Schwerpunkt: From D-Day to the Fall of the Third Reich (37 page)

September 30, 1944
Nijmegen, Holland

Hiya Cuz,

Hello Frank. I just want to report in with you to let you know I’m still alive and kickin’. As you undoubtedly know by now, the 82
^nd
has been sent to Holland along with the Screaming Eagles of the 101
^st
, a Parachute Brigade of the Polish Army and the British 1
^st
Airborne Division. We each had different points along a 50 mile front to secure. I was in the middle and hoped to God nothing was going to go wrong either upstream or downstream from me. I like it when I can get in, do what I need to do and get out but it sure didn’t work out that way with this operation.

On the morning of September 17
^th
, we boarded our C-47 transport plane in England to be dropped around Grave, Holland. I hated the sound of that name, let me tell you. The trip wasn’t that long but we sure went through a lot of Kraut flak. We were to get to Grave to gain control of the bridges there. We landed a whole lotta miles behind enemy lines in a hornet’s nest of Krauts. We were in firefights at every turn. There were Panzer divisions all around us so it took us more than 48 hours after we landed to finally reach the bridges. And we had to do it by boat! The Krauts had 88s which took care of anything they touched. Our B-17s and tanks didn’t have a chance against that firepower. Neither did our troops. Then there were the “Screaming Meemies” and since they don’t let you know soon enough they are on their way, they make your asshole pucker with dread when you do finally hear them. I hate those goddamn things.

Seems the plan was for each of the three Airbornes to control the bridges so the British Infantry could use them to get up north to meet up with their Airborne guys. When everyone was all met up, we were then going to be over the Rhine River and we could all get on with our march into Germany. Anything to get the war over sooner and I’m all for it. But this thing went wrong a million ways from Sunday.

First of all bridges involve water and for being a paratrooper, I sure spent more time than I wanted in flimsy boats and cold water. Second, the Krauts knew the importance of these bridges, so they sure weren’t giving them up easily. Some Jerry bastards even tied themselves to the bridge we were after so they could shoot down on us. And last of all, the British Infantry didn’t seem to me to be a ball of fire to get to their objective and it cost a whole lot of men because they didn’t move as fast as I thought they should have. The road we were supposed to keep clear went back and forth between us and the Krauts so many times it was hard to keep track. All I know is that it was supposed to have been cleared by us at first, then it was to be kept clear by the British but they didn’t get to it and they were never able to hold it. I’m sure they fought against heavy resistance but I’m also sure they stopped to have their ritual afternoon tea break every day which can’t help but slow any progress down.

When our guys got to our objective which was Grave (there’s that spooky name again), the civilians who hadn’t already been killed either by the enemy or by our bombs came out to wave and cheer us on. I gotta say, Frank, that when you see the poor joes who have had to live like this for four years now and you see how utterly thrilled they are that we’re here to help them, to liberate them, it gives you pause. It’s hard to explain but there were tears of relief that their ordeal was soon going to be over just running down their faces. They gave us food and wine and when you figure out just how little they have to eat themselves, that gesture really means a lot.

I heard it was like this all over. A buddy of mine in the 101
^st
told me the Jerries bombed the shit out of a town called Eindhoven and he couldn’t figure out how anyone survived. The last he said he heard, there were about a thousand people killed or injured and Einhoven is not that big of a town! It’s like that here too. Goddamn Krauts.

So, Frank. I’m told we have to keep the road we initially cleared open because the British Infantry, who was supposed to keep it open so we could leave, somehow can’t manage that task. So now I guess I’m an infantry guy as well as a paratrooper. Goddamn Army.

Your cousin,

Paul

After the disasters that were Mortain and Falaise, the Germans faced the Allieds who continued their push towards the German border, halted only by the failure of their supply lines. Although German troops tried in vain to halt the Allieds’ entrance into Paris in late August, they were successful a month later, in mid September, in preventing Montgomery from crossing the Rhine River. Montgomery’s plan, code named Market Garden, called for the capture of bridgeheads from Eindhoven to Arnhem in Holland but ended with the German Army repulsing that attempt and Hitler scoring a major defensive victory. With no way over the Rhine River at present, the Allieds were stalled in the Low Countries and there would be no end of the war before Christmas, 1944. Hitler used the time to create a new Panzer Division, produce more war materiel and replenish his dwindling troops with men who just months earlier had been deemed unfit for military service. Now every body, whether able or not, was needed for a new offensive which was to be launched in December.

General von Rundstedt is back and while no one knows for how long, he is again the overall commander of what is left of our army in the west. General Model was called upon to replace General von Kluge weeks ago and his first test was to stop the army of the American General Patton from reaching Paris. This he was unable to do and we were devastated, but not surprised, to hear that the traitorous French army troops marched into Paris to throngs of war weary yet jubilant citizens. Der Führer wanted Paris defended to the last man and issued yet another Sieg oder Todt order to this effect. As part of that order, he directed that all bridges in Paris, more than 70 of them, were to be wired for immediate demolition if and when the enemy entered the capital. Our troops were told that Paris could not be allowed to fall into the enemy’s hands but if by some miracle they did, they were to hold nothing more than “a field of ruins.” For whatever reason, when the enemy marched into Paris, they marched into an intact city where all bridges remained standing.

We wondered where Patton was since he wasn’t part of the march of the conquering heroes. If we know anything about this general, we know him to be arrogant enough to have wanted to lead the parade himself. His absence just proves that the fragile alliance between these very different countries will soon collapse which is just what der Führer is predicting and waiting for. It happened to Frederick the Great and Hitler the Greater is convinced it will happen to him as well. So we wait. We still fight while we wait but we are sure the unholy alliance will crumble and der Führer will have a brilliant plan when it does.

Apparently der Führer must have been badgered by generals telling him the war is all but lost and that political decisions should now be considered because we heard on our radio, a broadcast from der Führer where he emphasized once again that an iron will is necessary to win battles that seem all but lost and he will not let the honor of our great Fatherland be besmirched again as it was in 1918. We were all moved to greatness because of the will this man has to win the war. Yet after the wave of emotion left me, I looked around and wondered how a brave face and an iron will was going to win the war. We have lost France and in so doing, we lost many of our troops and weapons. Stranded tanks are everywhere and I for one wondered how all this was going to be replaced. Maybe the others had more faith, but since my service with General Rommel, I knew first hand that the men and supplies needed to win do not always appear as requested. And, with the fall of Paris, I do not think it will be long now before all of France is overrun because urgently needed replacement troops, fuel, weapons and ammunition are not arriving.

Now, the Low Countries of Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg, as well as me, are all that stand in the way of the enemy reaching our German borders. I will be part of this new defensive army as I have been ordered to report for field infantry duties effective immediately. Our troops, of which I am now one, are defending our Fatherland to the best of our ability which, we’ve been told, means we’re expected to fight to the last man to do so. It was very difficult to tell my mother about my new assignment.

30. August. 1944

Liebe Mutti,

It is with sincere regret that I tell you that I am no longer working for Herr General Rommel who, if you have not yet heard, was attacked by enemy airplanes and injured quite seriously. Yes, your son Rudi will now be fighting for our Third Reich as a soldier on the fields of battle. The six months of training I received four years ago will serve me well, I am sure. Our headquarters has received a new general to replace General Rommel and I am hopeful that he will follow the brilliant orders of our Führer with as much skill and dedication as General Rommel did. I will write to you as often as I can (I have asked for and been given paper and a pencil so I am not without the necessary supplies.) I hope to receive a weapon and a new helmet shortly. I am hopeful that I can fulfill my obligations here in France instead of being sent to Russia and the Eastern Front but I will let you know that too as soon as my orders are final. Ich liebe dich, Mutti. Pray for me and pray for the family of General Rommel. Oh and of course, for der Führer as well.

Rudi

Since I have been ordered to report for front line duties, my job has fallen to someone else. I am to meet him today and discuss the responsibilities that the job entails. He has only one arm and one leg. I have written notes and filed documents so he can be trained in a short amount of time as I have only several hours before the train that is to take me to Rouen departs.

I am trying to face my future with a staunch and stoic personality but I think I have seen too much of how our command system works to be too optimistic about my future. I’ve seen orders requiring soldiers to die to hold territory that two days later is given up or taken by force. Those men died, but with 20-20 hindsight, what was the reason? I am 30 years old and haven’t seen shots fired in anger before. I’ve read all about the battles which have taken place so far and to be honest, I don’t foresee that more attention is going to be paid to the welfare of us Landsers, which is what we infantry men are called. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if we become even more dispensable, the closer the enemy gets to our borders and the more of us it takes to repulse their attacks. I think I am more frightened of the airplanes and the bombs they drop than almost anything else I can think of. No, that is not accurate because I am more afraid of being badly hurt and also afraid of being afraid. If I hesitate for a minute and am caught by an officer being afraid, I will be executed and this makes me even more afraid. I don’t know how I will handle being on the front line but I hope I am not discovered to be a coward.

By the last part of August and after the rout at Falaise, we had 13 divisions of soldiers (of the original 38 divisions who started) to move eastward across the Seine River. My new unit has been ordered to join all the other surviving troops in order to regroup at the Seine which we will then use as a base so individual units can be moved to different places along our border. We were advised that whole divisions were to move to the Western Wall and that a major offensive would be sprung in the winter when the enemy airplanes won’t be able to fly. The big problem for us, of course, was that we had just lost the majority of our 5
^th
and 7
^th
army at Falaise and there weren’t whole divisions anywhere which could be moved. All generals hated to disobey a direct order from der Führer, especially now after the failed assassination attempt. I heard rumors that Hitler felt invincible, just one step removed from God Himself and that his escape clearly showed he was chosen to lead our people to victory. Each idea that he comes up with is proof of his brilliance and no one can talk him out of anything anymore. In fact, I’ve heard that each general was striving to prove himself a better and more fanatical Hitler supporter than any other. Of course this means that when the facts of the real world don’t conform to the facts as ordered by der Führer, no one dares say anything. Remnants of whole divisions (now simply designated “whole divisions”) therefore began mobilizing to the west, including my own (which was about 65% under strength).

We were to cross the Seine northwest of Paris but there weren’t any bridges across the Seine left standing. Enemy bombers had destroyed almost all of these bridges so we took whatever boats we could find and ferried men across so there would be troops to defend our Fatherland. Enemy troops were trying to encircle us, our commander said, but at least our unit escaped. I was put in a rickety boat outside of Rouen and barely made the crossing alive. My commanding officer insisted that our boat take a horse along with us and the beast was more frightened of the water than I was. Actually I wasn’t sure what I was most afraid of, the water, or the horse or the chance our boat would be hit by enemy aircraft but luckily for me, the day was cloudy and the air stayed clear. That left me only with the water and the horse who didn’t calm down until he was well off the boat. By then, I too was off and he went his way to carry what little ammunition and supplies we had, and I went mine.