The Battle of the Bulge

This was not the usual R&R but it was better than being in that God forsaken Forest. We had about 30 miles for the Division to protect so the 28^th had all three Regiments on line. Normally one Regiment is kept in reserve to plug any hole in the line that the enemy might attack and breakthrough, but this was a quiet part of the front line. I got very busy taking replacements up to the front. Here I saw some of the guys that were still left and we could see the Germans on the other side, but there was no actual shooting going on. Sometimes I went back to Division Hdq, in Wiltz to get replacements. These times I went by jeep and would pick up truck loads of replacements and brought them to the other companies in my battalion. The driver knew his way around and we would stop and get some wine from the local inhabitants.

I was in 2^nd Battalion Hdq. now but I was staying in a bombed out house across the street in the town of Clervaux, which is in Luxembourg. We were getting hot chow and it was great. I figured that the war was going to be over very soon and we would all be heading home.

We took a lot of casualties in the Hurtgen Forest and the outfit looked different with all these new replacements. Anything we needed we could request and we usually got it. Everyone got a whole new set of clothes. We even turned our old handgernades in for clean ones. We could get some food from the “mess hall” and I gave it to the civilian families and sometimes would eat with them at their house. This went on for a couple of weeks and during this time one of the girls, from the family I visited, gave me a card that had a “Soldiers Prayer” on it. This prayer is on the next page but before you read it try to think of yourself in a foxhole waiting for the order to attack a strong point in the enemies lines, not knowing if you are going to make it through the firefight or not. Keep this in mind as you read the prayer.

The German Blitzkreg Attack

December 16,1944

This was a quiet R&R which went on for awhile. But on the night of Dec. 15, 1944, we got together with some of the towns people and actually had a dance. Somebody got a record player and played some music, it was great. At about 1:30 am we went back to our billets and went to sleep.

At 4:30 we were awakened by a lot of artillery fire and was told that the Germans broke through our front lines. We were going up to plug the hole in the lines, because all the reserves were spread out over 30 miles.

The 28^th was spread to thin to stop them. I understand that the Germans sent two armored divisions with two infantry divisions against the 110th Regiment that was on R&R.

We had three regiments which  was all on line, no reserves. The 109^th Regiment to the south, 112^th Regiment to the north and the 110^th Regiment in the center. This is where the Germans sent those four Divisions.

We thought this was odd because occasionally a German patrol would penetrate our lines but was handled by other company squads. We went down to a small ridge line and took up defensive positions. This I was familiar with because I was doing this at the front before I came to Hdq. but the other guys were green. We dug in and waited. We didn’t have to wait very long when we heard a tank coming down the road. It was still dark and we all were a little apprehensive. As the tank got closer the guard yelled out Halt, to stop the tank and challenge it to see if it was one of ours. The tank commander yelled back that “the krauts came through and were coming back to get more gas”. Well that made us all feel better and the guard told the tank to come on through. When it got closer, Capt. Dobbs wasn’t satisfied and asked the tank commander what was the password. The tank was now about 50 feet from our positions. With the Capt. asking for the password, the infantry jumped off the tank and started to fire right into us. The machine gun and the 88 cannon, on the tank, opened up.

These were indeed Germans and the tank commander spoke perfect English. We were no match against the infantry and the tank blasting away at us from point blank range. As we returned the fire the best we could, the Capt. got as many of us as he could and told us to follow him to the side and about 6 of us followed him up the hill. From here he was going to fire at them from the rear but there were too many Germans and they had some Americans as prisoners. If we attacked they would surely shoot all the prisoners. I knew what was happening and I think the Capt. did also. The Americans that surrendered and were not wounded were herded into a group and were stripped of their watches, gloves and cigarettes while the Americans that were wounded were shot. Attacking them now would be suicide plus all of our guys would be shot, not just the wounded.

There was a Lt., the Capt. and 4 of us soldiers. While the Capt. contemplated the next step I thought this is not just a German patrol and we were spread so thin, what are we going to do. The Capt. got with all 6 of us and asked us if we wanted to surrender or not. He got a unanimous no, we did not want to surrender.

We couldn’t stay here and our best bet in getting back to our lines is to infiltrate through them now while it was still dark. Capt. Dobbs led us down the hill and everyone knew that we could not make a sound. As we got to the road and the first four guys crossed I heard something coming down the road so I stopped and we got down in some little bushes. Well, it was a column of German soldiers. There were only two of us left who did not cross the road. We held our breath as the column passed right next to us. Luckily we didn’t make a sound as they passed. As the last one passed I could breathe again and then we continued on across the road. The two of us were moving around the Germans when I heard someone in front of me. I thought this was it, I couldn’t fire or I would bring the whole German army down on us. I froze and then I heard the Lt.’s voice call Bradicich, boy was I relieved. If it was the Germans I guess I would have to surrender. We caught up with the other group but two guys got lost in the dark and there were only four of us.

We slipped through the German lines and headed towards Clervaux. After we traveled about 100 yards we saw a tank in front of us. That’s all I need. We did not know if it was ours or Germans, so the Capt. crawled up to investigate. After a few moments he came back and told us to come on up that it’s ours. The tank was ours and it had a radio and the Capt. radioed back to Hdq. that this was no patrol and the Germans pushed through our lines in force. We would try to get back to Hdq. in Cleravux. The tank commander said that he was out of gas and with the Germans coming down the road he would blow up the tank so it would not fall into enemy hands. He set the charge and we all took off for Cleravux. We were some distance away when we heard the explosion from the tank.

It was starting to get light as we were approaching Cleravux. Here they were setting up another defensive line to stop or slow the Germans down. The Officer who set up this defensive line should be shot. The men were put on a bare hill (no cover) and were told to dig foxholes. These men would all be killed there was no way to get out of the foxhole without being shot. We were outnumbered at least 10 to 1 and they had many tanks. I was not “selected “for this delaying action but continued on back to form another defensive position on the other side of Clervaux. These soldiers were told to hold at all cost, they didn’t have any other choice, the tanks would run right over them in their foxholes. This was the Germans with their Blitzkrieg attack.

Note: The German Blitzkrieg is a mechanized column of tanks and infantry attacking the enemy and not stopping to gather prisoners. Shooting everything in sight and continuing to advance. This column continues to advance while a separate infantry outfit, rounds up all the prisoners and attacks any pockets of resistance.

As we proceeded through the town of Clervaux, I remembered that I left all my personal belongings back in the house where I was staying before all this started. I told the guys that I was with, that I was going back into town and get my things. Pictures of my family,  my girlfriend and my Purple Heart Medal that the doctor gave me back in the Hurtgen Forest. I was not going to let the Germans get them. They thought I was crazy to go back into town with the Germans on our tail. As I started back into the town, I found it was deserted except for a few civilians who were hurrying  to get out of town before the Germans. I went down the main street and turned up the street where I had stayed. This part of town was completely deserted and I felt funny being the only soldier on this deserted street. I was starting to agree with the guys.maybe I was crazy but I went straight to my place, went inside and collected  all my things. As I went out the door to the street, I saw the German Infantry coming down the street. They saw me also and fired at me. I returned the fire to delay them. This worked because I saw them scramble into the houses for cover. But then I saw a German tank coming down the street behind the infantry. That was enough for me and I ran back inside and ran into some old man. He motioned to me to follow him and he took me out the back way. He motioned to me to go through the back yards, away from the Germans. I tried to get him to come with me but he would not. I imagine the Germans were getting close by now, so I took off through the back yards and got to the main street which seemed to be unoccupied. I continued down this street and I saw two American soldiers outside of the hotel. It looked like they were on guard. I told them that the Germans were down the next block with tanks and infantry so they better pull out. I left them and I rejoined the group of soldiers heading back towards Wiltz, which was the Regimental Command Post. I do not know what happened to those soldiers. However, on that road there was another small village. Here they decided to form another defensive line which will further delay the enemy in order to get more troops up here to stop this German advance. All we could do is to try to delay the enemy as long as we could.

This did not look like the American Army, soldiers walking back with muddy uniforms along this very muddy road and rejection written all over our face’s. The MP’s were directing traffic along the way and there was complete confusion. We later found out that these MP’s were actually Germans in American uniforms. Now we couldn’t trust the guy next to you. Along the road there were soldiers from the 7^th, 11^th and the 707^th armored units. Most of their armor was destroyed by the Germans in the fighting that was going on all over Luxembourg.

There were about three farmhouses along the road but it gave us field of fire when the Germans come down the road. We only had rifles and two bazookas and about three rounds of bazooka shells. A machine gun would have helped but we had to stop them or delay them as long as possible. It was bitter cold and foggy and we were all tired and hungry.

We didn’t have to wait very long , we heard the tanks coming down the road but with this fog we couldn’t see them. The waiting and listening to the clanking of tanks got everyone on edge. Then we spotted them coming on the road out of the fog. We fired at the tanks and the infantry but they backed off. You could not see them due to the fog but you knew that they were getting ready for an attack. The waiting was driving me out of my mind, for I knew they would mount a frontal assault with tanks and infantry. You knew what was coming but all you could do is wait.

You could now hear the tanks revving up the motors and moving towards us. We all strained our eyes to see them but again this damned fog. Then I saw them. I saw three markIV tanks coming out of the fog at our positions with infantry all around them. We opened up with everything we had. The bazookas fired but the shells bounced off the armor on the tanks. We were firing at the infantry and we were getting an awful lot of them. The tanks were firing at us point blank and I thought that if I fired into the 88 canon which is on the tank, I could explode the shell inside the barrel. I put a number of shots, that I thought went into the barrel but no explosion. We were taking a beating but the Germans were also taking a heavy toll. At last one of our bazooka shell found its mark. He was going to put another shell into the disabled tank but we had to save the shells for the other tanks. The Germans were loosing a lot of their soldiers and with the tank disabled they broke off the attack.

We took an awful lot of casualties and the medics were busy patching them up as best  they could but we only had two medics and no morphine. When they got as many as they could patched up the Lt. told them to change their red cross helmet for a regular helmet, remove the red cross armband and get a rifle. I started to pray for I knew we were not going to get out of here and we were running out of ammunition. The order was to fix bayonets and hold at all cost.

We got up on line and could hear the tanks coming again but we still couldn’t see them, the fog was to thick. This sight I will never forget seeing the tanks and infantry coming at me through the fog. The tanks were firing the 88’s at us and their machine guns but this time they did not stop. They came full speed right at our lines and continued on through, firing at everything. The other tanks came down the road and came around us from the other side. Hell could not be this bad. We had fixed bayonets but the infantry did not get to us yet. (You can’t put your bayonet through a tank) As these tanks came through our lines from both sides some of the guys started to run. This started a mass retreat, they were butchering us and we had no defense against the tanks. It was a terrible sight to see. This was not an orderly withdrawal. I don’t know how I was still on my feet when so many other soldiers were falling all around me. An American truck pulled out from behind a building and started down the road. With all this utter confusion I ran after the truck and grabbed on. Somebody inside the truck grabbed me and pulled me inside. The tanks were now firing at the truck and if it hit us I know that it would be the end for all of us in the truck. I was now thankful for the fog, for it didn’t take long to get into the fog and out of sight of the tank.

How I survived this battle I do not know, seeing guys getting shot and falling all around me. Seeing the tanks firing the 88’s point blank into our positions and bodies being blown apart. Well I sat down in the truck and I cried. I guess I wasn’t as tough as I thought I was. I thanked my guardian angel again for seeing me through. You could still hear the firing going on and being a veteran I knew what was going on. Those that surrendered were probably being herded into a group to be marched to the rear. Those that were wounded and couldn’t walk were being shot. 

We rode only a short distance when we saw a sign that said Wiltz. This is where the Divisional CP is located. We were on the road that went to Sky Line Drive.

Note: This is the road the Germans wanted real bad because it was the paved road that led into Bastogne. The Germans needed Bastogne in order to strike westward and these roads through the town was needed to supply the forward troops. Without Bastogne, they could not continue on toward Antwrep. We were between the Germans and Bastogne.

As we approached the crossroads we soon found out that it was already in enemy hands. Now we had Germans in front of us and Germans behind us. A tank in front of us fired and the shell just missed us but with the explosion the driver lost control of the truck and we went off into a ditch and hit a tree. Luckily he wasn’t going too fast in the fog and we were shaken up but alright. We climbed out of the truck and some guys ran right and some ran left. Lou Klendal and I went left and into the woods. From here I could see that the Germans had three tanks and some infantry that was holding the crossroads. I knew that they would not attack because their job was to hold that crossroads but they did send out a patrol. We took off through the woods hoping to get to our lines soon. As we came to a clearing, we saw an old barn. We kept under cover and got as close as possible. No one was around. Being extremely careful we sneaked up to the back and went into the barn, still no one was there. The barn was empty. Not even chickens. If there were chickens we would have eaten any eggs that were there. We were tired, cold and hungry. This was the third day and no sleep, we decided to rest awhile in the hay where we immediate fell asleep.

I don’t know how long we were there but something woke me up. My heart must have stopped for what I heard was someone talking and it was in German. It was starting to get light and I knew then that a group of German soldiers had the same idea as we had, to get a little shuteye. Yes, we were sleeping in the same barn as the Germans for how long I do not know. We could do nothing but wait and hope they would leave before it got too light. They were all getting up now and it seemed like a whole squad, about seven or eight. They were taking their time and lighting up cigarettes. As they lit up the cigarette, I could see their face and they looked like young kids. They didn’t seem to be in any hurry until someone came in and yelled something in German. Then they all put out their cigarettes and started out the door. I was hoping that the cigarettes would not start a fire. My hope faded when a fire started by the door where the Germans had just left. One of the soldiers made some remark in German and laughed., as he went out but did not try to put it out. We had to do something quick for this hay would go up in minutes. They went out what seemed the front door, so we scrambled out of the hay and made our way to the back of the barn and out the rear door where we came in. We looked around the side of the barn and we saw that there was a road out in front. The soldiers started to go down the road and the fire was starting to spread to all the hay and the rest of the barn. Now that the Germans were gone, I really started to feel the hunger pains. We had to get some food. We started down the road the same way the Germans went because in checking the light on the horizon that was west and our lines. I didn’t want to surrender but our hope of getting back was getting dimmer.

We saw a house down the road and being as hungry as we were we decided to take a chance and go up to the house and get some food, if there was any. There were no Germans around so we went up to the front door and opened it. Upon entering we searched the house and found an elderly man with his daughter hiding in a back room. We told them we were Americans and did they have anything to eat. After convincing them that we were indeed Americans they seemed more at ease and said “Yah”. She made some eggs and gave it to us with some bread. The man said in sign language that he was going out to get some fire wood. I told Lou that I would stay here and watch the girl and he should go with the man to make sure he did not try to warn any Germans, if any were around. With sign language Lou told him that he would help but the man said he could do it. Needless to say Lou went with him but everything was ok. The wood was right outside the door and they came right back. We both devoured the eggs and bread, she even made some coffee, which wasn’t very good, but it was hot and wet. Our canteens were empty, so we filled them with water and got ready to leave.

When we left, we thanked them for the food but they didn’t want us to leave. I think they felt secure because we were there. Little did they know, that if the Germans came and found us there they would have killed all of us.

Moving down the road I began to get terrible pains in my stomach. After going so long without food and then eating, my stomach wasn’t ready for it.