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JCSM Shareware Collection 1996 September
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JCSM Shareware Collection (JCS Distribution) (September 1996).ISO
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* *
* THE 4TH IS SENT TO LUXEMBOURG FOR A REST *
* *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Exhausted, the 4th Division moved by motor from the
Huertgen Forest to Luxembourg in early December. On the
way, we drove through Houffalize and Bastogne. During our
drive into Germany in September, these picturesque Belgian
towns had escaped the horrors and destruction of war. It
never occurred to us that war would soon visit these towns
and Bastogne would become the site of a historic struggle.
After arriving in Luxembourg, the 4th had the task of
defending an extensive (thirty-five mile) front along its
eastern border, which is formed by the Moselle and Suere
(Sauer) Rivers. The 8th Regiment was in the center, with the
12th on its left and the 22nd on its right. Oblivious to what
lay ahead, we happily settled into our new home.
Dear Folks, December 10, 1944, Luxembourg
Boy, you should see me now. I'm living, for the time being
at least, a life of Riley. Right now I'm seated at a desk in a
bedroom. The room is lighted with real electricity. Before me
is a radio, playing Strauss waltzes. On my right is a glass
of Luxembourg's finest wine. (Oops, I spoke too soon. The
electricity just went out and I had to get a flashlight. There,
it just went on again.) Last night I had a hot bath in a tub.
Our toilets flush. The house is heated with steam heat.
Our table is set with the finest China and silver. Tablecloths
add to the charm of the situation. B rations, the best the
army can offer in wartime, are served.
As one of the company commanders said, "This is what we
were fighting for."
To be sure, the war continues, but for a time, as any
human must, we get a respite. An hour could change all
this, but I hope it continues quiet like this for a short bit at
least.
Love, John
It was indeed short, about a week. On December 16, Hitler
launched his winter offensive. He called it Wacht am Rhein.
It has also been called the Ardennes or Winter Offensive but
is best known as the Battle of the Bulge.
When allied forces entered Germany in September, many
people assumed the war was all but won. Eisenhower was
sufficiently confident that he bet Montgomery five pounds
the war would be over by Christmas. He failed, however, to
reckon with Hitler's fanaticism, the perverse willingness of
German generals to carry out his orders, and the
unquestioning fighting ability of the German soldier.
Pressed on both sides, Hitler decided on a desperate throw
of the dice. About the time we were entering Germany in
September, he was ordering his commanders to ready a
counter-offensive in the Ardennes. The ambitious objectives
would be to capture Antwerp and cut the allied forces in
two. To direct this daring maneuver, he called back von
Rundstedt. Although he had little confidence of success, von
Rundstedt used minimal forces to fight allied forces to a
standstill, while preparing his best divisions for an attack.
The choice of the Ardennes was no accident. Not only were
they the scene of German success in 1940, but they also
provided the weakest point in the allied defenses. In order
to mass forces to the north and south for offensives, Bradley
had stretched four divisions over a dangerously long front.
In the center were the US 28th and 106th Divisions. The
28th was exhausted after its spell in the Huertgen Forest,
and those poor devils in the 106th had yet to see combat.
This precarious situation was made worse by the
unjustifiable optimism which permeated allied forces, from
top to bottom. As a result, these divisions failed to take the
most rudimentary precautions dictated by a defensive
posture. For example, bridges were not prepared for
destruction.
The 106th occupied an area originally taken by the 4th
Division in September. At that time, we assumed we would
be advancing. Hence our artillery batteries were close to the
front. When we retook this area in February, we found the
106th Division artillery had occupied our positions, rather
than deploying further to the rear. Hence, the German forces
overran the artillery batteries soon after attacking.
Although ambiguous, there had been warning signs. Not
long after we moved into our positions in Luxembourg, Lt.
Col. Letzelter went to a meeting. On his return, he told us
the Germans were massing forces to the northeast.
Intelligence was, however, not entirely clear as to what they
were, let alone what they would be used for. On December
16, von Rundstedt took advantage of a projected spell of
poor weather to launch his attack, ironically on the heels of
Eisenhower getting his fifth star. The general course of this
daring venture is too well known to require discussion in
detail here. Although caught off guard, Eisenhower
responded promptly by calling off the new First and Third
Army offensives. He also deployed the 101st Airborne
Division to Bastogne to hold it until Patton's armored forces
could come to their rescue. These actions did not, however,
prevent the 28th and 106th Divisions from a mauling. The
106th suffered the humiliation of seeing large parts of two
of its regiments forced to surrender when they were
surrounded and ran out of ammunition. Reading Hugh M.
Cole's dramatic and detailed account of this in The
Ardennes: Battle of the Bulge is a heartbreaking experience.
The 4th Division caught the left flank of the German attack.
With its position on the Suere River, the 12th Regiment, as
at Mortain, took the brunt. Gerden F. Johnson's History of
the 12th Infantry Regiment in World War II has a stirring
account of the courageous defense of key road junctions by
small units. Had they been less determined, the Germans
might have captured Luxembourg City.
Although the 29th Field Artillery was busy supporting the
12th, the First Infantry Battalion was not directly affected.
Thus, where I was it was quiet, which my letters home
demonstrate.
SOMETIMES IT PAYS TO VISIT THE FRONT LINE TROOPS
Dear Folks, December 20, 1944, Luxembourg
One day, not too many ago, I saw what I consider the acme
of luxury. It had all the aspects of the newspaper stories,
with one item added.
An infantry officer and I went to one of the rifle companies
to look over its lines. Most of the positions were the
conventional slit trenches and foxholes. However, one
platoon had a setup that beats them all.
We found them in the cellar of a building, filled with row on
row of champagne racks of the choicest champagne.
At one end of the room was a table, with linen table cloth,
the finest silver and china, the best in cutlery, and complete
with flickering candles. Just finished was a dinner of fresh
vegetables and chicken. Empty champagne bottles lined one
end of the table. It was evident that the men had just
finished a sumptuous feast.
Still, even this happens occasionally. The one item that was
unique was this. Next to the table was a rack of
champagne. When the bottles are set in the rack, the cup
formed by the bottom was up. And the men had been using
the bottoms of full champagne bottles for ash trays.
Unquestionably, that is the height of luxury.
Have mother's letter from Rochester, dated December 10.
Glad to start getting letters from her again, as I missed her
usual cheery correspondence, although dad and Margaret
did a good job of substituting.
It pleases me exceedingly to know that mother and dad will
be together this Christmas. It doesn't matter so much where
we children spend it, since it is inevitable that children go
away and leave the folks sooner or later. But it is not right
for the parents to be separated during this season. Hope
you all had an exceedingly pleasant Yuletide.
Mother, don't fret about that bank statement. It's just that
I get curious every once in awhile as to how many million
I have. By the by, I believe I asked you to buy a thousand
dollar bond whenever $750 turned up, with a few hundred
left over. Have you been doing this? Take care of yourselves.
Love, John
A side benefit of the visit to the wine cellar was that every
man in the 29th had a bottle of champagne for Christmas.
On December 23, the skies cleared for the first time since
the German offensive began, and the air forces were finally
able to give the hard pressed ground forces badly needed
help. (US Air Force planes by mistake struck Malmedy
several days running, killing many civilians and soldiers.)
TRYING TO BRIGHTEN AN OTHERWISE GLOOMY CHRISTMAS
Dear Folks, December 25, 1944, Luxembourg
It is the evening of Christmas day. Things have pretty well
quieted down. The war continues, but we managed to
squeeze in a little bit of holiday season. And, by all means,
the day for those about me was far from unpleasant.
Certainly, it was better than for some of our less fortunate
comrades. To be sure, we all had hopes the war might end
before the year's end, but there is nothing in the overall
military situation to necessitate that. Thus, the fighting will
probably go on into the new year, and we shall try to let it
take up as little of that period as possible.
Christmas dinner was the high spot of our day, naturally.
We had turkey, champagne, and all the trimmings. A
number of the senior officers and staffs came around to pay
their respects, and all were in high spirits. If the Jerries
expected to panic anyone with their current offensive, it
wasn't evident here.
Guess I better tell you that I've changed jobs. One of our
officers who had been wounded D-day came back. One of
the officers in the S-3 section got ill. So I'm now in the Fire
Direction Center, where the fire of our battalion is
controlled. Truthfully, it is the work in artillery I've always
wanted to get into. However, never before has it worked that
way.
I've consistently kept up with the latest fire direction
methods and maintained an interest in the work. However,
in combat, I've hesitated to say anything to the colonel for
fear he'd think I didn't like my liaison work or thought it a
bit too risky. But now I'm at it, and we'll see what happens.
Perhaps it won't last too long, maybe it will. Just now, it's
a change, and I shall not complain.
Love, John
Dear Folks, December 29, 1944, Luxembourg
In just a few days, this American shall have been overseas
one year. The Elizabeth left New York harbor on January 2,
1944, with me on board. One among a passenger list of
thousands. To be sure, compared with many, I'm practically
a newcomer. But this has been a long, full year. Probably
never again will I see a year full of so many experiences; I
hope one will never bring so many heartaches.
As the new year approaches, quite naturally we wonder what
it will bring. Perhaps it is just as well we don't know.
Certainly, we can hope for it to be a year which will bring
a new peace to our civilization, the start of an era of
reconstruction, rehabilitation, progress, and reasonable
prosperity. But we must wait and see what we deserve and
gain.
Slowly I am becoming adjusted to new surroundings, a new
job. I am trying very hard to bring to it the advantage of
valuable experience, gained while with the infantry.
You see, the use to which artillery is put depends primarily
on the artillery observer and liaison officer. The latter
advises the infantry commander, and an infantry battalion's
utilization of artillery support is only as good as his advice.
On the other hand, the speed with which artillery is brought
to bear and the accuracy with which it is fired depends
partially on the fire direction center. But there are many
times when this depends on the knowledge the S-3 has of
the liaison work and infantry tactics.
On the other hand, one must be careful not to change or
try to change many things at once. It must be a gradual
process of innovation and modification. If I can succeed, I
believe our work will benefit. Anyway, it's fun trying.
Meanwhile, the change is refreshing.
All goes well. Health is good. Food is plentiful. Sleep is
adequate. If we could just get the war over, we'd all be
happy.
Love, John
This change of jobs was the result of Capt. Albert B. Head
returning to the 29th. He was wounded shortly after the
landing but had longed to get back to the battalion.
Although suffering from a serious shoulder wound, he had
plied a doctor with enough whisky to get him to sign an
authorization to return to duty. Tommy decided to assign
him to the First Battalion as liaison officer and move me
back to the fire control center, the job Ed Cissel had before
becoming ill. Although I welcomed this change, it did not
last long. The pain in his shoulder proved too much, and Al
had to be evacuated again. Thus, I soon found myself again
back with the infantry.
ONCE AGAIN I DO SOMETHING WHICH I SHOULD NOT HAVE DONE
Although not exposed to enemy fire (other than artillery) in
Luxembourg, I did not manage to get out of there without
doing something foolish. On one of those sunny days which
our air forces were using to attack the Germans, I decided
to visit a forward observer, who was up front with an
infantry company. I made my way by jeep to a clump of
woods overlooking the Suere River valley. On the other side
of the river, I could see German pillboxes but no signs of
life.
Not sure where the infantry company was, I asked one of
our men whom I happened upon. He pointed to a red wire
and said, "Just follow that. It will take you to the company
command post." Hidden from the Germans by tall bushes,
I began to follow the wire. Before long, I found myself
moving through the bushes and down the hill toward the
river. After going about a hundred yards, a warning bell
sounded within me, and I ducked behind a tree.
After a little thought, I realized what was wrong. There were
two red wires, and the one I was following would have been
laid at night by an infantry patrol. What was I to do? I
could imagine Germans watching me through their field
glasses, wondering what I was up to. I could also picture
their discussing whether to shoot me if I emerged from
behind the tree.
While the sun was warm, the air was cold, and the tree put
me in the shade. Should I stay there and risk frostbite, or
should I take my chances and make a dash for the top of
the hill? Dash is scarcely the right word, since the snow
was a foot deep.
As I gradually began to chill, I decided to make a run for it
and hope the Germans would not want to give their
positions away by shooting at me. Fortunately, there were a
few bushes along the way, which I could duck behind to
catch my breath. After what seemed like an eternity, I
reached the security of the bushes at the top of the hill.
Very upset and feeling foolish, my first thought was to give
the soldier who advised me to follow the red wire hell. My
second thought, however, was that I should have asked him
to go with me as a guide. Shaken by the experience, I
decided it best to abandon my visit to the forward observer.