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American position. This opening fire fight continued for about
one-half hour. Johnson and his officers could not observe the
Germans and could get no idea of whether their fire was effecting
the enemy; the commander began to worry about the spending of ammo
on unprofitable targets but with the battle well Joined, there was
no way to get his own men to ease off. In this part of the action
(as was learned later from the prisoners) rifle grenades fired by
S/Sgt Lester A. Patty (a wire sgt) inflicted possibly heavier cas-
ualties on the concealed enemy than any other one weapon. The
mortars also were finding the target. A few weak cries of "Kamerad"
were heard from the German ground. That gave Johnson the idea that
a way might be found to produce a total surrender of the force. His
men didn't want it. They told him so. They said that they ought
to fight it out and kill the enemy in detail. But Johnson was still
worrying about whether his ammo supply was equal to the task. He went
on back to the CP and asked for a couple of volunteers to accompany
him, one to hold a flag and the other to interpret. Pvt Leo F. Runge
stepped out for one job and T/5 William F. Lenz for the other. The
word was passed for the American fire to cease. Johnson started to-
ward the German lines with his two men, Runge carrying an orange flag
on a rifle. The German fire slackened at once except for the shell,
but as the party advanced, Johnson heard fire coming from his own
lines. So he stopped the party, took the flag off the rifle and put
it on a long pole. They went on, but for a few minutes there was
rifle fire from behind them. Johnson didn’t know whether his men
hadn’t got the order or were just reluctant to cease fire, but it
made him apprehensive that the Germans would answer back. Runge
and Lenz showed no sign; in fact, during this whole episode, they
neither flinched nor opened their mouths and Johnson said later
that their bearing helped buck his courage more than any other one
fact. The party went on about 100 yards. Both sides had then quit
shooting. A few Germans were standing up and moving toward the
American line. Twenty five yards more. Then the people who were
standing up on the German side suddenly hit the ground and small
arms fire broke out all along the German line. The Americans sent
back a full volley. Johnson, Runge and Lenz went flat. They craw-
led and rolled back to the American line, all three getting there.
Runge was hit in the arm and Johnson in the hand. The fire fight
went on for another half hour. Then came a fresh lull in the German
fire. Johnson decided to try again and he told his men to cease
fire. He and Runge and Lenz started out again. The front became
quiet. They got about 100 yds and saw two men coming from the
German side. The groups met 150 yds from the American position,
where Johnson waited for the two Germans. They proved to be two
wounded German privates, one shot in the groin and the other in the
arm. They said their men wanted to surrender but the officers and
non-coms didn't and that the officers were shooting a few of the
men who talked about surrender. Johnson sent Runge back to one of
the farm houses to get a tablecloth. He told the German hit in the
arm to return to his commander and tell him this: He would be given
30 minutes to make up his mind. If he then surrendered his force,
he would then ground all arms and helmets. The men would form single
file, hands behind their heads, and would come out with the leader