But we are not stopping at the Siegfried Line. Tough days may be ahead of us before we eat our rations in the Chancellery of the Deutsches Reich.
As chaplains it is our business to pray. We preach its importance. We urge its practice. But the time is now to intensify our faith in prayer, not alone with ourselves, but with every believing man, Protestant, Catholic, Jew, or Christian in the ranks of the Third United States Army.
Those who pray do more for the world than those who fight; and if the world goes from bad to worse, it is because there are more battles than prayers. ‘Hands lifted up,’ said Bosuet, ‘smash more battalions than hands that strike.’ Gideon of Bible fame was least in his father’s house. He came from Israel’s smallest tribe. But he was a mighty man of valor. His strength lay not in his military might, but in his recognition of God’s proper claims upon his life. He reduced his Army from thirty-two thousand to three hundred men lest the people of Israel would think that their valor had saved them. We have no intention to reduce our vast striking force. But we must urge, instruct, and indoctrinate every fighting man to pray as well as fight. In Gideon’s day, and in our own, spiritually alert minorities carry the burdens and bring the victories.
Urge all of your men to pray, not alone in church, but everywhere. Pray when driving. Pray when fighting. Pray alone. Pray with others. Pray by night and pray by day. Pray for the cessation of immoderate rains, for good weather for Battle. Pray for the defeat of our wicked enemy whose banner is injustice and whose good is oppression. Pray for victory. Pray for our Army, and Pray for Peace.
We must march together, all out for God. The soldier who ‘cracks up’ does not need sympathy or comfort as much as he needs strength. We are not trying to make the best of these days. It is our job to make the most of them. Now is not the time to follow God from ‘afar off.’ This Army needs the assurance and the faith that God is with us. With prayer, we cannot fail.
Be assured that this message on prayer has the approval, the encouragement, and the enthusiastic support of the Third United States Army Commander.
With every good wish to each of you for a very Happy Christmas, and my personal congratulations for your splendid and courageous work since landing on the beach, I am, […]
signed The Third Army Commander.
26. Patton and His Third Army, by Gen. Brenton G. Wallace, Stackpole Books, pp. 158-159.
Chapter 10
1. 600,000 Germans, 500,000 Americans, and 55,000 British.
2. British had 1,400 with 200 killed, the Germans had 100,000 killed, wounded or captured.
3. War from the Ground Up, by John Colby, p. 502.
4. Tanks for the Memories, by Aaron Elson, p.230.
5. Battle, the Story of the Bulge, by John Toland, p. 287.
6. Ibid., p. 296.
7. Ibid., p. 314.
8. Ibid., p. 336.
9. Ibid., p. 350.
10. On January 8, 1945, the day before the attack by the 90th and the 712th, Gen. Patton wrote in his diary, “I passed through the last battalion of the 90th Division moving in by truck. They must have been riding in the cold, blizzard weather in open trucks for many hours, but were in splendid form and cheered and yelled as I drove past. It was a very inspiring sight.”
11. Battle, the Story of the Bulge, by John Toland, p. 350.
12. The History of the 712th Tank Battalion, p. 46.
13. Father Murphy writes about how bitterly cold it was while saying Mass one day that January, “Mass at 10 in the Church for the people I buried yesterday. It was so cold the water froze as it hit the chalice, and the water in the cruet froze too”, Bringing Up Father – Diary of a WWII Chaplain, by Revd Donald J. Murphy, p. 80; see also War from the Ground Up, by John Colby, p. 401.
14. Tanks for the Memories, by Elson, pp. 230-231.
15. War from the Ground Up, by John Colby, pp. 380-381.
16. Battalion Surgeon, by McConahey, pp. 103-104.
17. During one of the 712th reunions I attended subsequent to my trip with Dad.
18. Cary had been in command of C Company when he was wounded in Normandy and when he returned to the battalion he was assigned to B Company to replace Capt. Jack Galvin, who had been wounded.
19. Tanks for the Memories, by Elson, pp. 233-234.
20. Dale Albee received a battlefield commission and was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant soon after this incident.
21. D Company, 712th Tank Bn. Journal.
22. Patton and the Battle of the Bulge, by Michael and Gladys Green, p. 147.
23. War from the Ground Up, by Colby, pp. 374-377, comments by Pfc. Jack Ammons in the 359th Regiment of the 90th Infantry Division.
24. Surprise Night Attack – 1945, Brig.-Gen. (Ret.) Raymond E. Bell Jr., unpublished.
25. War from the Ground Up, by John Colby, p. 365.
26. Surprise Night Attack – 1945, p. 4.
27. Talbott eventually retired from the Army as a Lieutenant General.
28. War from the Ground Up, by John Colby, p. 365-366.
29. The Americans discovered later that road upon which they were advancing was the division boundary between the German 5th Fallschirmjaeger (Parachute) Division and the 9th Volksgrenadier (Infantry) Division.
30. War from the Ground Up, by John Colby pp. 368-369.
31. War from the Ground Up, by John Colby, p. 369.
32. The History of B Company of the 712th Tank Battalion, p. 6.
33. War from the Ground Up, by John Colby, p. 370.
34. The Patton Papers, 1940-1945, by Martin Blumenson, p. 622.
35. Battle, the Story of the Bulge, by John Toland, p. 357.
36. History of the 90th Infantry Division in WWII, p.52.
37. This epic battle also has the distinction of being the only combat action of World War II in which all three elements of the old 11th Cavalry Regiment were involved:
1) 1st and 2nd Squadron – The 11th Tank Battalion, as part of the 10th Armored Division, was defending Bastogne from within along with the 101st Airborne Division.
2) Headquarters & Headquarters Troop – The 11th Cavalry Group, assigned to the Ninth US Army and attached to the XIII Corps. relieved the 406th Infantry Regiment of the 102nd Infantry Division and soon found itself charged with the defense of the entire sector on the northern shoulder of the bulge, previously held by the entire 102nd Infantry Division.
3) 3rd Squadron – The 712th Tank Battalion, attached to the 90th Infantry Division was part of the Third Army’s relief column punching its way into Bastogne.
Chapter 11
1. Citizen Soldiers, by Stephen E. Ambrose, p. 144.
2. Schmidt’s decorations included a Distinguished Service Cross, four Silver Stars, a Soldier’s Medal, three Bronze Stars, seven Purple Hearts, a Croix de Guerre (French), a Croix de Guerre (Belgium) and a King George Medal (Great Britain).
3. The History of the 712th Tank Battalion, p. 57.
4. A Mile in Their Shoes, by Aaron Elson, p. 225.
5. The Volksgrenadier divisions were a more manpower-economical version of the standard Grenadier divisions. The name Volksgrenadier (“grenadier of the people”) was chosen for propagandistic effect. These divisions were hastily trained and comprised remnants of destroyed divisions, inexperienced conscripts, wounded returning from the hospitals, and transfers from the Navy and the Luftwaffe.
The Volkssturm (“People’s storm”) was the militia consisting of children and old men formed to defend the Fatherland. They usually had no training and were often sent into battle with a Panzerfaust and a reassuring speech.
6. War from the Ground Up, by John Colby, p. 447.
7. Ibid., p. 453.
8. Below the Salt, by John A. Busterud, pp. 107-108.
9. Id., p. 154.
10. ‘Nazi Gold: The Merkers Mine Treasure’, by Greg Bradsher, Prologue, Quarterly of the National Archives and Records Administration, Spring 1999, vol. 31, no. 1.
11. SGO Central File, 1943-1945, ‘710-Psychoneurosis’, Record
Group 112. Records of the Surgeon General. National Archives, Washington DC, Report of Norman T. Kirk, Surgeon General, dated 16 September 1944.
12. 314 days in the ETO combat zone – June 28, 1944 to May 8, 1945. Tank Tracks, Vol. 1, No. 1, June 18, 1945, p.2 (Ch 30) lists the days in combat as 310. The discrepancy in the count is due the Tank Track editors beginning the count on July 3, 1944, the date the battalion first officially engaged the enemy.
13. War from the Ground Up, by Colby, p. 345 – statement by Billie Breedlove, a medic in the 358th Rgt.
14. US Army Tank Crewman 1941-45, by Steven J. Zaloga, p. 27.
15. Ibid., Gen. Bruce Clarke described the life of tankers in combat in World War II:
The failure of many armored division commanders was the failure to appreciate that an armored unit produces a tremendous workload on its men […] It just isn’t possible to fight men in a tank day-after-day, day-after-day. The tank gives you claustrophobia – they are crowded in there with ammunition right up against them. The place is dark. The tank is noisy and it vibrates […] You fight inside a tank 12 hours a day and that’s pretty debilitating, well it’s not like an infantryman in the open air […] Then at night, you’ve got to haul the ammunition, probably over several hills, because you aren’t located where a truck can drive right up to you and give it to you. And you’ve got to haul your fuel in five-gallon cans. You have to check your tracks and all that sort of business. And you have to provide local security to keep the damn enemy from coming and throwing a grenade in the turret.
16. Bringing Up Father – Diary of a WWII Chaplain, by Revd Donald J. Murphy, p. 65 (unpublished).
17. A Mile in Their Shoes, by Aaron Elson, p. 220.
18. The History of the 712th Tank Battalion, p. 67.
Chapter 12
1. War from the Ground Up, by John Colby, pp. 466-467.
2. Ibid., p. 467.
3. The History of the 712th Tank Battalion, p. 69.
4. War from the Ground Up, by John Colby, pp. 466-467.
5. The History of the 90th Division in World War II, p. 82 and 83.
6. War from the Ground Up, by John Colby, pp. 466-467.
7. 712th Tank Battalion Operational Journal, ARBN 712-0.7, pp. 267-268, 7 May 1945.
8. Battalion Surgeon, by William M. McConahey, MD, p. 152.
9. A History of the 90th Infantry Division in World War II, p. 85.
10. The History of the 712th Tank Battalion, p. 71.
11. Tank Tracks, Vol. 1, No. 1, June 18, 1945, p. 1.
12. Tank Tracks, Vol. 1, No. 12, September 4, 1945, p. 2.
13. Bürgerbräukeller was the site of Hitler’s Beer Hall Putsch on November 8, 1923. It is where he attempted for the first time to seize control of the German government. This initial attempt ended in failure and Hitler was imprisoned for a short time. After Hitler emerged from prison and eventually gained power, this beer hall became a symbolic location for the Nazi party and was the site of annual celebrations each November 8. It was also on this site that a failed assassination attempt on Hitler’s life occurred on November 8, 1939. After giving a speech, Hitler left the location a few minutes before a bomb exploded.
14. The 90th Infantry Division in World War II, p. 80.
15. Gen. Hans Oster, Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, Revd Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Dr Karl Sack, Dr Theodore Struenck and Gen. Friedrich von Rabenau.
16. What Was It Like in the Concentration Camp at Dachau, by Dr Johannes Neuhäusler, p. 50 (citing Goldschmitt: Zeugen des Abendlandes, p. 36).
17. Bringing Up Father – Diary of a WWII Chaplain, by Revd Donald J. Murphy, p. 104.
Chapter 13
1. Catherine Schmitt’s mother was Catherine Baümlin.
Chapter 15
1. Each active duty person would have an Adjusted Service Rating Card issued on which the point score would be recorded. Points were earned as follows:
i. Service Credit – One point for each month of duty between Sept. 16, 1940, and May 12, 1945.
ii. Overseas Credit – One point for each month overseas between the same dates.
iii. Combat Service Credit – Five points for each of the following awards:
a. Distinguished Service Cross, Legion of Merit, Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, Soldier’s Medal, Bronze Star Medal, Air Medal, Purple Heart, and Bronze Service Star.
b. For Navy Personnel, the Navy Cross, Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, Navy and Marine Corps Medal, Air Medal, and Purple Heart.
iv. Parenthood Credit – Twelve points for each child under 18 years of age. The initial critical score for separation was set at 85.
2. The History of the 712th Tank Battalion, p. 74.
3. The History of the 712th Tank Battalion, p. 78.
Chapter 16
1. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) became known as such in the 1970s due to problems some Vietnam veterans were experiencing. Many studies have shown that the more prolonged, extensive, and horrifying a soldier’s exposure to war trauma, the more likely it is that he would become emotionally worn down and exhausted.
2. Cleo Coleman expressed having similar problems. A Mile in Their Shoes, by Aaron Elson, pp. 226-227.
3. Death Traps, by Belton Y. Cooper, pp. 21-22.
4. They Were All Young Kids, by Aaron Elson, p. 182.
5. The coroner recorded Dad’s death on the death certificate as 7:55 a.m. This was the time the telephone call from the hospice nurse was received in the coroner’s office informing the coroner of Dad’s death.
Epilogue
1. Although there is no evidence that Yamamoto made this statement on December 7, it seems to represent his true feelings about the attack after it was over. Yamamoto believed that Japan could not win a protracted war with the United States. He is also known to have been upset by the bungling of the Foreign Ministry which led to the attack happening while the countries were technically at peace, thus making the incident an unprovoked sneak attack that would certainly enrage the enemy.
Almost one year earlier, Admiral Yamamoto, in a letter to Ogata Taketora on January 9, 1941, did state: “A military man can scarcely pride himself on having ‘smitten a sleeping enemy’; it is more a matter of shame, simply, for the one smitten. I would rather you made your appraisal after seeing what the enemy does, since it is certain that, angered and outraged, he will soon launch a determined counterattack.”
Bibliography
Books
Ambrose, Stephen E., Citizen Soldiers (New York: Touchstone, 1997).
Bell Jr. (Ret.), Brig.-Gen. Raymond E., Surprise Night Attack (Unpublished, 1998).
Blumenson, Martin, The Patton Papers 1940-1945 (Boston: Houghton Miflin, 1974).
Brokaw, Tom, The Greatest Generation (New York: Random House, 1998).
Bradley, Omar, A Soldier’s Story (New York: Random House, 1999).
Busterud, John A., Below the Salt: How the Fighting 90th Division Struck Gold and Art Treasure in a Salt Mine (Philadelphia: Xlibris, 2001).
Colby, John, War From the Ground Up: The 90th Division in World War II (Austin: Nortex, 1991).
Cooper, Belton Y., Death Traps: The Survival of an American Armored Division in World War II (New York: Ballantine Books, 2003).
D’Este, Carlo, Patton: A Genius for War (New York: Harper Collins, 1995).
Ford, Roger, The Sherman Tank (Osceola, WI: MBI Publishing, 1999).
Green, Michael and Gladys, Patton and the Battle of the Bulge (Osceola, WI: MBI Publishing, 1999).
McConahey, M. D., William M., Battalion Surgeon (Rochester, MN: Privately Pub, 1966).
Miller, Robert A., August 1944: The Campaign for France (Norvato, CA: Presidio Press, 1996).
Murphy, Revd Donald J., Bringing Up Father: Diary of a WWII Chaplain (Unpublished, 1945).
Neuhäusler, Dr Johannes, What Was It Like in the Concentration Camp at Dachau
Patton Jr., Gen. George S., War As I Knew It (Boston: Houghton Miflin, 1947).
Toland, John, Battle, the Story of the Bulge (New York: Random House, 1959).
Wallace, Gen. Brenton G., Patton and His Third Army (Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2000).
Zaloga, Steve & Sarson, Peter, Sherman Medium Tank 1942-1945 (Boxley, Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing, 1978).
Zaloga, Steven J., US Army Tank Crewman 1941-45 European Theater of Operations 1944-45 (Boxley, Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing, 2004).
Zaloga, Steven J., The Siegfried Line 1944-45 (Boxley, Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing, 2007).
Magazines & Periodicals
Carter, Hodding and Smith, Gerald K., The New Republic, February 13, 1935
O’Neill, Msgr. James H., Review of the News, October 6, 1971
Witmeyer, J. J., ‘St Lô, France: Breakthrough or Breakout?’, Purple Heart Magazine, Vol. LXVIII, No. 3 (May/June 2003).
Tank Tracks, Vol. 1, No. 1 (June 18, 1945).
Tank Tracks, Vol. I, No. 3 (July 2, 1945).
Tank Tracks, Vol. I, No. 12 (September 4, 1945).
Archives & Company Histories
712th Tank Battalion: “B” Company History
“D” Company, 712th Tank Battalion Journal
The 90th: A History of the 90th Infantry Division in World War II (Nashville, TN: Battery Press, 1999)
The History of the 712th Tank Battalion (1945)
National Archives, Washington DC
– 712th Tank Bn. Operational Reports, History, ARBN 712-0.1
– 712th Tank Battalion Operational Journal, ARBN 712-0.7
– 712th Tank Battalion After Action Report
– Records of the Surgeon General. Report of Norman T. Kirk, Surgeon General, dated 16 Sept., 1944
– SGO Central File, 1943-1945, 710-Psychoneurosis, Record Group 112
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