In December 1944, Technical Sergeant Bernard P. Bell and an eight-man squad from Company I, 142nd Infantry Regiment, 36th Infantry Division seized a German-held schoolhouse at Mittelwihr, France, and then faced a powerful counterattack by approximately 150 enemy soldiers. With the building under artillery, mortar, and tank fire, Bell repeatedly restored communications, directed American artillery and mortar fire, helped force back German armor, and coordinated armored support against troops using nearby walls for cover. This World War II story from the fighting around the Colmar Pocket shows how observation, communications, fire discipline, indirect fire, and combined-arms coordination allowed a tiny isolated force to hold a critical position against overwhelming numbers. Bell’s actions at Mittelwihr earned him the Medal of Honor and became one of the most remarkable small-unit actions of the 36th Infantry Division in World War II.

Sources:
https://www.army.mil/medalofhonor/cit...

https://www.cmohs.org/recipients/bern...

https://history.army.mil/portals/143/...

https://www.wvencyclopedia.org/entrie...

#WWII #WorldWarII #BernardBell #MedalOfHonor #Mittelwihr #36thInfantryDivision #142ndInfantry #USArmy #ColmarPocket #MilitaryHistory #WW2History #AmericanHistory #Infantry #BattleHistory