"General, the 1st Armored Division, 1st Mechanized Infantry Division, and 2nd Mechanized Infantry Division had suffered grievous losses. The troops were on the verge of collapse. General Smith had no choice but to order a retreat and pull the troops out of combat. They had now taken shelter in the forests to avoid attacks by the German Air Force, bombers, and helicopters," Major General Thomas reported.
Lieutenant General Omar Bradley's expression was exceedingly grim. What had originally been planned as a fine victory had somehow turned out like this. He found the outcome hard to believe.
"How much strength does General Smith still have?" Lieutenant General Omar Bradley asked.
"General, the 1st Armored Division has less than half of its tanks left. The 1st Mechanized Infantry Division and 2nd Mechanized Infantry Division have each suffered losses of thirty percent," Major General Thomas said anxiously.
"Alas!" Lieutenant General Omar Bradley could not help but sigh.
The troops had all suffered enormous losses, and because they lacked combat experience, they were now teetering on the brink of collapse. If they had been elite German military units, perhaps they could have continued holding out. But the US Army? That would be exceedingly difficult.
"What about Port Busche? Have we retaken it?" Lieutenant General Omar Bradley asked.
"General, we encountered German military resistance on the outskirts of Port Busche. The Germans have assembled a large amount of transport capacity to move troops to Port Busche. This has allowed them to mass a large force there. Furthermore, a German fleet is operating off the coast of Port Busche, providing fire support to their ground troops. This has caused our troops heavy losses in the battle to attack Port Busche. If we want to retake it, I'm afraid we will have to pay an even greater