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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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1994-03-22
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* *
* THE WAR ENTERS ITS FINAL PHASE *
* *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
As Eisenhower was leaving a death camp near Gotha, he
turned to a GI sentry and said, "Still having trouble hating
them?" This was on April 12, and in the days that followed
Allied forces overran even worse scenes at Buchenwald and
Bergen-Belsen. As the news of these camps spread, it had
a profound effect on our attitudes toward the Germans. As
a result of the use of false Allied propaganda during World
War II, we had been somewhat skeptical of the reports we
had read about Nazi barbarity. We also found it hard to
believe Russian and Polish reports that a million and a half
people had died in the Majdanek concentration camp. The
reports we read and pictures we saw in our own press
drowned any doubts. When added to the anger we felt
because the Germans were continuing a hopeless struggle,
we were in no mood to take any more casualties than
absolutely essential.
After crossing the Rhine, I was Assistant S-3 in the 29th
Field Artillery Battalion. Hence I helped supervise the fire
direction center, which coordinated the fire of three artillery
batteries. Each of these had four 105 mm howitzers. When
circumstances required, we could also call on other artillery
units for support, including division and corps artillery.
We did a great deal of firing in our dash across southern
Germany, aided by ample supplies of ammunition. Although
much of this period is a blur in my memory, there were two
combat incidents which stand out, one of which I was
ashamed and the other proud.
At one point, a forward observer called upon us to fire white
phosphorus shells. When these explode, they scatter small
elements of burning phosphorus, which are both destructive
and frightening. In calculating the direction of the fire, I
made a ninety degree error. As a result, the shells landed
behind our lines. I immediately got a telephone call which
informed me of my mistake and was relieved to learn that
the shells landed in an empty field.
Shortly after this, Col. Thomason came into the fire direction
center, and I told him what had happened. He looked at me
for a moment and then said, "John, you should not make
an error like that." Nothing more was said, but thereafter I
was doubly careful.
While I was relieved to get off so lightly, Tommy's reaction
did not surprise me. If he ever got angry with anyone, I was
not aware of it. He had a talent for getting the most out of
all officers and never asked them to do things of which they
were incapable. He also understood that we were all human
and hence capable of mistakes. His approach encouraged all
of us to do our best. As a result, the battalion functioned
well and managed to keep its casualties to a minimum.
(There were three officers and forty-six enlisted men killed,
most of them when the landing craft carrying B Battery hit
a mine just before reaching the beach.)
WE FORCE THE SURRENDER OF ELLWANGEN WITHOUT A FIGHT
The other event which is clear in my mind was our attack
on Ellwangen, a small town in southern Germany. It took
place before my visit to the death camp. However, by the
time of this operation we were aware of these installations.
Furthermore, having spent many months with the infantry,
I was in no mood to see our men die just because of a
stubborn German commander.
The 4th Division After Action Report for April, 1945 tells the
story of the situation which confronted the 8th Regiment as
it approached Ellwangen. (The numbers are map
coordinates.)
22 April 1945. "The defense of Ellwangen was directed from
a line roughly estimated to exist along the edge of the woods
from S-733433 to S-738439, thence east through the town
of Mitteldorf (S-7244) and Ratstadt (S-7844) and from this
point possibly southwest to include the town of Neunheim
(S-7545). The town of Eggenrot (S-7244) also contained
enemy and presented another outpost before entering the
main defenses of Ellwangen. Within the town limits of
Ellwangen a castle at S-759434 was organized as a
strongpoint."
"The 8th Infantry...initiated movement beginning at 0400
when the Ist Battalion, motorized, began its advance to the
south. At 0700 the 2nd and 3d Battalions continued the
attack and initially moved without opposition, the 3d
Battalion advancing approximately seven kilometers in the
right of the regimental sector and the 2d Battalion two
kilometers on the left. Both battalions, upon reaching the
outskirts of Ellwangen (S-7543), met determined resistance
from a reported force of six hundred (600) enemy infantry,
SS troops, defending the city. Repeated attempts to assault
the enemy's positions resulted in failure and a coordinated
attack was planned on 23 April."
It was a beautiful sunny day, and once the attack halted we
were getting no requests for fire at the fire direction center.
I wandered over to see my friends at the 8th Regiment
command post, to see what they were up to. They told me
they were planning an attack on Ellwangen for the next
morning.
Given the defenses, this was going to be a tough fight and
could mean many casualties. I suggested, therefore, that we
first see if we could persuade the city to surrender. The
story of what happened then is told by the After Action
Report of the 29th Field Artillery Battalion for April, which
was signed by Lt. Col. Joel F. Thomason.
"On 22 April 1945...a strongly defended town of Ellwangen,
Germany, was encountered. The town was defended by a
battalion of SS troops. Beginning at 1700 until 0700 23
April 1945, over 1500 rounds of all caliber ammunition were
fired into the town. Supplemented by a few rounds of
propaganda. At 0800 23 April, the Burgermeister came out
and surrendered the town to an infantry battalion
commander. It is believed the artillery caused the
townspeople to force the defending troops to withdraw from
town, where they were in a well defended position."
As I recall, the firing was not only done by the forty-eight
guns of the 4th Division Artillery but also larger caliber
guns from the corps artillery. In order to maximize
destruction, shells were set with a delayed fuze so they
would penetrate the roofs of buildings and explode inside.
White phosphorous shells were also used. The propaganda
leaflets of which Col. Thomason spoke contained leaflets
explaining how to surrender a town.
For nearly half a century, I have wondered what was
happening in Ellwangen while our bombardment was going
on and how the decision to surrender the city came about.
Thanks to Prof. Dr. Immo Eberl, the town historian, I now
have an account written not long after the bombardment by
Wolfgang Hoegg, which appeared in the Ellwangen yearbook
for 1936-1946.
The SS garrison had about four hundred men, many of
them boys of sixteen or seventeen and men between forty-
five and fifty. It had only light weapons and a few mortars.
It began setting up strong points to defend the city on
March 1. In addition to its population, the town had several
thousand evacuees and about eight hundred wounded. The
SS misused the red cross, even marking their barracks with
it. Although there was an order to destroy all bridges and
offices, the telephone exchange was spared.
Despite a request from the deputy mayor to surrender the
town, the SS commander decided to comply with
instructions to defend it. The threat that anyone not
carrying out such orders would be executed no doubt
encouraged this decision.
After the bombardment began, chaos reigned. During the
night, the Nazi leaders and the SS commander and his
troops left the town and fled south. The city fathers then
debated how to surrender the town. The plan to send a man
in a red cross ambulance was given up when it was realized
the bridge had been blown. Various schemes to fly white
flags from the church and ring bells were tried but did not
succeed in getting our attention. The fact that it was a
stormy night did not help.
Finally, at about six in the morning, they sent a man
carrying a white flag to our lines. He was taken to the 8th
Regiment headquarters in Stocken, where the surrender took
place.
Hoegg's account recites the destruction of buildings in detail.
There are also a number of drawings which illustrate the
results of our shelling. There were, however, few casualties
and only five people killed. The population was hiding in
cellars and air raid shelters.
In the course of these events, according to Hoegg, a number
of bizarre episodes took place. Shortly before reaching
Ellwangen, our forces captured an SS headquarters on April
21. The officers were suffering from hangovers, from having
the night before celebrated Hitler's birthday.
In addition to the SS, there were Volkssturm units raised
from the local populace. They, however, had few arms. When
their leader asked the SS commander about this, the latter
said, "When my men fall, yours can use their weapons."
Before the bombardment, the 8th Regiment interpreter
talked to a Nazi leader on the telephone and urged him to
surrender the city. The reply he got was, "Kiss my ass!" This
same man, during the night, abandoned his bravery and
Nazi uniform and fled the city.
Although I was relieved that we had killed so few, seeing
recent pictures of this charming town has reinforced my
regret that the SS commander did not accede to the Deputy
Mayor's wish to surrender. Hoegg's account, however, makes
it clear the bombardment was necessary if we were to avoid
casualties. Furthermore, any sorrow I may have felt was
stifled a few days later.
A LETTER HOME AFTER A VISIT TO A DEATH CAMP
Although informed of the camps overrun by American and
British forces, I was still unprepared for my visit to a death
camp near Landsberg. This came about in a casual way. We
were bivouacked in a woods. We had heard that another
unit had overrun a concentration camp (which is too mild
a term) near us. Another officer suggested we go see it. At
that time, I had not talked to anyone who had seen one and
was unsure what to expect.
It was a beautiful day, with a clear sky and the sun shining
brightly. As we left a hard surface road to turn into a gravel
lane which led to the camp, I noticed a tidy looking house
at the junction. In the front yard, a small girl was happily
playing.
There were a number of camps in the Landsberg area, and
I do not know which one we visited. One report says that
there were over 4,000 dead buried in two sites near
Landsberg.
When we reached the camp, I went into shock. Rather than
trying to recreate this scene a half century later, I will quote
the letter I sent home shortly after this traumatic
experience.
April 30, 1945, Germany
A promise has been made to myself that the next letter I
write to each of my correspondents will be about the
concentration camp near Landsberg, Germany. You'll
remember that Landsberg Prison is where Hitler wrote his
Mein Kampf, while imprisoned there.
When I walked away from the double barbed wire fence that
surrounded the camp, with the filthy odor still promising me
that it was true, my mind simply refused to believe what my
eyes had seen. Such things do not, simply cannot, happen
in a civilized country.
Perhaps then Germany is not civilized. Maybe the fiends who
perpetrated these crimes and the people who condoned them
have completely left the pale of our modern world. It's
possible that they do not deserve to live alongside other
people. I don't know.
But this I do know, because I saw it. No one can deny it.
No one can ever erase the sight from my mind. It is etched
there as clearly as though it were ever before me.
The camp was surrounded by a double barbed wire fence,
with the top electrically charged. At each corner was a guard
tower. About it for several hundred yards were open fields.
Escape was impossible. Once a man entered, it would seem
that only death would permit him to leave.
The hovels in which the victims lived were sunk in the
ground to the roof. The roof was covered with dirt, sand,
and grass. The only ventilation was from the door and a
small window above it. Dark, damp, and uncomfortable, the
room stank with a filthy odor. No sanitary facilities were
evident.
I know not what the victims were, insane, Jews, or political
prisoners. But no human could treat a dog as diabolically.
No reason could possibly excuse such an existence and
death being forced on any man.
In the yard of the camp there were three hundred bodies.
They were laid out in neat, efficient rows. Some were
burned. Some were shot. Some had been tortured and
maimed. Others may just have died. All were unbelievably
emaciated. There was simply nothing left on them but skin
and bone.
And now I could believe anything. I thought it just an
occurrence of war when I've seen our men murdered when
taken prisoner. Some of the treatment given occupied
countries could have been the result of provoking acts by
their people. But this, this can never be explained or
pardoned. No, never.
The leaders who caused and the men who performed these
crimes must die. Imprisonment is too good for them. They
must all pay with their lives, must pay in the most
humiliating way by being shunned by our peoples. Their
slaves and the prisoners who survived must be cared for by
them. Destroyed Europe must be rebuilt with their money,
and where needed, their toil. Above all, they should never
again be given the means to control their own nation, let
alone other nations, for generations to come.
This is not heated thought. It is a reasoned conviction,
forged together by what I have seen and know to be true.
This unsigned letter contains strong statements about the
Germans and how we should treat them which events and
reflection would later force me to abandon. It was also
written in stilted, self-conscious language. It reflects,
however, the anger I felt at the time. Furthermore, it also
left a residue of concern about how Germans might behave
if they were confronted again with the circumstances which
produced Hitler. As time went on, however, I came to realize
that Germans have no monopoly on cruelty.
Since the war, we have also learned that Allied governments
were reluctant to face up to the reality of the camps, even
though they knew a great deal about them. It is difficult to
understand why, for example, Allied bombers were not used
to destroy the railways leading to the camps and the ovens
in which so many people died.
Shortly after my visit to the death camp, we moved to
Wolfratshausen, a small town south of Munich. The 4th
Division paused there, while other units moved on south to
Austria. We were in Wolfratshausen when we heard of
Hitler's death, one of the happiest moments of my life.