by Mehlo, Noel
Figure 319: A P-47 and a high-speed M2 Kletrak tractor at the Poleva Airfield in Northern France. (Mercury Marten, Pintrest) When the fighter bombers first attacked at 1425 hours, their first bombardment missed the target by some 400 yards. Lt. Gombosi moved 2nd Platoon south in the ravine within the bomb-line established the previous day and positioned his men just out of view of the Germans on the northern perimeter of the fort in the same exact area S/Sgt Hull had been wounded the previous day. The P-47s made a second strike that missed. The Rangers called off their ground assault for a second time. There was no shortage of armaments and bombs for the Air Corps, unlike the artillery ammunition supply. The commanders worked with their supporting artillery asset, the 111th Field Artillery Battalion, to mark the target with purple smoke rounds. At this time, 2nd Platoon was in position for their assault at MGRS 842963. The smoke rounds were duds, so they called in white phosphorous (WP) rounds. WP rounds produce a thick white smoke. With the WP rounds a success, the Air Corp attacked and struck 16 direct bomb hits on target. Lt. Pepper and 1st Platoon began the assault immediately south down Route de Toulbroc’h as the bombs went off.
Figure 320: P-47 Thunderbolt night-firing machine guns (USAF) “Air has been a critical factor in the progress of the attack on Brest. Air has been able to effectively attack targets beyond the range of observation and has been particularly valuable in silencing enemy artillery. The plan of keeping planes on air alert was exceedingly effective and resulted in exceptionally swift and effective air operations.” “It was possible to utilize close coordination in the same manner that we use direct artillery. The Infantry soldier could take cover very close to the target during bombardment and advance on the target immediately after bombardment. An instance of this was the attack of a Ranger Battalion on Fort Toulbroc’h on September 3. In this action the planes were in the air at the time of the ground attack and were ordered to attack the fort immediately. As the last bomb struck, the leading elements of the Ranger Battalion closed in and captured the fort before the defenders had an opportunity to organize further resistance. It as reported that the leading elements of the battalion reached the fort six minutes after the last bomb was dropped… Time after time during the assault on Brest Ninth Air Force fighterbombers attacked particular targets. On September 3…eight Thunderbolts strafed an enemy position from 150 to 200 yards in front of two companies of infantry. The position was taken.”20
The P-47s circled overhead, they swooped down over and over and strafed the fort. 2nd Platoon was a mere 100 yards from the fort as of the second strafing run. Figure 321 illustrates the damage visible to the fort in a 1947 photo. Lt. Gombosi and his 2nd Platoon, with 1st Platoon right on their heals rushed into the smoke and dust caused by the impacting machine gun rounds less than twenty yards from the ricocheting bullets. The Rangers swept over the fort, and in six minutes, these 60 Rangers managed to capture 242 enlisted personnel and five officers as prisoners. They reported the fort captured at 1441 hours. Fort de Toulbroc’h was a mammoth complex and it took elements of D Company and F Company a full hour to check all of the remaining fortifications and buildings and mop up the entire German position. Immediately after this action, Companies B and D wheeled to the east and took positions overlooking the deep draw along the 854 grid line, which is the draw leading down to Fort du Minou, their next objective. The Battalion suffered 14 casualties for the day. They had killed 105 enemy personnel and had managed to capture 333. The commander of the garrison, Italian Ensign Sovelli was among the dead in the fort. Lt. Pepper, the B Company Commander was invited to dinner with the Commanding General of the 29th Infantry Division where he was awarded the Silver Star for his actions that day.
Figure 321: Aerial view of the heavy battery Toulbroc'h II, No. 93, Pinczon report Sel.Book IV, circa 1947, Service Historique de la Marine, Brest, French Ministry of DefenseAerial photo showing southern portion of the fort just after the war. (patrimoine.region-bretagne.fr) On September 3, Randall Ching reported that Sgt Pete Cardinali was hit in the helmet by German fire and the bullet grazed his forehead. This head wound resulted in massive bleeding, as often accompanies a head wound due to the thin skin and many near surface blood vessels. Ching said “he was bleeding like a stuffed pig.” The men conducted first aid on Cardinali, bandaging his face with some of the bandages going around his chin to the top of his head. Several bandages were flowing all over the place, hanging free. There was dried blood on his face. Randall looked at his friend, and said, “Hey Pete, you won’t have to shoot these bastards. One look at you, and you’ll scare the hell out of em.” He said Cardinali would scare them to death because he looked like a mummy from a monster movie. In reviewing the B Company records, it is possible, that Cardinali sustained this head wound reported at 2007 hours on September 2, with the account above occurring on September 3. The Morning Report shows him wounded on September 3, while the Battalion Journal lists a Ranger with a head wound in B Company 2nd Platoon at the time previously mentioned. Perhaps the “mummy” played a part in the quick surrender of the German defenders on September 3. I state this as a bit of humor, having been fed the joke by Randall Ching.
Regarding the September 3 assault on the fort, Ching told me, “And finally, we overrun the fort, we had about a twenty minute battle in the fort itself. Some of the Germans already got out of the trenches when they bombed the fort. The P-47 strafed the fort, six machine guns in each plane, and four planes. And finally when it was over, we got to the top of the fort, we got rid of those Germans in the trenches. We took them all out. And then some machine gunner, an automatic rifleman, aimed at the entrance to the dugout, tell the defending Germans to come out. So finally, they surrender. There were 300 Germans in there. And just think… we tried to take it with eleven men! That was kind of stupid!” He went on to say that all of the prisoners taken at the fort were sent to the rear to the POW camp.
PFC Randall Ching was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for his actions at the Battle for Brest. The ferocity of the fighting is summed up in the citation for this medal for him and those other members of the unit. He is too humble a man to discuss this openly. He told his daughter essentially that the taking of a life is serious business, and not to be taken lightly. I agree. His citation reads:
Headquarters XX Corps
29 August 1945
General Orders Number 151 Section I – Award of the Bronze Star Medal
Private First Class Randall Ching, Infantry, 5th Ranger Infantry Battalion, for heroic achievement in connection with military operations against the enemy in France on 2 September 1944. As a member of a reconnaissance patrol, Private First Class Ching assured the success of its mission by knifing all the occupants if a fortified position. Later that night when an enemy patrol got to his rear and was crawling toward his outpost, he waited and at the proper time, used his knife again to eliminate this patrol. His actions reflect great credit upon himself and the Army. Entered Military Service from California.
As previously noted, PFC Ching never saw his friend Herb Hull again. When Ching got back to the company in the overnight hours between the 2nd and 3rd of September, Sgt Hull was already evacuated to the hospital in the rear. He received a letter from Carl Weast after the war recounting a visit between Weast, Hull and Stuyvesant. The last time he heard of his friend was in 1960 when he received a phone call from William Campbell (B Company, 2nd Platoon) where Campbell told Ching of Herbert’s death. During our interviews, Randall recounted an important piece of information concerning how S/Sgt Hull became a Lost Ranger. He said “Now you know, all through the campaigns of the war, we got casualties, so before that time, the early campaigns, the ones that got killed or wounded, we forget. We remembered the recent ones that got killed.” Randall stated in a different part of his interview, “The Brest campaign took us about 20 days, fighting to capture Brest. And got pulled back again for more replacements, more training.” I had suspected that the process of men being wounded and replaced at a heavy rate led to my Grandpa becom
ing lost to the unit from the early stages of my research, and this wonderful and unassumingly humble man, a personal friend of my Grandpa confirmed it. Randall and his family have helped find this lost Ranger. His family even took time on Thanksgiving Day 2013 to conduct interviews, showing how much Randall values his friend. I will forever be grateful for Randall and his daughter, and the friendship we have struck.
2 SEP 1525 B
CO 2nd PLT In
position
2 SEP B Co, 2nd PLT,
fallback position after 2 SEP 1810 B 1810 resistance
Co 2nd PLT ran 842956 into enemy
2 SEP 1650 B
CO 2nd PLT (1st Section)
position
841952
Figure 322: Composite map over aerial photo of Fort de Toulbroc’h with attention paid to certain Ranger positions and actions on September 2, 1944. The orange oval denotes the area where the landmine was tripped wounding S/Sgt Hull as reported by Randall Ching. (Image courtesy of Geoportail, France)(Overlay from L’enfer De Brest)
The map in Figure 322 denotes the movements of the 5th Ranger Infantry Battalion, Bo Company, 2nd Platoon as they moved into position on September 2, 1944. Figure 323 illustrates the overall Battle for Fort de Toulbroc’h prepared after the engagement by the 29th Infantry Division as part of their After Action Report.
Figure 323: After Action Map prepared by 29th Infantry Division of Ranger Action on September 2-3, 1944 As the Rangers surrounded their next objective, a man named Lemcke, who commands the 262nd Artillery Group from the coastal position at Minou, began destroying the archives of the post having just witnessed the utter victory fought and won by the Rangers at Fort de Toulbroc’h.9 I have no doubt in my mind that he reported what he clearly witnessed that day back up the chain of command.
At the time of my grandpa’s injury, the Americans had yet to win the Battle for Brest. Near the conclusion of the engagement, General Middleton implored General Ramcke to surrender. Here was the exchange. The Germans held out for six more days.
HEADQUARTERS VIII CORPS
UNITED STATES ARMY
Major General Ramcke,
Commanding General Forces at Brest and on Crozon Peninsula 12 Sept 44
Sir: There comes a time in war when the situation reaches a point where a commander is no longer justified in expending the lives and destroying the health of the men who have bravely carried out his orders in combat. I have discussed with your officers and men, who have served you well and are now prisoners of war, the situation confronting the German garrison at Brest. These men are of the belief that the situation is hopeless and that there is nothing to be gained by prolonging the struggle. I therefore feel that the German garrison at Brest and on the Crozon peninsula no longer has a justifiable reason for continuing to fight.
In consideration of the preceding I am calling upon you, as one professional soldier to another, to cease the struggle now in progress. In accepting the surrender of Brest, I desire that your men lay down their arms and be assembled in proper military formation. For you and such members of your staff as you may designate, proper transportation will call at such place as you may select.
I trust that you as a professional soldier who has served well and who has already fulfilled his obligation, will give this request your favorable consideration. TROY H. MIDDLETON Major General, U. S. Army Commanding
General Middleton received the following answer: Commandant Fortress Brest
Brest 13 Sept 1944
TO: Commanding General, VIII U.S. Army Corps Major General Troy H. Middleton
General:
I must decline your proposal. RAMCKE
Major General and Commandant Fortress Brest
The 29th Infantry fought and fought until they reached the Penfield River within the city walls on September 16. By this point much of the German resistance was crumbing. The remaining German paratroopers shot any German forces that appeared to shirk their duty. The forces at Fort Du Portzic were obstinate and resisted through the day until the 5th Rangers convinced them otherwise. Ramcke fought on to the bitter end, throwing every available soldier, sailor, marine and airman into the battle. The enemy fiercely contested every inch of Brest as it slowly and inevitably fell. They placed machine gunners and snipers in every building they could. The massive rubble provided great cover for defenders. At the same time, it was a nightmare for attackers. The Germans used their tested tactics regarding strong fields of supporting fire to make the American Infantryman pay in blood for his advance.
The battle would wage on through September 18, when the German defenders finally surrendered Brest to the 29th Infantry Division. In that time, the 5th Ranger Infantry Battalion would assault and capture four additional forts along the coast. These remaining fortifications assaulted by the 5th Rangers between September 4 and 18th included the Fort at Pointe du Petit Minou, Fort de Mengant, Fort de Dellac and Fort de Portzic. U.S. Brigadier General Charles Canham arrived to accept General Ramcke’s surrender. General Canham had been the Colonel on D-Day who had “impressed” S/Sgt Hull’s Platoon to act as security south of Vierville for the 116th Infantry Regiment. He had risen in rank to be the deputy commander of the U.S. 8th Infantry Division by the Battle for Brest. When he asked for the German surrender, Ramcke asked the lower-ranking man to show his credentials. Canham pointed to his nearby infantry troops and said "These are my credentials". The phrase has since become the 8th Infantry Division’s motto.21 That Canham said this to his adversary was a stark testament to the grit of the American Infantryman, and an honor to them.
The defense of Brest must have been a discouraging assignment for the soldiers, sailors, and marines of the German garrison. The most they could hope for was a long-drawn-out battle that would have denied the Americans a more profitable use of the divisions which were besieging the city. "Death or the prison ship!" was the way one unidentified German marine summed up the hopeless situation in his personal diary, which eventually found its way to the 29th Division's G-2 section. This diary, which reflects the conviction of eventual German defeat, was apparently meant to record all the days of the Brest campaign. Its first entry was August 25, the day the attack began, and the last entry September 12, a week before the fall of the city.15 The German measure of heroism can be measured by the award of the German Knights Cross Medal, which is roughly equivalent to our Congressional Medal of Honor. The Germans awarded seven of these prestigious decorations to its military forces as a result of the battle. General Ramcke would receive highest honors from the Führer as he was led away to captivity. He was a good military commander and leader to his men. Once taken prisoner, his main concern was for the welfare of his men also taken prisoner. He was often called “Papa” by his subordinates in respect of his leadership.
To define the butcher’s bill as it were of the battle, one only need look at the totals of the rounds expended by the 29th Infantry Division alone. During the twenty-eight day siege of Brest, they fired 1,758,000 rounds of small arms ammunition and 218,000 rounds of larger caliber ammunition. The Allies flew ninety-seven air sorties involving 705 aircraft. The fighter-bombers alone dropped 360 tones of ordinance on target and strafed enemy ground positions for ninety-four of these missions. The twenty days of fighting during the Brest campaign resulted in casualties in B Company, 2nd Platoon of over 70 percent of personnel strength. Ching seemed to recall that Peter Cardinali took over Hull’s short-tenured position as Platoon Sergeant after he was injured, but was not 100 percent sure about that. Pete as he called him was a curly-haired Italian with red cheeks from Hoboken, New Jersey who liked spaghetti. He said that Carl Weast would rise in rank and be the last Platoon Sergeant by war’s end. He indicated that there were four men to hold the position through the war. “As the enemy fell back slowly, trying to hold his fortified positions along the coast, the Rangers pushed their attack eastward toward Recouvrance. Fort de Mengant and Fort de Dellec subsequently fell to the Rangers. Each time they used the same pattern as they ha
d at Toulbroch, a rapid follow-up of artillery and air before the enemy could recover from the pounding. The aggressiveness and efficiency of B and D Ranger Companies at this and other coastal forts was later to be officially recognized by the War Department in an award of the Distinguished Unit Citation.”15 The 5th Ranger Infantry Battalion would become known as the “Fort Busters.”
Joseph Balkoski wrote in From Beachhead to Brittany, “The GIs who would survive the Brest campaign, however, could never forget that campaign because it was among the toughest fighting the 29th Division was subjected to throughout World War II.” This assessment also held true for the men of the 2nd and 5th Ranger Infantry Battalions. Randall Ching summed up the battle by saying, “That’s Brest. After that… lot’s… we got casualties again, so, we got pulled off the line, got replacements, retrained, and we went on for another campaign.” This stated almost as if it was just another day at the office. The story of the 5th Ranger Infantry Battalion would go on, but without yet another of their own family.
20 EVACUATION AND LOSS
This chapter will focus on his treatment and recovery. It will also discuss how he was found in the official record. This enabled finding him as a Ranger, because the best early leads regarding his official records were his medical records. S/Sgt Hull was listed in a record called the B Company Daily Sick Report for September 2 as being wounded in the line of duty, and as being transferred as indicated by the code, TRFD. This record is available at NARA, St. Louis, in the microfilm research room. It is found in World War 2 Records, Sick Books Army, 5 RN BN, 2128, 04296 (Figure 324).