A Day in the
Big War, November 30, 1944.
By Jim Harris, K
407th Infantry Regiment
This is a story of my personal experience in our first major attack in WW2. In 1979 I returned to visit a few of the sights in Europe with a small group of Ozarks. We visited Welz and other war sites for a couple of days, then on to the tourist things like Paris and Switzerland. Paul Wible, a member of L Co. 407, asked me to write the day as I remembered it and he would do the same. His company was almost wiped out in the attack and had a larger number killed than K Co. I was in K Co. and agreed, so this was written for Wible back in 1979, when I could remember more details. This is a copy of what I wrote back in 1979. I can remember most of this even today, and could even add a few details which I will not do, at least not at this time. I received the silver star medal for my actively on this day of Nov. 30, 1979.
Jim Harris, former K 407
.Ps I was a private that day, was a three stripe Sgt. The next day. Never did make private first class or any other rank.
November 29, 1944
On the
evening of Nov. 29, 1944 Company K, 407th Inf. Reg., 102nd
Division was settled down in the cellars of a small German
village called Ederen. The men of the 2nd Platoon were quite
comfortable in their cellar. We had been told that we would push
off at 7:30 in the morning to attack the next village Welz. This
news did not dampen our spirits as we settled in for the night.
We had been
on the line at Ederen for a few days. The German shelling
continued off and on day and night. The rattle of machine guns,
the soft whoosh and blast from the mortar shells
and the shrill whistle and explosions from the 88s let us
know that the war was still to be fought. We all took turns out
in the foxholes and standing watch, then we would return to our
nice safe cellar.
The
afternoon of the 29th we had received several Christmas packages
from, home. The home folks had followed instructions and mailed
early. The 2nd platoon had more cake, cookies, and candy than we
could consume. We also knew that in the morning when we pushed
off in the attack that any re-naming goodies that could not be
carried must be left behind. That evening we all stuffed
ourselves and shared the Christmas packages with everyone;
tomorrow we go back to the war.
November 30, 1944
Up very
early to prepare for the push-off. Sgt. Cox distributes D bars
to everyone. These chocolate ration bars are supposed to be very
high in energy; but we only think of the good chocolate. This is
a rare treat.
Everyone
opens up a breakfast K ration, and soon we can smell the cans of
ham & eggs being warmed and the coffee. Burns from Boston comes
by and gives us some of his Bolster candy bars which he has
received for Christmas, the first one of these candy bars I had
ever seen. We all eat well and finish up on all the cake and
cookies that we can hold. Grab up our equipment and everyone
goes out into the courtyard. A last check to make sure that
everyone has a good supply of rifle clips and grenades as we
notice that the morning haze holds in the chill of what could be
a good clear cool day. No rain is expected.
Now Sgt.
Radice, an old army man and now our platoon Sgt., comes up to
give us a pep talk. This is our first attack and Sgt. Radice is
very loud and uses a lot of profanity as he tells us that when
the time comes to push off, we must all move. He paces back and
forth as he tells us that anyone lagging behind will be
considered a coward and a traitor and could be shot as a
deserter. I remember well that his attitude and to implications
that some of us would not do our duty disturbed me. We were all
there because we had to be; however, we were a very close family
and I was sure that we would do what we had to do to the~ last
man. Sgt. Radice makes his talk and leaves to go to another
platoon.
Sgt. Cox,
our squad leader, and asst. squad leader Sgt. Behan come over to
tell us the plan. The 2nd and 3rd squads will be on line to move
out when the time comes. My squad, the 1st., will be in the
center, following in file as reserve. It will be our job to
close up any gaps between the first two squads and move up into
the line as ordered by Sgt. Cox. 7:30 is getting very close and
we are all in the courtyard waiting. Everyone is in full battle
gear complete with gas mask, plenty of ammunition, bayonets are
fixed, and we wait the word to move out. Artillery and mortar
shells fly back and forth overhead; we can hear the rattle of a
machine gun now and then, and the explosions can be heard over
towards Welz as well as behind us in Ederen as we wait. We do
not hear any rifle fire. Shortly before 7:30 Sgt. Cox comes up
and tells us that the attack has been delayed. We are given no
reasons, and as a private, I expect none. So, we try to relax a
little as we wait and think about what lies ahead of us this
day.
Everyone is known by their last name in the infantry. As
I look around the courtyard at our group, I notice Brown talking
softly to Walker; did not know either of them too well. I
wondered who would survive this day of the first attack. There
was Grotz from Virginia and Bowar from Wisconsin; I had shared a
pup tent with Bowar back in Normandy right after we landed.
Sitting next to me was Schaible from Elgin, Ill. Schaible was a
former ASTP student as I was; we had both been to Purdue. Next
to us was Lahti from Detroit, another ASTP student; Lahti had
almost been born in Finland. I remembered well the night Lahti
and I had spent together in the Finnish section of New York
shortly before we left the States. There was McGuire from
Eastern Kentucky, not far from my old homestead in West
Virginia. We had very similar accents. “Swampy” Madison was from
somewhere down in Louisiana, and as the smallest man in the
squad, he had the BAR (Browning automatic rifle). Our squad
leader Sgt. Cox and asst. squad leader Behan talked quietly
together. I noted that our squad was one man short, while the
other two squads were full twelve man squads. The morning haze
was starting to lift, the air was still chilly, 7:30 had passed,
and we all quietly waited. We had time to think and wonder what
was holding up the attack. No one explains to an infantry
private the plans for anything. All I knew was that soon this
morning we would push off in the attack. We wait and wait when
finally word comes down to move out--we attack at 10:30. We move
out of the courtyard into the village street and move to the
East. Only a couple of short blocks to the edge of town facing
Welz; the two squads fan out on line preparing to advance while
my squad splits up with half of us on each side of the street.
The haze has all gone; the morning is crisp and clear; and the
barrage from our side starts shortly before 10:30.
The area
around and between Ederen and Welz is flat; there is & small
valley or draw extending from Ederen to Welz and we start to
advance along side of this draw. The cold November air has
killed the weeds and dropped the leaves from the few trees, so
there is very little cover for the infantryman. Just beyond Welz
is a ridge rising to the flat ground beyond towards Linnich.
This is our objective for the day.
The Germans
have made excellent use of the high ground in their defenses.
They have well dug in foxholes, trenches, concealed bunkers and
fortifications of all kinds, and they know exactly where we are.
The entire area is sprinkled with shell craters. 10:30 and we
start to move; there is smoke, explosions of all kinds,
artillery shells scream back and forth overhead, machine guns
rattle, and now we hear the sharp crack of the rifles as we
start towards Welz. As one of the last to leave Ederen with my
platoon, I am slightly surprised to see Sgt. Radice still
standing against the brick wall of the last building in the
village where he is shielded from the barrage coming from Welz.
I never see Sgt. Radice again, but heard that a shell exploding
in the street got him just after we had pushed out.
The two
squads from the platoon on line spread out as they advance which
leaves a large gap in the center, which my squad quickly moves
to fill. Almost immediately the German shells are landing among
us and the tempo picks up as we slowly advance. I find myself on
the right side of the draw and have seen no Germans to shoot at.
A lone farm house about a couple of hundred feet ahead is hit
and begins to burn, spewing out red flames and black smoke. Then
just to the left of the burning house I see two soldiers moving
about and wonder how these two could hay gotten so far ahead of
the rest of us. When they disappear and a machine gun starts to
kick up dirt around us, I realize that this is the enemy.
Several of us see them and we fire at their location as we
advance. They are in a fox hole just a few feet from the burning
farmhouse, and when we get close enough McGuire tosses a grenade
into the fox hole. The explosion is followed by smoke as
something is burning in the fox hole, we advance up to where the
foxhole is located.
Two German
soldiers emerge from the hole with their hands held high. We
notice the SS insignia; Lahti orders them to remove their
helmets and move to the rear. It is apparent they either don’t
understand or perhaps cannot hear after that grenade explosion;
they just stand there and look puzzled. McGuire fires a shot
into the ground near them and both drop to their knees. Lahti
and I remove their helmets and tell them once more to place
their hands on their heads and move to the rear. As they do so I
realize that the foxhole must have been L shaped to spare them
from the grenade. They were forced out by the burning straw, or
whatever was on fire. They were lucky. As the two SS men moved
off to the rear I notice that McGuire, Lahti, Schaible and
myself are the only ones around, everyone else had vanished. The
war is raging all around with shells exploding, machine guns and
rifles going off, the farmhouse is burning with crackling flames
and dense smoke, screams of shells going both ways overhead,
smoke and noise everywhere, and just as soon as the SS men move
away from us there are machine gun bullets spraying all around
us.
The Germans
have waited until the two SS prisoners are out of range and then
open up on us. Schaibla and Lahti immediately drop into shell
craters in the draw, which is really a small gully. I drop
behind a telephone pole on the right side of the draw. The pole
has a small concrete foundation about two feet square which
extends up about 6 inches, this with the wooden pole provides me
with my shelter. Looking to the front I see a hedge row
extending out to the left from the draw. There is a small
orchard of some kind, just behind the orchard is the first
building in Welz. I later find out that this is the brewery. The
hedge row takes a 90 degree bend at the head of the draw and
extends to my right and behind me off into the distance. Through
a gap in the hedge row on my right I see a large flat sugar beet
field. McGuire has vanished. Lahti and Schaible are in mud
filled shell craters down in the draw, and machine gun bullets
splatter all around and splinter the pole and chip the concrete.
I spot the machine gunner from the flash of his fire just at the
head of the draw in the hedge row. A quick burst from my rifle
makes him drop down, but only for a short time.
The German
machine gunner pops up now and then firing bursts at Schaible,
Lahti and me. My return fire drops him back down into his hole.
Schaible yells that his rifle is jammed, and he is in a nice
shell crater of water and mud. I tell him to get out while I pin
the machine gunner down and he quickly does so. Now I have an M1
grenade launcher with me which I think will be a great help in
getting a grenade up to
the
machine gunner. I carefully put in the special bullet, attach
the grenade to the launcher, aim for a nice loop of the grenade,
pull the pin and fire. The grenade takes off and lands very
close to the machine gun but does not explode. I am rewarded by
a nice burst of machine gun fire. I try one more grenade with
the launcher with similar results.
Now Lahti
yells that his rifle is also jammed. I notice that his mud and
water filled shell crater looks just like the one Schaible was
in. A few bursts of fire from my rifle cover Lahti while he gets
out of there. Apparently this leaves me all alone up on the edge
of the draw lying behind my pole, and the game continues between
me and the machine gunner. He fires a burst until my bullets
drive him back down into his foxhole. Then to my right I noticed
a German soldier run across the gap in the hedge row and drop
into a foxhole out in the sugar beet field. Then another, but I
get a shot at this one. I decide that I must concentrate on the
machine gun, so I take very careful aim at the spot where his
black helmet has been popping up. I am very gently squeezing off
a shot when that bulls eye pops up into my rifle sights. He does
not bother me any more.
Now there is
a fairly steady stream of Germans running across the gap in the
hedge row. I manage to get one or two shots off at each one, but
never know if I had hit one or not. They are moving slightly
away from me as they crouch and run by the narrow gap. Then for
several minutes there are no more, and I realize that no one is
shooting at me. I decide to go up to the machine gun location,
so I drop over into the draw and can no longer see the gap in
the hedge row on my right. Keeping my rifle ready I slowly move
up on all fours to where I can and do toss a grenade into the
machine gunners hole. After the explosion I move up and see a
dead SS gunner on top of his machine gun which has fallen into
the hole. I am now concealed in the hedge row right at the head
of the draw.
An American
tank is advancing on my right through the sugar beet field,
firing as he moves. I do not see any of the German soldiers but
notice several apparent foxholes in the field. To my front and
left is an apple orchard bordered by the hedge row. To my front
near the wall of the brewery is a bunker made partly of logs.
Shells or bombs have blown part of the earth cover away and
exposed the logs. The sounds, of battle are all around but I now
have no targets. From behind and to my left another American
tank is moving up on Welz; he is using both machine gun and
shell fire as he advances towards the brewery.
I decide to
move over to where the German foxholes are located in the sugar
beet field and drop a few grenades on them. The tank is still
moving way over in the field and he keeps pumping out the shells
and machine gun bullets. I creep down the hedge row to where I
can lob a grenade into the closest foxhole without missing; pull
the pin, count two and let it go directly into the first hole
where it goes off with a muffled explosion. The advancing tank
is now drawing heavy German shellfire and I am glad it is way
over there. I crawl over to the next. foxhole and repeat the
grenade toss. Still no Germans to be seen, so I crawl over to
the next and repeat the toss once more. Now I am at the gap in
the hedge row and can see over towards where I was at on the
edge of the draw with my friendly telephone pole. There are two
German soldiers lying just beyond the gap where they have
fallen, they do not move. I carefully watch them closely for a
few minutes and count my grenades. I have three left.
The tank in the sugar beet field has been hit and is smoking, it must be a good 500 yards from where I am lying. The other tank has now reached the hedge row at the orchard and is firing towards the log bunker and the brewery. Then I think I hear someone call my name. Looking through the hedge row gap over to the left of the draw I can see someone waving his arm in the signal to assemble; he yells my name and I can barely hear him. I recognize it as Sgt. Cox, then he disappears.
The battle is then still going on all around. Shells screaming overhead and exploding here and there. Machine guns rattling on the right and left and also from the tank. Smoke is everywhere. I look out into the beet field and can see several more foxholes; but I have only three more grenades. I think at the time, if only a couple of the guys would come over and help me then we could clean out the whole field. But there is no one to help, so I throw one more grenade at the closest fox hole and see it drop in and explode. Then I work my way back to the hedge row gap, go through over into the draw; and move through it toward where I saw Sgt. Cox.
As I get
closer to where Sgt. Cox was seen, he appears from concealment
and proceeds to raise a little hell. “Where have you
been? What are you trying to do? We have been trying to find
you!” he tells me that we have been relieved by the outfit with
the tanks, part of the 2nd armored division.
I remember
thinking that it was nice to have the 2nd Armored Div. come up
to help; however I didn’t think we had been doing too bad. It is
now late afternoon and our platoon was meeting in the cellar of
a house over on the edge of Welz. Apparently we had lost
approximately half of our people and I had not seen anyone get
hit.
We proceeded
to move on through the village and dug in on the high ground
just to the left of the main road. We dug in with three man fox
holes looking out towards the flat sugar beet fields towards
where the Germans still held Rurdorf and Linnich on the western
bank of the Rur river. We finished digging in just as darkness
began to cover the land. I had time to eat one of those D ration
chocolate bars and think about what had happened that day. We
had paid dearly for those few yards of ground; and the odds were
not in my favor. At that point I realized that sooner or later
it would be my turn; I only hoped for the million—dollar wound,
the nice clean bullet in the arm or leg.
As I took my
turn at watch, the war continued. A few shells went back and
forth overhead. The chatter of machine guns could be heard and
the tracer bullets could be seen. Bed check Charley, the recon.
plane buzzed overhead. We did not know what would take place
tomorrow, we only knew that the war was a long way from being
over. At midnight it was now December 1st and time to wake up
the man for the next watch.
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