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September 12, 1944:
We entered Germany. Roetgen was the first German town to fall
to the Allies and I am proud to say the Third Armored Division
was the first to break through the Siegfried Line and enter German
soil.
Naturally, we entered this town minus the
applause we were accustomed to in France and Belgium. All houses
had white sheets hanging from their windows (a sign of surrender
and giving up). People stood around just watching, curiously.
It was an interesting experience. Several planes went down, one
of ours a P-38.
September 19, 1944:
Are now encountering a barrage of artillery as resistance is
stiffening. My diary notes: "I pray God that He should end
this war soon and that He, His Blessed Mother, and St. Benedict,
take care of me."
Since being here am catching up on my mail
which has caught up with me. It's sure good to get mail again.
So will close this until more news. I must get on my job as radio
operator. Good job. Yes, Sir!!
NOTE: From this date, September 19th, until
the beginning of the Battle of the Bulge we were at this location
in Breinig, Germany. It was a very wet fall. All heavy tanks
got mired down (both German and American) plus we had to pull
up our supplies and the Germans needed a breather. Even though
we were stalemated, that didn't mean the war shut down. All day
and night long we heard nothing but a continuous stream of our
artillery and German incoming artillery and mortar shells. There
was an occasional bombing from "Bed Check Charlie"
usually a single bomber and the evening serenade of "Buzz
Bombs". The Buzz Bombs were a new innovation. It made its
first appearance in September of 1944. It was the forerunner
of the V-2 and space age. It was a bomb with wings, unmanned
and radio controlled. We were in "Buzz Bomb Alley",
they flew over us on their way to harass England.
Many of them malfunctioned and we would lay
awake at night and hear the engine stop, then the whizzing sound
as it dropped and then one heck of a blast as it hit the earth.
During this period we lost six of our buddies
from artillery fire.
This is where I experienced another close
call. I was standing in the chow line and we had an artillery
shell explode nearby. Shrapnel got the guy standing next to me.
He was killed instantly. This makes you think.
I have a notation on October 30, 1944. Halloween.
Still at same location. Not far from Aachen. Go to church regularly
and even had the opportunity to go to German Vespers. My note
in diary raises this question: Looking around I saw women, old
men, and children praying the rosary. I'm sure they are praying
to the same God I am. Are they praying for the same things my
Mom and Dad and I are praying for? Are they praying for their
sons, brothers, and fathers, for their safe return. Are they
praying for the war to end soon, as I am. From the fervent and
somber expressions on their faces, I was sure they were.
This period of time is rather a relaxing period,
I wrote. Am now living in a house vacated by Germans. I have
a good bed and a nice stove to cook our meals. Still getting
a lot of incoming artillery shells and some close ones. A robot
plane flew over last night, but no damage. Nice day for tic-tacking.
While here in Breinig had a German woman wash
our clothes. She was very friendly and did anything we asked
her to do. She didn't need money, all she needed was a candy
bar, pack of gum or parts of our rations. These were always bartering
tools.
Breinig is a small town of about 1,500 population.
There is a nice church which I attend regularly. I have visited
such towns as Aachen, (The Cathedral of Charlemagne is here)
Stolberg, Korneli-Munster, Walheim, Greesswich, Worth, Busbach,
Mausbach, Venwegen, Eupen, and Verviers. This period of time
is unusual. I don't know what to make of it, having nothing to
compare it with (having never been in a war before). I experience
more fighting in France and Belgium than so far here in Germany.
Here we sit, since about September 19th, playing a waiting game.
No one seems to know how long we will be here. Rumors have it
we will stay here until spring. Others seem to believe that once
we get our supplies built up, we will start a winter offense.
Others speculate that there are already secret negotiations between
the powers that be, to declare an armistice. Whatever, here we
are, just sitting, relaxing, putting up with incoming artillery
and an occasional bombing.
NOTE: After the war each of us received
a book, Spearhead in the West. This book is a history of the
3rd Armored Division in battle. I quote from pages 98-99:
"Battered and finally at a standstill,
the 3rd Armored Division had wound up one of the amazing armored
force operations in the history of warfare. Eighteen days from
the Seine River to the Siegfried Line. And now, in a last climatic
surge of strength, the division had smashed completely through
that legendary west wall into the confines of greater Germany.
Then, like an athlete who has breached the tape of victory and
stands exhausted, the 'Spearhead' paused. Vehicles were demanding
maintenance. Men were haggard with fatigue. It was a long road
they traveled and the far horizon was still befogged with the
smoke of battle.
"There were scarcely 100 tanks of the
original 400 left in proper operating condition. Supplies had
begun to lag. Much of this supply was still funneling through
the floating piers in Normandy. Now the entire 1st Army had reached
Germany's borders but the 3rd Armored and 1st Infantry Divisions
were out on the point of a salient, and it was impossible for
them to advance further until their flanks were secure. Therefore,
the battle of attrition, which was hoped to be of short duration,
began. Although men of the striking forces still believed that
the war was practically over, there was still eight months of
furious combat to be concluded before VE day."
NOTE: This quote answered the questions
raised in my diary.
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