During the reduction of the Ruhr Pocket, U.S. 7th Armored Division's 48th Armored Infantry Battalion moved on 7 April 1945 from Grafschaft, Germany, to take Schmallenberg. Companies A and C made the attack, with Company B then charged with mopping up. While the attacking A/48 took the most casualties, the mopping up B/48 took nearly as many casualties as the attacking C/48. And B/48 lost twice as many men killed as the other two companies combined.

Company B of 31st Tank Battalion shows them at Schmallenberg. C/31's Morning Report makes no mention of Schmallenberg, but the 31st Tank Battalion After Action Report places C/31 at Schmallenberg. So, both companies are included here. And a veteran's account says some elements of C/31 were on loan to B/31 at Schmallenberg.

This web page gathers what can be found in the records and in personal accounts toward having an accurate account of what happened. This process has already identified that the official dates of death of B/48 men as 8 April instead of 7 April are incorrect and gives the source of how that error came about.

The After Action Report for April 1945, dated 1 May 1945, has 19 pages comprised of the following reports.

1. The main battalion-wide report, signed by 48AIB commanding officer Lt Col Richand D. Chappuis contains 5 numbered pages.
2. The Headquarters Company report, dated18 April, has 4 pages (the first three of which are numbered), signed by 1st Lt Sam H. Sharp.
3. The Company A report, dated 17 April, has 1 unnumbered page, signed by Capt. Arville Ousdale, which covers 10-17 April.
4. A single-page Company B report has no signature or date but covers the period 090001 to 161000 April
5. A 2-page Company C report, dated 8 April, covers the period from 5 April 0400 to 7 April 1500 and was apparently by T/4 John S. Gittens. It simpley says "Plans carried out as ordered. Changes made when necessary." and has no details of the events.
6. Another 2-page Company C report, dated 10 April, was by T/4 John S. Gittens.
7. Another 2-page Company C report, dated 11 April, was by T/4 John S. Gittens.
8. Another 2-page Company C report, dated 13 April, was by T/4 John S. Gittens.

Only those pages relevant to Schmallenberg (which was on 7 April 1945) are included here.

Main Report (p. 2)
7 April 1945. Location: Grafschaft, Germany. GC 456834, map ref. Sheet 128, 1:50,000. From dawn until 0800 B/48 continued sweeping the woods west to within one mile east of Schmallenberg and dug in under cover of the woods. In the meantime C/48 left Almert 0400, made a wide envelopment thru the woods to the south coming into position to attack Schmallenberg. Under cover of darkness A/48 left Grafschaft, moved thru the woods swept by B/48 and stopped to the East of Schmallenberg, prepared to make a coordinated attack with C/48. At 1100, A/48 and C/48 jumped off after a ten minute concentration of two batteries of artillery on Schmallenberg. Considerable automatic fire was received and one tank supportingC/48 was knocked out. After a stiff fight A/48 and C/48 entered the town at 1600 and proceeded to clean it out from South to North. B/48 moved into town as task force reserve. A combat patrol consisting of the AT platoon of A/48 dismounted, 1/1/A/33 and 1/B/31 moved out from Grafschaft to clear one road to Schmallenberg after the town had been about one-half taken. Four P47s bombed and strafed Schmallenberg at about 1400. The forward CP moved from Almert to Grafschaft at 1030 and the rear CP was established at Almert at 1000. It remained there until about 1700, when it moved forward and a consolidated CP was established at Grafschaft. In the afternoon the vehicles were brought forward to the vicinity of Almert, Germany.
Weather: Sunshine

Headquarters Company Report (p. 2) (NOTE: The dates conflict with the other reports.)
The next day, 7 April, the Machine Gun Plat. and A Co & Mortar observers moved on down and joined "A" Company troops in GRAFSHAFT. One man was wounded in the Mortar Platoon by artillery fire at this village.
An attack was planned on SCHMALLENBURG for 8 April with "C" Company attacking from the left flank and "A" Co making the frontal attack. Observers were with "C" Co and fired several concentrations on SCHMALLENBURG prior to the attack. The attack started at 1100 and was met by heavy AT & MG fire. The village was taken by 1600 and mopped up by "B" Co. The high ground around the village was taken before dark and the MG plat. emplaced on the North.

The After Action Report for April 1945, dated 2 May 1945, has 9 pages. Only those pages relevant to Schmallenberg (which was on 7 April 1945) are included here.

Page 3
7 April 1945 ..Further losses of tanks were reported at 2010; these losses consisted of two by "B" Co and three by "C" Co in an attack on SCHMALLENBERG.

The After Action Report for April 1945, dated 1 May 1945, has 7 pages. Only those pages relevant to Schmallenberg (which was on 7 April 1945) are included here.

Page 4
At first light of 7 April 45, C/48 maneuvered Southwest from ALMERT and by 0800 was in position to attack SCHMALLENBERG from the South. At the same time B/48 was in position for an attack on the town from the East. This attack jumped off at 1110 following heavy artillery concentrations. At 1600 the town fell following a combined attack by dive bombers, artillery, tanks infantry. The 48th AIB pushed the attack to the high ground 1000 yards Northwest of SCHMALLENBERG where they consolidated for the night. B/87 which reverted to Squadron control at 1100 was moved into SCHMALLENBERG to secure the town. In the action of 7 April, tanks of B/31 worked with the 48th AIB while C/31 was with 3/395, A/31 reverting to Battalion control. A/87 was attached to CC "R" at 1000, while 38th AIB reverted in place to CC "R" at 1120, thus relieving Combat Command "B" of responsibility for Division's right flank. CC "B" Headquarters moved to GRAFSCHFT at 1710.

These original reports are among those collected in the book "The Ruhr Pocket and the Baltic Sea: 7th Armored Division Combat Interviews and After Action Report, Germany, April 1945" which is available on Amazon. The page numbers given are pages within the book and not in the original

7th Armored Division After Action Report
Page 69 Map

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G-2 Notes (The G-2 Officer was the Intelligence Officer in the Division's General Staff)
Pages 118-119
SCHMALLENBERG, the largest town in the area, which was attacked by our forces during the day, offered resistance that varied from moderate to heavy. Forces that attempted to enter the town from the south were subjected to small arms and machine gun fire from positions south of the town, and even more on the southern outskirts of the town once it was entered. Bazooka fire was also encountered in the southern outskirts of the town, and artillery was played on the town from the northwest and west - most of it from self-propelled pieces. Elements of the Division that attempted to enter the town from the east met withering small arms fire and fire from anti-tank weapons and self-propelled pieces within the town. Once inside the town, forces were faced with the dual problem of combatting fanatic resistance and poor observation that was caused by the buildings burning from our own artillery and air preparations. The blinding smoke concealed many enemy weapons that continued to deliver heavy volumes of fire on our forces that were obliged to clear the town house by house. The town was cleared of enemy by 1900, yielding over 300 prisoners.
The only substantial identifications made during the day were of the 338 Infantry Division, which seemed to have taken over the entire defensive sector against which we were pitting our efforts. The counter-attacks made on GLEIDORF during the earlier part of the day had been made by one regiment of the division with the support of a GHQ Heavy Tank Battalion, and the defense of the city of SCHMALLENBERG was made by another regiment of the division, with augmentation from a number of small and separate units that were centered around the town.
A total of 472 prisoners were taken during the period, exclusive of a number of prisoners that were left in the hospitals in SCHMALLENBERG.