05 March 1945

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 230 % Postmaster, N.Y.

5 March, 1945      1730

Germany

My darling Wilma –

This time I’m in a really modern home – and surprisingly preserved. This little town for some reason or other managed to escape most of the artillery and bombing and it’s quite a treat to be able to set-up in a house that has a couple of windows in – and a roof. I’m in one of the bedrooms right now; my bedding roll is on a single bed and there’s a small stove going. It’s really quite comfortable but could be tremendously complemented and supplemented by your presence, sweetheart. What this bedroom needs is a woman’s ‘touch’ – and when I write ‘woman’ – I mean only you.

I have to write fast now because it’s starting to get dark – rapidly. It should be easy to surmise, dear, that I’ve been on the go of late – and the hours are irregular. As a result – time is where you find it. A couple of hours ago I didn’t think I’d be able to write you. Last night when I got to bed – I felt dizzy and nauseated – for no reason whatsoever. I hadn’t been drinking and I had eaten nothing unusual. Well I went on from there – spending a very miserable night – and this morning I really felt sick. It seemed like ptomaine – but I can’t figure the source. Anyway – I wasn’t able to eat all day. In the early p.m. I started sipping some canned orange juice – and so far it has managed to stay down. I didn’t go to supper – and here I am. I can’t remember ever feeling this way before although I’m now about 80% cured, but I sure felt like giving up the ghost last night. It’s so rare that I’m ill – I hate it. I’ll be O.K. in the morning – because I can think of food now – and not mind.

The mail, naturally, has been a bit jumpy – and we don’t mind – if it’s for the reason it is. The last real chuckle I got was in your letter telling me about what Uncle Ab had to say one day. It certainly was considerate of him to look out for you and me – but where do you get away with that “and me so naive too” stuff. Who told you you were naïve, darling? Certainly – it wasn’t I! But anyway – dear – you must take care of yourself, so please! Be more careful!! After all!

By the way – I don’t remember whether or not I told you – I received a Valentine’s Card from Dr. Finnegan with a little note stating that he felt I wouldn’t be getting many from the girls – and that’s why he sent his. I got a kick out of that too and I must write him and thank him for his thoughtfulness.

And darling – it’s almost dark here now and I’m getting a little more headache than I started out with. Damn it – I don’t get headaches and here I am complaining of one. Well – I’ll try to get some sleep tonite – I got precious little last nite. And as usual I’ll drop off to sleep with pleasant thoughts of you and me – together again – I love that theme! My love to the folks, dearest, and so long for now.

All my sincerest love,

Greg

Route of the Question Mark


[CLICK TO ENLARGE]

(A)Elsdorf to (B) Kenten, Germany (5 miles)
2 March to 5 March 1945

March 5... Kenten. Mr SANDRI milked the goat and we collected scores of radios and thru furniture out of windows while the inhabitants wept. All in all we completed the destruction of the town.

* TIDBIT *

about Operation "Lumberjack"

From "U.S. Army in WWII European Theater of Operations: The Last Offensive" by Charles B. MacDonald for the Department of the Army's Office of the Chief of Military History, page 190, published in 1973 in Washington, D.C. comes this excerpt:

As the 3rd Armored, 104th, and 8th Divisions drove toward Cologne on 5 March, resistance was strongest in the north, where General Rose's armor faced the seemingly ineradicable 9th Panzer Division, and in the south where the 8th Division at the end of the day still was two miles short of the city limits. The relatively slow progress of the 8th Division reflected not only the difficulties of attacking through the coal-mining district but also the fact that the division was striking the north flank of the LVIII Panzer Corps.

The armor nevertheless broke into Cologne soon after daylight, to be followed two hours later by the 104th Division from the west. In a precursor of what was to come as Allied armies fanned out all across Germany, the stiffest fight developed around an airfield where the Germans turned sixteen stationary 88-mm. antiaircraft guns against the tanks of Combat Command Hickey. The tanks finally eliminated the guns in smoke-screened cavalry-like charge. Almost all resistance by the 9th Panzer Division collapsed a short while later when the division commander, Generalmajor Harald Freiherr von Elverfeldt, was killed. As evening approached, the First Army commander, General Hodges, shifted the southern boundary of the VII Corps to the southeast to provide room for the 8th Division to drive to the Rhine south of Cologne and cut the enemy's last landward escape route.

Now a pile of rubble from thousands of tons of Allied bombs, Cologne had once been the Queen City of the Rhine, the third largest city in Germany, and was the largest German city to fall to the attack of British or American forces in this war.

The first silent movie shows the 3rd Armored Division approaching Cologne (Köln), in the suburbs Pulheim, Bickendorf. The second shows Americans entering Cologne (Köln), Germany on 5-7 March 1945.

04 March 1945

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 230 % Postmaster, N.Y.

4 March, 1945      0930

Germany

Dearest darling Wilma –

I often think – as I did last night – of the week-end we had together in Holyoke alone. We had never really been alone for any length of time until that Sunday afternoon – as a matter of fact. I knew I was learning to love you for what you were but from a purely physical point of view – we hadn’t quite kissed hard enough or long enough to react to each other truly emotionally. We did that day and I’ve never forgotten about it. It’s such a long time ago, sweetheart, and yet I can still sense the reaction of being close to you, very close; of the satisfaction of knowing we were alone and not to be disturbed; of lying side by side looking up at the ceiling and talking to each other; of just being together there as we hadn’t been before. I suppose anyone reading this other than you would think the worst. But we know otherwise – and that’s all that really matters.

Well – whatever got me started on that subject! Oh – yes – I remembered thinking about it last night. A guy can think – can’t he! I’d better get back to more immediate things, I guess.

Yesterday – to continue the chronicle – was another day of activity and we were more or less kept on our toes. You’ll notice, darling, that we’re not seeing many movies these days – and that’s all right with all of us. So long as we’re busy enough moving about – we know the war is progressing well – and we’ll gladly do without the entertainment. And anyway – all the relaxation I want lies in your letters – of which I received 4 yesterday, two V-mails 14 February and one undated (tch,tch!) and two airmails written 19 and 20 February. Now that’s really something, sweetheart, and really – it’s not such a bad war at all when you can get sweet letters – a variety of them in fact – and of recent date, too. Your Valentine V-mail was cute – and the “Angel” or did you say – Cupid – brought your love all right, dear – for which I thank you. You have mine – of course – for a long time now.

The news about Mother B was really ‘prima’ as they say in this country – and is an entirely different picture than was painted before. You mention a Dr. Pemberton and that you want her to see him anyway. He must be a consultant – and if he is – I certainly think she ought to see him. I don’t happen to know who he is. But it all sounds better than it did the first time you mentioned it – and I’m glad of that.

I’ll have to stop now, darling – the boys are coming back from church service and I’ll have a little work to do. Remember – I love you more each day, dear – and miss you and want you constantly. Knowing you feel the same way – makes it much more bearable. Love to the folks, dear and

All my everlasting love

Greg

* TIDBIT *

about Operation "Lumberjack"

Portion of Map of Operation Lumberjack
[Click to Enlarge]

Red Dot indicates Greg's Location on 4 March 1945
Solid Blue Line is the Front on 1 March 1945
Dotted Blue Line Through Cologne is the Front on 7 March 1945

From U.S. Army in WWII European Theater of Operations: The Last Offensive by Charles B. MacDonald for the Department of the Army's Office of the Chief of Military History, Chapter X, Page 186, published in 1973 in Washington, D.C. come these excerpts:

In reaching the Erft River late on 27 February, General Collins's VII Corps had fulfilled its mission in Operation GRENADE. Yet because of the added assignment of guarding the Ninth Army's flank all the way to the Rhine, the Corps would make no pause at the Erft except that necessary to expand the bridgeheads established on the 27th and to put in bridges. By the end of the first day of March, the Corps was beyond the Erft complex astride the main highways leading from Juelich and Dueren to Cologne. Despite frantic efforts by German planes, usually operating singly, six class 40 bridges were in place across the Erft.

The conspicuous feature of the terrain immediately beyond the Erft, west and southwest of Cologne, is a low, plateau-like ridge some twenty-five miles long, the Vorgebirge. Factories and heavily urbanized settlements abound. Northwest of Cologne, the country is generally flat and pastoral, dotted with villages and small towns, particularly along the major highways radiating from Cologne. Because of the basic requirement of protecting the Ninth Army's flank, the VII Corps was to make its main effort north of Cologne, leaving the city to be taken later. General Collins split responsibility for the assignment between General Rose's 3rd Armored Division and the General Lauer's 99th Infantry Division.

The critical assignment went to the armor, beefed up during the opening phase of breaking out of the Erft bridgehead with attachment of the 99th Division's 395th Infantry. Rose was to strike north from the bridgehead to cut the Cologne-Muenchen-Gladbach highway at the town of Stommeln, thereby severing a vital artery leading into the Ninth Army's flank. Meanwhile, General Lauer's infantry was to clear the ground between Rose's armor and the Erft.

When the armor attacked before daylight on 2 March, all thrusts were successful, but they failed to precipitate immediate breakout. Conglomerate German units, mainly from the 9th Panzer Division, fought back stubbornly behind antitank ditches and obstacles that made up an extension of the third line of field fortifications the Germans had prepared behind the Roer. The gains here were insufficient to have any effect on the counterattack projected for that day by the 11th Panzer Division into the Ninth Army's flank; that failed to come off only because the Ninth Army's capture of Muenchen-Gladbach prevented the Panzer Lehr Division from launching its converging thrust.

As night fell on 2 March, the armor had expanded the Erft bridgehead to a depth of three miles, which carried it beyond the northern reaches of the Vorgebirge into open country. From that point the Germans would be capable only of delaying actions, almost always in towns and villages since the flat terrain afforded few military features. That fact was demonstrated early on 3 March when two task forces of Combat Command Hickey moved before dawn to take the Germans by surprise in two villages southwest of Stommeln. So complete was the surprise in the first village that the attacking armored infantrymen incurred not a single casualty. At both villages the Germans were annihilated, leaving nobody to a final village still remaining short of Stommeln, the division's intermediate objective.

Combat Command Howze moved against Stommeln from three sides. Despite an extensive antitank minefield covered by a relatively strong concentration of antitank guns, the columns converged on the town in late afternoon. Aided by P-47 air strikes against the antitank defenses, they cleared the last resistance by nightfall. General Rose meanwhile sent a column from his reserve, Combat Command Boudinot, beyond Stommeln to a village just four miles from the Rhine. Only one more town lay between the armor and the final objective of Worringen.

Even though the 3rd Armored Division still had several miles to go to reach the Rhine, the VII Corps commander, General Collins, deemed it time to shift emphasis from the northward thrust to capturing Cologne. Late on 3 March Collins told General Rose to continue to the Rhine at Worringen the next day but at the same time to divert a force southeast against Cologne. Not waiting for a new day before continuing to the Rhine, patrols of the 3rd Armored's 83rd Reconnaissance Battalion in early evening of 3 March determined that the one town remaining short of Worringen on the Rhine was stoutly defended. Declining to give battle, the reconnaissance battalion turned north over back roads, bypassed the town, and in the process captured an artillery battery and 300 surprised Germans. Before daylight on 4 March 1945 a 4-man patrol led by First Lieutenant Charles E. Coates reached the Rhine north of Worringen. A task force of Combat Command Boudinot then moved up the main road at dawn, cleared the defended town, repulsed a counterattack by 200 infantry supported by five tanks, and drove on to Worringen and the river.

03 March 1945

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 230 % Postmaster, N.Y.

3 March, 1945      1000

Germany

Dearest darling Wilma –

When I have to skip a day in writing to you I hate it, dear, particularly when you’ve been telling me how good I was about writing you. But I had to miss another day yesterday – and that makes the second time this week. But it’s in a good cause and I know you understand. The war goes well here and soon all of the Rhineland will be ours – and it’s really a good chunk of Germany – at that. If it were not for censorship regulations, sweetheart, I could write you lots of interesting things right now – but it will have to wait.

Our aid station now is in what was left of a rather nice six room house – although last night we all thought it wise to sleep in the cellar. The Germans are going to remember all of us for a very long time. When we finally find a spot that is fairly decent – we have to clean up the rooms before we move in. Usually the infantry has been ahead of us and they start it. But it ends up in throwing the furniture etc. out the nearest window. Everything goes out – as a matter of fact and then we set up. Destruction has lost its meaning to all of us I think – although once in awhile you see something begin destroyed and you feel a little bit queer about it. And then you realize that it was these same Germans who were responsible for your being here – and your mood changes – and that’s all there is to it.

I got your letter of Feb 16th day before yesterday, dear. You told me about the long Bridge session you had had one night with Frank, Jerry and Barbara. That seems to be a pretty steady foursome. I was sorry to hear that Jerry was lame – although I don’t know him. I hate to hear that about anyone. I don’t recall the first time you met Frank – or much else about him. What’s his story, dear? I was disturbed by what you had to say about Irv and his “friend” calling him a draft-dodger etc. In the first place – he can’t be much of a friend to write anything like that – and I just can’t see how some people can be so crude. Irv is a very sensitive person and I know he must have taken something like tha pretty hard. As for my own attitude – I resent the fact that some people I know managed to stay out – but I would never write and tell them about it. I’ve never felt that way about Irv. I know the details in his case; it was borderline – and happened to fall the right way. Furthermore – he made an attempt to get into the Navy – but was anxious to get a commission – for which I don’t blame him a bit.

At any rate, sweetheart, what interests me more than anything else is the fact that you think I’m a man, your man. The “your” part is definite, dear; I am yours in every sense of the word and I hope it will always be so. The “man” part – I don’t know. As tough as the war and separation have been darling, I think it would have been almost as tough and more uncomfortable – had I managed to say out of the war. I don’t see how some of the fellows stand it – but that’s their business.

And – whatever gave you the idea, dear, that I didn’t want you to write – just as you felt – and as often? My letter of 8 January couldn’t have implied that. I love your letters – emotional, matter-of-fact, dealing with love, us, the future – all your letters – and for Heaven’s sake – don’t change them. And mine – I hope – aren’t all exactly matter-of-fact – are they? I’ve saved a few of your letters, darling. I’ve destroyed most of them – not for security reasons but because I just don’t have any place to keep them. We travel too much and space is at a premium. Of course I keep your pictures with me, dear. They never leave my left shirt pocket – and do I look at them! I’ll say! About every day, darling – and many times – several times a day. I’m still waiting for that picture of you in uniform – by the way.

And now sweetheart – things are starting to happen and I’d better close this letter. I love you deeply, dear – and don’t you ever ever forget that fact. My love to the folks and

All my love is yours, darling

Greg

* TIDBIT *

about The Night of the Intruders

In early March 1945, the German Luftwaffe, in an isolated display of resistance, developed a tactic which, had it been deployed earlier, could have neutralized the WWII operations of Royal Air Force Bomber Command. In the late hours of 3 March 1945, in Operation Gisela, some 200 Junkers JU88 nightfighters of the Luftwaffe Night Fighter Destroyer Group were deployed to intercept the allied bombers returning to base at their most vulnerable point, just before landing. The marauding aircraft crossed the North Sea at points stretching between the Thames Estuary and up the East coast to the North Yorkshire moors. The fact that these intruders were able to cross the North Sea coast without being picked up by English radar operators would seem to have been a result of a degree of complacency that had set in amongst Bomber Command, as the Luftwaffe appeared to be subdued.

The Allied Bomber Command mission scheduled for that evening had been a dual attack on the synthetic oil producing plant at Kamen and a raid on the Dortmund Elms Canal. 234 aircraft from the Northern 4 and 6 Groups took on the first mission while 222 bombers from 5 Group, Lincolnshire, tackled the canal, They departed bases at around 10:00 pm on 3 March 1945. The mission ran smoothly, until the return, when they ran into trouble in the form of Operation Gisela. On this clear night, some of the early returning aircraft had inexplicably switched on their navigation lights much earlier than usual, despite warnings of the dangers of possible predators. Those following did the same.This gave the circling intruders a clear, enticing target.

Having already claimed two Halifax Bombers of 158 Squadron returning to RAF Lissett, near Bridlington, Hauptmann Johann Dreher (Iron Cross) flying his Junkers JU88, set his sights on a French 347 Squadron Halifax returning to RAF Elvington. At about 1:50 am, as Capitaine Notelle approached Elvington, he received the warning of the attack just as the airfield lights went out. He pulled his aircraft up and headed north for Croft, narrowly escaping the menacing intruder.

Elvington Runways Today

The nightfighter continued its attack on Elvington, strafing the road at a passing taxi. Circling for another pass at 1:51am, the JU88 was too low, clipped a tree and crashed into Dunnington Lodge, a farmhouse on the outskirts of the airfield. Machine gun fire from the fighter had strafed the farmhouse before the aircraft crashed through one section of the building. Here, farmer Richard Moll and his wife, Helen, were waking up, having been startled by the gunfire. Their daughter-in-law, Violet, was making her way to their bedroom when the aircraft struck. Meanwhile, Violet's husband, Fred, was saving the life of their 3 year old son, Edgar, by scooping the child up in one arm and, with fire extinguisher in the other, fighting his way through flames and debris to the outside. Tragically, both Violet and Helen died as a result of their injuries, shortly after admission to hospital. Richard Moll survived initially, but suffered severe burns and died later. The JU88 ended up in a field at the junction of the Elvington and Dunnington roads.

This was the last German aircraft to crash on British soil during the war, preceded by a JU88 crashing at Welton, near Lincoln at 1:48am and a JU88 crashing near Halesworth, Suffolk, at 01:37am. Three French Halifaxes were brought down that morning, though with miraculously few casualties. On route to Croft in escaping the trap at Elvington, Notelle’s Halifax was hit three times by fire from the JU88 of Feldwebel (Sergeant) Gunther Schmidt, before he successfully belly-landed the burning aircraft at Rockcliffe Farm, Hurworth, near Darlington. All crew escaped, but some reports suggest that two civilians were killed by the skidding aircraft. Notelle was treated at a hospital at Northallerton for a head injury. Sous-Lieutenant Terrien, remaining at the controls of his burning Halifax whilst the other six baled out, crashed at Glebe Farm, Sutton on Derwent, close to the Elvington base. In a tragic irony, Capitaine Laucou, on his first mission, was brought down near Orford Ness, Norfolk, reflecting the extent to which the returning aircraft had been scattered by the attackers. Both he and the flight engineer were killed, but the others baled out.

The German JU88 that crashed near the village of Welton was piloted by 25 year old Feldwebel Heinrich Conte who spit cannon fire and machine gun bullets at a car driven by an Observer Corps official, Mr J. P. Kelway, father of two boys. Conte was apparently under the impression that the car's headlamps indicated activity on Scampton Airfield. While diving to attack, his aircraft struck telegraph wires and crashed on top of the car.

Feldwebel Heinrich Conze

Both car and aircraft were completely wrecked, parts of the burning aircraft being scattered over a wide area. All the members of the crew were killed together with Mr Kelway. Many years later, a farmer plowing his fields found a German identity tag thought at first to belong to one of the aircrew who had perished. But this was a new name. Checks were made and it was found to belong to a member of the squadron's ground crew, who had been reported as "absent without leave". He had evidently "hitched" a lift in the JU88, probably for a bit of excitement.

CLICK TO ENLARGE

RAF Red Arrows are based at Scampton Airfield today

Intervention by Mosquito fighters brought the disastrous Night of the Intruders to an end, but, in just a couple of hours, Bomber Command had lost a further 19 aircraft in addition to the 9 reported missing on the raids themselves. The Luftwaffe also lost 25 fighters out of the 200 involved in the operation.

02 March 1945

No letter today. Just this:

Route of the Question Mark


[CLICK TO ENLARGE]

(A) Merzenich to (B) Elsdorf, Germany (12 miles)
1 March to 2 March 1945

March 2... Elsdorf. We collected an assemblage of drakes, ducks, chickens, and rabbits from this deserted town, and spent hours roaming in all directions for souvenirs. The advance party spent a sleepless night due to enemy air activity.

Aid Station "Near Elsdorf - March 1945 - "Classy?"

* TIDBIT *

about Operation "Lumberjack"

[CLICK TO ENLARGE]

From "U.S. Army in WWII European Theater of Operations: The Last Offensive" by Charles B. MacDonald for the Department of the Army's Office of the Chief of Military History, Chapter X, page 185, published in 1973 in Washington, D.C. comes this excerpt:

Before General Omar Bradley could turn full attention to gaining the west bank of the Rhine, Supreme Commander General Eisenhower gave him the assignment to extend his protection of the Ninth Army's right flank by clearing a triangle of land between the Erft and the Rhine extending northward from Cologne to the confluence of the two rivers near Duesseldorf.

Bradley logically gave the assignment to the First Army's General Hodges for execution by Collins's VII Corps. Once the job was completed, the VII Corps was to take Cologne, then head south along the Rhine. As Collins turned south, other contingents of the First Army were to launch a narrow thrust from the vicinity of the road center of Euskirchen southeast to the Ahr River, there to converge with a thrust by the Third Army through the Eifel and create a pocket of trapped Germans in the northern reaches of the Eifel.

Bradley's plan went by the code name Operation LUMBERJACK...

As VII Corps fought its way toward Cologne, the RAF pulverized what was left of the city from previous bombing raids, once again leaving the Cathedral unscathed. From "The Porage Diaries" comes the following excerpts:

By day break on 2nd March 1945, and within thirteen hours of landing back from a mission at Mannheim, nine RAF crews had been de-briefed, slept, eaten two meals, attended a fresh briefing and were actually airborne en route for Cologne, together with seven other crews. Exceptionally clear weather conditions, combined with precise Pathfinder Force markings, resulted in a highly effective raid by 858 aircraft. With once again the miraculous exception of its cathedral, Cologne, by now almost a front line city, suffered considerable damage in this last RAF raid - only four days later it was occupied by American troops...

Cologne without Rooftops - Bomb Attack 2 March 1945


Bomber over Devastated Cologne - 2 March 1945


Bombs Away Over Cologne - 2 March 1945

Throughout all of World War II, Cologne endured 262 air raids by the Western Allies, which caused approximately 20,000 civilian casualties and almost completely wiped out the center of the city. During the night of 31 May 1942, Cologne was the site of "Operation Millennium", the first 1,000 bomber raid by the Royal Air Force in World War II. 1,046 heavy bombers attacked their target with 1,455 tons of explosives. This raid lasted about 75 minutes, destroyed 600 acres (243 ha) of built-up area, killed 486 civilians and made 59,000 people homeless. By the end of the war, the population of Cologne was reduced by 95%. This loss was mainly caused by a massive evacuation of the people to more rural areas. The same happened in many other German cities in the last two years of war.

Cologne, Germany after final bombing

01 March 1945

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 230 % Postmaster, N.Y.

1 March, 1945      0945

Germany

Dearest Sweetheart –

Happy First of March to you, dear! It’s a fresh, windy, cool day here today and I don’t see how we can have very much more winter from now on. And if we don’t – then we really got by pretty lucky – because we had only one bad month – January – but that was really a b—ch!

I’m in what we call our Aid Station right now and there’s confusion and noise – so excuse any incoherence, darling. Our room is so boarded up that I can’t see to write from there – and it’s not warm enough yet to write outside. Last night we sat around the C.P., talked, studied the map and generally killed the evening. The news continues good and from where we sit – it’s engrossing to see the various phases develop. Incidentally, dear, the medics have been issued maps ever since the early days and I’ve been able to file away most of them. If I can ever get them back – I’ll be able to show you where we’ve been. I guess I have enough to cover the walls of a medium-sized room.

Yesterday evening I got a letter from you written at the time of your last big snowstorm and boy! – you’ve really had some ‘fun’ this winter. I had to laugh at some of your descriptions, dear – snowdrifts, tired muscles, aching back etc. I also got a very old letter from you – your impressions of the “party” at Stan’s house. Your description of Betty was illuminating, to say the least, darling. As I once told you – I didn’t remember exactly how she looked – but I did remember that I was hardly attracted to her. Now you can see why. She is affected – and that of course I didn’t like from the start. I hate that in anyone. What troubled me most was your remark that after 3½ months of marriage it was rumored that Stan was already “fooling around” with others. That corroborates my initial belief that he didn’t marry her for love but for her obvious wealth. And therefore – unlike you, dear, I don’t feel sorry for him in the least. He knew what he was letting himself in for; he’s no child. I want all the things you want from life – too – as you already know. Gosh – married life should be so wonderful – it seems to me. To have someone so close to you, so much a part of you that you can confide your every thought and dream – must be about the most wonderful thing imaginable. Everyone goes thru life, I think, harboring things to himself – things which he doesn’t even tell his brother or sisters or parents – no matter how close they may be to him. Those are the things he saves for his wife – and those are the thoughts I’ve saved all these years for you, sweetheart. The intimacy of being married, living together, sharing the same bed and therefore sharing everything – is something I’ve always wanted - and darling, you’re the girl I’ve saved all that for. We’ll have our home and children; we’ll not be superficial; we’ll have good friends and live a decent, full life. We’ll be steady and real and substantial – I know.

Say – you mention Steve’s receiving an insignia of an infantry division and you immediately became worried because I might be with an outfit like that. Well – I’m not. A good many AA outfits are and it’s not a very good assignment. Fortunately – we’ve never been and I hope we don’t. Our assignment has been the same ever since we left the Eighth Air Force in England and went to Sherborne. For AA – it’s a good assignment.

And darling – you seemed peeved because I once wrote I wanted to see this thing thru. I believe you misinterpreted me. Like Roosevelt – I hate war, too – but I’m just making the best of a situation over which, at present, I have no control. Again I say you’re influenced wrongly by your ARC work – seeing fellows get home for this reason or that. Well darling, I hope I don’t have to come home for compassionate leave or because I’ve been wounded. But I do want to come home just as soon as possible. When I say ‘seeing this thing thru’ – I mean to imply only that I think most of us won’t get back until the war here is over. I personally want to be among the healthy ones – and you must know, sweetheart, that the earlier I get home – the better I like it.

Gotta stop now, dear, and arrange a few things. It’s pretty active here at the moment and something is happening most of the time. Meanwhile, darling, remember that I love you and only you – and that’s the way it will always be. Love to the folks and I hope Mother B is feeling better.

All my deepest love, dear

Greg

P.S. Now – if they had some way of sending us home for ‘passionate’ leave –

Love,

G.

"Near Duren - March 1945 - Proof that the 438th Shoots 'em Down
This is part of a FW 190 shot down by Baker Battery
Pilot was captured after parachuting."

Route of the Question Mark


[CLICK TO ENLARGE]

(A) Rolsdorf to (B) Merzenich, Germany (4.5 miles)
26 February to 1 March 1945

March 1... Merzenich. A one night stand, spent in ruined houses, lingering only long enough to sleep and be paid. We were shelled all night and one particular shell landed twenty feet from the building we were using as a mess hall.

* TIDBIT *

about The Shell that Came Close to the Mess Hall

Two sites address the shelling around Merzenich, possibly explaining the comment in "The Route of the Question Mark" about being shelled. It seems either explanation is a possible source of the shells.

At this point in time, units of the 438th AAA AW Bn were assigned to protect the 3rd Armored Division's 188th Field Artillery Battalion. On a 3rd Armored Online Guest Book web site, Lou Rossi, from the 188th, remembered:

In a town called Merzenich, I was standing around with some 104th Infantry riflemen, and the 3rd's armored artillery was also in the town. A flight of our own Ninth Tac came over and bombed the hell out of us. I woke up in a cellar with some infantry and armor guys around me. When I came up to the street I observed a lot of damage and guys were pointing at the yellow and white US markings on some duds and using very foul language directed at the Ninth Tac bombers. Maybe someone in the 3rd's artillery remembers being hit by our own bombers in Merzenich. The tanks had already taken off for Morschenach, about forty miles ahead. I've always suspected that those two names were confused by a bomber navigator and they unloaded on us instead of hitting Morschenach, the target town they were supposed to hit in support of the tanks spearheading toward Cologne.

Meanwhile, Hodge's Diary mentions night attacks by the Boche and states that the Boche had 34 downed aircraft. Greg seems to have taken a picture of the wing of one. The screenshot that follows was taken from Normandy to Victory: The War Diary of General Courtney H. Hodges & the First U.S. Army, maintained by his aides Major William C. Sylvan and Captain Francis G. Smith Jr.; edited by John T. Greenwood, copyright 2008 by the Association of the United States Army.

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28 February 1945

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 230 % Postmaster, N.Y.

28 February, 1945      1605

Germany

Dearest darling Wilma –

For awhile I thought I wouldn’t be able to write you today but I’m finally settled and here I am. I won’t be able to write much because there’s lots to do yet but a short letter is better than none at all I figure.

Apartment houses don’t exist anymore, dear, and yet I’m able to write you from a room that has 4 walls. Sweetheart – you’d have to see it to believe it – but a 4-walled structure in these parts is a rarity. Of course when I say 4 walls – I don’t imply necessarily that they are 4 whole walls by any manner or means. I guess I’ve told you a good deal about destruction and ruined towns since I hit the continent – and you must be getting tired of it, but darling, I’m giving you a picture of the war as I’m seeing it and I’ve got to tell you what I see. I just haven’t seen anything like what we’re seeing now. I thought Aachen was laid waste. There just won’t be any cities or towns where we’re passing thru now. It would take years to lug away the debris. We were in a city today of about 50,000 – about Salem’s size. There was not one house, store, building, factory or anything standing. I don’t know how the destruction could have been so complete. Actually – dear – it’s terrifying. Of course there’s not a soul around – and that adds to the picture of death. If the rest of Germany is like this – and a good many bigger spots already are – we won’t have to worry about the next war for some time. Germany will be a primitive nation for years and years. She has nothing left and the pity of it all is that their hopeless war goes on – causing more men to die and be maimed.

Well – well, darling, didn’t mean to get on that track – but what we’re seeing these days leaves a very deep impression on one. We got no mail yesterday, nor none today. Today is supposed to be pay day – but I don’t see how that’s going to be accomplished. That reminds me – thanks for your letter telling me of Eleanor’s gift and how much I owe you. It’s my fault for not telling you how much to spend. I’d like you to have spent more – but you say the slip was nice and that’s good enough for me. Thanks for the trouble, darling. And your gift to Stan and Betty sounds very nice and your reasoning correct.

In one of your letters, dear, you mention all the pretty songs out. I think I mentioned recently the fact that we don’t hear them until they’re fairly old. Every time you mention one I keep watching for it. Anyway – the only songs I’m interested in are the ones that say “I love you – over and over again” – because that’s the way I feel about you, darling, and as far as I’m concerned – those are the prettiest words ever. I do love you, sweetheart, in every sense of the word – and I always shall.

For now, dear, I’ll have to sign off. My love to the folks – and

All my sincerest love –

Greg

* TIDBIT *

about The Rhineland Campaign and Germany's Doom

[CLICK TO ENLARGE]

The Rhineland campaign included both the First Canadian Army's Operation VERITABLE (under General Crerar) and the U.S. Ninth Army's launching of Operation GRENADE (under General Simpson). Operation VERITABLE was planned as a drive southeastward up the left bank of the Rhine from a position gained by the big airborne attack the preceding fall (during Operation MARKET BASKET) in the vicinity of Nijmegen. Operation GRENADE was planned as an assault crossing of the Roer followed by a northeastward drive to link with the First Canadian Army along the Rhine...

Greg mentions the destruction of Germany and that while Germany has nothing left, the war goes on. Even von Rundstedt knew the war was lost, yet Hitler insisted on continuing the fight. From "U.S. Army in WWII European Theater of Operations: The Last Offensive," Chapter IX, by Charles B. MacDonald for the Department of the Army's Office of the Chief of Military History, page 170, published in 1973 in Washington, D.C. come these excerpts:

As these events had been occurring with such swiftness, German commanders who as late as 24 February could hope that the Ninth Army’s crushing drive was not designed to converge with the Canadian thrust southeast from Nijmegen were at last impelled to face reality. Operation GRENADE at that point clearly was the hammer aimed at crushing the southern wing of Army Group H against the anvil of Operation VERITABLE. Success of the operations meant encirclement or crushing defeat both for Army Group H’s southern wing, the First Parachute Army, and that part of the Fifteenth Army that was being forced back to the north.

Admission of that hard fact came at every level of command, from Fifteenth Army to OB WEST. Although Field Marshal Model at Army Group B acknowledged the truth of a grim estimate of the situation made by the Fifteenth Army, he could do little to help. He did promise commitment of the Panzer Lehr Division, which OB WEST accorded him, but the Panzer Lehr still was severely bruised from its fight against Operation VERITABLE and in any event could make no appearance in strength for several days.

The Commander in Chief West, Field Marshal von Rundstedt, appealed on 25 February to Hitler for new directives designed to prevent disintegration of the entire Western Front. The situation was bad everywhere, he reported, not only in the north but in the south where attacks by the U.S. Third Army on either side of the Moselle River (Bitburg and Trier) worried Rundstedt most of all. When Hitler made no immediate response, Rundstedt on the 26th begged permission to make at least a minor withdrawal in the north, to pull back the extreme left wing of the First Parachute Army out of a salient at the juncture of the Roer and Maas Rivers near Roermond. The withdrawal was designed to ensure contact between the parachute army and the Fifteenth Army’s XII SS Corps as the latter fell back before the American drive. Yet even such a minor withdrawal Hitler refused to sanction.

Hitler’s response on 27 February sought to allay Rundstedt’s fears about an attack along the Moselle but offered no palliatives for any of the crises in the west. By redeploying units already present, Hitler directed, the endangered southern wing of Army Group H was to hold where it was. Withdrawal behind the Rhine still was unthinkable.

Even as Hitler’s message arrived, the crisis along the boundary between Army Groups B and H was growing more serious. Again Rundstedt appealed for permission to make at least the short withdrawal from the Roermond salient. This time he had the support of the Deputy Chief of the Wehrmacht Operations Staff, who personally briefed Hitler on the crucial situation. Hitler at last agreed - “with a heavy heart...

On the 28 February 1945 and the first day of March, events proved conclusively that the battlefield belonged to armor. All along the front, American units recorded advances of from seven to ten miles, and there was little the Germans could do about it.

27 February 1945

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 230 % Postmaster, N.Y.

27 February, 1945      0900

Germany

My dearest Sweetheart –

After the lapse of one day, I’ll take up where I left off – and tell you that I love you more than ever, dear, want you more than ever, and miss you more than ever; and I’m going to keep on feeling that way until I come home. Then I want only to love and want you. I hope I’m not compelled to miss you, darling.

Well – as I already implied, I didn’t write you yesterday, dear – but it was for the obvious reasons. I did get mail, however, and boy – am I ever hearing from you, sweetheart! It’s wonderful – V-mails, air-mails – and it’s a race right now – which arrives earlier. Believe it or not – but I received an air mail of the 15th (written) and V-mails of the 15th and 17th of February. Shades of England!

Right now I’m in my bedroom – sitting at a nice table in front of the window. This room is part of a 5 room apartment – in a small apartment house in the suburbs of a fair sized city. Houses of any sort with roofs on them are pretty hard to find – so we consider ourselves lucky for having this one. But we hope we don’t stay long. I’d like to get moving the way we did when we came across France. We’d be getting home that much sooner, dear. The news here and all around us is good – as you’re probably aware of.

Before I forget it – I want to take up the matter of Mother B’s condition. I remember you told me some time ago that she had been to the doctor’s and was being followed by him. I don’t remember whether you told me his name or not. That’s important, of course, from the point of view of diagnosis. Assuming the diagnosis is correct – and it sounds reasonable – the choice between fibroidectomy or hysterectomy and x-ray usually lies in the person handling the case. The big trouble with x-ray is that it not only destroys the fibroids in the uterus – but it destroys the ovaries, too. That isn’t too much a consideration in your mother’s case, though, because she’s at the menopause stage anyway. The other trouble with x-ray is that you don’t know exactly how well the job has been done. In most cases that we saw at Salem – x-ray was reserved for those people who were in no physical condition to undergo operation. In other words – dear – personally I feel that operation in a physically fit person is preferable. You can see what you’re doing, whether the diagnosis is correct, you can leave the ovaries intact – and in the hands of a good man – it is not too difficult an operation at all. If the doctor your mother is visiting now does not operate himself, he probably has a couple of surgeons he refers work to. One who comes to mind who is as good as they come in Gynecology around Boston is Louis Phaneuf. He’s top notch in his field. If nothing more – it might be worth having a consultation a man like him because he’s handled thousands such cases I’m sure.

I’m sorry, darling, for Mother B and for your worry – but it’s really not bad – and whichever treatment she undergoes – she’s going to be a whole lot better off. Where you can do the most good is to encourage, allay her fears, bear with her. I’ll be very much interested in more news about her condition and I do wish I were home to give a little more support.

I’m so glad you got the roses and the candy, dear. I was afraid it couldn’t be arranged. It will be so nice when I can do things for you myself – little or big. I hope I never forget, busy or otherwise.

And now I’m busy, sweetheart and I’ll have to knock off. There’s lots of things to get done today and the quicker I start – the better off I’ll be. So – for now, so long, dear – and my love to the folks and don’t worry about Mother B – she’ll be O.K. I’m sure.

All my deepest love –

Greg.

P.S. 1 encl. Stars and Stripes –

Love

G.

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Back side of comic has news...


* TIDBIT *

about The Last Heavy Raid on Mainz

With its four towers and two cupolas, the structure of the St. Martin’s Cathedral of Mainz soars impressively above the city skyline. It is the oldest Romanesque church on the Rhine and the symbol of the city. Mainz was founded as an encampment for a Roman legion, then became the capital of the Roman province Germania Superior and finally was the first and most distinguished bishopric of the Holy Roman Empire. Mainz became the first printing center of Europe under its citizen Johann Gutenberg, 1397-1468. By the end of the 18th century, more than all others, electors and archbishops had left their mark on the developing city which then underwent many other changes in the 19th and 20th centuries that impacted on the inventory of organs. Many buildings and the organs that stood within them fell victim to acts of war, first in 1793 when set fire by the French and again during the Second World War. As a result of the heaviest aerial bombing attack on Mainz which occured on 27 February 1945, 61 % of the building structures – in the inner city even up to 80 % – were destroyed. Today there are over 80 organs in the greater Mainz area, of these 70 were constructed after the Second World War.

Mainz today

The following description of the attack was taken from the February 1945 Campaign Diary of the Royal Air Force Bomber Command.

458 aircraft - 311 Halifaxes, 131 Lancasters, 16 Mosquitos - of Nos 4, 6 and 8 Groups to Mainz. 1 Halifax and 1 Mosquito lost. The target area Mainz was covered by cloud and the bombing was aimed at skymarkers dropped on Oboe. No results were seen by the bomber crews but the bombing caused severe destruction in the central and eastern districts of Mainz; this was the city's worst raid of the war. 1,545 tons of bombs were dropped. 5,670 buildings were destroyed, including most of the historic buildings in the Altstadt, but the industrial district was also badly hit. This was the last heavy raid on Mainz.

The Day They Bombed Mainz, 27 February 1945
A Photobook (and source of most of the photos below)

Click on any photo below to enlarge them all.

After 20 minutes of dropping bombs and thousands of incendiaries by the British Air Force on 27 February 1945, the city of Mainz was turned into an inferno of flames and smoke. When it was over, 80 percent of the city were destroyed. Mainz was no longer. The attack took more than 1,200 lives. Below is an interview published by SWR.de with a survivor, the then 16-year-old Anton Maria Keim who narrowly escaped death.

Anton Maria Keim

SWR.de: Dr. Keim, you still often think of the 27th of February 1945?
Dr. Anton Maria Keim: Still to this day I have painful memories. I awake at night sometimes and do not know why I'm still alive. I still cringe today, when I hear a siren or when something reminds me of flak. I will forever remember the crackling and burning of the city.

What did you do when the air raid warning surprised you?
Dr. Anton Maria Keim: I was in hiding in order not to be drafted into the front line or to be deported (Editor's note: Keim's grandmother was Jewish). In the afternoon I was riding a bicycle in the center of Mainz to look at two bookstores, where there were old and banned books. When the air raid alarm went off at just after 4 o'clock, I wanted to get to the east towers of the cathedral for safety. I rode off in a hurry, but fell at the Schiller Square in the bombing.

There I spent the attack in the hallway of the Alsatian bank. From the basement below me came screaming. Gas and water pipes had burst and people were drowning and suffocating. I was lucky I could get away from the burning of Mainz on my bike 20 minutes after the attack, with slight smoke inhalation. I did so with great difficulty - although I do not know exactly how.

Where did you go?
Dr. Anton Maria Keim:I was living at home in Pike. From the height of Hechtsheimer I saw the burning city, like a single torch, which is pointed at the top. I cried like a child. Although I was clear, this was the end of Mainz. The city was destroyed and remained that way for years. The cathedral remained standing - a miracle! It was the symbol of resistance. In the Capuchin monastery, 41 Sisters were killed. Perhaps these martyrs made sure I survived.

SWR.de: Were the victims acquaintances of yours?
Dr. Anton Maria Keim: Yes, quite a lot of them were classmates who suffocated or did not get to the cellar in time. There were just minutes between the alarm and the first carpet bomb. The Schiller place was still full of people with prams and children who wanted to take refuge in the cellar. The place was then a wooden block. The burnt corpses could be seen for months. From the roofs dripped molten tin. I still have that smell in my nose today. It is said that there were 1,200 deaths, but who knows for sure. There were corpses dug up years later.

How did you process the experience?
Dr. Anton Maria Keim: We were happy to have survived and feared more fighting between the Army and the fanatical SS. In recent days, the SS had shot three family men, who had hoisted the white flag. My uncle was among the victims. As the first tank moved into Hechtsheim, we were happy. We welcomed the Americans as liberators from bombs and terror. It was a great deliverance. The Americans were completely surprised by this greeting.

How have these experiences shaped your life?
Dr. Anton Maria Keim: Very strongly. I am a social democrat and pacifist, always active in the peace movement. I was an opponent of rearmament. And I cannot think that through alliances we must have any obligations to war again.

Is it possible to compare the air raids on German cities with the attacks of the armed forces on English cities like Coventry?
Dr. Anton Maria Keim: The total air war was been begun by the Germans. The Nazis said that they would wipe out British cities like Coventry. I'm not fond of this is - that one was revenge of the other. But one thing has been causally related to the other. That does not excuse the Warrior of the Air, "Bomber Harris"'s attempt to demoralize the German population. (Editor's note: Arthur Harris was then a senior commander of the British bombers, who ordered the bombing of Dresden). But you need to know how the conditions at that time were, including the mass murder of Jews.