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CHAPTER XIII |
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| There is little to add to the story of the 90th
Division. The simultaneous arrival of American troops and the promise of a
lasting peace aroused a frenzy of jubilation among the Czechs who played
host to the Americans with all the enthusiasm and hospitality that can
spring from gratitude. Each city and village was garlanded with flowers, dances and parties and street festivals were the order of the day. The girls dressed in colorful native costumes, while musicians sang and played until the hours of dawn. Soldiers of the Red Army, with whom the 90th Division had finally made contact, exchanged greeting of "Tovarisch" and "Hiya, Ivan" with the American troops who had come half way across the world to meet them in a strange land. There was some difficulty in the beginning in adjusting the mind the idea of peace. For months dust, mud and ice had been home, and the threat of instant death had been ever present. For almost a year there had been assaults and the "sweating out" of artillery barrages. There had been untold suffering and incredible heroism. And now it was finished. Once more it was possible to walk confidently and surely. The 90th had done its work well, so well that whenever there is talk of valiant men in the future, the Tough 'Ombres are sure to receive their praise. The world cannot easily or soon forget the blood that flowed at the Foret de Mont Castre, nor the epic crossing of the untamable Moselle. There are volumes to be said for the men who cracked the Siegfried Line, not once but twice, for the men who fought in snow and mud and sliced their way across the plains and hills to cut the enemy in two. The accomplishments of the 90th were not on a modest scale. A total of 83,437 prisoners of war were taken throughout the days of combat, the equivalent of more than six divisions. In addition, 501 tanks, 195 self-propelled guns and 134 warplanes were captured or destroyed. |
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