The afternoon of Dec. 7, 1944, was cold and damp, and just outside a small German town near the border with France, American soldiers were fighting for their lives.
The 357th Infantry had spent the days prior capturing three German villages before crossing the Saar River. Pfc. Albert Marks and the rest of Company G crossed in the early morning hours of Dec. 6 and were holding a district called Pachten on their own as others faced attacks from German pillboxes — small guideposts, sometimes dug into the banks of the forest floor, where soldiers hid.
As the companies advanced the next day, German forces launched a counterattack around 2 p.m. Company G’s sharpshooters “had a field day” and artillery support killed dozens more, but attacks continued through the night, according to military records…