Lobenstein, Frossen, and Krebes. After twenty-eight positions were occupied, we reached Hof on 18
April.
At Ausbach, the batteries had march order. They were moving out on the road just as an urgent
fire mission was received from Captain Call’s liaison section. Immediately the batteries were ordered
back into positions for immediate firing. Though we did not have to fire, the batteries set a record of
march ordering, moving 200 yards down the road, and preparing for action in the worst field in 17
minutes. The “Sad Sack” of this fast operation at Ausbach was T/5 Cervantes, Major Guthrie’s driver
did not see a farmer’s spiked tooth harrow lying in the grassy plot in which he selected to turn his
vehicle around. Movement was imminent, and there he sat with three flat tires.
On 4 April, on our move between Dorndorf and Leimbach, we had the experience of moving
through a crossroad which was being registered on by the liaison plane of one of our corps artillery
battalions. No one was hurt in our battalion, though there were some who became slightly nervous.
At Zella Mehlis, we found the Walther pistol factory, much to our delight. Later, much to our
disappointment, our “captured” pistols were ordered returned to the factory.
Now we were in the mountainous country next to the Czechoslovakian border. In our move
from Heidersbach to Gehlberg, we rose 1500 feet higher over a one-way mountain road to a total
elevation of nearly 3000 feet. Snow patches were still lying on the ground beneath the heavy growth of
pine trees. In the position area at Gehlberg, we received one of our heaviest enemy counter-battery fires.
Several men were wounded. Everyone was happy to leave the position on 10 April.
The next position area was near Stutzerbach, which will long be noted for the trout that came out
of the swift flowing mountain streams to supplement the K and C ration diet to which we were being
subjected.
When we reached Hof, orders were received by the division to continue the advance to the
southeast parallel to the Czechoslovakian border. The 345th again reinforced CT’s 358 and 359 in their
advance along the Czechoslovakian border, occupying twenty positions from 19 April to 5 May 1945.
We fired from nearly every one of these position areas in order to convince the towns in our sector to
surrender without resistance.
During this phase of operations we passed through Rehau, Schonwald, Theirsheim, Mitterteich,
Tirschenreuth, Floss, Waldthurn, Pleystein, Eslarn, Schonau, Schonthal, Cham, Kotzting, and Furth to
end up in the small towns Wolkersdorf, Barnsdorf, and Traidersdorf on 5 May 1945.
T/4 Medlin and the other members of his radio relay station crew (T/4 Talbot, T/5 Patterson, and
T/5 Wood) found out the hard way that there are two towns by the name of Pilmersreuth in the same
section of Germany. They likewise found out that one of them, the one they first went to, was in enemy
territory. At the time they couldn’t decide whether the Hungarians whom they encountered were our
enemies or friends and therefore let them go their way with all their weapons, field glasses and
belongings. They are still wondering why the Hungarians likewise allowed them to return to friendly
territory when they found out their mistake.
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