An Army at Dawn (117 page)

These engineering nuances
: W. B. Smith, OH, May 8, 1947, FCP, MHI (
“one for himself”
); Alexander, “The African Campaign from El Alamein to Tunis,” 873.

Montgomery knew
:
Destruction,
333–34;
NWAf,
525–30; Nicholson and Forbes, 298 (
“When I give”
).

The party had begun
: Howard and Sparrow, 129–38 (
“lightly held”
); Quilter, ed., 161; A. C. Elcomb, “The Battle of Mareth,”
Army Quarterly and Defence Journal,
Oct. 1973, 44; Fred Telford, ts, n.d., 3rd Bn, Coldstream Guards, IWM, 97/41/1 (
“It was my first contact”
and
“For you the war”
);
Destruction,
335;
NWAf,
531; Messenger, 75; Rolf, 170–71 (
“I am still alive”
and
“the most damnable thing”
).

A lesser man
: Howard and Sparrow, 133 (
“a great success”
);
Destruction,
332–34 (
“left largely”
).

As Montgomery and his officers
: Belden, 219–24 (
“someone is making”
); W.A.T. Synge,
The Story of the Green Howards, 1939–1945;
Lewin,
The Life and Death of the Afrika Korps,
191 (
“to a picnic”
);
NWAf,
531–33;
Destruction,
338–41; Elcomb, 44–55; Tuker, 291 (
“pound the objectives”
), 295; G. R. Stevens,
Fourth Indian Division,
209;
The Tiger Kills,
162; B. H. Liddell Hart,
The Tanks,
249; Macksey,
Crucible of Power,
216; Fritz Bayerlein, “Memorandum for the War Diary,” May 5, 1943, NARA RG 319, OCMH, box 225.

Montgomery disliked
: Hamilton, 193–95 (
“What am I”
); Rolf, 171; Francis de Guingand,
Operation Victory,
250–55; Charles Richardson,
Send for Freddie,
117.

The answer lay
: Clifford, 401 (
“jagged purple coxscomb”
); Howard Kippenberger,
Infantry Brigadier,
277; Powell,
In Barbary,
123; Tuker, 299; H. Marshall,
Over to Tunis,
100; Hastings, 201.

Alerted by Luftwaffe reconnaissance
: msg, Messe to Arnhem, March 25, 1943, NARA RG 319, OCMH, box 226; Hinsley,
British Intelligence in the Second World War,
vol. 2, 284–85;
Destruction,
341–44;
NWAf,
533; Doherty,
A Noble Crusade: The History of Eighth Army, 1941–45,
129.

One man
: W. G. Stevens,
Freyberg, V.C., The Man, 1939–1945,
36, 47, 54–56, 60; Lewin,
Montgomery as Military Commander,
170; Boatner, 167; Dan Davin essay on Freyberg in Carver, ed.,
The War Lords,
582–95 (
“cunning as a Maori dog”
).

The Salamander was displeased
:
Destruction,
344; De Guingand, 258.

Montgomery set aside
: “Direct Air Support in the Battle of El Hamma,” AAF Informational Intelligence Summary, 43–36, July 10, 1943, NARA RG 334, NWC Lib, box 13;
Destruction,
348–54; Kippenberger, 282–84.

Through the gap
: Stewart, ed., 182 (
“Speed up”
); Kippenberger, 289 (
“dead and mangled”
), 280 (
“They trust me”
); T. M. Lindsay,
Sherwood Rangers,
79, 83 (
“Like a black snake”
); Liddell Hart,
The Tanks,
251; Tuker, 306 (
“trundled as snails”
); Bisheshwar Prasad, ed.,
The North African Campaign, 1940–43, Official History of the Indian Armed Forces,
502–505; Messenger, 91 (
“not unlike hounds”
); Lewin,
Montgomery as Military Commander,
173; Brooks, ed., 211;
NWAf,
537; Horrocks, 155.

“It was the most enjoyable battle”
: Brooks, ed., 185; Stannard, ed., 287 (
drought
); D. McCorquodale et al.,
History of the King’s Dragoon Guards, 1938–1945,
221; bomb damage assessment, Operations Bulletin No. 2, May 31, 1943, NW African AF, NARA RG, NWC Lib, box 132; Rolf, 190 (
donned their kilts
); Dudley Clarke,
The Eleventh at War,
288–95.

Some of Montgomery’s admirers
: Doherty, 130–35; Hamilton, 208; Tuker, 307 (
“lack of purpose”
); essay on Montgomery by Michael Carver, in Keegan, ed.,
Churchill’s Generals
; “Montgomery and the Battle of Mareth. Talk with Christopher Buckley,” Nov. 24, 1946, LHC, 11/1946/12 (
through repetition
).

CHAPTER 11: OVER THE TOP

“Give Them Some Steel!”

An old Arab song
: Stannard, ed., 279; Baedeker, 385; author visit, Apr. 2000;
NWAf,
541; Parris and Russell, 301.

If seizing Gafsa
: “Report on Operation, 15 March–10 Apr. 1943,” II Corps, CARL, N-2652A; Bradley and Blair, 141; Nicholson,
Alex,
177 (
“I do
not
want”
), 180 (
“dashing steed”
); DDE to GCM, March 29, 1943, Chandler, 1059; Alexander, OH, SM, MHI.

Patton was incensed
: Blumenson,
The Patton Papers, 1940–1945,
187–90 (
“Fortunately for our fame”
);
NWAf,
545; Howze,
A Cavalryman’s Story,
64 (
“more dead bodies”
); Bradley,
A Soldier’s Story,
52.

That night, military policemen
: “History of the 26th Infantry in the Present Struggle,” n.d., MRC FDM, box 301, 9–18; Blumenson,
The Patton Papers, 1940–1945,
191 (
“The hardest thing”
); AAR, “Report of Operations 1st AD, Maknassy, 12 March–10 Apr., 1943,” NARA RG 407, E 427, box 14767; letter, TdA to G. F. Howe, Apr. 16, 1951, NARA RG 319, OCMH, box 229; Hansen, 4/33; James Wellard,
The Man in a Helmet,
77 (
“small flotilla of ships”
).

“The Dagoes beat it”
: Blumenson,
The Patton Papers, 1940–1945,
193, 191; Bradley and Blair, 142; Liebling,
Mollie & Other War Stories,
67, 85; Pyle,
Here Is Your War,
231–33; MacVane,
Journey into War,
231–34; Martin,
The GI War,
52; Yarborough, 90; Knickerbocker et al., 66; diary, CBH, March 26, 28, 1943, MHI; Marshall, ed.,
Proud Americans,
66 (
ore cars
); Dickson, “G-2 Journal,” MHI, 53 (
“a Moroccan”
); Ellis,
On the Front Lines,
274 (
venereal disease
); II Corps, provost marshal journal, 1943, NARA RG 407, E 427, box 3126 (
“No, suh”
); Carter, “Carter’s War,” CEOH, IV-44.6.

Patton knew the value
: D’Arcy-Dawson, 177 (
Viennese steak
); Blumenson,
The Patton Papers, 1940–1945,
191–92 (
“If any American”
); MacVane,
Journey into War,
232; Porter, SOOHP, MHI, 276–78 (
“You should”
).

On the nineteenth
:
NWAf,
550, 557; author visit, Apr. 2000; Knickerbocker et al., 67.

No one who met him
: Michael J. King,
William Orlando Darby: A Military Biography,
17, 46; King, “Rangers: Selected Combat Operations in WWII” Arnbal, 27.

On the evening
: Altieri,
Darby’s Rangers: An Illustrated Portrayal
; Lehman, “The Rangers Fought Ahead of Everybody,” 28; Darby,
Darby’s Rangers: We Led the Way,
71; Boatner, 250; Ingersoll, 115–16 (
“sighing of the sea”
), 147–70 (
“rubbing fists in their eyes”
); King, “Rangers: Selected Combat Operations in WWII,” 19–20; Arnbal, 61–62 (
“odors of hot guns”
).

Kitchen trucks
: Liebling, “Find ’Em, Fix ’Em, and Fight ’Em,” Apr. 24, 1943, 221, and May 1, 1943, 24; II Corps G-2 incident report, March 22, 1943, in 9th ID records, NARA RG 407, E 427, box 7334 (
“Few Germans”
); Dixon, “Terry Allen,” 57.

“There’s but one thought”
: TR to Eleanor, March 20, 25, Apr. 11, 1943, TR, LOC, box 9; AAR, 1st ID, n.d., in DSC documentation packet, TR, LOC, box 39; Sam Carter, “The Operations of the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry, at El Guettar,” 1948, Fort Benning, Infantry School, 19;
NWAf,
560–64.

The chink
: author visit, Apr. 2000; “The African Campaign from El Alamein to Tunis,” 874–76; Marshall, ed.,
Proud Americans,
72, 79; Hamilton, 206 (
“complete amateurs”
); Skillen, 298; Gustav von Vaerst, “Operations of the Fifth Panzer Army in Tunisia,” n.d., FMS #D-001, 6–10; Carter, “The Operations of the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry,” 19 (
“huge iron fort”
); Raymond, “Slugging It Out,”
Field Artillery Journal,
Jan. 1944, 14 (
“no one had the heart”
); Milton M. Thornton and R. G. Emery, “Try the Reverse Slope,”
Infantry Journal,
Feb. 1944, 8; author interview, Eston White, Feb. 2000.

On the American left
: Arnim, “Recollections of Tunisia,” FMS #C-098, 82;
Tank Destroyer Forces World War II,
30–32; Andrus, notes on
A Soldier’s Story,
MRC FDM; Mason, “Reminiscences and Anecdotes of World War II,” MRC FDM, 81, 135; Carter, “The Operations of the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry at El Guettar,” 20–22; Riess, ed., 553; Arnold J. Heidenheimer,
Vanguard to Victory: History of the 18th Infantry;
Clay,
Blood and Sacrifice,
8/37–39 (mss); Marshall, ed.,
Proud Americans,
77–78, 83, 85–86; Blumenson,
The Patton Papers, 1940–1945,
224 (
“Hun bastards”
); Liebling, “Find ’Em, Fix ’Em, and Fight ’Em,” Apr. 24, 1943, 221, and May 1, 1943, 24 (
“I will like hell”
).

Desperate as the fight
: “TD Combat in Tunisia,” Jan. 1944, Tank Destroyer School, MHI; Porter, SOOHP, MHI, 276 (
“I expect him”
); Mason, “Reminiscences and Anecdotes,” 82–3; AAR, 899th TD Bn, “Unit History, 1943,” NARA RG 407, E 427, box 23879; Christopher R. Gabel, “Seek, Strike, and Destroy: U.S. Army Tank Destroyer Doctrine in World War II,” 1985, CSI, 38; Raymond, “Slugging It Out,” 14;
NWAf,
560.

With sirens screaming
:
Tank Destroyer Forces World War II,
31–32; Hansen, 4/57 (
“I want”
).

At three
P.M.
: “G-2 Report, Battle of El Guettar,” G-2 Miscellaneous Papers, II Corps, NARA RG 407, E 427, box 3164; Thomas E. Bennett, “Gafsa–El Guettar,” 1st ID log, March 23, 1943, possession of Roger Cirillo; “A Summary of the El Guettar Offensive,” TdA, MHI; Skillen, 297, 299; Hinsley,
British Intelligence in the Second World War,
286; Koch, 22; Rogers, “A Study of Leadership in the First Infantry Division During World War II,” 27 (
“Terry, when”
).

Patton’s uncoded warnings
: Porter, SOOHP, 1981, MHI, 282 (
alerted the Germans
);
NWAf,
562–63; AAR, 899th TD Bn, “Unit History, 1943,” NARA RG 407, E 427, box 23879.

This time the panzers
: Liebling, “Find ’Em, Fix ’Em, and Fight ’Em” (
“diffident fat boys”
); “TD Combat in Tunisia” V. R. Rawie, 5th FA commander, quoted in Andrus biographical file, MHI (
ricochet fire
); Mason, “Reminiscences and Anecdotes,” 87 (
“scissors and search”
); Darby,
Darby’s Rangers,
76; TR to Eleanor, March 25, Apr. 11, 1943, TR, LOC, box 9; Andrus, notes on
A Soldier’s Story,
MRC FDM; Hansen, 4/41A (
“it seems a crime”
).

Survivors rejoined
: Phillips,
El Guettar: Crucible of Leadership,
4; Skillen, 299;
NWAf,
564n; II Corps operations report, n.d., GSP, LOC MS Div., box 10; Carter, “The Operations of the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry at El Guettar” II Corps, G-3 journal, March 1943, NARA RG 407, E 427, box 3175 (
“Hun will soon”
); Bradley and Blair, 144 (
“indisputable defeat”
); Drew Middleton, “The Battle Saga of a Tough Outfit,”
New York Times Magazine,
Apr. 8, 1945, 8 (
“Well, folks”
).

“Search Your Soul”

Orlando Ward’s attack
: II Corps, G-3 journal, March 1943, NARA RG 407, E 427, box 3175; AAR, “Report of Operations 1st AD, Maknassy, 12 March–10 Apr. 1943,” NARA RG 407, E 427, box 14767; Johnson,
One More Hill,
46; “Adventures by Men of the 60th Infantry Regiment in WWII,” 1993, MHI.

Then he stopped
: memo, Jean Bouley to Robinett, Aug. 1, 1949, PMR, LOC, box 4 (
“very serious and costly”
); Howe, “American Signal Intelligence in Northwest Africa and Western Europe,” U.S. Cryptologic History, series IV, WWII, vol. I, 1980, NARA RG 457, NSA files, SRH 391, box 114, 35;
NWAf,
552; Vaerst, “Operations of the Fifth Panzer Army in Tunisia,” 12–13; Blumenson,
The Patton Papers, 1940–1945,
196; Camp, ed., “Tankers in Tunisia,” 32, author visit, Apr. 2000.

Ward also had
: Theodore J. Conway, SOOHP, Sept. 1977, Robert F. Ensslin, MHI, ii-39 (
“regiment was divided”
); Phillips,
The Making of a Professional: Manton S. Eddy, USA,
112; observer report #41, March 5, 1943, NARA RG 337, Observer Reports, box 52 (
malaria
).