The Lost Ranger: A Soldier's Story

by Mehlo, Noel

  2. Following and covering their movements by fire were a squad of riflemen and machine gunners,

  3. Next, spread out and further in the rear came the bazooka team,

  4. Then came the flame thrower team,

  5. Demolition team and anti-tank grenadiers, in that order.

  The Rangers practiced their advance aided by an artillery and mortar barrage plus the direct fires of Ranger 75 mm cannons mounted on half-tracks. The ability of the Rangers to advance upon the heels of active artillery fire became one of their hallmark maneuvers that they performed with deadly precision up through the Battle of Irsch-Zerf on February 23, 1945 as far as the 5th Ranger Infantry Battalion were concerned. This ability to attack in the precise manner they were able to do won acclaim from various surrendering German Commanders on more than one occasion between the two battalions. The Rangers would finish off an assault of an emplacement with a bayonet charge and by throwing of grenades into the remains of the enemy defensive positions to “make sure that any enemy playing dead would stop acting.” The men would then assemble for after action critiques.

  The Ranger battalions also participated in larger scale problems at the USATC. This involved working with the Royal Navy and the 29th Infantry Division, where the Rangers were to provide flanking protection of a Division. This later phase of training was capped off by a two day and night exercise. The last maneuver combined amphibious and land based fighting. It is interesting how closely this training prepared the men for the fortunes that waited for them at both Point du Hoc and Omaha Beach and the places in between. In his final words on this training, PFC Prince wrote:

  A couple days later or on April 27 saw us on the move again. We were still sixty-four men and three officers strong, and strong in every sense of the word. We had trained and worked hard. We had had our fun, and now we were prepared to tackle anything the Army threw our way. Our cockiness and confidence had taken on new life. This school had presented us a difficult and obstinate course to go through, but in good Ranger style and fashion we had overcome this. We had gone on to a greater success than any other unit who had ever attended here had ever obtained. No wonder we were so proud and sure of ourselves.12

  The story of the USATC sets the stage for the 5th Ranger Infantry Battalion in its role in the D-Day invasion. The training described here paints a detailed picture of what my Grandpa and men fighting along with him did later on DDay. If you take into account the training and tactics that S/Sgt Hull first learned as a machine gunner in the 134th Infantry Regiment as described in Chapter 4, one begins to bring into focus what his role was. As part of the Assault Team and bearing a Browning Automatic Rifle, he would have taken his place as described in this chapter. He practiced to exit his landing craft upon hitting the beach and would have veered to the left as per plan. His job was to provide cover fire from the left flank of the men advancing upon the enemy position. As trained as a machine gunner, he would have used these tactics to help lay suppressive or direct fire as the mission required in order for the riflemen and others to overcome any obstacle. In this realization, Ranger Hull has been found in his place in his unit. He was now poised with his men to strike, and strike hard.

  JR Copeland told me a story about the platoon, particularly my Grandpa Hull’s squad conducting a live fire exercise at the USATC. Another company was firing on a training obstacle next to his squad. When these other men completed their exercise, they were fooling around and began to fire at the target (pillbox or other obstacle) on “Herb’s” range. Their fire ended up wounding two of “Herb’s” men and it really “pissed him off.” “Herb was really perturbed.” JR told me that Herb picked up a rifle and was going to go shoot the other Rangers for wounding his men. He told me that “Herb was a hell of a good soldier.” He recounted that he really cared about and took care of his men. JR said that he and some of the other men had to hold him back and keep him from going after the other men for their carelessness toward his men.

  The USATC acknowledged that due to the use of such extensive live fire exercises, there would inevitably be causalities amongst the trainees. Their safety rules were employed to a large measure to mitigate or offset the risk imposed by such training. There were U.S. servicemen who lost their lives there who were just as heroic as those men who landed in Normandy. The Rangers decision to forgo certain of the safety rules was in my opinion not a means to denigrate the mission or safety record of the USATC, it was meant as a measure to train the men to a higher standard that would save many of the men come June 1944.

  In a journal entry by the command of the USATC the training of the 5th Ranger Infantry Battalion was reported. Mar 44-Arrived in UK, 34 Officers, 563 EM. To Scotland, Braunton, Swanage, for training. May 44. “A group from the 2nd and 5th Ranger Battalions underwent a training period here of three and a half weeks, apparently slightly longer than was planned. Part of this was special purpose or rehearsal work. As the Assault Training Center is not involved in the higher levels of planning, it was necessary for the Rangers to tell us what they had to do and what was needed. All received the same individual training as the Regimental Combat Team's but their team, company, and battalion exercises were modified as required. Like the Airborne troops, the Rangers were full of enthusiasm and were very proficient with their weapons. They were not as methodical and serious as some other units we have had and there was a tendency to horseplay. Their attitude resulted in improvising and opportunism, but this is fitting for the type of unit and they were alert and keen”.

  Carl Weast provided a glimpse of an aside to all of the training that went on in a letter sent to Stephen E. Ambrose in 1989. Weast reported the Rangers loved to sing when training and marching. The songs sung were often deemed “too indecent for the puritanical ears of the American people.” One was a song named Lili Marlene and another that was a Ranger favorite was “Roll Me Over in the Clover.” Weast reported the men came up with around 47 verses for the tune, ranging from “mildly suggestive to downright pornographic.” He wrote one verse in his letter:

  Roll me over in the clover

  Roll me over, lay me down and do it again. Now this is number one

  And the fun has just begun

  Roll me over lay me down and do it again. Roll me over, Yankee soldier

  Roll me over, lay me down and do it again.13

  In a wonderful article by the BBC concerning the history of the USATC and that of Woolacombe and her residents the BBC wrote: “In May 1944 the Majority of the Americans disappeared overnight and Woolacombe knew the biggest secret of the time, that the invasion of Europe was imminent. Now all that could be done was to wait for news of the D-day landings and I am sure that many prayers went out to all those young men who had won the hearts of the women and children of Woolacombe. On June 6th 1944 the invasion was launched. Every body I have spoken to remembers the amazing sight of the vast convoys of ships passing through the Bay on D-day and the hundreds of Aircraft with the three white line invasion markings on the wings passing overhead. Over 3000 American troops gave their lives in the Omaha landings.”14 (author unknown)

  From what I could tell from the Company Morning Reports, the 5th Ranger Infantry Battalion was alerted for departure for the Fabius I exercise on April 6, 1944. They boarded trains on April 27th and headed for the Dorchester Marshalling Area D-5 that would be their home twice in the coming months. They arrived in Dorchester on the 27th.

  13 DORCHESTER AND EXERCISE FABIUS I

  Well before the 5th Ranger Infantry Battalion trained across England, military planners were beginning to lay down the assault plans that these men would find themselves a part of. As of April 27, 1944, the unit was attached to the V Corps, who were assigned to the First Army, who were assigned to the European Theater of Operations United States Army (EUTOSA). The operational command was the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) under the command of General Dwight D. Eisenhower. General Eisenhower liked the Rangers. He knew Colonel Rudder personally and by
spring 1944, Rudder was widely regarded as the number one Ranger in Europe.1 The Rangers involvement in the planning at the highest command levels dug deep into the highest level of Allied DDay planning. The codeword for the invasion to take place known as Operation Overlord was known as BIGOT. The acronym was a play on an existing acronym previously used in the Mediterranean. The term in relation to Operation Overlord stood for “British Invasion of German Occupied Territory”. The personnel cleared for information at this level were referred to as “Bigots”. This was a classification above Top Secret in terms of military classified intelligence information. The details of the invasion plan were so secret that the adherence to the list and rules governing those with knowledge of it were strictly enforced. Winston Churchill reportedly came up with the term BIGOT. It is known that Rudder, Sullivan and Schneider were Bigots. Lieutenant Colonel Rudder received a full Operation Overlord briefing on Good Friday, April 7 in London. He reported to the Saint Paul’s School for a briefing of senior commanders as given by Prime Minister Winston Churchill, General Eisenhower, General Alan Brooke, General Bradley and General Montgomery and other British top brass. The naval landing component of the invasion on Omaha Beach fell under the provision of Operation Neptune, while the ground forces part of the operation fell under Operation Overlord. Many books have been written about D-Day planning. For purposes of this work, it is important to know and understand the importance that the Allied Supreme Command placed on the Rangers mission of taking Pointe du Hoc out of action. The student of Omaha Beach should understand the importance of that place in the overall scheme of the D-Day invasion. The Rangers training in the winter and spring of 1944 was very methodically and purposefully designed by their commanders to equip and enable these men to accomplish a mission that many said was impossible.

  The build-up leading to D-Day in the United Kingdom was a monumental task in and of itself. The detailed planning for invasion required the movements of entire armies and other forces to be at the right place and time to participate in the invasion. The Allied forces conducted the training exercises to work out unanticipated problems and to get the units ready. Supply and equipment shortages at the unit level were addressed. The Allied military had set up a very sophisticated series of ports, marshalling areas and other infrastructure in order to mount the D-Day invasion. The military prepared the coastal areas of the United Kingdom to serve as staging areas. Units had to be brought to England, and then moved within the United Kingdom to their embarkation points. This all had to be done in a secretive manner. The preparation activities to ready the units were referred to as mounting. Mounting was the first stage in the execution of the invasion.

  Operation OVERLORD required meticulous planning to be properly staged as it was extremely complex. In terms of U.S. forces alone, 130,000 men would participate in the assault. A total of 1,200,000 men would cross the Channel in the first ninety days of the invasion. The planners were well aware of the complexities facing them as they readied the Allied forces for invasion. They held the first large scale exercise code-named HARLEQUIN in September 1943. It was this exercise that allowed them to settle on process and procedures for future exercises and the invasion itself. They developed the concept of mounting as a series of three individual steps including: 1) assembly or concentration, 2) marshaling, and 3) embarkation.

  The troops would first begin the process by moving from their home station to the concentration area. This step involved reassembling the troops into their battalions, regiments and divisions. Some units had been separated in the United Kingdom due to billeting restrictions, or training needs. The units were checked over for equipment and supplies. If units were stationed within fifty to seventy-five miles from the embarkation area, this step was relatively simple. The alert for departure that the Rangers received while at the USATC for FABIUS was proof of this part of mounting as it related to them. Lieutenant Colonel Rudder planned for the Rangers to be formed into a Provisional Ranger Group while the men were at the USATC, and began to appoint officers to the task as a secondary duty.

  Upon arriving at the concentration area, the units would waterproof their equipment for the invasion. This entailed ensuring moving parts were well greased, protecting sensitive electronics and putting kits on for exhaust to allow the vehicles to operate in a beach environment. The units gathered all the supplies they would need and packed their equipment. All non-essential equipment and personal gear was stowed away to be delivered to the units at a future point after the assault was successful.

  After arriving at the concentration areas, the units were moved to pre-assigned marshalling areas. It was upon arrival at the marshalling areas the men were briefed on the D-Day operation and they were provided maps outlining their mission. The Rangers made two trips to their marshalling area. The first trip was in preparation for Exercise FABIUS. Their second trip was in preparation for OVERLORD. Once the OVERLORD briefing occurred for any unit, the men and their units were considered Bigots and restrictions were placed on their movements and communications. They were assigned their prescribed amount of rations, lifebelts and other necessities. It was at the marshalling areas the men readied their personal equipment and waterproofed it. The units were relieved of administrative responsibility at the marshalling areas, and even food was provided by the camps where they were located. The final step in mounting was for the units to move forward when called to the embarkation points and load aboard their assigned craft, or vessel.

  The Allied preparation for the mounting for the invasion commenced in September 1943 after Exercise HARLEQUIN was completed. The U.S. forces were assigned areas in southern England west of Poole. The Americans and British shared facilities from Poole east to Southampton. The Southern Base Section incorporated most of the units formed in these areas of England as attached to Force “O”. Force O would be the force to assault Omaha Beach. This included almost the entire staging area. The Western Base Section included the majority of the airborne elements and the forces destined for Utah Beach. The responsibility of mounting was further delegated by the base sections onto various districts. It was the districts that became the primary administrative agencies in a given location.

  The Southern Base Section quartered eight U.S. Divisions by January 1944. By June there were fourteen divisions there. The total troop population maxed out at 720,000 men. It was acknowledged that the mounting of all the seaborne assault forces was a tremendous task just by itself. After training at an exercise like TIGER or FABIUS, the units would return to their marshalling area and await final embarkation for the assault. “The Southern Base Section had been divided into four districts, numbered XVI, XVII; XVIII, and XIX. The entire coastal zone from Southampton westward was divided between the latter two, however, and those two districts were responsible for the mounting of all assault elements except the airborne troops. XVIII District (Col. Paschal N. Strong), to the east, was to handle Force O, the OMAHA Beach task force, and XIX District (Col. Theodore Wyman, Jr.) to the west, was to handle Force U, the UTAH Beach force.”2

  Along the south coast of England, the Southern Base Section Zone extended from Portsmouth to the west. This was subdivided into nine marshalling and embarkation areas. Four of these were in the XVIII District and five of them were in the XIX District. The British operated one of these marshalling and embarkation areas in the Portsmouth region. Around Southampton, the British and Americans shared two marshalling and embarkation areas. There was also a split area in the vicinity of Weymouth. All of the areas in the XIX District were operated by the Americans. The Rangers were assigned to the XVIII District. The nine marshalling and embarkation areas in the XVIII District were lettered A to D. There were a total of ninety-five marshalling camps with a total capacity of 187,000 troops and 28,000 of their vehicles. The outloading capacity of the adjoining embarkation areas and port facilities helped to determine the size and number of camps in the vicinity of the embarkation facility. There were nineteen embarkation areas. In addition to orga
nizing the assault forces, massive supply depots, fuel and ammunition dumps were established to ensure that after D-Day the Allies enjoyed a clear material advantage during their battle with the Germans in Normandy. The organization of these facilities was also correlative to the units stationed there and how they would be employed on D-Day.

  For the purpose of efficiently moving manpower and equipment the Buildup Control Organization (BUCO), consisting of British and American ground, naval, and air representatives, was established at Fort Southwick, near Portsmouth. The BUCO was not an agency of the Supreme Commander. It was under the joint direction of the Allied Army, Naval, and Air Commanders-in-Chief Maj. Gen Charles S. Napier, Director of Movements in the War Office and later Chief of Movements and Transportation. The BUCO was operated directly under the tactical commands immediately responsible for troop build-up.

  British zone staffs. The U.S. Zone Staff consisted of a chairman (Col. Eli Stevens), representatives of the major U.S. commands involved in the build-up, and an advisory representative of the War Shipping Administration. In practice, the U.S. Zone Staff functioned directly under the senior American tactical commander on the far shore (the Commanding General, First Army, until 1 August and the Commanding General, 12th Army Group, thereafter). Supervision by the representatives of the joint commanders in chief was limited mainly to decisions affecting the allocation of shipping between U.S. and British forces. Two sub-command of BUCO were the Movement Control (MOVCO) and Turn-Round Control (TURCO). “MOVCO in turn was enabled to prepare a periodic "force loading forecast," projected ten days in advance, and finally a daily "force movement table." It issued force loading forecasts for each embarkation area, indicating the allocation of craft and shipping to units, the approximate time of arrival of units in marshaling areas, and their loading times, thus giving the base sections and embarkation areas an indication of movements that could be expected. The final movement schedule took the form of a daily movement table issued by U.S. MOVCO to Headquarters, Southern Base Section, the marshaling areas, and the embarkation areas covering a twenty-four-hour period of flow”.2 The daily tables produced by MOVCO enabled development of road and rail movement tables for the movement of units forward into the marshaling areas. The Southern Base Section established a command known as Embarkation Control, or EMBARCO to maintain records of movements of men and material. A joke of the day was that it ‘is a wonder that Britain hasn't sunk under the weight of the tanks and guns’ stockpiled for the invasion.