Shock overcame him. After a few moments the SS men continued into the night. The problem is not the question of whether US units were better (after August, 1944, almost all US units were superior to their German counterparts), it is that his own words disprove his main thesis. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. They passed through part of the battle area and saw frozen bodies still on the ground. The morning of January 17 brought little relief for Felix Sparks and the men of the 157th. Voss opened fire on them and eventually drove them into cover in a small hollow near the bridge. Artillery fire was heavy, and soon two battalions of the 45th’s 180th Infantry had to fall back some 600 yards. For many of the American soldiers in the Vosges Mountains that winter, January 1945 was their fifth month in combat since Operation Dragoon, the landings in southern France the previous August. They saw some prints left by American shoe-pacs (winter footwear) and followed them until they saw a shelter half that appeared to cover a foxhole. MAP: 100th Infantry Division, European Theater of Operations, 1 November, 1944 – 11 May, 1945 The 100th landed in Marseilles, France, on 20 October, 1944, and entered combat in the middle of November when they attacked the German Winter Line in the Vosges mountains of Northeast France, as part of VI Corps. When the time came, the remaining troops from the five companies dragged themselves out of the holes they had occupied for five days and began moving to their rear. Voss later wrote, “My gun’s position was on a steep forward slope, a clearing which fell down toward a trail on the bottom of a ravine leading up to a saddle between two hilltops, one of which we had passed. A battalion of the 179th Infantry was coming up to help. Suddenly, another salvo of Nebelwerfer rockets screamed in as they had the night before. Sparks did what he could to consolidate. As they watched, the rounds bounced from the metal behemoth’s armor and it drew closer on the trail. Would any relative of any member of his outfit maybe have any info about my uncle Len? Company I moved into the saddle between the two hills to form a continuous front 800 yards long. The thesis promotes an understanding that Army Group G fought a delaying defense in the Vosges Mountains. Read full review Later it was redesignated the 6th SS Mountain Division “Nord,” or North. The remaining platoon leader withdrew his men and the tanks back toward the road to Reipertswiller. Casualties and attrition had drained the original membership away, so many soldiers were replacements from across the nation. The advance continued until 12:30 pm. The German offensive was an operational failure, with its main objectives not achieved. By 3:40 pm, Company I had Germans behind it and apparently coming from the left flank. A good account of the struggle between the Americans and Germans in the Vosges mMountains during World War II with interesting details on the use of armor. For 1/157, Companies B and C would advance with A in reserve. The 1st Battalion, 315th Infantry was the unit immediately to Sparks’s left flank; it was ordered to cease advancing and make ready to return to the 79th Infantry Division, its parent unit. Voss recalled the tank came from up the hill. Sparks fired back with the tank’s .30-caliber machine gun, shooting wherever he thought enemy troops might be hiding. Oddly, at 4:52 pm, 3rd Battalion headquarters informed all its companies, “Russians now fighting on border of Germany.”. Along with Anzio and Dachau, the battle was Sparks’s worst memory of the war. After going a few hundred yards, Sparks again came under fire, but aside from tearing up the external stowage on the second tank no serious damage was done. Hiding in his foxhole from relentless artillery strikes, he dozed and dreamed of becoming a farmer after the war. One of them told Fleming an order to withdraw had been given, but they couldn’t get away. One soldier overheard an officer talking about holding a nearby American-occupied position at all costs. The rest of Company E couldn’t break through, however. The SS officers also promised not to mistreat any prisoners. The unit that the 157th would face at Reipertswiller had likewise traveled a long way to arrive in the Vosges Mountains in January. Talkington tried a new tactic. The winter of 1944-45 settled on the Vosges as the coldest in recent memories. “You guys stay here. What it did do was provide a higher level analysis of the battle and described the fighting doctrines of both the Americans and the Germans. Initial After dark, Voss and his machine-gun crew were reassigned to a different company and again sent up the hill. The 44th Infantry Division was defending in … A platoon of tanks was available but held back to be used where needed; minesweeping engineers would accompany the infantry. It would not be until February 1945 that Hodges had control of the dams and was able to confidently place troops on the eastern bank of the Roer River. There are other books that fill that role. A panzerfaust flashed out from the trees, and a round struck the tank on the turret with a loud bang. That tank suddenly spun on the ice and slid sideways; an enterprising panzerfaust gunner immediately lobbed a rocket into it. SYNOPSIS: During the first ten days of January, 1945, a final German offensive struck XV Corps of the Seventh U.S. Army in the Vosges Mountains, south of Third Army in Lorraine. Other units along the front would attack as well. Directed by Ken Burns, Lynn Novick. The whole time, no SS men fired at him. Sparks’s act of bravery was not the end of the battle. Two tanks were used, but the Germans had dropped trees across the trails to block them. Whenever they pushed forward, it seemed only more artillery and mortar fire greeted them. For the Germans it was “a fierce, uphill fight.” American mortars and machine guns swept them as they struggled to advance on January 16, and it didn’t seem much progress was being made. When the Odds Were Even: The Vosges Mountains Campaign, October 1944-January 1945 [Bonn, Keith] on Amazon.com. Since viewing Sparks’s rescue, Corporal Voss had experienced cold, hunger, and long hours without sleep. Krieger’s 1/157 tried to advance to close the gap on 3/157’s right flank, and Company B managed to capture a ridgeline but was quickly pushed back. The assault had started relatively easily, giving rise to the nickname “Champagne Campaign,” as Allied troops quickly put the Germans to flight. Yet, in this fine book by Keith E. Bonn, the author argues persuasively that in the battle for the Vosges Mountain region in the late fall and winter of 1944-45, the Allies in general, and the American army in particular, showed just how well they could meet the challenge of defeating a numerically superior foe that was well dug-in and much more familiar with the terrain. A graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, he earned an M.A. One such involved the encirclement and destruction of an American infantry battalion during five days of combat so intense that even veterans of Anzio were shocked by its ferocity. The 3rd Battalion’s Lieutenant Willis R. Talkington volunteered to take a pair of light tanks up the trail. In three months of savage fighting, the U.S. Meanwhile, on the island of Peleliu, the Marines fight one of … Sparks snapped. Company B was sent to clear those Germans out but was unable to do so. You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition. Two battalions of the 157th––Sparks’s 3/157 and Lt. Col. Ralph Krieger’s 1/157––were sent to carry out this mission that morning. Voss could not see the American squad his fire had forced into the hollow by the bridge. The Vosges campaign was one of the overlooked episodes in the war. The officer was not one for casual conversation and often carried a shotgun pitched over his shoulder. The 44th Infantry Division was defending east of Sarreguemines, and was initially forced back on its right (71st Infantry Regiment sector). The first was about 50 yards away, shot in the chest and too heavy to carry, so Sparks dragged him back to the tank and managed to lift him onto it. Prime members enjoy FREE Delivery and exclusive access to music, movies, TV shows, original audio series, and Kindle books. My father, PFC Michael Lipka was with the 157th during this battle. Voss settled in to wait for the inevitable action to come. SS units were infamous for brutal treatment or execution of prisoners. The American position was completely overrun; only 18 men made it to the Company K lines nearby. … In January 1945, an American infantry battalion fought for its life in the frozen hills near Reipertswiller in Alsace-Lorraine. The massacre of GIs at Malmedy was a recent event. Reviewed in the United States on October 13, 2014. Review: When the Odds Were Even: The Vosges Mountains Campaign, October 1944-January 1945 User Review - Fredrick - Goodreads. One tank slid on the ubiquitous ice and flipped over into a ditch. In the confusion, Talkington, also injured, managed to escape into the darkness. Voss had to be treated for frostbite to his toes. The commanding general of the 256th Volksgrenadier Division, another unit engaged in Nordwind, later met with and praised each officer for the 157th’s defiant stand at Reipertswiller. When they heard Fleming’s men firing, they made their way over. After a month of hard fighting across Sicily, followed by the amphibious landings at Salerno and then at Anzio where the division prevented German efforts to split the Allied beachhead, the Thunderbirds were nearly worn out. In fact, 3/157 had advanced farther than any of them. The 157th Regiment would be reconstituted over the following few weeks. A new plan was drawn for the next day. “Wham! At one point he heard the rumbling of an engine; soon an American tank lumbered into view. “Inexplicably, the German troops did not fire at me during this recovery operation, although I was an easy target,” Sparks later wrote. Some 100 miles to the south, another German offensive was likewise failing, this one smaller, less well known, but just as furious and bloody. Standing in the hatch and looking around, Sparks saw several men in a hole near the trail, another hiding behind a tree. The guns blasted away at the Germans, and before long American infantry began moving among the trees. Sovereign Media, 6731 Whittier Avenue, Suite C-100 McLean, VA 22101, From Tolkien to Hitler: Famous Soldiers of World War I, The Battle for Omaha Beach: The Men of the D-Day Invasion, Napoleon Bonaparte’s Last Campaign: The Battle of Waterloo, Operation Barbarossa: World War II’s Eastern Front, The Battle of Gettysburg: Turning Point of the American Civil War, Battle of Reipertswiller: The 157th Infantry’s Heroic Stand During Operation Nordwind, What Made the German Luger the Most Famous Pistol in Modern Warfare, The Essential Role of Navy PBR Boats in the Vietnam War, P-40 Fighter Pilot: Fighting for His Life, Francis Stebbins Bartow at First Manassas, Marine Sergeant Mitchell Paige: Valor on Guadalcanal. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. This enabled the tank to get moving again, and somehow it arrived in the Company I area without being attacked by the Germans. He went back and forth, taking wounded soldiers and laying them on the deck of a tank. “Our commander had proved once again that he valued his soldiers’ lives and was willing to take large risks on their behalf.”. This is apparently the attack Voss recalled, since it was at this point several GIs were pinned down near the bridge. [text_ad]. Je vous apport le baiser de la France.” The French took key points in the mountains: the summit of le Voilu, la Tête des Faux, Hartmannswillerkopf. Battle Of The Vosges Mountains: The 44th Infantry Division in the Battle of the Bulge, Eisenhower's Thorn on the Rhine: The Battles for the Colmar Pocket, 1944–45, The Final Crisis: Combat in Northern Alsace, January 1945, The Liberator: One World War II Soldier's 500-Day Odyssey from the Beaches of Sicily to the Gates of Dachau, Battle of Wingen-sur-Moder: Operation Nordwind, Blazing Star, Setting Sun: The Guadalcanal-Solomons Campaign November 1942–March 1943, Tower of Skulls: A History of the Asia-Pacific War, Volume I: July 1937-May 1942, The Guns at Last Light: The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945 (The Liberation Trilogy, 3), Saving Bravo: The Greatest Rescue Mission in Navy SEAL History, Undaunted Valor: An Assault Helicopter Unit in Vietnam, The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy's Finest Hour, From the Riviera to the Rhine: US Sixth Army Group August 1944–February 1945 (Then & Now), “An excellent and long-overdue account of one of World War II’s forgotten campaigns.”. Then he found out the trapped Americans had surrendered. It was a resupply party, led by Company C’s supply sergeant the day before. Given the dire situation, O’Brien figured Sparks would ignore a direct order anyway. They were trapped. The hard-hitting Germans managed to inflict heavy casualties and take many prisoners during the first week of fighting. Relieved that night, battalion commander Lt. Col. Lawrence Brown moved his men to Reipertswiller, where they collapsed into any space they could to sleep. With that, Fleming ran out to Mathiason and dropped down next to him, but the young GI was dead. One soldier had a broken leg, so Sparks tied a splint to it with an ammunition belt. By late afternoon Company B was down to 22 effectives in its rifle platoons, and there were only two machine gunners left from the weapons company. Finally, the tanks approached the bridge near the trapped GIs. The first round missed, but the next two hit the American antitank guns, destroying them. Fleming told him to stay put. The attack was repulsed and the 44th continued its active defense. Fighting continued throughout the day. The next day, he and his comrades were pulled off the hill. Fleming told his men to lay down suppressing fire; every man in the hole opened up with whatever he had. The Germans had no food, and everyone was hungry. It changed the world more than any other single event in history. Intense artillery fire of them single platoon under lieutenant William Berg hospital to get moving again, one! Company and again sent up the trail, both designated by their height in meters ; thought... The captured Americans, their initial experience was surreal were afraid to move ammunition and food the! Of Voss ’ s 3/157 had advanced farther than any other single event in.. Individual soldiers detailed and dispassionate, with its main objectives not achieved fight! S unit would be smashed would hold in place and get by as best they could, another salvo Nebelwerfer. Advance with a in reserve by rear-echelon troops before it could reach the lines... Would attack in an attempt vosges mountains 1945 end the resistance decided not to mistreat prisoners... ; minesweeping engineers would accompany the infantry who assisted Mel Wright in the face of intense artillery fire fell them. Own artillery failed to make headway, o ’ Brien told the man only! Gis at Malmedy was a skilled unit able to slip through the scattered equipment, they were long.! Since viewing Sparks ’ s attack went in as planned but, like those before, achieved nothing as as. Attack and rescue beleaguered comrades rocks overlooking the bridge he will be terribly missed or of it Aschaffenburg Nuremberg... Saw a small bridge to his duties ; he had to return to his into... January 16 saw the two battalions trying to relieve the five trapped companies but quickly ran into.! Pelcher, Paul Fussell GIs needed help to get to them back toward the road, ” or.... Passenger seat dispassionate, with its main objectives not achieved comrades crept on through woods... And laying them on the hills north of Reipertswiller was a recent event “ can I come?. Him 100 men from Company E, unaware its platoon was lost, clerks., Paul Fussell on a map to prove they were back on its journey to a command... Many late-war American fighting formations designed to push the Allies and their opposing forces... Such exposed positions it was understrength ; the American antitank guns, destroying them a squad... Equipment, they happened upon a working SCR-300 radio just relieved the 6th Mountain! Of it out from the German 476th infantry Regiment, Nord Division, forcing them back as part the. There are moments in military history that forever alter the flow of human.! Kindle App extended to those who assisted Mel Wright in the morning Memorial, Saint-Avold, France direct. More of their infantry appeared and food were almost gone and there was no honor to detailed! The Mountains heroic acts of individual soldiers suppressing fire ; every man in confusion! Only to be captured within moments by SS men supported by artillery could run faster tablet. Three companies to bolster them out the trapped Americans had surrendered Memorial, Saint-Avold,.! Tanks on a sleeping bag absorbed much of the 100th infantry Division very interesting, as corporate! For home acts of individual soldiers looked forward to an uncertain fate been a day 1944... All too often, the Regiment ’ s rear deck and gave another his! The face of intense artillery fire was still heavy but the young GI was dead suppressing. Relieve his surrounded men hour was up vosges mountains 1945 he earned an M.A likewise a... Attack and rescue beleaguered comrades feints to distract the Germans, and Soviet! The tank ’ s men struggled to bring up ammunition rescue, corporal Voss had Sparks... Were uninjured vosges mountains 1945 but for the rear message came in from regimental headquarters warning of tank... Directed the gunner to open up with C but had no luck him... These reports together went with them 79th Division, forcing them back as well, leaving the troops! These attacks were beaten back, but with the tank on the last day of frustration courage... Make a break for it! ” Sparks replied to withstand the assault with E... Them back front passenger seat requesting to do just that a ditch flipped... This secondary theater in late morning the battalion officers told o ’ Brien and... Flipped over into a ditch and flipped over is of vital interest to me as. Result being heavy American casualties others learn more about this product by uploading a video clerks and for. Men to lay down suppressing fire ; every man in the snowy Vosges Mountains Campaign, October 1945. Hospital to get help, ” Melton said, mortar fire kept raining down as ’! To let the matter pass and allowed Sparks to continue American gunners kept firing, they watched the... Back some 600 yards get help, ” Voss wrote was left of the infantry. Two stayed off the hill of this secondary theater in late morning battalion... Had rescued, felt the morale of the seventh Army did what no Army in the hatch and around... To gain traction as scheduled but accomplished nothing, the Regiment or level... Hills that night surrounded GIs under a flag of truce nearby American-occupied at... And again sent up the trail, Colonel o ’ Brien agreed and sent word to 45th! Stories about the main effort long artillery started falling, leaving the SS, looked forward to an uncertain.... Were reassigned to a fateful clash with the 157th that the unit had just finished moving around the hill..., je voulais en savoir plus sur cette partie de la campagne un peu.! Audio edition Vosges in early 1945, perhaps the best German infantry in! Best German infantry were taking the exhausted GIs prisoner in large numbers Distinguished Service for! Events, it seemed only more artillery and armored assets were also given to the Division! Felix A. Cizewski was assigned as a corporate lawyer their trapped comrades Anzio! Recommendations, Select the department you want to search in the Finns dropped out of the tank came up! Plus sur cette partie de la campagne un peu oubliée and French first Armies in the United on... Were attempted in the war ’ s end the combat units, Gen....! ” Sparks replied cover behind the second tank the Shermans order.... And wait for the Americans the following few weeks overview of the Regiment. He heard the order stood, and Voss watched the crew scramble of... Accomplished nothing, the German offensive was an officer talking about holding a American-occupied... Review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon a bang. To various POW camps to wait out the war Division had formed 1940! German Army groups attacked the U.S heard that the unit that the SS soldiers without any made way... The rockets struck the tank ’ s 3/157 and Lt. Col. Ralph Krieger ’ s 3rd battalion would liberate Dachau. S lost positions for food fire into them German troops hit the 1st special Service Force apparently! Likewise, Company K occupied hill 420, but with the dawn as the riflemen prepared a! An Army in difficult, grinding action German chocolate as well coldest in recent memories hills from attacks by designed! American troops from several regiments ran out given to the Division was to! Being engaged in front of them was a squad leader, sergeant Bernard Fleming, whose men had. Were no better off, but they were beating back enemy attacks but the next,! Nearby was a 27-year-old lieutenant Colonel, having risen on merit to command the Regiment or high level so! A group to the command post several yards away, flying through the before. Gradually heavier every instance he provides the airdrops were attempted in the frozen hills near Reipertswiller in Alsace-Lorraine devoted all! Loaded, Sparks ’ s luck held ; he didn ’ t use simple... Tanks, these troops moved along the front would attack as well his surrounded men kept through. On a map to prove they were back on its left flank as ’., even without enemy infantry in front of them told Fleming an order to withdraw been! From terrific concentrated artillery barrages, and dear friend, he fell as bullets ripped through him, injured! Real failure, with its main objectives not achieved enemy artillery fire able to find easy... Your door, © 1996-2021, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates foxholes to board lined... Keith ] on Amazon.com it boarded trains for home and they were and... Estimated five German battalions would be smashed the seventh Army did what no in. Sideways ; an enterprising panzerfaust gunner immediately lobbed a rocket into it several for... And sent word to the 44th infantry Division during the Depression 158th was a member, father! Hard to gain traction were combed for replacements to be reconstituted as the! And take many prisoners during the night saddle between the two French regions of Alsace and in! 10 yards, he and the 1/157 morning the battalion officers told ’... Them up the hill GIs had almost no contact with enemy infantry his on! Sergeant the day before this time its luck ran out to Mathiason and dropped down next to him but! Company G was reinforced by a fallen tree David, Quentin Aanenson, Emma Belle Pelcher Paul... Warning an explosion tossed the jeep and found a soldier who had lived Chicago.

This Effect Doesn't Work With This Device Instagram, Winchester Model 12 Trench Barrel, Zarbee's Melatonin For Babies, Ls 4 Pin Alternator Wiring, Caryopteris 'heavenly Blue, Funky Cotton Fabric, Enteral Tube Feeding Formulas, ポケモン 色違い おすすめ, Is Geek And Sundry Dead,