[France]
The next morning I managed to find the chow line and get my bed roll ready. I knew I had better get some rations so I found one of the cooks and told him that I needed some. I later found out that it was "Stonewall Jackson" that took care of me that morning. He gave me the usual three K rations and three D rations. Thinks I, "They must expect us to be a long way from the kitchen by night fall." My training says D rations are used "only in emergency when regular rations can not be delivered". I put them all in my pockets and proceeded to see what was going on.
I soon spotted a short sergeant who worked with Lt. Stanford and seemed to know what was going on. I nicknamed him at that time "Little Caesar" and the name stuck with him. This was Dick Linehan, the communications sergeant. The company pulled out. I found that I could be sure I was in the right place by watching the radio aerial.
We walked about twelve miles that day; it was a real breaking-in for a desk soldier. As we went through the small towns, the French people came out into the streets with wine, cider, and anything that they might have, to give us as welcome gifts.
The company set up for the night. Sgt. Linehan found a house to use as a company CP, and Stan said we could even get our bed rolls and figure on getting some rest. I met the other officers, Lt. Tullbane, Lt. Hager, and Lt. Kelly. There was a little restaurant across from the CP that attracted everyone�s attention. Some of the men bought cold drinks there. About five o�clock that evening the Free French came into town. They looked like a bunch of thugs or gangsters, shooting and yelling. I finally found out that they were rounding up collaborators. A girl that worked at the restaurant had catered too much to the Germans. The Free French leader had the manager really sweating. He was a fat old fellow and looked like a real collaborator. The old man, with whom we were staying, was quite happy to see the French haul him and the daughter away. They put swastikas all over the cafe and wrote the following note on the window, "Those who dine with the Nazis must pay with their head." They shaved the heads of such people and marked them with a swastika--after a proper trial, of course.
That night "Jerry" planes circled over the house and had us thinking that we had done the wrong thing to choose a CP in the upstairs. The company was assembled while still dark and left that little town of Surville at 0600 hours the next morning. We "back-tracked" our march of the previous day to the little settlement of Le-Boulay-Morin. It was from here that Sgt. Linehan had to return to our previous spot to try to find a pair of false teeth that one of the men had left behind. (They were never found!)
We departed from Le-Boulay-Morin at 1145, and ended up in an assembly area not too far from the Seine River. We pitched shelter-halves in a small patch of woods, and I wrote a few letters. This was the 26th of August.
We were alerted late that night to move out the first thing in the morning. We crossed the Seine River near Mantes-Gassicourt. It had been a hot march. Three hours intervened before we received the order to attack at 1600. Some of the men took advantage of the situation and took a bath in the river.
This day, Sunday, August the 27th, was my first taste of combat. The 3rd Battalion was initially in reserve; but "K" Co. was committed about 1900 and our company "tied in" with them for the night. It was in the afternoon about 1800 that I experienced being under my first enemy mortar and artillery fire. That night it rained hard. The CP group spent the night in a small watering shed. I would sleep about fifteen minutes and then wake up. There was no room to lie down; we were crowded to find space to sit up.
The next morning, August 28, we continued with the fight, and advanced against sparse resistance. I had my first chance to see abandoned German positions, and see us take some prisoners. We were held up about dusk that evening by machine-gun fire, and spent the night in a quarry. That afternoon, company headquarters group took sixteen prisoners that the company had by-passed. Langlois, our French interpreter (a real character if I have ever met one!), talked to one of them in French. It was an adjutant who told Frenchy that the war would be over in six months and it would be tough on the Allies. The Germans were going to come out with some secret weapons, rockets and such things, that would make us sorry we ever set our feet in Europe.
As usual, in such a situation as this one, the "Krauts" had pulled out in the night, but not without accomplishing their mission. They had killed one of our men and wounded another. On the 29th it rained some more. About noon we arrived at a little town called Fremainville. Practically the whole population of the town was assembled in a large chateau. Langlois, who always impressed the French people as being at least a colonel with his moustache and beard, was soon approached by the "head man" of the place. Frenchy never did anything that might change the people�s impression; so before we knew it, he was sitting in a big dining room all by himself, the French "big boy" had the maids delivering him a good meal with ham and plenty of champagne and cognac.
He [the "head man"] also turned over four German prisoners to us for which he wanted a receipt. (Later we found out that he was a collaborator.) He asked Langlois if he could take a trip to Paris to see DeGaulle. Frenchy impressed him with the importance of the roads to the armed forces and told him to stay where he was. The collaborator thought surely that he was so-ordered by at least a regimental commander.
One other thing which happened at this spot I shall remember for a long time. Artillery and mortar rounds were coming in with regularity. Dick Linehan was upstairs playing the piano because he didn�t have any duties at the minute. Outside it was raining. Everybody was wet, and they were bringing in two men that had been badly wounded. It presented a real contrast.
Later that day our company followed "K" Co. into a small town where an orphanage was located. That was the first afternoon I heard, and was under, the "Jerry" weapon called the "screaming meamie." The company broke contact in a woods and we found ourselves in a bad place to be under such "stuff". Stan went back to find the rest of the unit, and I moved what was left back a little so we would not be under it. About this time "K" Co. sent back about sixty prisoners.
After we passed through the town, we were stopped by machine-guns. It was Lt. Tullbane�s second platoon that took the beating that night. The 1st Battalion was firing tanks at our men by mistake. Stan got the situation straightened out and we "ground-hogged" for the night. The CP was located in a room about fifteen by fifteen feet. It seemed that everyone had business there that night. We had two or three badly wounded men to whom we were trying to give some hot coffee and fried eggs. I finally went outside for a couple of hours just to relieve the congestion.
The next morning, August 30, we returned to an assembly area, and the regiment went into division reserve. The next day we walked from 1000 until 1600. The company was situated for the night in pretty good time and we were able to get some sleep. This was at Le Petit Crouy [Battalion CP was located at Crouy-en-Thelle]. We had two cottages here which had been used by German officers only a few days before. Langlois completed a "deal" and we had fried chicken and fried eggs the next day.
At 1830 we mounted trucks. Lt. Stanford said we were going to Hollain, Belgium. That sounded like the land of wooden shoes and windmills. We had at first loaded up at 1230, but something had changed things. It always does in the army. We were loaded nine to a 3/4 ton truck. This was the trip that none of us shall ever forget. It was part of the breakthrough. In each French town the people would crowd the streets. It was practically impossible to get through many of the towns. They would shower us with flowers, wine, apples, plums, cognac, and anything else they had to give.
Langlois was in his glory on this trip. Everyone thought he was the commanding officer of at least a battalion. The supply of drinks kept him pretty happy. Many times he would wait for all the people to gather �round and then he would get them started singing "La Marseillaise," the French national anthem, which of course had not been sung in public, until we arrived, for four years.
The radio was on our truck. When the people had gathered around in good numbers, Langlois would take the phone down and say in French, "Hello, Hello, DeGaulle? We have liberated another town." His manner had many of the people believing he was actually calling the French leader. Frenchy kept us laughing most of the trip, but he was almost a "sad-sack" toward the last. Too many bottles, I guess.
The French would ring the church bells as we passed through and do their best to kiss us on both cheeks and render every other courtesy they could. One time, about daylight, on September 2, we could hear a German bugle blowing on the road to our left. A German column was trying to escape on a parallel road. The large amount of equipment demolished on the roads indicated the fine job the air corps had done. Many carts, guns, motor cars, tanks, and horses were strung along every mile of the road.
We arrived at Tournai, Belgium about 2200 the evening of the 2nd. We had completed our part in the 180 mile dash. The fastest opposed march in military history was over, made by the 30th Division in 72 hours.
We stayed at Tournai until the morning of the 7th of September. We washed our clothes, got some much needed rest, and set up a light defense. It was here that Stan found some nice showers. We had completed plans to have the company take showers, but the regimental commander found out about it. He stopped the whole proceedings. We couldn�t figure out why, but it was not unusual for us to have trouble figuring him out.
It was while we were here the report was broadcast that the war was over. The same afternoon we were attending a demonstration on the assault of pill boxes. That didn�t mean the war was over to us; it meant that the SEIGFRIED LINE was on someone�s mind--not a happy thought. We hoped someone would out-flank it, or something else miraculous might happen.
The story of Tournai would not be complete if I did not mention the arrival of the English after we had been there a day or so. They said, "We were supposed to be here first."
On the morning of the 7th of September, we left Tournai to which we had by this time become quite attached. It was 0530 when we left this Belgian town. We traveled about 65 miles on truck, mostly east, stopping at Basse Lalou, Belgium. We were supposed to go another 65 or 70 miles, but gasoline was getting scarce. They had to keep the tanks moving. We stayed there that night.
On the morning of the 8th we started on foot. I was to bring up the rear of the column. I chose Langlois to go with me as a runner. We walked nearly 25 miles. I didn�t let too many of the company fall out, but I lost Langlois. After we arrived at our destination, I took the jeep to find the missing members. I found Frenchy walking down the wrong road. He was heading for the 1st Battalion! It was that night that Lt. Stanford told Frenchy he had better get on the jeep the next day. He did, and he has been riding it ever since.
We spent a very nice night. The Belgian lady couldn�t do too much for us. She cooked a nice meal with the few things she had. We ate with real silverware, a tablecloth, good spuds, and a lovely atmosphere. The lady talked a little English. Stan and I had a nice bed, sheets, and all the comforts of the best home that night.
On the 9th we took off again. This time the company did another 25 miles. I was sure wishing we had gasoline. I wondered if General Eisenhower knew how bad my feet felt that night. To walk was like walking on egg shells; I was stiff all over. But the receptions were fine in all the towns; everyone was out to welcome us as we passed through.
My aching feet! The order was to start off again in the morning. Only fifteen miles that day. By two o�clock we were on a hill that looked down on the Albert Canal and the Meuse River. This was the 10th of September. The company set up for the night. We had a nice house to stay in. The machine-gun section had some members of the Belgian equivalent to the FFI digging in positions. They also were bringing soup to our men and trying to make us feel as comfortable as they could. The company was issued "ten-in-one" rations. Things were looking good. They must expect us to be here a day or so.
About nine o�clock [2100 hrs] Col. Brown called Lt. Stanford and told him to report to the Battalion CP with one platoon leader. Col. Brown, Lt. Stanford, Lt. Tullbane departed for the Regimental CP and Stan called me about 2230 and told me to break the rations down so they could be carried. I knew something was up. Something was up! Both the second and third platoons were to cross the canal, and get at least a squad each across the river before daylight. "Part of a plan to keep contact with the enemy," Col. Sutherland, the regimental commander called it.
All started well. They crossed the canal. The second platoon found themselves under machine-gun fire when they got two thirds of the way across the river and had to withdraw. The company CP group crossed the canal under much pressure. Stan crossed the canal, leaving part of his equipment in the original CP, part of it in the second CP, and part of it on the canal bank. I wasn�t far behind him.
Just across the river, we found a beautiful chateau. Some royal blood owned the place. It was very lovely but we didn�t get time to enjoy it. We took off about five o�clock. We stayed at Dalhem that night, and slept in a cow barn! Twenty millimeter fire was active when we entered town but by morning it, and the enemy machine-gun fire also, had withdrawn--as per plan, I suppose. This had all happened on the 11th of September.
The twelfth we shoved off again. Co. "K" was leading, but it wasn�t long until our Co. "L" took up a position on the left of the battalion. We crossed into Holland in the afternoon. People were still ringing church bells when we entered the small towns. About 1800 our company found itself well ahead of the battalion on the left. We tried to encircle a small town, but the "Jerries" got wise and started to pull out. It was here that "Pop" Petersen knocked out a half track that was trying to escape. Col. Brown told Stan that he could not bring another unit up to him. He would leave it up to Stan to decide if we should stay or pull back. Stan said, "We had to fight to get here and we don�t want to do the same thing tomorrow, so we�ll stay." We did, and put up a real defense. The mortar section was even helping hold the perimeter defense before we finished re-arranging things. Everything worked out fine. (Lt. Stanford later received the Bronze Star for his action on the 12th).
We were on the move again the next morning. Our company was once more operating by itself. About 1100 we found ourselves pinned down by 20mm fire and small arms fire. It was here that Sgt. DeFede was killed. Stan took off on one of his reconnaissance trips and found himself crawling 300 yards in a ditch before he returned. Of course higher headquarters was calling up every 15 minutes wanting to know why we were not moving. They even told us once that we would be at the objective at 1300. Stan, in his usual way, used his good common sense and did not try to rush matters. Finally, they sent us tanks and we went on through. We found some excellent dug-in positions in front of us. No wonder they had us stopped! We took a few prisoners.
That night, as we reached the objective, Scheulder, Holland, the battalion found that there were plenty of Germans in a large trench only about 400 yards from town. Everything opened up when this was discovered--the tankers, machine-gunners, mortarmen, riflemen, and even Langlois was firing his carbine. The "Kraut" were run out, but I can�t say much damage resulted from all the firing.
Finally we set up for the night, after doing a great deal of walking to look the situation over. We put the CP in the trench. About dark, Langlois, myself, and a few more of the group started out to find some straw to sleep on. We knew the general direction of the pile because we could see an outline in the sky. We went to it only to find a large tree when we got there. It rained that night. How well do I remember waking up and finding that rain running down my raincoat into my face! What a night! This had all happened on the 13th of September.
We stayed in this same general area. The first platoon was sent on a mission about a mile from the company, they formed a roadblock at this point.
On the morning of the 16th we started out once more. What do you know, "L" Co. was in reserve! The battalion ran into some small arms fire and plenty of artillery; but it did not last for very long. We spent that night in a small town and took off the next morning again. About noon we arrived in Terwinselen, Holland, a large town with very nice buildings.
The afternoon was spent in trying to knock out a machine-gun position on the edge of town. First, Lt. Kelly went over to try to take care of it, then Sgt. Hendricks, and before evening Lt. Hager and Lt. Tullbane were working on the situation. Finally Lt. Smith brought his anti-tank gun up and shot through the building, which all reports indicated, contained the enemy group. I don�t think the German crew was ever damaged--they probably withdrew.
We spent the night in a very nice house. Johnny, as Tullbane was called, spent half the night trying to get his platoon tied in around the coal pile.
It was here that the battalion picked up the Dutch officer who was always called Teddy. He truly hated the "Heinies." He helped Lt. Stanford in locating the German positions and later joined the battalion; he provided valuable help in handling intelligence work until he was called back to the Dutch Army in January. He talked excellent English.
We moved out at 1800 that night. Two battalions plus tanks and other vehicles all were trying to move out at once. Before we started it was dark, really a dark night. I don�t know how we went the right way, but we finally arrived in a town called Waubach. We had moved out in the middle of feeding the men supper, so we finished this about 2300.
As I said, it was very dark. Stan wasn�t the least bit happy about the way we had to move out. Everything was mass confusion and Stan explained his feelings to Col. Brown. Uncle, as we call him because of the radio call-sign, talked to Stan like a father and told him that everything would be O.K.! It was, except Stan had his usual case of night blindness and couldn�t see anything. We got settled that night, but I don�t know just how. We were sobered very much by the thought that the SIEGFRIED LINE was only about a mile away.
The next day, the 19th, Col. Brown called me down and told me in front of a company commanders� meeting that we were planning on jumping off the next day. He asked me to take a patrol down through the 1st Battalion area and see what I could see. I gathered together some field glasses and a compass, and went on my way with a small patrol. I almost walked into Germany that night. We found two dead Germans and could see across the way where the "pill-boxes" were. Those pill-boxes gave a fellow a peculiar feeling. As we were crawling around through the bushes, some mortar rounds came in. I thought perhaps they had picked us up. I do not know for sure, but we got out of there in a hurry! It was getting dark, and Col. Brown had told me to be back before dark; so we went back.
The next day the whole thing was called off, which made us all happy. We needed a little more time to make some plans before we tried to hit this thing. We were equipped with flame throwers and dynamite charges. It takes a little time to train inexperienced men in the use of such equipment.