Heroes: the Army
"In combat, being under enemy fire can best be described as being placed in a railroad marshaling yard. You are standing on one side facing the row upon row of tracks in front of you. You are then blindfolded and ordered to slowly walk across the busy tracks. The not knowing if and when one of those moving trains will hit you as you slowly proceed across is a little like facing enemy fire."
Joe Salzano,
Survivor of the Battle of the Hurtgen Forest,
13th Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division
Joseph Salzano Image Circa November 1945
Joseph Salzano
- Branch of Service: Army
- Unit: 8th Infantry Division,
13th Infantry Regiment- Dates: 1940 - 1945
- Location: European Theater
- Rank:
- Birth Year: 1922
- Entered Service: New York, NY
 | |||||||
 | |||||||
|
German Accounts of Actions Opposing the 8th Division:
We at World War II Stories -- In Their Own Words, have been given permission by the contributor, Mr. Joseph Salzano, to place the following German accounts of some of the fierce battles in which his unit, the 13th Regiment, 8th Division participated in.
The following accounts contain some five additional pages that have been added to the accounts of Mr. Joe Salzano's personal accounts of his actions during this major campaing.
By reading the following pages, you can get an idea of how this heated action was viewed by the adversaries facing the American advance into Germany.
These accounts also give some individual soldier's recollections as well as some civilian accounts of their experiences during this major campaign.
The following pages were originally documents written in German -- and then were painstakingly translated into English at the University of Maryland.
The following are accounts relating to the Battle of the Huertgen Forest -- in which the American forces suffered some 28,000 casualities -- while the German casualities can be only guessed at...
Notations as such [1] indicate the Page # from the original document.
A Chronile: the Huertgen Forest Campaign
Report About the Second World War in the Area West of Düren
The U.S. Army had reached the western border of Germany at Roentgen, south of Aachen. on September 12, 1994, and had achieved a break through the Westwall. Outfits of 1st InfDiv and 3rd ArmoredDiv didn't face much opposition. Tanks, supported by infantry, raced forward during the next days and already reached the town of Schevenhütte on 9/14/44.
12th InfDiv, under the command of Major General Engel, had been transferred from the east and disembarked in mid-September in Jülich and Düren. The troops were thrown to the front in order to close the gap between Stolberg and Schevenhütte. In a combined effort, InfRegs 48 and 89 and FusReg 27 managed to close the gap in the front-line and sealed off the American advance for now. Heavy fighting broke out for the possession of Stolberg, Mausbach, Hastenrath, and Scherpenseel. Even the smaller towns, such as Werth or Krewinkel weren't spared.
After the surrender of Aachen on October 21, 1944, the day on which Colonel Gerhard Wilck ordered his men to stop fighting, most of the front-line could be held. Heavy fighting occurred only around Verlautenheide because the Germans intended to hold on to this strategically important plateau at all cost.
The allied offensive that the Americans termed "Queen" - the Germans called it the Third Battle of Aachen - began on November 16, 1944. Since morning several thousand planes attacked the towns and villages close to the front. The objective of the shelling was to weaken the main-combat line so much that it would be easy to be overrun. Another goal was to destroy all possible supply lines. This meant that strategically important crossroads, such as the one in Langerwehe that connected Main Street, Luchem Street, Old Church Street, were specifically targeted.
But even our hometowns, villages really, Schlich/D'horn/Merode/ Obergeich got their share. The civilians who had persevered were hard hit with heavy casualties. In our parish alone, 52 people died and many more were wounded. Several farmers had gone to work their fields that morning. The attack caught them by surprise.
Merode and Schlich were the hardest hit of the villages. Many houses were destroyed or so heavily damaged that they seemed uninhabitable. In the afternoon of the same day the nearby county seat, Düren, was leveled. People who had been in town to go shopping, soldiers on their way to the front, and the population of Düren had no chance to run from this inferno. More than 3,000 men were victims of this attack, nobody knows the exact number.
Simultaneously to the air raid, the American attack on the ground was launched, supported by heavy artillery and mortar fire. The front-line was shifting, enemy troops advanced. That very day, 1 1/16/44, the Germans threw 47h VolksGrenDiv forward to the front in order to create support for l2th InfDiv. The division had just been reorganized in Denmark and now had to suffer the first casualties in the air raid, on the way to the front. [16]
The division with its Regiments 103, 104, and 105, took over the front-line from Derichsweiler to Merode, Heistern, and Bovenberg, in some places even all the way to Weisweiler.
1st American InfDiv advanced fan-shaped from Schevenhütte. Regiment 16 advanced toward Hamich where heavy tank, infantry, and house-to-house combat erupted. The town changed hands several times and many soldiers of both armies remained on the battlefield for all eternity. Regiment 18 advanced through the Wehebach valley toward Wenau and Langerwehe and Regiment 47 of 9th Division fought its way into Gressenich.
Regiment 26, also part of 1st Division, thrust through the thick of the forest to the east, direction Düren. Around 11/20/44 the Laufenburg had been reached. It was to change hands quite a few times as well. The Americans lost several tanks there to the fierce resistance of the infantrymen that had dug in inside the castle. At the same time the Germans had made good use of the time by fortifying their positions along the Erbsweg where they met the Americans with determination.
The towns were under a constant barrage of artillery fire and bombs dropped by fighterbombers. On November 17, 1944 allied fighter-bombers attacked a formation of tanks in Merode. Two of the planes were shot down. The other planes subsequently bombed Merode castle and the damages were considerable. The tower of the chapel was completely destroyed. An artillery observer who had been stationed in the tower, was thrown high in the air by the pressure of the detonation, He woke up in a meadow. He was fine except for a few bruises.
Approximately on 11/26/44 3rd ParaDiv, called in from Holland, was led to the front from Gey and Inden. In the Schlich and Merode area ParaReg 5, led by Lieutenant Colonel Karl-Heinz Becker took over. I. Battalion, led by Captain Siegfried Platz, and II. Battalion under the command of Captain Georg Schulze set up their command posts in Merode. II. Battalion, led by First Lieutenant Udo Balfanz defended in the Langerwehe-Jüngersdorf area. The command post of the battalions in Merode was set up in house Scmhmitz-Schunken. An aid station was set up in the cellar of Merode castle. Many civilians also hoped to avoid the perils of war in the vaults of the cellar.
Meanwhile the front had been pushed forward and was now only a few hundred meters away from Merode and Schlich. No civilian dared to step outside or even to cook a hot meal because the enemy artillery spotter in his airplane was always there to monitor and then called for artillery fire.
Despite that constant threat a few daredevils did venture outside in order to see how things had developed or to get food and water. The water pipes were as broken as the electricity wires and thus the population had no choice but to fetch water from the well or the creeks. Many civilians had found shelter in the cellar of the castle and were cared for by the soldiers. Those who held out in the cellars mostly survived on preserved fruit and meat. Although the majority of the townspeople had fled after the attacks of 11/16/44, some had been willing to stay at home and to await the arrival of the Americans. But the enemy took his time and thus food and water got scarce. [17]
Around November 20, 1944 heavy combat broke out near the Laufenburg, which had been a valuable artillery observation post for the Germans. The castle changed hands several times and both sides suffered heavy casualties. But after this stronghold had been lost all the German artillery could do was fire blindly into the enemy's hinterland. For precisely that reason, the main-combat line was shifted back to the Erbsweg. During these days the Americans slowly moved on Schlich and Merode without experiencing much resistance. 3rd Battalion of InfReg 26, lst U.S. InfDiv, attacked and took Jüngersdorf in the evening of 11/27/44. An immediately ordered counterattack by the paratroopers was defeated and the Germans were pushed back to the railroad embankment.
Parts of lst and 2nd Battalion of Regiment 26 had reached the edge of the forest at Merode by 1 1/28/44 and they set up a forward artillery observation post in the forester's house (Gouwkens). While the battalion and company commanders gathered in the Laufenburg in order to discuss the assault on Merode and Schlich, the American artillery fired obstruction shoots on the villages, directed by that observation post in the forester's house.
The attack of the two battalion of Regiment 26 was structured as follows:
The two regiments were supposed to fight their way to the edge of the forest at dawn of 1 1/29/44. There they had to position themselves and wait for the order to charge. It was decided that the 1 st Battalion was to take up positions on the right wing, between Monschauer Weg and the edge of the forest at the Marienbildehen, while 2nd Battalion was assigned positions on the left wing, between Monschauer Weg and Allenweg to the forester's house. 1st Battalion was to advance first in order to take Schlich. 2nd Battalion was supposed to attack Merode a little bit later. A full company was set aside to attack Merode castle where the Americans expected the most opposition.
But even as the Americans marched across the ridge west of Merode (Tannenopf), snipers and artillery inflicted severe casualties among them. When the order to attack was given, the soldiers advanced against Merode and Schlich but were hot by heavy artillery fire right away. Within a short time span, 2nd Battalion lost 2 company COs and several NCOs. Many soldiers now panicked and ran toward the trees at Monschauer Weg, hoping to find cover there. A man who had been a lieutenant in that battalion told me in 1992 that the gorge west of Merode had been full of dead and wounded comrades, and the picture on meadows and fields wasn't any different. Seven tanks that drove down
Monschauer Weg to Merode were disabled by artillery fire and had to be vacated by their crews. l5th PioneerCompany of ParaReg 5 destroyed the tanks several days later.
Only very few Americans reached the town of Merode when it was already getting dark. They dug in at the houses of today's Schloßstraße and, ineredibly, met a few civilians there. (House of the Lürken family, Schloßstr. 38, house Vitzer, Kreuzherrenstr. 8). The civilians hadn't had an opportunity to skip town. [18]
Most of the American companies had been battered in the artillery and mortar barrages. Said lieutenant told me that only 3 soldiers of his 80-men strong eompany had survived until that point. This number shows how high the American casualty rate was.
Soon, the Americans lacked ammunition and the radios didn't work any more because the batteries of the devices had been used up.
Simultaneously, in Schlich, all available forces of ParaReg 5 were gathered for a counterattack on the Americans who had infiltrated Merode. The regimental CO and proud bearer of the Ritterkreuz, Karl-Heinz Becker, led the attack personally. It also had the support of a Tiger panzer of the division. The paratroopers fired at every house in Merode, they shot grenades with panzerfausts down the shafts to the cellars in which the Americans were hiding. According to the report of a German paratrooper tow Sherman tanks were destroyed on the farm of Ignatz Hourtz; either by the Tiger panzer or by the paratroopers. Another paratrooper told me that the air pressure eaused by the explosions in the cellars killed many Americans. The next morning about 200 dead Americans were counted and 120 were led into captivity, including 10 officers.
This strike was the end of Regiment 26 in that area. It was replaced a few days later by
Regiment 39 of 9th Division. But every day now there was close-range combat with the
Americans who didn't cease to attack. But they were repulsed every time.
On December 10, 1944 the Americans attacked Obergeich, Geich, and Echtz from their positions in Luchem and Lucherberg. They even reached the Rothaus. One day later, strong tank formations from Jüngersdorf and Langerwehe attacked Merode and Schlich along the embankment. This attack was observed by the commanding officer of VII U.S. Corps himself Merode and Schlich fell in the evening of 12/11/44 after heavy resistance against the attacking force that had considerable air support. Many dead soldiers, dead livestock, and destroyed military equipment covered the terrain.
Many reports of German and American origin describe the severity of the struggle for these towns. Many a good comrade was left on the field of battle.
Albert Trostorf,
December 1994
[19]
Adversaries of the 8th Infantry Division
Some Stories and View Points from the German SideFollowing the receipt of the letter above, Mr. Salzano offered to allow us the use of the following information. The next segments portray images of the adversary -- the German side of the bloody battles that the 8th Infantry Division took part in.
Joe Salzano, 8th Infantry Division, 13th Regiment
47th Volks Grenadier Division at the Western Front
A Chronicle
Experiences of Johann Trostorf & Wilhelm BrvenichMemories of Hubert Gees
Selections from the History of 363rd Infantry Division
Interested in some background information?
Check out the related links below...Combat Chronicle: 8th Infantry Division
Combat History of the 8th Infantry Division in WWII
Personal Stories from the 8th Infantry Division
Chronology of the 8th Infantry Division
Divisional Information: 8th Infantry Division
Historiography of the Huertgen Forest Campaign 1944-1945
American Battle Monuments Commission: WWII Honor Roll
Information and photographs were generously provided to World War II Stories -- In Their Own Words by Mr. Joseph Salzano of Rockville, Maryland. Our sincerest THANKS for allowing us to share this stories!
Original Story submitted on 9 August 2003.
Story added to website on 20 October 2003.
Veterans
Survey Form
September 5,
2002.
Would YOU be interested in adding YOUR story
--
or a loved-one's story? We have made it
very
easy for you to do so.
By clicking on the link below, you will be
sent
to our "Veterans Survey Form" page where a survey
form
has been set up to conviently record your
story.
It is fast -- convenient and easy to fill out
--
Just fill in the blanks!
We would love to tell your story on
World War II Stories -- In Their Own
Words.
WW
II Stories: Veterans Survey Form
© Copyright 2001-2012
World War II Stories -- In Their Own
Words
All Rights Reserved
Updated on 28 January 2012...1804:05 CST
Please Sign Our Guestbook...
View the World War II
Stories Guestbook
Sign the World II Stories
Guestbook
