ABSTRACT
Lieutenant Colonel Gerald C. Line, Drake’s executive officer, who handled the details at the regimental command post while Drake operated from an observation post several hundred yards away. Though only Lessouda was under attack and no immediate action was required at Ksaira, it was better to be on the safe side. Drake then moved his miscellaneous troops up on Garet Hadid while Van Vliet’s battalion remained on Ksaira. The positions were excellent for defense. Engineers had wired the most likely approaches with entanglements and attached trip wires to mines, and the infantry had added tin cans half filled with rocks to give warning of enemy approach. While crossing an open stretch of ground, the men were challenged by occupants of a German scout car. An American tossed a grenade into the car and set it on fire. Since there was some firing and a little confusion in the area, the Germans paid no attention to the burning vehicle.
