35
CHAPTER NINE - THE BEGINNING OF THE END
On the morning of the 24th of March the entire Battalion en-trucked and moved to SELZEN.
From here the troops went by foot across the Rhine river on the same bridgehead established the day
before by the 5th Division. This area was jammed with traffic. Tanks, trucks, artillery pieces and jeeps
waited impatiently for their turn to move across and get out of the hot zone. Anti-aircraft units were
already in position every few yards.
Third Battalion units were across and moving slowly towards as assembly area near LEEHEIM
when several enemy bombers screamed down out of the clouds, bombing and strafing the bridgehead..
Hundreds of anti-aircraft guns filled the sky with streaking tracers and flak bursts, knocking down at
least two of the raiders and driving the others away. One man was wounded in the strafing attack. That
night the Battalion bivouacked in an open field near LEEHEIM while enemy planes kept the sky aglow
with bursting bombs, anti-aircraft shelling and flares which seemed to hang motionless in the sky,
casting a yellow-red light over the ground.
Using an armored approach march formation the Battalion covered 18 miles, took 34 prisoners,
cleared over ten towns and wound up in LANGEN on the night of the 25th. Next morning the Battalion
took off again covering some 12 miles before stopping for the night near OBERSTHAUSEN. 163
prisoners were taken on this day against enemy resistance that consisted only of scattered small arms
and machine gun fire.
In preparation for an assault crossing of the Main river, the Battalion moved up to DIETESHEIM
the next day. At 0350 28 March the leading elements of the Battalion crossed the Main river without
firing a shot. By 1120 the companies had reached MITTELBUCHEN a fairly large town about six miles
inland where they held up for the night while waiting for the flank units to come abreast. A prisoner
taken revealed the reason our crossing had been unopposed. It seemed that the unit which was holding
down the sector of the river where we crossed was supposed to have been relieved the night before.
Their relief never showed so they just took off and left the river unguarded.
From MITTELBUCHEN the Battalion moved to KILIANSTADTEN on the 29th. The Battalion
was motorized here on the 30th and divided into two task forces.
By night the town of GEDERN – some 25 miles from KILIANSTADTEN – was reached and
secured. En route the Battalion cleared the town of HERZENHAIN where there were 400 Polish
women who had been used there as slave labor for the factories. The reception they accorded us was
reminiscent of France and it was with deep regret that the Battalion moved on from here. On the 31st
we covered another 25 miles to the northeast stopping for the night in the vicinity of SANDLOFS.
 |
 |
 |