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Praetorium Honoris

Wednesday, April 7, 2021

Across the Weser

Crossing the Weser River at Beverungen
(Source)

1st Lt. Stephen Hernandez' 2nd Platoon was once again riding the tanks of S/Sgt Woodstock's 2nd Platoon, Charlie Company, 745th Tank Battalion. They'd volunteered to give up their halftracks as Hernandez and his men liked working with Woodstock's tankers. Cpt. Tony Palminteri approved it immediately because, as he told their battalion commander, Maj.  Alphonse Josephson, "The two groups work really well together."

Sgt. Otto Walls' tank, 'The Wall,' was in the lead as the column rolled onto the pontoon bridge. Standing behind Walls' turret, Sgt. Enrique Cruz pointed to the tank ahead of them, "What the Hell is that? Some captured Kraut tank, thing looks as big as a Tiger."

"Nah, that's one of the new M26s, they call 'em 'Pershings' after that World War I general. Thing's got a long 90 mm gun and it weighs 46 tons. Look how low the bridge is under that beast. Love to face the Krauts in one of those."

Cruz looked around at his squad, riding the back deck of The Wall. The weather was beautiful and they hadn't seen a Kraut since Rüthen. VII Corps had redirected them from pressing against the eastern side of the Ruhr Pocket to pursuing the retreating Germans to the east. Another pocket was starting to form around the Harz Mountain region. Which didn't please anyone in the outfit. Earlier that day, when they'd been briefed on their destination, some of the men immediately began complaining.

"Wonderful, more f**king mountains, more f**king trees." Pfc. Chris McWhorter had joined the unit just before the bloodbath in the Hürtgen. He'd been a green kid back then, now after all he'd seen, he was ready to have the war end. He actually had hopes of making it home.

"Don't sweat it Chris," Sgt. Gammell remembered when McWhorter had joined the unit. The guy had actually introduced himself and Gammell had essentially told him to piss off. They'd both been privates back then, now Gammell was a sergeant.

"Krauts are on the run, that SS guy we killed in Rüthen was one of the diehards, now we're chasing down boys and old men. Keep your head down, listen to Sgt. Katz and you'll live. But yeah, I grew up in the mountains and the forest and I'd rather avoid fighting in those again for the rest of my life."

Now the unit was crossing the Weser River just to the east of the German town of Beverungen. The sun was shining, the birds were singing (not that you could hear them over the sound of the tank engines), and the water reflected the sun in a pleasing way. The men could sense that the war was almost over, they now had hopes of surviving, which made their leaders nervous.

Yellow dot indicates where 2nd Platoon met the sniper,
now the division (yellow square) had moved roughly 30 miles to the east.
(Source)

Before the move Cpt. Palminteri had warned his platoon leaders and their sergeants about letting the men get too cautious. "While being careful is good, taking cover every time they hear a shot is going to prolong the war. Emphasize to your men that the quickest way to finish this war is to defeat the Germans, most of the Krauts want to quit, but there will be some, like we saw in Rüthen, who'll fight to the death. Kill them, if we're playing duck and cover, that diehard will, sure as shit, kill one of our guys. Can't let up now. Press the sumbitches!"

1st Lt. Hernandez, riding S/Sgt Woodstock's tank, had his map out and was comparing it to the surrounding terrain, looking up, he saw the vista of the Harz Mountains spread before him.

"Damn, I sure hope the Krauts don't plan on fighting for that." He had to shout so that Woodstock could hear him.

"I get that L.T., tankers don't like mountains, and those trees will hide a Hell of a lotta Krauts. Let's hope the f**kers quit when we show up."

"Amen."

Looking towards the Harz Mountains, east of Beverungen
(Source)

There are 31 days remaining until the official surrender of the Third Reich.¹



¹ In reality, the Germans signed an instrument of surrender in Rheims, France on the 7th of May. The Germans surrendered unconditionally and the surrender applied to those German forces fighting on both the Eastern and Western Fronts. However, as the Soviets weren't represented, the Germans surrendered again, on the 8th of May in Berlin. Worth noting is that German forces in Bavaria and Southwestern Germany surrendered on the 5th of May.

Link to all of the Chant's fiction.

42 comments:

  1. I am glad they made it across safely, with no Me 262 fighter bombers attacking the bridge! The M 26es that mere it to Europe were made at GM'S FISHER TANK PLANT, in Detroit. Whatever they did to the fenders on that tank, I really doubt that GM will fix it, under warranty.

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  2. Sarge,
    Minor edit; " ...Hernandez riding S/Sgt Woodstock's TANK, had his map out... " good photo of the Pershing on the bridge.
    Again, highly recommend Adam Makos' "Spearhead" if you haven't read it.
    Boat Guy

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    1. D'oh! Fixed that. (Can't imagine why the L.T. would be sitting on Woodstock's map.)

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  3. Like your header picture. Remember a briefing where we were told between Spain and Poland there was a water obstacle requiring specialized bridging equipment, on average, every fifty miles. For engineers, coping with the current is always a challenge.

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    1. Kinda figured you'd like that one.

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    2. That floating bridge picture is a good one!

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    3. It is really nice. A number of pictures of that bridge at the source cited under the photo.

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    4. The Germans also sent teams entering the water upstream to drift down to set charges and sabotage the makeshift bridges. The Allies got wise and posted riflemen and regularly sent patrols along the riverbanks.

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    5. (Don McCollor)...The bridge in the photo is a pontoon bridge, not a Bailey bridge. Even the largest Bailey configuration (triple-double) could not carry 46 tons with a span longer than 130 feet safely...

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  4. Further edit, to show possession, "Sgt. Otto Walls tank..." should read "Sgt. Otto Walls'" if his last name is 'Walls' or "Sgt. Otto Wall's" if his name is 'Wall.'

    You wouldn't want to invoke PDQ or Buck now, would you? :)

    It must have been hard to stay focused and not go on a killing spree, shooting anything in German uniform, at this point of the war. I mean, geez, so many already giving up, it's Spring, and some jerks are possibly shooting at you. Kinda nervous making, no?

    Good low tension story.

    And... I really don't think I would have wanted to take a Pershing across one of those bridges. A Sherman would be bad enough.

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    1. Argh, fixed it...

      Notice how low the bridge is underneath the Pershing as compared to the lead Sherman.

      As the war winds down I'm sure there will be quite a few more meaningless deaths. No impact on victory or defeat, just people dying for no good reason.

      War sucks.

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    2. Well, at that stage of the war, some people really needed killing, in a very Southern way. If'n you know what I mean.

      And, yes, the way the bridge dips is what I am referring to. Combine all that weight and spring rain flooding, no. Nope. Nopey nope. Nu-huh. I don't trust fast moving water.

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  5. I’m surprise that Pershing tank was still gasoline. Didn’t we learn anything at all? I think after Kasserine the Germans called the Sherman “the Ronson“ for the way it would explode into flames when hit.

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    1. I'm still sorting through the whole gasoline vs diesel thing with tanks. There is a lot of misinformation out there concerning this. Most German tanks ran on gasoline, as did the Sherman, with the exception of those built for the Soviet Union which ran on diesel. The T-34 ran on diesel.

      The Germans did not refer to the Sherman as a "Ronson," that's a British cigarette lighter. So the Brits may have called the Sherman the "Ronson," not the Germans. If anything the Germans would call a tank which burned easily in British service a "Tommy cooker." Tommy being what the Germans called the British.

      Even the General Patton Memorial Museum in California says "most tanks of this time ran on diesel." True if you consider how numerous the T-34 was, false if it's meant to mean that most tank designs ran on diesel. Patently false according to my research, which, while not extensive, uses multiple sources.

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    2. There were diesel-powered Shermans.
      BG

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    3. And most of them were sent to soviets, who for obvious logistics reasons preferred them.

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    4. BG - Yes, the M4As built for the Soviets.

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    5. Dunno as I'd say the diesels were built "for" the soviets but they did insist on them.
      BG

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    6. My sources indicate that they were equipped with diesel engines specifically for the Soviets. I can't find a source indicating that diesel powered Shermans were in US service. But I'm still looking.

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    7. The GM diesel was first used in the US M3 tank. The Army didn't like it because they didn't want the hassle of two motor fuels.
      Once again the loggies prevail; reminds me of the M9 pistol acquisition a bit.
      Boat Guy

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    8. Soviets had their own tanks and SPG run on diesel engines, so it made perfect sense for them to order diesl shermans.
      Merits of probablility of catching fire aside...

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    9. (Don McCollor)...Besides logistics (every other vehicle in the American Army ran on gas), I think another reason was that not all that many Diesel engines relative to gasoline engines were produced back then. It would take precious time for Detroit (and other places) to retool to from making gasoline to diesel engines...

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  6. I wonder what happens if our heroes run into some konzentrationlager, or survivors of deathmarch.

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    1. Historically the 1st Infantry Division did liberate one satellite camp on the 8th of May.

      The Harz Mountains were chock full of slave laborers as well. The lads are entering that area next!

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    2. Oh hell the Dora lager and factory complex for the V-2 was there...
      This will be gruelling for the folks. Especially poor Katz when he learns of the extent of final solution...

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    3. Yes, indeed! As to the latter, I need to give that careful thought,

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  7. I can certainly see where, where you feel the war is almost over, being thrust back into the firebox over not quite cold coals would make anyone concerned.

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  8. Hey AFSarge;

    The M26 Pershing was a big tank, but the Tankers preferred the tried and true Sherman, the M26 had a lot of mechanical issues, transmission and overheating were biggies and they continued that problem in Korea. The "DAT's" or Dumb Ass Tankers as we grunts called them preferred the upgunned Shermans even in Korea against the T34's, the Upgunned Shermans would hold their own and actually were superior to the ones the NORKS were using and the lighter weight was an advantage in Korea with the roads. The *DATS* called us "Crunchies" so there was that, LOL As Far as the Harz Mountain went there was a huge fear of a "Harz Redoubt" and Last Stand Rumors flying around that Hitler was headed there to take command of his armies and leaving Berlin. He didn't do that, but that was the scuttlebutt or "Rumint" or Rumor Intelligence.

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    1. Himmler actually ordered units into the area and declared it a "fortress." Some SS holdouts were still fighting in the Harz after the surrender.

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