The Year 1945: More War? World Peace?
Time: January 1st, 1945
Place: Ardennes Forests of Belgium and Luxembourg
New Year’s Day, 1945 dawned crystal clear and bitterly cold. Boughs of the Ardennes fir trees were strained under the weight of the recent snowfall. More snow had descended on the Allied troops during the night, adding to the misery of the intense cold. Lack of warm clothing and adequate footwear plagued the troops in their quest to shove the German army back to their homeland. Many soldiers, especially frontline infantry troops, suffered frozen feet.
The unexpected breakthrough by the German troops occurred two weeks ago. Hundreds of thousands of Allied soldiers were rushed into the Ardennes to blunt the German move. This included 15,000 men of the 75th Infantry Division, 291st Infantry Regiment, Cannon Company. The truck driver of Cannon 14 was counted in those thousands that had rushed north into the Ardennes from a camp near Paris, France. He had witnessed the blinding shell bursts as his motor convoy approached the front lines on that memorable night journey ten days ago.
The truck driver and his buddies welcomed hot coffee from the company’s mess tent. Those cooks worked long hours to serve hot food under primitive conditions. While sipping the steamy liquid, they had several laughs about last night’s spectacular bombardment. Every artillery piece in the Allied armies fired three rounds into the German lines at the stroke of midnight. The three 105 mm cannons of the Company joined in the New Year serenade to Hitler.
January 4, 1945 was a signal date for the truck driver. It was his father’s 47th birthday—a veteran who had served in France in the first War. His father was a truck driver with a balloon observation company. His outfit would launch a gas filled balloon tethered to a ground-based winch. Two observers in the basket of the balloon would peer across the enemy lines, checking on their activity. The crew would quickly winch the balloon to the safety of the ground. Those balloons were prime targets for German aviators. The truck driver recalled conversations with his father regarding the outcome of the first War. His father had strong feelings that problems with Germany had not been resolved and that another war was inevitable. He felt that his son would likely be caught up in another conflict. These conversations took place in the 1930’s as Hitler was rebuilding Germany into a military power. All this went through the truck driver’s mind as he and his buddy transported men and supplies in the campaign to drive the German army from the Ardennes salient.
Sound sleep became a problem for the Allied troops. Each night the German buzz bombs sputtered overhead. None had crashed near the Cannon Company site, but the soldiers were always alert to that possibility. On trips to army depots near Liege and Spa, Belgium, the truck driver had seen collapsed buildings and giant craters as the result of buzz bomb strikes. “Bed Check Charlie”, that lone German aviator, continued to annoy Allied troops by his late night sorties. In mid January, the truck driver found himself in an army field hospital in Spa. He could not remember the details, but his buddies brought him up to date. He had been in the bitter cold for several hours. He entered a warm building and stood before a hot fire. As the warmth of the fire soaked into the truck driver, he suddenly collapsed. His buddies caught him and he was transported to the Spa army hospital. After several hours of sleep and some hot food, the truck driver insisted that he be returned to his outfit. He was fearful that his Company would move on without him. His outfit had moved to a new location but his buddy had cared for the truck driver’s belongings.
A venison feast was celebrated by the Cannon Company soldiers. One of the guys shot a deer. It was illegal to kill a deer in the Ardennes, but the shooter explained that the deer “just got in front of the bullet”. The truck driver and his buddies with farm backgrounds properly “dressed” the deer and the cooks prepared the feast with all the trimmings. By late January the German army had been driven back to mid December positions near the Rhine River. The Ardennes campaign was now history. Thousands of Allied troops were killed. Thousands more were wounded, missing in action or taken prisoner. Many of the casualties resulted from the lack of proper clothing and footwear. The German army also suffered tremendous losses. The superiority of the Allied forces in equipment, manpower and planes seriously depleted Hitler’s ability to wage war on two fronts. The tide had turned in favor of the Allies.
But that was not the end of heavy lifting for the 75th Infantry Division. Hitler created another breakthrough in southeast France near Strasburg. His strategy was to divert the Allies’ attention from a possible Rhine River crossing by pushing into the Alsace-Lorraine city of Colmar near the Swiss border. Late January found the truck driver in a long convoy of military trucks and equipment departing Belgium and heading south through France. The convoy drove day and night, passing through the city of Nancy and over the treacherous Vosges Mountains. Extreme driving skill—and lots of luck—was required to navigate the narrow mountainous roads while traveling under complete black out conditions. The driver’s only guide was to follow the tiny slit of blackout light from the vehicle ahead. Deep snow-filled ravines reflected in the cold moonlight.
More than 72 hours of continuous driving brought the 75th Division convoy to another battlefront. The German army was deeply entrenched around Colmar. The snow and cold of the Ardennes was replaced by deep mud. It was now the task of the 75th and other American units to assist the French Army in driving the Germans back across the Rhine. The Allies and French forces waged intensive, but successful, warfare for three weeks. The invading German forces were pushed back to their homeland. The honor of the French Army had been restored. During the Colmar campaign, the truck driver observed his gun crew buddies firing several rounds and then celebrating. Their guns were directed to fire at a church steeple being used as an enemy observation point. After firing five rounds, a big cheer went up. Five direct hits! The church steeple was obliterated. No more snipers from that place. The next day the Company’s cannons knocked out two enemy self propelled guns. Being several miles from the target, the crews relied upon the reports from their “forward observer”. The “F.O.” was positioned with the front line infantrymen to direct the fire of the cannons—at great personal risk.
Now that the Colmar Pocket in southeast France was eliminated, the 75th Division was ordered to “load up” and hit the road. The convoy retraced its route back through the Vosges Mountains, back through the city of Nancy to a rest area for rehabilitation of men and equipment. While passing through Nancy for the second time, the truck driver recalled his father being stationed there in the first War. Ironically, they had traveled the same highways. This stop for rehab was fondly remembered by the truck driver. A 291st Regimental Officer located a Quartermasters bath unit near Luneville, France. A schedule arranged for the maximum number to take advantage of the showers in a short time period. For most men, it was the first shower in many weeks. Upon leaving the showers, the men were greeted by another amazing sight—clean clothes—the first clean clothes since mid December. The troop’s morale was very high after this welcomed pause in the journey. It was amazing what a shower and clean clothes could do.
Resuming their journey, the refreshed troops of the 75th Division proceeded north through Belgium into the Netherlands. The 291st Regiment relieved the 3rd British Parachute Brigade of their positions along the Maas River. The Cannon Company was now in the level river valley near Horn, Holland in Limburg province. The Maas River must be crossed before reaching the Rhine River and the German border. A few hours after arriving in the area, the truck driver was visited by several teen age Dutch boys. One of the boys, Manny, spoke fairly good English and proudly served as interpreter. The boys visited almost daily. The Cannon Company troops would share food items, especially chocolate, with the teenagers. The boys claimed to be practicing their English, in exchange for treats from the soldiers.
Several days after arriving at the location near Horn, Manny invited the truck driver to be a guest for a meal in his Dutch home. The truck driver received permission from his Company Officer to accept the invitation. The Company’s head cook heard of the invitation and provided sugar, coffee and other staples to present to the Dutch hosts. The meal with Manny’s family was centered on their delicacy: buttermilk pie. It was an enlightening evening for the truck driver. Manny did the translating for his parents and sister. It was revealed that Manny’s oldest brother was conscripted into the German army in 1940. His family had no knowledge of their son’s whereabouts or safety. The family proudly showed a picture of their 1939 Chevrolet. That vehicle was taken from them immediately upon the 1940 German occupation of Holland. Their only mode of transportation now was bicycle or walking. As he thanked his hosts for a pleasant evening, Manny gave the truck driver a note with this address: E Knopps, Ryksweg C.38, Horn, Limburg, Holland.
The balmy, spring-like weather of Holland was appreciated by the Cannon Company troops. Just a few weeks ago, the soldiers had been shivering in the bitter cold in neighboring Belgium. Last week they had departed the mud and mire of Colmar in southeast France. In a few days the 291st Regiment crossed the Maas River and took up a position near the west bank of the Rhine River. The Cannon Company was assigned to occupy a farmstead in the river plain. The farmstead consisted of a substantial barn and home, each being connected to the other. This building arrangement was very common. A low wall surrounded the farm compound. At least twenty cows were housed in the barn. A huge hay loft above the barn provided an inviting space for the troops to deposit their sleeping bags. Some of the “city” soldiers did not appreciate the smell of the cows or their gentle mooing at night. They all agreed that sleeping above the cows was many times better than the Ardennes snow or the Colmar mud.
News began to circulate regarding the anticipated Rhine crossing. In preparation for possible enemy action, the farm family was ordered to vacate their premises and move to a safe area further behind the lines. Upon being told to move, the farmer protested loudly. He refused to leave his cows. They must be milked twice daily. No provision had been made to evacuate the cows with the family. His protestations rang loud and clear. Sensing a solution to the milking problem, the truck driver approached his officer with a plan. Being raised on an Illinois farm, he volunteered to milk the cows in the farmer’s absence. The farmer reluctantly agreed to this arrangement. Actually, he had no options. The truck driver selected other farm guys to assist in the milking. He drafted the city guys to operate the manual beet chopper. This machine required considerable manpower to spin the crank to crush the beets that were the staple source of cow’s food, along with the hay. The milking endeavor was successful. The soldiers milked morning and evening. They were not permitted to drink the raw milk. However the Company cooks provided tasteful meals using heated milk.
Several days passed. The Rhine crossing was completed and the German army was pushed further east. As Cannon Company prepared to depart the farmstead, the farm family was permitted to return. The farmer rushed into the barn, saw that his cows were in good health and had been milked properly. With tears streaming down his face, he grabbed the truck driver, gave him a heartfelt hug and kissed him on both cheeks. The farmer’s gratitude was beyond description. He attempted to thank the troops in broken English and with more hugs and kisses. The truck driver knew he would always remember milking cows while in the Army. Incidentally, several city guys tried their hand milking—but without much success.
Devastated German cities met the eyes of Cannon Company soldiers. No citizens were seen. The Allies encountered pockets of German resistance in the drive to the Ruhr industrial complex. The factories and steel mills of Essen and Dusseldorf produced critical material for the German war machine. Hundreds of German soldiers were captured daily. Many appeared to be teenagers. Others were much older—in their sixties or more. Conscripted soldiers of many occupied nations were glad to be captured. They were aware a prisoner of war of the Allies was assured of food and shelter—much better than being a weary and starving German soldier.
By mid April, 1945, the Ruhr factories were silenced. Thousands of German prisoners filled the Allies’ compounds. Elements of the German army were retreating further east. Concentration camps were discovered and liberated. The indescribable conditions at these camps shocked the world. Another April event shocked the Allies: the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt! Vice President Harry Truman was now Commander in Chief. The truck driver of Cannon 14 was busy transporting food and supplies to the liberated conscripted labor camps. Those forced laborers were taken to rail stations to be returned to their homelands. Most did not know if their homes and families had survived the war years. The truck driver heard more earth shaking news: Hitler committed suicide!
May 8th, 1945–the truck driver was working on a warehouse dock. The loud speakers suddenly blared: “Germany has surrendered! The war in Europe is over!”
The surrender took place near Rheims, France, in the same building as the 1918 German surrender and the Armistice of the first war. The Nazi regime in Europe was history. Now all eyes were directed to the Pacific. When would that war end? At what cost?
Truck driver and narrator: PFC Frank Chambers, Cannon Company, 291st Infantry Regiment, 75th Infantry Division
Narrator’s Notes:
The dates, places and events were derived from several sources: “75th Infantry Division, 291st Regiment After-Action Reports”–(Official secret military reports now declassified), “The 75th Infantry Division in Combat” and personal material. Writings and books from veterans and war historians were helpful in the creation of this and previous narratives.