke mission. After the artillery preparation Company B's tanks moved on line advancing toward the village firing as they went. As the tanks closed on the town the infantry moved up in support. Almost all of the fighting took place in and around the buildings in the village. The results of the fighting were inconclusive, with both sides holding parts of the village.
However with the losses they had taken Team B was effectively stopped, and the Germans were preparing to counterattack. About 1400 hours Company C 8th Tank battalion and Company B 10th Armored Infantry moved into Singling to relieve Team B, however do to a breakdown in communications (they thought the town had been secured) they took losses and pulled out. After dark all American units pulled back to about 400 meters south of the town. On 7 December tanks and infantry moved up to the ridge south of Singling but were ordered not to advance. Singling was not secured until 10 December 1944.