By 5 October, they had restored twenty-two to working condition. Three days later, the tanks supported the 30th Division in an attack on the village of Brancourt. Here, effective cooperation between the infantry and tanks, favorable terrain, and good weather conditions resulted in a remarkably successful attack. Nine tanks, less than half of the tanks that went in to action, were immobilized by German artillery fire or mechanical failure. Second Lieutenant Paul S. Haimbaugh, an officer in Company C, described his experience as his tank neared its objective point:
It’s a mile to your objective now, but it’s a mile of thrills. You get shot-up, put out a half dozen machine-gun nests; clean up another sunken road with machine guns placed every ten feet along it. A one-pounder in a hedge scares you with several well-placed shots before it ‘goes west’ [is destroyed]. Some German artillery observer, way back, spots you and chases you over the landscape, dropping a shell, now in front, then in back of you. Here is your objective! You wait for the infantry to come up and your crew enjoys a breath of fresh air.
