Operation "Bear Fang" - Attack on Hill 335 - Part 2
The commander of the 1st Battalion, Major Karl Schneider, born in Berlin in 1895, had already drawn up the plan for this operation in February. He had recognized that the positions at this height, which were well in front of the French outpost line, offered very good opportunities for observation and action within his area of responsibility. He had his soldiers practice this attack on a West Wall bunker in Dillingen. From 4:10 a.m. in the early morning of May 14, 1940, several artillery departments fired at height 335 with light field howitzers from Gallberg, as well as with heavy field howitzers from the Dillingen area. After an hour, direct fire from Lautersberg was added. During the night, the soldiers of IR 280 had already reached their starting positions in the area of the dirt road at the border, approx. 600m away. From there, several infantry platoons and heavy machine guns advanced northwest of the hill and into the town of Heiningen so far that they were able to fend off possible French support from the positions in the rear forests (Vorderster Wald, Daustaden, Dennenwald). Three platoon-strength shock troops directly attacked the machine gun positions on Hill 335. And although Major Schneider was fatally hit here in the focus of the attack around 5:50 a.m., his men managed to take all French positions by 6:40 a.m. The attack on the German side claimed a total of 25 dead, who are buried in the cemetery of honor in Beckingen-Reimsbach, and 44 wounded. According to the documents, we know of at least 16 French casualties, and 22 defenders began years of captivity. In memory of the fallen, the cross was erected at height 335 and has been maintained by the Saarlouis Paratroopers' Comradeship since the 1970s. Source: Text information board