The End of the War in Moosburg

Research and Documentation © Historian Dr. Dominik Reither, M.A.

Publication in the Moosburger Zeitung April 2020

on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Stalag VII A on April 29, 1945

Dr. Dominik Reither is a member of the Stalag Moosburg e.V. association, which is dedicated to researching and documenting the history of the POW camp Stalag VII A and its consequences.

Note: The translation was done by automated means and may contain errors or misinterpretations. The original German text is binding. *** Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version) ***

2020-04-25

The end of the war in Moosburg (I): The fronts collapse Moosburg end of April 1945 By Dr. Dominik Reither

In April 1945 the end of the war became apparent in Moosburg, as everywhere in Bavaria. The situation of the German troops was hopeless. Inadequately equipped and shrunken units were confronted with an allied superiority of men and material, which in the meantime also had unrestricted air sovereignty.

The situation in the Reich

Since the summer of 1944, German troops had been retreating in the west, south and east and had soon reached the borders of the Reich. On October 21, 1944 the American forces were able to occupy Aachen, the first major German city. In January 1945, the Red Army had reached the Oder, and on March 7, 1945, the US Army crossed the Rhine. The defense in the West had collapsed, one town after the other on the Rhine was occupied by Americans and British. On April 25, 1945, the Red Army had completely surrounded Berlin. Near Torgau on the Elbe River, American and Soviet troops had met on the same day - Germany was thus divided into two halves.

The situation in Bavaria

By the end of April 1945, Bavaria, too, had long been a combat zone. After crossing the Rhine, American troops had advanced south and east along the Rhine and Main. On March 25, 1945, American troops entered Bavarian soil near Aschaffenburg and have since occupied Bavaria from north to south. After the conquest of Franconia, the 7th Army under General Patch crossed the Danube near Dillingen on April 22nd and thus reached the area of Wehrkreis VII (Southern Bavaria between Danube and Alps). It now began with the conquest of the western parts of southern Bavaria with the important intermediate destination Munich, while the 3rd US Army under General Patton turned to the Bavarian southeast. The American forces also advanced rapidly in Bavaria. They could quickly bypass German resistance nests or smash them by means of superior air forces. The Bavarian highways, blocked by refugees, members of evacuated services and scattered soldiers, represented a greater obstacle to the advance than the German troops, according to some historians.

Power structures

In this situation, chaotic power relations prevailed in many places in Bavaria. The services of the Wehrmacht were overwhelmed by the situation and difficult to reach because of the frequent changes of position, and effective military leadership was hardly possible. State and local authorities, departments of the Reich which had been transferred to the south, party organizations and organs such as the Hitler Youth and the Gauleiter, police leaders, the Volkssturm and various SS units exercised power, together or against each other, and Page 1 of 24 organized "defensive measures". In this tangle of confusing power structures, often exacerbated by the rapid collapse of the German lines of defense, there was always scope for individual officials and officers to make independent and far-reaching decisions. However, there was always the danger of summary execution if another commander or power holder judged an order to be treason or cowardice in the eyes of the enemy.

Americans on the Danube

On 26 April the front ran along the Danube in the south-eastern part of Bavaria, with an arc around Regensburg. The advancing 3rd US Army was confronted by the XIII SS Army Corps. This was subordinated to the 1st German Army, which was to defend the Danube and the South German area. The space between Freising and Dingolfing was assigned to the XIII SS- Armeekorps. To this corps also belonged the 38th SS Grenadier Division Nibelungen, which withdrew in the direction of Landshut/Moosburg. The 38th SS-Division Nibelungen consisted largely of 16- and 17-year-old Hitler Youth, who fought with great fanaticism. An analysis of the General Staff of the 3rd U.S. Army on the basis of intensive aerial reconnaissance showed that the American troops were confronted only with widely scattered German infantry in small numbers, which was no longer able to form a unified line of defense. Organized resistance was no longer possible, field artillery was virtually non-existent, the German Air Force was only sporadically deployed, and there was hardly any tank and artillery activity. The replacement and logistics system of the Wehrmacht had collapsed, as had its communication channels. Reinforcements and supplies had been overrun and cut off by advancing US troops. The German soldiers facing the Americans were largely inexperienced. Some units capitulated to the advancing Americans instead of fighting. On April 26th alone, the 3rd US Army took over 7000 prisoners. However, the Americans reckoned with increasing German resistance the further south they advanced. Still in the evening of April 26th, troops of the 3rd US Army crossed the Danube without major difficulties after taking Ingolstadt. They were able to repel a German counterattack without any problems. Thus the last natural obstacle on the way to Moosburg was overcome. The Americans were only a good 60 kilometers away from the town.

Moosburg in April 1945

In Moosburg, too, the effects of the war were already being felt massively in various ways before the end of April 1945. Evacuees had already come to Moosburg during 1944. These were people who had been brought to the countryside from the bomb-prone areas of the Reich, especially the big cities. By 31 December 1945 886 men, women and children had been brought to Moosburg in this way. In addition, the first refugees, inhabitants of the areas east of the Oder and Neisse, who had left their homes in fear of the Red Army, were already arriving in Moosburg. In 1944 several makeshift homes were built for them in the Bonau, among others on Stadtbadstraße. With the influx of evacuees and refugees, the war became a direct experience for the people of Moosburg. Many young Moosburgers had been drafted into the Wehrmacht, some for years. By the end of April 1945 more than 200 of them had already fallen and more than 100 others were missing. It can be assumed that they also perished in the war, but their death could not be documented in the chaos of the fighting, especially during the collapse of the German fronts from summer 1944 onwards. Memorial crosses were erected at the war memorial for those who died - every day the people of Moosburg were reminded how many fellow citizens had already lost their lives in Page 2 of 24 the war. In spring 1945 the end of the war was approaching in Moosburg and its surroundings. The fact that the fronts were drawing nearer was shown, among other things, by the fact that in the last months of the war several military hospitals were moved from Silesia to Freising. In March the International Red Cross had established a base in Moosburg. Several trains brought food to the town, which was distributed by trucks to various camps. In addition there were the air raids on Landshut, Freising and Erding in March and April 1945 and the low-flying attacks on trains and vehicles. War now also became a deadly reality in Moosburg and the surrounding area.

Situation in Stalag VII A

The end of the war also made itself felt in the Stalag. The German leadership had prisoner- of-war camps evacuated, especially before the collapsing Eastern Front, so that no prisoners fell into the hands of the enemy. Therefore, thousands of prisoners of war have been coming to Moosburg since the end of 1944. Among them were about 12,000 officers, including 2,000 air force officers from Stalag Luft III (Sagan in Silesia) as well as the entire officers' camp at Eichstätt. Because the railway traffic had partially collapsed, they often had to march long distances with insufficient supplies, and arrived in the Stalag exhausted and often sick. There are no longer any official figures on the occupancy of the camp from these weeks. Figures on how many prisoners were in the camp at the end of the war vary between 27,000 and 130,000, the former having been later revised upwards, the latter including prisoners of war in subcamps. Probably between 70,000 and 80,000 prisoners were housed in the Stalag at the end of the war. Several months earlier, on December 1, 1944, 75,400 POWs had already been in the Stalag area, about 20,000 of them in the camp itself. In order to accommodate the new arrivals, the camp administration confiscated tents for 30,000 people. They also increased the occupancy of the barracks. Contemporary witnesses also report that the camp was completely overcrowded, which is confirmed by pictures showing how numerous prisoners crowded between barracks on the camp grounds and obviously had to camp outdoors. In times of an increasingly chaotic situation, the camp management had to provide for an ever increasing number of people. Since it was difficult to bring supplies to the Stalag due to the extensive destruction of the transport infrastructure and the low-level air raids, the Red Cross food parcels were particularly important.

The situation at the end of April

In the last days of April the situation in Moosburg became more and more confusing. Major Koller, commander of the Landesschützenbataillon 512, which provided the guards of the Stalag, felt this especially. Due to the numerous air raids towards the end of the war, telephone connections with the commands of the 512 Landesschützenbataillon 512 in Erding, Ingolstadt, Schrobenhausen or Mainburg were interrupted. The connection had to be maintained with reporters so that Koller at least had an approximate overview of the situation. Together with the prisoners who had been brought to the Stalag from other camps at the end of the war, their guards also came along. Thus the battalion grew from originally seven to 12 companies. These newly assigned companies were accommodated in the immediate vicinity of the town. In the new companies were many Luftwaffe members. The level of training was moderate, many soldiers were only able to serve to a limited extent. For the command of the Land Riflemen it was clear that the war was coming to an end. Major Koller, as commander of the Landesschützenbataillon and also combat commander of Page 3 of 24

Moosburg, was aware that resistance was hopeless. The combat value of his sifted out troops, consisting of men of limited fitness for service who had no heavy weapons as guards, was low. Koller was also subordinated to the Moosburg Volkssturm, which only had a few bazookas. Koller described the cooperation with the leaders of the Volkssturm as good.

Hardly any more orders

No meaningful information on the situation and further plans came from superior services, and there were hardly any orders. The commanding general of Wehrkreis VII had gone to the military hospital, as had another senior officer. Major Koller had the impression that the officers in Wehrkreiskommando no longer had an overview of the situation, let alone were willing and able to make a realistic assessment of the situation and the resulting consequences. Thus, at the end of April, a daily order from the new commander of Wehrkreis VII arrived, according to which the front on the Isar line was to be restored. Koller misappropriated the letter. He was afraid that he would make a fool of himself with his troops if he were to make it known as instructed. On the order of the Wehrkreis command, pioneers arrived at the end of April to prepare the Isar and Amper bridges for blasting. Koller and an engineer from Mittlere Isar AG were able to persuade them, at least in part, to abandon their plans. The traffic on the road from Landshut to Munich had reached an unusually high volume in the last days of April. Long military convoys passed Moosburg. Large units of troops flooded back. Their constitution proved to Koller that the front had been completely dissolved. In one day, eleven generals and their staff passed Moosburg with the goal of Garmisch. Refugees streamed into the city.

The situation is coming to a head

After the Americans crossed the Danube, Koller could already hear gunfire at night. At the same time, the activities of the American Air Force decreased. From April 25/26, Koller had hardly any contact with the leadership; he was on his own. When the traffic on the road to Munich subsided and hardly any German units passed through, this was the sign for Major Koller that the front was now in close proximity. Even the Moosburgers were now secretly making their preparations for the American invasion.

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The war memorial during the Second World War. Photos: Archive Karl A. Bauer

Abbildung 1 The completely overcrowded Stalag in the last days of the war: prisoners camp between the barracks in the open air. Archive Karl A. Bauer

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2020-04-28

The end of the war in Moosburg (II): 27 April 1945: The day of the decision – Citizens horrified by death marches of concentration camp prisoners By Dr. Dominik Reither

On 26 April 1945 the 3rd US Army had crossed the Danube near Ingolstadt. Their units now advanced south, including the 14th US Armoured Division in the direction of Moosburg. The actors in the town now had to decide how to proceed. In an analysis of the situation on 28 April, the head of the G-2 Staff Division of the 3rd US Army attempted to determine the Wehrmacht's plans in his area of operations. He assumed that the aim of the German troops was to keep a corridor into the Bavarian Alps open. He located this corridor in the area between Passau and Linz. The officer suspected that the Wehrmacht wanted to use this corridor to move troops from Czechoslovakia away from the Red Army into the Alpine fortress, especially the still largely intact Heeresgruppe Mitte, with 1.2 million soldiers in the end, which was located in Bohemia and Moravia. Based on these considerations, the staff officer also predicted the Wehrmacht's further manoeuvres. The German troops would try to gain time by hastily building up lines of defence along the Isar and Inn rivers. He feared that further troops could be transferred to the operational area of the 3rd US Army. In this way, the Wehrmacht would still be able to delay the American advance. If the final battle in the Alps should really take place, it would be imminent. This resulted in the strategy of the 3rd US Army to advance as quickly as possible into the area of Passau and Linz, in order to cut off the path of the German troops standing in Bohemia and Moravia. Therefore, securing the crossings over the Isar and Inn rivers was an important milestone for the American troops. The occupation of the intact bridges became of paramount importance.

What the command situation in Moosburg looked like

Regardless of the precarious military situation, the orders given to the officers in Moosburg were aimed at continuing the war. At the end of April, Colonel Burger had received the order to leave with the captured officers for the south. At times there were orders to let the American prisoners march into Ebersberg Forest and on to Mittenwald, but to hand the others over to the Americans. Probably one wanted to use them as a bargaining chip in possible negotiations with the Allies. The camp buildings were to be blown up in order to prevent the enemy from getting hold of any accommodation. All soldiers not directly needed for guarding had to be integrated into the combat troops. A line of defence was to be built along the Isar and Amper rivers. As late as April 20, the command of the VII Army Corps had ordered the two divisions under its command to create, among other things, reception positions for the field troops retreating from the combat zone to the Danube, so that the advancing Americans could be brought to a halt here. Civil administration and party organizations were also to be called upon for this purpose. The Corps demanded "that Bavaria be defended along the Iller and Danube and that the enemy be given a final stop

Page 6 of 24 here". After the Danube line had fallen, the next order of perseverance was issued the following day. On April 27th, at 20.30 hours, the commander-in-chief West issued an order to prepare, among other things, a defensive line Isar-Amper-Glonn-Ammersee-Schongau. The defence order, which was also valid for Moosburg, read: "The hour of decision has come. It is about the last resistance and victory. The Isar-Amper-Glonn-Line is the last defensive position. It must be held. From here the great offensive begins. New, best- equipped divisions are ready. Decisive, previously unknown weapons will be used." Mutineers and deserters were to be dealt with ruthlessly, everyone had the duty to remove failing officers in order to take the lead themselves.

The actual military situation

At the upper levels of command one was far from a realistic assessment of the situation. Moosburg was in the operational area of the 1st German Army. It consisted of a hodgepodge of leftover units of the Wehrmacht, the Waffen-SS and the Volkssturm. The commander of Wehrkreis VII had three divisions to secure his defensive section. One of them, which was to defend a section of 14 kilometres, consisted of a colonel, his driver and his lad. The division commander was supposed to fill up his unit with soldiers who were flooding back. On 27 April the Americans had occupied Regensburg and its surroundings and crossed the Danube at numerous points. The US troops took almost 15,000 prisoners on April 27 alone. In general, the units that had crossed the Danube were only offered disorganised, but sometimes vehement resistance, occasionally there were more violent artillery attacks. After the 48th Tank Battalion had crossed the Danube on April 27th, its aim was now to secure the Isar crossings at Moosburg and Landshut. The 38th SS Grenadier Division "Nibelungen", was now pushed further east, towards Moosburg, by the Americans.

A courageous decision of the Moosburgers

In view of the hopeless situation, the decision not to defend Moosburg and to hand the camp over to the Americans had already been taken by the people involved on site, camp commander Colonel Burger, the commander of the guards, Major Koller and Mayor Müller, in the last few days. About a week before the American invasion, Mayor Müller had informed the parish priest Schiml that he wanted to hand over the city without a fight. Allegedly he also went to Freising with a party member to achieve the handover without a fight at the district leader's office. The latter, however, is rather unlikely, since such a decision was ultimately to be made by the Wehrmacht. The district leader would therefore not have been authorized to give such orders. Moreover, as a high-ranking representative of the party he would have been a very bad address for such a request. Mayor Müller rather had to expect that a convinced National Socialist would not only reject such a request, but would also arrest him. Major Koller, who was in charge not only of the Volkssturm in Moosburg but also of the Volkssturm in Nandlstadt and Bruckberg, had instructed the Volkssturm men to ensure peace and order, to avoid any bloodshed, and not to allow anyone to approach the prisoners of war. Should another order be issued, the Volkssturm was only supposed to respond to it in appearance. Major Koller had also received orders from Colonel Burger to guard a depot with Red Cross parcels, the gasoline depot and the bakeries and to prevent looting. Major Koller also took the appropriate precautions. Colonel Burger had decided to stay with all Stalag personnel and hand over the camp to the Americans. He refused to carry out the order to march off with the prisoners, because such a Page 7 of 24 march would have ended in disaster. Moreover, the decision to blow up the Stalag and leave the prisoners to themselves would have led to chaotic conditions in Moosburg and the surrounding area. Therefore, on 27 April at the latest, the three actors agreed not to defend the town. Whether both of them, Burger as camp commander, Koller as Moosburg's combat commander, initially each of them decided to surrender without a fight or developed this plan together is not clear from the reports of the two officers. In their accounts they often mention each other and describe the intensive cooperation, Mayor Müller is not mentioned.

Both officers refused the order

Anyway, now it came to the oath. Both officers, camp commander and commander of the guards, refused the order to march off with the prisoners and resisted the clear instruction to participate in building a defensive line. They also documented their refusal to obey orders to the outside world. Thus, on April 27, Major Koller ordered a company of Landesschützen in Landshut to march south via Kumhausen and hand over the prisoners in Landshut to the Americans. Colonel Burger tried to convince the Wehrkreiskommando to declare the area around Moosburg a neutral area where no fighting was to take place. The Wehrkreiskommando was not averse to this proposal. However, before a decision was made, the defence section around Moosburg was placed under the command of the XIII SS Army Corps. The SS division "Nibelungen" was to defend the area around Moosburg with three regiments. In addition, the Wehrkreiskommando had transferred the corps command post to Pfarrkirchen in the course of 27 April. However, Colonel Burger did not receive any information about this. Burger had no contact either with Wehrkreiskommando or with the leadership of the SS Army Corps. Now the actors in Moosburg had more room for manoeuvre. The citizens of Moosburg also began to prepare for a peaceful handover. In the night from 27 to 28 April, a meeting of Moosburg's citizens took place in the presence of the town priest, during which it was discussed how, in the case of a handover without a fight, actions of fanatical Nazis, especially bridge blowing, could be prevented.

Death marches of concentration camp prisoners

Shortly before the end of the war, the people of Moosburg were reminded of the essence of the Third Reich: On April 26th, a train of concentration camp prisoners had already passed through Moosburg. They were inmates of the concentration camp Flossenbürg. Most of them had to march on foot to Dachau concentration camp. These were death marches, as many prisoners died of exhaustion on the way. Many who could not go any further were shot or beaten to death by the guards on the way. This was also the case in Moosburg. Prisoners were buried beside the road to Thonstetten. There were also six dead in the Thonstetten area. The numbers of this first death march through Moosburg are unclear. Colonel Burger remembered a train of 800 people after the war. According to pastor Schiml, several thousand emaciated people marched through the town. A second death march passed Moosburg on 27 April. It had its starting point in Straubing prison. This march is better documented, because there are two reports of prisoners who had to march along. One participant speaks of 1300 prisoners who were set on march. Another reports about the actual starting point of the march: In March 1945, about 2000 inmates of the Kassel penitentiary were transported by train in cattle cars to Halle, where they were caught in a heavy bombing raid that claimed many victims. Others, who wanted to escape to safety, were shot in part because of alleged escape attempts. After an intermediate stop, the Page 8 of 24 prisoners were taken by train to Straubing. There the train was turned away because the prison was already overcrowded, as well as in camp Prien, the next destination. After five days in cattle cars, without washing facilities and only with insufficient rations, the prisoners, who were meanwhile weakened and partially ill, were finally admitted to Straubing. Five to six men occupied a cell with twelve square meters.

In clogs and without food

Before the advancing Americans, about 4000 prisoners of the penitentiary were marched south on April 20 or 21. Their condition deteriorated visibly. From the second day on, the exhausting marching caused fatigue. Moreover, the prisoners only had clogs and were poorly fed. From the third day onwards, helpful farmers drove those who could no longer march from place to place on carts. The sick were put into the prisons along the way. When the food truck failed to arrive, the situation became dramatic. Prisoners who tried to plunder rents with turnips or potatoes along the way were beaten up by the guards with rifle butts. Since the prisoners had to sleep outdoors in the wet and cold April weather, colds and flu epidemics increased. Many died on the way or were shot. On 27 April the train reached Moosburg. There the prisoners were caught in a heavy storm and were without food. The prisoners spent the night in Moosburg. Here they were occasionally supplied with tobacco and food by prisoners of war and the population. The guards, however, intervened strictly and tried to prevent this.

Several thousand miserable creatures

On 28 April the march continued with the destination Dachau, which was to be reached on the same day. Via Langenbach and Marzling the march continued until about two kilometers behind Freising. There a cyclist approached the train and told it that Dachau was already occupied. This led to jubilation and high spirits among the prisoners. The first guards left the train. Now the prisoners turned around and stopped in Freising near the Bergcafé. For many Moosburger the trains were a shock. Obviously many now realized what National Socialism meant: "Every train several thousand miserables, including women among them. At the sight of them the heart cramps up. The people of Moosburg hurried to give bread and water to the emaciated, corpse-like figures - despite the strict guards. With loud words the people who saw the misery expressed their indignation", writes parish priest Alois Schiml in his report about the end of the war in Moosburg.

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Camp Commander Colonel Burger. Photos: Commander of the security forces, Major Archive Karl A. Bauer Koller.

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2020-04-29

The end of the war in Moosburg (III): US troops advance Negotiations with the Americans By Dr. Dominik Reither

On 28 April 1945, parts of the 14th US Armoured Division advanced to within a few kilometers of Moosburg. Germans and Americans now tried to negotiate a peaceful handover of the town and the Stalag. On the same day the first units of the XIII SS Army Corps, which had been entrusted with the defense of the area around Moosburg, arrived in their area of operations. These were three regiments of the 38th SS Grenadier Division "Nibelungen" or rather what was left of them and had made it to Moosburg. A regiment of the division took up position in the town. Another regiment stood north, another south of Moosburg. However, in view of the chaotic conditions, the deployment of troops was delayed by the disintegration of the German fronts. For example, parts of a company of the 38th SS Grenadier Division "Nibelungen" arrived in Moosburg only in the evening. The condition of this company was probably typical for the final phase of the war: It consisted of about 50 soldiers between 16 and 17 years of age. This troop came from Geisenfeld and advanced via Mainburg and walls to Moosburg. They had no heavy weapons and only little ammunition. On their way to Moosburg parts of the company also picked up other scattered soldiers and Wehrmacht followers. According to the town priest, the entering soldiers were a wretched sight. The SS commander in charge of Moosburg was determined to defend Moosburg "most effectively" with his troops and the guards of the Moosburg Stalag. He therefore called on the commander of the Stalag, Colonel Burger, to make available all expendable soldiers (2000 men of guards and Stalag personnel) and to march off with the captured officers. However, the actors in Moosburg pursued a different strategy. As agreed in a meeting the evening before, they prepared the handover without a fight. Major Koller, commander of the Landesschützenbataillon 512 (guard units of the Stalag) instructed the commanders of the Moosburg Volkssturm, as in the previous days, to maintain peace and order, to avoid looting and above all any bloodshed and to protect the prisoners. But they should not make any preparations for fighting. The master-at-arms of the Volkssturm rendered its ten bazookas useless. Now the country gunners also began to prepare for the surrender of the city without a fight. The battalion staff destroyed all sensitive documents on April 28. Of his seven regular companies only two were available to Koller, one in Thonstetten, one for Moosburg in the gymnasium, as well as his staff and the Volkssturm. Two companies were in the Stalag, one in Landshut, the others in the external commands. Koller had hardly any contact with the foreign companies. In the course of 28 April the stream of refugees, which had been continuing for days, also stopped, and the thunder of the cannons came closer. The front was moving towards Moosburg.

The situation in the Stalag

On the morning of April 28, Colonel Burger assembled all the Stalag personnel and the guard troops who had already prepared to march off with the prisoners to the south or for deployment at the front for a final roll call. He announced that the prisoners would not be Page 11 of 24 transported away, Moosburg would not be defended and the guards would not be integrated into the combat troops. He wanted to hand over the camp to the Americans. He then explained this to the prisoners. With this, Colonel Burger had publicly refused an order. Against the background of the general command situation, he and his supporting men were putting their lives in danger. They were threatened with summary executions. Colonel Burger and Major Koller now began to prepare the handover of the camp without a fight. As late as April 28th, Colonel Burger discussed the handover of the camp with prisoners, especially the rations, the military hospital, the prisoners' files, the prisoners' valuables and five million Reichsmarks in foreign currency. In the evening American and British officers were sent to the individual units and also to the battalion staff of the Landesschützen stationed in Moosburg to coordinate and supervise the measures discussed.

Advance of the Americans

On April 28, American troops had crossed the Danube and advanced to the Isar. The US troops advanced quickly despite isolated resistance and were able to take numerous villages and towns. On April 28 alone, US troops took almost 18,000 prisoners. Occasionally, the US Army also encountered Hitler Youth. It ordered them to disappear and emphasized its orders by shooting them over the heads. When they were fired upon, the Hitler Boys would retreat and seek cover. The Americans advanced particularly fast in the area of Freising and Moosburg. In the Moosburg area, the 14th US Armoured Division under Major General Smith was operating. The troops of the division were divided into three combat groups (Combat Command, CC). CCA advanced to Moosburg under Brigadier General Karlstad. This combat group consisted, among others, of the 47th Tank Battalion, a company of the 68th Infantry Battalion, the 125th Engineer Battalion, the 94th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron and other support units, a total of about 1750 soldiers. The 47th Tank Battalion crossed the Danube on 28 April with the aim of securing the crossing over the Isar. In the evening the battalion reached walls and together with a company of the 68th Infantry Battalion took the place defended by the SS. In the process it took 821 prisoners and freed about 1560 prisoners of war. During the night the SS sent a patrol from Moosburg to Mauern. They found out that there was an American tank force of 32 Sherman tanks parked in the front gardens of the houses without any great security measures. Between the afternoon hours of April 28 and the morning of April 29, negotiations took place between the commanders of the German and American troops on the handover of Moosburg and Stalag VII A without fighting. On the German side there were plans to agree with the Americans on a neutral zone around the city where no fighting would take place and from which the German troops would withdraw. Colonel Burger gave the most detailed description of the events. His report shows that the actors in Moosburg had to act when they learned that US troops had occupied Mainburg and Nandlstadt and reached walls. According to his memory, this was around noon on 28 April. Colonel Burger now decided to contact the American commander and inform him of his intentions. Representatives of the Red Cross and the longest-serving American and British officers in the Stalag were to leave at 2 p.m. to negotiate with the Americans. The main problem now was to dissuade the SS from defending Moosburg or to make them withdraw. At first, Colonel Burger did not succeed in convincing the SS commanders not to obey their orders. He pointed out to the commander of the SS regiment standing in Moosburg that there could be considerable consequences if, under the eyes of the Red Cross, prisoners of war were to lose their lives during fighting. The SS officer was to negotiate with the Americans for a neutral zone without fighting. Then he would not break Page 12 of 24 any order, because he would not have to fight if he was not attacked. Thereupon the SS leader decided to follow Colonel Burger's plan and agree with the Americans to keep Moosburg out of the fighting. At about 3.30 pm the delegation left with the SS-officer in the direction of the front. According to a report from the 47th Tank Battalion, as two companies of the battalion were preparing to attack Moosburg on the morning of 29 April, a German delegation with a white flag arrived and proposed to interrupt the fighting to give time to evacuate the prisoners of war. According to the evaluation of an American foundation close to the government, which deals with the history of the US Army (Army History Center of the Army Historical Foundation), the events took place as follows: In the early morning hours of April 29th, a representative of the Swiss Red Cross, a major of the SS and the officers Colonel Good and Colonel Willets, who were held in the Stalag, drove to Mauern and were transferred from there to the command post of Battle Group A and received by Brigadier General Karlstad. The SS major was carrying a proposal from the SS commander that a neutral zone should be established in and around Moosburg out of consideration for the prison camp. Representatives of the German and allied governments were to negotiate the fate of the prisoners. Brigadier General Karlstad passed the proposal on to the Division Commander, Major General Smith. According to Colonel Burger, the SS officer was detained by US troops. The rest of the negotiating delegation returned at 6 pm and announced that the Americans had promised to treat the Stalag personnel in accordance with international law and to release them from captivity soon. No reprisals, looting or riots would be permitted in Moosburg. However, the agreement of a neutral zone was rejected. Before the departure of the SS parliamentarians, it had been agreed with them that no fighting would take place during their absence. An SS soldier also reported in his memoirs that the SS officer had been detained. His company commander had informed him that a neutral zone had been agreed on the early morning of 29 April. The American sources come to the same conclusion as Colonel Burger. At his headquarters in Manching, Major General Smith rejected the German delegation's proposal. It would have allowed the German troops to withdraw undisturbed and also to take prisoners with them. Moreover, the US troops would then not have been able to occupy the Isar Bridge, as it was in the neutral zone. The division would then not have been able to fulfil its most important task, which was to secure the crossing over the Isar. Instead, Smith demanded the unconditional surrender of the German troops in Moosburg. However, the American commanders did not set any deadlines for acceptance. Major Koller and pastor Schiml, on the other hand, report that a neutral zone with the lines Thonstetten-Mauern-Volkmannsdorf had been agreed with the Americans, in which fighting was not to take place. The German soldiers had been assured of a free withdrawal. According to pastor Schiml, American parliamentarians even came to the city in the night of April 28-29, which is completely unlikely in view of the military situation. An interpreter from the camp also remembered after the war that Burger had announced such an agreement. However, Major Koller was not present at the negotiations; he received his information from Colonel Burger, as well as the interpreter and pastor Schiml. Either rumors arose here or Burger deliberately presented the results of the negotiations in a better way in order to reassure his people. Perhaps he hoped that the prospect of a neutral zone would persuade the military in Moosburg to refrain from fighting when the Americans invaded.

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No neutral zone

Even if the timing of the events differs, the reports of Colonel Burger and the files of the American armed forces agree in the end: A neutral zone around Moosburg was not agreed upon. The Americans called for surrender and assured proper treatment. An agreement had thus just not been reached - it was now up to the German side to capitulate or continue the fight.

Avoiding bloodshed

In Moosburg every effort was now made to avoid fighting, attacks and destruction, especially the blowing up of bridges, and to hand over the town and the Stalag without bloodshed. In the night from April 28 to 29 the camp administration withdrew the guards from inside the Stalag, and the prisoners themselves took over the security measures. Allied soldiers were assigned to all posts on the outer guard towers. Major Koller, together with an American and a British officer, inspected the various depots in preparation for the approaching handover. During this night, a large part of the SS gradually withdrew from the Moosburg area and marched over the Isar bridge, according to Major Koller, all young men. Colonel Burger states that he had pretended to the now leaderless SS that they had received orders to clear the area around Moosburg. However, this is not comprehensible. Even if Colonel Burger's description that the Americans had captured the SS commander sent as a parliamentarian is correct, the SS in Moosburg could still have contacted the command post of the division or another regiment and clarified the situation with the officers there. It is more likely that the SS withdrew from the crushing superiority of the US troops. In the early morning of April 29th, reports arrived that the remaining SS soldiers on the Isar would now resist and that the river would become the main battle line. The SS units prepared the bridge over the Isar to be blown up. A Moosburg Volkssturmführer and an officer of the Landesschützenbataillon tried to convince the SS officer in charge not to carry out the blasting. Major Koller also worked hard to ensure that the bridge was not blown up, pointing out its great importance for the supply of Upper Bavaria, since cables important for the power supply ran underneath the bridge. Finally, Colonel Burger and the SS Division Commander, who had driven up from his command post in Buch am Erlbach, agreed not to blow up the bridge. The people of Moosburg were able to save the Amper Bridge themselves. An explosive charge had already been placed there. The members of the Moosburg Volkssturm, especially Franz Dietl, succeeded in disarming this explosive charge. Dietl had taken part in a training course for defusing bombs and had therefore been asked by the second mayor, Weise, to try to render the explosive charge at the bridge useless. In the night from April 28 to 29, Dietl crept to the ampere-bridge, crawled to the explosive charge, pinched the ignition wires with a pair of pliers and threw the explosive into the ampere-bridge. With this action Dietl also put his life in danger. Around five o'clock Major Koller received word from the Volkssturm that anti-tank guns had taken up position along the road to the station. Major Koller was able to persuade the commanding officer to retreat across the Isar Bridge. The SS now began to entrench themselves at the Amper Bridge and the heights towards Ziegelberg in order to stop the American advance expected from the direction of the walls. In a house near the Amper bridge a company set up its command post. The officers in Moosburg expected the American invasion on 29 April around noon.

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Brigadier General Charles H. Karlstad, Major General Albert C. Smith, Commander of Combat Group A (CCA) of Commander of the 14th US Armored the 14th US Armored Division Division. Repros: Reither

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2020-04-30

The end of the war in Moosburg (IV): April 29, 1945: The American invasion Short but violent shootings in the streets fights in the city By Dr. Dominik Reither -

At about 11 o'clock the SS returned fighting to Moosburg, pursued by American tanks, and entrenched itself in the city. The Americans followed and entered Moosburg. SS-members fired machine guns at the advancing Americans. There were short but violent shootings in the streets. Two members of the Hitler Youth, aged twelve and 14, also fired revolvers at American tanks. The tower of the minster was also fired at with machine guns, and soon the resistance of a machine gun was broken. American tanks drove at top speed from the Amper Bridge past the Kastulus Minster towards the Isar Bridge in order to occupy it as quickly as possible and thus to avoid destruction. Just as the first American tank drove onto the stone bridge ramp at 11.10 a.m., the steel middle section was blown up. The force of the explosion threw the tank back. However, it was not damaged, no occupant was injured. A large mushroom cloud of smoke could be seen over the city. Since the tank troops could not advance any further at first, they took care of the German soldiers, who came and surrendered by the hundreds from buildings, cellars and alleys. At the same time, American tanks poured into the city. Soon the Plan square was full of tanks, new arrivals rolled through Moosburg without interruption. They gathered at Herrnstraße and on the Gries.

The town was occupied

Franz Dietl from Moosburg later remembered that he approached the Americans with a white flag and met American tanks at the railroad crossing (now the railway underpass). He explained to a German-speaking captain that he was to hand over Moosburg on behalf of the mayor. The Americans put Dietl with his white flag on a tank and drove into town with him. There they arrived at the town hall around 11.30 a.m. and Dietl led the Americans to Mayor Müller and his deputy Weise. He also observed the disarmament of the Moosburg police: their weapons and helmets were thrown into the street, then an American tank drove over them. Meanwhile American infantry began to occupy the city. By noon the situation had calmed down and the Moosburgers came out of their cellars and hiding places. The soldiers were greeted by the Moosburg population with flowers, most of them had already been flagged white. The GIs now searched the houses for weapons, hidden soldiers and cameras. During this search and when German soldiers and civilians were captured they also stole valuables such as watches and wedding rings. SS-members had hidden in some houses during the fighting. In some of the houses where they found SS members, American soldiers rioted and destroyed furniture and household effects. Nothing is known about victims among the civilian population. The vicarage and some houses on the Plan square and also the tower of St. John's Church had small bullet holes. The number of German soldiers killed is not known. Major Koller later saw ten or twelve SS members killed at the Amper Bridge. One was only 16 years old. Directly after the fighting, dead German soldiers, carcasses of horses and wrecked vehicles lay on the road to Langenbach.

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The Americans in the city

The Americans arrested not only German soldiers, but all uniform wearers. Members of the gendarmerie, city police and NSDAP officials were arrested. Even members of the Red Cross and the fire brigade were among the prisoners. The Moosburg firemen were first taken to a collection camp in Reichersdorf, but were soon released. At the cattle market square the Americans collected the prisoners, especially the soldiers of the Landesschützenbataillon stationed in the town, but also Mayor Müller and the town council. American soldiers took away their watches and other valuables. Around 4 p.m. the prisoners, about 600 men, were marched over the Plan square and the Amper in the direction of Gammelsdorf. In the course of the afternoon American soldiers took quarters in the houses of Moosburg citizens or set up quarters for staff or news agencies. The inhabitants had to leave their homes within a short time. Affected families were usually not allowed to take anything with them and were not allowed to enter the house. The Americans often took household effects with them or damaged them. Numerous tanks stood in the city and drove through the streets, damaging gardens, but especially streets, sidewalks and curbs. American infantry and tank soldiers combed the city all afternoon looking for scattered German soldiers and weapons. At 7 p.m. the town was secured.

The liberation of the Stalag

Only after the conquest of the city did the US troops turn to the camp. The main goal of the Americans was to conquer the bridge over the Isar without destroying it, thus ensuring an intact crossing over the river, and to disrupt the retreat of the German troops. The US troops therefore concentrated first on the city, only later on the camp. When the first American tanks were sighted in the Stalag, the Allied prisoners on the watch towers took over the posts. They, no longer the German soldiers, now guarded the camp. The prisoners of war were already awaiting the arrival of the liberators when the battle between SS and US troops broke out. At 10 o'clock in the morning, the noise of the battle intensified in the camp, and from the Stalag, the fighting could be observed in the morning. As the fighting approached the railway embankment, at 11:30 a.m. numerous shells, including grenades, hit the subcamp, directed at the SS positions on the railway embankment, injuring several Germans. Many prisoners now withdrew into splinter protection trenches. Only one prisoner suffered a gunshot wound. The German officers in the Stalag could observe how endless columns of tanks, trucks and jeeps rolled from the direction of the walls to Moosburg. The officers were surprised that these columns were heading for the city, not the Stalag. Only after noon did American tanks pull up at the eastern end of the camp road, encircle the camp from the north and after half an hour drove up in front of the camp commandant's office. Colonel Burger handed over the camp. This took only a few minutes; at 13 o'clock the Stalag was in American hands. The camp area was occupied by the C Company of the 47th Panzer Battalion. The company was able to free eight of its men who were considered missing, one soldier met his son, a captured airman lieutenant. At 12.55 pm the commander of the combat group reported to the divisional headquarters that he had 27,000 prisoners of war in his area of responsibility. The American commanders immediately took first measures. A British officer was appointed as camp leader, an American colonel (Colonel Good) as his deputy. Red Cross rations were available for ten days, and the supply of water and sanitation facilities were, according to initial estimates, satisfactory. The headquarters asked for further information regarding the freed prisoners and the management of the camp. On Sunday Page 17 of 24 morning, marching rations for three days were distributed in the crew dining room in the barracks of the guards and wages were paid, while the cannon thunder could already be heard. Officers packed their luggage. Everyone waited for the American invasion. During the strongest fire the officers in the casino had a last lunch in the barracks - roast goose and pork. They had to eat with their fingers, as the canteen administration had stopped handing out cutlery for fear of theft. At 14.30 an American tank drove up in front of the barracks, followed by infantry who occupied the entrances to the barracks. The country gunners and their officers had to hand over their weapons. Then the American soldiers searched the barracks. The GIs were friendly, German private property was not stolen. The German Stalag personnel and the guards captured in the barracks were brought to Gammelsdorf by the Americans via the railway tracks and the Amper bridge over Thalbach and Ziegelberg. There were trucks for the elderly and sick, others were allowed to ride on the American Sherman tanks guarding the train. The 47th tank battalion captured 2119 Germans in Moosburg. In order to continue the fighting, units of the 14th Tank Division handed captured German soldiers over to liberated and armed former British prisoners of war to guard them. The roles had been reversed.

View into a tent in which prisoners in the Stalag were housed at the end of the war.

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The destroyed bridge over the Isar on April 30, 1945. Photos: Archive Karl A. Bauer

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2020-05-01

The end of the war in Moosburg (V): 30 April 1945: Chaos breaks out Citizens suffer from looting and numerous rapes By Dr. Dominik Reither

While the fighting continued for the American troops, the war was over for the inmates of the Stalag and the Moosburg population. The inhabitants of the town, which had been spared from the war, now experienced sometimes violent attacks. Battle Group A of the 14th US Armored Division, which had taken Moosburg, began to secure the surroundings of the town in the afternoon. Their main task was to track down and capture several thousand German soldiers who had been unable to retreat across the Isar River because of the bridge blasting. In the process, the US troops were repeatedly fired upon. Later in the afternoon, Battlegroup B of the 14th US Armored Division moved into the Moosburg area to cross the Isar and advance to the Inn River. So a tank battalion gathered near Inkofen. Meanwhile, pioneers were preparing to build a bridge over the Isar. For this purpose they brought assault boats and bridge building material to Moosburg. In the night of 30 April 1945 the troops of the 14th Panzer Division from Landshut were repeatedly taken under fire. In the morning of April 30th, American infantrymen began to climb over the destroyed Isar bridge and form a bridgehead on the other side of the river. In the course of the day, pioneers erected a bridge over the river. To do so, they opened the Isar dam at the level of the Lände, levelled an access road and then built the bridge from pontoons. On this bridge, units of the 14th US Armored Division crossed the river during the night and on 1 May. Due to snowfall and rain, the roads were no longer able to cope with the traffic, especially the numerous trucks with fuel and ammunition, so that American pioneers were busy for two days, among other things, securing the roads with planks. However, the Americans on the advance had difficulties with supplies, so the 47th Tank Battalion suffered from a lack of fuel. The command of the division asked the soldiers to save fuel. Members of the 47th Tank Battalion guarded the Allied prisoners of war, the Stalag and the local military hospital. Guards were posted in the town. Parts of the battalion stayed behind in Moosburg. An American colonel became commander of the town.

The situation in the Stalag

The situation in the Stalag was at first confusing for the Americans; for example, they had no overview of the number of prisoners at first. Thus, on April 29, 1945, the commander of Battle Group A reported to the divisional headquarters that he had 27,000 prisoners of war in his area of responsibility. In a first report, the Reconnaissance Division (G-2) of the 3rd Army Staff described the situation in the camp on the basis of the preliminary information and assumed that there were only 12,000 prisoners. A further 70,000 prisoners of war who were on work duty in subcamps would be looked after from the camp. The situation was chaotic at times. Soviet prisoners moved the camp fence so that they could enter the city undisturbed. Some barracks were set on fire. With the combat troops of the 14th US Armored Division, the 130th Evacuation Hospital of the US Army also came to Moosburg. With its capacity of 400 beds, this hospital took over the care of US soldiers injured in the Page 20 of 24 fighting. In Moosburg the hospital mainly took care of the inmates of the Stalag. Forward units had already reached the town on 29 April 1945, the main troops arrived in Moosburg from Nuremberg at about 3 pm on 30 April 1945. The unit set up its hospital, consisting mainly of tents, about 2.5 kilometers northwest of the town. Already on 2 May 1945 at 2 p.m. the hospital was fully operational, on 3 May 1945 it took in the first patients. On 12 May 1945 the unit was transferred to Mauthausen to provide medical care for the inmates of the concentration camp liberated there. On 3 May the hospital in Moosburg was still treating 289 patients, seven of them wounded in the fighting over the Isar crossing. In addition to medical services, the hospital also had a pharmacy, a laboratory and an X-ray station. During its time in Moosburg the unit was also assigned a laundry company. 33 officers, one NCO, 38 nurses and about 200 soldiers served in the hospital. Civilians were also called upon to do relief work. The patients received emergency care and were prepared for transport to the 58th US Army Field Hospital in Landshut, from where they were to be flown out. The Allied soldiers in the camp suffered mainly from poorly cared for wounds they had received during the fighting, diseases they had contracted in the camp and malnutrition. The main diseases to be treated were respiratory diseases (76), injuries (not from fighting) (59), pneumonia (34), tuberculosis (32), diphtheria (24), severe malnutrition (13), hepatitis (12) and war injuries (11). In addition, unit officers supervised the repair of the camp hospital. On 30 April 1945 there were still 410 former prisoners of war there, mainly prisoners from Eastern European countries. They were looked after by liberated medical officers. Altogether about 3000 patients were treated in the camp hospital. The Division and Corps Commander were scheduled to visit the camp between 8 and 9 a.m. on May 1st. Instructions were given to put the camp in order. Later, General Patton, Commander of the 3rd US Army, also visited the Stalag. However, most American soldiers who passed through Moosburg never saw the Stalag.

Extensive looting

In the days after April 29, the people of Moosburg had to experience sometimes violent attacks by American soldiers, liberated prisoners of war and former forced laborers. After American soldiers had already taken away valuables, especially watches, from German soldiers and the Moosburg civilian population during the invasion, extensive looting took place in the afternoon of 29 April 1945. Groups of prisoners from the camp streamed into the town. They broke into shops, farms and private houses, often simply breaking down doors. Parish priest Schiml writes that they searched the buildings from cellar to attic, taking food, blankets, beds, but also preserving jars and frying pans. The holdings of the local history museum were also looted or destroyed. School materials were also taken away; prisoners and forced laborers had been particularly keen on maps to help them find their way home. The Wehrmacht had stored 8000 liters of wine in a cellar, which was now consumed by former prisoners of war. Wine was brought to the camp in buckets, milk cans, but also in washtubs or bathtubs. The next day the military government ordered 40 coffins for those prisoners who had succumbed to alcohol. After a few days the Americans closed the cellar. Angry prisoners now set it on fire, as did the estate of a farmer who had hesitated to hand over a calf. The fire brigade was prevented from extinguishing the fire by the fact that the new engine had been stolen. A military shoe store at the railway station was cleared out, in which locals also took part. They destroyed some of the things the prisoners could not use. So they carried beds from houses, piled them up at the cattle market and lit bonfires. Towards evening, most of the prisoners returned to the camp, packing their booty Page 21 of 24 in pillowcases, sheets and sacks or stowing it on stolen bicycles. Some, however, did not want to return to the Stalag. They occupied empty houses of former party comrades, for example the house of the (arrested) second mayor. Some Moosburg citizens also took part in the looting. For example, a merchant and head of the municipal economic office had stored food and luxury goods on a large scale. Unlike in other places like Landshut or Freising, where the responsible persons distributed such supplies to the population when the conquest by American troops was imminent, in order to ensure the supply of the population in the first post-war days, these goods were not issued in Moosburg. When the Americans occupied the town, a run on the stocks of the head of the economic office began. He was very unpopular because he had not distributed the stocks. Moosburgers, together with prisoners of war and forced laborers, now took flour, sugar and sweetener from the camp, with a large part of it scattered on the streets. Later the damage caused by the looting was estimated at about two million DM.

Large number of rapes

In addition, there was a larger number of rapes committed by prisoners of war, former forced laborers, but also by American soldiers. A particular problem was that lists containing the names of all residents and their ages had to be posted on the houses. When it became known on the second day of the looting that 17 rapes had already occurred, parish priests and chaplains set up shelters for women and girls in the vicarage and in the cooperative houses. Girls jumped in panic from the first floor onto the street and injured themselves, others tried to hide in the cellar or in the attic. Pastor Schiml attributes looting and rape mainly to the prisoners of war, but he also reports at least one American soldier who committed rape. Americans at first overwhelmed. Allegedly the looting from May 1, 1945 to May 4, 1945 had been officially permitted by the American occupying power. Only then had the US troops done anything at all against the looters. In spite of this, looting by released prisoners of war and former forced laborers still took place in the following days. This phase had lasted until about May 10, 1945. The military police had also later allowed looting in the houses of former NSDAP members. According to other statements, the military police did not take action against looting until the beginning of June 1945. It was not until mid-June 1945 that the military police finally stopped looting the homes of former National Socialists. However, the facts speak against such an officially tolerated looting phase. In the documents of the American units it is repeatedly noted that the troops definitely considered it their task to maintain peace and order and to prevent looting and destruction. For example, the commanders placed sentries in the occupied territories in front of endangered objects. Infantry was also deployed in Moosburg to ensure security in the town. On 30 April alone, US soldiers brought 56 prisoners back to the camp. They also tried to prevent former prisoners of war from leaving the camp at will. Soon there were clashes between the Soviet prisoners in the Stalag and the Americans. The Soviet prisoners of war pushed out of the Stalag, which the Americans could only partially stop. Parish priest Schiml, who describes the looting, reports that American soldiers helped Moosburgers to get their property back from prisoners of war and forced laborers. Pastor Schiml writes: "If it was possible, someone ran to the commandant's office for protection. After a shorter or longer period of time a guard with a loaded carbine appeared; often this was still a rescue in dire need". All this shows that both the commanders and the American soldiers took action against looting. But the posts were not sufficient. After some time the looters came back. Another problem was that there was a curfew from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. for the people of Moosburg, so no help could be called Page 22 of 24 for while the liberated prisoners of war marched through the town during the night. Obviously the Americans were initially overwhelmed by the situation. They had the order to advance to the Inn as quickly as possible, and other measures had to be subordinated to this goal. Therefore they could only leave comparatively few troops in Moosburg at first. Furthermore, the Americans had neither sufficient military police nor administrative experts with them to maintain peace and order and to master the great task of looking after thousands of former prisoners of war and forced laborers. Last but not least, their own supplies caused difficulties, so that the American troops were probably not even able to supply such a large number of people at short notice. At the same time, thousands of prisoners of war in field commandos and civilian forced laborers are still streaming into Moosburg. They quartered themselves in the houses and some of them also began to loot. This in turn counteracted the Americans' attempts to bring the situation under control by keeping the former prisoners of war in the camp.

Assistance from prisoners of war

However, only a minority of former prisoners of war and forced laborers are likely to have participated in the looting and rape. Most of them did not take part, quite the contrary: in this situation many former Stalag inmates gave the Moosburgers help. Hundreds of prisoners, mainly French but also Yugoslavian and Polish prisoners now came to Moosburg from the Stalag but also from farms in the surrounding area where they were working. They tried to prevent attacks, especially on families and farms where they had been well treated. There are numerous reports that former prisoners set up posts in front of the relevant buildings and even used violence to protect Moosburg citizens. After eight days the Americans were able to curb the looting to a large extent by massive efforts, but it took 14 days before they were fully successful, as new looters from the surrounding area kept coming in. The first chaotic days of the post-war period in Moosburg were now over.

US pioneers open the Isar dam and level an access road. Page 23 of 24

The finished bridge with a view of the countryside, in the background the Moosburg church towers. Photos: Archive Karl A. Bauer

*** Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version) ***

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