Battered Bastards of Bastogne

by George Koskimaki

  December 22, 1944

  To the U.S.A. Commander of the encircled town of Bastogne:

  The fortune of war is changing. This time the U.S.A. forces in and near Bastogne have been encircled by strong German armored units. More German armored units have crossed the river Ourthe near Ortheuville, have taken Marche and reached St. Hubert by passing through Romores-Sibret-Tillet. Libramont is in German hands.

  There is only one possibility to save the encircled U.S.A. troops from total annihilation: this is the honorable surrender of the encircled town. In order to think it over, a term of two hours will be granted with the presentation of this note.

  If this proposal should be rejected, one German Artillery Corps and six heavy A.A. Battalions are ready to annihilate the U.S.A. troops in and near Bastogne. The order for firing will be given immediately after this two hour’s term.

  All the serious civilian losses caused by this Artillery fire would not correspond with the well known American humanity.

  The German Commander

  The German Commander received the following reply:

  22 December 1944

  To the German Commander:

  NUTS!

  The American Commander

  Allied Troops are counterattacking in force. We continue to hold Bastogne. By holding Bastogne, we assure the success of the Allied Armies. We know that our Division Commander, General Taylor, will say: ‘Well Done!’

  We are giving our country and our loved ones at home a worthy Christmas present and being privileged to take part in this gallant feat of arms are truly making for ourselves a Merry Christmas.

  /s/A. C. McAuliffe

  /t/ A. C. McAuliffe

  Commanding

  Memorable Christmas Meals

  1Lt. Robert I. Kennedy will never forget the meal the men had been promised for Christmas. He describes the situation and the content of that meal:

  Then there was the hot meal we were promised while the task force was in the line in the 327th sector. Due to heavy concentrations of artillery fire, the arrival of the meal was four or five hours late. It arrived in the middle of the morning on Christmas Day in marmite cans and consisted of one can of hamburger patties and one can of mashed potatoes so cold they were almost frozen but a welcome sight. No one had any mess kits or any utensils so each man reached dirty, bare hands into one can for one patty and with the other dirty hand for a fist-full of mashed potatoes—so I never forget my Christmas dinner of 1944.

  At times food supplies were critically short. There were chowhounds who got more than their rightful share. Captain Dick Winters related his experience:

  In the field, officers are the last men to go through the chow line. All enlisted men think that is one of the best rules ever set up in the officer code manual.

  Chowhounds can finish off a canteen cup of beans in quick order and, in the dark on Christmas night, they could easily slip back in line for a second cup. That night, I was the last man to get to the container of beans—I got about a half canteen cup of bean soup. I guess that’s why I’ve been trying to make up for that skimpy meal every Christmas since then.

  That supply of bean soup must be the same batch S/Sgt. John H. Taylor recalls for his Christmas meal. He wrote:

  I think it was Christmas night when we got word there was some hot food up there for us. We had to come and get it That was no problem We got there and found it was nothing more than a marmite or utile food container holding bean soup with very few beans and some bread. It was the first hot food we had since arriving.

  CHAPTER 11

  THE SIEGE IS BROKEN

  The 26th of December would be a memorable day for the besieged soldiers in Bastogne. It would be remembered by the tankers of the 4th Armored Division as the day they were able to forge a path to the beleaguered garrison. The day promised to be another good one for the fighter-bombers of the Allied Air Forces in their missions to knock out the enemy armor hidden in the forests around the perimeter. The fighter-bombers of the German Air Force were up in considerable numbers strafing and bombing the front line positions as well as Bastogne. Cargo gliders would be utilized in limited numbers to bring in critically needed medical personnel with their equipment, along with some gasoline and ammunition.

  In the 501st regimental sector, the enemy undertook an aggressive night-time action in the 2nd Battalion area. West of Bastogne, the enemy made another attempt at breaking through the lines of the 327/401st Glider Infantry and 1st Battalion of the 502nd Parachute Regiment. On the southwestern sector the troops of the 326th Engineer Battalion were anticipating a breakthrough some time during the day.

  An Enemy Patrol in the CP

  Patrolling behind enemy lines is an essential phase of warfare. As in the earlier campaigns, much of this activity on the part of the 101st and its comrades from the other units was of a defensive nature. With the enemy attempting to find openings into Bastogne, the Germans resorted very often to offensive (aggressive) patrolling. A good example of such an activity is provided by Pvt. Henry DeSimone and 1Lt. Robert P. O’Connell, both of whom served as members of “E” Company of the 501st Regiment

  Pvt. Henry DeSimone describes how the selection of a sleeping place for security was a smarter move than being near a source of heat. He wrote:

  We had moved out there and were getting set up. We were getting Christmas carols (by the Germans) three hundred yards to our front

  We were supposed to maintain a patrol from ‘D’ to ‘E’ Company. There was a defiladed area between these two companies. In headquarters, when the officers overheard them talking, saying ‘We can’t maintain a patrol through there, we’ll just have to take a chance that nobody comes up through that defiladed area.’ It was to the right side of ‘E’ Company’s main line of resistance.

  A fifteen man combat patrol came through there late on December 25th. They broke through at about 0300 in the morning. In the meantime, this house—most of us had trench foot—we had this nice house and a beautiful, warm stove. Everybody was saying, ‘Ah boy, this is great—we can sit next to the stove and thaw out our feet’

  It was a one-story house and out under the porch was a potato cellar. I convinced the guys that the cellar was where we ought to go, not next to the stove.

  Everybody was taking turns on the phone. We would get the messages, checking in on the MLR and sending the word back to HQ. I had taken my turn on the phone, laid down on top of the potatoes in the bin and fell asleep. An hour and a half went by and I was shaken by one of my friends who said, ‘Listen!’ I could hear, in broken English, ‘Hello!’ and then the machine gunning of the door. They kicked the door in. Just imagine, if we had been lying next to the stove, we’d have been dead.

  As the result of all the racket and turmoil, the enemy had captured one of the machine guns on the end of the MLR and put it up on the porch and were having a skirmish with our troops. This battle went on for about 45 minutes. 60mm mortars were coming in at them and the enemy was firing the .30 caliber MG off the porch back and forth. Finally, everything got quiet. Those of us down in the potato cellar finally got enough courage to come upstairs. We walked out side and it was daylight. We could see ten dead Germans lying around the grounds. This was how I spent Christmas night in Bizory in 1944.

  Platoon leader, 1Lt. Robert P. O’Connell must have been Pvt. DeSimone’s commander. He remembered that December 26 was the last day of combat for him in the war. An enemy patrol had infiltrated through the positions. O’Connell recalled:

  On December 26th, about 0400 in the morning, my platoon of Company ‘E’, 501st, was on OPLR in the Bizory area when I was hit. My platoon sergeant, Dale Smith, was hit with me. It was pitch dark and a 40-man Kraut patrol had infiltrated into our lines. I was hit first with a Schmeizzer (machine pistol) burst and a while later with a potato masher grenade. Smith had a hole through his arm. We were such sad sacks we got to laughing about it—this was back at the platoon CP. We made enough noise so that the Krauts eventually pulled
out. We held our lines.

  The most memorable recollection of the Bastogne experience for PFC. George Willey occurred on the same night He was in a different platoon of “E” Company and his actions fit in with the stories just related by DeSimone and Lt. O’Connell. Willey wrote:

  After arriving in Bizory, we dug in behind some barbed wire where we could cover the road with fire. After five days we turned our positions over to 3rd Platoon. That night, Germans attacked us in a snowstorm and hit 3rd and took prisoners and killed and wounded others and set fire to the 2nd Battalion command post. We left our positions on a hill a quarter mile from Bizory and went into the village to drive attackers off but the Germans had already left.

  Continuing Action Near Champs

  On the 26th of December, “B” Company of the 401st Glider Infantry was again called on to defend against an enemy attack consisting of tanks and infantry. Company historian, PFC. Marshall Griffith recorded the actions:

  At 0400 on the 26th, the Germans again attacked with tanks supported by artillery and infantry that penetrated the woods held by ‘A’ Company on our left flank. ‘C’ Company in reserve, immediately counterattacked with the help of our 705th TD and drove the enemy back.

  Everybody, including the supply sergeant who was manning a .30 caliber machine gun, got an opportunity for revenge for the short rations of Christmas Day. The 2nd Platoon and the LMG section had a field day that evening. Bazookamen PFC. Marshall Griffith, PFC. William Star, PFC. John Volachin and PFC. Follman accounted for three vehicles. One of the vehicles produced a Lt. Colonel, a Major and a Lieutenant These officers gave the Division valuable enemy information. A short time later, the 2nd Platoon and LMG’s got three more vehicles.141

  About five hundred yards to the northeast of the 401st Glider Battalion positions, men of the 502nd were alert for a continuation of German attacks. They had been hit hard in their positions before daybreak on the previous day.

  “Able” Company of the 1st Battalion of the 502nd Regiment had been replaced by “Baker” Company in its former outpost positions northwest of Champs. The 3rd Platoon was sent out near midnight to set another outpost further west at a “Y” junction of two farm roads. PFC. Ted Goldmann, having made the parents of Pvt. Johnny Ballard aware their son had already destroyed one enemy tank with a bazooka, relates how they missed several golden opportunities the following day. The actions tie in with those just described by PFC. Marshall Griffith of the 401st. Goldmann wrote:142

  We dug in by 0200 and went to sleep, two men on guard for two hours at a time. Next day we had things quiet enough, being an isolated target, we attracted no artillery. We spent the day watching a tank battle to our southwest and P-47’s going into dives on tanks in the distance. We had front row seats to it all.

  Also watched C-47’s drop supplies and tow in gliders. After dark and we had settled down, we were told we were going up on the hill top again. This was way past where we were shot at the night before. Leery as heck, we went out and found nothing so we picked out our positions along the side of a woods and started back to the road for our MG, bazooka and our personal equipment.

  Half way there, we saw a light tank come racing past the 401st headed for Champs. It got about two hundred yards past our ‘Y’ position and turned around and took off the other way only to be met by a hail of steel from two TD’s, which left it burning. Our chance gone because we had just moved. Back at the holes at the ‘Y’ we found the tracks of tanks that were less than 18 inches from the side of Johnny’s and my hole. Curses—foiled again!

  Up the hill we returned only to witness four repetitions of the same event by two German jeeps, a captured U.S. command car and a half-track. One of the jeeps managed to get away. By now, we were thoroughly disgusted with having to move and missing our best opportunity, but we dug in.

  The action which Pvt. Ted Goldmann and the members of his squad had witnessed from their hilltop position on December 26th is described in this G-2 report from Division Headquarters:

  At 0430 and continuing until approximately 0930, an attack with infantry and armor of battalion strength was launched against our western perimeter in the vicinity of 513598 (map coordinates). The attack succeeded temporarily in penetrating the MLR but was quickly restored by counterattack and close-in fighting. In this same area, throughout the remainder of the day, the enemy continued his offensive effort which amounted to reconnaissance in force. At 2030 tonight, the enemy concentrated approximately 200 men and seven tanks in this area but the impending attack was broken up by particularly accurate artillery fire on their assembly area. At 2300 the enemy regrouped and was again dispersed by artillery fire. The northern, eastern and southern sectors were generally quiet throughout the period. However, the enemy continued his normal patrolling activities against our lines in these areas. The friendly air cover flew missions from daylight to dusk and their action confined the enemy’s activity chiefly to passive resistance and prevented concentration of troops in any area within the immediate vicinity.143

  Medical Help and Gasoline

  In his book, The Glider War, author James E. Mrazek describes a critical operation of getting medical personnel and supplies into Bastogne as the casualties continued to mount with no relief in sight. Division commander, General Anthony C. McAuliffe of the 101st had radioed an urgent request for such assistance. Mrazek wrote:144

  Anxious for his wounded, McAuliffe radioed a request that surgeons and medical supplies be flown in by glider, the only possible way any surgeons could get to the 101st. Apparently about this time, (perhaps on the suggestion of the division commander, McAuliffe’s G-4), LTC. Carl W. Kohls radioed the Air Force to try to get ammunition in by glider, as supplies going in by glider needed no such special packaging as was necessary for a parachute drop. The Air Force had retrieved gliders from the Holland operation and had hundreds sitting on French airfields and it remained now to load them and take off.

  The Army sent out a call to its area field surgical units for doctors and technicians for volunteers to go into Bastogne with medical supplies. The requests were sent over rickety telephone lines deep into mountains and to the tents of these units. Officers listened and pondered and many said no, for reasons that those who have been to war surely understand. But by the 25th of December, a group of eleven stepped forward and said they would go to Bastogne to save those who could be saved.

  ‘This was something we felt we absolutely had to do,’ says Dr. Lamar Soutter of Concord, Mass., who, as a major, was the ranking surgeon on that mission. Soutter was with the 4th Auxiliary Surgical Group attached to General Patton’s 3rd Army. Plans were discussed in Metz, where Soutter had been stationed throughout Christmas Day, about how best to get into Bastogne. At first the group was going to parachute in, then it was decided they would go by glider. The volunteers thought this was an unnecessary touch of drama, as none had ever been in a glider before.

  On December 26th, the group left Metz in an Army truck heading for Thionville, France, where their flight would begin. ‘We were supposed to drive over this one bridge, but the Germans had knocked it out,’ says Soutter. They had to take another route, finally arriving at Thionville at 4 o’clock in the afternoon. On a chilly runway, the trench-coated medical officers loaded their supplies into the glider. The C-47 that would pull it by rope sat on the runway. They boarded the glider, five doctors and four technicians. There seemed little to talk about. A pilot and co-pilot entered the cockpit. Bastogne was 100 miles away. By now the casualty count had reached 1,500.145

  The pilot for the glider was 1Lt. Charleton W. Corwin, Jr. of the 96th Squadron of the 440th Troop Carrier Group. He provided a brief description of his role in this “mercy” flight.

  I believe that the glider flight into Bastogne, carrying the medics, was not only the only single glider combat mission in World War II, but also may have been the only glider to have landed twice on the same combat mission. We took off at Orleans, France. Benjamin F. Constantino was my co-pilot; the t
rusty towship, a C-47, was piloted by Captain Raymond H. Ottoman…

  We landed on the fighter base strip at Etain, France. It was a thrill to bring that glider down on that P-47 strip.

  While we were again briefed at the operations office at Etain, the medics loaded the glider. The briefing was an exact repeat of an earlier briefing we had at Orleans in the presence of Colonel Krebs, our group commander. Some fighter pilot captain conducted the briefing. It was a relief to know that we could have an escort, or support of four P-47’s.146

  A trip into a combat area at Christmas time came as a surprise to the glider pilots. At yule time, reports from the battle areas were still heavily censored so glider pilots and their ground crews had an opportunity to celebrate on Christmas and many were sleeping off the effects. Mrazek had this description of the experiences of one of the eleven glider pilots who participated in the December 26th glider mission:147

  It was the 26th of December and still dark outside. At one base in France, 1Lt. O. B. Blessing was sleeping off the Christmas holiday. A crew chief yelled, ‘Hey Lieutenant, they want to brief you!’ He did not hear the first call, he was sleeping so soundly. The sergeant came over and shook him and repeated the message. Blessing went to the briefing shack as fast as he could throw on his clothes, with no inkling of what was ‘cooking’. At 1432, he was in the air with a load of ammo, the most surprised glider pilot alive. Everything had happened so fast he was not yet fully about his wits.