XIIChptr15

Chapter 15

FROM THE RHINE TO CZECHOSLOVAKIA. 26 MARCH 45-22 APRIL 45

1. End of a Banner Month

The XII Corps' race across Germany, like the Corps' race across France, was a breath-taking

affair. Only the French, – and the element of novelty – were missing. Few members of the Corps

headquarters or its units had been able to sustain through the long hard winter that fresh enthusiastic

spirit which had animated Americans during the operations from Normandy to the first Moselle. But if

the men of the corps headquarters, its older divisions, and the corps troops, were beginning to be tired,

the full effects of this were concealed by a new atmosphere of utterly confident professionalism.

Command and staff at all levels, having been through much trying experience, worked together almost

automatically.* The results, as the disintegrating German armies found to their ultimate disaster, were

the same.

"The month of March was reminiscent of the Corps' first month of operations, from mid-August

to mid-September 1944, during which the Corps pursued a disengaging enemy 280 miles from Le Mans

to Nancy.... the distance advanced was 215 miles, and about 4, 300 square miles were taken from enemy

control. Organized resistance had been shattered, and over 67,000 prisoners had been taken. Three great

rivers, the Moselle, Rhine, and Main, were crossed in a space of half a month." Had the facts then been

available, the Deputy Chief of Staff might have added to this After Action Report Summary the most

spectacular figure of all – the number of towns wrested from the enemy during the month, as officially

credited to XII Corps by Third Army in its After Action Report, distributed after the war. By whatever

standards the Army employed decide when a "Populated Place" was big enough to list as a "town," XII

Court during March, 1945, broke all records for all corps in Third Army during the entire War in

Europe, with the staggering total of 243 important centers of population captured. This was 108 more

than the best month of any other corps.**

The real clean-up of Germany began with the operations at the end of this great month, after the

battered bridges captured "intact" over the River Main from Aschaffenburg to Frankfurt had been

secured and reinforced. In some short but bitter fighting, the enemy, continues Col Lieber, "attempted to

hold the line of the Main River, bringing inconsiderable artillery fire both at Frankfurt and

Aschaffenburg. Attempts to form the Volkssturm resistance of police, firemen, and air raid wardens in

Frankfurt showed his desperate need for troops. With the crossing of the Main, the last shreds of

organization disappeared, and as the Corp pushed north toward the Thuringer Wald, the only remaining

resistance was from roadblocks, demolitions, and unorganized despondent troops from replacement,

training and administration centers, supported occasionally by a few tanks or AA guns, sporadically

defending a strong point or making a local counterattack in the hope of breaking contact. There was no

semblance of offensive action or organized the defenses....

"28 March the 4th Armored Division Broke through its Bridgehead (across the Main River South

of Hanau) and by the close of the day had rolled over 35 miles north of the Main (to Gruenberg, in the

vicinity of Giessen, on the high road to Marburg and Kassel.) On the same day, the 90th Infantry

Division forced a crossing over the Main between Frankfurt and Hanau under heavy artillery fire, while

the 5th and 26th Infantry Divisions cleared Frankfurt and Hanau. During the day the 5th Infantry and 6th

Armored Divisions were relieved from the Corps, the 5th Infantry Division passing to Army control and

the 6th Armored Division to the XX Corps, and the 11th Armored Division was assigned from the XX

Corps.

"The Corps left Rhine-Main plain and struck north through the rolling forested hills and open

farmlands in the saddle between the Westerwald on the west and the Vogelsberg on the east, the armor

leading and the infantry clearing the zone. Under a change in plans from higher headquarters, the 4th

Armored Division swung East into the Fulda, and then northeast through the Werra River gap to pass

around the west end of the formidable hills of the Thuringer Wald, while the 11th Armored Division

worked through the Hohe Rhon south and east of the 4th Armored Division. On 31 March the 4th

Armored Division had advanced into the Werra gap to a point about 15 miles southeast of Eisenach, and

the 11th Armored Division advanced into the Fulda gap. The 90th Infantry Division followed in the

zone of the 4th Armored Division, and the 26th Infantry Division cleared the area behind the 11th

Armored Division. The 71st Infantry Division, assigned to the Corps 29 March from the Seventh Army,

closed in an area north of Hanau on 31 March in Corps reserve, and a 2nd Cavalry Group protected the

right flank of the Corps and maintained contact with XV Corps, Seventh Army."

The generally triumphant operations during March were marred, near the end of the month, by

one unfortunate incident. Perhaps inspired by the sensationalist success of the raid to liberate American

prisoners at Cabanatuan, Philippines, which had startled the world a couple of months before, higher

authority directed that an attempt be made to free some 1400 U. S. Officer prisoners reported to be held

in a camp near Hammelburg. (About three quarters of the way from Aschaffenburg to Bad Kissingen)

Accordingly a task force consisting of a company of infantry, or company of tanks, three assault guns,

and other attached units with appropriate vehicles was organized from elements of CCB, 4th Armored

Division. On the night of 26-27 march this force broke out of the division bridgehead at Aschaffenburg

and headed due east. It smashed through 40 miles of hostile territory to the camp and released PW's, but

on the way back was cut off by overwhelming German forces and all but a few the personnel killed or

made prisoners. The task force commander, Capt A J Baum, S3 of the 10th Armored Infantry Battalion,

was captured (while suffering from three wounds) and freed 6 April 45 when American forces overran

the hospital in which he was being treated. He had nothing but praise for the behavior of his officers and

men. "Their conduct was unparalleled," he told interviewers of the Third Army History Team. "The

morale throughout the trip was superior even though the men knew they had hardly a chance. Everyman

was a hero." The value of the expedition and is a diversionary operation was felt on the XII Corps front,

and on that of other Corps. As the bulk of the Corps rolled forward it picked up sundry individuals from

this camp who had made their way to freedom in the XII Corps' zone in advance. More and more as the

Corps units went forward they overran such camps, notably one at Bad Orb, 2 April 45, where smart

work on the part of 2nd Cavalry Group men liberated over 6, 500 Allied Prisoners, including a Russian

Major General.

Much of this phase of the advance was served by the fine new dual highways of Western

Germany. Americans had been told Hitler built these for military purposes – O. K., that was what we

were using them for, wasn't it? Wherever they were going our way, they were particularly God's gift to

the 2 1/2 ton supply trucks. Naturally, therefore, the most fervent appreciation of these "autobahnen"

comes from the 514th QM Group booklet cited previously, Patton's Wheels:

"HITLER'S BACKFIRE. The Autobahns, the military super-highways of Germany, were not

only the answer to a tactician's prayer but in addition, proved to be a major temptation for the QM truck

driver. His first glimpse of those smoothly banked curves along straight stretches of four-lane

thoroughfare was a 'sight for sore eyes' to the US bred speed merchants. A heavy foot on the accelerator

became an occupational disease until some Third Army MP reminded them they were still in the service

with a good-natured 'You're flying kind of low today ain't you Buddy?'

"In the early weeks after the crossing of the Rhine, traffic on the Autobahns was as dense as that

on the main roads outside any hometown on a summer Sunday afternoon – and the traffic was just as

American. Vehicles of every description from jeeps to the heaviest tanks roared and rumbled down these

military express lanes and the only thing German to be observed were the PW convoys coming back.

"Only at night were the Jerry's able to strafe the autobahns. It is an outstanding irony of the war

that these high-powered military arteries, built for conquest and long the proudest boast of pre-war

German military might, backfired on their creators and became one of the greatest assets of our own

'Blitz'."

* Said General Eisenhower to General Patton and a visit to Third Army units about this time: "please tell your officers and men of my great

admiration for the skillful and veteran behavior of all units, both combat, supply and administrative. I was particularly impressed with the

self-confidence and ease with which all the stats function." This quotation was conveyed to General Eddy in a letter from General Patton,

14 April 45.

** The towns credited to XII Corps during March follow:

Butzweiler

Edingen

Godendorf

Heilenbach

Kersch

Malbergweich

Mahlendorf

Oberweiler

Ralingen

Rosport

Sefferweich

Schlied

Steinheim

Udelfangen

Besslich

Fusenich

Grevenich

Herresthalerhof

Heflanbach

Huttingen

Metterich

Neiderweiler

Seffern

Sirzenich

Trierweiler

Euren

Hasten

Igel

Langsur

Liersberg

Messenich

Zewen-Oberkirch

Baden

Dudeldorf

Erdorf

Gindorf

Orenhofen

Ordorf

Preist

Phi1ippsheim

Pickilessen

Speicher

Steinborn

Ma1berg

Melsburg

Orsfeld

OberstadtefeId

Salm

Usch

Wallenborn

Binsfeld

Dolheim

Horforst

Spang

Spangdahlem

Arrenrath

Eisenschmitt

Gransdorf

Rodt

Schleidweiler

Schwarzenborn

Zemmer

Bassenheim

Burg

Grosslittgen

Greverath

Hegg-Gut

Karlich

Kettig

Kobern

Kruft

Landseheld

Melsenheim

Muhiheim

Rubenach

Saffig

Wolken

Bergweiler

Bettenfeld

Bruch

Dunfus

Hambuch

Hupperath

Manderscheid

Minderlittgen

Montenich

Musweinler

Roes

Carden

Gipperath

Gondorf

Gremersburg

Gu1s

Illerich

Landhern

Luxem

Plein

Wirfus

Faid

Gevenich

Immerath

Niederwinkel

Oberwinkel

Strohn

Strotzbusch

Diefenbach

DrieSCh

Kesten

Kinderbeuern

Lutzerath

Maring

Osann

Plesport

Lutz

Tries

Macken

Morshausen

Udenhausen

Beulich

Buch

Bullay

Dommershausen

Dorweiler

Ehr

Ellern

Gondershausen

Kastellaun

Kouweiler

Kratzenburg

Lahr

Lanbach

Liesenfeld

Merimuth

Morsdorf

Neef

Nehren

Ney

Oppenhausen

Poltersdorf

Senhals .

Simmern

Zilshausen

Bad Salzig

Blankenrath

Boppard =

Burg

Panzwzller

Bad Kreuznach

Becherbach

Bingen

Harweiller

Meddersheim

Sobernheim

Aspisheim

Herweiler

Nussbaum

Sponsheim

Waldpochelhelm

Abbisheim

Albig

Alzey

Bornhelm

Dannenfels

Flonheim

Gollheim

Hahnheim

Harxheim

Hechtsheim

Marienborn

Marienthal

Monsheim

Niedesheim

Offsteln

Worms

Bechtheim

Bermersheim

Dalheim

Dexheim

Dolgesheim

Dornduerkheim

Elmsheim

Freiweinheim

Frettensheim

Gaulsheim

Gimbsheim

Hahnheim

Mettenheim

Mommernheim

Osthofen

Rhein-Durkheim

Schornsheim

Seizen

Weinheim

Wintersheim

Erhfelden

Mainz

Ashtheheim

Leeheim

Treiur

Wallerstein

Bauscheim

Buttelborn

Goddelau

Grafenhausen

Griasheim

Gross-Gerau

Konigstaden

Russelsheim

Schneppenhausen

Worfelben

Biechofsheim

Darmstadt

Grafenhausen

Griesheim

Guslavsburg

Kelsterbach

Raunheim

Heusenthamm

Bieber

Oberroden

Offenthal

Sachsenhausen

Schwanheim

Uberath

Hanau

Killanstaden

Mittelbuchen

Niedertorfelden

Grosskalben

Heldenbergen

Rothenbergen

Ruckingen

Budingen

Gelenhausen

Liesenwald

Hersfeld

Starklos

2. The Strange Case of the 6th SS Mountain Division

Easter Sunday, 1945, fell on April Fool's Day, and as the first of the month donned, suddenly XII

Corps began to wonder if it were the victim of a rough practical joke. The situation was this, as outlined

in the After Action Report:*

"Easter Sunday, 1 April, found the Corps at maximum stretch, on a northeasterly course, with the

rear boundary in the trough of the Rhine Valley, and the Forward Echelon of the headquarters still at

Offenbach on the Main; while the Advance (Tactical) CP was already far forward at a Lauterbach.

Beyond, the foremost armored elements were breaking out into the edge of the great central plane of

Germany. The 4th Armored Division, on the left, had thrust between the difficult country of the

Hessiches Bergland to the north and the Thuringer Wald to the south, and jumped over the saddle into

the headwaters of the Unstrut River and the relatively better going of the Thuringer Bergland. The 90th

Infantry Division was following in the zone of the 4th Armored Division. On the night of 1 April the

11th Armored Division was already bearing off at an acute angle to the direction of attack of the 4th

Armored Division and initiating the long southeasterly coast along the ridges from the Thuringer Wald

to the Bohmerwald, which characterized the movement of the whole Corps from the first week in April

to the last day of that month. The 26th Infantry Division was clearing behind the 11th Armored

Division. So rapid had been the advance of the Corps since the crossing of the Main, that almost the

whole right flank lay open except for the security afforded by the 2nd Cavalry Group, which was

assigned to screen and patrol this vulnerable line and reach back to maintain control with outdistanced

forward elements of the XV Corps, Seventh Army. The 71st Infantry Division, but newly assigned, was

in Corps reserve north of Hanau. The zone of action of the Corps included a wide variety of countryside,

as might be expected from the long, narrow cross-section of Western Germany which it comprised. The

rolling farmlands and isolated woodlots which had favored the advance on either side of the Rhine

persisted for a short distance northeast of the Main. Then the terrain became increasingly rugged and

forested. The line of advanced threaded between the frowning heights of the Vogelsberg and Hohe Rhon

and forked upon the northwesterly point of the Thuringer Wald...."

XII Corps' right flank, then, was open and naked to the winds of Germany, as will be seen from

the above, save only for the 2nd Cavalry Group in its accustomed role of screening the Allied Armies

from attack until the forces on the South could catch up the XII Corps' advance. But on the left flank, the

Corps had the refreshing experience of being, apparently, pretty well covered – by a corps the identity of

which, for reasons of amity and delicacy, will not be revealed here. It was from this direction, on 1 April

45, that a blow fell, as the Corps After Action Report puts it, "unique in the experience of XII Corps."

The report continues: "the … Corps, on the left, had bypassed certain German SS units and groups of

individuals which proved to be still full of fight (these were principally elements of the 6th SS Mountain

Division). These broke away from the forces containing them, in numbers variously estimated as being

between several hundred and '3,000-4,000,' attempted to cut their way across XII Corps rear areas to a

junction with enemy forces on the Corps right flank. The impact of this situation on the Corps included a

number of ambushes of supply vehicles, even on the M(ain)S(upply)R(oute) itself; and several small

brisk actions before units of the 71st Infantry Division, 5th Infantry Division, 26th Infantry Division,

and the 2nd Cavalry Group eliminated the disturbing elements. The Forward Echelon of the Corps

headquarters moved in convoy instead of by infiltration, as normally, to overtake the Advance CP. And

from then on throughout the month, the 17th Armored Group, reinforced by a battalion of infantry, was

employed in protection of the command post and MSR."

Between the lines of this brief paragraph those who remember the incident will be able to read a

multitude of hair-raising adventures for many members of various XII Corps units, including the

headquarters. As indicated in the quotation, General Eddy, General Canine and General Lentz were

among those "cut off" from their usual connections. The Corps commander had gone forward on 1 April

with personnel of his command group, to Lauterbach, expecting the Forward Echelon to follow

forthwith. Instead, with all hell breaking loose along the MSR, and while rumors of an attack on the

Forward Echelon in Offenbach (which subsequently developed to have originated in a carload of

ammunition burning in the Frankfurt rail yards across the river), it was not until the morning of 3 April

that the situation was considered sufficiently clarified to permit Col Lieber to bring his part of the

headquarters up to where it belonged. Even so, the Forward Echelon convoy narrowly missed becoming

involved in certain difficulties in the outskirts of Ortenberg, where it arrived while American dead still

lay as they had fallen in the highway and along the roadsides.** During these eventful days, the

headquarters proper lost one soldier, "KIA" – Pfc Alvin E Courter, driver for Maj "Johnny" Myers, of

the Signal Section, on 1 April 45.*** T/5 Louis Fuld was wounded in action on the last day of March.

Several members of the headquarters were captured by the Germans, but escaped. Representative cases

with those of Capt George Gorry, of the Chemical Warfare Section, and Pfc space Joseph Kaczor of the

Chief of Staff Section, both of whom were awarded the Silver Star in connection with the affair. Capt

Gorry recounts there experienced thus:

"We were ambushed in Gen Canine's car. (The general had flown out by L-5). The armor had

gone through and we were following. They opened up on us with a bazooka and we turned over. As the

driver and I came up, we were bowing and scraping to anyone who happened to be around, and they

were Germans. They took us 50 miles from there, where they were fighting the 2nd Cavalry group, and

put us between the lines in a barn. It got pretty hot and we were put in a potato bin in a cellar. There

were 27 of us. The guard went through a tunnel to another building, as there were some civilians in

there. A German civilian came in and we asked where the Germans were. We didn't want to stay in a

cellar, as we were afraid the American artillery would open up. The driver and I volunteered to go out

and reconnoiter, so we did, and managed to get a couple of guns, as there had been a lot of fighting and

there were many strewn around. Going across a field we ran into a German patrol of three. We waited

until they stood up and were outlined between us and the fires in the town, so we captured them and

took them back. We took the two guards at the door, and took them into the cellar. Later on we went out

on patrol again and picked up 34 prisoners.

We put them in the yard of a hospital where there were four American wounded and 60 or 70

Germans. I asked one of the Americans where our troops were, and he told us, so the driver and I left

and found our outposts...."

The men of the 93rd Signal Battalion, in their ceaseless travels to keep the XII Corps

communications lines open, as might be expected had several brushes with these Kraut intruders,

reflected in the Battalion history:

"On 1 April Sgt Ridlen, Pfc Petersohn and Pfc Heideman of A Company were taken prisoner by

the enemy troops while they were on a mission to deliver a Weapons Carrier to the wire crew at the

Corps Fire Direction Center. Ridlen was separated from the other two men by his captors and spent a

very uncomfortable 48 hours as a prisoner before he was released by men of the 2nd Cavalry Group.

Heideman returned to the Battalion within 24 hours after Ridlen, but it was many months before we

learned that Petersohn had been returned to military control when his captors were overrun by our own

troops of the 71st Division.

"On the same day Pfc Edward Malinoski and Pfc Myrl M Reynolds ran into an enemy ambush in

the town of Selters while they were on a messenger run but were able, by quick thinking and fast action,

to escape. However, fou and r other messengers, Pfc Gerald G O'Brien, Pfc Charlie L Owens, Pfc

Wilson Chaney and Pfc Willard C McAllister were not so fortunate. O'Brien and Owens made the sad

mistake of stopping to warn some 'American' troops in American vehicles that they had been shot at a

few miles back on the road, only to have the unhappy experience of looking down the business end of a

Luger. They remained prisoners for the about 16 hours, until they were liberated by members of the 11th

Armored Division.

On 3 April, McAllister and Chaney ran into an enemy ambush, when they were on a run to the

2nd Cavalry Group, in the vicinity of Budingen, Germany. Displaying exceptionally cool heads and

stout hearts they ran their peep through about a mile of enemy crossfire before being forced to abandon

it. But they still managed to burn their peep and destroy their messages before they were taken captive.

It was almost a month later before we learned that Chaney was safe in American hands and several

weeks after that until we heard, through official channels, of the return of McAllister to military

control."

Corps Artillery also tangled with the invading enemy, as this typical incident reported in the

182nd Field Artillery Group history attests:

"On 2 April, the 182nd Group Headquarters Battery kitchen truck, which was in the charge of

M/Sgt Floyd L Nugent, with Pfc Ed Ogletree as driver, met the Germans in the town of Hitzkirchen,

about 35 miles behind the front. Pfc Ogletree escaped, but M/Sgt Nugent was captured. He remained in

the custody of the Germans most of one day, and was fortunately released by the 2nd Cavalry squadron,

who destroyed or captured the German detachment." XII Corps Fire Direct Center B, the Headquarters

and Headquarters Battery, 410th Field Artillery Group, in support of the 11th Armored Division, was

besieged in the town of Geisel, not far from Fulda, for two days during this period.

Even the medicos ran in trouble. Capt Burton ("Ollie") Olson of the Corps CP aid station only

missed the unpleasantness at Selters by a scant half hour, buzzing through on his way to Lauterbach just

before the SS men took back the former village, briefly, for Hitler. Maj Lloyd McCormick, CO of the

613th Clearing Company, 37th Medical Battalion, earned an Oak Leaf Cluster for heroism for his

conduct while he and his driver, Harold K Gorton, were held prisoners for 24 hours. The two men were

liberated, unhurt, by the 71st Infantry Division Personnel of the 16th Field Hospital, and another unit

very closely associated with the Corps headquarters, were not so lucky. In the same rugged wooded area

about 20 miles northwest of Frankfurt were Capt Olson and later the whole Forward Echelon had its

narrowest squeaks, the convoy of doctors, nurses and corpsmen enroute from Dieburg to Lauterbach ran

into an ambush, with fatal results. Let the story be told from the viewpoint of the other unit involved,

one also "near and dear" to the XII Corps headquarters, – the 136QM Truck Company:

"On 1 April 45, 1st Lt Foster C Burns and 15 enlisted man of the 136th QM Truck Company

experienced the most eventful Easter Sunday of their lives when they and their 12 trucks were ambushed

and captured by the German Sixth Waffen SS Division (Mtn).

"Moving a platoon of the 16th Field Hospital to a forward sector along a supposedly safe and

peaceful rear area highway near Altenstadt, Germany, the 136th suddenly found themselves ambushed.

Although the convoy was traveling under the Red Cross, the Nazis opened up and drivers returned the

fire until they realize there were several hundred of the SS troops surrounding them and further

resistance was foolhardy. However, the service force unit accounted for ten of the SS men before the

order to 'cease-fire' was given, according to personnel of the 16th Field Hospital who later were assigned

the job of caring for the Heinie casualties resulting from the engagement.

"This is one war story that ends happily, for you can't keep a 'gas general' down. The Nazis found

out it was one thing to take a truck driver prisoner but quite another to be able to hold him.

"The drivers of the 136th remained captive only 36 hours before the last made good his escape

under cover of an American artillery barrage which scattered the SS man and provided the opportunity

for slipping loose.

"Lt Burns, who had been separated from his men after capture, escaped during a heavy shelling

Easter night and the following day he was able to salvage one of the organization's trucks that had been

abandoned by the Germans. He returned to the 136th CP late that afternoon.

"The enlisted men went without food or water during their capture and were forced to push the

horse-drawn wagons and artillery pieces of the SS men. It was Monday before the American artillery

barrage gave the boys their chance to escape and in groups of twos and threes they made the most of it.

Taking off in different directions, each group had its own experiences and close calls, several of them

bringing in Jerries they had surprised and captured while seeking their own freedom. During the next

couple of days all the men made it back to the outfit and there was a happy reunion in the 136th when

the last man checked in.

"The enlisted men involved in the 'jailbreak' were – Sgt Earl K Rother; Cpls Glen C Mullin and

John C.Rossofi, T/5s Al F Bervetski, Harold C Therrien, Francis W Cromley and Lawrence E Zimmer;

Pfcs Vernard V Banks, Robert B Haire, Elwyn L Harloam, Aaron L Rollyson, Robert E Soll and

Edward R Tucker; and Pvts William C Bauer and Henry C Schmidt."

While the end of the story was as happy for most of the personnel of the hospital as for the 136th

QM Company truckers, the beginning was quite the reverse. The first burst of German machine-gun fire

killed Maj Fonde, a medical officer of the 106th Evacuation Hospital, who was riding with the convoy,

and wounded others of the party before they surrendered. As this is the only recorded incident where

feminine personnel of XII Corps were taken prisoner by the Germans, it is interesting to note that the

enemy treated with perfect respect the several 16th Field Hospital nurses captured with the column. The

American men were "shaken down," but the women were not searched. Lieutenants of the Army Nurse

Corps who were among those taken with the convoy included: Theo Allen; Mildred E Barnett; Lillian G

Clark; Helen R Cosma; Lola M Dickinson; Rosalou Freeland; Lula G Harward; Marie C Janes. "During

our stay in the woods," reports Lt Cosma, "a German officer came over, and... informed us that the

Nurses need not worry as no harm would come to us. He further added that we were not prisoners of

war, but merely under the protection of the Third Reich until the tactical situation changed."

Fortunately the "tactical situation changed" extremely fast. XX Corps liaison planes were over

the scattered enemy forces even as the German officer was reassuring the nurses. Though the Krauts

fired heavily on Capt Ancel Taflinger, with his passenger, Col Cecil Strong, and on two of Gen Lentz's

best Corps artillery pilots, they could not drive the little gadfly's off, or hide from the devastating

shellfire which they brought with them. Within a matter of hours the XII Corps infantry and cavalry

were closing in on the desperate remnants; the personnel of the 16th Field Hospital were freed by men of

the 5th Infantry Division; other captured personnel were liberated by other units as indicated before; and

shortly finis had been written to the story of "the Strange Case of the 6th SS Mountain Division...."

* Colonel Lieber cannot be held responsible for any lack of accuracy or quality in the XII Corps After Action Report for combat operations

during April and May 1945. After seeing the Corps grow from infancy almost to the end of its battlefield experience he was ordered to

become Chief of Staff of XXIII Corps, and he parted from XII Corps Headquarters officially on 19 April 45. The job of writing the

summary section of the report developed on the author of this book. Colonel Lieber's duties as Deputy Chief of Staff were assumed by

Colonel Paul("PM") Martin.

** Colonel Lieber suggests it should be made entirely clear that Lauterbach was "not one of the Podunks for which we intentionally used

an advance CP. The situation developed this way, according to my recollection. The new CP wiring was completed 31 March. Early 1

April General Eddie took off by L-5 airplane. General Canine ditto, sending their vehicles separately.... the Provost Marshall had

reconned two routes, and after check of current imbroglios (Tom Taber had complained earlier that his men at the Ammunition Supply

Point (ASP) could get more work done if they didn't have to chase Germans out of the ASP) we posted the western route. The Forward

Group of the Forward Echelon, Jake Claybrook, Jack Griffith, Artillery, etc., and representatives of most of the other Forward Echelon

sections took off. Immediately after they took off a wild-eyed medico came in to report to capture of the Field Hospital, right in the

vicinity of Taber's scrap report. The medico estimated 2,000 Germans said that he had not seen all of them, and that his CO had talked

with a German Division commander, and at them Medical CO estimated 4,000. As the enemy were right on our posted route, I

immediately got the Provost Marshal to chase our party, halt and turn it, scout the easterly route, and guide the Forward Group that way if

the easterly route were clear. Gorry (in General Canine's Jeep) and others who had not waited for the main serial to form, were not

overtaken by our MP's, and were captured. As General Eddy and General Canine had not yet arrived at the Lauterbach CP, I left word for

an immediate callback on arrival., and called the CG, 71st Division to get him swinging up from Hanau to round up the Germans. About

that time a second medico, a major, came in from the scrap. He confirmed the earlier reports of location and strength and said that the main

movement seemed to be toward the E or NE. I then called General Irwin, 5th Division at Frankfurt (in Army Reserve) and asked if he

could help us out. He could and did. I then called Third Army and reported what was on the fire, -- they approved the action taken. About

that time R J Canine called up to check in at Lauterbach, and wanted to know why the urgent call. His first reaction was that it was a small

group, say 400, that had gotten into our lines from XX Corps. As a matter of fact, all of us, except the medicos from the scene, held that

view initially. But as more reports came in, it was clear that this was no minor show. Our Forward Group got safely up the eastern route,

but the scrapping rolled over that route, leaving us perforce with an Advance CP until a couple days later. When first the westerly and later

the easterly routes were cleared. Then the rest of the Forward Echelon joined.... the general German movement had been mainly by night,

from concealment to concealment, seeking a way out to the east. And mousetrapping our supply vehicles as they came along. They were

well supplied with our transport rations and gas, but had almost no ammunition for the little artillery they dragged with them." General

Lentz, who had characteristically made his way forward in a jeep on the first day of the fighting, had the unusual experience sending XII

Corps Artillery units back from the front to deal with this unpleasantness behind him.

*** Captain C A ("Mark") Anthony contributes the following details on how Pfc Courter's devotion to duty led him to his death: "Courter

was the driver who took me from Offenbach to Lauterbach 1 April 45, and was killed on his return to Offenbach to pick up Major Myers.

Courter was supposed to spend the night at Lauterbach, but according to one of the enlisted men he decided to return at night because he

thought Major Myers might want to get an early start the next morning since the XII Corps CP was to move to Lauterbach 2 April 45."

XII CORPS MEN WILL LONG REMEMBER THE INCIDENT OF THE

6TH SS MOUNTAIN DIVISION

(1 & 2) At the beginning of April, while XII Corps units lay

widely extended northeastward from the Main River, an

estimated 3000-4000 tough SS troopers from a Nazi mountain

division broke away from containing forces in the XX Corps

zone on our left flank, and tried to fight their way southeastward

across our rear areas to rejoin remnants of the Wehrmacht on

our right flank. Running patrol fights developed, leading to

several small pitched battles. Here a typical patrol, in platoon

strength, starts out from a Regimental Headquarters of the 90th

Infantry Division near Oberstoppel. 2 April. Discussing the

day's operations are S/Sgt Roy Shannon; T/Sgt Lester J.

Morrison; 1st Lt Woodrow C. Payne and Cpl Loren Lindquist.

(3) Beside an abandoned German self-propelled gun men of the

1st squad, 3rd platoon, 328th Infantry Regiment, 26th Infantry

Division rush forward an antitank gun near Fulda. 4 April. By

this time the disturbing elements had been liquidated by joint

action of elements of the 5th, 26th, and 71st Infantry Divisions

and the 2nd Cavalry Group. (4) They killed some of us, mostly

in ambushes and raids, and we had to kill plenty of them. In this

picture an 11th Armored Division halftrack passes a dead Nazi

on the outskirts of Rheinhardt. 2 April. (5) They also captured

some of us: Lt Col Edward W Bartley, S-4 of XII Corps

Artillery on 3 April, at Lauterbach, congratulates Captain

George A. Correy, Assistant Chemical Warfare Service Officer,

Headquarters XII Corps and Pfc Joseph P. Kaczor of

Headquarters Company XII Corps, on escaping from the SS and

actually bringing in 34 German prisoners. Both men were

awarded the Silver Star for this incident.

3. Gotha and Ohrdruff

Somewhere, away up the line, a lot of basic planning was being revised, with the usual results

that less exalted plans were being revised all down the line. XII Corps had obviously started for Kassel

after it breached the lines of the Rhine and Main Rivers. Before the end of March it had been diverted

eastward. Hush-hush G2 studies reported that here was a secret headquarters of the German government

in the Thuringen Woods around Gotha and Ohrdruff. XII Corps armor and infantry went after it. Then,

the orders from on high changing again, the Corps turned over its forces in that area to VIII Corps, and

started off in the southeastly direction bound for the Czech border around Hof.

Gotha lies on a direct line from Frankfurt to Berlin. In breaking out of the Thuringer Bergland,

XII Corps had passed the last important mountain barrier lying in front of the latter city, – Target No 1

in the Third Reich. The Corps was turned aside, – to go after bigger game, to be the first ETO troops in

Czechoslovakia and Austria and to go further east than any other ETO troops, – well east of Berlin, for

that matter. Why this was so became fully evident only long after the war was over. Lt Gen Walter B.

Smith, Gen Eisenhower's Chief of Staff in Europe, explains in his Saturday Evening Post article dated

13 July 46, The Only Way It Could End:

"From the day our invasion broke over the beaches of Normandy, the goal of every Allied soldier

had been Berlin. The Supreme Commander, the staff at all the troop shared driving ambition to seal the

defeat of not see Germany by seizing the capital of the Reich itself. During our planning days in

England, there seemed every reason to believe that after the Ruhr was encircled and its troops destroyed,

we could end the war by taking Germany's political heart – Berlin.

"By the end of January 1945, the German Government was evacuating the capital, fleeing to

temporary safety in the Thuringian Forest and south to Hitler's own retreat in mountainous

Berchtesgaden. Deserted by its Nazi masters, ruined by our air bombardments, the city was becoming a

shell – an empty symbol of the Nazi's brutal grandeur. It was losing all meaning as a military objective.

"Our task was to end the war swiftly and conclusively. Berlin was no longer a major factor in

reaching that end. Every plan, decision and purpose of the Allied command was determined always to be

one inflexible rule – 'destroy the German forces, speedily and completely.' by 2 April, when the ring

snapped shut around the Ruhr, we were convinced that there would be no general surrender as long as

Hitler remained in command. The war would be finished now by only one means; we must root out and

destroy every remnant of military strength until no organized force remained in Germany to carry on the

fight.... In the south, Gen Devers' forces and... the Third Army, would drive through Nürnberg and

Regensburg, following the Danube Valley into Austria. There we should meet the southern wing of the

Red Army coming in from the Balkans. Besides destroying considerable German forces east of Munich,

this drive would also cut off the alpine area containing the mysterious National Redoubt, where we had

every reason to believe the Nazis intended to make their last stand among the crags. Around

Berchtesgaden and Salzburg, we should run down the principal government departments fled from

Berlin. Beating through the tortuous terrain of the Austrian Alps, our forces would destroy the safety of

this promised Nazi refuge...."

XII Corps' destiny, then, was to be the force that cut Germany in two by entering Czechoslovakia

along the whole southern face of the "Bohemian Bastion," and interpose itself between the German

armies fighting the Russians on the east and block their last retreat toward the much advertised

"National Redoubt."

"By 2 April," the Corps After Action Report puts it, "the double-pronged thrust of the 4th and

11th Armored Divisions was well-developed. The former established a bridgehead across the Werra

River in the vicinity of Greuzburg; the latter gained approximately 16 km to capture Grimmenthal (with

an intact bridge) and neared Wasungen. Fulda was cleared by the following infantry of the 26th Infantry

Division.... The 4th Armored Division accomplished a partial envelopment of the key town of Gotha on

3 April and threatened another reported control center of German political and military operations at

Ohrdruff.... the 11th Armored Division, plunging southeast between the Thuringer Wald and the

Highlands surrounding the 950-meter peak of the Wasserkuppe, was having more difficult going than

the 4th Armored Division. Nevertheless, on 3-5 April Vacha, Bad Salzungen, Meiningen and Suhl had

been seized...."

4. Peculiar Treasures

How to tell scrounging from looting was sometimes difficult. The former, while usually illegal,

was regarded as morally right. The latter, while frequently indulged in, always had a dubious flavor. But

where to draw the line? The definitions were fairly easy. You were looting if you took property of

private citizens of Germany, because that properly belong to them. You were looting if you took public

property of the German State, because that belonged to the Allied powers, who were engaging in

expensive military operations against the German and presumably would need all that stuff for

reparations. "Scrounging," was a taking of enemy property, public or private, which you could use to

make a little easier the always unpleasant conditions of life in the field during an active campaign. For

instance, if you took from the German house in which you were billeted a sign down quilt or a well-

made washbasin, which was just fitted into your bedding role, because the nights were so damn cold or

because you were so sick of watching in a helmet – that was scrounging. Although the basin or quilt was

obviously the private property of some German, well, what the hell? They asked for it, didn't they? They

declared war on us, didn't pay. Why should any German the more comfortable than any American?

Picking up trophies, such as small military weapons or Nazi Party emblems and flags, was

neither scrounging nor looting. You couldn't use them, but you could take possession of them without

disapproval of the authorities. Except for pistols or machine guns, you could mail them home; and XII

Corps personnel did, in tremendous volume, during the final days of the war. The trouble always was the

borderline cases: what about the beautifull privately owned shotguns and field glasses the German

citizens were required to turn in? What about the beautifully illustrated and printed books owned by a

high Nazi Party official? Was taking these things, strictly speaking, looting? Hadn't we've been told that

our mission was to disarm and de-Nazify Germany? The whole business worked out in the end as a

fairly simple issue. If you took and used, or took and mailed home, something that you needed or

something that the folks back home could use personally for their pride or comfort, that was not looting,

whatever the official rules might say.

As XII Corps rolled into the rich provinces of south-central Germany, it began to overrun all

kinds of fine opportunities for scrounging and the collection of legitimate war trophies. In the Zella-

Mehlis-Suhl area, for instance, tankers of the 22nd Tank Battalion, of Corps' 11th Armored Division

stumbled on the greatest single source of military trophies encountered, – the surrendering members of

the Wehrmacht excepted, – the Walther small arms works. Herr Walther manufactured the world-

famous double-action self-loading ("automatic") pistols in the two most popular calibers, 7.65 mm (our

.32) and 9 mm (about .38). The latter, known as the "P-38," was one of the most sought-after trophies of

World War II.

A paragraph, which happens to be from Able Ramblings, – the combat record of A Company,

101st Engineer Combat Battalion, with the 26th Infantry Division, – but which could be from any unit

history, describes typical incidents at this time in this area:

"After a two-day uneventful stay at Tann we arrived in Viernau where most of the Company

acquired pistols by the easy method. On one of their many trips Capt Hepheffer and Plage came across a

Walther factory and Zella-Mehlis, and picked up as many as they could carry which they passed out to a

few lucky fellas. Immediately small safaris were seen leaving the town. By noon the next day practically

everyone had either a .22 or a .32 as a souvenir of Mr. Walther.... A short rest at Viernau and then the rat

race was on again. This time we really moved, not stopping again until victory was assured. In rapid

succession of one night stands we stayed in Dillstadt outside of Suhl; Schleusingen, where we lost two

of the swellest guys in the Company. While reconning a bridge site outside of Waldau, the 'Rebel'

Pearce and 'Ole' Hanson were ambushed and killed. Here also we lost Crapa when a mine went off

severely wounding him. Eisfeld, with its large hotel, beer on tap and comfortable sleeping quarters were

enjoyed by some of us while others were busily clearing roadblocks and abatis and building bridges....

Sonnenberg with its big doll and clothing factories where we worked all day clearing roads, fell by the

simplest means possible. Col Scott picked up the telephone, delivered an ultimatum to the burgomeister,

sent a few shells in as a warning, and then excepted the keys to the city. As we rode in liberated Russian

and Polish girls threw dolls to us and soon every vehicle had a teddy bear or doll of some sort on its

radiator cap. Other liberated 'slaves' were going to the big flour mill and clothing factories and helping

themselves. Quite a few of us also acquired some beautiful leather jackets that soon found their way

home via the US mail."

T/Sgt James C Carlson, of the 93rd Signal Battalion contributes a representative footnote to this

subject, for file under the Foraging Section of the Scrounging Department. The American Army was not

supposed to "live off the country" it passed through, but there were times when everyone got sick of

Army rations, however varied and nourishing they might be. Says Sgt Carlson: "at Fulda our supplies

were slow in coming up, so we were eating C-and K-rations. In foraging around we found all kinds of

supplies of cheese, sausage, butter, sardines and wine in people's' attics and sellers. We picked up all we

could in our trucks and sent some butter back to the company. At Fulda we found an entire warehouse

full of butter, sardines, liquor and champagne. We were getting so fussy by that time that we would pass

up all kinds of wine and only drink champagne. Sgt Braun and I had 362 bottles of champagne in our

possession at one time...."

CENTRAL GERMANY – SOUVENIR HUNTER'S PARADISE

(1) The Reichsbank gold in the Merkers salt mine may be the

XII Corps find that is best known to the world at large, but

within the U S Army certainly the most famous discovery was

the over-running of the Walther P-38 pistol and small arms

factory.

This plant at Zella Mehlis in South Thuringen originally

captured by the 11th Armored Division with the 90th

Infantry Division not slow to arrive thereafter, provided

thousands of US soldiers with factory new trophies. Here Sgt

Walton H. Stucky, Lt Daniel H. Howell, and Pfc. Pete Martinez

all with a 359th Infantry Regiment, AT Company, 90th Infantry

Division illustrate a souvenir hunters dream with P-38's by the

dozen before them. 9 April 45. (2) Lt Col A I Schepps and Lt

Daniel H. Howell of 11th Armored Division examined 32

caliber Walther automatic specially fitted with goldplated sights

for the SS troope chiefs. Zella Mehlis 9 April. (3) A new type

of Volksturm rifle never actually issued because of XII Corps'

unexpected arrival is inspected by 1st/Sgt George A. Band in the

Walther factory. (4) Castle of Count Braunschweig maker of

Rolliflex and Rollicord cameras at Waldorf. 13 April. It was a

sleepy fellow in any of the combat units in Germany who didn't

get himself at least one good camera and a pair of field glasses.

(5) Men of Company A, 56th Engineer Battalion, 11th Armored

Division, engage in a popular pastime of making boxes in which

they mailed guns home, Hildburgajusen. 9 April.

(1) German '08-Lugar (9 mm). (2) German P-38 (9 mm). (3) German Walther .32 (7.65 mm).

(4) Russian Nagant M1895 (7.62 mm) revolver. (5) German .22 (5.6 mm).

5. Salted Gold

Biggest treasure of the war, of course, was discovered by XX Corps units between Vacha and

Meiningen. The Corps' great 90th Infantry Division was the immediate agent, as we read in the "pony"

addition of Time from 16 April 45:

"Into Merkers, an undistinguished village about 15 miles southwest of Eisenach in mid Germany,

slogged the weary infantrymen of Maj Gen Herbert L. Earnest's 90th Division.* Their job last week was

the usual one of follow-through after Lt Gen George S. Patton's advanced tank forces: unsnarling knots

of resistance, sorting out prisoners and slave laborers. Of the latter there were many for Merkers' big salt

mines.

"That night, after curfew, two of the 90th military police stopped two women in the village

street. The women explained that they were going for a midwife. The MP's went along, just to be

certain. They passed an entrance into a salt mine. Said one of the hausfrauen: 'That's were the bullion is

hidden.' MP ears perked up: How's that again? The women repeated the gossip she had heard –

Germany's gold had been salted away in that mine.

"The MP's took a look. The mine was held by eight German civilians. Two were polite, worldly

men from Berlin: 1) Moon faced Werner Vieck, a Reichsbank official; 2) pale, gaunt Dr Paul Ortwin

Rave, curator of the German state museums, assistant director of Berlin's National Gallery. They talked

quite frankly about their secret, now that it was no longer secret. The mine, they said, held:

"About 100 tons of gold bars (worth approximately $100,000,000); Banker Vieck said it was

Germany's entire gold reserve.

"Three billion paper Reichsmarks; probably the greatest store of currency in Germany, perhaps

the only reserve.

"Great stacks of foreign currency: $2,000,000 US; 110,000 British pounds; 4,000,000 Norwegian

crowns; 1,000,000 French francs; lesser amounts of Spanish, Portuguese, Turkish money.

"Hundreds of crates and boxes – a large cache of priceless works of art; Rembrandts, Raphaels,

Renoirs, Durers, Van Dykes; tapestries and engravings; a Titian Venus; original Goethe manuscripts.

"All this, and more, was stored in chambers 2,100 feet deep. The Americans went down, opened

a few bundles of currency, looked into wooden cases that covered paintings and statues. On many cases

they noted significant stenciling, Paris, Brussels, Vienna. The Curator Rave insisted that these were not

stolen treasures – this store of art belonged to the Reich, had been removed from Berlin, 'because the

Russians were pushing too close.'

"Banker Vieck regretted that he could not show the cash of gold; somebody had lost the key to

the chamber. The Americans obligingly blew out the wall. And there was gold, each 25-lb bar wrapped

in a sack, each sack tagged: 'Reichsbank.' There were sacks of gold coin, some of them too heavy for a

man to lift. There seemed to be even more gold stacked in the dim lit, salt-crusted chamber than Vieck

had said.**

"Gold was something for reparations experts to worry about. Gen Earnest's intelligence officers

were more interested in the 3 billion German marks. That currency might turn out to be a prize of golden

military value.

"Banker Vieck remarked that the German Army desperately needed it to meet its payrolls. It was

irreplaceable: Germany's money-engraving plants had been bombed out."

THE TREASURE IN THE SALT MINE

(1) Gate to the Merkers Salt Works where the Reichsbank gold and currency was captured on 4 April 45 by the 3rd Battalion of the 358th

Infantry, 90th Infantry Division while part of the XII Corps. (2) Entrance to the side Gallery in which the treasure was hidden. Behind the

guard, sitting on millions of paper reichsmarks, can be seen the hole blown through the wall to bypass the jammed steel door. (3) Gold bars

make up part of the estimated 100 tons of bullion in the gallery. 8 April 45. (4) Generals Eisenhower and Patton examine one of the

suitcase loads of jewelry. (5) Bags of gold coin furnished the visible means of support for Colonel Clyde V. Dougherty, XII corps

Engineer. The object in his hand is a Goldbrick. (6) Elmer Davis, Chief of OWI, visits XII Corps CP at Vacha on 9 April 45 to be taken

down into the Merkers Mine. General Eisenhower, General Patton, General Bradley and General Eddie inspect the great find. 8 April 45.

90TH INFANTRY DIVISION MEN GUARDED THE FABULOUS

MERKERS TREASURE

(1) "Tough 'Ombres" of the 90th Infantry Division mount guard at the south gate of the Merkers plant, early in April 1945. (2) Hundreds of

feet beneath the boots of the soldiers in the first picture, men of Company A, 357th Infantry Regiment with the 90th's red "TO" on their

shoulders sit on sacks of reichsmarks as they watch outside the treasure gallery: (front row)T/Sgt Harry L. Hjelmstad, T/Sgt Lew Elkin, Pfc

Carl P. Anderson, Pfc Ernest B. Bacca; (back row) Pvt William A. Green, Pvt John B Riles, Pfc John Mattingly. (3) Here's what they're

guarding, inside the gallery; everything in the bags to the right of the track is gold, coins and bars. (4) A helmet full of golden coins takes

two to lift. (5) Besides the treasure in money, a treasure in art works was found scattered through the drifts of the Merkers mine.

6. Germany Cut in Two

Meiningen contained the next important "treasure," greater in human terms than anything found

in the Merkers Salt Mine. Here was captured, in full operation and with military and civilian staffs

intact, the German central records system for all United Nations prisoners of war of Germany, and for

all PW camps within the Reich. This invaluable source of information on the fate of untold hundreds of

thousands of Russians, Britons, Americans and nationals of other Allied countries unfortunate enough to

fall into the hands of the enemy, was turned over to enthusiastic higher authority, but it was personnel of

the XII Corps Headquarters, itself, which first recognized the value of the discovery. Even generals

Eisenhower, Bradley and Patton, visiting the CP here, were interested in this find.

After the spurt which saw the fall to the XII Corps units of Vacha, Bad Salzungen, Suhl and

Meiningen, the Corps After Action Report goes on, "There ensued a period of reorganization and

maintenance, on order from higher headquarters, and no conspicuous advances were made until 11

April. On this date Eisfeld was taken, after employment of heavy artillery fire on the town. The city of

Coburg capitulated after a night of continuous shelling and under threat of attack by fighter-bombers and

elements of the 11th Armored Division and the 71st Infantry Division. After regrouping, the XII Corps

Drive to the southeast continued; with the 11th Armored Division leading on the right, along the

Seventh Army boundary; the 71st Infantry Division following the armor; the 26th Infantry Division in

the center, and the 90th Infantry Division on the left flank. Rapid progress was made against

disintegrating resistance. Bayreuth fell on 14 April at the southern extremity of the line; Hof, at the

northern end, on 15 April."

On 18 April 45, the 90th Infantry Division won for XII Corps and Third Army the distinction of

being the first Allied unit to put troops in Czechoslovakia, thus cutting with Third Reich into halves. The

division's After Action Report recounts this historic incident as follows: "358th Infantry – In preparation

for advance on the 19th, the I & R Platoon struck out at 0600 to gain contact with the enemy and clear

any enemy from the zone. Following them at 0800 were one Company from the 3rd Battalion and one

from 2nd Battalion reinforced with armor. At 180915 the 3rd Battalion patrol crossed the border into

Czechoslovakia near Prex against small arms resistance and captured some prisoners. 2nd Battalion

patrol crossed the border at 181115 April 45."

Close behind the 90th Infantry Division was another favorite standby of XII Corps, and a senior

one in point of acquaintance, – the 2nd Cavalry Group. Two days after the first penetration of

Czechoslovakia, elements of this group took the Czech town of Asch, in the narrow projection of the

border southeast of Hof, against a Company of Krauts who dug in vainly in an attempt to keep them out.

The 2nd Cavalry Group thus established its claim to being "the first American unit to enter the

country(in force), liberate a town, and remain on Czech soil."

With this successful penetration of Allied forces of that great horseshoe of mountains which

surrounds the western end of Czechoslovakia, known as the Bohemian Bastion, the total disintegration

of Germany entered its final stages. To realize this, it was only necessary to see the tens of thousands of

prisoners pouring into the PW cages by the jam-packed truckload; to see the broken lines of German

refugees straggling along the road; the joyous crowd of liberated "RAMPS" waiting in villages to be

returned home; and last, but not least impressive, the staggering skeletons freed from the overrun "death

camps" and interrupted "death marches" who shuffled along, or lay dead or dying, by the roadsides.

The bag of PW's began to swell during April beyond all previous experience. Many of these gave

up eagerly. 1st Lt Leo R Dardas, of the XII Corps Headquarters CIC Detail, tells how it was: "Towards

the end of the war we saw hundreds of Germans trying to give themselves up, and nobody would take

them prisoners. I saw one man hold out his Soldbuch for half an hour to every GI who passed by, and

nobody would bother with him. Everyone was taking so many PW's that they got sick of it, and when

Germans came along, they would just point to the rear and tell them to march. I saw a whole battalion of

Germans marching back with no guards, and a white sign on the front man saying,'These are PW's.

Please direct to nearest cage.' At Polch, the burgomeister came in to our office with a fine looking young

man and said, "'This is my son. I want him to give himself up.' It was about 1700 and we were tired, so

we shouted at him, What's the idea of coming in to surrender at this time of day? Come back tomorrow

morning at 0900 and at your son in full uniform.' So sure enough, the next day the burgomeister showed

up with his son resplendent and full officer's uniform."

All kinds of queer fish began to show up in the tightening net. "At Tirschenreuth," according to

the Corps After Action Report, "large numbers of dejected Hungarians surrendered with their horses and

women; at another point White Russian mercenaries of the Germans came in, exhibiting an utter lack of

enthusiasm for capture by the Soviet armies." "At Bayreuth," says Capt W F Gilfillan, who was assigned

as PW officer in April from the 27th AAA Group, "we had 35 Japanese diplomats with their wives and

kids. They had been captured by then 2nd Cavalry Group at Zwiesel. They spoke perfect English, and

were very polite." As well they might be, under the circumstances.

* Specifically, on 4 April 45, the town being first occupied by 3rd Battalion 358th Infantry Regiment. The job of guarding this fabulous

board from a possible German counterattack was turned over to the 357th Infantry Regiment, 6 April, with elements of the 712th Tank

Battalion in support. On 8 April, after the wealth had been roughly appraised, the regiment passed to direct Corp control and remained on

guard at the mine until the last elements were restored to the 90th Infantry Division 10 days later. Other XII Corps units involved in the

protection of the treasure included A company 773rd Tank Destroyer Battalion; Battery B, 547th AAA AW Battalion. Engineer work was

done but personnel of the 282nd Engineer Combat Battalion.

** XII Corps men who actually got down to look at the treasure might quibble over certain details. This "salt-crusted chamber" was

extremely well-lighted by a row of electric lights along the ceiling. The gold bars appeared to be loaded three to the sack, instead of one,

and the total was reported to be not 100 tons by 200. No mention is made of the suitcases containing jewelry and even -- the horrified

whisper ran -- gold teeth from the concentration camps. Rumor at least, had it that the original tip was given our troops not by the Krauts

but by some British PW's in a camp near Merkers, who had been used as labor to get the treasure into place. Colonel Lieber, who was

General Eddy's representative went to the mine as General Earnest reported the apparent importance of the discovery, remembers that a

woman was said to have given the tipoff, but British PW's led him and his party to the entrance of the treasure room, which he ordered

blown when the door could not be opened. But save for such minor matters the Time account reads well.

"RAMPS" – LIBERATED AMERICAN AND BRITISH PRISONERS

OF WAR

(1) "Recovered Allied Military Personnel," in this case British wave to a passing 90th Division truck loaded with rations. Late April 45.

They were installed in this hotel in Vacha under XII Corps supervision, awaiting transportation home. Some had been prisoners five years,

and many worked in the salt mines near Vacha. A tip from such men was credited with uncovering the gold hoard at Merkers. (2) Lt Col

Enoch J. Scanlan, XII Corps Provost Marshall, with liberated British at Vacha. (3) Freed British PW at Meiningen. 12 April. (4) Hospital

cases were numerous among the men recovered at Meiningen. A high percentage were Air Force personnel shot down over Germany. (5)

American and British at Meiningen 12 April, enroute by ambulance to airstrips for air evacuation.

XII CORPS BROKE IN THE DOORS OF BAVARIA FROM COBURG

TO HOF

(1) Tank destroyer of the 773rd Tank Destroyer Battalion shooting its way into Hof, Bavaria as part of the team with a 358th Infantry

Regiment, 90th Infantry Division and the 712th Tank Battalion. 15 April 45. (2) Men of K Company, 358th Infantry Regiment move into

the newly captured town. (3) Desperate straits of the Wehrmacht is indicated by this body of a German deserter who had been found

hanged from an lamppost in Hof with a warning placard on his chest. 15 April. (4 & 5) In the meantime 26th Infantry Division men and

11th Armored Division tanks are pressing deep into Bavaria to the south of Hof. 19 April.

XII CORPS UNITS – FIRST AMERICAN FORCES INTO

CZECHOSLOVAKIA

(1) "At 180955" says the 90th Infantry Division After Action report for April 1945, "the 358th Regiment, 3rd Battalion patrol crossed the

border into Czechoslovakia near Prex." This cut Germany in two. A 358th Infantry Regiment detachment in the forests of the Czech

border. (2) Infantrymen of the 387th Regiment, 97th Infantry Division in the only week the division was with XII Corps, approach the

Czech town of Cheb (Eger) beside an overpass demolished by retreating Germans. 26 April. (3) Target range abandoned by the Germans

in Cheb, overrun by the 97th Infantry Division. 30 April. (4) VE-Day found XII Corps units deep into Czechoslovakia. Men of the 803rd

Tank Destroyer Battalion, 5th Infantry Division near Kunzvart. 6 May.

7. To Kronach and Bayreuth

Headquarters, XII US Army Corps, described the same semicircular sweep from Lauterbach to

the south and east as the majority of its units. The Forward Echelon remained in one piece for the rest of

the war, and kept up as close to the fighting as the movement of the division headquarters would permit.

The Rear Echelon hitched along behind, periodically catching up to the Forward Echelon for a few days;

the resulting movement of the whole body resembled that of an inchworm.

Lauterbach, Vacha, Meiningen and Eisfeld rolled away behind the jeeps and 2 1/2-tons. They all

looked rather alike – "typical small German hilltowns" as the members of the headquarters were coming

to regard them by this stage of the war. There was the small matter of a change from half timbering in

many of the buildings of the provinces of Hesse and Thuringia to solid gray stone and stucco of the

Bavarian structures, but by and large it was not until the headquarters hit Kronach and Bayreuth that

there was anything special to see.

At Kronach the town was dominated by a huge medieval castle, said to have been once the

headquarters of Gustavus Adolphus, but which obviously was something straight out of Graustark or

Zenda. With Kronach, too, things of great and immediate interest to the headquarters were connected.

Two losses were sustained which in oddly different ways, were deeply felt by many members of the

headquarters. On 13 April the startling news had been received of the death of the President the previous

evening, and great numbers of men in XII Corps, though they might never have met, or ever seen, their

Commander-in-Chief, experienced this occurrence as a sharp personal loss. The news arrived while the

headquarters was at Eisfeld, but it is always most strongly associated in the minds of most members of

the outfit with the next station. Upon orders from higher headquarters, memorial services were held

throughout the Corps; that for the headquarters took place in this small garden back of the CP at

Kronach. None of the officers and men who attended the headquarters gathering will forget the deeply

simple words and manner which characterized the commemorative address delivered by Gen Eddy.

Eight days later the Corps experienced its second loss, and one which struck even more directly

at the headquarters and the death of the President. The eulogy delivered in the garden at Kronach turned

out to the Gen Eddy's valedictory to the outfit he had commanded all the long hard way across the

Continent of Europe. Months of strain in combat with the Corps, and with the 9th Infantry Division

before that, had finally made their impression on the physique of a general officer who took that strain is

much to heart as any GI in the forward foxholes. The story could not be told better than in the words of

Gen Eddy's farewell letter to his staff:

"20 April 1945

"TO THE MEMBERS OF MY STAFF:

"I am relinquishing command of the XII Corps today. The doctors have made my decision

simple – they have given me no choice but to return to America for rest. Believe me, it is one of the

most inexpressibly difficult facts I have ever faced in my life.

"Before I leave, I want each of you, each officer and each soldier of my headquarters, to know

how deeply grateful I am for what I consider to be a remarkable performance. You have left little for a

commander to desire. You have adapted yourselves to new and difficult situations with extraordinary

speed and resourcefulness. You have given the Corps, and me personally, unstintingly of your hours and

of your energies. I commend to each section, to the Headquarters Company, and particularly to the

Military Police, your high standards of efficiency and esprit. Perhaps more than any of these (qualities),

I shall cherish your loyalty the longest.

"I wish I could say goodbye to each of you personally. I can tell you only in this manner of my

pride in your superb accomplishment of every job I've given you, and of my affection for you in our

common experiences. No commander, with you as his staff, can fail to complete the XX Corps' final

mission. My warmest good wishes to you all.

/s/ M S Eddy

Supplementing this were communications to the elements of the Corps outside the headquarters,

such as the following for the Corps artillery, which was addressed to Gen Lentz and given for

distribution by him:

"Before I leave, I want you to know of my admiration for your magnificent troops and of my

gratitude for their remarkable contribution to the successful operations of our Corps. I hope I am not too

prejudiced when I tell you I honestly believe the XII Corps Artillery to be the finest on the Western

Front. You have consistently set high new standards of teamplay between artillery and infantry which

will surely be studied in years to come. The courage and skill and fidelity with which your battalions

have fought during these last few crowded months will be to their undying credit.

"Please except for yourself, and convey to your command, this expression of appreciation. I wish

I could be with you for the kill. Good luck – and Godspeed!"

Similar messages went out to all Corps troops and the divisions, and many answers came in to

the headquarters. As he left, Gen Eddie received a letter from Gen Patton in which the latter wrote that

he attributed much of his personal success in the war to Gen Eddy and his XII Corps. Earlier in the

month, the communication had been given distribution throughout the headquarters which may be

reproduced here for a reason that will shortly become apparent:

"MY DEAR GENERAL EDDY: –

"I wish to thank you in behalf of the 5th Division for your generous letter covering the service of

the division with your Corps.

"Throughout our assignment to the XII Corps we always knew what we were asked to do, and

were aware that we were executing decisive missions that could not fail to have a great influence on the

successful outcome of the war. Such knowledge was an inspiration to the division to do its utmost.

"The cooperation given us by the members of your staff, their sympathetic response to our

requests, and their solicitude for our welfare represents an attitude too rarely encountered and reflects

the greatest credit to themselves and to the spirit of the Corps. I wish you would express to them my

sincere appreciation for all that they did for us, an appreciation which extends throughout the division.

"When I regretfully informed my personnel that we were leaving XII Corps, I found that all

ranks and grades were bitterly disappointed, and eager to return to the Corps as soon as possible. I can

think of no more sincere compliment to the XII Corps than that fact.

Sincerely,

/s/ S. LeRoy Irwin"

This letter had been written on the occasion of the 5th Infantry Division's brief absence under

another Corps. The sentiment expressed is underscored by a notation in Gen Irwin's private diary for 4

April 45: "About 1530 XX Corps called to say we were relieved from Corps and are now in Army

reserve. A call from Gen Eddy at 1645 during which he said we go back to XII Corps after a rest period,

which is good news."

On 30 April 45, the 5th Infantry Division returned to XII Corps. But on 20 April that great

division had already given up its great and long-time battlefield leader, Maj Gen S. LeRoy ("Red")

Irwin, once Gen Eddy's artillery commander in the 9th Infantry Division, to take Gen Eddy's place as

Commanding General of the corps. Well-known to XII Corps during many months of campaigning, this

ruddy-faced, sad-eyed West Pointer with a diffident manner had become its good friend, as will be seen

from the above quotations. The feeling was strongly reciprocated; the general reaction in XII Corps was

"We couldn't get a better man."

Thus, on 21 April, as the Corps headquarters rolled into the city of Bayreuth, where stood the

bomb-blasted home of Richard Wagner, the XII US Army Corps had a new commander to preside over

it during the last days of the Gotterdammerung of the Nazi Gods.

* But not all, as the Corps Assistant PM, Captain Maurice ("Smitty") Smith, discovered on a back road between Kulmbach and Bayreuth,

19 April 45. When he undertook to "accept the surrender" of some Krauts they shot him through the right hand and back, and he had to be

hospitalized for some time in the 101st Evacuation Hospital, which by this date was under command of XII Corps' former Assistant

Surgeon, Lt. Col. Angell Cardona.