Patrick K. O'Donnell describes how the assault on Hill 400 on December 7, 1944, was characterized by surviving Rangers as their "longest day," surpassing even D-Day in intensity. Before the attack, Len Lomell conducted a reconnaissance patrol, determining

Patrick K. O'Donnell describes how the assault on Hill 400 on December 7, 1944, was characterized by surviving Rangers as their "longest day," surpassing even D-Day in intensity. Before the attack, Len Lomell conducted a reconnaissance patrol, determining that the only viable path to the summit was a straight frontal assault across an open field the size of a football stadium. Tensions rose when a new officer ordered a scout into the field in broad daylight; the man was immediately shot, enraging the seasoned Rangers who viewed the order as a suicide mission. When the signal for the main assault was finally given, Dog and Fox companies sprang from a sunken road like a "coiled spring." Approximately 120 Rangers charged across the open field with fixed bayonets, screaming "rebel yells" and shouting "Hi-Ho Silver" to intimidate the defenders. They ran directly into the teeth of MG42 fire, bayonetting and shooting Germansas they stormed up the steep incline. The speed and ferocity of the charge overwhelmed the German defenders at the base and on the slopes. Upon reaching the summit, the Rangers captured a massive observation bunker and immediately began digging shallow foxholes to prepare for the inevitable counterattacks. Though they had taken the hill, they remained unaware of its true significance to the German High Command or the scale of the firestorm that was about to descend upon them. (6)
1944