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O C Moving on the Left, Along Secondary Roads. Entrenched German Paratroopers of the S.Fallschlrmjaeger-Diuision, Which The
moving on the left, along secondary roads. Entrenched German paratroopers of the S.Fallschlrmjaeger-Diuision, which the 4th Armored Division had met previously in Brittany, checked CCA's advance at Mzuielange for the rest of the day. In Bastogne, General McAuliffe, commander of the surrounded American troops, rejected a German surrender demand with the famous comment, "Nuts!" The CCA columns spent most of the day waiting at Marlenge while engineers spanned the wide chasm of the Sure River with a ninety-foot Bailey bridge. To the west, CCB reached Bumon, only seven miles from Bastogne the first day, but the head of the column was stopped by anti• tank fire in nearby Chaumont after midnight. CCB decided to take no chances and waited for daylight. Saturday dawned clear and bright, enabling Allied aircraft to intervene in the fighting for the first time. Tankers and crewmen of the 704th watched hundreds of C47 transports rumble overhead, bound for Bastogne to paradrop supplies. Soon afterwards, P38s now relieved of their escort duties, swooped down to bomb and sh-affe. After soften• ing Chaumont with an artillery barrage and airstrikes, CCB launched an attack at 1330 hours. At first everything seemed to go fine as the armored infantry and the twenty-two remaining Shermans of the 8th Tank Battalion swept into the village while M18 Hellcats of the 704th laid down a base of fire. But, the clear weather had thawed the fields, and the soft ground bogged down the American tanks. Then, a counterattack from the high ground beyond, led by the 26.Volks- Grenadier-Division's 11 .Sturmgescheutz-Brlgade, blasted eleven of the Shermans and the enemy reentered the village. -
BATTLE-SCARRED and DIRTY: US ARMY TACTICAL LEADERSHIP in the MEDITERRANEAN THEATER, 1942-1943 DISSERTATION Presented in Partial
BATTLE-SCARRED AND DIRTY: US ARMY TACTICAL LEADERSHIP IN THE MEDITERRANEAN THEATER, 1942-1943 DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Steven Thomas Barry Graduate Program in History The Ohio State University 2011 Dissertation Committee: Dr. Allan R. Millett, Adviser Dr. John F. Guilmartin Dr. John L. Brooke Copyright by Steven T. Barry 2011 Abstract Throughout the North African and Sicilian campaigns of World War II, the battalion leadership exercised by United States regular army officers provided the essential component that contributed to battlefield success and combat effectiveness despite deficiencies in equipment, organization, mobilization, and inadequate operational leadership. Essentially, without the regular army battalion leaders, US units could not have functioned tactically early in the war. For both Operations TORCH and HUSKY, the US Army did not possess the leadership or staffs at the corps level to consistently coordinate combined arms maneuver with air and sea power. The battalion leadership brought discipline, maturity, experience, and the ability to translate common operational guidance into tactical reality. Many US officers shared the same ―Old Army‖ skill sets in their early career. Across the Army in the 1930s, these officers developed familiarity with the systems and doctrine that would prove crucial in the combined arms operations of the Second World War. The battalion tactical leadership overcame lackluster operational and strategic guidance and other significant handicaps to execute the first Mediterranean Theater of Operations campaigns. Three sets of factors shaped this pivotal group of men. First, all of these officers were shaped by pre-war experiences. -
2022-23 Megastructures Museum V1.Indd
Bringing history to life MEGASTRUCTURES FORCED LABOR AND MASSIVE WORKS IN THE THIRD REICH Hamburg • Neuengamme • Binz • Peenemünde • Szczecin Wałcz • Bydgoszcz • Łódź • Treblinka • Warsaw JULY 7–18, 2022 Featuring Best-selling Author & Historian Alexandra Richie, DPhil from the Pomeranian Photo: A view from inside a bunker Courtesy of Nathan Huegen. Poland. near Walcz, Wall Save $1,000 per couple when booked by January 18, 2022! THE NATIONAL WWII MUSEUM EDUCATIONAL TRAVEL PROGRAM Senior Historian, Author, and Museum Presidential Counselor, Alexandra Richie, DPhil Dear Friend of the Museum, Since 2015, I have been leading The Rise and Fall of Hitler’s Germany, a tour from Berlin Travel to to Warsaw with visits to Stalag Luft III, Wolf’s Lair, Krakow, and more. As we look ahead to the future, I am excited to expand the tours in Poland, visiting a number of largely Museum unexplored sites. Quick Facts 27 The all-new tour is named Megastructures after many of the large complexes we visit 5 countries covering such as Peenemünde, the Politz Synthetic Oil Factory, and numerous gun batteries 8 million+ all theaters and bunkers. As we tour, we will pause to remember the forced laborers who visitors since the Museum of World War II suffered under Nazi oppression. We will learn of the prisoners at the Neuengamme opened on June 6, 2000 Concentration Camp near Hamburg who, at first, manufactured construction materials, then transitioned into the main force that cleared the city’s rubble and $2 billion+ Tour Programs operated bodies after the devastating bombing raids of 1943. in economic impact on average per year, at In Prora, we will explore the Nazi’s “Strength through Joy” initiative when we view times accompanied by the three-mile-long resort that was never completed. -
Our Oflag 64 Website Has a New Name…
The Nearly Everybody Your Quiet Hour Reads The ITEM Companion “Get Wise – ITEM-ize” 1st Quarter 2019 Good Ole USA Of Undetermined Worth Editor/Printing and Mailing Elodie Caldwell 2731 TERRY AVE LONGVIEW WA 98632-4437 [email protected] Treasurer Bret Job 2801 SW 46th ST CAPE CORAL FL 33914 -6026 [email protected] Drawing by Jim Bickers, shown without barbed wire fences or guard towers Webmaster/Blogger Bill Caldwell 2731 TERRY AVE Our Oflag 64 website has a new name…. LONGVIEW WA 98632-4437 [email protected] ….but you can still find it by typing our web address www.oflag64.us or Oflag 64 in your browser’s search bar. The change from Oflag 64 Association to Oflag 64 Contributors to this issue Remembered was made to more accurately reflect our site’s objective. The same Andy Baum content will still be available with periodic updates, but nothing else except renaming Patricia Bender the site has been done. We think you’ll agree that this is a great change and long Claire Anderson Bowlby overdue. Cindy Burgess Glenn Burgess Tom Cobb Susanna Connaughton Terrence Dooley Susan Hinds Harms Victoria Herring Bret Job Lynn Kanaya Pam Ladley Rosa Lee Also, because our Oflag 64 family is not actually an official association per se, but a Marlene McAllister group of people with the same interests, we will be begin referring to ourselves as The Stephanie Phelan Oflag 64 Family rather than the Oflag 64 Association. This will also help us distinguish Robert Rankin, Jr. our group from the recently formed Oflag 64 Foundation which is working diligently on Dave Stewart the newly named “Museum of POW Camps in Szubin” project. -
ARMOR, November-December 1987 Edition
Technology has been both a boon and a bane to powered tanks. We go home at night to our satellite- commanders since someone organized the first transmitted newspaper and satellite TV. We might talk military unit. Each new development spawned reas- to the folks on a fiber-optic line about our new com- sessment and adaptation of thought, theory, and tac- pact laser disc player, video camera, or computer. If tics. For every technological advantage. there has al- we get sick, we can opt for orthoscopy, laser surgery, ways been and will continue to be a method or tech- or an artificial heart. nique to overcome it. This process has not always been quick, but eventual. How can leaders deal with or possibly keep up with what the microchip has done to our warfighting The Roman legionary's pilum and gladius capability? It seems that no sooner do we learn one dominated the world for centuries. But by the time of system, than another more advanced one takes its Hastings in 1066, the mailed rider rode supreme across place. While it took 20 years to go from the M4A3E8 Europe. The armored knight, in tum, proved vulnerable Sherman to the M60A1 Patton. some armored units to the crossbow in the next century. By 1346, English transitioned from the M60A1 to M60A3 to Mi to M1A1 longbowmen proved their weapons' superiority in ac- in only about five years. curacy, range, and penetration. At Crecy, they were able to dispatch six arrows for each one they received. The obvious answer is that we cannot keep up. -
Oflag XIII-B (13-B) Following Courtsey of Wikipedia
Oflag XIII-B (13-B) Following courtsey of Wikipedia Oflag XIII-B was a German Army World War II prisoner-of-war camp for officers (Offizierslager), originally in the Langwasser district of Nuremberg. In 1943 it was moved to a site 3 km (1.9 mi) south of the town of Hammelburg in Lower Franconia, Bavaria, Germany. Lager Hammelburg ("Camp Hammelburg") was a large German Army training camp, opened in 1873. Part of this camp had been used as a POW camp for Allied army personnel during World War I. After 1935 it was a training camp and military training area for the newly reconstituted Army. In World War II the Army used parts of Camp Hammelburg for Oflag XIII-B. It consisted of stone buildings. Stalag XIII-C for other ranks and NCOs was located close by. In May 1941 part of Oflag XIII-A Langwasser, Nuremberg, was separated off, and a new camp, designated Oflag XIII- B, created for Yugoslavian officers, predominantly Serbs captured in the Balkans Campaign. In April 1943 at least 3,000 Serbian officers were moved from Langwasser to Hammelburg. Many were members of the Yugoslavian General Staff, some of whom had been POWs in Germany during the First World War. On 11 January 1945 American officers captured during the Battle of the Bulge arrived and were placed in a separate compound. One of these was Lt. Donald Prell, Anti-tank platoon, 422nd Infantry, 106th Division. By 25 January the total number of Americans was 453 officers, 12 non-commissioned officers and 18 privates. On 10 March 1945 American officers, captured in the North Africa Campaign in 1943 or the Battle of Normandy, arrived after an eight-week 400 mi (640 km) forced march from Oflag 64 in Szubin, Poland. -
Battle Analysis: the Hammelburg Incident – Patton's Last Controversy
Battle Analysis: The Hammelburg Incident – Patton’s Last Controversy by retired LTC Lee F. Kichen LTG George S. Patton Jr.’s reputation as one of America’s greatest battlefield commanders is virtually unquestioned. He was a brilliant tactician, audacious and flamboyant. The infamous slapping incidents and the ensuing publicity firestorm hardly tarnished his reputation as a fighting general. However, his decision to liberate 900 American prisoners of war (POWs) confined in Offizerslager (Oflag) XIIIB near Hammelburg, Germany, was more than an embarrassment, it was the most controversial and worst tactical decision of his career.1 Central to the controversy are lingering questions: Was the decision to raid Oflag XIIIB morally justifiable and tactically sound? What are the lessons for today’s mounted warriors when planning and conducting a deep raid? Did Patton order this raid based on credible intelligence that his son-in-law, LTC John K. Waters, was a prisoner in Oflag XIIIB? Would he have ordered the raid if he had not thought that Waters would likely be there? Or was it intended as a diversionary attack to deceive the enemy that Third Army was attacking east, not north? The answer to what truly motivated Patton to order the ill-fated raid on Hammelburg remains unsettled history. However, the evidence is inconvertible that the raid’s failure resulted from flawed planning by Patton and his subordinate commanders. Personal background Patton repeatedly avowed that he didn’t know for certain that Waters was in Oflag XIIIB. Yet the evidence is overwhelming that Patton knew that Waters was at Hammelburg. -
German Documents Among the War Crimes Records of the Judge Advocate Division, Headquarters, United States Army, Europe
Publication Number: T-1021 Publication Title: German Documents Among the War Crimes Records of the Judge Advocate Division, Headquarters, United States Army, Europe Date Published: 1967 GERMAN DOCUMENTS AMONG THE WAR CRIMES RECORDS OF THE JUDGE ADVOCATE DIVISION, HEADQUARTERS, UNITED STATES ARMY, EUROPE Introduction Many German documents from the World War II period are contained in the war crimes case files of Headquarters, United States Army Europe (HQ USAREUR), Judge Advocate Division, dated 1945-58. These files contain transcripts of trial testimony, clemency petitions, affidavits, prosecution exhibits, photographs of concentration camps, etc., as well as original German documents used as evidence in the prosecution of the numerous war crimes cases, excluding the Nuremberg Trials, concerning atrocities in concentration camps, atrocities committed on Allied military personnel and Allied fliers who crash landed in Germany, and other crimes. Only the German documents predating May 8, 1945, have been included in this filming project. A data sheet describing the material in each folder microfilmed is included before the items filmed. The Judge Advocate Division file number has been used to identify each item wherever given. In other instances whatever identifying information is available, such as the case or exhibit number, has been given as the item number. Overall provenance for the records is HQ USAREUR. Judge Advocate Division, as all German documents in the files were made a permanent part of the records of that office; however, the original German provenance of the items filmed is given as the provenance on the data sheets. CONTENTS Roll Description 1 000-50-2, Vol. 1 [No Title] Correspondence, reports, memoranda, scientific theses, and other data exchanged among Dr. -
2Nd Quarter-2019.Pdf
The Nearly Everybody Your Quiet Hour Reads The ITEM Companion “Get Wise – ITEM-ize” 2nd Quarter 2019 Good Ole USA Of Undetermined Worth Editor/Printing and Mailing Elodie Caldwell 2731 TERRY AVE LONGVIEW WA 98632-4437 [email protected] Treasurer Bret Job 2801 SW 46th ST CAPE CORAL FL 33914-6026 [email protected] Drawing by Jim Bickers, shown without barbed wire fences or guard towers Webmaster/Blogger Bill Caldwell 2731 TERRY AVE DID YOU KNOW THAT…… LONGVIEW WA 98632-4437 [email protected] …. the Oflag 64 Remembered website, The Polish-American Foundation for the Commemoration of POW Camps in Szubin, the blog for the Museum of POW Camps Contributors to this issue in Szubin, and the Friends of Oflag 64, Inc. nonprofit are all working together? Cindy Burgess Glenn Burgess The Oflag 64 Remembered website is the historical arm of Oflag 64 and brings Tom Cobb together families, friends, and researchers who share a passion for learning about the Susanna Connaughton experiences of the POWs of Oflag 64. Through its website, newsletters, and informal Randolph Holder reunions, Oflag 64 Remembered maintains the ties that created The Oflag 64 Family. Bret Job The Polish-American Foundation for the Commemoration of POW Camps in Szubin Anne Hoskot Kreutzer is the working arm involved in creating the Museum of POW Camps in Szubin. The Rosa Lee Foundation will soon launch their website dedicated to the various POW camps that Marlene McAllister were located in Szubin during all of WWII. John R. Rodgers, Sr. Ted Roggen The Blog for the Museum of POW Camps in Szubin is the publicity arm of the Dave Stewart Museum project. -
Frederick, Donald S
MINNESOTA MILITARY MUSEUM st 1 LIEUTENANT DONALD S. FREDERICK (1923-2010) A Featured Veteran from Richfield, Minnesota Joins the National Guard. Don Frederick was born in Albert Lea, Minnesota, and moved with his family to Minneapolis when he was 14. In 1939, while still a student at Minneapolis Central High School, he joined F Battery, 151st Field Artillery, 34th Infantry Division, of the Minnesota National Guard and drilled at the downtown Minneapolis Armory (he remembered being paid $1 for a four-hour weekly drill, which was a good wage for a 16 year old in 1939). With war looming on the horizon, the Minnesota National Guard was ordered to active duty in the fall of 1940 for a year of “precautionary training,” and Frederick departed with his unit on 10 February 1941 for Camp Claiborne, Louisiana. Don Frederick in Italy shortly after receiving his promotion to lieutenant World War Two begins. As the year of training neared its in Oct 1943. end, Pearl Harbor was attacked and the United States officially entered World War Two. All enlistments were extended for the war’s duration. The 34th Division was reorganized and Frederick was transferred into the division’s new 175th Field Artillery Battalion. In January 1942 he sailed with the 175th to Northern Ireland, becoming part of the first contingent of American soldiers to be sent overseas for the European Theater. Becomes one of the first Rangers. While training in Northern Ireland that spring, Frederick volunteered for—and was accepted into—a new U.S. Army unit.1 It was called the First Ranger Battalion and was patterned after the commando units of the British Army. -
Disruption of Freedom: Life in Prisoner of War Camps in Europe 1939-1945
Stacey Astill Disruption of Freedom: Life in Prisoner of War Camps in Europe 1939-1945 This paper will explore the disruptive nature of Prisoner of War (POW) life, and comparatively analyse responses to their captive experience by taking a ‘cross camp’ approach, exploring a wide cross section of POW camps in Europe under both German and Italian control. I will consider the culture of prison camps, and the actions of men in the face of this tumultuous period in their lives by drawing on war diaries - both contemporary and retrospective - oral testimony, objects from camp, contemporary and academic articles, and photographs or sketches.1 This overarching method is to be used in tandem with previous research, building on the individual explorations of specific camps or specific activities. Although there have previously been detailed investigations into specific camps such as Colditz, and specific themes such as sport or theatre in POW camps, there is no current comparative analysis thereof. Viewing camps as a whole allows an analysis of common occurrences, and anomalous areas within them. These features can then be considered in terms of the camp conditions, the time period for which the camp existed, who controlled the camp, and where it was located. The following analysis therefore offers a broader assessment, drawing together a range of source material to provide a comparative view of a variety of camp experiences. Becoming a POW was at least the second major disruption in prisoners’ lives, the first being the war itself. Even career soldiers experienced a change with the outbreak of the Second World War; they were in the military, but no existing conflict was similar in scale to that of the Second World War. -
The Name on the Wall By
The Name On The Wall By Frank N. Aten Captain, United States Army (Retired) This book represents a collection of my experiences as an American Soldier in WWII, especially the 724 days spent as a Prisoner of War. It is dedicated to my fellow Kriegies, my family, and to the citizens of Tyler, Texas, who during my imprisonment, followed my plight in the papers and supported my family and me with their prayers and thoughts. Figure 1-Lt. Frank Aten at Oflag 64 Table of Contents THE DUTY OF OFFICERS .......................................................................................................... ii CAPTURE NOTIFICATION AND ROLL OF HONOR ..................................................................... iii THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS, SUNDAY, MAY 9, 1943 ........................................................... iii TYLER’S ROLL OF HONOR ...................................................................................................... iii CHAPTER ONE-THE FIRING SQUAD ......................................................................................... 4 CHAPTER TWO-KRIEGIES…ALL OF US .................................................................................... 15 CHAPTER THREE-CAPUA, HOME ON THE ITALIAN RANGE ...................................................... 24 CHAPTER FOUR-THE BITTER TASTE OF FREEDOM .................................................................. 33 CHAPTER FIVE-THE NAME ON THE WALL ... AGAIN ............................................................... 46 CHAPTER SIX-MY FIRST POW CAMP ....................................................................................