With an officer of 272 VGD

[Hagen]

Gunter Schmidt was an officer of the 272nd Volksgrenadier Division who fought in the Hurtgen and Westwall battles during 1944/45.

The 272 Volksgrenadier Division In Action In The Eifel

1944/45

By Gunther Schmidt



On September 11, 1944, I arrived as the pre*command with the train at Dallgow, and reported at the major's office, where a Haupfeldwebel was already Ieading the newcomers to the barracks of their companies. I received beautiful private quarters at the family Wegener at Dallgow. I already received a message that I was going home for two weeks, like all the others of our Division who came back from the front at Normandy. I was the only officer left from our 2nd Battalion 982, together with a few men.

When I came back after my nice holiday, I lived in the Wegener quarters. They were very kind to me. Mr. Wegener was the county constable of the village and sometimes he went hunting. From time to time they in*vited me for dinner when he caught a rabbit or a duck.

Our new Battalion commander, Hauptmann Schnei*der and his adjutant, Lieutenant Peters were very busy with the set up. Several officers of our battalion were new and unknown to me. Every day some more new*comers came; many in Gray/Green Marine uniforms, or in Blue/Gray Luftwaffen uniforms. Most of them had only a short insufficient training. That's why the companies were mostly outside in the field and at the training range, to teach the men how to be infantrymen.

I was always on the move on a bicycle, having to visit shooting ranges at the training field and having to make suggestions. These were coordinated at the Battalion and passed on as orders to the companies. I was al*ways on the move on my bicycle to check the area for our planned training.

On a beautiful sunny day I saw a daylight attack of one thousand enemy bombers at the nearby "Siemens*city" at Berlin. Soon the sky got dark with black smoke and the sun couldn't be seen anymore. At the end of this there was a fire training of all the heavy infantry weap*ons, mortars and infantry guns at the firing range. It was very impressive to see how tremendous such a concen*trated use of the guns must be to an attacking enemy.

During the fighting in Eifel we always used it like this and the enemy suffered many losses because of it.In the last weekend there was a twenty-four hour regiment training, that reached to the Wannsee (Wann Lake). I received a horse and was always in the fields. It was pretty interesting to train to work together in such a big group.

The training of the troops couldn't take that long any*more. The moment that we were going up front was coming closer. The troops consisted of about twenty percent skilled infantrymen and the rest were former Marine, or Luftwaffen members. Officers and Non* Com's were mostly from the Infantry and you could eas*ily recognize their experience from their medals. On October 30, the Battalion got on the train and in the dark we left the railroad station at Dallgow. We rode from Magdeburg and Paderbom in a westerly direction.

At Cologne-Muhlheim there was an air-raid warning. The train stopped between houses, no one was allowed to get out of the train. It was a strange feeling when the FLAK started to shoot and some bombs fell in the dis*tance.

In the early moming, the train stopped before it en*tered the Duren railroad station. From time to time heavy enemy artillery fired at the railroad tracks. Every few minutes an enemy "greeting" came rushing in, but it didn't cause that much damage. It took about an hour before we finally got on to Vettweiss.

There our train was unloaded under the protection of light-Flak. Shortly thereafter enemy planes appeared and they threatened the whole area. Our companies were marching in a long stretched column in the direction of Nideggen while using every cover that we could find.

In the distance we could hear the rumbling of the front very clear. After marching for a while, we recognized the explosion of every single shell. No one knew what was going to come the next day, and the men were in a de*pressed and quiet mood.

Once in a while we meet civilians with all their belong*ings, some with horse-drawn carts, hand carts and even with baby carriages or bags and backpacks for their most important things only. Their faces expressed what they had to live through, having to leave their home and belongings.

The "front-thunder" was coming closer, we could hear the bursting menace of the exploding shells. Our tension grew when the front came closer.

I marched with our Commander Hauptmann Schnei*der at the lead of the battalion. At the crossroads at Bruck I stopped a truck to ask for the road to Harscheidt. I/v'hen the truck drove on, I saw what it had loaded. The legs and boots of about twenty dead soldiers could be seen under the canvas. Some officer’s boots were among them also. We shivered thinking about the reality.

After we walked the road uphill, we finally reached hill 366 at the woodsline of Harscheidt. The lead of the col*umn waved for the rest of the men. Rest! The impact of the enemy artillery was very close; they were coming from the direction of Bergstein where the truck had come from.

Hauptmann Schneider ordered me to the Regimental command post which was on the edge of the village of Schmidt at the road to Heimbach to return with further orders and a runner. It was already dark. We barely reached the first houses of the village and were standing between some horse carts when the first shells came in and exploded very close. We quickly jumped into the ditch for cover.

There was a lot of confusion in the street, horses reared, we heard screams from the men that were hit. Before we could think about what to do, the next round was falling into the moving column. I decided to go around the village on the left side through the fields, which wasn't difficult because of the clear night. Soon we reached the hunting lodge while Schmidt was still under heavy artillery fire. We quickly got back to where we came from with the orders for the release while shells were coming in only a few hundred yards away at the village of Schmidt.

Our battalion moved through Schmidt and into the defenses around Rollesbroich. I talked with the Com*mander and suggested that only the vehicles and carts should go through Schmidt because of the artillery that was coming in on the village. The men shouldn't go through.

We started marching in a long stretched column and went around the village. After crossing two valleys we safely reached the road at Gerstenhof. We rested for a short while and marched along in the direction of Strauch. At the woodsline on the right side we were to meet some runners at a pillbox who would lead us to their line of defense, but we couldn't find these men.

Finally our Hauptmann ordered us into a firebreak to the right and we kept walking downhill. I had a bad feel*ing about this. I thought something stinks. That's why I suggested we walk back to the main road. If we would have followed this firebreak, we would have walked right into Simonskall.

The next day the Americans started their attack from the Kall Valley to Kommerscheid and Schmidt. After another search along the road to Strauch we finally round the spot where we were to meet the runners.

In the meantime our vehicles had crossed the village of Schmidt. They had some wounded. The pillbox 139/40, which was located a few hundred meters inside the forest was our Battalion command post and the other half of it was a first-aid post. We were glad that we finally found it.

A Sergeant of the unit that we were to replace called my name. In September we put up an Alarm Company together at Venlo in Holland. This was just a small experience but it helped to make me familiar with the new circumstances.

The burning logs in the mall stove gave a comfortable heat. Our predecessors informed us about our new tasks. They showed us on the maps where several companies were, the heavy weapons and the communi*cations. Communication wire was partly dug in and the rest was lying on the open ground. The other. half of our double pillbox was used as a first-aid post. Inside was the assistant doctor, Dr. Egel. It was still night when our companies were brought into their new defenses.

The old troops were released and they were gone when daylight came. Our communications unit was not far away from us at pillbox 142. It was coming and going at our command post. The telephone kept ringing and the runners were coming in from all directions while oth*ers were going again.

At daybreak we could see the steeple of the Lammersdorf church. The Americans had a observer posi*tioned there and every imprudent movement at our woodsline resulted in a few incoming rounds.

Today is the 2nd of November. The weather was wet and foggy, temperature around 32 degrees. It was pretty miserable outside. Parts of the 983 Infantry Regi*ment on our right side were involved in a heavy fight to defend the Forestry Raffelsbrand with the pillboxes 372, 372a, 362, 363 and 22. We could easily hear the fighting in that area.

During the next days there was a hard and tangled fight for Vossenack. The Americans pushed through the Kall Valley to Kommerscheid and Schmidt. At first we didn't know what was going on.

On the morning of November 2nd we sent four runners with bicycles by way of Schmidt to our supply unit at Heimbach to lead the carts with supplies and provisions to our new defensive positions. We waited in vain until the next morning for the return of our runners and our supplies.

During the next day we were informed by the unit on our left side that the Americans had taken Schmidt and about the hard fighting behind our backs.

The supplies still didn't come on the second night. After a few days we were officially informed by the Regiment about what happened behind our backs at Kommerscheid and Schmidt. They found the bicycles of our runners east of Gerstenhof, but the men couldn't be found. When I look back, I must say that it was unjustifi*able of the Regiment not to inform us about the happen*ings at Konnerscheid and Schmidt.

We should have protected the backside of the road to Gerstenhof at once. If the Americans were a bit faster, they could have pushed through the front to Simmerath without meeting any resistance.

The Kall Valley south of Raffelsbrand was under heavy mortar fire day after day. The unit on our right side told us that there was tremendous losses. In the meantime our companies became familiar with the half finished defense positions. Our heavy infantry weapons, mortars, infantry guns as well as our artillery had ranged in their guns in certain areas. When enemy attack took place, our battalion gave messages to the fire command and a little later our shells were on their way to the Americans.

We didn't have much rest at night either. Engineers were working at the defenses. Barbed wire and mines were brought at night. A whole battalion of Russian vol*unteers were digging trenches every night.

During daylight, the Americans at the Lammersdorf church steeple could see every little move that we made. Our area looked as follows: 5th Company at the road Schmidt-Simmerath, west edge of Rollesbroich, 6th and 7th Company at the southem height of the Kall Valley dam till the road Whs. Kallbruck. The 8th company with heavy machine guns and mortars were west of the Tiefen Creek.

Our working on our defenses was quickly recognized by the enemy. Their nightly artillery fire at our lines was getting stronger and stronger.

One day the Russians mutinied and didn't go out front to dig trenches because of the high losses on dead and wounded.These dead were buried in a small cemetery at the woodsline south of the road Schmidt/Strauch.

Within a few days the enemy attacked at the east bank of the Kall Valley dam. North of Rollesbroich and at the dam itself the Americans succeeded to take the east bank of the Kall Valley dam. At late afternoon the enemy forces were pushed back again by our counterattack. We didn't have too many losses. The Americans probably didn't expect a counterattack and they fled back.

The next day our battalion Commander Hauptmann Schneider and myself visited the defenses of the 8th Company at the Tiefen Creek Valley, pillbox 510, our front-line at Rollesbroich and the retaken east bank of the Kall Valley dam. Everywhere we found a lot of equipment that the Americans left - weatherproof sleeping bags, little tents, cans with rations, little cookers, coffee, tea and cigarettes. They were probably digging in and preparing for the night when our counterattack took place.

Our own losses in the first two weeks were about 15%, mostly by artillery fire. Our first aid post in the pill*box beside us was a great help during those days. From there the wounded were transported by first-aid trucks by way of Schmidt and Meimbach to the first-aid center at Mariawald.

On the 15th of November our battalion was shifted to the right. The 7 Company stayed in their old defense at the east bank of the Kall Valley dam in the area of the dam itself. The 5 Company at Whs. Kallbruck (the Pub), pillboxes 111, 112, 113 and 115. 6 Company - pillboxes P2, 22, IG3, 372 and 372a. From this area there was no connection to other units until the clearing of pillbox 372 at the end of January 1945. Unit 8910,that was to be released, had tremendous fighting in this area since No*vember 2 and was seriously weakened because of heavy losses.

We were just getting used to our new defenses when on November 16 the enemy attacked pillbox 111 and held it for a short period. Oberleutnant von Ruden, who cleared the enemy at the Kall Valley dam was very fast on the spot and was able to retake pillbox 111 without too many losses after a counterattack.

Only a few Americans escaped. The rest were taken prisoner.

Although we had some snipers in the area, imprudent Americans kept crossing the firebreak in front of pillbox 22 day after day.

During clear nights, Hauptmann Schneider and myself often checked the defenses from pillbox 124, via 111

to 372a. This wasn't possible during daytime because of enemy observation. The pillboxes were connected with trenches. In front of the trenches there were mines and barbed wire. Between all this lay the rest of the com*pletely destroyed fir tree forest.

Inside the pillboxes the men could rest after their duty in the trenches outside, but most of all they were safe from the constant incoming shells. It really wasn't an easy task for an attacking force.

Our heavy infantry guns, mortars and artillery had zeroed in very well at areas directly in front of our de*fenses. Most of the pillboxes were connected by tele*phone with wires buried deeply in the ground. Wires in the open field were only laid in short lengths between the concrete wire connecting pits behind our front. Besides that, we had several field radios with the forward observ*ers.

In the next days the Americans attacked pillboxes P2, 22 and IG3. Most of the attacks ended in front of the barbed wire because many of their men were lost in the mine field and because of our soldiers defense aided with our heavy weapons.

The supply of the 5th and 6th Companies gave tre*mendous problems. The horse drawn carts with the supplies were coming from Heimbach by way of Schmidt to pillbox 124 alongside the road to Kallbruck. From there we had to carry all the supplies by hand to the front back again inside the old command post, pillbox 125. The release went without any problem.

Until the 10th of January it is real quiet at our sector. Only now and then the Americans fired into our posi*tions. We could almost believe that the war had ended.

The Ardennes offensive had insecured the enemy, which gave us a bit of relief. On a clear night I walked with Hauptmann Schneider and two runners to the de*fensive positions in front of pillboxes 111 to 372. We wished all the men a happy New Year and everyone received a small present - cigarettes, chocolate or al*cohol. That night there was hardly any firing. The look of the snow covered forested landscape could almost make you dream.

It took us till early morning before we were back at our command post pillbox 125, by way of the fire break at pillbox P3.

The quietness seemed to last too long and we started to worry about it. We could see that the enemy was or*ganizing large scale firing exercises behind their front at Roetgen. Every day we could see an increasing number of vehicles that were taking the road from Lammersdorf to Germeter. There were hundreds of them.

Our own artillery fire didn't trouble the enemy that much. During those quiet days we prepared our de*fenses some more. We checked a second defense line on the right side of the Kall River at Buhlert and with the support of an engineer and alarm company, we started to work. Besides that we were working on a plan to get the two foremost companies at Ochsenkopf (Oxhead) over the Kall River in case of a flood caused by a possi*ble blowing of the Kall Valley dam. Engineers stretched a cable from pillbox 122 to pillbox 121 and we placed two rubber boats at this spot.

The snow stays till the end of January. On January 10th it happens. The enemy attacks the whole sector of our 5th and 6th companies, but the attack is stopped in the minefields after the concentrated fire of all.

After about an hour the enemy concentrates the at*tack at pillbox 22. Our men keep fighting from inside the pillbox for half an hour. Till the very last moment we have the men inside the pillbox on the phone. Suddenly there is a crack in the line and it's over.

From there, the enemy moves to pillbox IG 3 and starts pressing on it from all sides. In about an hour this pillbox has the same fate as pillbox 22.

The enemy stopped its unsuccessful attack under heavy losses around noon at the sector of the 5th Com*pany. During the night our reserve company arrived to try to retake the old positions in the early daylight in an attack from pillbox P2 and 119. Twice these attacks were repelled under severe losses for our troops. In the meantime they pushed in another reserve unit who at*tacked a third time without the support of heavy weap*ons. As it was meant as a unexpected attack, it was a costly failure as well.

The next day the Americans attacked again and managed to take pillbox P2 pretty fast. Pillboxes 372 and 372a kept on fighting.

On the 12th of January another battalion arrived with about a hundred men. Their winter clothing is not suffi*cient enough. We placed our battalion command post inside pillbox 119 where I stayed with our commander. At 9 am our heavy weapons started firing. After a successful beginning our attack broke down in the heavy enemy fire. In some places the enemy pushed us back to our line of departure.

We had severe losses. Our men were lying in the snow in the open. Without foxholes to hide, they were exposed to the strong enemy mortar fire.

Our losses are tremendous. After a short while our command pillbox 119 changed into a first aid post. Se*verely wounded were carried inside - the wailing and groaning - medics tried to dress the wounds.

Severely wounded soldiers were dying. They were carried outside and new ones were brought in. At noon there were about fifteen dead piles up at the hollow road in front of the entrance. Other wounded were trying to help each other while they were going downhill into the Kall Valley.

It was late afternoon before the severely wounded could be transported down into the valley. The badly mauled and beaten stayed in their defensive positions. I stayed with a few men inside pillbox 119 until morning.

The work on our defensive positions went on night after night. Engineers brought up our weapons.

A few days later the enemy unexpectedly started its attack at pillbox 115. They succeeded to blow the pillbox with a special charge, but they didn't destroy it completely. A reserve force is sent up front to retake the pill*box which is now manned by the Americans. The attack is a failure despite the support of our heavy weapons. We lost a lot of men.

We received another order from our regiment at noon. Pillbox 115 is to be attacked again the next day and to be retaken.

Our Hauptmann Schneider tells the commander of the regiment Kdr. Rosener that another attack on pillbox 115 wouldn't make any sense and is unjustifiable. Our men were lying in their foxholes in the snow between pillboxes 119 and 372 at Ochsenkopf (Oxhead). Our last men were lost at pillbox 115. The rising open ground wouldn't give a chance to be successful in another attack.

Hautmann Schneider asked the Regt. Com. to come over to have a look himself at this area. Finally the Divi*sional Commander, Gen. Konig came on the line and said that it was an order from the Fuhrer Headquarters to retake pillbox 115 and that this order must be obeyed, even if it seemed impossible.

Hauptmann Schneider said that he couldn't take the responsibility to waste his men for a useless attack, that we were already too weak for the defense. .

It was suggested not to start the attack. They would tell the Fuhrer Headquarters that the new attack had failed.

Our Regt. Commander said that he would come up front to see that the attack started as ordered. And that's how it went. He watched how not a single one of ten men came back and how they all got killed.

This was a big impact on our Hauptmann Schneider

The enemy tried to take pillbox 510 in front of Rolles*broich for several days. These attacks resulted in great losses for the enemy. Once the Americans asked for a

cease fire to get their wounded out and that's indeed what took place. Finally the Americans fired for several days with a big gun directly at pillbox 510. Some men inside were wounded from pieces of concrete that were falling off Another infantry attack was repelled again.

Since the 1Oth of January we had very little sleep. There was always something going on. We slept in turns. Mostly I slept between 6 and 9 am.

Enemy observation planes could easily make out the paths that we made through the snow between pillboxes and the defensive positions. The result was the enemy mortars fired at the entrances of the pillboxes continu*ously.

Since January the Americans were also shooting with White Phosphorus, but with no great effect because of the snow.

Enemy artillery increased from day to day along the whole front. On February 2nd we received orders that on February 3rd we were to clear several of our defensive positions. Our engineers were to blow or to mine the pillboxes.

We could get out without any problem or difficulty. The new sector went from the road Schmidt/Strauch *pillbox 190, along the line of pillboxes to pillbox 128/129 and from there on the right bank of the Tiefencreek to Kall Valley. The men dug in as good as possible. Some rested in the snow lying around.

The fighting at Raffelsbrand weakened the companies severely during the last few weeks. After heavy losses the strength of our battalion is about 20 to 25%.

The enemy artillery kept firing day and night along the whole front and only increased. Our new battalion command post is now inside pillbox 136.

On the night of February 5th at 3 o'clock we received orders to increase the battalion sector for another 800 meters to the left. This order widened the line even more and severely weakened our front. Some company run*ners were called immediately. A written order had to be made for every company.

It was pretty late to accomplish such a difficult change of front lines. It took till the early morning before all companies reached their new sectors. The consequence was that we did not even have enough men in our sector to man all the pillboxes. We repositioned our battalion command post in the early morning to pillbox 220/21 south of the road from Schmidt to Strauch. The first aid post stayed inside pillbox 139/40 and in the main line of defense.

We had hardly arrived at our new pillbox when we received the first shocking message. This first message was made by telephone and came from the RAD lager (the barracks) where our mortars and infantry guns were positioned. The enemy suddenly appeared there by the hundreds from the direction of Simonskall. There was some short fighting. It didn't take long. No more mes*sages from the RAD lager (the barracks). A bit later a message from our first aid post told us that the Americans had broken through the defense almost without any sound. We must give up!

Now the enemy came from the RAD lager and attacked along the road to Strauch without much resistance. Finally our communication pillbox 717a near the road was involved in the fight. I didn't take long until the Americans take this pillbox. We could talk to them on the telephone!



The enemy took the pillboxes along, and north of the road to Zaunchen at noon. In the aftemoon, the enemy pressed against the pillbox that is armed with a 75mm PAK (anti-tank gun) to the north of us. They pushed through the forest to the south and until they could open fire on the backside of the pillbox. This pillbox is manned only by an officer and three men.

They ordered me with three rnen to go and reinforce that pillbox. The firing compartment was pointing in the direction of the dragons teeth and Steckenbom. With binoculars we can see that a fight was going on in the village, but we couldn't discern friend or foe.

The dragons teeth to the road at Zaunchen was still free of the enemy.

The enemy fired at the backside of the pillbox from a distance of about 120 meters in the forest. From a fox*hole at the emergency exit the defenders fired back into the forest. Finally the gunner was killed by a shot in the head. In the meantime they were firing also at the big steel door on the backside.

Our way back over the open fields to our command post was cut off. We were trapped. We destroyed the breech of our gun - we couldn't blow the gun because we didn't have any explosives.

The hammering of the bullets on the steel back door became unbearable. We crawled out of the firing com*partment in the open and became prisoners. Two of our men were wounded by a shot in the arm when this oc*curred.

The rest of our battalion staff gave up their pillboxes at dawn and gathered in front of Gerstenhof.

The enemy attacked the next morning with tanks and infantry alongside the road. After a short fight these men surrendered to the enemy.

So the next day in a cellar of a house in Roetgen, I met our Commander Hauptmann Schneider, Adjutant Un. Peters, as well as Un. Mobus and Un. Matzkewitz from pillbox P3 again.

Our losses in the last few days were so tremendous that our battalion didn't exist anymore.

After this the regiment gathered all men that were left in a small group. The last of this group was destroyed later in the area around Leipzig.

That's how the costly fighting our battalion had found a tragic end.



Hameln February 2, 1996

Gunther Schmidt

[Tom Houlihan]

Sounds like you need to order a copy of Victory Was Beyond Their Grasp!!

[Doug Nash]

Guenther Schmidt is still alive, by the way. If you want to see his picture, it can be found in my new book "Victory Was Beyond Their Grasp: With the 272nd Volks-Grenadier Division from the Hürtgen Forest to the Heart of the Reich."
Also, I have a number of individual memoirs I used in putting the book together and can add some of those here.
Cheers,
Doug Nash

[Doug Nash]

Here's the account by Leutnant Johann Reinecke, who fought in the Battle of Kesternich from Dec. 13 - 18, 1944. He was a member of the 272nd Volks-Grenadier Division. (this is the abbreviated version of the letter he wrote to the people of Kesternich in 1957).

"On December 12th, 1944 a new Alarmeinheit (Alarm Unit) was instructed to take on the job of defending Kesternich. We marched with approximately 150 men from Strauch and Kesternich. It is already dark, when we found ourselves in the proximity of a farmstead on the Kesternich-Rurberg road. The road is under bombardment, and flares keep the area in local spots as bright as daylight. We make it to the battalion command post in a cellar near the eastern entrance into town (now Federal Highway 120). I am assigned the left side of main street and Second Lieutenant Schmidt takes the right side.

We advance loudly toward the forward position along main street. It is laborious to move forward over the bomb craters, and along the twisting paths through the piles of clay bricks from the fallen walls, shot-up trees, branches, and dead men! We are not sure if they are friend or enemy. And over the disorder, the parachute flares of the Americans throw their pale light on the ruins of the half houses; there are no more intact houses. In Kesternich, the fighting has been going on for weeks. We try not to notice the dreadful fire of the remote batteries of the enemy.

Several positions are hit by incoming fire from the east. In front of us the incessant flashing of the distant guns and on the right and left the resulting explosions. The sounds of rifle and machine gun fire batter loosely around us. At the center of town, we turn left into a narrow passage. Before us, on the right, is an open area, and in the background a few buildings, or better yet what remained of them. Now we turn again, this time to the right, we come to a group of houses where the command post is. We have achieved our objective.

I stumbled into the cellar (today, I know that I was in the Falter’s house!). A Technical Sergeant transfers command of the position to me. He then tells me that the front cannot be seen here. The front is, he says, where one is. It is a game of cat and mouse! I ask where the American positions are and he lifts his shoulders. He is only sure that they are at the sawmill, some hundred meters away in the thick mist. For such information I am grateful. When the Technical Sergeant took off, I feel carefully forward with a patrol. The houses are enemy-free. We set up outposts concealed in the hedges, becoming like hedgehogs, in order to protect ourselves from a surprise attack.

Around 9:30 in the morning I am awakened by someone sounding the alarm that the Americans are attacking. I see a formation of Americans coming up from the ravine. Their target seems to be the sawmill that I can now see well. Even though I thought the enemy occupied it, I now believe that it might be enemy-free. With 5 or 6 men we move forward, running in leaps and bounds, to the sawmill. We must defend it, because otherwise our position cannot be held. The Americans succeed in coming to within 70 meters of our position. Our forces fire on them and they immediately dive to the earth. Now we have the advantage. They have the advantage in numbers, but our field of fire now evens the odds. The first Americans strike off and disappear into the ruins of main street, saving themselves. The rumbling sound of the tanks is near. Things become uncomfortable. We have no Panzerfausts, and no ofenrohr (bazookas). Behind the tanks the infantry moves in a new maneuver. Three of the six tanks break into the gardens and move toward the Falter’s house. The other three want to occupy our space. They move into a firing position and the first shot hits somewhere in the building or in the sawyer. It cracks hellishly; but it does not do anything to us.

We can hold the accompanying infantry in check, but not the tanks. Strangely, the tanks shoot here and there, seemly without targets. They only needed to fire two or three shots at the house, into the cellar spaces, and our ability to resist would be over. They do not do it. They turn off. The tank moves off with a crumbling sound and disappears between the ruins in the direction of main street. The accompanying infantry disappears with them. Hurray! We were great heroes! But we find ourselves trading stupid looks. In our thoughts of heroism, we are really a little naive, because the attack moved on and we did little to repel it.

Suddenly we were surprised by a frightening noise. From the cellar a strange, complaining noise roars, alerting our tender nerves. Now it repeats itself more thinly. It is a cow. It is standing with us in the knee high water of the cellar, and it gawks at us asking for assistance. It is an emaciated skeleton. Heaven knows how it came to be in the cellar. Actually this is not really a mystery. It had nothing to eat or drink, and became too uncomfortable outside with the artillery fire and the wild humans. It had found the cellar a more advisable place to reside. And, now it is here. We decide it must be shot, but who will shoot it. I do not want to give the command and I cannot do it myself. Here we are in a war, and in such a position we shot other human beings as a matter of course. But here is a poor miserable cow, and we cannot shoot it. We look at each other asking who will finish it. I finally jerk myself up and say: "I will do it! The animal is getting to me." Later, we all spoke of the cow. It was the only thing of "civilian" nature in Kesternich.

The tanks have moved on and with them the opposing force and for a short time peace prevails. Soon however, an artillery bombardment covers us and explosions surround us. We withdraw into our "hero cellar". The American fire continues and always on our group of houses. After a quarter hour it became quiet. Almost with the last explosion, we are outside again. The Americans do not attack again; it seems they are not in our sector of the town. One does not know what will happen next. Over our heads, the Americans have transformed the house to a half ruin. The neighboring buildings are the same. The narrow way to the sawmill is almost impassable; shot-up trees and tangles of branches block the way.

We worry about our wounded. The medics try to decide who should be the one to show the Red Cross flag. If the Americans acknowledge it, and adjust their fire, we could evacuate the wounded without danger. We try it and ten minutes later a cessation of hostilities prevails. A Krankenträgerkommando (litter bearer command) without weapons carries the wounded to the rear. We see that the Americans also use this opportunity to return their wounded. Humanity in the war! It is a scarce quality. During this break in combat I think: "Why do we kill each other?" I believe all soldiers ask themselves this question. We are equal whether we are on this side or the other. Hardly had the wounded reached the safety of the rear when, once again, fire erupts from both sides.

Hours go by with occasional fire fights. At about eleven o'clock in the evening, an officer appears. He has verbal orders for me. I become the Kampfkommandant (combat commander) in Kesternich. Now the right side of the road is also under my command.

I give up the sewing factory, because I must hold the village center and I need the main body of the men. Here in Kesternich we make are to make a stand. Later, I must evacuate the group of houses around the Falter’s house. I must make the combat line short, and build on it so that the Americans will not make a serious attempt and will not simply go around us into Kesternich. At about the location of the gas station we establish ourselves along the main road. I still have approximately 80 men under my command. I establish the command post in the solidly built cellar of the second house from the intersection of Federal Highway 84 and the main road.

On the 15th of December a command is given in Einruhr for the complete recovery of Kesternich. From one hundred guns of all calibers the artillery preparation begins. Three tank destroyers and a self-propelled flak gun drive from Einruhr arriving at Kesternich at 1530 hours. They hold the American soldiers of the 309th at bay and a Sherman tank is destroyed. We capture approximately 300 American prisoners, including 9 officers. On the 17th of December nothing occurs. On the night of the 18th and on the 19th of December 1944, my men are relieved and take off to their units. I remain an additional day as an adviser for the new troops in Kesternich. On the day before Christmas I am reassigned to the Raffelsbrand Forest. There on the 10th of January 1945, I am badly wounded and come into American hands.

[Hagen]

Originally Posted by Tom Houlihan

Sounds like you need to order a copy of Victory Was Beyond Their Grasp!!

I have Doug's marvelous book, I pre-ordered so got a signed copy. When I first heard of "Victory Was Beyond Their Grasp" I did a little searching of my own on the 272 VGD. That is where I found the above story by Gunter Schmidt. It appears to have been a correspondence between Schmidt and a member of 'A Co. 303 Engineers USA'.

For anyone interested you can find the book here at The Aberjona Press If you have any kind of interest in Germany's Volksgrenadiers I don't think you'll be disappointed.

And Tom, great job on the maps.

[Hagen]

Originally Posted by Doug Nash

Also, I have a number of individual memoirs I used in putting the book together and can add some of those here.
Cheers,
Doug Nash

Hi Doug

First off, Great Job on your book!! I'm really enjoying it. Also if you have the time, I for one, would really enjoy reading more of the memoirs.

Thanks again
Mike

[Jim O]

Originally Posted by Hagen

...if you have the time, I for one, would really enjoy reading more of the memoirs.

As would I.

[Tom Houlihan]

Thanks, Mike! But like I told Doug, he had the hard part! I just drew pitchers!

[Doug Nash]

I'll post a few more in the days ahead...just got back from 2 weeks on the road so there's some catching up I have to do.
Cheers,
Doug

[Hagen]

Originally Posted by Doug Nash

I'll post a few more in the days ahead...just got back from 2 weeks on the road so there's some catching up I have to do.
Cheers,
Doug

Sounds good to me!!