Battered Bastards of Bastogne

by George Koskimaki

  At the same time that Blasingame was after the lead tank, the others had moved on by the foxhole position with their infantry and isolated a large segment of ‘F Company. Blasingame got the one that had advanced over the ridge. The others did not advance as far and they are the ones that captured our men. 1st Platoon was the group captured. Sgt. Howard Matthews was one of them. Our platoon was in reserve. 1st and 3rd Platoons were on line.

  After the company was pretty well annihilated, my squad was taken back and we were sent to regimental headquarters and went out on combat patrols to get info on the enemy.

  One of the men who was with the company commander as his radio operator when 1st Platoon was trapped by the tanks was PFC. Walter F. Zagol. He has this memory of the fierce battle in which his company was involved that resulted in the loss of nearly fifty men. Zagol wrote:

  Our company was situated on the outskirts of Bastogne near the town of Longchamps. ‘F’ Company was caught in the open by the German tanks and infantry. We took a terrible beating, losing 47 men including our company commander and two other officers and nine noncoms in one day of fighting. My company commander put up the white flag on his submachine gun and surrendered his men as the German tanks started to mow down our men in the hedges we were in. I crawled back and managed to escape.

  81st Anti-Tank Gunners

  Attached to Company “D” was the anti-tank gun team of Sgt. Joe O’Toole of “C” Battery of the 81st Anti-Tank Battalion of the 101st Division. The main function of Sgt. O’Toole’s section was to protect a roadblock in the 2nd Battalion sector near Longchamps. This was a continuing action as described by a gun crew member, PFC. Edward Peniche, who wrote:

  In our deployment toward Bastogne, our AT squad was assigned to Company ‘D’, 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment. By dawn on Wednesday, December 19th, we had taken defensive positions in the outskirts of the village of Longchamps. We emplaced our 57mm AT gun on a knoll overlooking a valley. We were covering one of the main roads leading into Bastogne. Our main mission was to protect the roadblock on that road. We had piled all the plows and other farm implements that we could find in the area to set up the roadblock and we felt that we could defend and hold that position against any German attack. We had dug in, until the barrel was just barely visible above the snow. Down in front of us was ‘no-man’s land’.

  MAP 18—Attack on 2/502, Jan. 3

  Mad Minute At Longchamps

  The role of Sgt. Joe O’Toole’s gun crew of that anti-tank section is described vividly by PFC. Edward Peniche in an article he wrote:169

  On January 3, 1945, the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment was attacked in force and its MLR was overrun by enemy armor. The action began around 1330 hours. The enemy armor came down the road which runs southward from Compogne to Longchamps. In a well-planned maneuver the German tanks, about 15 to 17 of them, fanned out for the attack. They were being followed by infantrymen and panzer-grenadiers. It was a fierce and determined attack against our front As the German tanks and infantry began to advance against our position and towards the road block, our squad leader, Sgt. Joe O’Toole, gave us orders to engage the enemy—the enemy fire was effectively raking our positions.

  I was sure that at that moment everyone was as scared as I was—PFC. Alfred Stein was ready to load the piece again as PFC. Darrell Garner, our gunner, was finding the range.

  I quickly moved two more AT shells to the gun position, making sure that they had AP fuses (SABOT), a new type of high velocity shell.

  Several airbursts exploded between us and the road block, our machine gunners to our right, were keeping the grenadiers from reaching the road block. As a Mark V Tiger tank approached that point on the road, we hit it twice; the second shot took its turret off and, as the crew was leaving the burning tank, they were riddled with machine gun fire—our SABOT ammunition was proving very effective AT ordnance. Behind our position one or two armored vehicles, either U.S. TD’s or half-tracks, sporadically came up the ridge to lob a shell or two against the attacking force. The German 88’s were proving to be accurate and devastating—shells and bullets were spraying our emplacement. In reality, once an AT gun is committed to battle, its position is easily spotted and the situation becomes one of do-or- die. There are no avenues of retreat nor room for maneuverability.

  I crawled back to our ammo dump to bring more AT shells.

  As we destroyed a second tank, all hell broke loose around us. We were determined to offer a heavy resistance, but the German gunners zeroed in on our emplacement; we were being hit with everything that the enemy could fire. It was the hour of the mad minute. It was that terrifying moment when all the weapons on the line seemed to explode violently all at once. The incoming shells were so numerous that the ground felt tremoring. Our gun took a direct hit and was destroyed. All three of us, O’Toole, Garner and myself, were hit by shrap nel. The battle raged on all around us; the TD’s and our mortars were hitting the Mark IV German tanks which were not advancing but were continuing their murderous fire. The mad minute was upon us at Longchamps.

  By this time, I crawled to assist O’Toole who had been severely wounded. He had been hit in the hip and leg; he was bleeding profusely and looked like he was going into shock. To mitigate the pain, he had given himself a shot of morphine. Garner was hit in the face and shoulder; my left leg was numb above the knee, but my knee was hurting a lot. I looked down and saw the blood on my muddy trousers. Voices and moans of some other men could be heard. I remember praying in both English and Spanish. As I crawled on the snow toward the ridge, I heard the bullets and shrapnel cutting the air above me, but I needed to reach our CP just behind the knoll. We needed medical attention.

  The entire episode could not have lasted more than 15 or 20 minutes—I finally reached the CP and reported what had happened and was happening.

  Ottie Brock’s Gun

  Along the same front in the Longchamps area, Sgt. Ottie Brock was in charge of another of the anti-tank guns and pointed out the superiority of the British six-pounder over the American version of the 57mm anti-tank gun:

  I can recall that our men on the British 6-pounder anti-tank gun were attempting to eat their dinner when we received word over our sound power phone, messages from a paratroop outpost that a tank was approaching. The anti-tank men were immediately warned. In the meantime, the outpost man’s warning was increased as the number of tanks increased one by one until it finally reached about 17. Also, the men on the anti-tank guns were changing tank targets as more came into view. Finally, the ‘commence firing!’ order was given and die action was furious. Snow and dirt was thrown in the air and a nearby haystack caught fire so that visibility from our position was poor. A tank got right in front of our gun and Durwood McDaniel put it out of action. It was a good thing our anti-tank guns were die British 6-pounders instead of the 57mm guns the Americans generally used. Our guns had a double shield in front, which gave us more protection than did the U.S. 57mm gun. Also, the muzzle velocity was about 6000, giving us a greater advantage over the 57mm shell. Anyway, the German tanks were stopped although most of their tanks were retrieved later by the enemy. Sgt. O’Toole in our section, was injured and evacuated to England. O’Toole told me his weapon was hit so hard that the muzzle was pointing almost straight up.

  Sergeant Ford Credited with 7 Tanks

  Sergeant Edward E. Ford of “C” Battery of the 81st Anti-Tank Battalion was in position with his British 6-pounder weapon on the morning of January 3, 1945 when a large group of enemy tanks approached his position. He had moved up to the position during the night, dug himself a good, deep foxhole and waited for enemy armor that might come his way. He recalled:

  Shortly after noon, I saw this column of enemy tanks followed by infantry approaching our positions. I was amazed to see so many infantry men popping up in their holes and firing at the oncoming enemy vehicles and foot soldiers. I hastily got on the phone and called my battery commander, asking for all the artillery we could get.


  We got two rounds. When the tanks were within 800 feet of my foxhole and moving across my front, I started picking them off, one by one.

  Sgt. Edward Ford was credited with destroying seven enemy tanks on this date. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for heroism.170

  The unit history of the 81st Anti-Tank Battalion provides a brief description of the hectic actions which took place in the vicinity of Longchamps involving Battery “C”. Captain George McCormack wrote:

  The 502nd Para Inf was attacked 3 January 45 and its MLR was overrun by an armored attack. Btry ‘C lost five guns but managed to destroy ten enemy Mark IV’s. Sergeant (Edward) Ford being credited with seven tanks destroyed.171

  Action on the MLR

  After a two-week period of relative quiet in his sector, Pvt. Robert L. MacNaughton and his “D” Company buddies were in the thick of the actions on January 3 and, like “F” Company, they took heavy casualties. MacNaughton wrote:

  We had not had too much direct contact except a few patrol probes by German infantry (panzer grenadiers). However, on the 3rd of January, the Germans launched an all-out attack on our sector, trying to breach our road block and defensive position on the ridge at Longchamps. During the late afternoon, a Mark IV tank and a Tiger tank broke through and most of 3rd Platoon was captured. The tanks were shelling our CP and it burned. It was about this time that 1st/Sgt. John Woolen was KIA. I helped carry him to the aid station in the church just below the crossroad.

  On returning to the CP, a Cpl. Flaig (not of our outfit) was there with a bazooka and four rounds of ammo. We worked in close to the tanks and ‘killed’ one of them, which lost a tread or track. We fired on the other tank, which withdrew, and it did not return.

  The remaining tank, although disabled, was still shelling and machine-gunning us. Flaig was killed. It was getting dark about then and I managed to get in close and, when the tank commander opened his hatch, I dropped a phosphorus grenade inside and the tank burned all night.172

  As a replacement in “E” Company, and getting a taste of combat for the first time, Pvt. Alfred Harrison remembered what happened to a fellow replacement. He wrote:

  I recall Pvt. George F. Nordberg, who was a member of my company. He was killed on January 3, 1945 during a major attack by the Germans. As I understand it, he was standing up in his foxhole shaking his fist, yelling at the Germans when he was struck by fragments from a tree burst overhead. I’m sure those who came in contact with him remember him well as he had an enormous chip on his shoulder and had a hostile attitude that found him fighting, verbally and physically, with members of our own units, even when we were in action against the Germans.

  In describing the attack on January 3 when “F” Company lost so many men during the enemy assault on the 2nd Battalion sector, Captain Robert S. Dickson of “E” Company wrote:

  ‘Easy’ Company occupied a sector wider than could be considered most efficient with foxholes in some areas but not mutually supportable. That, plus the openness of the frozen, snow-covered terrain, made camouflage exceptionally difficult. The men prevailed however, and several days passed before the first artillery fire of any consquence hit us. This was the beginning of the German attack in the northern sector that involved ‘D’ and ‘F’ Companies so drastically. The openness of the terrain in front of ‘E’ Company was not favorable for an enemy advance. Some tanks did get fairly close, but their infantry was too vulnerable in that environment. Consequently, ‘D’ Company, whose lines ran through a wooded area, received the brunt of the German attack.

  If I may say a word about the ‘F’ Company counterattack that resulted in so many casualties, years later, (Captain) Earl Hendricks and I talked about this and agreed that rushing into an ongoing fight against German tanks by parachute infantry, with their paucity of anti-tank weapons, was asking for trouble. I remember seeing ‘F’ Company walking across open, snow-covered terrain on their way to counterattack and thinking they had better get under cover of trees soonest. The final result however, was favorable as the Germans were stopped and made to withdraw.

  There is always a soldier in a period of extreme tension who has a way of easing the strain with a light remark. Such was the case with this action provided by T/4 John Seney, operations sergeant for 2nd Battalion:

  I don’t remember the area but we had a Robert McGinley in our outfit who would and did drink anything. His most important contribution was during a terrific shelling when you couldn’t raise your head and all of us were becoming addled. Suddenly, it got real quiet. McGinley stood up and in a loud voice said, ‘A guy can get killed around here!’ It broke the tension—you could hear chuckles and remarks—crazy bastard, etc.

  A POW Spills the Beans

  As a member of the jump band of the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment, Pvt. Lincoln H. Bethel had participated in both parachute drops in enemy territory and then served as a body guard for the staff officers. At Bastogne, he was on the front line as a member of a machine gun crew. He describes his experience in the third person:

  The miserably cold, snowy night of 3 January ‘45 found the private with a corporal he didn’t even know, huddled in a shallow hole on the military crest of a hill located somewhere north of the outskirts of Bastogne near Monaville. Their .30 caliber light machine gun was set up to traverse down this long hill which ended in a valley with woods on the other side. The temperature was down to zero degrees Fahrenheit and a light snow was adding to that already fallen—in some places waist deep, but on the windswept hill, it averaged some six inches.

  The machine gun platoon of HQ Company, 2nd Bn., of the 502nd was attached for this engagement to ‘D’ Company. Their only contact with anyone was with Sgt. Reggie Davies who constantly checked on his forward outposts. It seemed to the private, with the very limited visibility, that they were alone on this hill.

  Sometime during the night, on one of his contact checks, Davies decided to probe further down the hill and the private accompanied him. They took off from the machine gun emplacement, keeping as low as possible, slipping and sliding in the slippery going. After reaching almost the bottom of the hill, they could see about 14 German tanks across the clearing. They crept close enough to hear the guttural voices and see and smell the vile smoke of German cigarettes.

  Deciding discretion the better part of valor, Davies decided to return up the hill and report this information. The return up the hill was uneventful—again leading the private to believe they were alone on the hill. Upon reaching the gun emplacement, Davies advised the corporal and private that the shallow hole should be twice as deep as dawn might show the tanks a perfect target.

  The private placed his tommy gun to the rear of the hole, away from the enemy tanks, and immediately began to hack and chisel the frozen earth. After about 20 minutes of very little success, having worked up a cold sweat in digging, the corporal got in the hole, started digging and our private stood with his back to the tanks, sweating and breathing heavily from his exertion.

  Suddenly, a jab in his back and the guttural query of ‘Vas is das?’ assailed his senses. In a complete reflex action he whirled, grabbed at the pistol with his left hand and decked the sheet-covered apparition with a swinging right hand to the jaw. Down they both went, with the private on top and by the time the corporal scrambled out of the hole to assist, it was over—as events were to prove, the private had captured one of the most valuable captives the 101st Division ever took.

  Hearing this commotion, Sgt. Davies came hurrying over and personally escorted the German to the 101st interrogators. With little regard for his fellow soldiers, this German runner carried detailed information about concentrated attacks scheduled for early that morning and maps that he carried pinpointed locations of armor designed to be probably the heaviest the Division would ever face. After spilling his guts to Sgt. Schmidt, the 502nd interrogator, who after initially suspecting a plant, it was decided to believe the information and all remaining artillery in the area concentrated on the
information as described by the runner.173

  Responding to a request from Lincoln Bethel for verification of the action for which the Silver Star was being requested, Rene A. Schmidt, who had served as the interrogator of German prisoners for 2nd Battalion of the 502nd Regiment, sent this response to Bethel:

  As soon as I read your letter, the incident you mentioned came to mind. I heard the same account of the capture of this prisoner, however, not having a personal knowledge of this, I doubt it would stand up in an affidavit.

  Link, here’s another angle to this incident that I do have first-hand knowledge of. Remember we had been in heavy combat since about noon of that day and the losses to our battalion were staggering. Our lines were non-existent in places. I was awakened some time during the night—don’t remember the time. At first I said No! What’s one more Kraut. Let him go until morning, but they insisted. So, reluctantly I went over and interrogated this prisoner. Yes, he was a runner and at the time of his capture he was rounding up elements of an armored infantry unit that was scheduled to mount an attack on our positions at I believe four a.m. through Monaville—remember that name?

  At first we thought this man was a ‘plant’ and while we were concentrating on his information they would hit us somewhere else.

  However, it was decided that in our weakened condition we had no choice but go for broke. We called Division and gave them the grid coordinates (which he obligingly pointed out on the map) of the alleged assembly area. Here again, DivArty was reluctant to fire this mission because artillery stocks were very low, but in the end decided to go along.