FIRE MISSION
The story of THE 71st Arm'd F.A. Bn. in the E.T.O.
TO THE MEMBERS OF THE 71st ARMORED F.A. BATTALION
This is the story of the men of the 71st
in combat through
familiar with all the operations of all of the individuals of the
battalion. I hope that this story will serve as a framework which
will help you to keep alive those memories which are
dearest to you.
To have had the privilege of serving with
you throughout these campaigns will be the greatest memory of my
life, and to have commanded this battalion is an honor the equal of which has
come to few men.
Although our job in this war has been
completed, the memories that we carry in our hearts will
never be forgotten. We know that each one has done his utmost to make possible
the success of our mission.
You may be proud of the part that you have
played in achieving this great victory.
I. B. Washburn
Lt. Col. F.A.
Commanding
FREEDOM OF SPEECH
FREEDOM OF PRESS
FREEDOM OF RELIGION
FREEDOM FROM WANT
"THAT THESE DEAD SHALL NOT HAVE DIED IN-VAIN .......
PHILLIP C. BARBERA, Pvt.
KENNETH LaFRAMBOISE, Tec 5
MICHAEL DICKEY, Sgt.
FREDERICK FLORIO, Sgt.
HARRY E. NICHOLSON, Tec 4
ALEXANDER D. FRASER, 1st Lt. ILARIO RAMIREZ, Tec 5
HAROLD M. FREEMAN, Sgt.
CHARLES WALDON , Pvt
OFIELD JARRELL, Sgt.
EDWARD G. WILKENS, Pvt
JAMES J. JULIAN, Pvt
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AMERICAN 3D ARMY MASSES IN ENGLAND
As the trucks of the battalion convoy topped one of the ground swells of
Salisbury Plains our eyes were attracted by one unnatural feature - a straight
row of kitchen "flies" - the work of the advance party, a sign that
we had arrived at our temporary home.
We'd ridden about 90 miles that day, a long day's work, and were anxious to get
settled. But where? Accustomed to the strict camouflage discipline of the D-day
staging area, we wondered how we were to conceal ourselves here. It was soon
explained. We weren't!
Transits had been used to line up our pup tents to form a battery street. The
parking line of the motor park was as true as instruments could make it. In
camouflage conscious
While chiefs-of-sections and drivers drew the vehicles and equipment stored
during the Sausage Camp campaign, those men left in camp busied themselves with
digging in the customary conveniences and improving pup-tents. Lumber was
at a premium. Eight or ten inch boards used for the foundation and a V-form
substituted for the poles added an amazing amount of room in the squat
pup-tents - enough space to enable a foursome to crowd inside for an evening
game of pitch or double-deck pinochle. Service battery hauled baled straw to
cushion the ground for sleeping; a steel helmet set on a triangle of stakes
driven behind each tent served as a wash stand.
It wasn't long before we were initiated into the need for another improvement.
The first rain came lashing in from the north, driven by a strong wind. The
battery streets were laid east and west, and half the tents of the battalion
opened to the north. One part of us was silently thankful our tents faced
south, while laughing at the rest trying to dry blankets in
Additional tentage was urgently needed. Gradually this need was filled by
rain-coats, torn canvas and salvaged shelter halves. The solution of that
problem raised two other minor problems. If it rained in the daytime, as it
frequently did, we had the choice of getting wet as we worked or of having a
wet bed. The other problem was the first sergeants, who found it necessary at
times to stop, lift each flap, and look for stragglers when the duty whistles
had blown. Bunk fatigue was a scarce commodity and as a rule came at a high
price. Did you ever dig a hole 6 x 6 x 6?
No one knew how much time we had to ready ourselves and there was a lot of work
to be done. The training schedule was designed to keep everyone busy, and it
was followed to the letter. Reveille, chow, police, calisthenics, foot drill,
and a hike were an assured part of each day's routine. The use of the remaining
hours of the day were subject to variation: vehicle maintenance, inspections,
first aid classes, practical demonstrations on mines and demolitions,
pronunciation classes for useful French phrases (these classes frequently ended
in a discussion of useful phrases not in any book), training with code
systems for communications, and aircraft identification.
At other times we had section training. In the gun sections we drilled at the
"cannoneers' hop" until each of us knew every step in handling rounds
and firing the gun; we knew exactly where every piece of equipment was kept so
that even the blackest night wouldn't interfere with our bringing fire on the
enemy. It was "cut and dried" for most of us. Yet, under the urgency
of knowing in a few weeks it wouldn't be a "dry run", that seconds
would count then, we perfected every movement. We'd worked together for years;
we'd handled the guns in training the the officer candidates at
Nearly everything on the schedule was "dry run". We even had classes
on sighting and aiming our carbines. That's dull! "Take a breath, hold it,
get the sight picture, squeeze." The prone position was the best - the
closest we'd get to bunk fatigue those days. But it wasn't all dry run, and the
added zest kept us willing to learn.
One day we had a formation to listen to an army psychiatrist; he spoke to us on
fear, a natural reaction we would all experience and must learn to
overcome. We weren't in any danger there on the plains, but we could anticipate
being afraid in the near future. Some went to special schools. T/Sgt. Meeker
returned from a school in
The only break in the routine was offered by the small quota of six hour passes
to
On an unusual English Sunday morning - when the sun was shining - the regular
routine was interrupted with the arrival of a messenger from Division
Headquarters with the long anticipated orders - "Combat Load".
Immediately the atmosphere in the battalion changed.
Each of us shed our desire to "soldier" a little, to await the
duty whistle or an order before performing a task. We didn't sprout wings and
become angels, but for our own satisfaction we wanted the battalion to be
ready and we did our share of the work. Almost immediately Service battery's
trucks began hauling loads of ammunition and additional equipment. Our usually
neat half-tracks and vehicles were buried under the avalanche of goods required
to conduct armored warfare. Rearrangements of equipment were continuously tried
in order to obtain the maximum room and efficiency for normal operation.
Additional attachments were needed to hold all the materiel and one of the
memorable scenes was the blue lights thrown by the welding torches of
Service battery's maintenance crew as they worked throughout the nights.
Last minute arrival of some of the M-7s caused long hours of additional work
for our gun sections. At last all was in readiness and we received the orders
to proceed to the marshalling area near
Upon arrival at the marshalling area after an eighteen hour road march our
visions of steak and French fries were shattered when a British KP asked,
"Will it be one or two dogs, old chap?" The feeling of disgust over
the menu was intensified by the filth and inconveniences of the camp.
"They were just dirty old pyramidal tents hidden in the swamp. We arrived
late at night, hungry, tired, and the buzz-bombs warnings were indeed an
innovation to our ears, and yes, our fears. That dull voice announcing the
coming of one of those infernal machines, the feverish hunt for a fox hole, one
look at one of those hole made a man rather take a chance on a buzz-bomb. They
were nothing but open latrines." (Cpl. Persikini, "A" Btry)
Although the march to the
"We spent the day loading vehicles on
Early the next morning the First Sergeants woke their men from their slumbers
on the cold concrete and "borrowed" folding bunks. After roll
call, we filed up the gang-plank. We started our voyage across the channel with
the main body of the battalion on two Liberty Ships, the Medical Detachment
sharing a third with another unit, and the Personnel Section spearheading for
us on an L.S.T.
The accomodations on board ship for troops were very limited and for the first
time since Tennessee Maneuvers "C" Rations were the menu. No kitchens
were provided, therefore three times daily we sweated out our turn
to heat "C" Rations at a steam valve on deck. Only fifty bunks were
available for two hundred men, so we were organized into shifts for sleeping.
We played cards during the uneventful crossing, but when the coastline of
We slowly worked our way into
Probably the most exciting incident that happened to us was
when one of the barges had engine failure and slowly drifted out toward th
channel. It drifted helplessly for awhile, with uncleared underwater
mine-fields adding to the danger. With the aid of one motor, however it was
able to tie up alongside a ship farther out.
As the landing craft hit the beach the individual vehicles raced with the
guidance of God and the M.P.'s to an assembly area a mile or so inland, and we
experienced for the first time shell-torn Normandy. Signs announced that
the roads were cleared of mines to the shoulders, but frequently we were forced
to detour minefields marked with white tape. The battered pillboxes, torn
barbed wire entanglements, shattered houses, and destroyed and abandoned
equipment gave us our first true picture of the fury of the assault. Huge
supply depots and busy quartermaster units gave us proof that our armies had
the backing to exploit their initial successes.
"How so many people showed up to greet us is beyond me. Should have
stopped and asked 'em how they managed to live through it. The
information would've come in mighty handy in the days to come. The
way cigarettes, by the package, were being tossed out, to the cry
"cigarette pour papa," one would think the Camel Caravan was passing
through. Finally reached our bivouac area. Dispersed the vehicles according
to the book, but - someone lost the book before the day was over
and we were on our own. At dusk we heard an enemy plane overhead. Can't miss
it. Sounds like an outboard motor (1 lunger) in need of a 6000 mile check.
Somebody immediately dubbed him "bed- check Charlie" and lemme tell
you - he didn't leave us 'til we reached the
PATTON POURS ARMOR THROUGH
About two o'clock in the afternoon we started our approach march to
St.Hilaire du Harcouet, where the division would assemble before exploiting the
break-through against the crumbling German resistance. The route of march
was on dusty, back roads as we followed the path cleared by the Infantry. Our
eyes opened wide at the battered and burned German equipment
knocked out at every tactical road crossing.
Everyone of us eyed a Kraut corpse, swollen because of the heat, lying
by the road. Some French refugees were using the road too,
but not many, and this proved to be the only time we were to see
French people who had been driven from their homes by the war. The
slugging match that drove civilians from their homes and destroyed cities
was not our style of fighting. We were destined for long marches and short
bitter battles as we destroyed the enemy's lines of communication
and supply.
After an all night black-out drive we arrived at the bivouac area near St.
Hilaire du Harcouet. We'd had our nerves set on edge by several experiences
during that night - the column had broken, we had passed in front of our own
artillery firing on Avranches and by- passed a Jerry air raid on that area. The
daylight was welcome and our new home was deep in the hedge-row country.
Our basic French phrases were put to use to obtain eggs, cognac and champagne.
The majority of the time was divided between guard and attempts to make the new
ten-in-one rations more appetizing. That day the Boche sent over strafing
fighter planes. The one-tenth-of-a second recognition training we'd had in the
states was of little avail; the clouds on the slides did not correspond to the
clear blue sky of
"Scared? I guess we were! We had heard of all the things we had to sweat
out and had talked and wondered just how it would be, but when the bombers came
over the first time at night, we forgot everything and hunted a hole,
which by the way, never seemed deep enough. First the ack-ack opened up and then
flares lit up the whole area. Then the bombs. They were after a crossroad near
us but it seemed as though every one of the bombs dropped was aimed directly at
you. It was over almost as soon as it started, with nobody too much the worse
for wear." (Pfc. Merrel, "C" Btry)
"I was lying in my fox-hole on a blanket, clad only in my shorts, the rest
of my clothes being beside my bed-roll, out of which I had crawled in nothing
flat. Suddenly, as I was waiting for that next bomb to land, I felt
something cold and clammy on my bare leg. My first thought was that I had been
hit by flying shrapnel. I was scared stiff! I touched my leg and expected
to find blood. Imagine my surprise and relief, when I discovered a frog was
sharing my fox- hole with me." (Cpl. Wolkofsky, "C" Btry)
Our first prisoner, a Nazi paratrooper, was captured by "A" battery
and this only served to increase our trigger happiness. We were thus assured
the enemy was close and a challenging "Halt" at night really
froze us in our tracks. While acquainting ourselves with the normal noises of
the night, we fired more than one clip of ammunition at a grazing cow or horse.
Next day Lt. Col. Washburn, our Battalion Commander, announced our first
objective at the Battery Commander's meeting. The Combat Command was to capture
and secure two crossings on the
Our first mission as artillery took place at two thirty in the morning. Captain
Roueche, assistant S-3, computed the initial data from a road map, no small
task in itself. "C" battery fired.
"To "C" battery it was another bivouac until we were actually
ordered into position. Some thought it was a fuel stop, others, just another
halt. But as it was: Lt. Harrison, F.O. for the battalion, had located an
88 position. Guns were laid, fire commands given, and deflection and
elevation set off by Cpl. E.L.Hoak and Pvt. Charles Rogers. Then the
command of "Fire" was given by Sgt. Ofield Jarrell and the first
round fired was on the way by the fourth section. Corrections were made in the
firing data and the battery was brought to bear on the target, neutralizing
it." ("C" Btry)
With the menace of the 88 removed, we refueled, march ordered, and the column
hit the road again with the objective to cut the roads to the south and east of
Here we first learned to distrust church steeples that were in enemy hands.
Each one of us claimed to have shot at least one sniper from there. Perhaps
more dangerous than the German force was our own fire ricocheting from the
stone walled buildings. Several casualties in Hq Btry resulted, M/Sgt. Leitten
was grazed and Cpl.
Mahoney and Pfc. Lanham evacuated. This, our first fire fight, was a big
lesson, giving us confidence in our ability to meet and kill the enemy
and proving the versatility of the 71st to fight any type of opposition in its
support of the leading elements.
Five miles beyond Maigne the column halted on the road and the warning
"Snipers on the left" was passed down the column. Once again there
was a terrific expenditure of ammunition and one Kraut latrine
orderly was captured. Simultaneously with the cease fire order there was a
rustle in the bushes on our right flank. The guns swung to the right, the
bushes were riddled. We thought nothing could survive that hail of lead. We
were correct in our assumption, we had killed a cow!
After an all night march, we went into position southwest of
"We were in bivouac with CC "B". It seems that everything
was "Fubar" (Fouled up beyond all recognition). Col. Fitzgerald
couldn't contact our battalion by radio so Lt. Martin, the Liaison officer, was
ordered to find them. It was about 0300 hours and we were bouncing down the
road when we were halted by a T.D. road block and upon inquiring whether a unit
of artillery was ahead of us we were "politely" infomed that nothing
was ahead of us but Krauts.
Well, Lt. Martin, in following orders, decided to go straight ahead. A
prearranged signal was made with the road block since they had informed us that
they were going to shoot anything that came down the road.
We proceeded up the road about 1000 yards when I nudged Lt. Martin and asked
him if he saw a large bush on the right side of the road. He said,
"Yes". I said, "That ain't no bush, that's a
camouflaged vehicle. Let's get the hell out of here." Was I scared?
"Lt. Martin said, "We'll just go up the road a little farther, we'll
be sure to find the battalion." Well, we ran up into a little town, not a
French flag flying, not a soul stirring. It didn't smell Kosher to me.
Still following instructions, Lt. Martin decided to give another try up the
road. So here we go again. By this time I could feel something sticky in
the rear of my trousers. It was at 0430 that we decided that if after a few
more miles we still did not locate the battalion we would head for
home. We had gone up the road about four or five miles and as we
approached a right bend we noticed a group of soldiers in the road. As we
neared them an officer stood in the center of the road and with arm
outstretched, shouted "Heil Hitler" -- Give her the gas and let's
Partee out of here."
"We dashed into Le Mans, hoping to find a place to turn around. There
were groups of soldiers on the sidewalks. We drove under one underpass. While I
was looking for some friendly sign, thinking possibly I could hide with some
Frenchman until this town was liberated, we went under another underpass.
Having been hit by a bomb, the railroad station was ablaze - it lit up the
whole area and there we were, like ducks on a pond. We backed the peep up,
turned around and headed out. As we screeched around that left turn where we
were first challenged by that "Heil Hitler", all hell broke loose
even to the swoozing sound of A.T. fire. We fired our trusty weapons but after
several shots they all jammed. What a night, doesn't the army know I'm an
"Old Man"? Well, our hectic ride finally ended in CCB's bivuoac area
with one tire shot out from under us, they had riddled it with holes."
(Sgt. Wisnower, Hq Btry)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fire Mission 2
GERMAN 7TH ARMY ELIMINATED AT FALAISE
Returning from a unit commander's meeting, Col Washburn announced our next
objective was to block all roads north and east of Sees. Our thrust northward
would put us in position to cooperate with the British and Canadian drive
south from
"As usual it was the back roads we traveled. Dusty? You never saw such
dust in your life. Visibility was so poor that it was like putting your head in
a barracks bag and tightening the strings.
Every so often the column would halt. When this happened our biggest worry was
sweating out the roaring track behind us. On one such occasion, it happened --
Bang! -- to "C" Battery's third section. It seemed as if all the 88's
in
(Sgt B.L.Smith, "C" Btry)
Lady Luck evidently smiled on us as we passed through numerous villages that
offered a great selection of roads. By following the clouds of dust we hung
together. Night driving is a great strain, especially on the
drivers. The only friendly territory we controlled was the width of the road
and the length of our column.
"About this time the Air Section spent several days trying to catch
up with the fast moving armored columns, because the cubs could not fly at
night. At
Often we were left in the middle of enemy forces that had been bypassed by the
forward elements. At one time nineteen German enlisted men and one
officer were captured in a house adjoining the field." (Lt. Nicol,
Liaison Pilot)
The morning of August 10th found us in position and ready to support the
leading elements, who had encountered an enemy task force. Lt. Hentschell
established a unique Observation Post in a steel tower of a high tension line.
He was eyed by many a trigger happy sniper hunter. Our only fire mission
there was marking a target with colored smoke for our
fighter-bombers, who eliminated the cause of the trouble. Once again we moved
out.
The B. C. parties led by Col Washburn proceeded the main body of the battalion
in search of new positions. Our Battalion Commander always fought the battalion
aggressively and proved this by leading the party into Sees with the advanced
reconnaissance elements of the French 2nd Armored Division. Here we were
greeted with an enthusiastic welcome from the French civilians, who showed
their appreciation by gifts of beaucoup wine and roast beef sandwiches,
which had been prepared for the German's dinner. Returning
through the town later, we passed the colorful Sengalese tankers and infantry
mounted on American equipment.
On Saturday, August 12th, we went into position, and with Lt. Martin
observing, flushed six Nazi half-tracks into friendly road blocks. Here we
received our first counter-battery fire. When the next morning's fog lifted the
first incoming round crashed very near to "A" battery's position and
created no end of confusion. Our positions were in a picturesque valley almost
surrounded by a high ridge that afforded excellent observation for the enemy.
No one had dug in and the dirt began to fly when that stuff started singing in.
Orders to displace to alternate positions were given, and the battalion became
a confused mass of people feverishly tearing down camouflage nets and loading
vehicles. The shells kept pouring into "A" and "B"
batteries' areas and were bursting in the trees along our route of departure.
One shell selected the rear door of Able's kitchen truck for a landing
place and almost immediately the chow wagon was an inferno. No efforts were made
toward extinguishing the flames because the truck was carrying several GI
cans filled with hand grenades and they created a terrific hazard. Baker
battery began laying a smoke screen along the ridge and under its protection we
"got the hell out of there." While directing "B" battery's
displacement Lt. Davies was seriously wounded by the flying shrapnel.
Also wounded were Pvt Amos of "B" Battery and S/Sgt Holland and
Pfc. Peterson of "A" Battery.
Reorganizing at a new position, we placed observed and interdiction fires
on the enemy along the ridge. An anonymous Frenchman, a key man in the
underground, was extremely helpful in pin-pointing targets for us and
determining results of our fires. He, or his men, would pass openly through the
German positions and report their locations to us. We fired a great deal, and
great damage and many casualties were inflicted on the enemy.
At Gace on August 12th the cubs found excellent hunting and were in the
air continuously, coming down for gas and going right up again. late that day,
the enemy infiltrated the woods next to the field used by the cubs and Lt.
Nicol and Lt. Sorensen took off, passing directly over the woods at about 100
feet. Heavy machine gun and rifle fire broke loose all around
them. Violently maneuvering, they got past the woods and over friendly
territory and continued on with their mission. On landing an hour later, a
number of holes were found in the ship but none did any damage. Lt
Sorensen's remark tersely revealed our reaction: "Who said you
couldn't hide behind a microphone?"
"August 13-Sunday, Hunting was good this afternoon - Hell' ava-lota Boche
headed for
"August 14th - We kept the bastards running all over the place. Praise the
Lord - Mail!!!" (S-3 Record of Events)
That day we suffered our first fatality with the death of Sgt. "Mike"
Dickey, forward observer sergeant of Headquarters Battery. His sudden death
from a mortar shell was a shock to everyone. We lost a good soldier and a fine
friend. This brought a personal feeling of hatred for the Nazis and War.
In forming the Falaise pocket, we created military history. It was the
first time a complete armored division was used to exploit behind enemy lines.
On August 15th we were relieved, and we do mean relieved, by the 90th Infantry
Division.
5TH ARMORED BATTLES GERMANS ALONG SEINE
On August 16th, after a 74 mile black-out march, we went into position south of
Dreux. This eastward march was giving basis to our hope of being the liberators
of
"Under these conditions Service Battery never was a complete unit, since
supplying and maintaining a completely mechanized battalion of 105's required
the service battery to be always on the road. We always seemed in hot water.
Either the fuel trucks would be on their way back when a rumor would start to
the effect a town they were to pass through had been retaken by the Germans; or
the wrecker crew, which had dropped out of column to pick up a disabled
vehicle, had failed to return. nobody knew there they were or what had
happened, and then upon their return we'd hear that, getting lost, they
had passed through and liberated several small towns not yet entered by any of
our troops." (Sgt. Conrad, Service Btry)
"We were sent back to locate and guide Service Battery to our positions so
the battery could take on gas and rations to continue our drive through the
night. When we were about five miles from the battalion and driving on a narrow
dirt road, a vehicle approached us from the opposite direction. Thinking it was
Service Battery we pulled off onto the shoulder of the road and
waited. When the truck came alongside, we found it to be a Volkswagen, loaded
with German soldiers. We were so surprised that not a shot was fired. Not
knowing if anything was following them, we pulled up and parked in a woods just
to our right. Five minutes later a column moved down the road towards us. We
sweated the moments until we recognized the lead vehicle as belonging to
Service Battery." (Robert Fitzpatrick and Bert Johnson, "C"
Btry)
At 2200 hours that evening Dreux's German garrison of five hundred troops
surrendered to the Combat Command. This was the first large mass surrender to
the division. As a rule the enemy, when in the mood to surrender, thought it
advisable to hide from the armor and give up to units following us. In this
instance the Germans surrendered to the 75th Arm'd Med. Bn.
"On August 17th, we had the pleasure of seeing our first ME 109 shot down
by the 387th AAA Bn. The plane came in very low making one pass overhead
without firing a shot, turned and started back. Before he could fire a
single round he came right over an AA half- track, which let go with all it
had. The plane burst into pieces in midair, crashed to the ground, and
burned." (Sgt. Conrad, Service Btry)
Thursday was one of those days when so much happened that it is hard to get it
all straight now. We occupied at least five positions that day and moved a good
many miles to boot. We were in each position only long enough to get the guns
laid, a registration made, and a couple of targets of opportunity fired upon.
In the afternoon we moved north and the cubs reported all roads full of
vehicles carrying doughboys from our supporting divisions. Several towns
were passed through and beaucoup prisoners were being held in each one. That
move was a classic example of what happens when an armored division breaks
loose behind German lines. There was no organized resistance at all. We moved
until we caught the fleeing enemy, shot until they were out of range and then
took after them again. When we reached the main east-west highway from
"Upon arrival at this position Col. Washburn needed to know the name of a
small town about a mile away. He designated us to find out what it was because
we were in the first peep behind his half track. We breezed
into the town hoping to "liberate" some wine or other potables while
we were there. Suddenly we noticed a German soldier approaching us on a
bicycle. He saw us about that same time so he piled off of his bicycle, trying
to bring his machine pistol into play. We covered him with our carbines,
made him put his gun in the back of the peep, and then climb up on
the hood with his hands on his head. Looking around us
we saw two enemy vehicles in a side street--it was time for us to leave! Waste
time turning around? Hell no, we parteed full steam to the rear. Guess the
Heinies decided to leave too, because when we looked back so many vehicles were
leaving, the town looked like a stirred up ant's nest." (James D. Hardesty
and Sam Cooper, "C" Btry)
While in this position near
This movement found us in position on the south bank of the river, some thirty
miles west of
resistance as we blocked those roads. German armor counter-attacked. We
breathed a sigh of relief when, at 3000 yards, one attack was beaten off after
the destruction of several of the attacking tanks.The same night we were very
busy as we made life miserable for a reported 3000 German infantry and the
crews of the 104 tanks of the 12 SS (Hitler Jugend) Panzer Division.
Interdictions and "serenade" fires kept us at the guns throughout the
nights, and preparations for the attack and defensive fires denied us any
opportunity to rest in daytime. This warfare of constant movement was starting
to show on us physically. Days and dates lost their identity, and nights
were meaningless as far as rest was concerned. Washing our teeth was as far as
we went toward cleaning up; shaving was considered a waste of precious
drinking water. Again the German air force entered into the fighting:
"Charley Battery was leading the column. We were in close support of the
tankers and doughs and were in a hurry to get into position. The guns were laid
when the Jerries hit us. Some of the boys had the mistaken
impression that they were our planes, but they damn soon changed their minds.
Both sides and down the middle they came - so fast and so unexpected that they
caught us completely by surprise. Nobody thought much of firing at them.
The first thought was to get under something and that's what we did, diving
under M-7's, halftracks, and anything big enough to get under. One of the last
planes to strafe dropped something, and someone yelled "BOMB!!" We thought
for sure the Assistant Ex. track was a goner when the object headed directly
for it. A lot of hearts started to beat again when the jettisoned gas tank hit
and bounced harmlessly across the field.
"The planes left "Charley" alone after that, but they caught the
rest of the battalion on the road. There, the Jerries weren't so lucky as the
ack-ack was ready for them and a few planes didn't make it back to
Eight casualties in the battalion and attached ack-ack were evacuated as a
result of the strafing.
"Aug. 25. The Army is very good to us. After twenty four days in the field
and an all night march, we now have a forty-eight hour rest period." (S-3
Record of Events)
Who could've called that a rest period? The daylight hours were spent at much
needed maintenance work and the nights were spent in firing 900 rounds in a
seemingly endless downpour of rain. A few of the more fortunate ones among us
did succeed in taking a bath in a stock tank. The water was very cold and our
position extremely exposed to the civilian eye, but after thirty days away from
any plumbing, bathing was an exciting experience.
We displaced to Mantes Gassicourt to support a crossing of the
It was planned for the division to bivuoac in
We entered the city at 1200 hours on the 30th of August and made our way
through throngs of hilarious Parisians, who lined the Avenue de la Grande
Armee. The joy of the people was contagious and soon affected all
of us. It was a wonderful sensation and soon had each of us feeling as though
he alone liberated all of
"The column had stopped and everyone was busy trying to kiss all the
girls. I was on the middle seat of the halftrack, Cpl. Dean was driving and
S/Sgt. Lenzner was in the turret. They were getting all the kissing and I
decided to do something about it, so I climbed out on the hood of the
half-track. I got kissed - an old man who hadn't shaved for weeks grabbed me
and kissed me before I could get away. I had had enough and got back in the
track where it was safe." (T/4 Hudson, "A" Btry)
Old ladies would hold up a quart of cognac in one hand and a shot glass in the
other; the boys took the quart and left them with the shot.
After leaving
The next morning, September 1st, we moved out across country and a
memorable sight to most of us was going across a huge airport that had been
destroyed by the fleeing Krauts - on one taxi strip the charges had not
been set off and we wound in and out among the bombs that were laid on the ground
with little blocks of T.N.T. wired to them. After that, many men sported
vari-colored scarves made from pieces of cargo parachutes. We moved from there
to the World War I battlefield in the Compiegne Forest where we waited while
the 22nd Arm'd Engineers constructed a pontoon bridge across the Oise River.
"We left
That obstacle passed, the first platoon again took the lead and edged into the
edge of a town called Noyon. They had just passed the first buildings when
another fire started. I called Lt. Harrison, who was down there in his tank and
asked him what that fire was. He said, "I don't know, but I'm afraid it's
another 'Big Boy', and there is beaucoup infantry down here." Being
unable to advance farther, because the knocked out M-4 blocked the road, the
lead platoon pulled back and joined us in a field about 400 yards from town. It
was decided to send dismounted infantry in to clear a route through. Since we
only had two platoons of infantry and rumor had four companies of Germans in
Noyon, the task force commander decided to make up the difference
with artillery. The batteries went into position and relaying radio commands
from myself to Lt. Hentschell to Lt. Fraser to
Once the batteries were hitting pretty close together I dropped the bursts to
roof top level and systematically worked the town over from side and from end
to end. As soon as the barrage lifted I started out with one of the infantry
platoons and believe me that looked like a pitifully small group of men to be
attacking a town - even after 1000 rounds of artillery had softened it up. But
our orders were "Go get in a fight!" So we started out.
We entered the edge of town just as it was getting light enough to see. I was
carrying a hand grenade ready to sell my life dearly when we met those four
companies. I guess we bluffed them though - because we entered the town only
finding signs of a hurried departure of the Krauts and an enthusiastic welcome
from the French."
(Lt Martin, Foward Observer)
At dawn we started on our way to Conde on the Belgian border, a distance of 93
miles which proved to be the longest one day's march through enemy held
territory in military history to date. Our little cub liaison planes
certainly proved their worth that day, acting as the sole recon agents for the
combat command during the entire march. The loss of Lt. Francies's plane when
he crashed into a fence while taking off was sorely felt.
"--the people were happy and they all came out to tell us about it.
They were all cheering us and at the same time asking for cigarettes and
bon-bons. They threw a lot of flowers at us as we passed by.
We had been having a little trouble with snipers and I was thinking about
that; we had been told that when a bullet hit you it didn't hurt right
away, but just paralyzed you. Well, this was it! I saw all my post-war plans go
up in smoke. I was hit right in the chest and couldn't get my breath. I
felt with my hand expecting to feel the blood which I knew must be all over me
by this time. I looked down, no blood, but right at my feet lay a nice big
green apple. Then I saw this kid; he was all ready to throw another. After that
I didn't worry so much about snipers, it was the apples I looked
for." (S/Sgt. Clarence C. Demlow, "A" Btry)
On this drive we developed the tactic of placing one fire direction vehicle and
a gun battery immediately behind the leading married company of tanks and
infantry. Placing this battery in position well forward, when the column was
halted, and bringing another battery forward in the column enabled us to give
continuous artillery support.
We arrived at our objective at 2300 hours with the column making 20 miles
per hour most of the time. Despite the fact that we arrived under the cover of
darkness, the French lined the streets, and though we were unable
to see them, their shouts of joy drowned out the roar of our motors.
During the deep dark of the night Cpl. La Vern Johnson was in the process of
relieving himself over a "cat hole" when six Frenchmen, three
women and three men, came up to express their gratitude for their
liberation. Upon discovering what he was doing, one of the fairer
sex gave him a loving pat on the most exposed part of his body, giggled and
went on about her celebration.
"During the long march, we had run out of drinking water. I took the jeep
and headed for a farm house. I handed the water can to the farmer and tried to
explain that I wanted a can of water and would also like to buy a bottle of
cider. He said "Oui oui", and took the can. In a little while he was
back with the five gallon water can full of cider. I didn't object."
The next morning our area seemed like a carnival ground. The French dressed in
their Sunday best thronged around each vehicle, giving us no privacy at all.
Our
The same morning another enemy column was observed several thousand yards away
across a lake. We laid the batteries for direction on the cub plane, circling
above the target. In the concentration, we destroyed three 88's, half
their vehicles and killed an undetermined number of personnel. When the
remainder of that column pulled out of range, we enjoyed enjoining the
civilians in watching the fighter-bombers work them over.
"Sunday afternoon we moved about three hundred yards to another position
for cover. I was informed to have my blankets, etc., ready to leave for an
outpost. It was decided that the guard would start at 2200 as none of us would
be asleep before that. We would each spend one hour and forty minutes at the turret
of the maintenance half-track and that would, with the six of us, carry
the guard till eight the following morning. I finished my shift at 0300 and
woke my relief, Bobby Breen, and was on my way for some sleep.
I was just about dozing off when I heard, "Come out of there, you
sons of bitches!" The 50 caliber machine gun started roaring.
In a few seconds I was on my way over to the track and I recognized Sturm at
the gun. He was still firing in short bursts. It was pitch black - but not for
long - just then a flare went off followed by a potato masher hand grenade
which as luck would have it hit a branch in a tree and went off on the other
side of a hedge. At the same time Charlie battery, in position directly
behind us, fired two rounds of interdiction over our heads. Their target was a
crossroad miles away, but the noise demoralized the Krauts. A wooden
shelter was now on fire from the tracers and some Krauts fully armed were
visible, squealing like happy pigs. These Heinies were coming towards us
hollering something that sounded like "Dunne Shozen! Dunne Shozen!" I
ran down the hedgerow and it was so dark that I ran right into a German. I
brought the stock of my carbine into his belly and his Luger fell into the
hedge and he into a pile of barbed wire. By that time I could hardly
believe my eyes. Germans were coming out from all around and they looked like
walking arsenals.
They were scattered all over the open area near our post and what we had
thought might be about twenty, looked now like a few hundred. It was here I had
an opportunity to reveal for the first time to the German Army two-thirds of
the German phrases I knew. I gave them, "Handy Hoch" and it sure was
quite a pleasant feeling to see their hands go up. I then called in
English, "Who can speak English," and out stepped a little runt of a
corporal. I told him to tell them to drop their arms. He did and they obliged.
I then gave them "Zuruck" (get back) to get them away from their
guns and grenades. Men from the battery arrived and everything was
settled. The bag was 119 prisoners." (Pvt. Ferguson, Hq Btry)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fire Mission 3
BATTLES RAGE AS REICH IS ENTERED
Another change of direction in a secret drive of 87 miles to the southeast,
behind our own lines, brought us into position near Romagne on September
4th. The next day, after moving twenty miles, the column bogged down for lack
of gas. It required 25,000 gallons to refuel the combat command. Resupplied, we
were attached to CCR on September 8th and advanced by bounds, reinforcing the
fires of the 95th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, to a position near St.
Movic. After crossing the
"Lt Nicol and I were flying reconnaissance for the point and Captain
Rowlands asked us to look over a bridge at Mersch, which they had reason to
believe was mined. We took a look and reported that it seemed
alright from what we could see. Just about that time it went sky high and us
along with it, we thought, for we could see stones and debris
flying by. The plane was carrying on like a ruptured duck. I radioed back
that there was no need of me telling them what had happened. My only
instructions were to have a pair of clean trousers ready for me when I came
down." (Lt. McWaine, Observer)
"We went into position and about half an hour later I noticed a lot
of people on a road leading up the hill about 3000 yards to our right front. I
took the field glasses and was surprised to find "these
people" to be Krauts on the run. I told S/Sgt. Shultz, our chief of
section, about it and he in turn reported it over the phone to Lt. Weems, our
executive officer. Lt Weems told us to start shooting direct at them. After
putting out about four rounds, we were hitting the trees right over
their heads and then the rest of the battery started firing. Captain Crowell,
our battery Commanding Officer, told us later that there was plenty of dead Jerries
on that hill." (T/4 Frank Clayton, "B" Btry).
"I had parked my half-track on an open hillside near Mersch and was
stretched out on the hood enjoying the scenery when I saw a German column
entering a woods across the river. I notified Col. Washburn and with his help
adjusted the battalion's fire on the area. We sure gave 'em hell." (T/5
Dale Wark, Hq Btry)
The infantry moved fast and captured a railroad bridge near the blown highway
bridge and we crossed it after the engineers removed several truck loads of
explosives and filled the space between the tracks with planks.
September 11th we reverted to our organic role of direct support of CC
"B". We were located at
Signs of the disappearance of summer were evident with the introduction of the
rainy season. Some leisure time in this position permitted us to admire
the natural beauty of this small Duchy and also our first opportunity to spend
some of our money at the local brewery. Here we had our second hot showers since
landing in
On September 16, the combat command was given orders to move into
"As we waited to jump off, a Red Cross doughnut wagon
pulled into our area. The presence of American women at a time such as
this was quite amazing and I must admit a great morale builder. We
sure enjoyed the coffee, doughnuts, and music. After a couple hours of this
break in routine we started on our way once again. We returned to
that same hill a few days later and it will always be remembered by us as
"Doughnut Hill." (Cpl. Rubel, Hq Btry)
We followed the road opened by CC"R" until the call of "fire
mission" came over our voice radios and we went into firing position near
Hommerdingen.
"September 17th, CC"B" moved back to clean up pillboxes on the
north flank, leaving a Cavalry screen to protect our exposed position.
Artillery and nebelwerfer fire began falling in the C.P. area and on the road
to our north. Prisoners reported that they were the advance paraty for an
entire division." (lst Lt. Floyd, Bn S-2)
"The weather was good and the enemy fire was ineffective in the battalion
position. Praise the Lord and pass charge 7. More fun than a barrel of monkeys.
Working over every town in range with fuze delay. Started one large fire in
Ingledorf. Wounded at least 30 squareheads outside of Niedersgegen. After
dropping 96 rounds into Niedersgegen, infantry entered and found countless
number of dead and 47 surrendered. Marvelous effect on the town. Infantry found
nothing alive in the above town and burnt most of it to the ground. Lt.
Hentschell, "A" Btry, and Sgt. Corniff, Hq Btry, were wounded. The
Germans have no respect for the Sabbath. Received a little counter battery at
1800 from 150's and "Whistling Willies"."
(S-3 Record of Events)
On the night of the 17th rain and fog closed over the position. Most of us had
given up digging fox-holes during the war of maneuver through
"Monday, September 18 - fired 936 rds yesterday. One of our forward
elements is now surrounded. Lt. Martin's tank is with this unit. Who said the
Germans were finished? Niedersgegen must have changed hands at least three
times today. In the past half hour we threw 186 rounds in the town. Shell fire
was constant. Pfc. Ward ran 200 yards under fire to administer first aid.
"We moved out late that afternoon with 6 tanks and 7 or 8 half-tracks. Our
mission was to fight north through the town of Niedersgegen and extend the left
flank of the division as far as possible in that direction in order to protect
the crossing of a small stream just south of that town. This was a factor most
vital to the division because loss of that crossing to the enemy meant that the
division was cut off without a line of communications. Resistance was met
almost immediately and after considerable delay a tank was maneuvered into
position where it could fire at the troublesome pill-box. Several rounds
of armor piercing shell silenced it so we could advance beyond it and on up a
narrow road, that skirted the edge of the woods on the east side of
Niedersgegen. It was beginning to get dusk so we pulled into a field and coiled
for the night.
"About 100 yards from our tank we discovered a steel door built level with
the ground that was evidently the back door to a bunker or pill-box which had
already been passed. We were unable to get it open so we booby-trapped it with
a percussion hand grenade and sighted two 75's at it, giving the gunners orders
to shoot when that grenade went off.
"So we began a miserable night. It rained off and on all night long; we
had to sweat out that pill-box so close to us. Our artillery started one of
those seemingly endless duels with Jerry's artillery.
"September 17th? I remember a night spent 'one on, four off'. That means
one hour of standing in the turret in the rain afraid to move for fear of
making noise, looking constantly in your zone of observation, continually
sweating out some Kraut appearing from behind that row of trees or a Jerry
column coming down that road and then, four hours off lying under the back of
the tank worrying about hundreds of things and probably most of all that next
hour of guard. A large numnber of gray hairs I know will show up on my
head prematurely I will blame on that 150 mm gun that dropped one within
200 yards of us every few minutes.
"Morning of the 18th came and the situation looked good -- we hadn't been
counter attacked the night before and in spite of the fact that those rounds
had landed so close to us we didn't have any casualties. But the bubble soon
burst and not quietly either. One tank and one half-track started back toward
the main body of our troops to pick up some engineers and escort them
back to where we were so they could blow up a couple of pill-boxes we had
by-passed. Those two vehicles had not gone more than 200 yards from our night
perimeter when the tank hit a mine that had been planted in that road since we
had come up in the evening before. Were we scared? No, we were too damn
busy to be scared then. Our platoon of infantry tied into those Krauts behind
us in one of the fiercest fire fights I have ever seen. All the action was too
close to us to use artillery so my crew and I spent our time helping men who
had been wounded. It took a while, but before too long we began to realize the
seriousness of our situation. We were cut off! An overwhelming force of the
enemy, astride the only road we had, was between us and the nearest friendly
troops.
"Capt Krafts, the infantry commander, then took the infantry platoon and
deployed them near the road to screen the withdrawal of the vehicles. Most of
them moved safely past the German force and on over a very steep hill down to
the road south of town. We started to breathe a big sigh of relief, but it was
premature. When our infantry prepared to withdraw they discovered that they
couldn't move, because of the intense enemy fire. The remaining three tanks,
ours included, edged down over the hill and started putting down an intense
barrage of fire with machine guns and 75 mm guns, while the infantry men who
weren't killed or wounded pulled back. In laying down this fire at maximum rate
Cpl. Weeks, our gunner, would fire a round of high explosive into a window of
the house most of the enemy fire was coming from and then follow it with a long
burst of machine gun fire. When several armor piercing shells bounced
harmlessly off of one house and white phosphorus could not set the straw roof
on fire we decided that it must be a camouflaged pill-box. One time Weeks took
his foot off of the machine gun trigger, but the gun didn't cease firing, so he
hollered over at Pfc. Essary, loader, "Hey, quit shooting that gun."
Essary came back with, "That ain't me, this gun's so hot it's shooting
itself." Here Sgt. McGlamery cut loose with his seldom fired bow machine
gun and succeeded in silencing some vicious fire coming from a hedgerow in
front of us.
"Before we could leave our exposed position there we had to provide more
covering fire while several men from the 15th Arm'd Infantry risked their lives
rescuing one of the wounded men. When they had him on a litter on
the peep they found it impossible to move because of the deep mud. I gave Tec
5th Sammy Smith instructions over the interphone and
he expertly maneuvered our heavy tank through the slippery mud
until we were backed up to the stuck peep. I jumped out and
attached a tow cable to it and we slowly moved out to the comparative safety of
other friendly elements."(Lt. Martin, Forward Observer)
"Our cub was unable to function because of the weather but five observers
were out with the various elements we supported. There was no shortage of
targets. Enemy troop and vehicle concentrations were observed on all
sides and this battalion was laid in four different directions at the same
time. We fired more than 1500 rounds during the day, inflicting
terrific personnel loss on the enemy, but our positions were very vulnerable,
enemy artillery continued to fall on all elements." (lst Lt. Spencer
Floyd, Bn S-2)
"Running all through
A German radio message, ordering an attack on Biesdorf - to our rear - at 0900
hours on September 19th, was intercepted shortly before that time. Enemy
activity in the woods to our southeast was increased considerably also.
The cavalry outposts reported armored vehicles had moved in during the night.
"Our battalion ammunition supply was beginning to get low during the
afternoon. The approaches to Biesdorf were under enemy fire preventing the
Service Battery ammunition trains from reaching us, though several attempts
were made to get through. Further, it was obvious that we would have to direct
our fire power to perimeter defense if we were to remain in this area."
(1st Lt. Floyd Bn S-2)
"Ammunition was getting low in the battery and the ammunition section, in
charge of Sgt. Van Caeseele, was sent back to Service Battery to replenish our
supply. Service battery was in the rear and we thought going there was more or
less a pleasant reprieve from the constant shelling that the battery was under.
This time, however, we changed our mind, and fast too. We didn't know at the
time that the rear area had been re-occupied by the Germans during the
night, and the town of
Sgt. Van Caeseele decided to go through the town and asked for volunteers to go
with him. We split up the section and four of us took one half-track and started.
The volunteers were Sgt. Van Caeseele, Cpl. McClain, driver, Pvt. Turner and
Tec 5th
The Germans had knocked out a lot of our trucks in the vicinity of the town and
soon we found that the roads were impassible and we had to abandon the idea and
the half-track too. We made it to a ditch and helped some doughboys put out
mortar fire which helped to quiet things down till we could get our
vehicles again and move them out of there. Fortunately no one was hurt very
badly although Van received a slight wound on the cheek from a ricochet. Five
hours from the time we left the battery we reached Service Battery only to find
it under the same kind of treatment. Several of their men had been killed.
The Ammunition officer decided to take the ammunition to the batteries
and that meant we would follow him back but not long after starting we ran into
the same trouble. It wasn't until we came upon Major Smith that we were
assured of our destination. He was headed out of
"At 0900 Captain Stewart received a message on the radio that the
batteries needed ammunition immediately. Here goes the ammunition platoon
again. We left at about 0930, down the hill towards Niedersgegen, crossing the
creek near the water point. Farther down the road towards Biesdorf, we had to
stop behind a column of peeps.
We asked one of the officers of the 28th Infantry Division what the holdup was.
He said, "My Company is held up by snipers and mortar fire up ahead."
It was still foggy. Soon the fog lifted and holy hell broke loose from all
directions. The Krauts entertained us with artillery time fire and mortar
shells; pieces of shrapnel were coming down like hail, too darn close for
comfort. Cpl. Johnson's truck was hit by shrapnel, it made a dozen holes
through the hood and radiator. The shells kept bursting at a rate of 25 a
minute.
Knowing that it was impossible to get through we turned the trucks around and
went back to our bivouac on hill 375. At about 1500 hours, we received
another radio message telling us to get through by all means and deliver the
ammunition. Every one in the platoon knew that it would be a tough mission. The
trucks took off down the road. The further we went the more artillery the
Krauts seemed to fire. Just before entering the town of
"In the next truck were Pvt. Whipple, driving and Sgt. Florio, manning the
50 cal. machine gun. At the intersection Sgt. Florio got killed. He fell on
Whipple, making it necessary for him to drive with one foot on the running
board. Each truck got about the same amount of fire. Fortunately no others were
wounded, only scared. our 50 and 30 cal. machine guns were continuously barking
back at the Krauts. The radio was shot out and we had no other
means of communication. Lt. Fraser, attempting to reach the battalion, ran the
gauntlet to where we were. His radio was in working order so the
following message was sent to Major Smith, Bn Executive Officer. "I have
the mad Frenchman here with a load of goodies and its impossible for him
to get through, over." We were ordered back to Hill 375, because the
battalion had been ordered to displace to the rear. On our way back we
were continuously harrassed by enemy artillery. We had to go across a
creek, up the hill across the field to get back on the road bypassing
Niedersgegen.
When we arrived on top of the hill, we had to pass a burning truck loaded with
small arms and mortar ammunition. The shells and cartridges were exploding in
all directions. Arriving near our bivouac area, we noticed that
CC"B"s service units had moved out after being shelled. No one was
left around that area except CC"B" on the other side of
the hill. We knew that there was only one way out and that was the bridge at
Wallendorf. The Krauts kept interdiction fire along the road and bridge.
We gritted out teeth, ducked our heads and made a dash for it. When we saw our
"Voyage Service" sign we breathed a big sigh of relief for ourselves
and hoped that the rest of the battalion could be as successful as we
were in getting out." (Ammunition Platoon, Sv Btry)
"Mr. House, here's your peep. I told you I would bring it back full of
bullet holes." (Lt. Beaupre, Sv Btry)
"Shooting in four directions is something not taught in the Field
Artillery School but we sure learned fast during a universal shoot in Wallendorf.
After a day and one half of ducking nebelwerfers and other unasked-for incoming
express, my greatest fox hole experience came on 19 September 1944. As Baker
Battery computor
I was on duty taking all missions for said battery. Many missions had been
fired by the cracker jack Fire Direction Team but when this mission, which
proved to be the final mission for the 71st east of the Our River during that
memorable period, was called for, I used all the tricks as far as
computing is concerned. "Firing for effect" brought double results -
one result for the enemy and one for us. Baker battery fired
battery one round and the enemy retaliated with battery one round which had a
good effect, though I would not give them credit for a target. They sure
scared hell out of everyone around the C.P.. I was computing from our
"community" fox hole, when the "incoming mail"
landed. I was giving the fire commands over the phone and the next thing I knew
I was separated from my computor"s pad and telephone but still had the
receiver and slip stick in my hand. This separation occurred when Tec
5th Karlovsky jumped in the fox hole and took me and my belongings with
him. This was followed by another visitor, T/Sgt. Hauenschild, and
finally Capt. Roueche.
At this time the Radio operator announced "100 over" and, depending
on my memory, my command was "down 5 - Fire".
Battery one round was repeated and evidently our fire was effective because
there were no answering rounds." (S/Sgt. Ceruti, Hq Btry)
"...before long we were firing charge one. That was close and the Germans
weren't falling back. It was different from France. The shells were hitting all
around us. Right in back of us the 75th Medics had set up a field hospital - a
few shells fell on them - I don't know if anyone was hurt but they moved out
quick.
"That afternoon we were so low on ammunition we couldn't do anything but
save it for direct firing, and just sat around. I saw four friendly gas and
ammunition trucks knocked out in the little town near us. We received the
order to move back after some of the 85th Reconnaissance came back and told us
that we'd better get out if we had the gas. We started out the way we came
in. I was in the last vehicle, and I saw all the vehicles in front of us
pulling off the road. One of the fellows came back and told us that the
lead track was knocked out by direct fire as it topped a hill, and we
were to pull off the road and wait.
The Germans had retaken the town. Then came Purple Heart Hill. I had been
watching it for three days and everytime a vehicle went over it the Germans
shelled them, but we had to go out that way if we got out at all, so up we
went. It wouldn't have been so bad, but just as we got to the top, we received
orders to pull off the road and let the 95th Arm'd Field Artillery
Battalion pass us. When we got off the road, they let us have it. I guess the
hill was zeroed in. Everyone left the vehicles and scattered. There was
no place to go, and no time to dig fox holes. While we were there, ten men were
wounded and one killed. I wasn't afraid until that happened, but after I saw
this fellow get it, I was. After that everytime I heard an 88 my
blood froze and I got weak in the knees. It all happened so quick. I was
looking for the motor sergeant and I saw five or six guys by one of the M-7's.
They were laughing and talking; I found out later it was S/Sgt Demblow's
birthday and they were talking about what a hot
celebration he was getting. I heard the shell coming and hit the dirt. When I
got up everyone who was around the M-7 was leaving except one who
was lying on the ground. I went up to him and saw who he was and that he was
dead. He didn't even unfold and he still had a smile on his face, it was that
quick." (T/4 Hudson, "A" Btry)
"As the column moved out a call came from "A" battery for the
ambulance. They said they had a man who was wounded and was down the road. The
ambulance with Tec 4th Robinson, Tech 5th Johnson and myself met a vehicle from
"A" battery and asked the driver where we could find Chambers, the
wounded man. He said, "Just go right down the road." We moved
on and suddenly came in sight of a German aid man and a peep sitting in the
middle of the road. It was on the edge of a village. We stopped a minute and
saw Chambers wave to us.
When we reached the spot where he was lying on the side of the road, we saw the
German aid man bandaging his wounded leg. With the help of the Wehrmacht aid
man we put him in the ambulance and he said to the German, "Old man, you
did a good job." Then he shook hands with him and the German shook hands
with each of us. On the way back I treated two other wounds that the German had
not had time to treat." (T/3 Entz, Med Det)
"At the time the ambulance left, our 3/4 ton truck moved off the road into
a draw with Headquarters Battery. While the column was stopped, several men
received wounds and came to us for treatment.
Capt Bickel, S/Sgt. Kinsaul, T/5 Shaw, T/5 Capps, and Pfc. Stump were kept busy
giving first aid to casualties. Enemy shells continued to burst in the area.
Finally one shell hit a tree directly above us, resulting in several
casualties. Among those wounded was Capt. Bickel, who,
nevertheless, continued his work.
It was here that S/Sgt. Kinsaul disappeared. After searching diligently for
him, we were forced to move on without him. Later we found that he had been
wounded and Pfc. Sanders of "A" Btry had found him and put him
in another ambulance." (T/4 Robinson, Med Det)
In those days, our Medical Detachment won our greatest admiration and respect.
Their devotion regardless of personal risk was heroic and outstanding.
We withdrew across the Our River late that night, regrouped and went into
position to cover CC"B" with our fire power. Our supply line was open
now, and Service Battery's trucks emptied one ammunition dump to give us the
material for the revenge we sought. It was honestly a pleasure to hear our guns
firing again. The entire battalion had withdrawn with
the exception of liaison and forward observers, who were still with the tank
and infantry units. Lt. Fraser and Sgt. Wisnower were towed in with two tires
and the motor shot our of their jeep. CC"B" was still cut off, but
was confident of its ability to fight its way back. Our air support had been very
noticeably missing those other days, one flight having been over for a few
minutes the previous day, but the afternoon of the 20th they put on a show that
won them our highest praise. Rumor's story is that the air liaison officer had
gotten for us a flight that was returning to base fully loaded; they had been
unable to locate their original target. Soon twenty eight P-47's and
thirty two P-38's were circling above us. Our FO's marked choice targets
for them with colored smoke and they dove to the attack. We
were amazed to see them dive four abreast strafing a woods. There were so
many planes Lt. Nicol, our cub pilot, remarked that there was just no place
left for him to fly. Jerry had had no air power to contend with, and he was out
in the open, vulnerable as hell. After that afternoon's work, our
fighter-bombers were always known lovingly as "Angels".
Some supplies were still urgently needed by CC"B", and our men there
were still in great danger.
"I hadn't realized how tough a spot we were still in; I knew though
that we were needing some medical supplies. Our cub planes, with Lt. Francies
in one and Lt. Nicol flying the other, landed in our area and began
unloading boxes. As soon as they'd come in, Jerry started plastering the place
with artillery. I was silently cussing them out for landing there and drawing
fire on us. I asked Capt. Wilcox why the hell they didn't use the ambulance to
haul those supplies in. He told me we were cut off again. Those flying
crates wrapped around washing machine motors were our only "in" and
"out". It was about dark when they were unloaded, and one plane
almost crashed into a tank when taking off.
"That was the only time I ever dug a fox hole for someone else. I
figured my best bet in getting out was to keep Capt. Wilcox going, he was
so busy with fire missions he couldn't be bothered - so I started two holes.
I'd dig in one for awhile and then jump in the other." (Pfc. Griffith, Hq
Btry)
We fired 2000 rounds in twenty four hours the last day CC"B"
was in there. The FO's didn't have to look for targets, they just picked
out the best ones. We hit the Kraut hard for what he'd given us. We'd
never been on the short end of any score sheet, and that day was nearly all
profit. Kraut prisoners were coming in with reports of 50% casualties in
their outfits from our artillery fire and we had set lots of their equipment
ablaze.
It was reported that some tanks crossed the river towards us, so we
established an outpost of one tank and some men with bazookas on our flank.
They were to report the approach of unfriendly elements. Some fire fell on this
listening post. Pfc. Stinger was evacuated with a leg wound and Sgt. McNair was
hit in the back with shrapnel but fortunately was not seriously hurt. As a
result of his wound Mac had to eat his meals standing up.
Wallendorf was the first time we had ever faced overwhelming odds. We had
pulled back now to lick our wounds. Our mission was accomplished, and we had
the satisfaction of knowing we had inflicted extremely heavy casualties upon
the enemy. Although we had twenty-one casualties with Sgt. Florio, T/4
Nicholson, Cpl. Luker, T/5 Romires and Pvt. Barbera killed, we, a military
unit, were very fortunate in not having suffered a greater loss. But as
individuals our hearts were shrouded with grief for our fallen friends.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fire Mission 4
FRONT STABILIZES AS WINTER COMES
The battalion moved farther back into Luxembourg, but we maintained OP's
overlooking the Our River. Captain Crowell and the B.C. section of
"B" Battery were driven from their Observation Post by small arms
fire from a German patrol. Maintenance of vehicles, firing upon targets of
opportunity, and interdiction fires occupied most of our time. Compared
to the ordeal of Wallendorf, this was a rest period. The nearby town of
Diekirch provided us with bathing facilities and good beer. Lt.Stroup,
feeling the urge to relieve himself one night, wandered into the quarry
where the C.P. was located. Coming through all our previous battles without a
scratch, he made the mistake of not wearing his helmet on this mission.
Many stitches were required to close the gash a falling rock made in his head.
September 24th was the first Sunday since entering combat that we failed to
move. Even though this was a period of inactivity, the effects of the few
rounds we fired were verified by a PW report that stated that our artillery
caused one casualty a day in his platoon alone.
Duffle bags arrived from where they had been stored and we prepared for
the coming winter by digging out our G.I. longjohns, overcoats and Red
Cross sweaters. We soon learned the trick of building a large fire during the day
and at dusk covering it with a large flat rock to stand on while on guard
during the night. In that way we kept our feet warm.
On the morning of October 5th, we covered our unit markings on the
bumpers with mud, removed our shoulder patches, and strict radio silence was
imposed. As we moved northward a special unit moved into our old
positions, set up dummy guns and vehicles and sent "canned" radio
messages, to make it seem as though we were still there.
After an 85 mile march the battalion assembled one mile east of Faymonville,
Belgium. Due to the fact we were in reserve and in a non-firing position we had
the chance to relax and play some touch football and volleyball.
The SSO set up movies in the woods; we listened to the World Series ball games
and Axis Sally programs.
For the first time since leaving England, we were issued "B" rations
and our kitchens were again putting out hot meals. Hot-cakes, which were
despised in England, were now a delicacy, and Spam tasted as good as steak.
October 15th, a cold rainy sunday, we moved into position 8000 yards southwest
of Aachen. Here the combat command was held as a mobile reserve.
For protection against night strafing Luftwaffe, the first thing we
did was to throw up the camouflage nets. These huge nets were hard enough
to put up in the daytime, but now with the additional handicaps of sinking into
mud up to our knees, and the waterlogged condition of the nets, it was almost
an impossible task. After an hour of swearing, they were finally in place.
We had crossed the border and were now into Germany for the second time! It was
a strange feeling, everyone was thinking the same thought, "Will we stay
in this time or will the Germans succeed in evicting us again?" The battle
of Aachen was raging. We heard the big guns now, the 240's, the 8 inchers, and
the 155's, and we saw the great amount of equipment and men around us. That
"all alone - Wallendorf" feeling was leaving us fast. It was dark
now, the rain was still falling, as if with a vengeance. The ground was so
soft, that it looked for a time like we would not make the battery positions.
After much churning of mud, and a terrific amount of cussing, the battery
literally slid into position and was laid and ready to fire. The rumors were flying
around, as thick as the downpour of water on us, that the Germans were
counter-attacking fanatically and often. Despite the seemingly impossible
visibility, planes were buzzing overhead, enemy planes! It was cold! Our feet
were long since soaking wet from plodding in the mud. We were hungry,
cold, and out-right miserable. There was no sleeping, simply because there was
no place to sleep. If only day would come!
As soon as it got light, fires were started and the heat was the nicest feeling
one could experience. I made a solemn promise to myself that if I ever get
home, I am going to live in Florida, where it will never get cold!" (Cpl.
Persikini, "A" Btry)
Headquarters Battery was located several days later in near-by houses in
Oberforstbach, but the gun batteries of necessity remained in the field.
We were no longer needed in that area after Aachen's fall and on October 30th
moved about thirty miles south to a quiet sector of the line. Headquarters
Battery ranked Service Battery out of Reichenst- ein Castle, part of which was
reportedly built in Charlemagne's time. The entire building was of old
arrangement and construction, but had been modernized sufficiently to
cause field troops to marvel at this good fortune. There was a conveniently large
kitchen, a bath-tub, a water heating system, and in every room a small stove.
The Germans had the foresight to install a distillery and maintain a wine
cellar - mostly stocked with Rhine wine. It was furnished with a pleasing
combination of rare antiques and modern furniture. In contrast with this
mode of life was the existance of the gun batteries in their home-made
shelters.
"On October 30th we pulled into an area near Kalterherberg, known to us of
Able Battery as "Snow hill". At first, we thought it was going to be
rough up there, but it proved to be one of the most pleasant periods of the
Rhineland Campaign. The chow was the outstanding feature of our entire stay
there. The gun sections had to
remain outdoors for we were in firing positions. My section, the Executive
Section, was more fortunate; we got to stay in a large stone barn. We backed
our half-track in, hooked up our radio, blacked out the doors, and established
our beds in the high soft haylofts. At night we hooked a light to our battery
and had some sociable poker games. Just outside the barn, we had a small shack
and here was our stove. As long as we stayed on "Snow Hill", our
regular army chow was supplemented by delicious venison steaks. The nearby
forests abounded with deer, and several times you could count three deer
carcasses hanging in the cold. Here also we had our first heavy snowfall of the
winter. The snow covering the hills and pine trees was indeed a beautiful
sight. It seemed almost impossible to believe that death lurked in those woods.
"Our biggest worry on "Snow Hill" was the buzz bombs. You
could hear them coming, but the low-hanging clouds would obscure observation of
them. A number of times these damn things had the filthy habit of cutting off
near our positions. It was then that things became so still that if somebody
dropped a messkit, everyone would dive for the ground.
"The gun sections had built themselves little shacks. When we needed coal,
we just went to near-by Kalterherberg and helped ourselves, and I mean helped
ourselves. This was the life. Here the smells and sights of war were not
present. Only good, clean, fresh mountain air. For those two weeks we had
almost forgotten the war. Then came our winter offensive, and our planes
literally covered the sky. "This was it," we thought - the Germans
would be beaten very soon. Then orders came to move on. The war was catching up
with us again." (Pfc. Marengello, "A" Btry)
During our occupation of this area S/Sgt Mylertz, who had one of the
longest records of service with the battalion, was evacuated due to an accident
which occurred when he was returning from Service Battery. T/5 Richard Hillas,
the driver, in negotiating some very bad turns enroute, slid off the road and
hit a tree. Sgt Mylerts lost the thumb and index finger of his right hand.
"B" Battery lost a valuable asset and good soldier.
"--- two German cows charged our C.P. today. After a stiff battle and
counter-attack we were able to hold our own, and killed the attackers --- the
steaks were very good." (S-3 Record of Events)
On November 18th we moved out of the snow into the mud in the vicinity of
Roetgen, Germany. The cold, miserable raining weather matched our mood and
surroundings. It was getting dark when we pulled into our battery positions at
Roetgen. It had been a rather long trip, we were all tired and now going into
position in a big muddy field with no place to sleep was damn rough on our
morale; we felt "browned off" against the world in general. There was
the usual stuff of laying the telephone lines and getting the guns in position.
And the mud -- what the hell were these Krauts fighting for anyway? Well, we
finally finished getting set. One of the guys had been saving some buzz bomb
juice for just such a time; he must have sensed it. We downed that, threw our
camouflage net in the mud, pitched our pup-tents over it and passed out of this
world, at least temporarily.
"Thanksgiving came. Yeh, we had turkey, plenty of chow, but it also rained
and our mess kits filled faster than we could eat out of them. The weather
there was memorable. It was just plain lousy. Later we "borrowed"
some pyramidal tents from a Q.M. dump and found some hay and put up stoves. But
in spite of these comforts, the short days and long nights were a pain in the
butt. Nothing to do but fire a few interdiction rounds occasionally. The
only thing we can't kick about was the fact that it wasn't bad here as far as
enemy stuff coming in. But the monotony was something we can never
forget. We call it the three week solitary confinement in Roetgen!"
We had much to be thankful for on Thanksgiving. We were fortunate to be alive,
and we were grateful that the material destruction and damage of war was not in
our country and on our homes. We could look forward with hope -- if and when we
could return -- to resuming a normal familiar way of living. Each withdrew a
little into his own mind and thoughts that day. We reminisced fondly over the
past, the family gatherings and the traditional football games.
Sunday, December 3rd, the Germans sent over two flights of ME-109's.
"B" Battery of the 387 AAA Bn, aided by our single-mounted fifties,
earned an acknowledgement in the daily German communique, quote, "Four of
our aircraft are missing,"
HURTGEN -- TWO WEEKS OF HELL!
We moved to an assembly area southeast of Aachen. Our stay there was a brief
two days, but it is notable as the first time that all the battalion was
billeted in houses. On December 10th we moved with CC"B" into
the battle of Hurtgen Forest.
Orders had been received by the Division to capture a vital sector. This, as
everyone knew, would be a very difficult task, but it had to be done in order
to clean out one of the few remaining pockets on the west side of the Roer
River. Everything was in readiness and the Division prepared to move into
position.
It was one of those dreary, cold days with low hanging clouds and stinging wind
that cut to the bone. Anyone who experienced even one fraction of the struggle
in this particular area is very much familiar with the abominable weather as
well as the almost impassable terrain.
"Somebody slipped up that day, or else the weather man didn't know
or care that we were coming in. Snow ... snow .. and more snow, as far as
the eye could see, spotted with those telltale patches of piled up brown earth
that mark the spot where one of Fritz's 88's had landed, the wreckage of
buildings, where some of our shells had found their targets. Damn, it was
cold that day! All the boys were more than glad to make camp and get those fires
started, not that they were cold, tired, wet, and hungry ... anything but
that. After all, think of all the lifegiving heat and nourishment that
there is in a "K" ration, eaten on the move, you think of it, I have
more pleasant things to think about. Finally, after a little more than
the usual share of bitching and shuffling around, we got into position, and
started to make ourselves as comfortable as possible.
A bunch of doughboys had been bivouaced there before us, articles of clothing
and equipment attested to that ... also a few of the doughs themselves were in
the next field, but they were past caring what went on about them. Our own
details buried them the next day. Our predecessors had made things easier for
us though, some real fancy foxholes and dugouts with heavy log and dirt roofs
were ready for new tenants. I guess those guys must have been in a hurry, not
one hole was long or deep enough for us, so off came the tops and we put on our
own additions. Namely: stoves made from 5 gallon oil cans, complete with Boche
stovepipe, and illumination in the form of flashlights or half-track
trouble lights rigged up with lengths of wire. We fired on targets of
opportunity and aid down heavy barrages in preparation for the attacks.
For the boys that were off duty during the day, there was the usual army
time passers, poker, and blackjack games, just laying
around and chewing the fat, or snatching a little of those "40" winks
missed the night before, while on that firing problem." (T/5 Burrell,
'A" Btry)
"I was working with a Forward Observation Crew in an M-4 tank and got a
pretty damn good view of everything that happened during the days to follow. We
left the Battery and pulled into position with "A" company of the
81st Tank Battalion, and received instructions for the attack that started at
0700 the next morning. To make our night a little more uncomfortable we
blindly chose a position near three dead frozen Krauts sitting upright in a
ditch. It was obvious that they had been put out of commission by a tree
burst from an artillery shell. This proved to be a common occurrence
throughout the whole forest. Everywhere one would look, splintered trees could
be seen. I imagine our tremendous artillery concentrations accounted for most
of the damage.
"After a trying, sleepless night, dawn came with the roaring of tankers
warming their engines in preparation for the attack. Doughs of the 15th
Arm'd Infantry Battalion started slogging down the muddy frozen road to the
jumping off point. Most of them wore only field jackets, due to the quantity of
equipment and arms that had to be carried. The tanks pulled out on the
road in single file moving forward at a very slow rate of speed. The road
was under enemy observation and was plastered repeatedly by artillery and
mortar fire. Despite this and innumerable other hardships the attack pressed
steadily forward.
"It seemed as if hours became days as we tried to reach our line of
departure. When we left the main road and started cross-country, one tank
was knocked out by an unlucky hit from a Kraut mortar. The going became rougher
with every yard of moving. Tankers had to fight the mud and sweat out artillery
and direct fire from anti-tank guns.
"We finally reached the top of a mountain near our line of departure
and had to hold up. The Krauts were looking down our throat from a still
higher mountain. We tried to press forward down the steep hill but this
was useless due to the mine fields. Several of our tanks lost tracks due to the
mines. It was decided that it was best to sit tight and wait for the units on
our left to advance. The tanks took up a defensive position and the
doughs dug in for a stay that seemed almost eternity.
"Our tank commander, Lt. McWain, radioed back to the Battalion
for defensive fires. Most of the fire commands had to be relayed through
our Liaison Officer, Capt. Rowlands, because of very bad reception. We
remained in this position for, I believe, three days and nights. During which
time the only hot food we had was coffee prepared at great risk by
lighting a gasoline stove on the floor near piles of ammunition; the only sleep
we got was acquired dozing while sitting in our cramped positions with no room
to stretch or turn. To answer the calls of nature we crawled out and stuck our
fannies over the edge of the tank praying always that a mortar shell didn't
arrive to drive us from our sojourn.
"Lt. Paul McWain, Forward Observer, Sgt. Walter F. Bullard, gunner, Cpl.
Roland R. Loveless, loader, Cecil "Red" Martin, assistant driver and
myself, driver, comprised the crew.
"During our stay here men were killed like flies, and mortar shells
were falling at such an unbelievable rate of speed and accuracy that it was
practically impossible for anyone to withstand the ordeal. Reinforcements
poured in steadily but they could not keep up with the terrific losses."
(T/5 Hopkins, Hq Btry)
"It was during this action that the German prisoners began to feel the
"hate" that the men of the 5th Arm'd held for them. The more they
resisted, the harder we fought and in the end, they found it more profitable to
surrender. Those who were captured, were "double timed" to the rear.
The weather had a lot to do with our feelings. The cold and snow made us hate
everything, so we just acted accordingly. I guess it will be a good many years
before any of us forget the days we spent in Hurtgen Forest." (Sgt. Haley,
"B" Btry)
Hurtgen had been a typical pine forest. Terrific artillery concentrations had
downed many trees, while shrapnel had nearly cut through the soft wood trunks
of others and made them a dangerous hazard. Weight of new snow and the
play of the winds would bring these crashing down. One night one of these tree
tops fell on headquarters battery's kitchen truck, breaking T/4 Robert Jernigan's
leg and pinning him down till daylight. The medics made him as
comfortable as they could and deadened the pain, but it was impossible to cut
away the tree in the dark without further endangering him.
On December 17th, another Sunday, news broadcasts
informed us of a German counter-offensive in the Ardennes. Its unbelievable
strength, announced at fifteen or more divisions, amazed us. We thought we were
fighting the whole German army. The next day the reportedly destroyed German
air force put on a spectacular display of strength.
Huge dog-fights filled the sky over our position. We rushed to the top of the
hills to get a clear view of the activity and cheered lustily as we watched
seven Kraut planes blasted from the air. But during the night, and for several
nights, we were kept on edge by the flares of low flying bombers hunting our
troop concentrations.
"At the time of the break-through, Service Battery was stationed at
Walheim and got its share of the bombing given the troops in that area. Three
nights in succession the Germans sent out bombers and no one got too much
sleep then. Two men, Pfc. Davenport and Pfc. B. Smith, were injured from one of
the bombs." (Sgt. Conrad, S Btry)
The day before Christmas we received orders to displace to the vicinity of
Eupen, Belgium, and with a sigh of relief "march ordered". We
wound out of the forest and off the hills of Hurtgen on a bitterly cold,
clear morning and the past-time of the trip was watching the fleets of bombers
leaving vapor trails in the blue skies as they headed for Bastogne and
other vital centers.
"The ride out of Hurtgen will always be a memorable occasion to me.
I am a machine gunner on an M-7. Before we left I dressed up for that ride. I
had on two pair of socks, my shoes, overshoes, two pair of O.D. pants, my
shirt, two sweaters, a field jacket and an overcoat. I thought sure that we
would be observed by enemy planes and was stretching my neck watching for
an attack. As we rode along all feeling semed to have left me. I was numb with
cold. The M-7 ahead of us was throwing fine powered snow into
my face. My fingers were so cold that tears of pain rolled out of my
eyes. God, how I longed for a little warmth. When we finally did reach
our bivouac area, I was so stiff and red that I could hardly make it out
of the full-track. It was Christmas Eve, yes even though cold and
miserable, it was damn nice to be around." (Pfc. Slaff, "A"
Btry)
Although the number of casualties in the battalion was not high, those
suffered were serious. Lt. Walter S. La Fan, "A" Btry, got face
wounds from a mortar shell. Cpl. Chet Foley, "A" Btry, received a
chest wound from falling flak. T/5 Fred Bucci was wounded while working
on his tank under fire. Lt. Barry returned from observing fire with his tank
scarred by seven hits from an A.T. gun and was evacuated with
a fragment in his eye. Lt. Norman McNees' ample rear stopped a splinter
of a shell.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fire Mission 5
SIMPSON'S 9TH DRIVES TO RHINE
Our battalion occupied non-firing positions at Welkenraedt, Belgium, and
remained on constant alert for future commitment. The division was placed in
21st Army Group, reserve, with the possibility of being used anywhere on the
north side of the German salient.
We bivouaced in the wind-swept, snow-covered fields at the edge of the town. At
home it would have been perfect Christmas weather. At night the moon was
nearly full, and in the quiet, blacked-out country-side, one could imagine
hearing sleigh bells. The civilians were noticeably anxious over the Von
Rundstedt counter-offensive, and the occasion was none too cheerful for them.
Our cooks worked the night through preparing the dinner for the next day, an
exceptional Christmas dinner even for the Army -- and our morale was boosted by
their efforts. However, the sight of the Belgien children hungrily
seeking the scraps we left in our mess kits brought home the irony of the
thought, "Peace on Earth, good will toward men."
On December 27th, Lt. Alexander D. Fraser and Sgt. Harold M. Freeman were
killed by a bomb when taking a shower at a hospital unit located in Verviers.
The pleasant personalities of these two men were sorely missed by all of us.
Our reconnaissance sections were continuously making studies of possible
defensive positions and routes of approach to them during these days. With each
day the immediate threat of German success in the Ardennes was becoming less,
and consequently we relaxed and began to make ourselves at home as all soldiers
will. We bought, borrowed, or bartered for cognac. A bottle of watered cognac
cost seven hundred francs or twenty packs of cigarettes. The battalion
requisitioned a beer hall, known as "Voyage Rest Center," and we also
patronized some of the civilian bistros. We were all shocked at the
European custom of men and women using the same rest room simultaneously.
On the last night of the year, the Hun left us his best wishes for the coming
year in the shape of a 500 pound bomb. No casualties occurred though it landed
thirty-five yards from an FO tank and its sleeping crew. Many windows were
shattered in Headquarters area, and the cooks of that battery were disgusted at
having a cherry pie ruined by falling plaster.
New Year's morning the fighter planes returned in force; we were eating
breakfast when they came. The first thing we knew someone yelled,
"Jerries!" The ack-ack opened fire and most of the men
ran for cover. The planes tried to strafe, but the AA boys were on the ball. Of
the seven or eight planes that came over, six were shot down. The planes came
in so low that the flak was cutting the tops of the trees over our heads. No
one was hurt, but nearly every man thought, "What a hell of a way to
start a New Year."
We were fast becoming acquainted with the civilians in the area. The children
of the neighborhood lined up in the chow line as regularly as we did.
Left-overs were carried home by them for their parents' meal. They quickly
learned our most commonly used phrases, and we'd often be greeted by them with
a, "Hello, Sad Sack." Any of our requests received
the familiar, "Oh my Aachen-back", response. The Belgiques were
willing enough to charge a stranger any price for cognac or wine, but the
generosity and hospitality extended to us, the soldiers they knew, could not
have been warmer. After our month's stay more than half the men were
settled in Belgium houses.
Even now, after V-E day, if a man wearing a Fifth Armored Division
patch walks down the streets of Welkenraedt, he's approached by nearly every
girl who sees him and asked, "Do you know where so and so is?"
On January 27th we loaded into our white-painted vehicles and formed into
column on the road. To us, this was just another miserable move. We had left
any sentiment and sorrow at a parting in the states long before. But the
Belgiques came out of their homes and stood in the snow, many with tears in
their eyes, to wish us luck and a fond good-bye.
We moved to Lammersdorf, Germany, into the most luxurious field quarters we
were to find in our campaigning. The CP was in a German administrative pill-box
and Americans had built additional "dug-out" houses around this
center. We took over the positions of the 308th F.A. Bn. This unit was
motorized, and had been in the area for more than a month. They had
used the time to build quite elaborate quarters with built-in bunks, stoves,
curtains, and telephones in each dug-out. The pill-box itself was covered
with many feet of dirt and carefully camouflaged with sod and young trees. It
was constructed of reinforced concrete and though an elaborate ventilation
system had been installed the the place was damp and miserably cold.
While here, two men received battlefield commissions. Chief Warrant Officer Guy
J. Tipton and Tech Sgt. Stanley W. Hauenschild became second lieutenants.
CC"A"'s mission was soon completed and we returned to Montzen Belgium
for another break of four inactive days, after which we moved to an area near
Heerlen, Holland. This was the sixth country we visited since leaving the
States. Rain caused the snow to disappear and the next few days were spent in
brushing the white-wash from our equipment. We were billeted in houses along
the main route from Antwerp, which was crowded with high-balling supply
convoys. The build-up for the Roer crossing was on, and we marveled at the
amount and variety of equipment to be employed. Rumors going the rounds
of the batteries at the time stated once a break-through was made after
crossing the Roer, there would be no stopping for the Rhine. All the munitions
and materials needed for the job would be close at hand.
Holland's many modern, fine homes, clean towns, and blonde women attracted our
appreciation for natural beauty. Our short, pleasant stay was ended with a
movement to Puffendorf, a village on the Cologne Plain. We took several unusual
precautions in preparing our positions and billeting the men. The gun positions
were the most exposed ones we had had so far, and German-held
territory could be easily observed. "My gun position would make a goddamn
good O.P." (Capt.Smithers, "A" Btry.)
Due to the possible enemy observation, the personnel at the gun positions was
held to a minimum. Just the gun crews and executive sections remained there.
The rest of the battery personnel such as the kitchens, administration, supply,
ammunition and maintenance sections were kept well in the rear. During the day
even part of the gun crews were sent to the rear; our camouflage must have been
good for we never received any serious threat from the enemy. To those of
us living in the positions it was not very pleasant. Every man had a pup tent,
but under the tent was a deep fox hole, which was continually
damp. Everything was dug in for protection against possible enemy
counter-battery fire. The only objects that you could see above ground
were one camouflaged half track and six M-7's, plus the small tents. At
mealtime the men loaded into trucks and were brought to the rear area where hot
chow was served.
Incidentally, the chow here was very goodl. At night one gun from the battalion
would be put into an alternate position and fire interdiction all night. This
was done in order to avoid revelation of our established position. While we
were here the battalion's last two battlefield commissions were granted to 1st
Sgt. Rex R. Case and S/Sgt. Jack Stine.
Every town from the border to the Roer was nothing but heaps of rubble,
therefore considerable work and improvising were necessary in order to make
quarters liveable. If we were fortunate, two rooms might be found intact out of
an entire building. Able Battery's R section was forced to use a shell hole in
a building for the
entrance to their quarters.
"To ease the minds of the men before the storming of the Roer River
the SSO was showing the first motion pictures the Battalion had seen in quite
some time. The building that was used as the theater was a single story
auditorium located in the center of the village. The floor was piled with
trash, planks, barrels and boxes just as are most buildings in newly
taken towns. It was easy for the men to make seats out of this material. There
were two exits from the building, one located in the front and the other in the
rear."
"As the second reel was being put into the projector, the sound of a lone
plane broke the stillness of the night; this is a common sound and it was
forgotten in a short time. It was but a few minutes before the lights were to
go out when a Captain stepped between the screen on the stage and the projector
and told us that enemy flares had been dropped over the village and we were to
file out of the theater in orderly manner and go straight home. The men
began to stand and move over those make-shift benches towards the doors. A
couple of the fellows standing near the windows pulled the shades up,
letting in the light from the flares. Some of the men, seeing these flares,
became panicky and charged for the door, causing much disorder. At this time
the bombs were dropping around us and the blast was knocking a few men to the
floor. The sky was filled with planes making like the sound of a dog
fight. As the men were going out, there was a loud explosion that sounded as
if it was in the building and a large support beam fell to the
floor in the center of the large room injuring a few men. Luckily there was no
one injured seriously. As we made our exit, there was a Major standing just
outside the door, who told us to stay close to the wall of the building
so we would cast no shadow."
"A few seconds after the bomb hit so close to us there was a screaming of
a plane coming in on us and those along the wall hit the ground as 20mm and
machine gun fire, hitting the building head high, came at us from
the plane."
"After ten minutes of bombing and gunning the planes left us as
quickly as they had come, leaving the calm night broken only by the sound
of a pair of feet every now and then running for a safer shelter and the
ambulances on the prowl for the wounded." (Cpl. Fitzpatrick, "C"
Btry.)
Our attack was scheduled to start a few days after
we arrived, but the Germans succeeded in blowing the sluice gates
of the dams at Schmidt that controlled the flow of the Roer River, thus putting
the river at a flood-stage. This delayed our crossing by ten days.
We had always marveled at the amount and variety of artillery massed in this
sector, but it was impossible to realize this great strength until H-hour came.
At 0245 February 23rd, the artillery preparation for the crossing began. It was
tremendous! The sharp crack of our 105s was nearly drowned out by the deep
rumble of the heavy artillery. Everywhere we looked the blackness was pierced
with vivid flashes. We could see the white hot shells leave the guns, and land
in the distance. We wondered how anything could possibly survive that barrage.
After the final saturation concentration fired at the rate of five rounds per
minute for five minutes, the gun tubes were so hot that they would blister a hand
if touched. Although the gun crews fired over 2400 rounds in two hours they
were still out for blood and would have gladly repeated the performance.
Statistics later showed us that there was one artillery piece every 15.6 yards
on the 9th Army Front; 65,261 rounds were fired in the hour and a total of
131,851 rounds were fired in the first four hours to accomplish this mission.
The assualt troops of the 102nd Infantry Division jumped off at 0330 hours and
were successful in our area from the start, so that in a short time we were out
of range. Our barrages had not only caused severe casualties to the Germans,
but had completely destroyed their communication systems.
On February 25th CC"B" was committed, and we were in our favorite
roll of direct support for that unit. We crossed the Roer at Linnich and moved
to positions at Kofferen. Here some Jerry issued "A" Btry four rounds
of his death dealing 150mm artillry.
"I was standing in the executive half-track shooting the breeze with
Cpl. Persikini when we heard this big baby "whisper" in. I had
the unusual experience of seeing the projectile bury itself in the
ground but it popped out three or four feet further on and spun around on its
side. I was paralyzed momentarily until I saw Persikini dive for a fox hole. I
thought that was a damned good idea and followed suit. Immediately three more
shells dropped in, one of which sent Sgt. Burke to the hospital." (Lt.
Hauenschild, "A" Btry)
A large amount of artillery including heavy caliber was falling close on the
heels of the forward elements. The bridgehead was steadily being enlarged, our
troops were jammed in this small area.
You often read in the newspapers of armor driving through a hole punched in the
enemy lines by the infantry, but this was the first time in our
career that we passed the infantry as they still sat in their trenches. We took
up firing positions immediately in front of them. This drive shortly
assumed the characteristics of the old familiar "rat race".
Resistance was stiff but we steamrolled our way
through. "A" Btry lost its 5th section M-7 in a mine field;
fortunately no serious casualties occurred. Our old fear of the treachery of
the German civilian that originated in Wallendorf was somewhat neutralized as
we saw them being herded to the rear areas.
These people had lost all their arrogance, which was replaced by a dazed, dread
fear. A state of panic motivated by our curt orders caused them to flee the
battle zone as we drove on.
"Do you want some fun? Try asking Capt. Stewart how he got his Purple
Heart. It seems that someone had read the map wrong and Mont made a
reconnaissance for Service Battery in a town that was in various stages of
being captured. His recon work was evidently done in the Kraut held part, because
when he made his way back to where the other R.O. sections were, he
was overheard to say to Capt. Frederickson. "Say, Doc, I've got a hole in
my ass." (Capt. Blackburn, "C" Btry).
While we pulled into position at Bucholz a full scale tank battle was raging.
Before establishing our C.P. in a house at the edge of town, it was necessary
to search the building for snipers. We lacked time to check the rest of the
town, for it was at a premium. Several hours later after Headquarters battery
was established, the rest of the town was cleared of Krauts. After we
completed our registration, the doughboys jumped off from behind us and took up
defensive positions outside of Rheindahlen. The city was full of enemy troops
and their armor caused our forward elements a great deal of trouble. To
overcome this opposition Col. Cole, CC"B" commanding officer, called
for air support, and we marked the target with colored smoke.
"The artillery liaison officer, Capt. Richard A. Rowlands, radioed
from his peep to the 7lst batteries for a counter-flak barrage and
red and white smoke shells to mark the target. The artillery fire was
laid, corrected and laid again. Then the Thunderbolts made a wide sweep toward
the target and peeling off singly, dived and dumped their loads. The town
rocked from the tremendous explosions." (5th Armored History,
Attack")
This was a fast moving action. Anything could happen, as witnessed by one of
our forward observers. "- - - the task force had covered about 15 miles by
noon and lost several men but no vehicles. We had destroyed several German guns
and some tanks, and had taken many prisoners. All of a sudden in a small burg
by the name of Rheindahlen, we struck a snag. Able 22 was the fourth tank
in line at the time. We ran into eight dug-in self-propelled 88mm
anti-tank guns and some German tanks. Everyone was blasting away. The tank to
our right was knocked out, also the one in front of us as well as the one to
our left. We knew we had it coming next, but there was nothing we could do
about it. We were stuck our there like a sore thumb. The next thing
we knew periscopes were flying all over the place. Everyone sat stunned as
hell. That round hit the right side of the turret, unseating it. It was only a
second before we started bailing out. Just as we left her another round hit on
the same side, only lower down on the hull. Some other fellows who saw us
coming out said we looked like a human chain fastened head to foot. We
lay in the diteh for some time, while they kept pounding our tank until it
finally burned. Lt. Henry's remark was, "It boint to a
crisp."" (Sgt. McGlamery, Hq. Btry)
February 28th seemed to be a day for freak accidents in Headquarters Battery.
Sgt. McNair was working on his radio in his tank when some Jerry planes came
over. Upon hearing the ack-ack, he stuck his head out of the turret just as a
falling 37mm shell exploded against the hatch. He was evacuated with
superficial face wounds, bu returned two days later. Tec. 5th John
O'Hagen opened the wrong door in the C.P., fell down a flight of cellar steps
and broke his leg. Tec. 5th Millage Murdaugh, while attempting to put up
an aerial for a radio, fell from a tree and broke his arm.
Now that CC"B"s mission had been accomplished, we remained
in this position for several days. It seemed strange to us that the war
could sweep by so fast when only a short time ago we were right in the
middle of it. The German civilians had left behind a plentiful supply of
livestock and poultry. As a result, the kitchens had plenty of fresh beef.
French fries and fried chicken provided an excellent snack before retiring.
After an all night march we arrived at Kempen early in the morning of March
4th. Here again, the entire battalion was bivouaced in houses. Since we were
not within range, our chief duties were eating, sleeping, and guard.
When day-light arrived and we filed by the kitchen crew to get dehydrated eggs,
we noticed that George Heim was missing his store-bought teeth. Upon
interrogation, Heim admitted losing them over the tail-gate of the kitchen
truck during the march as he was liberating some "liberated" wine.
While we rested, we pondered over the possibility of the Germans making good a
final stand in a redoubt area in the South of Germany.
The front lines on the 9th Army Sector were established along the banks of the
Rhine. We were convinced now all of Germany would have to be overrun, and we
looked forward to an early crossing of the Rhine. The shortest, quickest,
most permanent way home was through Berlin.
Immense warehouses full of Rhine wine were captured by the division. This was
issued to us by sections and many a toast to early victory was drunk. During
our pleasant break, we were sobered by the news that Pfc. Kenneth
LaFromboise was drowned when boating in a nearby lake.
March 12th we moved, under Division Artillery control, to relieve the 65th
Armored F.A. Bn at Meere Busch, a suburb of Dusseldorf on the west bank of the
Rhine. Here our mission was to support the 4th Cavalry Group and keep the Germans
uneasy as to our strength and intentions in this area. For the first few days
there wasn't a great deal of activity and we spent most of our time enjoying
our very comfortable quarters and making ourselves at home. Bathing facilities
were convenient in every house, and even the toilets flushed. We supplied
electricity with our now numerous small generators. Spring was in the air, and
we dug out the long buried
baseball gloves and volley ball equipment and enjoyed getting outside.
Headquarters was quite interested in discovering the history of the former use
of its large home - - it was stocked with hundreds of diapers and
innumerable quantities of baby clothing.
They eventually discovered the homey spot was one of the Nazi homes where
unwed mothers received medical attention. The C.P. building was located in an
attractively landscaped yard, complete with swimming pool. We
nearly forgot the war, yet if we walked away from the protection of the
buildings, we could be seen by the German held east bank of the river. Most of
our heavy firing was at night in support of the Cavalry's aggressive patrolling
across the river. The Germans retaliated to this by sending back generous
amounts of counter-battery fires during the day.
"Z" battery was formed by Major Smith with a captured 122mm gun. This
gun was used to harrass the enemy and the first rounds were fired at a healthy
elevation, in order to clear our own troops. Even after reducing the range some
7000 yards the rounds were unobserved.
Many targets of opportunity were fired here, with Major Atkinson firing the
classic problem by chasing a Kraut on a bicycle. Incidently the fire was
ineffective and the enemy "troop" and his bicycle escaped unharmed.
Our missions were varied and often included the firing of propaganda leaflets.
"About two o'clock in the afternoon we started throwing this propaganda at
them and we shifted all over the compass. Long range and short ranges, we
really sprayed them around. When we fired the fifth round the Jerries answered
with a round of HE and this kept up until we got rid of all of our
"library". I requested to be allowed to throw in some white
phosphorus, because I knew the bastards would understand that, but the
Battalion couldn't see it my way." (S/Sgt. Shultz, "B"
Btry).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fire Mission 6
RAT RACE -- RHINE TO WESER
The British and Americans were rapidly expanding their bridge-head across
the Rhine at Wesel, while from Remagen bridge-head the armored spearheads
were beginning to rip into Germany's vitals. We knew our time for
commitment was real close. The action would be welcome to us as a necessary
step in ending the war, and we didn't want the Huns ever to have the time or
place to get set and balanced.
"I was on the evening shift at fire-direction. It promised to be a quiet
evening, no patrols were scheduled, and each of us was
spending the time as he pleased. One or two were writing and a checker
game was attracting several kibitzers. Major Atkinson strode
into the room carrying some overlays, and I immediately sensed
that the "big picture" was to break. I didn't overhear
any of the quick briefing the Major gave the officers in the room, but
the plan slowly revealed itself as everyone worked getting the route marked on
the maps."
"Sgts. Troia and Bennett brought in the supply of maps and began
breaking them down for distribution to the batteries. The Major and Sgt.
Werning began to trace the data from the overlays onto the maps
we'd use. As they worked, the air in the room seemed to become activated from
our growing tension and amazement. After finishing one 1/100,000 map the
two men put their work on the wall of the large room, began work on
another. We were to move north, cross the Rhine at Wesel, and proceed to an
assembly area outside Munster.
That "approach march" would be one day's work, as Munster was about
ninety miles away. To me, sitting in that room and having the S-2 situation map
for reference, there was but one catch so far: Munster was still some
thirty miles behind the enemy front lines.
"From that area, we would jump off towards our objective. The red china
marking pencil lines traced a course a little north-east
following the open country of the great northern plains, skirting Minden
on the South, and aiming for Hannover. If we did succeed in getting
there, Jerry could be counted on to fight to keep the lines of
communication open between there and Brunswick. The plan was
bold, the element I did not hear clearly mentioned that night
was the time schedule, but the general talk in the room gave
me the impression that we'd be on a "rat race" time-table."
"Someone mentioned an oft-repeated quote from one of the General's
speeches, "It may be a short life, but a busy one." If the attack
ever rolled, we knew definitely that we would have knocked out the enemy's
means of waging war. They might fight in the redoubt area, but their supplies
would be very limited. We also calculated some other points: we could
expect every civilian to be working against us,nearly every element of surprise
would be the enemy's, the supply lines would be dangerously long and easily open
to ambush."
"When the map work was completed, seven different 1/100,000 maps had been
needed to plot the route --- the distance was approximately 250 miles though
only 175 miles of that was still Hun heartland. We just sat and
looked at the display, and thought." (T/5 Berns, Hq Btry).
We moved about twenty miles the next day to the division assembly area near
Anrath, and awaited road priority for two days. March 31st we crossed the Rhine
River at Wesel.
"Spring had come to Germany; a cold spring, but this day was sunny, the
countryside was green, trees were sprouting new leaves, and fruit trees
were beginning to blossom. I enjoyed the ride and seeing the
sights. My outstanding memory was of the approaches to the bridges across
the Rhine and Wesel itself. In the area on the west bank the debris
of battle revealed all too clearly the terrific fighting that had taken place
there earlier. We passed through a very well camouflaged but now badly
battered airfield. Many Sherman tanks and other armored vehicles had been
knocked out there, and large pockets of seared timber lay like
jack-straws where bombs had fallen." (T/4 Bennet, Hq Btry).
In the village, apparently used as an assembly point of equipment for the
jump-off across the Rhine, we began to see signs of the immense
engineering work necessary to keep the attack going. Every type and kind of
equipment littered the area --- huge bulldozers and pile-drivers, armored
ammphibious vehicles, lumber and steel construction material. The roads
were jammed with American and British trucks. Because of the great length
of the bridges, not more than two vehicles were permitted to be on the pontoons
at one time and the traffic piled up at the bottleneck. Although no enemy
planes came over, we had a feeling of definite security as we observed the
great concentration of anti-aircraft artillery and barrage balloons that had
been assembled to protect this vital but weak link in our supply line. A
railroad bridge, additional pontoon bridges and the pipe lines were being
thrown across the river to subsititue for the permanent bridges that had been
destroyed by the retreating Germans.
As we passed through Wesel, the city was a smoldering ruin, as a
result of the terrific air and artillery bombardment that preceded the
attack. In many spots huge craters marked locations of former buildings.
A red brick dust filled the air as the "saturation"
bombing had pulverized almost everything. There wasn't a sign of life, even the
trees had been seared of their fresh new greenness.
A few miles beyond the town, we passed evidences of the airborne
assault that landed in the rear of the German lines. Field after
field was littered with gliders and parachutes. Some of these giant
planes were intact but many were wrecked where they had crashed into orchards,
fences and buildings.
In every village the Nazi emblem was
replaced by bed sheets. Frightened civilians peered
from doorways, and freed slave laborers stood in small groups on the streets,
marveling at our equipment.
These displaced persons were filing down the roads with their meager
possessions tied on their backs. Their half-shy attitude toward us
clearly demonstrated the fear of the Germans that continued to shroud their
minds. The pass-word, as we came into our assembly area just outside Munster
was, "Watch the left flank". The billeting party had been in
this area prior to our arrival and had been warned by the outposts of the
British Seventh Armored Division that this wasn't considered to be in friendly
hands. It was dark when we finally "coiled" for the night, but the
burning village to our direct front allowed us enough
illumnination to see, rather than feel what we were doing.
Easter Sunday, April 1st, the "rat race" took off. During
that day we drove about fifty miles over roads that were made mushy by
the spring rains, through heavily wooded areas and across a pontoon
bridge built by the engineers of CC"A" over the Erft Canal. Halting
now and then for light resistance encountered by the
"point", we went into position that first night well after dark.
Fourteen members of the Wehrmacht surrendered to "A" Btry while the
guns were being laid to the east. Shortly after all guns were laid, the order
was given to change the direction of fire and we shifted to the north. Just
enough time elapsed for us to settle down when the command of "Lay the
battery on compass 4800" came from fire direction, and so we were
now laid to the west. Before the night ended we were laid in the original
direction of east.
"The sun was shining and it was a warm April afternoon. Some planes came
overhead and we were straining our necks trying to identify them. Suddenly we
heard several shells burst in the field to our left. Next, one of the
rounds hit an ammunition trailer that was towed by one of Service Battery's
trucks about three vehicles ahead of us in the column. It immediately
burst into flames. Another round burst on the side of the road in front of the
truck just ahead of the burning trailer. The vehicles between us and the
damaged ones moved on to safety and Johnson eased the ambulance up to
where Entz and Ward were treating the men who had been wounded. Meanwhile a
light tank from Hq Co. CC"B", moved up and eliminated the SP gun that
was giving us that trouble." (Cpl. Nichols, Med. Det.).
We were well into the second day of this drive, and had not fired a round until
we went into position short of Horste. Here we laid a terrific barrage on that
village so that CC"B" could occupy it before night-fall. After the
preparation had been completed we advanced to new positions under the cover of
darkness.
"It was 2300 hours, near Horste, Germany, when I met my R.O., Lt.
Paul McWain, who had selected the battery position. It was pitch dark, so Lt.
McWain and I made a quick foot reconnaissance around the position. I knew
the ground was soft and water-logged but decided to make the best of the
situation. I put all the sections but one in position, purposely
leaving that one on the road to pull out any vehicle that might get stuck. at
0600 my recorder, Cpl Malushinsky, awoke me by yelling "March Order,
March Order". The order of march was A, B, C which meant I had to move
immediately.I instructed Sgt. Szafran to use his M-7 to pull all the
half-tracks onto the road. This was an easy job and all vehicles but 5 M-7's
were soon on the road ready to go. In the meantime I had instructed my
remaining five chiefs of section to move their M-7's to the road by the
shortest and most direct route. S/Sgt. Claydon, chief of the first section,
started out, moved about 50 yards and couldn't move another inch. Mud!
Cpl. Short, Sgts. Zajackowski, Gargis and Ellis started toward the road but
their luck was the same. Here we were five M-7's stuck and Major Atkinson, our S-3,
yells over the radio, "3 to Able 5, move out." "Able 5 to 3,
can't move, big boys are on their bellies". 3 then radioed Baker 5
to move out. We tried everything imaginable, but failed to move the M-7's
an inch. All of them were in mud so deep you could step out of the M-7
onto the ground."
"My motor section, S/Sgt. Robert Lenzner, S/Sgt. Clarence
Demlow, Tec 4 J.P.Hudson and Tec 5 J.B.Dean put their heads
together and decided to use the winch on their half track to pull the big boys
out. I thought this would be impossible but told them to go ahead as it was our
last resort. Under S/Sgt. Lenzner's supervision and to everyone's
surprise, the M-7's and trailers were winched inch by inch to the road. The
cable snapped as the last M-7 was being pulled out. By splicing tow
cables to this winch the last M-7 was finally on the road." (Lt.
Kulhanek, "A" Btry)
On April 3rd the column was making good time toward the Weser River. Town after
town fell to us without resistance, many of which were railroad centers jammed
with valuable prizes of war, consisting of loaded freight trains and
locomotives in working condition. The day was not an uneventful one for us
however, as "B" Btry in a rapid occupation of position fired on and
neutralized two 88mm guns.
Further along the route of march, the air above the column was suddenly filled
with time fire. Almost immediately the direct firing weapons were located about
800 yards off on the left flank.
Major Smith sent the order down for the leading section of "B" Btry
to double the column to the point of the trouble. Meanwhile Lt
McWain had taken charge of a TD further up the column and Capt. Floyd had
dashed into a nearby house to establish an O.P. Soon the encouraging blasts of
the M-7 and the TD drowned out the noise of the air bursts. Several rounds were
exchanged before our guns silenced the enemy battery. As the short but
vicious fight ended,
Capt. Floyd and Tec 4 Bennett emerged from the prospective O.P. with
three prisoners who had been comfortably settled in the house as the column
passed.
As we went through Bad Oyenhausen, we noticed all of the street were deserted.
Many military hospitals were located in the town and it was a queer feeling to
see the Kraut soldiers watching you from the windows as you
drove past. It was almost like a ghost town and we cursed ourselves for not
having the time to stop and investigate it. A few miles outside the city our
drive was brought to a complete halt, when the Boche succeeded in blowing all
of the bridges across the Weser River. Our mission was then to harass the enemy
on the far side and to interdict the Autobahn. Prisoners from disorganized
units streamed into our
positions for several days.
We had moved slightly north with the original intention of firing on
Minden, if an ultimatum was ignored, but our mission was changed to that
of supporting the 84th Infantry Division in the crossing of the Weser. Several
good targets were taken under fire, the best being a flak-train armed with
105mm AA guns, which we destroyed.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fire Mission 7
VICTORY DIVISION NEARS BERLIN
After supporting the 84th Division's crossing, we were given the assignment of
reinforcing the fires of the 47th Armd FA Bn, who was in direct support of
CC"A". We drove south and east along the banks of the Weser, crossing
the river at historic Hameln, of Pied Piper fame, about dusk.
"After crossing the Weser River at 1800 hours, Sgt. C.M. Bass's
half-track, driven by Roscoe Durham, had engine trouble. Not having the time to
repair it, we started towing it with the Maintenance half-track. We went about
five miles and then turned off the highway onto a muddy road. The further we
went the muddier it got. Both half-tracks being loaded, we were finally
forced to leave the ammunition half-track sit. We went on through the muddy
field pulling several jeeps out of the mud and also one of Service Btry's gas
trucks. We finally came to another hard surface road, only to find that we were
all by ourselves; one gas truck and a half-track. We started down
the road, stopping at every little cross road trying to find which way
the Battalion had gone. We expected to be fired at every time we turned a
corner. It was so dark that we almost ran over several German trailers lying in
the road.
We traveled this way until about 2 o'clock in the morning when we came
upon a light tank and a medium tank. Both were out of gas so we decided to stay
with them until morning. The next morning we started out again. We had gone
about 5 miles when we came upon one of our M-7's with a track off of it.
Cpl Virgil L. Corne started fixing our breakfast while Sgt. James Walraven,
Sgt. Carl Sellenriek, mechanics, and myself, with the help of Sgt. Olfield
Jarrell (Chief of Section) and Sgt. Russell (driver), started getting the
track ready to put on, only to find we needed another block. We decided we
would eat breakfast while trying to find a solution to our problem. Lt. Stine,
coming back to look for us, was the answer; he soon got a block from one of our
other M-7's which was about 5 miles from there. We fixed the track and then
caught up with the rest of our battery. Our ammunition half-track was
returned that day." (S/Sgt. William Dozard, "C" Btry).
From that day, the drive became a true "rat race". The old familiar
tactics of by-passing heavy resistance by using secondary roads and passing
through only small villages were put to use again. Sixty and seventy mile
marches were standard operations during the passing of those lightning fast
days. The deeper we drove into
the Reich the longer our supply lines were stretched and the more difficult the
job of Service Battery became.
"There were those two stars (CG 84th Inf Div) shining like diamonds. As I
gave him a snappy salute, he stopped and said, "Lt., are those trucks with
you?" "Yes sir", I answered. "Well don't you
know this convoy you're passing is a combat outfit?" "Yes sir,
but does the General know that he's about ninety miles behind the front
lines?"
Naturally that did it. "God damit", he said, "you know better
than trying to break up a convoy." "Yes sir, I know, but my unit, the
71st Armd FA Bn of the 5th Armored Division is about ninety miles from here and
we need gasoline in a bad way." "I don't give a damn which unit
you're in, pull those trucks out of the way right now." I said, "yes
sir." He left and we delivered our gas. (Censored, Sv Btry)
(Lt. Beaupre)
That day German air activity increased over the column. All sizes and
types either roared or limped past. Our ack-ack would pull off to the side of
the road at the slightest pause, but the highlight of the day was when
"Aces" Francies and Martin blasted one out of the air from their cub.
Lts. Martin and Francies were flying reconnaissance for the tanks when
they sighted the German observation plane not far off and flying low. Going
after it they came in from above and fired their 45 cal. pistols by leaning out
the window. They hit the windshield, the right gas tank, and wounded the
observer in the foot. The plane crashed immediately and Lt. Francies landed
alongside of it. The German pilot and observer were both taken prisoners.
Our deep penetration into the Fatherland had utterly demoralized the Germans
and they poured into the column to surrender. They came in such large numbers
that armed escort was impossible, and so they filed down the road by themselves
to our P.W. enclosures located in the rear.
"There's some German officers down there," yelled a tanker to the
passing Charlie Recon peep containing the newly battle-field commissioned Lt.
Jack Stine, battery interpreter John "Goebbels" Hirnschall, and the
driver, Pvt. Bert L. Johnson. The peep teed-off down the side street. Sure
enough, a German officer ducked into one of the houses with the three in hot
pursuit. Glib Hirnschal quickly inquired of the fearstruck inhabitants where
the officers were and the people readily disclosed the information. The three surprised
the colonel. The fast talking interpreter convinced him that resistance
was useless. "This is the end," cried the Colonel and gave orders to
his dog-robbing captain-aide to round up the rest of the staff. Hirnschall
followed. When he returned with the complete staff, Pvt. Hirnschall found Lt.
Stine and Pvt. Johnson already sampling the colonel's wines. (Cpl. Wolkofsky,
"C" Btry).
"Over the crackling radio came the excited yell of the smiling Irishman,
Cpl. Fitzpatrick. "I got a German big shot -- a general at least, maybe
more!" On the B.C. half-track bumper rode the "General" dressed
in his velvet blue uniform with the medals, hashmarks, and stripes. Quick
interrogation revealed that the decorated General was only a German trainman in
his full dress uniform. Muttering to himself, Fitz walked away --
"Damn all these uniforms anyway." (Cpl. Williamson, "C"
Btry).
On April 12th Lt. Col. Washburn announced our next objective as the
bridge across the Elbe River at Tangermunde, some fifty odd miles
due east. Here we were to secure a bridgehead, if possible.
The head of the column engaged in short fire fights during this drive,
but our support was not needed until we reached our final objective. The bridge
was intact and we immediately went into position and covered the entire
structure with time-fire to prevent the enemy from blowing it under our noses.
Our efforts were of no avail however, and as our forward elements prepared to
cross, the plunger was pushed and our beautiful bridge went skyhigh. With
the bridge destroyed, our interest in the town turned to the problem of
releasing about 500 American prisoners of war held there. Because of
them, our fire was held while the tankers and doughs fought the OCS
candidates who were determined to die for the Fatherland.
"Enemy planes became quite numerous as the Battalion approached the Elbe
River and the cubs were being warned continually to look out for them. On one
such warning, Lt. Nicol and I were caught with two F.W.190's on our tail. We
headed straight for the ground in a diving turn; the 190's missed with their
machine gun fire but the cub was still in the middle of all the ack-ack
being fired at the Fockerwulfes. However by some chance we weren't hit and
landed a few seconds later so that we could light up a Camel, and rub our
rabbit's foot."
(Lt. Sorenson, Air Observer)
"A date that will always be remembered by men of "C" Battery is
April 12, 1945, for on that date the air was filled with flak and low flying
German fighters and bombers, all attempting to escape across the Elbe River
from the airport at Stendal, which was rapidly being surrounded by 5th Armored
Division troops. Within an hour or so at least four planes were
observed to have been shot down by the murderous curtain of anti-aircraft fire
put up by units of CC"A".
One incident in particular brings back memories to all of us. Suddenly the air
was filled with tracers from the multiple 50 cal. guns of Battery
B, 387th AA Bn. In the distance, flying at tree top level and headed directly
over the battery position, was a JU-88.
Almost immediately all other machine guns in the battery joined in the serenade
to this unwelcome visitor, every gun was pumping round after round into our
enemy. The plane was so low we couldn't miss.
It was the kind of target every soldier dreams of but seldom sees. The
rest of us standing around the position with nothing to shoot were cheering on
our machine gunners, "Kill the dirty bastard," or "Look at
'em pour it to him." Within a few seconds the plane burst into flame and
came crashing into the battery position. Few of us realized how close we came
to meeting our Maker that day until it was all over and we had more time to
think. As it plunged into the ground, the plane's wing hit one of our ack-ack
half-tracks. Men were running in every direction to escape the flying
parts and burning oil that was thrown for hundreds of yards by the explosion.
Our main concern was to escape from beneath the curtain of dense black smoke
and blazing oil. As men would scramble toward safety they would fall, pick
themselves up, and continue running. Suddenly it was all over and the burning
wreckage of the plane was scattered over a radius of three hundred yards. One
motor was thrown by the force of the explosion to the other end of the battery
position. We counted the bodies of five airmen in the charred wreckage but we
too had our casualties. Three persons were injured when the plane struck the
ack-ack half-track. Tec 5 Willis A. Stroud, Battery "C" was awarded a
Bronze Star Medal for heroic action. He raced to the burning half-track in
order to remove the injured gunner from the vehicle, but was hit and seriously
wounded by the exploding ammunition." (Capt. Blackburn, "C"
Btry)
"Medic Dan! Medic Dan! The cry arose above the din of the excitement. Sgt.
Edward L. Hoak was holding an ack-ack man in his arms while I administered
first aid. Big, bald, jocular Hoak was cuddling and mothering the small wounded
man. In direct contrast to the perspiring, nervous Hoak was the calm,
disinterested injured man, unperturbed at the flying debris whizzing over the
heads of the three-some. When it was over, smiling good natured Hoak confided
to me, "You know, it's a good thing I have a big mouth -- otherwise you'd
never have heard me!" Meanwhile, cursing eloquently, Captain Blackburn
resumed his interrupted shave." (Pfc. Soloman, "C" Btry Aid
Man).
Our cub had discovered the railroad bridge several miles downstream from
town, still undamaged. A task force, including our battalion, was rushed
northward to sieze it. Again the leading elements met frenzied
resistance, and we placed fire on the bridge and area to forbid the enemy an
opportunity to prepare demolitions. But the charges had already been laid
and as the tankers fought through, the bridge was blown.
We were stopped! No other permanent bridges were across the river in our zone
and we could turn our attention and fire-power back to the enemy in Tangermunde
and settle the score for this treacherous behavior during negotiations
for the surrender of the town. A tremendous TOT (time on target) of the
division's massed fire-power was arranged. The tank destroyers, tanks,
mortar platoons, the 47th and our battalion of 105's, and
attached battalions of heavier artillery joined in the assault. The boom we
lowered on that town seemed as
viciously destructive as the Roer artillery preparations.
April 13th we moved to an airport at Stendal to support CC"A" in
cleaning out pockets of resistance. We registered in this position, but no
fires were needed and we spent hours investigating the airfield
installation -- looting was exceptionally good and parachutes, guns, flying
suits, goggles and helmets were added to our souvenir collections. The
Luftwaffe had left warehouses filled with cognac, panther juice, and wine. We
hated to leave that spot, but our mission was to support the 102nd and 84th
Infantry Divisions in a crossing of the river.
We moved April 14th and were the closest American unit to Berlin,
approximately 45 miles away. The orders for the attack were
postponed several times, and the situation seemed snafu to us. It wasn't till
later that we learned that the Elbe was a prearranged line for meeting the
Russians.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fire Mission 8
FINIS LA GUERRE
Combat Command "B" was given the mission of mopping up some
by-passed enemy troops, who were attacking our supply lines in the Klotze area.
We were in the direct support role and moved to Kunrau on April 16. We moved
north to Gladdenstadt the next day, where we fired on an enemy concentration,
knocking out one scout car and possibly two tanks. The Battalion then proceeded
to Hazelhorst where registration was completed to support road blocks over an
extended area.
Enemy activity increased greatly on April 18. We fired at concentrations
of enemy armor and other targets for both of the Combat Command's task forces
and for the British troops to our north. Task Force Dickenson sent a married
platoon for our local protection before dark, but they were attacked by an
enemy column before their position was organized. The enemy armor was preceded
by a captured American vehicle, and had other America vehicles in the column,
which caused the road block to hold its fire until the enemy was upon them. The
platoon was then forced to withdraw to the immediate vicinity of the CP. We
fired a large amount of ammunition on the enemy in the woods to our
north, inflicting severe damage. The attack was repulsed and
interdictions were continued.
"We were loaded for a mission using shell WP but the order was
changed to shell HE. Nail used the short end of the rammer to push the shell
out. We loaded again and fired. I bet the Jerries thought it was a secret
weapon because No. 5 fired the ramme staff." (Sgt. Douglas, "C"
Btry).
The next morning the air observer spotted a column of 50 vehicles entering the
woods to our south-east. These were taken under fire, but we now had enemy
troops on three sides of us. Two tanks which were in position outside of our CP
were knocked out by an AT gun, and some of the rounds aimed at the tanks
entered the building in which the Fire Direction Center was working. They
set the building on fire and forced us to withdraw.
"We had our Fire Direction Center set up in the driveway of a large
barn, which was just one building of many in that court. We had made ourselves
fairly comfortable with a roof over our heads, straw to sleep on, a captured
Heinie radio to listen to, etc. We were set to more or less take it easy and to
enjoy this cleaning up of a small group of Germans who were bothering our
supply lines. I guess that is why this will stand out as one of my unforgettable
experiences of the war. On the evening of 18th of April we were getting reports
of various German vehicles seen scooting from one woods to another to the east
and north of us. In checking the situation map we were quick to notice that we
stuck out like a sorethumb on our north flank. We succeeded in getting a small
road block from ourinfantry and tankers and they were put into position just to
our north a couple of miles.
Things were looking better when we got notice from the road block that vehicles
could be heard moving in the woods just to our north a mile
or so. We hoped that they were on their way through and didn't plan on
stopping. I went on shift at midnight and little did I realize that this was to
be one of the busiest nights that we had ever had in Fire Direction. Tec 5
Bolinger, who was on guard just outside our CP, came into the trailer about
4 AM and told me that he could definitely hear voices as well as vehicles
in the woods just to our front and that he didn't like it a bit. I
passed the information on to Major Atkinson. He picked out several spots in the
woods that looked like likely places for them to be hiding in and we proceeded
to lay a gun on each point and put a few rounds in there every once in a while.
At about the same time Capt. Crowell, who was with one of our Combat Command
units, began to call for some fires on the woods they were sweating
out. It seemed that they were having the same trouble that we were. This
situation prevailed until I went off shift at 0730. We fired approximately 1000
rounds until that time. I was dead tired so I went into the next room and
crawled into some straw for a nice sleep. Suddenly after about 45 minutes of
this "nice sleep" I was awakened by lots of noise and scrambling. A
tremendous "clap" pierced the air and brick dust was flying
everywhere. When I fully came to I was on my hands and knees crawling out the
front door and wishing that I had a nice big hole to crawl into. After a few
minutes of cowering in the corner of two nice thick brick walls I
finally mustered up enough courage to go back into the barn, get my steel
helmet, gun and blankets and help to load up our equipment. It was then I
noticed that the tank which was parked just outside our back door was hit and
burning fiercely. The rounds that we were receiving were near-misses on the
tank. Several of the rounds had gone completely through four brick walls, but
we had our usual luck and suffered no casualties. In a matter of a few minutes
we were completely loaded and were on our way out of that place setting a new
record, I know, for speed in moving out. As we moved down the road we
could see our former CP being engulfed by smoke and flames. We thundered down
the side road to the next town and proceeded to set up for business again. It
was a job unscrambling the things that we had so hastily loaded just a few
minutes prior." (Sgt. Werning, Hq Btry).
New positions were occupied at Ohrdorf where we resumed firing on the enemy
troops, now known to be the Panzer Division Von Clausewitz. The commanding
general of that division, who was captured later, related that his biggest
mistake had been to move to those woods south-east of Hazelhorst.
"Ours was an outpost to the left flank of "B" and "C"
batteries. It was a very dark night. We were still jittery from reports that we
were facing from three to five thousand German troops. No one could
sleep.
We were conscious of every noise and when we heard the distant hum of motors
coming our way we really started to sweat! The noise of moving vehicles
became louder as they approached us. We could see the many exhausts, but all
we could do was to wait until daylight. Lt. McNees held our fire because
our M-7 lacked maneuverability, so as not to disclose our positions and until
we could positively identify the column as German. Thank goodness it was Spring
and daylight came early. We had notified the gun batteries. They had
moved into position facing the suspected road and when the first streaks of
daylight came we were ready. We saw the German vehicles and some fancy
direct fire was spewed by the batteries. Those 105mm shells were wicked!
After the smoke cleared, we saw a number of Kraut vehicles, some of which
burned for a considerable while. We had bagged an armored car, a personnel
carrier, ammunition truck and a motorcycle. There were a number of Germans
dead, and several wounded, also a few prisoners were taken. This was the
first time men of the batteries could see how destructive their guns could be.
This also was the final phase of the war for us, though at the time we did not
know it." (Sgt. Henderson, "B" Btry).
This was, without a doubt, an outstanding decisive artillery victory. Our
artillery stopped, scattered, flushed out and killed the enemy by the hundreds.
Entire woods and towns were plastered and made untenable for the shell-blitzed
Von Clausewiz personnel and vehicles. Captured German soldiers and even this
Panzer Division's staff related how terrifying their saturation with
high-explosive shells had been in their last days of the war, and what a
deciding factor the American artillery had been in their unhappy end as an
organization and as individuals.
April 22nd we moved to Lindhof, one of the villages devastated by our fires of
the past few days, and had the opportunity to observe how effectively we'd
performed those missions. Most of the homes in the small village were
battered or burned to the ground, and a column of about twenty vehicles had
been destroyed. With the destruction of the enemy division, our supply lines
were secure and we returned to the Elbe River on the 25th of April under
control of Division Artillery. Our new positions were again well forward;
the river was just a few hundred yards in front of us and the infantry of the
29th Division were billeted in the same town with us. "C" Btry
was used in registration, notable as the last round fired by the
battalion. "C" Btry therefore had the distinction of firing both the
first and last rounds of the war for us.
The days passed slowly as the battery RO sections alternated at manning the
single OP on the river's edge; men in the batteries remained by the guns and
kept their eyes to the east hopefully seeking a red flare - the signal of the
Russian's approach. As in any inactive period, some prowling took place.
"Well, we were on the Elbe River again. We kept hearing rumors that
the Germans were surrendering by the thousands. This looked like it was the end
of the war. Hell man, after sweating it out for so damn long, a guy wants
a drink when he can look around and see that the good earth is still under his
feet and not over him.
So a couple of us started out looking for that stuff that comes in
bottles, which makes you forget all the things you want
to forget. There was a little town in back of our battery position so we headed
for it. In one yard we noticed a large wood pile and a small one.
Now why the hell a small one? We poked around and wow! It was loaded with
cases of whiskey. We broke open th boxes and found some sacks and filled 'em up
with those big square bottles. We finally managed to get back to
the battery and boy were we feeling good by then. When a guy wanted
a drink he got a quart. Other men went down there and came back loaded. We
really celebrated V-E day on the Elbe River prematurely." (A couple of
guys from "A" Btry)
The German Army was beaten and demoralized - they knew it, and we knew it.
Their obsession and hope were to find safety in our lines from the Russians.
Many disorganized bands of soldiers on the eastern bank wandered about hunting
means to cross. Logs and boards were lashed together with clothing to make
rafts, and old shovels were used as paddles. Some men swam across. We
stood on our side of the river and enjoyed
watching their efforts to cross. Frequently, the sky behind the Germans would
glow to the bright light of a red flare which was answered from our side with a
green flare. At other places along the river, the American troops were
arranging the surrender of fully equipped regiments and divisions of the
defeated enemy.
"Lt. Nicol and I were flying patrol on the river when we saw a column of
enemy vehicles approaching. Well, we kept circling around and found out that
they were "throwing in the towel", so Nicol took a closer look and we
satisfied ourselves that it was the truth, so we went down the line of vehicles
for several miles where no other cub or Americans had been, as yet. I suggested
that we set the plane down and pick up a few pistols. So down we went. After we
were on the ground we began to realize just how foolish we were because here
were several thousand enemy troops going by, in full battle dress with guns of
all kinds and there we were, two Lts. with a .45 apiece, watching. We
finally remembered what we had come for so we got an officer and told him to
stop the column and to pile all the pistols near the plane.
They started to unload all their rifles as well but we told them to hang
on to them, that they would be picked up at the river where the
troops were waiting for them. Inside of 20 minutes we had more than we could
possibly take off with, so we ordered the officers to get the column
headed towards our troops again. They took off and we continued to watch
them go by. The expressions on their faces as they saw us standing there like a
couple of kids watching a show will live long in my memory. We started to load
the guns in the plane and Nicol was sweating out taking off with so much
weight. We tried it once with no luck so we had to throw out some of the
guns. The second time we had better luck but there was a couple of seconds when
we seriously doubted whether we'd ever be able to show our grand-children
those pistols." (Lt.McWain, "A" Btry).
The next day we returned to the vicinity of our battle with the Von Clausewitz
Division. We were amazed to notice that already the signs of our fierce battles
were disappearing. Rumors, backed by a few facts, had us moving to
Denmark very soon. The German Armies in Italy had surrendered the day the
Russians had reached our sector of the Elbe, and the rest of the German Armies
came tumbling after. Before the rumored movement could get underway, the
Northern German Forces gave up, but we were kept alerted for movement towards
Czechoslovakia.
Meanwhile we established road-blocks in our area for the control of
civilian movement and traffic. The enemy had surrendered in such numbers that
it was a problem to handle them. Truck-loads of them would pass by, headed for
the rear areas without any military guard. Many civilians, also fleeing the
Russians, moved with the defeated army.
The European War was over. Germany had surrendered unconditionally. The day
we'd all fought for, and longed for, had come. We observed no special
ceremony in honor of the day but each of us felt thankful we'd come through
alive and well, and in our hearts paid tribute to those who were not so
fortunate.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fire Mission 9
"IN WHICH WE SERVED"
5th ARMORED DIVISION
Maj. Gen Lunsford
E. Oliver
5th ARMORED DIVISION ARTILLERY Col. Douglas
R. Page
COMBAT COMMAND
A
Brig. Gen. Eugene A. Regnier
COMBAT COMMAND B
Col. John T. Cole
COMBAT COMMAND R
Col. Glen H. Anderson
STORY
Lt. STANLEY W.
HAUENSCHILD
Sgt. JAMES D. HAILEY
Cpl. PATRICK A.
PERSIKINI
Cpl. JOHN W BERNS
ART and PHOTOGRAPHS
Lt. LESTER C. NAGLEY
Jr
Capt. LYNN C. FREDERICKSON
EDITORS
Lt. IRVING
GERSTEIN
Lt. WILLIAM S. MARTIN
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------- E
N D