Between 0700 and 1100 hours, the battalion’s movement along the road to the jump-off point was repeatedly interrupted by reconnaissance operations. As the battalion closed on the crossroads, Alger ordered his reconnaissance platoon to the right flank. He had selected Captain Province M. Winkler’s Company D to lead the attack. Captain John L. Peyton’s Company F came next, followed by the battalion assault guns, self-propelled artillery commanded by Lieutenant Leo J. Farber. In reserve, was Company E, under Captain Harris O. Machus and Major William W. Emory. The 3rd Battalion, 6th Armored Infantry, and Companies B and C of the 68th Armored Artillery Battalion backed these forward elements. Tank destroyer platoons were located on each flank.

Two forward artillery observers reported to the battalion at the staging area. Alger sent his own radio operator, Warrant Officer Frank D. Leger, Jr., to attempt to adjust their radios to the battalion net. Due to the rush, however, the radios had not been synchronized by the time the attack began.

Alger met with his officers to verify the direction of the assault and confirm the attack orders. In the absence of terrain maps, he used the north nose of Djebel Ksaira as a reference point for his attack.

Company D moved far to the front and east of the jump-off position. Its two leading platoons, on line, preceded the main group by 500 yards, to act as a covering force. Around noon, Alger climbed to a hilltop with Hains and Hightower, and they scanned the attack route east toward Sidi Bou Zid, 13 miles away.

The village lay across a sun-drenched plain cut by steep ravines and washes. They discussed the terrain, the likely crossing points and the day’s objectives. Next, they pointed out the probable locations of anti-tank guns. However, they had only a vague idea of what awaited them near Sidi Bou Zid.

In fact, the Germans had emplaced anti-tank guns and artillery on high ground positions around the village. Others were established in or near it, covered by buildings, walls, wadis and groves. Furthermore, the full extent of the opposing force was disguised by the geographic features.

Despite many causes for concern, the attack had to go on. After surveying the terrain, Hains turned to Alger and said, ‘Seek the enemy armor and destroy it.’

‘Yes sir,’ Alger replied with a smart salute. They all shook hands, and Hightower wished his subordinate luck and said he hoped they would ‘get 4-to-1′ in their favor. Just as they parted, perhaps foreshadowing what was to come, the crossroads was heavily bombed by 14 Junkers Ju-87 Stukas. The aerial strike scattered Alger’s vehicles and delayed the start of the attack. Damage was slight, but the German pilots were able to transmit the size and disposition of the American force to their tankers waiting in Sidi Bou Zid.

Alger climbed into the turret of the battalion command tank and at 1300 received the order to begin the attack. As Alger’s tank moved into position with Company D, Stack watched the formation pass by from his lofty command post on Djebel Hamra. He was pleased that the attacking force was moving with parade ground precision and keeping proper intervals. It was an organized, perfect, textbook movement–just as if the battalion were going on maneuvers, not rolling to meet a deadly foe. As Stack scanned Sidi Bou Zid through field glasses, the ‘Stars and Stripes Forever’ blasted from a truck radio on the plain below. The small troop moved out into the open desert, fully exposed to the enemy.

By 1350, the lead force had passed south of the town of Sadaguia, and the tank destroyer platoon on the left flank had entered the town. As Company D reconnoitered the first large irrigation ditch and wadi east of Sadaguia to find a crossing, another flight of Stukas dive-bombed the town and strafed the advancing column. The tank destroyer platoon did not exit the town.

Company D found a lone crossing point, and every American was forced to converge and cross at that single location. However, only one tank was lost in the wet irrigation ditch, due to a thrown track.

As his tanks advanced, Alger received a message from Captain Robert L. Sweeney: ‘Our birds will visit the first objective soon. Delay attack until they have completed mission.’ Alger told his commanders that aerial support was on the way. To avoid being caught in the midst of a friendly air attack, the Americans slowed their pace considerably. Unfortunately, the expected airstrike never materialized.

As Winkler’s command tank and the balance of Company D approached the second wadi, they were showered with airbursts. Winkler’s handpicked crew had been together since Northern Ireland. They had endured Stuka dive-bombings and convoy strafings during the long march from Algeria, but they had never experienced such intense artillery fire. Sergeant Everett Gregg, the tank commander, was the assistant driver/gunner that day. Alphonse Urbanovski was the driver. The usual driver, Philip Caldwell, had moved to a trailing tank destroyer to make room for Captain Winkler, who was taking the company into battle. In the turret with Winkler were Lee C. Kaser, the radio operator/loader, and Corporal Robert A. Newton, the 75mm gunner.

All in all, the men were eager to see action and proud of their jobs. ‘We’re damn glad to be tankers,’ Newton wrote. ‘Next to the Air Corps, and we dispute that, we are the elite of the Army. We wouldn’t be in any other branch of the service. There’s a peculiar feeling of pride in being a tanker that only a tanker knows.’

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