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"We have movement orders, Manfred!" Major von Lüttwitz came out of the small Gasthaus and waved his 1st platoon commander over from where he had been talking with the supply officer.
"Not East I hope." Leutnant Manfred Sauer had been in the East, he didn't really want to go back, though truth be told, the Eastern Front was getting closer to the Reich each day. Though the news was tightly controlled, Army rumor had it that the Red Army had launched their big offensive, what was left of the German armies in the east were getting torn to pieces. Only the winter slowed the Russians.
For all the talk of that army's prowess in the winter, that climate was friend to no man.
"No, southwest to Olzheim, northeast of Prüm, the 18th Volksgrenadiers, our new division is fighting to hold back the Amis to the west of there."
"Now that the SS have been pulled back for use in the East?" Sauer noted.
"Precisely. Now as to our readiness?"
"We're at full strength for a Grenadier Company, the same strength our man Koch had on the 16th of December, 119 men all told. Many automatic weapons, but we move on foot." Sauer explained.
"We have the normal complement of wagons and infantry carts?" von Lüttwitz was rather hoping that he didn't get a horse. He mistrusted the beasts.
"Yessir, also four bicycles. One for the Spieß, one for the Sani, one for the paymaster, and one for the equipment officer."
"What? I don't get one?" von Lüttwitz said, jokingly.
"Ah, no Sir. But I do believe that Unteroffizier Sauer has managed to find a Kübelwagen for your use, which he has graciously offered to drive for you."
"Another Sauer? A Saxon?"
"No Sir, damn the bad luck, he's a Berliner."
"Ah, I see. I'm going down to the train station, apparently we leave tomorrow night, earlier if the weather is bad. Which is a good bet." von Lüttwitz gestured to the low clouds and the gently falling snow, "At least we won't be marching in this cold!"
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| U.S. Army Photo |
"All right, hold it up right here. Take five, smoke 'em if ya got 'em, don't wander off!" S/Sgt Jack Wilson had fifteen new men for the platoon and its attached machine gun team. All privates, good looking kids, seems most of them had been in some college program the Army had created, now they needed riflemen, so the college boys were now riflemen.
2nd Lt. Stephen Hernandez came out of the Charlie Company CP where Cpt. Palminteri had informed him of the new replacements. He was surprised that his platoon sergeant had already collected the new men.
"These the new guys, Top?" Hernandez asked.
"Yessir, they just came in, fresh off the truck I guess you could say."
"So you guys got pulled out of ASTP¹ to be here, huh?"
When no one answered, the lieutenant pointed at the smallest replacement and said, "Cat got your tongue soldier?"
Pvt. William Zerbst was used to being singled out for his small stature. "Yes Sir, Army pulled us out of school because of our infantry losses here in the ETO."
Hernandez raised an eyebrow at the kid's answer, "Okay, S/Sgt Wilson will take you to your assigned squads, uh, Hammond and Smith?"
Two of the replacements answered with "Sir" and each raised a hand.
"You're going to Sgt. Judd Maxwell's light machine gun team. Hope college taught ya how to lug ammunition cans around."
Pvt. Charles Hammond started to answer, but Pvt. Herbert Smith gave him an elbow and said, "Not exactly, Sir. But we can figure it out I suppose."
Hernandez pulled Wilson aside where the replacements couldn't hear him, "These guys sound like a bunch of wiseacres Jack, keep an eye on 'em."
"You got it, Sir."
Turning to the new men, Wilson barked out, "All right college boys, let's get you settled in!"
Cpt. Palminteri stepped out of the CP and lit a cigarette, "Go easy on the new boys, Stephen. Army told them they were going to be specialists, not gravel agitators. So they might be a bit disgruntled. From what battalion says, these guys are all pretty smart, much smarter than your average draftee."
2nd Lt. Hernandez nodded, then said, "Well, we'll see how they hold up in a firefight. So I guess we're back up to strength now, on paper anyway."
Cpt. Palminteri pulled a folded up sheet of paper from inside his field jacket, studied it and said, "Yup, you should have fifty-three men under you now. That includes Doc and the five guys in the MG team."
"Nice. When are we moving out again?" Hernandez hated sitting around, he knew it gave the Germans time to dig in, he hated digging them out once they put down roots.
"Tomorrow morning. I've managed to get some halftracks for you guys. So you won't need to ride on the tanks tomorrow. They're on loan, so don't lose any of 'em if you can help it."
"I'll try, Cap'n, but ya know the Germans won't cooperate."
"Yeah, I get that. Push the bastards, but don't go crazy out there. This war has to end soon." Cpt. Palminteri said as he looked towards the east and Germany.
"Anybody tell the Krauts that?" Hernandez wanted to know.
¹ Army Specialized Training Program (Reference)
Riding in the back of a half track would be cold, cold, cold.
ReplyDeleteAt least you're out of the wind somewhat, not so much on the back of a tank.
DeleteHopefully the track 'owners' haven't lost the canvas top that most managed to lose within 15 minutes of being assigned the track. And the troops would be able to bundle themselves in what blankets and fart-sacks they have, which would help.
DeleteA covered vehicle in a combat environment is a death trap. There's a reason those canvas tops were discarded.
DeleteCold is one thing, dead is quite another.
All the stuff ya gotta carry and then you're stuck with humping four and a half feet of stovepipe. It's already cold enough here Sarge, every photo you post seems to make the room colder. Interesting to see how the new boys react.
ReplyDeleteJust when you think you're carrying too much, the Army finds a way for you to carry a bit more!
DeleteBetter the stovepipe than the chest rig that holds 3 rockets and is on front so when they shoot you, well...
DeleteYou're going to have to give a source for that chest rig. No one in their right minds would carry bazooka ammo on their chests, impossible to take cover dontcha know?
DeleteThey were repurposed mortar round carriers. I put a photo on your Facebook page.
DeleteSaw that. Not seen in any combat photos that I'm aware of, only an idiot would wear one of those things. Can't take cover, can't run very well, obviously designed by someone with no clue.
DeleteI've always wondered if there is a "too smart" for infantry. I cannot imagine how it must've felt to be fighting for the ever shrinking country. Grim humor is about all that's left at that point.
ReplyDeleteI raised up the bat wing hood on a White's halftrack. I about popped a gut doing it. I think it was half inch plate. I was in my 20's and I couldn't believe how heavy that was. I probably couldn't budge it now... Big old flathead 6 in it, btw...
I have read that the best infantry are intelligent athletic types, able to think through problems and to give the extra effort to win. Of course, no army in history have ever recruited infantry on that basis!
DeleteAs to that half-inch plate, a .50 cal round would go right through it!
Smart is good. Dumb, box-o-rocks dumb, like what McNamara tried in Vietnam, is bad. You can be box-of-rocks dumb and move supplies or clean or other schlepp work, but it takes a modicum of smarts to be an effective trooper. The really smart ones are the best. Just look at your average Delta or Seal, sure, portrayed as dumb, but they aren't.
DeleteThe halftrack armor was enough to stop most German machine guns.
Halftrack armor isn't meant to protect you in battle but on the way to battle. The infantry fighting vehicle was in the future.
DeleteFew of MacNamera's hundred-thousand types wound up in the Infantry, but we were still dealing with them (mostly as civilians by then) in the 90's
DeleteBoat Guy
Another of that idiot's "brilliant" ideas.
DeleteLoss, rebuild, loss, rebuild...I do not know that I ever really understood this to be the nature of war.
ReplyDeleteWar is a grind. Units get built up to be worn down in combat, then the process starts over.
DeleteLoss , Rebuild, it is part of why Grant was able to lead the North to a win.( Yeah, different war but still). Grant could do basic Math. Even the best army with a genius General can be bled dry. Germany/Hitlers major screw up was not using all the volunteers from the Ukraine and other parts of Russia he could get. Germanys population and resources couldnt win against a Monster like Russia unless they beat them in the first 100 days.
ReplyDeleteYes, when the German army started moving east, there were a lot of potential support for them; but the orders from above came from people who believed their own propaganda (or at least acted like they did).
DeleteFrank
John - The Ukrainians welcomed the Germans as liberators. But the Einsatzgruppen moving up in the wake of the fighting troops had their orders. Hitler's insane racial beliefs led to the campaign in the East, hard to believe that he would have moderated those beliefs to recruit Slavs into the Wehrmacht. Which they did do eventually but it was far too late by then.
DeleteFrank - Not so much the Army, but the SS, SD, and the Einsatzgruppen were specifically recruited for the task of destroying the Jews and the Slavs in the East. Though the Army was guilty as Hell in many instances for supporting those organizations.
DeleteThough, funny enough, it was the SS that had the multi-national units.
DeleteThe Heer just shoved 'recruits' where they would fit, thus you end up with a Korean in Normandy.
Himmler began incorporating non-Aryans (if there is such a thing) early on. Conscription pulled the real and ethnic Germans into the Wehrmacht. Legally the SS couldn't take recruits from the Wehrmacht. Those Koreans came via the Soviets, lots of former Soviets in Normandy.
DeleteI remember reading on the East Front the Army was collaborating with the SS and Einsatzgruppen - they were just as guilty.
DeleteSome units yes, but "just as guilty?" The Nuremburg Tribunal would disagree.
DeleteVE day is May 8th...
ReplyDeleteYup, still a lot more war to go.
DeleteAnd some sporadic fighting after that.
DeleteThen there's the big gear-up to shift everyone West to re-equip and get ready to invade Japan. Not to mention the occupation troops that have to deal with all the post-war occupying.
Sporadic fighting? Where?
DeleteBack and forth, back and forth, back and forth... Sometimes I wonder how we even have any brass, copper, tin, steel or wood left just from all the weapons destroyed, lost, gone missing and all the ammo expended and lost and missing and destroyed.
ReplyDeleteAnd always wondered where everyone kept getting all the fabric to make uniforms from, and all the little stuff that goes on the uniforms. I mean, your nation is being bombed to death, people are starving, yet you are still able to equip everyone with uniforms and insignia and buttons and shoes and all that. Absolutely amazing how much industry goes just to support your troops wearing clothes.
Let us hope, after Lt. Sauer almost lost hope last time, that our Germans get surrounded and allowed to surrender.
What passed for "cloth" in late war Germany was pretty crappy.
Delete"smoke 'em if ya got 'em, don't wander off!"
ReplyDeleteThe traditional Army saying in "Smoke em if you got em, bum em if you don't!"
I'll be curious about von Luttwitz's journey.
Traditional in whose army?
DeleteThe American army :-)
DeleteUm, no. Maybe in the '60s...
Delete(Don McCollor)...I construed the "don't wander off" to the newbies as 'Don't go playing human mine/booby trap detector"...
DeleteHeh. Sound advice!
DeleteThe war in the Pacific was pretty much over after Midway. When was it for the Germans?
ReplyDeleteI should say the Japanese had no chance after Midway.
DeleteUh, no. Midway pretty much ended Japanese naval superiority but there was a lot of hard fighting left.
DeleteThey still might have pulled it off after Midway. Unlikely, but possible.
DeleteStalingrad ended Germany's chances of a victory.
Of course, I'm thinking too Naval-centric. Thanks. Didn't mean to discount the fighting that continued, just that Midway was the tipping point for them, losing their center of gravity. I didn't realize it was an almost 2 year slog to defeat for Sauer and von Luttwitz. While their loss is inevitable, following their fate is very good reading.
DeleteWell, in all fairness, the Pacific theater was very Naval centric...
DeleteTell that to HOEL, JOHNSTON, and SAMUEL B ROBERTS.
DeletePeople still die after the decisive battle is over.
Delete(Don McCollor)...Things wee still bad. The first LAFFITE went down after machine gunning the bridge of a Japanese battle ship off the 'Canal'...
DeleteGuadalcanal was a vicious fight, land, sea, and air!
DeleteRe the first comment on carrying bazooka rockets. There was a specific bag made to carry 3 rockets in their fiber tube shipping containers. It was sort of a miniature barracks bag/duffel bag about 24" long by 9" diameter with a long single shoulder strap and a centrally located hand grip.
ReplyDeleteThe other option was the canvas web Ammunition Bag, M2, usually called an "ammo vest." It was sort of a human saddle bag with a hole to slip your head through, and just a big pocket on the front and back. These could carry .30 cal ammo cans, grenades, bandoleers of ammo, mortar rounds in their fiber tubes, etc. The 22 inch long bazooka rockets were pretty awkward, but it would work for them. Here is a link to a photo showing some airborne troops with bazooka and rockets in the vest. Probably staged, as you won't walk far with them jabbing your face every step.
John Blackshoe
https://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/uploads/post-75-1177542354.jpg
I doubt they saw use in combat, as you say won't walk far with those rockets poking you in the face. And if you're upright in a firefight, given the short range of the bazooka, you're already dead!
DeleteNice photo, thanks JB.
Oops! Someone answered, while the Badger slept!
DeleteStill very impractical. If not suicidal.
Delete