Battered Bastards of Bastogne

by George Koskimaki

  The artillery, mortar, machine gun and rifle fire had stopped as quickly as it had started. The medics were carrying wounded to the aid station. Some of the troopers who had light wounds were also heading to the aid station. Once again, the medics showed a lot of courage in picking up wounded comrades under these extreme conditions. The call for ‘Medic!’ kind of sticks in your mind—something you never forget

  The view from a machine gun outpost was much different. The mortar-men used the forward observer on outpost duty to serve as their eyes, while the machine gunner viewed the whole panorama to his front. Cpl. Glen Derber relates:

  Morning came and nothing unusual happened, just the normal artillery exchanges and far off noises of battle. In the early afternoon, however, my fears were confirmed when we saw some armored vehicles followed by infantry on foot pull out of the tree line across the opening we were facing. They came from our left and were proceeding at right angles across the opening to our front. The closest one, which I estimated to be 400 to 500 yards away, had a large barreled assault gun mounted on it and I could see the operator alongside working his aiming controls.

  Cpl. Deber had a reputation for being a crack shot with a rifle and he had done a lot of sniping up on the Island in Holland only two months earlier. Now he had an opportunity to do some long range shooting again. He added to his story:

  I had saved two incendiary (blue tipped) bullets from a belt of aircraft ammo which somehow got sent to us in Holland. My thought was to use them, if the opportunity arose, to shoot an enemy in the helmet. I ended up putting them into the engine compartment of the half-track. They made a nice blue flash when they hit and confirmed my range estimation but did no harm to the vehicle. Being as how they were designed for thin-skinned aluminum aircraft, I didn’t expect much. Then I concentrated on the operator of the assault gun and toppled him backwards off his position. Another man took his place and got the same treatment, but he didn’t seem to be as hard hit. This left nothing but the infantry following along behind so I started picking at them. One dropped in his tracks, another fell and was helped up and into the back of the armored half-track. I wounded one more before they caught on to where the shots were coming from and the half-track made a 90 degree right turn and that big barreled assault gun was aiming right at us! When all this started, I had informed my assistant gunner to catch the empty clips from my M1 and reload them with armor piercing ammo from our machine gun belts. When the shells started coming in we both hugged the bottom of our foxhole and only peeked out now and then to make sure the infantry didn’t overrun our position. Right then I thought this was going to be how the war ended for us. It got so bad they called in a reserve rifle company and, as they came up to the MLR from our rear, I looked up to see a rifle bullet go right through the shoulder stock of our LMG. Good God! I thought, now we are getting it from front and rear! The attack was repulsed, of course, with casualties to another gun crew which had set up in a shell hole out in the open field and been over run. The only casualty near me was Manuel Dandis who had been hit in the buttocks with a 20mm shell.

  MAP 19—Bois Jacques, Jan. 3

  The actions of 2nd Battalion in the Bizory area are remembered by PFC. George E. Willey of “E” Company. He was involved in the same action just described by Cpl. Derber. Willey wrote:

  I remember the 10th Armored Division tanks at Bizory. When we went through ‘Dog’ Company, which was dug in along the railroad and occupied the woods, we received heavy 88mm barrages and after they lifted about five German half-tracks tried to flank us but tanks and our machine guns stopped them.

  For 2nd Platoon of “D” Company, the action began to heat up after the first of the year as related by Sgt. Jack Hampton:

  We pulled out of our defensive position and began an attack through some woods the enemy was holding. It turned out to be the bloodiest operation we had since arriving in Bastogne. In our ‘D’ Company sector, 2nd Platoon, we had four casualties in about 15 minutes. One of the new guys caught a bullet in the head. One of our veterans had a chunk of shrapnel catch him just above the wrist. He was in very bad pain and I pulled his medicine pack off and gave him a shot of morphine. A medic arrived and poured sulfa over the wound. I am sure he lost his hand. Another took a big chunk of shrapnel in the leg, just below the knee, which tore out most of the leg muscles. I am sure he lost that leg below the knee. During another phase of clearing those woods, we knocked out a German tank that had been harassing us. In a skirmish we routed the Germans out of their positions and caused them to make themselves visible. It should have been like shooting ducks in a barrel but the temperature had dropped several degrees below freezing. Even with our woolen gloves on it was difficult to squeeze off rounds fast enough to take advantage of our opportunity. I have never been that cold before in my life nor have I since.

  Though American medics don’t carry weapons (whereas the British and Germans did), PFC. “Cleto” Leone had obtained a hand gun in Holland when he has stumbled on some enemy soldiers in a house near his position. He was carrying it in the heat of battle when one of his comrades asked to use it. Leone describes the incident:

  I was in a foxhole in some woods with Shuler and Calahan when some German tanks appeared with infantry behind them. We started firing mortars, bazookas, machine guns—everything we had. All of a sudden, we were just overrun with German infantry. Shuler managed to set one of the German tanks on fire. They had some nets on the backs of them for camouflage purposes I assume and, with tank grease, that is what set the tank on fire. We were told to get the heck out of there—so we did. S/Sgt. McClure came up and said, ‘Let me use your Luger!’ I said ‘Okay’. That was the last time I saw McClure. We were supposed to traverse a large field and get into some woods. The Germans were starting to pour into our woods and the tanks were shooting and we were being shelled. We just ran across that field. I would call it a rout but we did make it to the next woods.176

  Platoon sergeant Frank E. McClure played a key role in the fighting of January 3rd but was modest in describing his deeds. He wrote:

  Sgt. Wesley Calahan and I were wounded in a shootout with a rather sizeable force of Germans. However, tanks on January 3, 1945 were rather reluctant to help us. All the enemy vehicles I saw destroyed were the result of action by Company ‘E’ men.

  When asked if he remembered borrowing a luger from medic “Cleto” Leone, McClure responded:

  Yes, I did have Cleto Leone’s luger and Calahan had an M1 when he picked a fight with those Germans who wounded us on January 3rd. I discarded the luger for something more effective, like the 20mm cannon on the knocked-out German half-track that Lt. MacGregor and some of his people had put out of action earlier. I don’t remember much after I rolled out of that vehicle when it exploded …

  As a replacement officer for “E” Company, 1Lt. Bernard A. Jordan had this praise for S/Sgt. McClure and the men of his platoon. He wrote:

  On the 3rd of January our company saw heavy action northeast of Bastogne. 1Lt. Joe MacGregor and I were 1st Platoon, ‘E’ Company officers. One of our rocket launcher crews was knocked out of action and Joe and I manned the launcher and knocked out an enemy half-track. Afterwards, I boosted S/Sgt. Frank McClure over into the back of a disabled half-track and he manned the gun and killed a number of enemy—this helped turn the enemy back. McClure was put in for a Silver Star.

  1Lt. Bernard A. Jordan sent along a copy of a commendation 1st Platoon received for their actions of January 3, 1945. It read as follows:

  1st Platoon of ‘E’ Company, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, is hereby commended for heroic achievement in action 3rd January 1945. During a determined enemy counterattack northeast of Bastogne, Belgium, the 1st Platoon was committed when the enemy succeeded in penetrating the Battalion flank. Although harassed by enemy artillery and automatic weapons fire, they succeeded in reaching the right flank of the enemy. With only three rocket launchers at its disposal, the bazooka teams knocked out one tank and two half-tracks. Setti
ng up an anti-tank gun, the platoon knocked out 3 more tanks and 2 hostile half-tracks, repulsing the enemy counterattack. The platoon took advantage of the then demoralized enemy, mounted the abandoned enemy vehicles and turned the enemy guns on the retreating forces. After completely overrunning the enemy, the platoon evacuated its wounded and then covered the reorganization of the regiment. Their actions were in accordance with the highest tradition of the military service.

  The remainder of the S-2 Periodic Report for 3 January 1945 gives an overview of the actions which took place for 2nd Battalion that day:

  Intense artillery continued. The enemy employed his tanks, artillery, mortars and nebelwerfer fire against our front lines and rear installations.

  While we were attacking, the enemy pushed a strong counterattack against this unit’s lines with tanks, then proceeded to attack our exposed flank and rear. Their attack was generally down the road at 605615 (map coordinates). This action on the part of the enemy caused us to pull back and defend the gap prior to reaching the regimental objective.177

  CHAPTER 17

  JANUARY 4, 1945

  Unit commanders wondered just how much more powerful the enemy attacks on the 101st perimeter might have been on January 4 had it not been for the enemy prisoner “spilling the beans” at the time of his interrogation during the previous night. Still wondering if the prisoner had actually been a plant, the Division commanders went ahead with a plan to devastate the locations from which the prisoner said the German attacks of the 4th were to be launched.

  As the actions developed during the morning, the enemy activity was indeed on a smaller scale, but still, the killing went on.

  The private credited with the capture of the enemy runner becomes a casualty when he seeks shelter to clean his tommy gun.

  On the western perimeter, an enemy attack is launched at 0400 against the glider infantry battalion which had just replaced units of 1st Battalion of the 502nd Regiment.

  Troops of 3rd Platoon of “A” Company of the 502nd are called on to counterattack over the same ground they had previously defended. The loss of a close buddy is a lasting impression for one of the soldiers.

  The story of a strange attack by a solitary enemy soldier on an outpost position has left one soldier wondering just what the purpose of the move had been.

  Over in the 501st area, a mortar sergeant relates a story of a happy ending to a situation that had been declared hopeless by a medic.

  A Need to Clean a Weapon

  After the prisoner who would “spill the beans” was marched off to 2nd Battalion Headquarters by Sgt. Reggie Davies, the machine gun team of the corporal and the private felt some maintenance had to be carried out on the tommy gun. The chore went to Pvt. Lincoln Bethel while the corporal stayed alert in the two-man foxhole. Pvt. Bethel continues his story in the third person:

  Meanwhile, back at the foxhole, the private had decided something must be done about cleaning his ice-encrusted tommy gun if things were to continue along these lines. Thrusting his newly captured, brand new loaded and cocked Luger pistol into his belt, he wormed his way—now crouching and crawling—to an abandoned farm building on their left flank made visible in the early morning mists.

  Reaching the building, he entered through a broken window and proceeded into the half above ground cellar made of one-foot thick stone walls. Assorted farm animals had taken refuge here also. Removing his belt, outer coat, helmet—placing his newly-won Luger handily near by, he proceeded to restore the tommy gun for eventual use.

  One of the Kraut tank crews must have observed his entrance into the barn as an ear-shattering noise was heard and a two-foot round hole was made in one of the walls facing the German lines.

  ‘That son-of-a-bitch probably thinks he got me!’ the private gloated. He hurriedly assembled his gear—tucked the Luger in his belt—reached down for the tommy gun when the bastardly German gunner sent another 88 shell through the opening made by the first shell.

  This one crashed into the opposite wall and sprayed everything in the room with deadly fragments. Down went the private, blood spurting from both legs, left hand and right shoulder. (He later remembered thinking it had taken two 88mm shells to stop him!) How long he laid there seemed like eternity, but along came medics and he was doused with Sulfa powder and shot with morphine and carted off to Regimental Headquarters where, he thought it was Chappie Hall, gave him a belt of good whiskey.

  It was not until days later, he would wonder which of those lifesaving medics had relieved him of that beautiful, hard-earned, brand new German Luger.178

  Upon being contacted about the above incident, Reginald Davies replied he had mistakenly been credited for a deed which should have cited his friend, H. Lincoln Bethel. The Silver Star that Davies had been awarded was for actions in Holland.

  327th on Champs Perimeter

  1st Battalion of the 327th Glider Infantry Regiment replaced 1st Battalion of the 502nd Parachute Infantry on the Champs perimeter on January 3rd. It was a situation in which the glider infantrymen had not seen the terrain in daylight and had to do their foxhole digging in total darkness with no opportunity to take advantage of terrain features.

  After providing security for the Division Headquarters night command post at the Chateau Ile-la-Hesse and along with other 1st Battalion troops covering the MLR in front of Senonchamps, Capt. Walter L. Miller’s Company “C” and Capt. Joseph B. Johnson’s Company “A” were part of the move to the Champs area. Capt. Miller recalled the actions:

  On the evening of January 3rd, I got orders to move to Champs to relieve the unit there. We arrived at approximately 0300 in the morning with no knowledge of fields of fire or other pertinent data about the area. I received some replacements at that time and, because of the depleted condition of my company, had to place them in the line. We took the crest of the hill and occupied the foxholes of the unit that had been there.

  Platoon sergeant Jack Williamson of “A” Company describes his part in the January 3rd move to Champs and felt it was a bad situation with little support from heavy weapons.

  On the night of January 3rd, we were moved into a defensive position around Champs. There were no good foxholes, lots of snow and it was just a bad situation. We could hear tanks moving around out in front of us. We only had two .37mm anti-tank guns with us. That was after midnight.

  As happened on numerous occasions during the Bastogne fighting, the enemy struck around 0300 in the morning. S/Sgt. Jack Williamson describes the early action:

  I alerted everyone at 0400. It wasn’t but ten minutes later and here came the Germans—tanks with steel attached to their sides—too thick for our 37mm guns. They ran over our front lines in nothing flat. They knocked out the two anti-tank guns. We were without any weapons to knock out those tanks now. Our front line was gone. Our mortar sergeant fired everything he had. I called back on the hand radio to Capt. J. B. Johnson, our company commander, and asked ‘Should we fall back?’ He said, ‘No, hold what you have!’ I said There is nobody here but PFC. Burt Wolverton and myself!’ Johnson said, ‘Stay where you are and some reinforcements will be there soon,’

  Over on his sector of the perimeter, Capt. Walter Miller could see the enemy tanks as they approached. Fortunately, some mines placed along the road took care of a few of the enemy armored vehicles. Miller continues his story:

  In the darkness, I could see the enemy tanks as they approached and they fired directly into the holes killing the men there. We pulled back over the crest—the enemy tanks came over the crest and came over toward the village of Champs. As they moved on my left flank they swung over on to the road and struck several mines that destroyed two or three of the tanks. As the men bailed out of the tanks, my reserves cut them down and the other tanks stopped on the hill.

  Those tanks knocked out two anti-tank guns that they couldn’t possibly have seen. I was convinced the Germans had some night scopes that they used to knock out targets which couldn’t be seen with the naked eye. The
tanks also fired a round into the building I had selected as my CP. I can remember the armor-piercing shell going completely through and flying off in the distance. I wondered who it would kill some distance away.

  From the house in which they had sought shelter, S/Sgt. Williamson and PFC. Wolverton could see the big German tank outside. Fortunately, at that moment, they had some help from a friendly tank destroyer. Williamson related:

  We were in this house and the Krauts had us zeroed in. Wolverton and I went out the back window. A big German tank was right there in front of the house and headed into Champs where one of the TD’s had been coming out our way. It fired down the road and hit that tank. It took a good hit and had a big explosion and only one man got out. He was up in the turret and fell to the ground. He laid there in the snow and begged for help. At the time, we couldn’t do anything for him. He froze stiff right there.

  With the first enemy tanks to penetrate the perimeter defense, Capt. Walt Miller and one of his platoon leaders made an effort to stop one of them from the concealment of a hay stack. Miller related:

  In an attempt to stop the German tanks, Lt. Carlock and myself ran to a haystack and fired a bazooka round at them. It had no effect. Carlock was wounded and a German followed us with fire into the haystack where we made juncture with friendly forces moving from that direction.