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Nine months of spearheading the First Army's most powerful
Corps, the VIIth, had wrought the 3rd Armored Division into a
highly polished precision instrument, capable of measuring death
to the German foe accurately, deliberately and with scientific
method. It was no surprise, then, that our finely tempered steel
should be chosen to point the javelin which would thrust straight
and true into the black heart of the Reich. General Hodges' toehold
had become a foothold on the Remagen bridgehead, as the infantry
divisions cut the Cologne-Frankfurt autobahn. It was large enough
to mass troops and supplies in sufficient numbers to exploit
an armored breakthrough. The time was ripe to invite the 3rd
Armored Division into the now familiar game, ask them to sever
the taut ring of enemy defense which was binding the other players
in, then move them behind the main line of resistance, sending
them out into space to exploit whatever opportunities might arise.
Task Force Lovelady was thoroughly prepared, ready to wield
its might against a determined opponent. On the 22nd day of March,
Lieutenant Columella and his Reconnaissance platoon reconnoitered
our proposed route, crossed the Rhine and selected a site for
us to bivouac. Early the next morning, the main body tracked
noisily along the highways to Bonn, crossing a Navy-built pontoon
bridge, south of Bad Godesberg.
Here was the storied Rhine, its splendor enhanced by a beautiful
backdrop of majestic mountains sprinkled with ancient castles.
No wonder this fabled land had been the inspiration of poets
and musicians through the centuries! These sights puzzled us
in Germany, for we could never understand how such a scenic,
fertile country could yield such a ferocious population of war-makers.
Winding around steep trails we drove inland for several miles,
bivouacking in fields torn intermittently by enemy artillery.
By nightfall we had learned that our final objective was Altenkirchen,
and that we would attack on the 25th of March.
When we sprung into action at 0430 in the morning, we found that
friendly troops had not yet reached our supposed line of departure.
Passing through them anyway, we were held up temporarily by mines.
Reaching the starting point, "D" company, in the lead,
lost two tanks almost immediately to mines. This was a day of
heavy slugging, each man giving his utmost to put a dent in the
opponent's lines. By 8 o'clock in the evening, we had punctured
the inner ring of defense a distance of six miles, a gain greater
than had been made in the First Army's sector during the past
week. "D" company had lost three tanks, little enough
for destroying two enemy tanks, four anti-tank and three self-propelled
guns, seven trucks, three artillery pieces with their prime-movers,
and two flak guns, besides capturing ninety-five prisoners! Task
Force Lovelady was on the loose again, playing the game it knew
so well, with all the brilliance of a perfectly coordinated team!
Leaving Fiersbach the following morning, we were due for a trying
day. A frontal attack was impossible because so many anti-tank
weapons were hidden in a broad wooded semi-circle that they could
pick us off like ducks in a shooting gallery. Flanking movements
were equally difficult because of rugged terrain features which
precluded maneuvering. The provoking slowness of an infantry
attack would be the only way to break the gauntlet of fire which
presented an unsurpassable barrier to tanks.
There was no alternative and we were forced to remain in approximately
the same position all day while the infantry systematically destroyed
strongpoint after strongpoint. Close artillery support accounted
for two self-propelled guns which had played havoc with "E"
company. P-47's flew over and bombed an enemy tank to Kingdom
Come, then strafed several suspected positions. Towards the end
of the day, "E" company knocked out another self-propelled
gun, and we were finally on the way.
The column moved most of the night in a drizzling rain to reach
its objective near Altenkirchen a few hours before dawn. We had
accepted heavy losses that day in the interest of achieving a
definite breakthrough. "E" company had lost five tanks,
"D" company one. Four of Captain Aldinger's supply
trucks had been knocked out, one after another, and one medical
half-track was hit by an anti-tank gun.
Task Force Richardson had already entered Altenkirchen from the
right flank, and much of Combat Command "A" had broken
out of their sector of lighter resistance to dash headlong towards
Hitler's inner sanctum.
The anticipated breakthrough had been accomplished within two
days of committing the 3rd Armored Division! All the pent-up
might on the Remagen Bridgehead was ready to pour through the
gaping German lines to exploit the successes of our division!
It was clear that we were destined to tailor another pocket,
this time sewing shut Germany's greatest industrial region, the
Ruhr Valley. The Ninth Army had bridged the Rhine further north
and were driving hard to the east. Now, we must meet them.
After following the route of Combat Command "A" on
the 27th of March, we were ready to lead an attack on Marburg
the next morning.
Leaving Herborn to cross the Dill River, we reached our line
of departure before nine o'clock in the morning. With the exhilarating
smell of both impending victory and spring in the air, morale
was never higher. Soft sunshine brought to life the early morning
dew, making cloudlets of steam-like fog rise from the warming
earth. Colonel Lovelady drove lo the head of his column in his
peep, waving over his shoulder for the tankers to "Step
on it." As their pace reached 20 or 25 miles per hour, he
would drop back to a more nearly normal place in the line, sometimes
stopping by a crossroad to admire his heavy team as they passed
in battle review. When their pace would tend to slacken, he would
again speed recklessly ahead and encourage them to drive on.
Overhead, hundreds of silver-winged American bombers droned their
way in perfect echelon, towards the ever diminishing target areas
in Central Germany. The thrill of watching these symbols of America's
overwelming power in me air and on the ground, and being a part
of it, spurred the tankers on to even greater endeavor, and they
now "barreled" along the highways at top speed.
The column would not even slow down for pockets of small arms
resistance and the tanks knocked out seven enemy trucks, practically
without stopping. A great fuel supply dump was captured, its
location reported, then left behind without taking time to examine
its contents. Town after town fell so quickly that the people
didn't have time to put out the white flags, and could only crouch
in their doorways, staring in awe at the unexpected advance.
French, Belgian, English, Polish and Russian prisoners of war
lined the roads by the thousands, waving and shouting "Viva
l'Amerique!" in all its variations. At one point we looked
into a valley on our left and watched a German supply column
moving in the opposite direction, obviously unaware that we were
anything but their own forces. Not wishing to waste time playing
with them, as long as they were hopelessly lost anyway, we continued
straight towards our objective.
In an hour and a half we had travelled more than 20 miles and
were on the southern edge of Marburg, one of Germany's cultural
centers, a city of some 25,000 population. Its several hospitals
and lack of industrial development had scared it from the fate
of destruction by Allied bombers that we had seen in Cologne,
Bonn and Altenkirchen. Its great 13th Century Cathedral, and
University, founded in 1527, escaped completely the ravages of
this most terrible of wars. Here, "D" company was halted
by a log and earthen road block, covered with infantry forces
armed with small weapons, grenades and panzerfausts, and well
zeroed-in by mortars. Without waiting for this to be cleared,
"E" company swung sharply left, encircled the city,
and came in to it from the west at 1030 hours. Thus, complete
and overwhelming surprise was attained as we hurriedly and with
the method of long experience took over the prize and sealed
its exits before the consternation of the inhabitants began to
wane.
In the meantime, engineers had forced the road block and the
rest of the task force joined in the securement of the objective.
Entire garrisons of troops with a high percentage of officers
were captured. Formal surrenders were accepted all through the
day. The final count was 2000 prisoners, not counting the 6000
wounded in the seven hospitals.
A brief review of the hospitals revealed a number of Americans
had been captured between the Roer and the Rhine. They were collected
and started back on the route of evacuation after telling us
some of the stories of their experiences. They had received as
good treatment as was possible for the dwindling medical facilities
of the disintegrating German state to render. Food was scarce,
but they were as well nourished as the German wounded. "K"
rations actually looked good to them, and they could not have
devoured them with more zest, had they been turkey.
The civilian Nazis had thrived during the Hitler regime in
this ancient and wealthy university center. More arrogant than
most we had met, it was necessary to convince them that we meant
business and that their homes were ours for billets and command
posts.
Well-stocked Nazi warehouses were quickly ransacked until everyone
had new flags with great black swastika's, arm bands and other
souvenirs.
Fine liqueurs and an abundance of Schnapps were collected, consumed
in moderation, the rest being loaded into our vehicles for future
reference.
Marburg was the biggest prize yet seized east of the Rhine. Task
Force Lovelady reveled in its spoils of war and prepared for
another exciting day.
At five o'clock in the morning on March 29th. Captain John Haldeman,
who had led us unerringly through much of France, Belgium and
into Germany, took his Reconnaissance Company out of Marburg
to find the best route leading north. At the first town, Colbe,
they hit a hornet's nest of small arms, panzerfausts and mortars.
They were trapped with nothing but thin-skinned vehicles. Captain
Haldeman was wounded in the neck and they called for help. A
platoon from "B" company went to their rescue, the
scrap developing into a full-fledged fire-fight in which our
small force came out second best, several of our light tankers
and Reconnaissance soldiers and officers being wounded or killed.
Meanwhile, the rest of our task force took a parallel route west
of them, driving with all speed in the direction of Paderborn.
Resistance stiffened during the day, "D" company encountering
intense bazooka fire in Munchausen, and losing one tank. Rather
than consume precious time opposing it, we flanked the town and
continued northward, knocking out five trucks, capturing two
large railroad guns and 170 prisoners. By dusk, we had travelled
48 miles!
Factories and farms poured forth their slave laborers, who greeted
us joyously, exuberant on their day of liberation. A constant
stream of these happy folk lined the road as they immediately
started towards home; French and Belgians walking in the opposite
direction from us, on one side of the road; Russians, Poles,
Slavs, following us, on the other side, all trekking hopefully
toward their respective homelands.
We continued our relentless drive on Paderborn on the 30th of
March, through ever-increasing opposition. The enemy had bolstered
its collapsing defenses with picked groups of S.S. soldiers,
armed mainly with panzerfausts.
"B" company was leading when they were trapped at a
road block in Wrexen. Almost simultaneously, three tanks were
knocked out by the deadly panzerfausts, their operators thoroughly
concealed in roadside dug-outs. As the tankers bailed out, they
were mercilessly mowed down in a withering curtain of machine
gun fire. Thus, three tankers were killed and several wounded,
along with much of the infantry who had been riding with them.
"E" company pulled its heavier weapons up to relieve
the desperately beset light tankers. Their plight was temporarily
eased and by dusk we were through the town, trying to blaze our
way to the final objective. Due to the steep cliffs, completely
fortified on the left side of the road, "E" company
was stymied until the infantry ferreted out the tenacious defenders.
By the time that task was accomplished, night had closed in on
us and it was decided to try to run the gauntlet under the cloak
of darkness. Hardly had we started out than the resounding "BOOM!"
of many panzerfausts crystallized in the chill air, sending great
flashes of fire far into the night. "E" company lost
two tanks, and one was captured before we could withdraw.
Returning to Wrexen for the night, we received the tragic word
of Major General Rose's death. He had been in Task Force Welborn's
column on our left flank, when they were treacherously ambushed
by a strong force of enemy tanks. With no alternative but surrender,
he started to hand his pistol to his captors, when they shot
him to death with a Schmeisser machine gun. Because of the importance
of the attack which he was leading, and in honor of his personal
courage, both VII Corps and First Army has since referred to
the operation which virtually isolated the entire Ruhr industrial
area, as the "Rose Pocket."
On March 31st, Task Force Lovelady resumed its attack, "D"
company in the lead. Their first act was to knock out the Sherman
which had fallen into enemy hands the night before. Then, just
as the high ground was being cleared by the infantry with two
tanks from "E" company, our combat command headquarters
ordered us to withdraw into Wrexen and take another route to
our objective.
This we did, losing another tank to that obnoxious little weapon,
the panzerfaust, and fighting deep into the night.
Changing our route again, we jumped off at six o'clock in the
morning, determined to reach our objective that day. At 1200
hours, Task Force Lovelady and Task Force Welborn entered the
recently fire-bombed city of Paderborn against nothing but small
arms resistance. By the time this devastated city was firmly
secured, we had collected 160 prisoners.
Here the death of Major General Rose was partially avenged. A
Nazi General Major by the name of Lippert was quite confidently
and completely, without knowledge of our advancing tentacles,
working in his garden. When the news of our impending approach
finally dawned upon him, he rushed into his house, donned his
dress uniform and tried to escape by running into the woods at
the edge of the city. Refusing to halt at the repeated demands
of our infantry, he was mortally wounded by a few well-placed
bursts from a Tommy-gun.
Our task force was proud to have been a part of the 3rd Armored
Division and to have assumed a vital part in closing the great
Ruhr trap which was to yield 350,000 enemy troops who were now
completely cut off from supplies and reinforcements.
Task Force Lovelady had helped sew up the Rose Pocket with stitches
of steel. Other units were designated to destroy its contents
while we resumed the First Army's eastward thrust.
"B" company had seized and secured Dahl, a suburb of
Paderborn, capturing 15 prisoners against little opposition.
By April 4th, though we only had 16 Sherman and 4 light tanks
left, we were sufficiently refreshed to begin another long drive,
this time to the Weser River and beyond.
Leaving Ebberinghausen early in the morning, we spent most of
the day fighting terrain and clearing woods, eventually arriving
on an objective already secured by the Ninth Armored Division,
who had fought along our right flank.
Seeking to avoid opposition in order to expedite a rapid push
to the river, we drove through the night until one o'clock in
the morning, when we were halted by impassable roads. A reconnaissance
patrol spent the rest of the night looking for a better route,
ran into an enemy road block at which two of our soldiers gave
their lives and one officer was seriously wounded.
Marked opposition from roving self-propelled guns and tanks weakened
us to 15 Sherman and 9 light tanks, holding us up most of the
day.
On April 7th, we turned north from Trendelburg to capture Helmarshausen
on the Weser River, after destroying an enemy tank, 3 trucks
and capturing 45 prisoners. The next day was spent securing the
river banks and getting ready for the plunge to the other side.
On April 9th we were on the east bank of the Weser, rolling insistently
eastward. By dusk we had reached Lenglern, two miles northwest
of the ancient city of Gottingen, having destroyed one enemy
tank, one self-propelled gun and capturing another 20 prisoners.
Now we were moving swiftly as town after town fell before they
had time to complete their log and earthen road blocks. A town
defended by small numbers of enemy bazooka-men and snipers was
reason enough to draw our tanks up to a fighting front to practically
destroy the village by tank, mortar and artillery fire, and sometimes
by strafing planes.
"Axis Sally," the German female commentator who broadcast
the news, highly flavored with propaganda, in English, had always
given the 3rd Armored Division considerable infamous publicity.
It was about this time that she professed the enemy's dislike
for us, just as we had hated them so ruthlessly for many months.
Speaking of the merciless onslaughts by. some American units,
she reminded us that few German troops would take prisoners from
the 1st and 9th Infantry Division, or the 3rd Armored. This bit
of advertisement served only to make us more immaculate in our
devastation of German property and lives, though we would not
stoop to refuse the surrender of those who wished to give up
legitimately.
By noon of the 11th of April, another large city fell to Task
Force Lovelady. This was Nordhausen, the site of a notorious
concentration camp.
The horrors of Nordhausen have been dwelt upon so extensively
by others that we shall not describe its gruesome scenes here.
Having seen it, we need no words to remind us. Its gross inhumanity
has been burned deep into our minds. We shall not forget the
brutish sadism of the people who perpetrated and tolerated these
dens of mass murder.
Hardly had Nordhausen been cleared than "E" company
attacked southeast to secure Sundhausen in order to facilitate
the speed of our eastward attack.
On April 12th, we roared out of Nordhausen for a blitz attack
on Allstedt, another thirty miles along the road to Berlin. Racing
through town after town, burgermeisters were informed that if
a single shot was fired at an American soldier, we would burn
that village to the ground. This was the kind of talk Nazis understood
and we progressed rapidly, capturing 60 prisoners by dusk. Unknowingly,
we had taken many towns which we were to come back to as their
first occupation troops after the war. Haringen, Kelbra, Tilleda
fell in rapid succession.
Just east of Tilleda, we encountered the tiny "Beetle"
tanks, grotesque failures in the Nazis' book of weird weapons.
These were little more than a yard long, less than two feet high,
and about twenty inches wide. They were shaped like a tank and
carried tracks. They were propelled by a battery-operated electrical
mechanism and were guided by a reel of wire which unwound from
the operator as the tank moved forward. The body of this lilliputian
held in its warhead, several pounds of T.N.T. Our tanks riddled
them into easy submission before they had done any damage and
we by-passed them scoffingly.
These were days quite like those of nearly a year ago when we
were racing through France. Instead of so many tanks and anti-tank
guns, however, the most popular weapon now was the panzerfaust.
We were also encountering more flak guns whose barrels were depressed
for use as anti-tank weapons. Here, too, every town had its entrance
blocked by sturdily constructed log and earth, or rock, road
blocks. We were marching so fast, though, that many of these
had not yet been completed.
On the 13th of April, "D" company ran into serious
direct crossfire, which destroyed a peep and two tanks, causing
some casualties. Our infantry flanked the town of Unterrissdorf
on the right. "B" company was on the left and, as they
were about to close in on the offenders, the entire crews of
two large flak guns appeared with their hands over their heads.
After that, we proceeded for several miles, practically unmolested,
stopping at the banks of the Saale River near Wettin. Finding
the bridge blown and a few snipers childishly trying to be brave
from the buildings on the other side of the river, our tankers
cleaned out their .50 caliber machine guns by firing them into
the windows. This was followed by a few minutes of animated strafing
by P-47's just to warn the townsfolk that they were making a
mistake by trying to defend their village with a few riflemen.
Colonel Welborn's task force had a bridge across the river
north of us, so we returned to Beesenstadt for the night and
crossed the river on the morning of the 14th, returning then
to our own route.
"D" company was again snared into a trap of direct
fire which cost them one tank, while "E" company lost
two tanks trying to flank the enemy's guns. This accomplished,
the task force approached Zorbig, there to encounter determined
resistance from infantry with large numbers of panzerfausts.
This stronghold paid a heavy price for its folly, because we
lost no time laying down a heavy artillery concentration, elaborated
upon by vicious strafing from the P-47's who hovered over us,
just waiting for a chance to shoot. Then, laying down an irresistible
curtain of marching fire, our tanks and infantry rolled through
a completely subdued community.
Moving out at dawn, Task Force Lovelady achieved its deepest
penetration into Germany on the 15th of April.
Crossing another great autobahn, we approached Raguhn, our
entrance fanatically opposed by panzerfaust troops whose only
hope was to knock out one tank before they died. This they seemed
to do willingly, and a hundred enemy soldiers clutched their
diabolical weapons in lifeless hands before the day ended. Three
hundred wiser ones surrendered.
We then prepared the town for our arrival by greeting them
with a lusty artillery and mortar barrage, which facilitated
our entrance at four o'clock in the afternoon. Reconnaissance
elements inspected the River Mulde for the unlikely possibility
of unmolested bridges, returning with the usual report that they
were all blown. We were not particularly perturbed since our
orders were not explicit about further objectives on the other
side of the Mulde, and we settled down for a comfortable night's
rest in Raguhn.
"B" company back-tracked for a few miles in a northwesterly
direction, to clear out a village called Thurland, a name which
more than a hundred of us will never forget, for reasons to be
presented shortly. Here they encountered strong small arms resistance,
and the ubiquitous panzerfaust, which had been the mainstay of
the dying Wehrmacht since the closure of the Rose Pocket, destroyed
two of our light tanks and killed Lieutenant Forbes.
The next day was spent clearing the towns along the banks
of the River Mulde in our sector. "D" company seized
Priorau and Schierau against light opposition, in which they
captured 18 prisoners and a small ammunition dump. "E"
company, with infantry from the 414th Regiment, attacked north
through woods, to secure a road crossing just south of Dessau.
Here they were subjected to continuous barrages of artillery
and mortar fire coming from the east side of the river, which
caused some casualties, especially among the infantrymen.
At this point, our long engaged task force was dangerously
attenuated to spread it out so thinly over such a broad and,
as yet, unstable. front. On the 16th of April, the command post,
maintenance section, the infantry and armored aid stations, moved
into Thurland in order to assume an approximate central position
among our widely dispersed troops. Little did we suspect that
some of the most exciting and terrifying hours of the war were
about to begin in this little town, thus far scarcely touched
by the devastating hand of conflict.
After establishing as nearly normal guard precautions as possible
with an understrength command, we settled down for a few hours
of much needed rest, with the exception of Colonel Lovelady,
who left his headquarters to join his companies in an attack
through the woods. At 0130 o'clock in the morning, the town was
attacked by a battalion of enemy infantry, whom we soon recognized
as first rate troops, experts in their business. From the burgermeister
and Nazi civilians, they found out exactly which buildings we
were in, whereupon they set about systematically to rout us out.
The command post came first. Some of the officers and men tried
to shoot their way out, believing they were faced by only a small
patrol. This error led to the death of our Air Corps Lieutenant
who had stayed with us to keep liaison with the P-47's. Young,
our valiant, youthful motorcycle rider, incurred a compound fractured
arm, and because he couldn't be evacuated for more than twenty-four
hours, died, apparently from gas gangrene. Others were wounded
less critically, among them, Captain Aldinger, whose foot was
slightly injured. The rest of the battalion staff was captured
intact except for Chief Warrant Officer Palfey, who shot one
German with his pistol, then buried himself under a pile of potatoes,
where he remained throughout the ordeal.
Continuing methodically through town, the marauders approached
the aid station, which was billeted in two buildings separated
by a driveway. This led to a barnyard surrounded by hay-filled
sheds, and served as an excellent parking lot for the medical
vehicles. Suddenly, the familiar flash and the crash of a panzerfaust
brought us quickly to our feet. Dressing hurriedly, it was immediately
apparent that the barns were burning furiously and would soon
consume all of our vehicles. At that instant, a hand grenade
was casually, and impolitely, hurled in the window, its fragments
wounding S/Sgt. Griese in the face. Not realizing the strength
of the attack, the men thought only of getting their vehicles
out of the holocaust. This they did, turning westward and driving
through a canyon of gutteral voices, but no further shots were
fired. They halted on the edge of town, hiding themselves in
the cellar of an infantry company's command post. In less than
an hour, commands in German brought them from their refuge, hands
over heads. Outside, they faced perhaps thirty enemy soldiers
with two officers, only a small portion of the number who were
in town. After being counted and searched, they were returned
to the basement until dawn.
By then, news of our plight had reached higher headquarters,
and friendly artillery (no more consoling than enemy artillery
under these circumstances) began pounding at intervals, much
to the disconcern of the German troops. By 0830 o'clock in the
morning, all American prisoners were collected in another small
basement across the street. There were 117 of us, and if it is
true that "Misery loves company," there was an abundance
of both, crowded into this tiny shelter.
The burgermeister was walking around his town in full glory,
smoking an American cigar and wielding an American pistol. He
supervised the distribution of panzerfausts and furnished whatever
information was needed. His attitude did not impress us favorably
and eventually led to his inability to ever hold that office
again.
Our vehicles were thoroughly ransacked, and soon Germans were
eating our emergency "K" rations with apparent relish,
drinking our coffee and smoking our cigarettes. They wasted no
time improving their defenses around the town, cutting the autobahn
just west of it, and preparing for the counterattack which was
sure to come.
Believing that another German battalion had successfully attacked
Raguhn, thus providing them with a route of evacuation across
the Mulde River, they loaded our ambulances with wounded together
with considerable numbers of unwounded troops, assigned American
drivers with German guards, and started back. Captain Aldinger
rode at the head of the column in a peep, with a German driver.
The other battalion of enemy infantry hadn't performed so
well, holding only a few houses on the western edge of Raguhn.
Even this fact was unknown to Captain Aldinger, who had no reason
to think that the village was not entirely in our hands. At the
crossroads a few hundred yards from Raguhn, the strange procession
was halted by an alert tank destroyer road block whose persuasive
looking 90 millimeter guns encouraged the enemy occupants of
the vehicles to surrender.
With the perfectly correct impression that Colonel Lovelady
had again established a practically unstaffed command post in
Raguhn, the column headed in that direction in order to place
the prisoners under the guard of our troops. As they approached
the first buildings in the confusing half-light of early dawn,
German machine guns nervously tattooed the road, killing Captain
Aldinger and his German chauffeur. Later on, Corporal Perry from
the reconnaissance platoon, drove the peep out, and he, too,
was killed when it turned over for some inexplicable reason.
Tragedies such as these struck us deeper than ever at this late
date, since everyone felt that the war was nearly over.
In the meantime, the enemy troops in Thurland realized that
they were isolated from their own lines, and decided to defend
their positions until dark, then infiltrate through our cordon
of tanks which surrounded them.
Part of the 83rd Armored Reconnaissance Battalion came to
our rescue in an attack which was to consume the entire day.
Artillery beat in heavily for many hours and, in the evening,
tanks were firing directly into the town, many of the rounds
hitting the building we were staying in.
It was nearly eleven o'clock at night that our liberators
finally poured into Thurland. A larger part of the German command
had been killed during the day, and most of the rest were captured.
Struggling out of the cramped quarters, the American liberated
witnessed, not without some satisfaction, a German village destroyed,
with the exception of not more than four houses, by fire and
artillery.
As soon as the wounded were evacuated, the rest of us returned
to our normal positions, this time into a safe Raguhn where the
command post and aid stations were once more established.
Except for routine patrols, the allocation of a few "B"
company tanks to another task force for reinforcement, and of
three "E" company tanks to secure a town which had
been seized by Task Force Richardson, there was not much activity.
Various plans were proposed for bridging the Mulde and securing
that part of Raguhn on the eastern bank, but none of these materialized.
Combat Command "A" was attacking Dessau, while we
continued to hold what we had.
For the Task Force Lovelady, the war was nearly ended. They
had reached the banks of the River Mulde, final destination of
the VII Corps. The war was rapidly dissolving around them as
the Russians hit Berlin and were approaching units south of us
near Leipzig. Now they were waiting for the Ninth Infantry Division
to come forward and relieve them. Billeting parties went back
to Tilleda, Sittendorf and Rossla. Ironically enough, we were
destined to sojourn under the majestic shadow of a titanic monument
in memory of Germany's leader in World War I, Kaiser Wilhelm.
On the highest hill at Kyffhauser, it could be seen by all the
troops in our task force and the massive lodges surrounding it,
a luxurious haven for officers in the S.S. and their spouses,
would soon be occupied by "D" company. Those of us
who later examined its extensive museum were struck by a scroll
engraved in English which read, "To our dear friends and
True Comrades!" and signed by the members of Milwaukee's
American Legion Post as late as 1934! We could not but wonder
if someday we would follow in the gullible footsteps of our progenitors,
perhaps inscribing a congratulatory message to the inaugurators
of a similar monument in honor of Hitler. We did not think we
ever would, but time does strange things, and Americans are strange
people, willing to love and trust in a world that knows only
hate and deceit.
On the 24th day of April, Task Force Lovelady heard its last
crash of enemy mortar and artillery, fired its farewell rounds
into enemy lines, picked up its tracks and marched gayly into
the west, relatively certain for the first time in ten adventure-filled
months that they would awaken the next day to find themselves
alive and unwounded.
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