‘The attack started at 1845,’ he wrote, ‘by shelling with mortars and machine gun fire laid on the edges of the town, in which some enemy movements were seen. The roads and streets were blocked by debris and a variety of enemy transport so that our machine guns and anti-tank guns could not pass and had to bypass the buildings on either side. In fact, as it appeared later, no heavy weapons nor tanks could pass through the built-up area and only foot soldiers could do any good in those circumstances. The enemy defended themselves in farmsteads, hedges and orchards, but the speed of the Dragoons’ attack took the defenders by surprise. In the town center, some 40 paratroopers hiding in the castle keep were taken prisoner. Stray German soldiers, wounded or in a state of shock, were aimlessly walking the streets, their medical center destroyed by artillery shelling. Sporadic fighting, short but violent, erupted here and there.

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‘A squad was allocated the job of sorting out the mounting problem of POWs and enemy wounded,’ Zgorzelski concluded, ‘while the main body set up the defense of the southern outskirts of the town. The Poles soon joined forces with the Americans coming from the south with the 2nd Battalion of the 359th Infantry of the 90th Division, under Major Leonard Dull.’

The 90th Division, commanded by Brig. Gen. Raymond S. McLain, had been fighting its way toward Chambois for several days. By the end of August 18, elements of the division had taken Hill 137, Hill 129, Ste. Eugénie, Bon Menil and Fougy in spite of determined enemy resistance. The 2nd Battalion of the 359th Infantry (2/359) had just relieved the 1st Battalion at Le Bourg St. Leonard when the Germans counterattacked. At one point, the division’s second-in-command, Brig. Gen. William G. Weaver, was caught in a house with American tanks on one side and Germans on the other, each trying to shoot the other from around the corners. The Germans were ultimately driven off, and ‘Wild Bill’ Weaver emerged unscathed. He later told his aide, Lt. Col. Eames L. Yates, that he had directed American tank fire by observing German movements through the blown-out corners of the building.

On August 19, General Weaver ordered the 2/359 to take Chambois. Company G, commanded by Captain Laughlin E. Waters, advanced through Fel, supported by tanks of the French 2nd Armored Division. After the Americans forded the Dives River, however, the French departed-they did not want to advance uphill through an apple orchard with no knowledge of what lay ahead. Waters set up a skirmish line and proceeded alone to reconnoiter the ground. He reached the road to Chambois and observed the objective, then saw ‘an individual, wearing what appeared to be a British uniform, come from the north and walk into the middle of the road.’ After some hesitation, Waters emerged from the grass and introduced himself. ‘Fortunately, his English was better than my Polish, so we were able to identify ourselves to each other,’ Waters later said. The Pole was Major Zgorzelski. ‘There,’ Waters recalled, ‘amidst all the action, Maj. Zgorzelski and I exchanged salutes and greetings in the name of our respective countries and commanding generals….The major and I coordinated our plans, and the Polish 10th Dragoons moved off to the northeast.’

Waters returned to Company G and led it in a wheeling movement to clear Chambois and link up with Companies E and F on the west side of town. Only light resistance was encountered, and soon the three companies were setting up defensive positions-E to the southwest, F to the northwest and G to the east and southeast of the village.

‘We were greeted by the Americans with the joy of a child,’ wrote General Maczek of the linkup, ‘and at every contact their men filled our pockets with candy and cigarettes. An American of Polish descent approached me and told me in a broken Polish learned from his parents that he ‘just had to meet the Polish general.’ His language was poor, but he did not have to assure me that his heart was Polish.’

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