 XII
CORPS
SPEARHEAD
OF
PATTON’S
THIRD ARMY
[14 March 1945 to 9 May 1945]
by
LT COL GEORGE DYER
Formerly Liaison Officer and Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff
Headquarters,
XII U S ARMY CORPS
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CONTENTS
FRONT MATTER
INTRODUCTION
1.
Background: the XII Corps History Association
2.
General Policy and Form of the Writing
3.
Credits
4.
Character of XII Corps
ABBREVIATIONS
BASIC MAP SYMBOLS
PICTURES
PINUPS
LILI MARLEEN
CHAPTER 13 - SECOND MOSELLE. 14 MARCH 45 - 22 MARCH 45
1. The Real "Operation Grab"
2. Six Divisions
3. The Nahe
4. Simmern and Bad Kreuznach
5. Wind-up of the Palatinate Campaign
CHAPTER 14 - FIRST ASSAULT CROSSING OF THE RHINE. 22 MARCH – 26 MARCH 45
1. Preliminary
2. The Fifth Infantry Division's Great Day
3. US Army Engineers – and the U.S. Navy
4. All-out Support for the Bridgehead
5. Darmstadt, Frankfurt, and the Main
6. Payoff
CHAPTER 15 - FROM THE RHINE TO CZECHOSLOVAKIA. 26 MARCH 45 – 22 APRIL 45
1. End of a Banner Month
2. The Strange Case of the 6th SS Mountain Division
3. Gotha and Ohrdruff
4. Peculiar Treasures
5. Salted Gold
6. Germany Cut in Two
7. To Kronach and Bayreuth
CHAPTER 16 - AUSTRIA – AND VE-DAY. 22 APRIL 45 – 9 MAY 45
1. Grafenwohr
2. Into Austria; and the Myth of the "National Redoubt"
3. The Last Week of Battle
4. End of the 11th Panzer Division; the "Werewolves," and Others
5. Plan Eclipse
6. "Death Marches" and "Death Camps"
7. The Russians, and VE-Day
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Introduction
1. Background: the XII Corps History Association
During the summer of 1945 headquarters of XII U.S. Army Corps was situated at Regensburg,
on the Danube River, in the southeastern most territories of Germany. Still a part of the Third US Army,
as it had been all through combat in Europe, the corps was then dispersed over a large area in
occupation of two provinces of the "land" of Bavaria. The corps headquarters and its other component
units were resting on the considerable laurels won during the recent fighting on the Continent, and
sentiment became widespread that a history of the XII Corps should be undertaken to record its
accomplishments in permanent form.
To this end there was established, in accordance with Army regulations and the common custom
for such undertakings, the XII Corps History Association. This was the designed as a non-profit
organization, under a set of by-laws drawn up by the XII Corps Judge Advocate General, with
consultation of the Corps Inspector General and Finance officer. The by-laws provided for active
control by an Executive Committee with the dual duty of supervising the work of preparing the history,
and making sure that funds contributed by subscribers should be properly expended to produce and
distribute the best possible volume as a memorial to the exploits of the corps and its members, both unit
and individual. The association was designed solely for the accomplishment of this end, and for that
reason was made a temporary agency. It was to go out of existence automatically on 7 August 1947, by
which time it was assumed the history, however elaborate it might prove, could be produced and
distributed to the subscribers. The interest in the project was such that while the volume was in
preparation over 7,000 former members of the corps and a number of other persons subscribed for one
or more copies.
At an organization meeting in the Command Post War Room on 10 August 45, the association
came into existence, and the following XII Corps officers agreed to serve on the Executive Committee
and otherwise as indicated:
Brig. Gen. Ralph J. Canine, Chairman
Col. Paul M. Martin, Deputy Chairman
Col. Frank R. Veale
Col. John H. Claybrook
Col. Jack H. Griffith
Col. Ernest C. Norman
Col. Asa W. K. Billings
Col. Clyde E. Dougherty
Col. Alfred H. Anderson
Col. A. J. DeLorimier
Col. Rodney C. Gott
Maj. George Dyer, Historian
Capt. C. L. Dyer, Treasure
Lt. L. D. Gilbertson, Secretary
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Major General S. LeRoy Irwin, then Commanding General of the corps, was present at the initial
meetings and continued his interest and support to the very end of the project. Others who served as
subsequently on the Executive Committee were Major General Manton S. Eddy, Brigadier General
John M. Lentz, and Colonel Albert C. Lieber, Jr.
2. General Policy and Form of the Writing
It was decided from the earliest gatherings of the Executive Committee that an attempt must be
made to have the volume when completed a definitive history of XII Corps as a whole in World War II.
Although production had to be centralized and administered in the XII Corps Headquarters, the final
product should not be solely a "headquarters book." The historian was to make clear the indispensable
parts played by the great Corps divisions, the cavalry group, the artillery and engineer groups and
battalions, and all those other specialized organizations which joined forces to make up the
overwhelming might of a modern American Army Corps. If the headquarters is mentioned more often
throughout the narrative than other Corps units this is for two principal reasons. As the command group
for the corps it links all of the Corps units and often is used to represent the others in matters of general
experience. And since the narrative follows the simplest chronological plan, running without
interruption or reversal of flow from the activation of the corps on 29 August 42 to its in activation on
15 December 45, there were times, as on the trip across the Atlantic, when the headquarters was all the
XII Corps there was. Thus it happens that the only units for which a relatively complete story is told of
those "organic" to the XII Corps Headquarters. Nevertheless, though it has been impossible within the
scope of a single volume like this, to tell all the story of other units in a fighting force of such size and
complexity, it is hoped that the reader who was not in the XII Corps Headquarters and Headquarters
Company, or XII Corps Artillery Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, the signal battalion, or other
organic unit, will still not consider this an "headquarters book." He should find his unit, if it was a large
one, well represented in these pages. And if his was a smaller outfit, it should still be mentioned more
than once, and certainly be found in the station lists and unit rosters at the end of the volume. Such
references, together with the connecting thread of the headquarters experience, the photographs, and
illustrations like the end paper Battle Route and fold-out Zone or Advance maps, should give the reader
who served with any XII Corps unit at the very least, an approximation of his own experience during the
War in Europe.
It was also decided early to rewrite or otherwise change as little as possible material taken from
the sources on which the history is based. Whatever may be gained in uniformity by such rewriting,
there is almost sure to be a final loss in color and vigor, and in the sense of authenticity conveyed by the
words of the original document or interview. The question of annotation was discussed at length in
meetings by the Executive Committee, and it was decided not to clutter up the narrative with complete
references to sources. This was chiefly because the supporting documents for a work of this character
are so extremely limited in type that they may be usually cited in text preceding the quotation without
undue clumsiness and yet with sufficient fullness to enable any researcher to trace back a desired
quotation without difficulty. In nine cases out of ten they are derived from official documents to be
found on file in the Historical Records Division of The Adjutant General's Office of the War
Department; in all but a negligible remainder they are from published material available in public
libraries. For this reason it seemed almost unnecessary to use up space needed for matters of more
general interest on an elaborate bibliography. Complete annotation and a bibliography were
conscientiously kept as a matter of discipline to the stage of final review of the draft typescript. But in
the copy sent to the publisher footnotes were held to a minimum in the interest of smooth-flowing story.
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They appear principally when they often could not resist including some matter of peculiar but limited
interest.
It was decided that, since the book is scarcely intended for readers with no military associations,
a very appreciable saving in space could be accomplished by using throughout abbreviations well-
known to persons in the Army. If the style called for spelling out Lieutenant General Doe's title, then
certainly the same treatment should be accorded Technician Fifth Class Roe. Equally, the Umpteenth
Fumigation and Bath Company would take up more room in a line than the 5th Infantry Division, and to
what purpose? The more informal usage has been employed, therefore, (save in rare cases where a
distinguished personage is being brought into the narrative for the first time); a list of common military
abbreviations as applied in Appendix "D" to assist memories grown a little rusty with the passing years.
All photographs, except where otherwise noted on the same page, were taken by US Army
Signal Corps photographers, most of them by personnel of that fine company of combat photographers
which accompanied Third Army and the XII Corps all the way through the fighting, "from the Beach to
Bavaria." In almost all cases the captions have been taken directly from the back of the prints used. It
proved only rarely possible to cross-check these captions -- on the spelling of names, for example.
Therefore, if a reader objects to being "slugged" as T/5 Isam Etheridge of Centralia, Washington, or as
Jaypnaip Thackart of Fishtrap, Kentucky there is not much use blaming the XII Corps History
Association. That's the way the name is spelled on the back of the appropriate Signal Corps
photographs; and the Signal Corps photographs, as is well known, were often taken under fire under
other circumstances which made the securing of full accurate captions extremely difficult. With almost
as many pages of photographs as of text, and with these photographs and captions designed to tell XII
Corps' story almost as fully as the text, it was considered desirable to place them in order and in such
arrangement that the reader not interested in details could go smoothly through them and get the general
outlines of the whole story without reference to the text. Accordingly, with few exceptions they appear
on right hand pages in logical sequence. This makes the relationship of any given picture page with any
given facing page of text likely to be disappointing. An attempt to overcome this deficiency has been
made by liberally citing photographs at appropriate points in the narrative.
Maps used in this history came from a variety of sources, and were probably the most vexing
single element to find, prepare, check, and reproduce by the numerous technical processes available.
Although the map produced in Germany by XII Corps' "own" company of topographic engineers, as
credited to them in detail elsewhere, has been supplemented by some fifty others in color or black-and-
white, it is believed that the majority of readers for the majority of purposes will find the "topo"
company's Battle Route map, in the end papers of this volume, most satisfying. This is not to discount
the hours of patient and painstaking work which many men, as indicated below, put into the other maps.
For special and more detailed reference purposes these "close-ups" will be found indispensable.
3. Credits
No such labor as this history could possibly have been done by one person alone. It was bound
to be, and is, the end product of the work of many hands. Too many of these invaluable helpers could
not be identified; wherever practicable they are fully credited at appropriate points in the course of the
narrative. It would be an unforgivable omission, however, to fail to accord here additional recognition
to the certain persons whose contributions were outstanding.
Members of the Executive Committee listed above were active and unfailing in their support of
the venture. The Chairman, Brigadier General Ralph J Canine, true to his character all through combat,
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inspired and aggressively backed to the limit the work of those assigned to assemble vast scattered
masses of material and shape them into a history of XII Corps. His decisive influence was felt at many a
critical moment while the project was still in operation in Germany, and continuep to be an important
factor after transfer of the work to America. Major General Manton S. Eddy, while not in Europe at the
time the history was initiated, showed the keenest interest in the project from the start and when it
returned to the United States, he willingly assumet the responsibility of an active place on the Executive
Committee, and forwarded the work of preparation in many essential respects. It is no exaggeration to
say that the thousands of former GI's and officers who enjoy this record of their joint exploits in Europe
will owe their enjoyment in large measure to these two generals, without whose inspiration and
backing the project would not have been completed along the ambitious lines originally planned, if
indeed it could have been started at all.
Major General S LeRoy Irwin, as noted above, while at no time on paper a member of the
Executive Committee, was often asked for help and never failed in either active interest or support,
throughout the almost two years required to complete the work. Among a great many other acts of
assistance, he freely gave access and permission to quote from his private diary, as will be observed in
later stages of the narrative. Both Major General Gilbert R Cook and Lieutenant General William H
Simpson, early commanders of XII Corps, accorded the project complete cooperation. Brigadier
General John M Lance, last of the XII Corps' combat general officers to leave the Corps headquarters
before it was officially disbanded in Germany, was several times in a unique position to advance the
project, and did so in the same way he had fought the war, generously and up to the hilt. Colonel Paul
M Martin, first Deputy Chairman of the Executive Committee, also remained long in XII Corps
Headquarters, and later from his office in Headquarters Third Army was able to facilitate greatly the
actual transfer of the work to the United States.
The member of the Executive Committee whose task was undoubtedly the most trying was
Colonel Albert C Lieber, Jr. As former Deputy Chief of Staff of XII Corps Headquarters during almost
its whole period of active existence he was a "natural" for the job of final review of the work. He
cheerfully and meticulously threaded his way through some 250,000 words of beaten-up draft typescript,
catching countless mistakes of fact, fancy and grammar, and adding hundreds of words of original
material. The improvement resulting from his devoted labors will be evident from one end of the book
to the other. Responsibility for any errors of omission or commission which may have slipped by his
alert attention will confidently be assumed entirely by the author.
A word of special appreciation should go to the Treasurer of the XII Corps History Association,
(then) Captain Charlotte L Dyer. One of the two WAC officers who originally came down from
Frankfurt shortly after the end of the fighting in Germany to assist with organization and preparation of
XII Corps History, she stayed on the job and on active duty for months after her "point" score entitled
her to return to the United States and be separated. Then for months after her release from active duty
she remained in close touch with the project as a volunteer, giving freely of her time to keep the
financial records straight until publication had been accomplished.
The extensive promotional activity necessary to lay a firm foundation of subscription money for
the enterprise was largely the effort of (then) 1st Lieutenants L D Gilbertson and Donald G MacLeod.
The former acted as the original secretary of the Executive Committee; the latter took over in this
capacity after Gilbertson went home, and carried out a most energetic campaign of publicity and
promotion. Lt William C blamer and Horace E Curran carried out essential administrative functions in
connection with the operation and in addition collected quantities of medical and engineer source
material, respectively.
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Other individuals who put in extensive full-time on the groundwork of this volume, with
resulting conspicuous improvement in the final product, were Francis H. Ghur, Anthony C. Marchant,
Edward Kaplan and John C. Johnson. Everyone of these former XII Corps Headquarters sergeants has
left his mark with for the better on the history. Guhr's biggest single task was the compiling of the
consolidated list of units in Appendix B, but his knowledge of the headquarters Adjutant General files
and his careful research in them benefited the project at innumerable other points besides. Marchant's
work speaks for itself; he is responsible for all the photographic layout and all the decorative drawings
in the volume, except in those few instances specifically credited to some other hand. Both Guhr and
Marchant loyally remained on duty in Germany and Washington, in order to wind up their particular
assignments for several weeks after their Adjusted Service Rating scores would have permitted them to
return to civilian life. Johnson and Kaplan, during combat with the XII Corps Headquarters War Room,
put their special experience to valuable postwar use. The former's most tedious mission no doubt, was
the translation of the grid readings in the station lists (Appendix A into geographic equivalents, so that
members of units might tell at a glance, without reference to special maps, where their own headquarters
were located on the given date. Kaplan was draftsman for the series of 17 operational and three double-
spread occupational maps herein, in addition to many other duties in connection with the preparation of
the volume.
A large number of other individuals helped to advance the work while it was still being carried
out in Bavaria, doing special jobs in addition to their regular assignments, or working for shorter periods
full-time. William N Thomas, Jr and Rudolph C Lange, then both captains with the G-3 and G-2
sections respectively, collaborated to layout the operational maps referred to in the preceding paragraph.
Captain Janet P Coleman, WAC, conscientiously employed a month's Temporary Duty from SHAEF to
collaborate with Captain Dyre in obtaining many of the first-hand accounts of personal experience
which have been used so liberally throughout the book. Captain Clifford A Raser, working closely with
MacLeod, secured most of the outlying artillery and cavalry interviews. Captain Thomas H Whalen, a
former XII Corps Headquarters officer then with the 90th Infantry Division, was a shining example of
assistance in the promotional field, being largely responsible for arousing a higher degree of interest in
the project among members of his new outfit than was expressed in the concrete form of subscriptions
by any other XII Corps division. M/Sgts Rolf C Chambers and Quentin McKillop were unusually
cooperative in their contributions of photographs and other useful material.
With transfer of the project to the United States a whole new field of indebtedness was opened.
The work required two months of Temporary Duty in the Pentagon Building while sources relating to
XII Corps' Pre-ETO experience was examined. Here the Historical Division of the War Department
Special Staff acted as host; especially encouraging in that division was the Director, Major General
Edwin Harding, together with his assistants, Colonels Alan F Clark, Jr and John M Kemper, and a Dr
Walter L Wright, Jr. Much specialized help in their respective fields was rendered by Mr Israel Weiss,
Miss Louise Haanes, Miss Katherine Lambert, and others in the division. Captain Thurman Wilkins and
his assistant, Miss Clyde Hillyer, gave invaluable assistance in the Adjutant General Historical Records;
as did Captain George R Wagoner in the map section of G-2, War Department General Staff.
In Headquarters Third Service Command (later Headquarters Second Army) the list is also long.
Outstanding for months of devoted attention to exacting detailed work is Mrs Hazel Gordon Maguire,
who is responsible for the entire stenographic and clerical work during the latter stages of the project.
Most impressive of her many achievements was the typing of an estimated million words of preliminary
drafts, final draft and final typescript. In addition she indexed the whole text, a most lengthy labor. In
the Engineer Section, Captain Paul E Mullins assisted with map work; and Jack E Carr was the soldier-
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draftsman for all these maps taken with a few additions from the Third Army After Action Report,
which show the advance of the Army's front. In the Adjutant General's Reproduction plant, great
technical assistance and personal interest was given the project by M/Sgt C E Galton and Mr Raymond
G Goldsmith, the latter with the 90th Infantry Division when it was a part of XII Corps. Several girls in
the Adjutant General Editorial Section under Lieutenant Colonel J B Williams worked hard to proofread
the whole typescript before it went to the publisher.
Unquestionably, the names of many persons who made important contributions to this volume
have been left out for reasons of limitation of space or because they could not be obtained. Like the
faithful proofreaders in Colonel William's office, or the unsung hero who wrote the much-used
historical narrative of the Corps' first year, they must remain anonymous here. They will have to satisfy
themselves with the knowledge that several thousand ex-members of XII Corps have benefited from
their efforts, and with the certainty that the author, at least, as he completes the work of writing and
returns contentedly to civilian life at long last, is well aware that XII Corps, Spearhead of Patton's Third
Army is anything but a one-man book.
4. Character of XII Corps
The military entity known as the "Corps" or "US Army Corps" is not familiar to many
Americans. The "Army" or "Field Army," of which a corps is the largest single element, is far better
known. So is the Division, which is the largest single unit in a Corps. Even among men who were
members of XII Corps in combat it was often true that they thought of themselves as "belonging" to the
much more widely publicized Third Army, or to an equally famous infantry or armored division. It is
therefore perhaps worthwhile to give the reader a brief definition of what constitutes an American Army
Corps, and to indicate in what way it is the indispensable, adaptable but direct, link between the Field
Army and the Division.
"The (Field) Army," says Field Manual 101-10, "is a flexible combat force capable of
independent operations, consisting of two or more Corps and reinforcing combat and service troops."
Of the Corps the manual says: "The functions of the Corps in an army will be primarily tactical.... Other
units will be assigned to a Corps in accordance with its combat mission. These will be divisions, groups
or battalions of Field artillery, antiaircraft artillery, tank, tank destroyer, engineer, and cavalry
reconnaissance elements.... The organic elements of the Corps will consist of a headquarters and
headquarters company; and military police platoon; signal battalion; headquarters and headquarters
battery, corps artillery; and a field artillery observation battalion...."
Translated into specific terms, this means that throughout combat and occupation on the
Continent of Europe, XII U S Army Corps was always a part -- and a very considerable part -- of Third
US Army. Similarly, Third Army was always a very considerable fraction of 12th Army Group during
the fighting, and 12th Army Group in turn was at times the largest single subdivision of the Allied
Expeditionary Forces in the ETO. Turning from a higher chain of command to look in the other
direction, the reader will see that XII Corps' average total of about 90,000 men was made up in large
measure of the various divisions which were parts of the Corps, -- on occasion as many as six. The rest
were the "Corps Troops," -- combat and service units fighting shoulder to shoulder with the divisions.
Just where of the modern American Army in the field gets most of the flexibility credited to it in
the Field Manual may be inferred from the fact that while XII Corps was at all times on the Continent
assigned to Third Army, as Third Army was at all times a part of 12th Army Group, not one of the
divisions assigned to XII Corps remained in that organization for the entire period of combat. Divisions
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to a total of 15 served as parts of XII Corps in various stages of the fighting, being freely pulled in or out
in accordance with the changing needs of the tactical or strategic situation. Colonel Frank R. Veale the
Corps G-1 has estimated that approximately a quarter million men served in XII Corps at one time or
another in Europe. A division's component parts remain relatively constant; for Corps, internal change
is the rule rather than the exception. This circumstance, which renders difficult compiling of a Corps
history (and impossible the inclusion in such a history of the usual complete rosters, lists of
commendations and awards, and so forth, that will be found at the back of most unit histories) has useful
application in battle. As said elsewhere, the army-corps-division team together make up a weapon
analogous to the old-fashioned flail; or perhaps it might be better likened to one of those "morning stars"
of medieval warfare, in which the Army is represented by the iron handle, the Division by the spiky steel
knob, and the Corps by the chain which, connecting the two loosely but firmly, multiplies the blow of
the knob and prevents the enemy from knowing exactly how hard, or from exactly what quarter, the next
stroke is going to fall on him.
Only the Corps headquarters and its "organic elements" remain in general without change, and it
is these parts of the organization which give the Corps most of its individual character. And individual
character was what XII Corps had in full measure.
The reader may well be warned at this juncture that if he is not prepared to approach this
chronicle with acceptance of its major premise, i.e. that XII US Army Corps was an exceptionally fine
and successful outfit, he should proceed no further. This premise is not quite the customary vehement
and unsupported asseveration to the effect that the organization dealt with is the "best damn unit in the
best damned Army in the world," etc. there will be found occasional hints of the spirit scattered
throughout this volume, as well as some good-natured kidding of XII Corps' closest "rival" among
"competing" corps in Third Army, -- both attitudes of the sort freely indulged in by members of any
proud outfit in war. But jesting aside, it is honestly believed that the record spread across the following
pages speaks more eloquently than such normal oratory for the conclusion that XII Corps was
exceptional, if not actually unique, in its performance during World War II. To mention only two items
in the bill of argument, the reader is referred to the comparative table of towns liberated or captured on
page 450, and is urged to glance through the ten maps showing the Advance of Third Army's front and
note the position of XII Corps' share of that front in each instance. The fame of the Corps was by no
means limited to Third Army. It was not uncommon for personnel in divisions which had never served
in either the Corps or the army to say: "Put us in Third Army and XII Corps and we'll show you!" Of
course, since "a good Corps attracts good divisions," XII Corps was fortunate in the great infantry and
armored divisions attracted to it. The exploits of these divisions, and of the other magnificent units that
joined with the divisions to make up XII Corps, reflected glory not only upon themselves but also upon
the Corps of which they were parts. Without their efforts, as will be clearly demonstrated in the pages to
follow, the Corps headquarters would have been operating in a vacuum. Nevertheless, the rest of 80 y
headquarters organization itself had something especially its own to contribute to the combination.
What was this special character? An attempt has been made, it is feared with indifferent success,
to sketch that quality in the course of the following narrative. It lay, naturally, partly in the policies and
personalities in command of the Corps; but the personalities of the staff also contributed a great deal.
Shortly after VE-Day the Chief of Staff required the various staff sections to submit an extensive study
of their operations in combat; it is an interesting and useful document, but the basic elements which
made the headquarters so successful have eluded even this careful analysis. "The policies of the XII
Corps Staff," comments Colonel P M Martin in the Chief of Staff section of the study, "were in all
probability not greatly different in theory from those of any other, but constant vigorous effort was made
to adhere to those policies and translate them into action. The policy that had the greatest effect on
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operations was undoubtedly that which forbade the delegation of any mission to a subordinate unit,
especially tactical units such as divisions, if it could be performed by Corps Headquarters or Corps
Troops.... 'Can do' was the standing order, and the bold solution, if not rash, was invariably preferred to
the cautious solution. Informality was the keynote of all staff relations, and practicality the touchstone
of all decisions...." When XII Corps entered combat the headquarters personnel had trained together,
with far less than average turnover, for 17 days less than two years. They performed their jobs in an
atmosphere of energy and aggressiveness, and not without a certain grim humor, which could be
remarked by the most casual observer. Units of all types coming into the Corps have left evidence that
they could sense the difference in the quality of the support and direction they received while in the
Corps.
The success of XII Corps, then, may perhaps be attributed in large measure to a threefold good
fortune. The organization was forged and welded by a group of general officers among whom each one
was an outstanding expert in the particular service he was called upon to give the Corps. It had an able
and exceptionally well-trained staff. And its efforts were founded solidly on the superlative fighting and
technological capacities of the American Ground Force soldier, unquestionably the greatest all-round
warrior of the modern world. It is not surprising that with teamplay between such elements the corps
made a record for itself on which every former member can well be extremely proud.
Two men who fought with XII Corps have summed up the matter in the own individual ways, as
compactly and exactly as it is any work stated in the Chronicle to follow. Major Pierre L. Vivet, French
liaison officer with the headquarters throughout combat, road as he prepared to return to civilian life
after the war was over:
"To all my friends in Paris who eagerly keep on asking: 'What do you think of the American
Army?' ... I simply answer: 'The US people are soldat qui s'ignore.'"
And Pfc Walter C Reed, with the XII Corps Headquarters MP Platoon during the fighting, put it
this way in September of 1945: "Well, one thing you can say, we all got along together pretty good in
Corps -- the officers and men. We didn't have much trouble between them. We got along pretty good
together, I think."
The account which follows is primarily a record of teamplay by many fine American
organizations composed of citizen-soldiers who could impress a French officer with their expertness in
the art of war, and even more with the easy, and unselfconscious quality of their soldiering. It is as a
record of these units, made up of such individuals, "getting along pretty good together" in successful
prosecution of the greatest enterprise of our times -- that this chronicle of the XII Corps, Spearhead of
Patton's Third Army, is presented.
G.D.
New Hope
Pennsylvania
December, 1946
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ABBREVIATIONS
AA...........................................antiaircraft
AAA
........................................antiaircraft artillery
AAF.........................................Army Air Force
Abn (also ABN and A/B)
...........Airborne
AC...........................................Air Corps
AC of S ...................................Assistant Chief of Staff
actg..........................................acting
adm o.......................................administrative order
Adsec.......................................Advance Section, Communications
Zone
adv ..........................................advance
adv msg cen
..............................advanced message center
AEF.........................................American Expeditionary Force (or
Allied )
AESP.......................................Army Engineers Supply Point
AF
...........................................Air Force
AFA.........................................Armored Field Artillery
adj
...........................................adjutant
ADC
........................................Aide-de-Camp
AFN.........................................Armed Forces Network
AG...........................................Adjutant General
AGF.........................................Army Ground Forces
AHQ
........................................Army Headquarters
AIS .........................................Army Information Service
am
...........................................ammunition
AM..........................................Air Medal
amb..........................................ambulance
ammo.......................................ammunition
ANC
........................................Army Nurse Corps
AP
...........................................armor-piercing, or airplane
APC.........................................Army Photo Center
APO.........................................Army Post Office
APS.........................................Army Postal Service
apt
...........................................appointed
APU.........................................Army Postal Unit
AR...........................................Army Regulations
ARC
........................................American Red Cross
armd
........................................armored
armd div...................................armored division
Armd FA Bn.............................Armored Field Artillery Battalion
arty..........................................artillery
ASF.........................................Army Service Forces
asgd.........................................assigned
ASN.........................................Army Serial Number
ASP.........................................Ammunition Supply Point
ASR.........................................Adjusted Service Rating ("points" to
go home)
asst
..........................................assistant
AT
...........................................Antitank
atchd
........................................attached
ATF.........................................Air Task Force
atk
...........................................attack
atzd..........................................authorized
AU...........................................attached unassigned
AUS.........................................Army of the United States
AW..........................................automatic weapon
AWOL
.....................................absent without leave
Ax Sig Com
..............................Axis Signal Communications
BAR
........................................Browning Automatic Rifle
BB
...........................................Bailey Bridge
BC
...........................................battery commander
bdry.........................................boundary
bet
...........................................between
BFM
........................................Basic Field Manual
bkry.........................................bakery
BPO.........................................Base Post Office
bn............................................battalion
brig..........................................brigade
Brig (Gen)................................Brigadier (General)
br.............................................Bridge
BSM
........................................Bronze Star Medal
btry..........................................battery
c..............................................combat
cal............................................caliber
cam..........................................camouflage
CandR......................................command and reconnaissance (vehicle)
Capt
.........................................Captain
c/atk.........................................counterattack
cav...........................................cavalry
cav gp
......................................cavalry group
cb
............................................counterbattery
CC
...........................................Combat command
cem..........................................cemetery
chap
.........................................chaplan
CHQ
........................................Corps Headquarters
CG...........................................Commanding General
CIC..........................................Counterintelligence Corps
CID..........................................Criminal Investigation Detachment
cir
............................................circular
civ
...........................................civilian
Class I Sp or Cl I Sup.................Class I Supply (Rations)
Class II Sp or Cl II Sup
..............Class II Supply (Supplies and
Equipment)
Class III Sp or Cl III Sup............Class III Supply (Gasoline and Oil)
Class IV Sp or Cl IV Sup
...........Class IV Supply (Miscellaneous)
Class V Sp or Cl V Sup
..............Class V Supply (Ammunition)
Class 40-70, Etc.
......................Class 40-ton, 70-ton (maximum
carrying capacity bridge)
clr sta.......................................clearing station
CMH........................................Congressional Medal of Honor
cml
..........................................chemical
Cml Co (SG).............................Chemical Company (Smoke
Generating)
4.2 Cml Mort
............................Chemical Mortar, 4.2 inch
CO...........................................commanding officer
co
............................................company
C/S or C of S
............................Chief of Staff
coll pt.......................................collecting point
Col...........................................Colonel
comd........................................command
comdg......................................commanding
comdr.......................................commander
comdt.......................................commandant
comm.......................................communication
com z (also Com Z)
...................communications zone
contl.........................................control
CP
...........................................Command Post
CPX.........................................Command Post Exercise
Cpl...........................................Corporal
CQ...........................................soldier in charge of quarters
C/S
..........................................Chief of Staff
CT
..........................................Combat Team
CwW
.......................................Chief Warrant Officer
CWS
........................................Chemical Warfare Service
DAO
........................................Division Ammunition Officer
DBS.........................................Delta Base Section
DC...........................................Dental Corps
DC/S........................................Deputy Chief of Staff.
defv
.........................................defensive
dep...........................................depot
det
...........................................detachment
DHQ
........................................division headquartere
Div
..........................................division
divarty......................................division artillery
DOW
.......................................died of Wounds
DP
...........................................displaced person
DS
...........................................detached service
D/S BB
....................................Double Single Bailey Bridge
DSC.........................................Distinguished Service Cross
DSM
........................................Distinguished Service Medal
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dy............................................duty
E
.............................................East
ECA.........................................European Civil Affairs
ECAD......................................European Civil Affairs Division
ech...........................................echelon
EEI..........................................Essential Elements of Information
elms.........................................elements
emb..........................................embarkation
EM
..........................................enlisted man or men
engr
.........................................engineer
Engr C Bn
................................Engineer Combat Battalion
Engr GS Regt ...........................Egineer General Service Regiment
E H Equip Co............................Egineer Heavy Equipment Co
ETOUSA..................................European Theater of Operations
United States Army
evac
........................................evacuation
f
..............................................field
FA
...........................................Field Artillery
FA Gp......................................Field Artillery group
FA Obsn Bn..............................Field Artillery Observation Battalion
F&B.........................................Fumigation and Bath
FDC.........................................Fire Direction Center
FD
...........................................Fire Department
Fin Disp Sec
.............................Finance Disbursing Section
F HOSP....................................Field Hospital
fld............................................field
Fme
.........................................Ferme (French—farm)
FO
...........................................Field Order
FPL..........................................Final Protective Line
ft
.............................................fort
FUSA.......................................First U S Army
FUSAG....................................First U S Army Group
fwd..........................................forward
Fwd Ech...................................Forward Echelon
Fwd CP....................................Forward Command Post
g (also G)
.................................gun
G-1..........................................Personnel
G-2..........................................Intelligence
G-3..........................................Operations
G-4..........................................Supply
G-5..........................................Civil Affairs
Gen..........................................General
GFRC
......................................Ground Forces replacement center
gen hosp...................................general hospital
GO...........................................general order
govt
.........................................government
gp............................................group
grd
...........................................ground
GRO
........................................Graves Registration Officer
Gr Reg Co (Bn).........................Graves Registration Company
(Battalion)
GS
...........................................General Service
GS
...........................................General Staff
GSC.........................................General Staff Corps
GSGS.......................................Geographic Section General Staff
(maps)
GT
...........................................Gas Treatment
HE
...........................................high explosive
HM Co Tk................................Heavy Maintenance Company Tank
hosp.........................................hospital
how..........................................howitzer
HP
...........................................Heavy Ponton
hq............................................headquarters
Hq Comdt.................................Headquarters Commandant
H & I
.......................................Harassing and interdiction (missions-
artillery)
H & S (Btry, Co, Tr)
.................Headquarters and Service (Battery,
Company, Troop)
Hq & Serv (Btry, Co, Tr)............Headquarters and Service (Battery,
Company, Troop)
h-trk.........................................half track
hvy
..........................................heavy
Hvy Wpn Co.............................heavy weapon company
hwy..........................................highway
IC
............................................Information Center
I & E........................................Information and Education (program,
G-3 section, etc.)
IG
............................................Inspector General
IIA...........................................injured in action
inf............................................infantry
Int O or S-2...............................intelligence officer
IP.............................................initial point
IPW
.........................................Interrogation of Prisoners of War
JAG
.........................................Judge Advocate General
JAN
.........................................Joint Army-Navy (operation, etc.)
jc.............................................junction
jn.............................................joint
KIA
.........................................killed in action
km(also Km).............................kilometers
l ..............................................light
lat
............................................latitude
LC
...........................................line of communication
LCM
........................................landing craft, mechanized
LCP
.........................................landing craft, personnel
LCT
.........................................landing craft, tank
LCV.........................................landing craft, the vehicle
LCVP.......................................landing craft, the vehicle-personnel
LE
...........................................low explosive
LD
...........................................line of duty
LD ..........................................line of departure
ldry..........................................laundry
ldr............................................leader
LM
..........................................Legion of Merit
LMG........................................light machine gun
Ln O
........................................liaison officer
LST
.........................................landing ship, tank
Lt.............................................lieutenant
long
.........................................longitude
LWB........................................long wheelbase
LWA........................................lightly wounded in action
L-1, L-4, L-5.............................three different types of light liaison
and observation airplanes
maint........................................maintenance
Maj..........................................major
mbl..........................................mobile
MC..........................................Medical Corps
mecz
........................................mechanized
med..........................................medical
Med Bn....................................Medical Battalion
Med GT Bn
..............................Medical Gas Treatment Battalion
MG..........................................machine gun (also Military
Government)
MH (also CMH)
........................Medal of Honor (Congressional)
MI
...........................................Military Intelligence
mi
............................................mile
MIA.........................................missing in action
MLR
........................................Main line of resistance
mm..........................................millimeter
MOS
........................................military occupational specialty
MP...........................................military police
mph
.........................................miles per hour
M/R
.........................................morning report
MRU........................................machine records unit
msg..........................................message
MSR
........................................main supply route
mtd..........................................mounted
MTP
........................................Mobilization Training Program
mtr...........................................motor
mt
............................................mountain
mtz
..........................................motorized
mun
.........................................munitions
mvmt
......................................movement
N.............................................North
NCO
........................................non-commissioned officer
NGUS (also NG)
.......................National Guard of the United States
no
............................................number
NP
...........................................numeral-psychopath (ic, -y)
NYPOE....................................New York Port of Embarkation
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O or off
....................................officer or officers
o..............................................order
OB...........................................Observation Battalion
OB...........................................Order of Battle
OBS.........................................Oise Base Section
obsn.........................................observation
O/C..........................................officer in charge
OCS.........................................Officer candidate school
OD...........................................officer of the day
od............................................olive drab
OLC ........................................Oak Leaf Cluster
OP
...........................................observation post
Op Dir......................................operation will directive
opns.........................................operations
ORC
........................................Officer's Reserve Corps
Ord or O...................................Ordnance
Ord Am Co...............................Ordnance Ammunition Company
Ord Dep Co
..............................Ordnance Dep on Company
Ord HAM Co............................Ordnance captivity Automotive
Maintenance Company
Ord HM Co
..............................Ordnance captivity Maintenance
Company
Ord MAM Co
...........................Ordnance Medical Automotive
Company
Ord MM Co
..............................Ordnance Medical Maintenance
Company
org
...........................................Organization
OWI.........................................Office of War Information
PA
...........................................public address (voice amplifying
system)
PCS
.........................................permanent change of station
PE (or POE)..............................Port of embarkation
Pfc
...........................................Private First Class
PH
...........................................Purple Heart
PI.............................................Photo Interpreter
PL............................................Phase Line
plat
..........................................platoon
PM...........................................provost marshal
POE.........................................Port of embarkation
POM
........................................Preparation for Oversees Movement
pon
..........................................ponton
pos...........................................position
PRO.........................................public relations officer
prov.........................................provisional
pt.............................................point
PT............................................primary target
PTO.........................................Port transportation officer
Pvt
...........................................Private
PW (also POW).........................prisoner of war
PWE
........................................prisoner of war in closure
PX
...........................................Army Post Exchange
QM..........................................quartermaster
QM Car Co...............................Quartermaster Car Company
QM Gas Sup Co
.......................Quartermaster Gasoline Supply
Company
QM Gp Hq
...............................Quartermaster Group Headquarters
QM Rhd Co
..............................Quartermaster Railhead Company
QMSO
.....................................Quartermaster Supply Officer
QM Trk Co...............................Quartermaster Truck Company
QM Tr T Co..............................Quartermaster Troop Transport
Company
r
..............................................river
RA...........................................Regular Army
rad
...........................................radio
RAMP......................................Recovered Allied Military Personnel
(ex-POWs)
rat............................................rations
rcn
...........................................reconnaissance
RCT.........................................regimental combat team
R Co
........................................River Company
RD (RBn)
.................................reinforcement depot (reinforcement
Battalion)
rd.............................................road
recce, or recco
...........................reconnaissance
reinf
........................................reinforced, -ment
regt..........................................Regiment
Regt S-1
.................................regimental adjutant
Regt S-2...................................regimental intelligence officer
Regt S-3...................................regimental operations
Regt S-4...................................regimental supply
repl..........................................replacement
res (also RES)
...........................reserve
rhd (also RHD)..........................railhead
RHQ
........................................regimental headquarters
RI Co.......................................Radio Intelligence Company
RJ
............................................road junction
rpt............................................report
rept 1 ......................................report line
RR ..........................................railroad
rr
.............................................rear
Rr Ech......................................Rear Echelon
RTO.........................................Rail Transportation Officer
S..............................................South
S-1...........................................Personnel (Staff Section, units below
division in size)
S-2...........................................Intelligence (Staff Section, units below
division in size)
S-3...........................................Operations (Staff Section, units below
division in size)
S-4...........................................Supply (Staff Section, units below
division in size)
SA
...........................................small arms
salv..........................................salvage
SBS
.........................................Seine Base Section
sec
...........................................sector
serv..........................................service
S&F
.........................................sound than flash (artillery ranging
system)
SG
...........................................smoke generating
Sgt
...........................................Sergeant
S/Sgt
........................................Staff Sergeant
T/Sgt........................................Technical Sergeant
M/Sgt.......................................Master Sergeant
SHAEF
....................................Supreme Headquarters Allied
Expeditionary Forces
sig............................................signal
Sig Const Co (H)
.......................Signal Construction Company (Heavy)
Sig Serv Co
..............................Signal Service Company
Sitrep
.......................................situation report
SL............................................support line
SM...........................................Soldier's space Medal
SO
...........................................special order
SOI..........................................Signal Operating Instructions
SOP
.........................................standard operating procedure
SP............................................self-propelled
SP............................................supply point
Sp Sv Co
..................................Special Service Company
Spec Serv Co
............................Special Service Company
sp trs
........................................special troops
sq.............................................squadron
SS............................................Silver Star, Special Service, Selective
Service, or (German units)Schutzstaffel
SSO
.........................................Special Service Officer
SSV
.........................................Short Sea Voyage (used as Code to
conceal channel crossing
ST............................................secondary target
sta............................................station
str
............................................strength
sup...........................................supply
sup pt.......................................supply point
surg hosp
..................................surgical hospital
sv.............................................service
sv cen.......................................service center
SWA........................................seriously wounded in action
t or trans...................................transport, transportation
T/A..........................................table of allowance
tac............................................tactical
Tac/R.......................................tactical reconnaissance (airplane)
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TAC.........................................Tactical Air Command
T/BA........................................Tables of Basic Allowance
TBC.........................................Tactical Bomber Command
TC
...........................................Transportation Corps
T Co
........................................transportation company
TCS.........................................traffic control station
TD
...........................................tank destroyer
trdy..........................................treadway
TDy (also TDY)........................temporary duty
T/E
..........................................table of the equipment
tech..........................................technical
Tech Int Team (also TIT)
........... Technical Intelligence Team
TF ...........................................task force, training film
THQ
.......................................Theater Headquarters
tk.............................................tank
Tm...........................................team
TMA........................................Tennessee Maneuver Area
Tng Dir
....................................Training Director
Tr Co
.......................................train commander
Trdy Br Co
...............................Treadway Bridge Company
TO
...........................................transportation Officer
T/O..........................................table of organization
topo
.........................................topographic
TOT.........................................Time on target
trac
..........................................tractor
tr-dr
.........................................tractor-drawn
trdwy
.......................................treadway
trk............................................truck
trkhd
........................................truck had
trs............................................troops
T/S BB
.....................................Triple Single Bailey
Tr TB.......................................Triple Triple Bailey
TTB.........................................Triple Triple Bailey
TUSA
......................................Third United States Army
TWX .......................................teletypewriter
T/5...........................................Technician Fifth Class (equiv of
Corporal)
T/4...........................................Technician Fourth Class (equiv of
Sergeant)
T/3...........................................Technician Third Class (equiv of Staff
Sgt)
UK...........................................United Kingdom (of Great Britain and
Ireland)
USAT
United States Army Transport
USFET
United States Forces European Theater
vic
vicinity
VOCG
verbal order commanding general
VOCO
verbal order commanding officer
W
West
WAC (Wac)
Women's Army Corps (member of
Women's Army Corps)
WD
War Department
WIA
wounded in action
w/o
without
WO
warrant officer
WOJG
warrant officer junior grade
WP
white phosphorus
wpn
weapon
wpn carr
weapons carrier
W Sup Pt
Water Supply Point
w/w
With Winch (on front off truck)
z
zone
Z/A
zone of action, or of advance
ZI
zone of Interior
ZTO
zone transportation Officer
"4x4"
jeep, ambulance or other vehicle with
four wheels and four-wheel-drive
"6x6"
2 1/2-ton truck or other vehicle with
six wheels and six-wheel-drive
COMMON GERMAN TERMS
FK
Feldkommandantur (field
headquarters)
FW
Focke-Wolfe (airplane)
JU
Junker (airplane)
KK
Kreis Kommandantur (County
headquarters)
ME
Messerschmitt (airplane)
OT
Organization Todt (labor troops)
P or Pc
Panzer (armored)
PG
Panzer Grenadier (i.e. armored
infantry)
PGR
Panzer Grenadier Regiment
SS
Schutzstaffel
VG
Volksgrenadier (also Volksturm:
“people’s” militia)
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 BASIC MAP SYMBOLS
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 PICTURE ALBUM
GERMAN SOLDIERS DIED AND WERE CAPTURED BY THE
THOUSANDS
(1) One last Kraut, beside a road near Goesdorf, Luxembourg. 7 January 45. (2) XII Corps divisions hauled them in in droves: MP's of
the 358th Regiment, 90th Infantry Division examine German prisoners before passing them back to Corps. 13 January. (3) The same for
the 3rd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division. 18 January. (4) And back they go into the Third Army cage. 13 January.
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 BAILEYS WERE CLOSE BEHIND THE PONTONS
(1,2,3) Three photographs supplied by the 166th Engineer Combat Battalion show the 270 foot double-single Bailey Bridge constructed by
the XII Corps unit across the Sauer River, Luxembourg. 16 February 45. Picture 1 gives an excellent idea of the swift current of the
flooded river that cost XII Corps units many casualties during the assault crossing.
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 WE SMASHED THE SIEGFRIED LINE, THE VAUNTED GERMAN
“WEST WALL”
(1,2,3,4) This was the sort of experience with the Siegfried Line common to all XII Corps units during the breakthrough-concrete "Dragon's
Teeth" running across the fields along the edges of the wood; white phosphorus shells bursting against a dark pillbox; smashed reinforced
concrete ruins of the demolition strong point; and lines of prisoners marching back through the broken defenses.(Source: 1, 2, & 4) photos
by T/5 Millard McKee, 315th Engineer Combat Battalion, 90th Infantry Division; (3) 80th Infantry Division; (5) The 166th Engineers find
good use for materials from a wrecked Siegfried Line pillbox near Beistorf, Germany, 19 February 45. It is being turned into crushed rock
for road and bridge repairs.
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