Searching for info on the 592nd FAB, Battery A

[jeff]

Hi,

Trying to solve a mystery about my father was Wayne C. Smith, a staff sergeant in the 592nd FAB, Battery A during the Battle of the Bulges. He was a forward observer. He was taken prisoner on December 19, when so much of the 106th collapsed. What puzzles me, though, is that most of the 592nd "got out" before the onslaught on Schnee Eifel. Most of the battalion successfully withdrew to St. Vith or vicinity and went on to fight. I've learned that only 28 people in the whole battalion were captured. How did he get caught up? As best I can tell, he was not out at a forward observation post when the Battle of the Bulge began. Was a group of them just slow in escaping. In an audio tape he records he states he was captured in St. Vith, but a historian I have talked to said he did not think it was possible--that he was possibly confused in the chaos.

Does anyone have information that would help? BTW, he survived a stay in two stalags and the "long march," raised a family, lived until he was almost 90, but never would talk about his experience.

If anyone has more info on the 592nd I would love to hear about it!

Jeff

[connie]

Jeff,

You have a mystery to unravel!

You have captured my interest, and I will continue to do some sleuthing.

A 592ND AFTER ACTION REPORT was posted on this discussion board in reply to some questions by John Andrews of 592nd A Battery
106thdivision.proboards.com/post/180/thread
Andrews' was also captured but his story is a different from your Dad's. John was separated from the unit before they began their Departure from their position the Schnee Eifel.

But after reading your account some elements of that After Action Report seemed like they might fit in with the beginning of your Dad's story-- the ordered retreat of the unit from its Schnee Eifel position near Laudesfeld, Germany. From what I read of your account it sounds to me as if your dad may have been part of that initial retreat. There were several vehicles that were separated from from the unit as they moved south along the Auw-Bleialf Road and missed a sharp turn at the beginning of the retreat. If your dad began but did not finish the retreat with the whole unit, and if your date of your dad's capture is correct, this doesn't answer all your questions, but it might be a beginning.

BELOW ARE QUOTES related to action on December 16
I've bolded the part I think might possibly pertain to the separation of your dad and some men from A battery from the rest of the unit:

"At 2000 hours, Brig. Gen Leo T. McMahon, Commanding General, 106th Div. Arty, ordered the Battalion to displace to the vicinity of St. Vith. To do this the Battalion Commander sent a reconnaissance party under Captain Richbourg to Division Artillery Headquarters to carry out this mission. The battalion proceeded to move out to the rear at 2300 hours. It was necessary to take the road which passed within an estimated eight hundred yards of German machine gun positions and forked sharply to the right.


It was necessary to “back and fill” all two and one‑half ton trucks with towed loads at this corner. The withdrawal drew no aimed fire, although machine gun passed over this corner too high to be effective. In the course of the march one gun section, the mess truck, one fifth section M5 tractor and M21 ammunition trailer and one three‑quarter ton truck and one‑quarter ton trailer from Battery “A” made a wrong turn on the route of march and were caught in a concentration at a road junction. This report was received at Division Artillery headquarters at 0630 hours from 1st Sgt John C. Beck, who proceeded to the Command Post of the 590th FAB (105H) to get aid for the wounded. They have not since been seen or reported. The battalion closed in St. Vith by 0630 hours."

If your dad was traveling with guns and trucks from the unit, I believe he did begin the retreat with them on the 16th. These notes could explain his separation...

If you think this theory is a candidate for a possible beginning to his separation from the unit, I can add some maps to show where I believe that this initial separation occurred.

What do you think? Is it possible that this theory fits in with what you know?

[jeff]

Hi,

What a wonderful (and quick reply). I always get excited to hear from those who have information that gets close to where my father was and what he went through. I have, indeed, read about the wrong turn toward Bleialf. What I've read matches so much with how my father described his capture on an audiotape that is one of my sources of info on his experience. As he tells it (fairly briefly as he was always hesitant to share war experiences), he moved into a "bombed out village" where they were immediately surrounded by Germans. He describes German guns sticking out of windows on both sides of the road and a landmine blowing up the lead jeep with officers. What also supports this theory is that he states he spent his first night as a POW in a church courtyard in Bleialf. So, all of this would suggest the puzzle is solved, right?

BUT: Another source of info is from a letter written in the CUB from his buddy, Bill Flehearty, who was with him through the whole ordeal. He states clearly they were captured on the 19th--a few days after the wrong turn mishap. (I was so disappointed when I saw the day, since it dashed completely my theory, that you suggest in your note as well. Flehearty also writes about their escape from the Schnee Eifel position as involving a slow stop and go movement that included being unable to climb a hill with their gun (and a wagon with an officer's holiday dinner!) and needing to winch up the hill to get over it. Also, he writes they stopped in a field to sleep for a short while at night, but enemy fire disrupted their night. Hmm . . .

Here's the biggest mystery: Why is it so important to me to know this and why didn't I research further while my dad (and his buddies) were still alive. Suddenly I'm on this mission to figure it all out (I may go there someday even to follow his steps). Kind of obsessed.

Sorry to go on and on. Thanks so much for taking the time to write.

Jeff

[connie]

Jeff,

Your biggest mystery... I do get it. Who knows why it is so important... but it is. It is good to connect with someone else who is caught up in the search for 76-year-old answers.

Thank you for providing more details. I looked up Bill Flehearty's name. This is an interesting connection.

I did make one journey to Eastern Belgium and areas in the Schnee Eifel

I did not hit the Laudesfeld area where the members of the 592nd were positioned before their retreat. But I was in numerous other locations, including the point along the Auw-Bleialf road that was straddled by the 590th.

It was just south of there that the corduroy (log-surfaced) Engineer Cut-Off made a shortcut across a field and through a woods to connect the Bleialf-Schöenberg road at a sharp bend in its downward path.

This Engineer Cut-Off was used by many to avoid the enemy-observed (and later enemy-held) intersection of the Auw-Bleialf Road and the Bleialf-Schöenberg road.

I believe that it was the turn onto the Engineer Cut-Off that was missed by the vehicles described in the After Action Report quoted in my last post.


Connie

[jeff]

Hi Connie,

Sorry to be so slow responding to your last post. We were hit by an unexpected hurricane--really bad (I'm in Connecticut) and lost power and water for over a week. Not something you expect up in New England. Anyway, if you are still reading, I want to thank you for your latest tidbit: The engineer cutoff. This is the first I have heard about that and had simply assumed everyone was moving along established roads. So . . . one more interesting nugget.

I am quite envious of your visit to Belgium. I have tried to picture the area from reading, but would love to go. Perhaps when Covid dies down.

Just curious: Was your father, grandfather, uncle . . . in the 106th?

All the best!

Jeff

[connie]

Jeff,

In answer to your question in the above post, my personal link to the 106th is my dad-- Lt. Gerald Pratt. On the 16th of December he was a Lt. (Motor Officer) with the Service Battery of the 590th Field Artillery Battalion & was billeted in Heuem along the St. Vith - Schoenberg Road. The remainder of the 590th was up on the Schnee Eifel about 3 miles south of your dad. On the morning of the 17th, Dad's Battery was pulled back to St. Vith and connected with the remnants of the 589th there. They unofficially remained with the 589th until January 1. Then he was officially assigned to A Battery of the 592nd. So he became part of your Dad's unit long after your Dad was captured. A little bit more of Dad's history can be found here: 106thdivision.proboards.com/post/1303/thread

Getting back to your questions about your father, if you're interested I can locate a map that shows the Engineer Cut Off. It led from the Auw-Bleialf Road through a field and a woods to join the Schönberg-Bleialf Road at a sharp bend in that road. You can spot that sharp bend on any current online map of the area.

Connie

PS August 18, 2020 I just started to look for Cub info on Bill Fleharty, who you mentioned was a buddy of your dad's. You've obviously done more research on this than I have. And may have more info than I have but here's a start: 106thdivision.proboards.com/post/4685/thread

[jrwentz]

Hi Jeff,

Welcome to the board. Regarding your remark that your Dad would never talk about his experience: My Dad was the same way. What little I knew about the POW experience came from my Mother on a need to know basis. Then early in 2000 Dad wanted my brother and I to go to Germany to research the Wentz family and find documents. The first time he mentioned the trip to me I asked if we could visit the Bulge Battlefield. He cut me off and said he had seen it and didn't need to see it again. I asked my brother to look for an opportunity to bring the subject up again. Dad was already involved with the 106th Association and knew John Kline. Apparently John convinced Dad he should take us to the battlefield. It was on this trip that Dad opened up. He told us about an incident where they had to change position and the Germans opened fire on them, wounding one of the soldiers as they ran across an open area on a hill (carrying a big machine gun, ammo, and gear). He stopped and told us he was never supposed to talk about it. Before he came home from the war he spent a good deal of time at Camp Lucky Strike "where they fattened us up" and constantly reminded them they should never talk about the war and hardships they endured. Then he talked about how books have been written and many people have talked about it, so it is probably okay since so much time had passed.

After we returned to the states he would occasionally tell us something but we often got confused about where he was at the time, other than many of them were stories before he even went to the 106th. One night we were sitting by his computer and he pulled out an old notepad with some dates and locations of the Stalags and work camps written in very tiny script. He talked about it for a while and then I asked him if we could work on a timeline so we could truly understand. He told me we would find all that after he died. My Mom passed in 2015 and after that he did not want to think about the war anymore. When a reporter would call to ask for an interview Dad recommended other vets who hadn't been interviewed before. When he was asked to again be the Grand Marshall of the Memorial day parade, he said it was someone else's turn.

Dad passed away in April of 2019 and we are now working on the timeline and the story to share with relatives. If I find any information about your father or his unit I will let you know. Good luck, and keep searching.

[connie]

Jeff,

I hesitated to follow the above greeting and meaningful words with another message. So many note that their fathers did not talk about the war. And I think that tendency was even more apparent in those who had been POW's. The account above says so much...

As noted in my last post-- two posts above this-- I have done a little further research on the situation in A-Battery of the 592nd and at the Forward Observer Post, which only increases my understanding of your questions.

After reading your mention of William Fleharty, I did a little looking into posts in the Cub Magazine: 106thdivision.proboards.com/post/4685/thread
In his post in the 1991 July-August-September Cub, his notes do include the date of capture that you noted, but they also give some other clues that complicate your research:
"When everything broke loose I was away from the Battery at a forward observation post calling for artillery fire and couldn't get it.
Five of us were captured on December 19, 1944.
First we were taken to Stalag 4-B and later to Stalag 8-A Gorlitz, Germany.
Our train was fired upon by our own aircraft.
After being in 8-A for a month the Russians were coming and we were put on the road west.
We were liberated on April 14, 1945. I have heard we walked over 600 miles, it felt like more."

There's a gap of three days here between his statement that he was at the forward observer post calling for fire that didn't happen on the 16th and his capture on the 19th... but it certainly doesn't sound like he was able to make it back to the 592nd position in Laudesfeld area before they began to leave that position on the night of the 16th. His not being able to get summon artillery fire on that day rings true.

I know that on the morning of the 16th there were two vehicles from C-Battery of the 592nd heading for the forward observer post in Roth. They carried some linemen hoping to repair downed lines and a forward observer team that was planning to rotate positions with one already there. I have been guessing that this was a rotation of a forward observer team working for the entire battalion, and not for just a single battery, but I don't know that for sure. Anyone know if each battery had its own forward observer team?

Anyway, if my assumptions were right (and I don't know that), these men may have been on their way to rotate into Fleharty's position and repair the phone lines that were preventing him from getting the return fire they wanted. They didn't make it. They ran into a substantial German force moving along the road between Auw and Roth. At 0830 on the 16th they were hit by fire from both sides of the road and were soon captured. The linemen and rotation team were marched off at gunpoint. (This account is in in the story of Jack Roberts 592-C) 106thdivision.proboards.com/post/1934/thread

Your father and Fleharty were both Forward Observers from 592nd- A. So the assumption that they would have been in the same spot (either forward or back with the battalion) on the 16th sounds logical. But what I have heard of your father's accounts mesh better with his having been back with the battalion when they began their retreat on the night of the 16th. Could he have for some reason been sent back from the Forward Observer Post-- perhaps late on the 15th or very early on the 16th? (Maybe to relay some communications because of the downed lines...?) I know that the decision to send linemen and rotate forward observer teams was a last minute change in plans, probably made early on the morning of the 16th.

Is it possible that the shared experience your father and Fleharty had included their time together as forward observers and their captivity. Could there have been a missing day or so that found them becoming captives in different locations and at different moments? I'm not suggesting any scenario. Just another question to add to the ones you are already entertaining and leave you suspending all scenarios-- which is not what you're looking for... I will keep my eyes open & fingers crossed that you can find pieces that fill in the blanks and eliminate the questions.

[jrwentz]

Sounds like William Fleharty was in the same group as my Dad, Felix M. Gulch, and Kurt Vonnegut from the time of their capture to their arrival at Stalag IV B. This is based on the Allied bombing of the rail-yard at Limburg 23 Dec 1944. See page pg 22 of a Cub article here: NOTE: The link I posted here is not working. I will post it below in this thread.

My Dad talked to us about this night at least three times. Boxcars full of POWs were parked at the rail-yard with no markings on top to identify them as carrying POWs. Dad was below the top hatch and he was lifted up to go out and open the doors. He said men were coming out the top of other cars and they were all running along the tracks opening doors to let the prisoners out. The German guards had fled, and the prisoners moved away from the rail-yard while the bombs dropped. Some of the POWs were drinking from polluted puddles on the ground. He said the German guards found them drinking and stopped them, then got them some fresh water from someplace. The men had been crowded into the boxcars, with no food or water, and the floors were covered with excrement.

commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Limburg_railyard_bombed_23_Dec_1944.jpg

"Battle of the Bulge: Railroad yard near Limburg, Germany, struck by 9th Air Force light and medium bombers on Dec. 23, 1944, the first day of good weather during the Battle of the Bulge. Unfortunately, since the rail cars were not marked per the Geneva Convention, Allied POWs in transit sometimes lost their lives in rail attacks. (U.S. Air Force photo)"

[connie]

Thanks for adding these photos of the bombed railroad yard and some more of your Dad's history to this thread. So many histories focus on a single unit and don't link together intersecting stories. It adds a lot of perspective to know that men, like your father, from the 423rd were part of the same POW train shipment that included a forward observer from A Battery of the 592nd.

Jeff mentions that his dad, like many others I have heard of, was held overnight in a church yard in Bleialf. Do you know if this was the case with your father, too. I haven't tracked the POW journeys to a great extent yet. I don't know where the men held in Bleialf were marched to before being loaded into the small box cars? Do you know?

[jrwentz]

I do not recall Dad mentioning Bleialf. John Kline talks about spending the first night after capture there. John does not mention the rail-yard bombing but he talks about being delayed at one point - maybe because the rail-yard was not usable for a time?

John Kline's diary:

12/20/44
Left Bleialf at 6:30 AM, we were on the road until 2300 that night. We had no water or food except for the snow from the ground. During the march, as we were going through a very small village, the Germans stopped us in front of some civilians. They made us take off our overshoes and give them to the civilians. That was when I discovered that my right overshoe had been ripped open on the backside by shrapnel. The shrapnel had cut through my backside of my rubber overshoe, leather combat boot and heavy sock. It had then cut around, but not through my Achilles tendon. It was a small wound, but had it gone any deeper it would have cut my tendon and I would have been unable to walk.
There was much evidence, in the area, that a large scale battle had taken place. I remember as we were leaving Bleialf walking through a small village. It could have been outskirts of Bleialf, or some small village nearby. There were German troops in American jeeps. They were opening ration boxes and meat cans. They were eating our Christmas dinner. My guess is that this had been our battalion supply depot. As we walked through the area, I was surprised to see my jeep with four Germans in it. I was positive it was mine. I had personally painted my son's name, "Teddie" on the jeep, and the name was there. There had been had been a real shoot out, with hand to hand fighting. There were dead Americans and Germans lying in doors, ditches and hanging out of windows. The infighting must have been fierce, for some of the bodies were on top of each other.
As we left the town and just before we made a slight right turn that led us into the country, I saw a two story stone building. Its upper floor was occupied by several young women, who waved at us through the open windows as we went by. I have often wondered if they were brought along by the Germans. The road we were on eventually took us through Prüm, Germany, the town that I could see from our positions on the Schnee Eifel. We ended up that evening sleeping in an open field near Gerolstein, Germany.

[jrwentz]

Felix M. Gulch: An American Soldier in World War II
By Michael A. Niemczyk
    In 1212, at a time between the Fourth and Fifth Crusades and following the sacking of Constantinople by the Crusaders, a chronicle relates the movements of tens of thousands of young people in Germany. A second such movement was said to have occurred in France. Their goals were to reach Italy and southern France where they would sail to the Holy Land and claim the city of Jerusalem. Imagine children living off the land as other armies had and facing the elements, including crossing the Alps into Italy. While some were promised passage on boats when they reached southern France, instead, they were taken and sold as slaves in North Africa. Others who survived the journey became discouraged and returned to their home countries. This was the Children's Crusade.
    For Felix M. Gulch, a private in the 106th Infantry Division, and his fellow soldier Kurt Vonnegut, their thoughts beginning December 6, 1944, were more on warmth, shelter and dry feet as they humped their way from
Le Havre, France to the Ardennes Forest. Neither would have expected a phantasmagorical odyssey like a
    Children's Crusade, driven by zeal and superstition, or simply bad planning. Their orders were to replace the 2nd Infantry Division, a group of veteran fighters, as they reached the Ardennes front on December 11. The narrative changed dramatically on December 16 after three days of fighting. A German offensive not only forced a bulge in the long, narrow lines, it resulted in the
    surrender of more than 7,000 American troops, including Gulch and his 422nd Infantry Regiment as well as Vonnegut and his 423rd Infantry Regiment.
    Both men were now prisoners of war. Vonnegut's experiences, including the firebombing of Dresden that led to 60,000 civilian deaths, became the
basis of his novel Slaughterhouse-Five, subtitled The Children's Crusade.
    The story of the 106th and the Battle of the Bulge reflected absurdist elements like those of Vonnegut's novel. It began with the activation of the 106th in
    mid-1943. The last infantry division to be created during the war, it was cherry picked of troops throughout 1944; these remaining soldiers, some who were transplants from units no longer required in the war effort, remained woefully undertrained. Its men suffered trench foot on the march into France even as the army struggled to provide them with boots appropriate for fighting in the winter. The army sent them to defend a 21-mile front, overextended by several miles. Not only did the inexperienced 106th not know it was facing the largest concentration of a German buildup along the Siegfried Line, Eisenhower, his generals and their allies had no knowledge of an impending attack.
    In mid-December of 1944, the Army had only 80 percent of the riflemen it required on this long, thin line stretching from the Netherlands into France. Into this breach, it sent the 106th, the newest, youngest and greenest division. The subsequent attack on December 16, 1944, against the 106th in the Ardennes and Alsace was the greatest intelligence failure since Pearl Harbor. When the Battle of the Bulge concluded on January 25,
    more than 19,000 American soldiers were dead, tens of thousands were wounded or suffering from trench foot, frostbite and diseases, and 23,000 were taken prisoner. At its darkest hour, the 106th was told supplies would be air-dropped. The Army did not only not have a plan, it had no capability of directly delivering much needed aid and supplies.
    Felix M. Gulch, a 5'6", 122-pound 18-year-old from a rural area near Wayland, Michigan, was the sixth of seventeen children born to Elsie and Gus Gulch. His formative years were spent during the Great Depression.
    He enlisted and was sent to Camp Atterbury, following his basic training at Ft. McCall, Alabama. The 106th was in a state of flux; 7,000 of its soldiers
    and 600 of its officers were sent to other divisions overseas. Private Gulch and his division moved to Camp Miles Standish, Massachusetts, September 9
    and 10. Their November 10 embarkation from Boston was on the S.S. Manhattan a luxury liner renamed as the U.S.S. Wakefield. Arriving in England on November 17, the division crossed the English Channel to the mouth of the Seine River on December 3, 1944.
    Private Gulch and thousands of American riflemen would have assumed from looking at a map of Western Europe in December 1944 that the Third Reich was losing. France, Belgium and Luxemburg were free as was half of
    the Netherlands. Germany hung on in Albania, Hungary and Yugoslavia, but Soviet armies were poised in Poland and the Balkans. Despite its advantages, the Allied drive in Western Europe had stalled. Nevertheless, the Allied lines were poised against the West Wall
defenses from the Netherlands to France.
    Germany was not defeated. Its military commanders plotted campaigns that would drive the Allies to the bargaining table. Holding control at its West Wall would secure their position. Hitler also determined that a dramatic defeat of the Allies would bring them
    to negotiations. HERBSTNEBEL, Hitler's plan, called for 200,000 Germans to attack along the 100-mile front. One thousand tanks and assault guns and two thousand artillery pieces would support the initial attack. A second wave provided additional panzers and support. In its final form, the strongest forces in Hitler's plan were poised against the 106th, stretched now
in a 21-mile line in the Schnee Eifel, the heavily forested middle ridge on a plateau east of St. Vith, Belgium.
    The VIII Corp held an 85-mile front, three times longer than what Army tactics dictated. Substantial gaps existed in the 106th lines. Positions were like "small islands of resistance" that under immense attack would have required "substantial reinforcement or a withdrawal to a shorter line" (Cole
    140). Additional automatic weapons like BARs and light machine guns would have added to the 106th's fighting ability to defend a long line, according to Cole. Trench foot was a problem; Private Gulch's 422nd regiment was the last
to draw overshoes. (Roland Weary, an American soldier in Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five, succumbs of
gangrene in his feet after being captured.)
    Private Gulch, now assigned to an anti-tank gun crew, and the 106th were told by the 2nd Army veterans that they were pulling easy duty. However, at 5:30 a.m. on December 16, 1944, German artillery opened in. The 14,000 men of the 106th Infantry Division
    were greatly outnumbered on the Schnee Eifel, which formed the border between Belgium and Germany. German General Hasso von Manteufffel hoped to capture the Belgian town of St. Vith -- with its five roads and three railroads and sixteen miles to the west -- within a mere day.
    The 422nd and Private Gulch were spared from the pre-dawn attack. The immediate threat was on their flank and rear as the enemy proceeded down the road to Auw. While the 106th had lost little ground on December 16,
by moving to the right and left of the Schnee Eifel, the Germans were able
    to surround the 422nd and 423rd on December 17. Private Gulch and his fellow soldiers likely had a sense of their dilemma by December 17. In a radio message at 2:15 a.m. on Monday, December 18, General Jones ordered the two regiments to retreat to Schönberg (the 424th had escaped entrapment on Sunday by beating back the Germans). Then a short time later, Jones informed Colonel Cavender that no relief by
    an American armored column was coming. In fact, the 422nd and 423rd were ordered to attack Schönberg. The Germans found the Americans moving to Schönberg by mid-day Monday, December 18. Their fire began to destroy the American columns and the regiments scattered. The 422nd and 423rd lost contact with each other for the final time. Ultimately, more than 7,000 would
    surrender; only the capitulation at Bataan exceeded that number. The fighting was over for Privates Gulch and Vonnegut.
    Although the fighting had ceased, the war was not over for Privates Gulch, Vonnegut and more than 7,000 other American troops, now prisoners of war of the Third Reich. Gulch and his fellow prisoners were marched five days before being loaded on railroad cars. After a day of travel, the cars reached a rail yard which came under attack from Allied aircraft. A small, barb wire covered window at the top and corner of Gulch's car provided the only opportunity to escape the gunfire and bombs. Because of his slim stature, Gulch was able
    to push through the window. After unlocking the railroad car door, Gulch and his companions freed prisoners in other cars still under attack. Following the attack, the prisoners collected the bodies of their dead comrades. They were then herded back onto the train. After three more days of travel the prisoners arrived at Stalag IV–B on December 29. The camp, originally 74 acres in size, was located about five miles northeast of Muhlberg in
    Brandenberg -- or about 30 miles north of Dresden. Of the 7,500 Americans captured on the Schnee Eifel, 3,000 were transferred from Stalag IV–B.
    Prisoners of Stalag IV–B could see through the cracks of the wooded walls of the barracks. The wooden bunks were without mattresses. Each prisoner had one blanket. By sleeping in threes, each man would get his chance at the
    middle position, the warmest spot. Toilet facilities were an open latrine. POWs were fed a black bread made with fillers and soup made from rotted vegetables or even garbage.
Felix M. Gulch was one of more than 3,000 POWs sent from Stalag IV–B. He arrived at Stalag IV–D January
    11, 1945. Stalag IV–D was located in Torgau, located on the Elbe. It held only about 800 POWs, mostly British. From there, American POWs were sent to "work camps" in factories, mines, farms and on railroads. Gulch was assigned railroad labor near Halle. It was there, he attempted to escape for the first time. German children found him hiding in a viaduct and turned him in. On April 13, he made good on his second escape.
    He told his wife Phyllis years later that, "It didn't make any difference if they shot me in the camp or shot me escaping." Why did he head toward Wurzen? "I just kept going to where I could hear the heavy artillery." The
heavy artillery at Wurzen was of Hodges' V Corps, 69th Infantry Division. Pvt.
    Gulch had to pass one final inspection. American guards would not recognize him until he answered an endless series of questions about baseball, a sport he knew very well. On April 24, 1945, Felix Gulch's war ended.

[connie]

Jim,

Thanks for these two posts that add more info from others who experienced the bombing of the rail yard in Limburgh. Potentially Jeff's father Wayne C. Smith of 592/ A also experienced these frightening / deadly moments on December 23, 1944. I appreciate your sharing some of your sources with us. It was good to see words from John Kline's diary, too. (for more on John Kline see: 106thdivision.proboards.com/post/2959/thread )

I had a few more names with links to this event: 106thdivision.proboards.com/post/4081/thread

Jeff, Did your father mention anything about this POW event in his tapes account?

Connie

[jeff]

Hi all,

I just checked back and am overwhelmed by all the posts here. I need to check in more often! Thanks so much, Connie and Jim all this information. Connie, the new material from Fleharty fill in a number of gaps--I had not seen this in the CUB (which is a bit imposing to search through by hand). It clarifies that he and my Dad were at a observation post when the attack first began. I get the sense the two were inseparable and, also, I found a report that some forward observers went out on an observation mission from A Battery which I thought could be them. So helpful. Something I did not mention, is that my father's train was bombed as they were shipped to Stalag IVB. I remember as a child, he would let me rub and hard knot between his thumb and forefinger where he still had a piece of shrapnel from the bombing. In a taped recollection he tells of moving out of the boxcar and into a field to spell out "PW" so the allies would know they are POWs. Jim (is that JRWentz?), did your father indicate that had happened. The photo is amazing. It's kind of amazing anyone survived. By Kurt Vonnegut, you mean THE Kurt Vonnegut. I know he was a POW, based some of Slaughter House Five on his experience. But how incredible it would be if he was on that same train. (Of course, they were all just miserable soldiers at that time.)

I am so appreciative to both of you for helping on my little project. I'm going to try checking in sooner. One last thing: Have either of you been to the WWII museum in New Orleans? My wife and I go to that city every winter for a week, until Covid. I've always intended to check it out.

All the best!
Jeff

[jrwentz]

Hi Jeff,

If you go to the home page there is a search box at the top. If you enter 592nd it will find everything that mentions it on the site, including the Cub issues. I know the story of spelling out POW in the snow but do not recall of Dad mentioned it. He said the trains were not marked on top. Over the years tho I have read accounts about spelling out POW in the snow. The other thing is Dad would bering this up on phone calls on the nights of Dec. 23, but not every year. It was during the years when my mother's health had declined and he pretty sad about that, so the memory of the bombing just added to that sadness.

Yes, if you see JRWentz, that is also me.

Another story Dad told us about the days after capture was one of the days they were marching before they got on the trains. While it was a cold winter, they had a warm day where they had to shed some of the heavy coats. They were tol them to throw them in the back of a truck until they needed them. Well, thr truck disappeared so many of the soldiers were without their heavy coats. They grabbed coats wherever they could find them. On the March Dad found a grenade in one of the pockets. The G.I.s had heard about the POW massacre at Malmedy, which made them mad, but wary at the same time. Some of the guards on the March were treating people rough, but others seemed friendly. Dad managed to get close to a friendly one and got his attention. Dad tapped his hand on the outside of the coat to indicated the guard should look there. At that moment Dad said he was scared about what would happen, but the guard reached in, took the grenade, and gave Dad a nod.

As for Kurt Vonnegut, yes, the author of Slaughterhouse Five. I have not visited the museum in New Orleans.

Good luck with your search Jeff. I hope we can help.

[jrwentz]

Jess - Forgot to mention that you can go Edit your profile and set Notifications to send you an email when a new thread and/or a new post is on the board. That way you don't have to keep checking the site for new posts or replies. 

[connie]

Jeff,

So good to hear from you again! Glad that the Cub info I picked up was something you hadn't yet seen...

I think that J. R. Wentz answered most of your questions...

His above note about activating the board's e-mail notification feature is right on. It sure beats checking to see if you've had a reply. His directions are accurate, too. But if the way the board profile and notification features are set up is not intuitively obvious to you, there is a brief tutorial on how to activate this notification feature: 106thdivision.proboards.com/post/4669/thread

Another feature of the discussion board you may want to check out is the word "Messages" that can be found in the list of features right under the banner at the top of the board. If someone has sent you a personal message, this fact will show up next to the word messages. Click there and you will go to the personal message.

No, I have not been to the National WWII Museum in New Orleans. I do know that I have noticed that they have a few things from the 106th in their displays. Recently I also saw a take they put out on the 106th. Someone there has evidently picked up on the uninformed, cynical take on the Division's history that some early wartime reporters had. At some point when I have all the facts lined up succinctly, I may gently challenge them on this blaming approach. But it sounds like a good museum, otherwise. If you get to go, please let us know your take.

Connie

PS. A thread with links to more info on THE Kurt Vonnegut can be found on this Discussion Board: 106thdivision.proboards.com/post/2991/thread

[jeff]

Hi,

Great story about the grenade! Lucky the guard took it as a friendly gesture! I always wondered if these guys had heard about Malmedy. It sure wouldn't been frightening to learn.

One last story of my own--I forgot to mention. I think you'll both find it kind of interesting: When my father died we sorted through a lot of stuff from the war he had never shown us--including his purple heart, if you can believe it. One thing we found was a "menu" that he and three buddies had written on a scrap of paper--I believe when they were in Stalag IVB. It is a list of what each of them would eat--breakfast, lunch, and dinner--when they were liberated and got home to their mothers' home cooking (these guys were all of 19). The list is so interesting and so sad. These guys were starving! Wish I could post it here, but can't figure out how.

Also, we found a pencil sketch of my dad at an observer post, working the phone and calling in fire. Apparently the guy was kind of a famous artist when he got back to the states, but never got his name. All the best!

[connie]

Jeff,

I had heard that talking about food they'd like to have was a common activity among POW's... would love to see that menu...

ATTACHMENTS: If you can scan a copy or add a photo copy to your computer desk top, you can add it here.
When you click reply to create a new post you will see a place in the top right of the box that opens that says:"add attachment."
Click on it and the directions are fairly clear. It allows you to slide copy in and then choose to insert it. Otherwise it will automatically add the attachment to the bottom of your post. Either way you have it. You may not see that the attachment has been added until you click the "create post" at the bottom.

THE SKETCH... I wonder. Dad had a sketch he sent to Mom that I wondered about. I don't even remember what it was but I'll keep my eyes open now. Don't know the timing... but maybe it was done when he was with the 592nd? You may have helped me revive an old question. And possibly helped us both along the way toward an answer... Yesterday I was doing some research in a Cub on something else and ran across the name of an artist. I'll see if I can locate that.

Later....

I did find that artist mentioned in the Cub. He was in the 422nd Infantry Regiment and did become a POW. I know this is not the artist I am seeking. And odds are that he is not the one you're looking for either, although being a forward observer, your dad had a better chance of running into someone from the 422nd during his time forward than my father ever did... Anyway, I've located one artist from the division... maybe someone can help us find another. I started a thread on this one: 106thdivision.proboards.com/post/4714/thread

Even later...
I just found the post I made about the artist Dad wrote of, as I was looking for the name of this unnamed person. Dad did note that he was in A Battery of the 592nd. Here's the post:
106thdivision.proboards.com/post/110/thread

[jrwentz]

Very interesting about the sketches. I have not seen anything like that in Dad's materials, but still have a ways to go before I can actually take time to read much. I've read only a few of the letters Dad sent home while a POW. They are short and mostly reassuring notes that he is doing okay, so they would get approved by the censors. He would mention that he can't wait to sit down at the dinner table with his family for some good food and good company again. Dad spent most of his time in Kommando camps digging brown coal, lignite. I had the sense they would just lay down at the end of the day, hungry and exhausted. Somewhere I read there were nearly 2,000 of the Kommando camps around Germany with G.I.s doing hard labor. 

Connie - THANK YOU for all you do to keep this board running and the help you provide to those of us who are still searching and trying to understand what happened to the men in the war. You are a blessing for all of us.

[jrwentz]

Speaking of food, here are a couple of items I just clipped from the online Cub issues. Speaking of the Cub, when I search for something in the Cub the link takes me to the first page, not the article I want. So, I select Print, and then it allows me to open the magazine as a PDF. Once you have it in PDF you can search for the name or term you want. This presents a result on the left hand side with all the pages that your search is found on. The only thing to remember then is that the PDF counts the cover and the inside as pages. So, if it says your item is on page 11, you will find it on the page numbered 9. Faster than scrolling pages looking for the name or the term. I use a Mac, but pretty sure Windows works roughly the same way.  Also, you can save the whole issue of the Cub if you want it, otherwise you can close the file without saving it.

Note the Black Bread recipe, which is 30% saw dust & straw. My Dad wouldn't touch any kind of brown bread. Reminded him of the German "bread". Also note the rations, which were to include 200 grams of horse meat a week. That is about 7 ounces, and it was not guaranteed they would ever get it. Another thing my Dad wouldn't touch was rice. Mom said they sometimes had nothing but fish heads and rice. I do not recall Dad saying anything about that, but I do know he did not like rice.

Attachments:

[connie]

J.R.,

Thanks for the tips on Cub searches. I have been using the search engine on the Indiana Military site which does indeed just take you to the Cub you want. Then it was the slow job of scrolling through the pages hoping to find what you want. I'll try your tip! I may also add your tip under the Indiana Military site in the Helpful Links section of the board. This could be a huge time saver!

I appreciate your encouraging words. It is obvious that everyone who shows up and participates becomes a major gift to the site, too. Thank you and Jeff for helping bring new life to the site!

Your latest attachments are also valuable additions to the POW story. I knew there was sawdust in the bread. But I had never seen this recipe...

Also a note on Greve. Here's a link to a post with more info from this POW from the 423rd: 106thdivision.proboards.com/post/4173/thread

[connie]

Jeff

I still find myself looking at the wrong turn by some members of A Battery of the 592nd. We have found documentation that Jeff's father's friend Fleharty "who went through it all with him" noted that he was away from the unit and at the forward observer post at the time the German attack began on the morning of the 16th. But for your father Wayne C. Smith I guess I am still looking at this wrong turn in part because of a quote from Jeff that is on Jim West's Roster site under Wayne C. Smith's name. Here he noted:

"My Dad was “moved out” of his artillery position a day or so after the beginning of the Ardennes assault (I believe he was behind the divisions on Schnee Eifel, riding in a weapons carrier, hauling a gun and a trailer with an officer’s Christmas dinner (“so the Nazi’s wouldn’t get it”). His vehicle was part of a caravan fleeing the onslaught. They struggled up and down hills with the big load. They slept briefly in a field one night until enemy fire drove them on. On December 19, 1944, as they entered “a bombed out town” (my father’s words on an audio recording), the jeep with the officers in front of them hit a mine and all were killed. My father and other GIs found themselves surrounded with “German guns sticking out of all the windows.” A fellow GI destroyed their big gun but was quickly shot and killed. They were immediately captured. My father, in the audio tape, says he was captured in St. Vith. After capture, they were marched to Bleialf and spent the night in a church courtyard that many other POWs describe."

Compare this with the account in with the portion of the portion After Action Report quoted in the second post on this thread:

"At 2000 hours, Brig. Gen Leo T. McMahon, Commanding General, 106th Div. Arty, ordered the Battalion to displace to the vicinity of St. Vith. To do this the Battalion Commander sent a reconnaissance party under Captain Richbourg to Division Artillery Headquarters to carry out this mission. The battalion proceeded to move out to the rear at 2300 hours. It was necessary to take the road which passed within an estimated eight hundred yards of German machine gun positions and forked sharply to the right.

It was necessary to “back and fill” all two and one‑half ton trucks with towed loads at this corner. The withdrawal drew no aimed fire, although machine gun passed over this corner too high to be effective. In the course of the march one gun section, the mess truck, one fifth section M5 tractor and M21 ammunition trailer and one three‑quarter ton truck and one‑quarter ton trailer from Battery “A” made a wrong turn on the route of march and were caught in a concentration at a road junction. This report was received at Division Artillery headquarters at 0630 hours from 1st Sgt John C. Beck, who proceeded to the Command Post of the 590th FAB (105H) to get aid for the wounded. They have not since been seen or reported. The battalion closed in St. Vith by 0630 hours."

The group from A Battery of the 592nd that your (Jeff's) Dad (Wayne C. Smith) was with, according to his account, included the gun trailer and the mess truck, That certainly sounds like the portion of A Battery of the 592nd that moved out of the battery position near Laudesfeld at 2300 on the 16th. I'm leaving mental space for some other explanation, but it certainly sounds like it is still possible that Wayne C. Smith left the Laudesfeld area with the bulk of his Battalion at 2300. .

Is it possible that Fleharty was at a forward position and Wayne Smith was back in Laudesfeld and retreated with the rest of the unit?

If this was the case, is it possible that Smith and Fleharty were captured at different times but their paths converged again at Bleialf? That would have given them a chance to share captivity, a box car, and a POW camp experience together as well as all their travel to the front, etc.

Even if this proves to be the case, it would still leave a lot of open questions. And I'm not ruling out any possibilities. You have more info on what your Dad said. Putting that and Fleharty's accounts together with other accounts and fleshing out the picture is like playing with a jigsaw puzzle and trying to see where the pieces fit... I certainly don't believe I have a clear grasp of what happened. But the clues are fascinating to explore...

[connie]

ENGINEER CUT-OFF & wrong turn notes

OK. I'm sounding like a broken record. I'm really not pushing any one theory, but I'm not ready yet to let go of any of multiple possibilities and I need to think this one through out loud.

Whether or not Wayne C. Smith was back in the Laudesfeld area late on the night of December 16, 1944 when the members of the 592nd began their retreat, there were definitely members of Battery A of the 592nd who were there and who did head eastward to reach the Auw- Bleialf Road.

At this point members of the 592nd turned right and began heading south on the Auw-Bleialf Road. Turning toward Auw was not an option. The Germans were now in control of Auw -- and had been since noon, if not before that time. Bleialf had been taken by the Germans, reclaimed by the 423rd around the same time that Auw was slipping into German control, and I think was still in contention at this moment. But there were definitely enemy forces in that area. The position of the 590th straddled the Auw-Bleialf Road about 3 miles south of Laudesfeld. Their firing batteries were in a field on the east side of that road extending from just north of Radscheid eastward toward Obelescheid. Headquarters units were across the road from that field. The 590th had been asked to stay in position while the 589th and 592nd were retreating from the Schnee Eifel region. So they were there when the retreating members of the 589th and 592nd passed by.

I tried to attach a map but it was too large. If I come up with a good link I'll attach that but if you do a bing or google satellite maps of this eastern edge of the Schnee Eifel region you can probably get the picture. It hasn't changed much. The Auw-Bleialf road does intersect a road just north of Bleialf that wends its way down from the elevated Schnee Eifel region toward Schönberg, Belgium. That intersection was known to the troops as Purple Heart Crossing or 88 Corners (after the German artillery) because it was an enemy observed intersection that even before the onset of the Bulge did invite occasional shelling. On the Bing map that I am looking at, the road extending toward Schönberg from this intersection near Bleialf is labeled "L-17".

The people I have followed on their travels to and from St. Vith earlier on the 16th (a medic from the 592nd and a Survey Team from the 590th) did take this road during their travels to Schönberg and St. Vith during the daylight hours on the 16th. But none of them picked up the road at Purple Hert Crossing near Bleialf. All took the log covered road through a field and woods that was a shortcut to the "L-17" and was a little further north.

Looking at my Bing Satellite map, the Auw-Bleialf road is labeled "L-1". If you're headed south on the L-1 (Auw-Bleialf Road), as the men of the 592nd were, when you are a little south of Radscheid, you will note a very sharp bend in the "L-17" as it wends its way toward Schönberg. Here, on the west side of the L-1 some American Combat Engineers had constructed the corduroy road that crossed a field and headed at an angle toward that sharp bend in the "L-17."

I need to find a reference, but I believe that those exiting the Schnee Eifel region on one the last hours of the 16th/ wee hours of the 17 of December 1944 were also meant to turn off onto this unpaved shortcut. It would have been a real challenge for the weapons carriers of the 592nd but less of a challenge than proceeding further south into enemy contested territory. It is my, assumption (needing further documentation) that it was at this point just south of Radscheid that the wrong turn was made by the members of the 592nd A.


Yesterday I listened to the106th Infantry Division Association's Virtual Memorial Service that is now on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6S4Ke-Tfitg&feature=youtu.be
It's a powerful tribute & very well done. It's over an hour long, so meant for a time you have the time and space. I did watch and during the remembering of action, one veteran from the 589th Field Artillery Battalion did mention that retreat on the 16th and noted that they took the Engineer-Cut off. While I am still looking for more documentation, these few seconds of a beautifully done program seemed to affirm that I was not on the wrong track. But of course this was not the focus of this worthwhile tribute.

WRONG TURN INFO CONFLICTS:
The fact that Wayne C. Smith was captured, was in A-Battery of the 590th, and was driving in a configuration mirroring the one driven by the men who strayed off the path makes it tempting to place these puzzle pieces together. But there is conflicting info here, too. If he had been with the unit that missed the turn-off to Engineer Cut-Off, there would have been an almost immediate encounter with the enemy-- even if he somehow managed to escape that to sleep in fields, etc. It would not have been an interaction he would have failed to mention.

So, trying on a different possible scenario. Let's say he was with the group who made the turn and proceeded down Engineer-Cut-Off to join the Bleialf-Schönberg road at the sharp bend in it's descent. This would have been a slow trip for a battalion with most of its 155mm howitzers. Having begun to leave the Laudesfeld area at 2300, the report I'm currently looking at (reprinted in the Jan, Feb, Mar 2001 Cub pages 15-18) that:
"the Battalion closed in on St. Vith at 0630" on the 17th.

We're talking about a trip of a shy 17 miles taking seven and a half hours. Dealing with the weapons carriers that they fought with throughout the war and working with them over corduroy road and then a winding paved road down an incline, this sounds reasonable. But it might have allowed time for some snoozing while others worked the job ahead of you.

Now we get to look again at the puzzle pieces and the quote Jeff gave to Jim West: [They struggled up and down hills with the big load. They slept briefly in a field one night until enemy fire drove them on. On December 19, 1944, as they entered “a bombed out town” (my father’s words on an audio recording), the jeep with the officers in front of them hit a mine and all were killed. My father and other GIs found themselves surrounded with “German guns sticking out of all the windows.” A fellow GI destroyed their big gun but was quickly shot and killed. They were immediately captured. My father, in the audio tape, says he was captured in St. Vith. After capture, they were marched to Bleialf and spent the night in a church courtyard that many other POWs describe."

If the date given for the capture comes from Fleharty's account and not from that of Wayne C. Smith, and if the two were not captured at the same time, then the date is out and we're still working with a possible scenario, though there are a lot of questions. If the front of the line of vehicles came close to St. Vith at 0630 on the 17th, where was the back of that line? My father whose Service Battery was billeted about a mile west of Schönberg received orders to withdraw sometime after 0800 on the 17th & didn't mention a line up in front of them. (He however stayed behind with another to permanently disable some mired vehicles & then took off on foot over the hills toward St. Vith. So he may not be a good witness on the condition of this road at this moment. It was in contention. And both Schönberg and St. Vith had experienced heavy shelling from the rear the day before, though I don't think either fully qualified as "bombed out," that would be a matter of perspective. I think an enemy mine along this road on the 17th would be unlikely on the 17th.

Bottom line is still that I'm with you, Jeff, in searching for more info that will help put this puzzle together... And whatever your father's story, I am now also wondering: what was the experience of the men who made the wrong turn & what was experienced by those at the Forward Observer Post?

October 23, 2021 I'm adding a map to this that shows Engineer's Cut Off



click to enlarge

If you move your eyes from North to South along the road that is labeled Skyline Boulevard (or for most Skyline Drive) -- an American name for the road between Auw and Bleialf, you will see the Engineer's Cut-Off take off to the south west as a dotted line. Of course you cannot see the terrain. This log lined road takes off across a relatively flat field and then heads downhill through a forested region to meet the paved road that leads from "88 corner" to Schönberg at a sharp bend in that descending road. The one confusing thing in this map is that it appears to show another paved road leading from that hillside to Schönberg just a little north of the engineer's cut-off. That road did not exist. Here's another close-up portion of a different map that shows Engineer's Cut-Off, without that non-existent road:



click to enlarge

[jeff]

Connie and Jim,

I feel remiss for not writing back until now, especially after your really thoughtful discussion about possibilities of my father's capture, Connie. I loved reading your theories--quite the sleuth you are! I am particularly interested in your thoughts that my Dad could have been in the "wrong turn" group of the 592nd. Your point that I'm basing my father's capture on the 19th on Fleharty's report, not Dad's, is absolutely right! If they were captured at different times, I probably have a lot of things wrong. But the more I read your note, the more I just feel the wrong turn story fits so well what my father spoke of (reluctantly) on an audiotape. Now the wrinkle is that Fleharty was with Dad during the 600 mile march to liberation from February to April, 1945. (Fleharty was critically ill and my father carried him part of the way--Fleharty named his first son Wayne after my dad--a nice story). Fleharty was also part of a forward observation team of the 592nd A. So, my father would have had to been separated from Fleharty, taken a wrong turn, and been captured prior to the 19th (when Fleharty was captured), but then ended up in the same Stalag, so they were marched off together in 1945. This is certainly possible, though there would need to be a few coincidences.

What I wish is there was more information about the "wrong-turn" group. I have piles of books and bookmarked sites, but can find very little detail about that event. That might help settle some things about my father, but also satisfy my curiosity about that occurrence--just a pretty fascinating story. Thank you, again, so much for putting so much thought into this and sorry, again, for my delay in responding.

Connie and Jim (if you're still following along), I thought you might be interested in a few items--a two page "menu" that Dad's buddies wrote when they were starving in the first Stalag IVB (there's Fleharty's name, Connie!) and a sketch done of my father that somehow survived the ordeal. Jim, you had mentioned remembering about such a sketch that your mother had. I'm doing my best to attach these--the sketch, sent from my sister is pretty rough. Not sure if these will appear.

All the best!

Attachments:

[connie]

These are amazing. Thank you for sharing them! I have heard so much about POW's fantasizing about food. It makes it even more real when I see this... and with multiple names...

And that sketch... I see it's signed. I'm heading for Jim West's Roster!!

Thank you again for sharing these captured moments in history.

As for the wrong turn group and what was happening out at the forward observer post. I'm still reading up on everything I can get my hands on. If I find any further clues I'll let you know. Please keep us posted if you find more.

Connie

[connie]

Random 592nd A Thoughts:

I'm in the middle of writing this morning but a couple thoughts hit me as I wrote. So I'll briefly side-track myself to make a few random notes here.

Artist. The above drawing appears to be signed Conti. I checked the ongoing Roster Jim West has been compiling over the years & I did not find that name. If anyone who views this post one day knew someone by that name, please yell!

Forward Observer Notes:
Actually I should link this elsewhere because it pertains to other field artillery battalions, too. But for now it deals with thoughts that may weave into your questions.
We are aware that both your father and his friend Fleharty were Forward Observers (or part of forward observer teams) within A Battery of the 592nd.

I know that forward observer teams were rotated, each team spending several days unforward positions before being replaced by another forward observer team that rotated into that position, while the earlier team would head back to the unit's position (in the case of the 592nd the unit positions were near Laudesfeld, Germany) & forward Observer positions were further east-- some or all near Roth.

I am not sure of the number of forward observer teams in each battalion. At first I guessed that there was one per battery. But I am finding clues that lead me to believe that each battery had two forward observer teams that rotated, so that when a rotation occurred it would be forward observers from battery who would replace the other forward observers from their own battery and not say a team from B battery replacing one from A. I don't know this for certain yet. But if this is true and if, indeed, your Dad and Fleharty were both trained forward observers and leaders of forward observer teams, it would further explain the potential theory that your dad was back in the Laudesfeld area on the 16th when Fleharty was in the forward position.

Do you have any clearer information the forward observer team composition, rotation, and numbers of teams per battery, Jeff? Anyone?

PS. Because this question also applies to other field artillery battalions I have posted a similar message under "Unit Specific Discussions:" 106thdivision.proboards.com/post/4752/thread

[jrwentz]

Jeff & Connie,

I just came across this letter among my Dad's papers on the 106th and hope it helps with your questions.



Memorial for Ralph G. Hill Jr.

Ralph Hill died Nov. 26, 1998, in Wyomissing, Pa., just outside Reading, where he was born. Except for the war years, he spent his entire life in that area, of which he was so proud.

Arriving at Princeton from the Reading School, he joined Cloister Inn and was business manager of the Tiger magazine. He roomed with Joe Marcy in sophomore year, and in junior and senior years with Don Grant.

His WWII career was interesting. First in the Field Artillery, he spent time at several bases in the states, but, then switching to the Military Government Branch, he saw service in France, Belgium, and finally Munich, where, by then a major, Ralph was in charge of housing and labor for the city.

Returning home in Feb. 1946, he started a successful storm window business and then bought the local Canada Dry bottling business. In the early '60s he sold both businesses and began a new career in real estate, in which he continued until his death.

He leaves a wife of almost 57 years, Sally Frazier, two daughters, Lynne and Diane, and one granddaughter, Cindy. The class extends our deep sympathy to the family.

The Class of 1941

[connie]

Thank you J.R.!

I should be working on other things at the moment. So I'll just pop in briefly and come back later.

I did print up a copy of the two-page letter attached to your post in order to read it. Interesting....!

I am wondering about the background of Ralph Hill... Was he a member of the 106th? Military historian? He seems to have been doing a lot of careful research and writing to people of note.

The man Ralph Hill was writing to in the letter attached to J.R.'s post was Charles McDonald, author of A Time for Trumpets. My Dad had a second-hand copy of this book in his library. I suspect that the "slight error" Hill mentioned in McDonald's writing was related to a pre-publication copy of that work. I say pre-publication because the book has a copyright of 1985 and this letter is dated 1983... Here's a link to more about that book: 106thdivision.proboards.com/post/387/thread

Anyway, while I'm interested in more background, I agree that this letter from your father's collection may shine another light on one theory for Jeff's father's story-- that of the "wrong turn group."

Again the vehicles listed here in the discussion of the unit from A battery who "made a wrong turn" seem to fit in with Jeff's father's account.

The next bit of information at the bottom of page one and top of page 2 in this letter refers to Richard Hartman's (590th) account of this incident. I have Hartman's account both among my father's papers and in The Cub of the Golden Lion Passes in Review, but I hadn't re-read it when looking for this info on the 592nd. He notes regarding the late hours of Dec. 16 & wee hours of the 17th:
"In the darkness of the night, Battery of the 592nd missed the cut-off. It blundered on toward Bleialf and was quickly blasted off the road by the Germans. Every vehicle in the convoy, with the exception of the jeep was destroyed."

The account continues but you can read it in the letter. The theory I had about the location of the missed turn seems to be confirmed in this account when Hartman notes that the missed turn was the "cut off" and that by missing it they continued on toward Bleialf. This seems to confirm that they missed the turn onto the Engineers Cut-Off along the Auw-Bleialf road (near the 590th positions.). So, we have more confirmation that the wrong turn group made their wrong turn while still on the Schnee Eifel Plateau-- whether or not that "wrong turn group" included Jeff's father. Some facts seem to fit. Some don't... The puzzling continues with more facts...

[jrwentz]

Jeff & Connie,

Spending some hours tonight organizing a large number of letters to and from Ralph Hill and came across a long letter to Victor C. Rauch who was in Battery C of the 592nd FAB. The letter is interesting but I searched the Indiana Military site and found the account below indicating 32 men were lost the night of Dec 16/17. In an earlier post I believe you mentioned only 28 men from the 592nd were captured. Perhaps four men were killed that night, or perhaps Mr. Rauch had the number wrong. Given that the 592nd was ordered back to St. Vith I believe everyone else from the 592nd was out on the 17th. The VGs closed the circle on the 17th and on the 18 & 19 the only remaining artillery was part of the 590th, which was overrun and captured early in the morning on the 19th.

BTW, I recently read that the 155mm howitzers were not very accurate at distances under 5000 yards so they were always placed well behind the front lines in positions where they were rarely threatened by infantry. 

EDIT 10/24/2021 - Adding details on the accuracy of 155mm howitzers and their deployment on the battlefield. This information is from a letter written by Ralph G. Hill, Jr. to Charles MacDonald on April 27, 1983 in response to a letter from MacDonald dated April 24, 1983 concerning the reasons for the 106th Infantry's placement on the Schnee Eifel, which was known to be indefensible in the event of an attack. In this post I will cover the information on the artillery, and at some point post the full letter in a new thread. The letter addresses some key issues that have troubled me for months and prolonged my research on what happened to the 106th and why.

Concerning 155mm guns, 155mm howitzers, and 240mm (8 inch) howitzers:

"In a defensive position such artillery is placed from 6,000 to 12,000 yards behind the (front) lines. With such weapons maximum accuracy occurs at 7500 yards. Accuracy falls off sharply below 5,000 and over 10,000 yards."

"On the defense the artillery must expect initial front line penetration and in order to fire must be well withdrawn to maintain fire well within our lines."

"In an offensive defensive deployment, half the artillery is advanced and half withdrawn. From previous repots I judged this to be the case. From your words and other late learned facts it appears it was all advanced. Thus, it was designed in order of probability:"

1. Support an attack from the Schnee Eifel.
2. Make the Germans think an attack was coming.
3. Defend the line of the Regiments.

"Defensively, it was horrible as we have seen."

---

Victor C. Rauch
Loudonville, New York
C Battery 592nd Field Artillery Battalion


December 16, 1944
, 106th Infantry Division
 
A cadre sergeant at Ft. Bragg told us newly arrived recruits that you have it made. You're in the artillery and that's practically rear echelon. The enemy has to go through the infantry to get to you and that just doesn't happen. Well, that Sergeant never envisioned anything like the Battle of the Bulge.
The most memorable event that I can remember has to be the very first day. It would shatter the idea of artillery being safe in the rear. As members of C Battery, 592nd FA BN, 106 Infantry Division, we found ourselves isolated from our infantry. No longer in the rear, we were now in the front line.
The shelling of our batteries had long since stopped. Our howitzers had stopped firing. It would only be a question of time before we would be visited by German infantry. We would have to leave this hot spot but would need an infantry screen to accomplish it. At this time, it was out of the question.
Day had passed, night was falling and our situation grew more acute. Finally, late at night, a reserve infantry unit was able to provide a screen at Aux. We got the order to march. The only problem was my particular howitzer (155 MM) was stuck in the hole. The arrival of a German burp gunner was harassing our effort. Finally, we did get it out and we joined the column.
We exited Laudesfeld against the firing of German burp guns and headed down Skyline Blvd., not realizing that the Germans were waiting for us at the roadblock. We were able to turn right at the engineer cut off--avoiding the trap. Unfortunately one of our other batteries missed the turn off and lost 32 men to that roadblock.
I don't believe that I will ever forget that first day.

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