Company K at the 346th Regiment Inactivation
VE Day
From 346th Infantry:
At 0945 May 7 the following message was received from the Division Commander: “Representatives of the German High Command signed the unconditional surrender of all German land, sea, and air forces to the Allied Expeditionary Forces and simultaneously to the Soviet High Command at 0700, 7 May 1945 under which all forces will cease active operations at 0900, 7 May 1945. Effective immediately all offensive operations cease. Troops will remain in present positions. Moves involved in occupational duty will continue. Due to difficulty in communications, there may be some delay in similar orders reaching the enemy troops, so full defensive precautions will be taken.”
May 8, 1945
Germany
Dear Folks,
Yesterday sure was a great day for me. We attacked on the sixth and were supposed to shove off again yesterday morning. But instead of receiving an attack order, we were ordered just to stay where we were. Then a little after ten o’clock we got the news that the Germans had signed unconditional surrender. Even though it doesn’t take effect officially till tomorrow, it meant that we were though fighting. Boy oh Boy! What a feeling. The Lord has certainly been good to me. I’ve got lots to thank Him for.
The “Stars and Stripes” also brought us some pretty good news yesterday. It said that over half of the combat troops would get a furlough back in the States before they are shipped to the CBI1 The China, Burma, India Theater. Don’t plan too much on it because there’s just about as much chance against it as there is for it. But wouldn’t that be great!
Yesterday also I received a box from you and my name was turned in for a pass to Paris. It was the package containing pop corn and it really hit the spot. The corn was still as crisp as it was when you packed it. It would have done your heart good to have seen the fellows (and me) go after it. I wish I could send the box home and let you fill it up again.
If my pass had come a little bit sooner it might have kept me out of a little fighting but I’m glad to get it now. I’ll be going in a day or so. Considering everything that happened, wasn’t yesterday a pretty eventful day for me?
Well it looks like Spring again today. Maybe the weather is doing a little celebrating. We’ve really had some pretty rough weather for this late in the season during the past week. There has even been a little snow. I hope it stays nice now.
It’s been almost a week now since I got any letters but no doubt there will be two or three when they do come.
Hope everything is ship-shape back there. Be good and God bless you.
Love
Donald
Categories
Germany: May 1945
The following is the official “After Action Report” for the 346th Regiment, May 1945, from the 87th Infantry Archives
Categories
Germany: April 1945
The following is the official “After Action Report” for the 346th Regiment, March 1945, from the 87th Infantry Archives
Categories
March 3, 1945 – Goldbrick Hill
On March 3, 1945 K Company participated in the assault on “Goldbrick Hill” – Hill 649B on the Siegfried Line.
From the Regimental History:
At 1330 on 3 March 1945, the Battalion launched
its attack from Hill 648 debouching from its heavy
woods, passing across the open draw between the
two hills and up the bald slopes of Gold “B” Hill,
after a 20 minute artillery preparation. Under in-
tense enemy artillery, neblewerfer, and small arms
fire, the Third Battalion pressed its attack using
marching fire and knocked out seven enemy ma-
chine guns, capturing the hill, which yielded 150
enemy prisoners of war and inflicting 100 enemy
casualties. At this point, the enemy increased his
artillery and mortar fire on the hill, and the Bat-
talion dug in for the night in a perimeter defense.
The capture of the hill denied the enemy its ob-
servation and the artillery fire on our rear areas
ceased, permitting freedom of movement for our
troops and supply to the front. It also broke the
back of the enemy defenses in that sector of the
Siegfried Line.
A description of the attack by Ed Jans and Mitch Kaidy
A memoir of the assault by Lt Glenn Doman, commanding officer for Company K.
Categories
Germany: March 1945
The following is the official “After Action Report” for the 346th Regiment, March 1945, from the 87th Infantry Archives
Categories
Belgium-Germany: February 1945
The following is the official “After Action Report” for the 346th Regiment, February 1945, from the 87th Infantry Archives
From: An Historical and Pictorial Record of the 87 Infantry Division in WWII:
A river crossing demonstration was put on to draw the enemy into their sector in front of us while three divisions to our left made full scale assault crossings of the Sauer River. Two “Tiger Patrols” from the Third Battalion, 346th Regiment, assaulted and captured the large city of Wasserbillig and held it until the Division was withdrawn from Luxembourg and sent back into
Belgium on January 27 to have the honor of chasing the German invaders completely out of Belgium and of “Cracking the Siegfried Line.”
The battles in the Saar, in the Belgian Ardennes, in Luxembourg, were past victories for the men of the 87th “Golden Acorn” Infantry Division on January 27 when Generals Patton and Middleton called upon them once more to fight a battle that was to test the mettle of every man in the division. The assignment: Drive the enemy out of Belgium and crack through the Siegfried Line.
From 346th Infantry:
On January 23 a strong patrol moved in and captured Wasserbillig since that town was the more important. WasserbiIlig was a critical town on the route between Trier and Luxembourg, and the Germans had established a bridgehead across the Moselle River.
BACK TO THE ARDENNES
On the 25th the Regiment moved from the area along the Sauer-Moselle Rivers to a sector in the vicinity of Hautbellain, Luxembourg. On the same day Colonel Richard B. Wheeler was relieved of command of the Regiment and Lt. Col. Donald C. Clayman, from the Ninth Division assumed command. January 26 found the Battalions moving into assembly areas and then relieving elements of the 17th Airborne Division south of St. Vith. Resistance stiffened as the Regiment moved on St. Vith. The First Battalion captured Thommen and Gruflange, Company B making the assault on both towns, and the Regiment moved into St. Vith late in the evening of the 28th, making contact with the Seventh Armored Division there.
Utter devastation greeted the eyes wherever one’s glance might stray. St. Vith was a vivid example of modern warfare, for St. Vith was a ghost town in every sense of the term, almost completely leveled. From St. Vith, the Regiment made a night motor march through the sector of the 82nd Airborne Division with a mission of moving south and southeast from Herresbach to cross the Our River, take Andler and Schonberg. The march was executed under the most difficult conditions, since all roads were drifted full of snow, and the weather, although clear, was bitter cold. Overhead, buzzbombs thundered through the night on their way to London.
Note: On Jan 31, 1945, Pfc. Donald V. Tappan was officially presented with his Silver Star Award for his actions in Tillet.
Belgium
January 29, 1945
Hello Family,
I sure want to get you a letter written today. I know there is no use apoligizing about my lack of writing because I have told you t’ll do my best. There have been a few times that I might have dashed off a letter but I try to get every minute of relaxation I can. You can see that I am just as lazy as ever.
I might even have written you a V-mail now had I not had a money order to send. As far as news goes, I won’t have enough to make this much of an air mail letter. You will have to just use your own judgement on the money. I can’t spend it or any part of it here. IF there is anything (watch, etc.) that I lack on you can finish it up on this. If not, I guess bonds are about the best place for it. But as I said, use your own judgement.
I got mail from you several days ago so before long I expect to be hearing again. I got letters up to January 8. I also want to tell Grandma Carver that I got letters from her dates Jan. 2 and Nov. 8 at almost the same time. I know you’ll let her know. I also got a few November letters from you.I guess they all got mixed up in England or somewhere.
I thought about Daddy’s birthday the other day but it wouldn’t have gotten there in time for the 25th anyway. That reminds me that I don’t think I ever did even mention Mary’s birthday. I hope you’ll forgive me for things like this.
About the only news I can and want to tell you about is that I had a little pass to the city of Luxemborg the other day. This was the first free time any of us have had since we hit France. The city hadn’t been hit too hard but of course there were only civilian necessities to sell. We couldn’t even buy anything to eat. We had to mooch enough to keep us going from some soldiers stationed there. They were real god to us though. I guess about the most good we got from the trip was seeing the civilians. They were well dressed (as a whole) and almost reminded us of home. Just about time to leave we found an air corps recreation room where we could buy sandwiches and coffee and just to be able to spend a little money for something did for us just what we needed.
If you look forward to mail as much as I do I hate to disappoint you so often. I got mail only 4 or 5 days ago and I am already wondering how things are going. It sure won’t be long before it will be basketball tourney time again.
Let’s keep trusting and praying. There is no use to worry. If you want to know how I feel about worrying, I think sometimes that I don’t worry enough. I guess I think too much about the future.
Lots of love, Donald
Categories
January 19, 1945
From: An Historical and Pictorial Record of the 87 Infantry Division in WWII:
Action in Luxembourg was described by the doughboys, worn out after their terrific fighting in Belgium, as “a frontline rest area.” Reinforcements were received, trained and outfitted and the Division instituted a pass policy, allowing a certain number of men three days in Luxembourg City and others three day passes to Paris.
From 346th Infantry:
On the 13th of the month the unit was in Division reserve near Rondu, Belgium, the Regimental Command Post being at Aspelt, Luxembourg.
DEFENSE OF LUXEMBOURGThe order to move to a new sector near Betzdorf, Luxembourg was received and carried out on the 15th. The move to the new sector enabled the Regiment to take over the mission of the Eighth Infantry Regiment of the Fourth Division who were located there. The position was a defensive one, the main action consisting of patrolling.
Jan. 19, 1945
Dear Folks,
I guess you couldn’t say it is because of lack of time that I haven’t written but more correctly lack of opportunity. I started a letter a few days ago but things happened before I got it finished. I sure was glad to hear from you this morning. I got letters dated Dec. 31 and Jan 1 and also three Tribunes (Nov 28 and Jan 3 and 11). I am really glad to get the papers even though I only get about oneout of every week. I wanted to thank you earlier but about a week ago I got the box from you that contained Mary King’s cookies. A surprise like that really is appreciated. That chicken I guess was the best I ever tasted. I don’t know whether those fudge candy bars are something new or not but they tasted enough like home made candy to really be good. You can send me some of them any time you have an extra corner. Please thank Mary King for me, at present. I’m OK and am still trusting and praying. God Bless you.
Love, Donald