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Post by connie on Mar 25, 2014 9:08:50 GMT -5
Post # 1 I'm attaching some present-day photos by "engineercutoff" taken in areas familiar to some members of the 106th. The first is a Siegfreid line pillbox near Brandscheid  |
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Post by connie on Mar 25, 2014 9:24:10 GMT -5
Post #2 This one is of the main square in Bleialf: Attachments:
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Post by engineercutoff44 on Mar 26, 2014 20:57:50 GMT -5
Post # 3
The picture of the bunker is on the Brandscheid Pronsfeld road in the 424th sector,and the picture is the square today in Bleialf where I now live where the encirclement closed on the 422nd and 423rd Infantry regiments of the 106th one of the main brunts of the attack flowing right by the bunker in the first picture...
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Post by connie on Mar 27, 2014 10:55:23 GMT -5
Post #4
Is the bunker maintained and can the visitor access the interior?
I've seen a preserved segment of the Siegfreid Line's tank barriers, but haven't had the chance to see one of the bunkers. Do you know if there are many of these standing today?
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Post by engineercutoff44 on Mar 28, 2014 0:51:10 GMT -5
Post # 5
this particular one isn't,after the war the French cleaned up the battle area and all items found near the bunkers were packed into them and blown up because the French never wanted the Germans to have the possibility of building up ever again for a third world war there are a couple in the area but none in the 106th area of influence,the next I know of is in Ormont on one of the main roads the surviving members of the 106th were marched back into German captivity.
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Post by connie on Mar 28, 2014 12:50:26 GMT -5
Post #6
Siegfried Line Structures
Thanks, Michelle. This is interesting. I hadn't heard/ read about this systematic destruction of the bunkers. I had heard that much of the tank barrier structures had eventually been taken out by local farmers as they were also effective tractor barriers.
I know that some of the 106th troops and field artillery forward observers made use of some of these bunkers in the few days that they were on line before the bulge broke out-- that is those in places where these structures fell within American lines at the time. I believe that where Floyd was, the Siegfried Line Structures fell beyond them in German hands.
My dad, with the field artillery (SV Battery in Dec; Firing Battery beginning January) got to explore one of these structures after the "bulge" had been reversed. Did you ever get inside one of these German bunkers, Floyd? Anyone else?
Connie
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Post by engineercutoff44 on Mar 30, 2014 1:43:54 GMT -5
Post #7
Siegfried Line Structures
this is very true Connie,there are still enough to be seen in places but most are gone now as time does move on,The German Government started years ago to systematically destroy the remaining bunkers by taking oversized jackhammers,flattening the rubble and putting mother earth over the rest one of the stupidest Ideas I have ever heard of,trying to cover up history as if it never happened...Animal rights activists put a stop to that real fast thank God,as the remains of the bunkers are a very important part of the eco system after being in place for about 8o years on the contrary to us humans mother nature can make the best of a once bad situation and make the best of it.the elements of the 106th used existing bunkers trenches etc taken over by the previous units and as Green as they were at the time from the Germans also not thinking far enough in advance that the Germans built them and knew right down to the inch where everything was a costly mistake on the morning of the 16th of Dec44,I found last week on the schneifel the remains of 5 cans of a 10-in-1 ration that was lost up there the cans were right next to a crater and are warped by the concussion of the impact after receiving a nearly direct hit if this find dosent bring that fact home don't know what will...have a nice sunday everyone!
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Post by floydragsdale on Mar 30, 2014 18:48:14 GMT -5
Post #7
Siegfried Line Structures / fortified positions/ rations
Hello everyone. At this time in the discussion I want to put my two cents in. When my Company (G Co., 2nd Battalion, 24th Regiment relieved part of the 2nd Division up on Schneeeifel they (2nd Div. Soldiers) had fortified their own battle positions which were well camouflaged and fortified with timbers and under wheat shocks. These battle positions were on the crest to a hill looking over a valley and; facing the Seigfried line which was ca 500 to 1000 yards away. From these positions we could see the tank-traps and some of the German Bunkers that the Germans built about 1939. It wasn't until sometime in April 1945 that Soldiers of the 424th Regiment penetrated this German line of defense. G Company Soldiers captured several of this Bunker by dropping tear-gas grenades down the air vents of the Bunker.
Infantry men (at least our Battalion) for rations had the the K, C, and D bars for their chow; one of those rations was for one Soldier. Armored vehicles carried the 10 - in one Ration. One of those rations fed ten Soldiers; thats why it was called a 10 in 1 Ration.
When I finally was able to see the inside of a German bunker on the Siegfried line, this Soldier didn't stay inside of it very long. Some Soldiers had used it for a latrine; probably because it was inside, safe and out of the weather. Nevertheless, I departed it much quicker than I entered it .My stay was very short, to say the least.
Floyd,
G Co. 424th Regiment
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Post by engineercutoff44 on Mar 30, 2014 23:40:42 GMT -5
Post # 8
Rations Location
Hi Floyd!as usual your 2 cents worth is worth very much more thank you!the 10-in-1 rations were found under a tree stump directly on hill 697 the schwarze mann on the schneifel Ridge on a 105 mm artillery site which meant they had at least prime movers to tow the pieces into place the tree stump itself is what saved the cans,acting as a sort of umbrella to cover them all these years was able to save 5 found 8 all told though one still being readable with tomatoes in the can in the process of restoration at the moment when I am done will post pictures...have a good day everyone!
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Post by floydragsdale on Mar 31, 2014 11:17:25 GMT -5
Post #9
Hi Michelle:
When we (Co. G, 424th Regiment) relieved the 2nd Inf. Division this is what they told us, "You're outfit is getting a piece of cake up here (Schnee Eifel). There's nothing going on up here. We have only lost one man in six weeks and it was his own fault because, on his own, he went souvenir hunting one night and stepped on a land-mine"
That 2nd Division Soldier went on to say, "Shoot at the Germans once in a while, just to let them know you are here" In the next four days we fired in their direction. However, we shot at nothing because there was nobody to shoot at. Consequently, in a few days, frontline duty became a joke to us (G Company) . However, on the 4th night we heard activity coming from the German side of the lines. There were sounds of motors (probably trucks & and tanks). This was reported to our Company Headquarters at once. Yet, we (Soldiers) in our battle positions saw nothing. The weather conditions were very foggy & misty.
Things were so quiet up there that our Company Commander visited our posts in the p.m on the 15th. and chewed us out royally for not shaving and looking too sloppy. He then ordered an inspection for 6:00 o'clock the next morning (the 16th). Every man was to be clean shaven and his weapon was to be spotlessly clean.
I clearly remember shaving in a helmut full of ice-cold water that afternoon and cleaning our 60m Mortar before dark. That night I did a three hour watch at my battle position, then off to my assigned bunker for some shut-eye. At ten minutes to six in the morning all hell broke loose. Trees in the Ardennes Forest began snapping in pieces, from exploding artillery missiles and it seemed as if the very foundations of the earth were shaking. The Battle of the Bulge had begun.
It was as if the Devil himself opened the gates of hell over an eighty mile wide sector and turned a quarter of a million German warriors loose against 80,000 American Soldiers. That was the prelude to forty-one days and nights of freezing hell. Last and the least our Old Man (Company Commander) got cheated out of his six o' clock inspection by ten minutes.
Oh, I almost forgot, five U.S. American Infantry Divisions were spread out over that eighty miles of front line. The Army T.O. (table of organization) in those days called for one division to cover five miles of front line. The 106th Division was spread out for twenty seven miles and the four other Divisions were spread just as thin as the 106th was , or more. Our situation was in an area just waiting for an accident to happen.
High ranking American Officers didn't think it could happen; however, Adolph Hitler thought otherwise! He gambled and lost.
Your's truly is one of the fortunate survivors who lived through that nightmare as if it took place just a few years ago instead of almost seventy years ago. This B.O.B. veteran wouldn't want to do it over again, yet, every now and then something jogs my memory, then it runs like a video tape going through my WWII memories. There are some things that an ex-Soldier just cannot forget.
Floyd
Co. G, 424th Regiment[
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Post by engineercutoff44 on Apr 1, 2014 0:31:12 GMT -5
Post # 10
Hi Floyd as usual I thank you for your enlightenment you are a true Gem and puts everything I do up here into perspective...when I am out in the field doing my thing I am in my own world I picture what it was like in the forests up here at the time and when I find whats left of the battle go to work like Inspector Columbo piecing together what could have happened on a case to case scenario true knowledge not book knowledge is the key to my success it is the day to day struggle of the common Joe that makes my work worth doing found the staging area for Kampfgruppe Pieper 6th ss panzer division will take photos soon and post them then you can see what made the germans so successful on that morning in December Floyd!once again thank you!
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Post by connie on Apr 1, 2014 9:24:30 GMT -5
Post # 11 These photos just came from Michelle:   |
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Post by floydragsdale on Apr 1, 2014 10:30:41 GMT -5
Post #12
Good day Michelle:
Thank you for the photos. There's no mistaking those fir trees of the Ardennes Forest. When we were there (my self, Connie, & two others) in 2010, the tree line had crept forward about twenty or so yards from where it was in 1944. I'm talking about the area where G Co., 424th Regiment was.
I forgot to mention that a thirty-nine man German Patrol was spotted on the night of 12/15/44. That also was reported to our Co. CP at once. Night patrols were very common. Both sides sent out patrols, frequently, to try a d ascertain what the enemy was doing. However, on the night of 12/15/44 we had no way of associating the 39 man patrol with the monstrous onslaught that would be launched against us in just a few more hours.
Floyd,
G Co. 424th
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Post by engineercutoff44 on Apr 1, 2014 23:20:08 GMT -5
Post # 13
True as usual Floyd!the Germans had the tactical portion of the buildup down to a T using straw to muffle tank tracks etc servere punishment for infringement of blackout rules etc will start sending more pics as time goes on...
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Post by connie on Apr 7, 2014 10:38:50 GMT -5
Post # 14 A couple more photos from Michelle awaiting her captions.  Attachments:
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Post by engineercutoff44 on Apr 8, 2014 1:05:51 GMT -5
These are 2 pictures that are 70 years apart the black and white photo is of Wiltz,Luxembourg in 1944 notice the tree on the left and the building on the right,In the modern day comparison the tree is still there she saw the comings and goings of heroes at the time and is still there to tell her story,behind the building on the Right is where the Museum is located I think it is very Important to show Pictures like this in conjunction with the museum to avoid the Black and white picture from ever happening again!
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Post by connie on Apr 11, 2014 9:42:35 GMT -5
Wiltz is not far away from 106th activity. I don't know if any troops traveled through that area, but I do know that some of the reinforcements that came from the south were stationed there for a while during the Bulge. One fellow I knew was among that number. He later ended up with access to a 106th vehicle recaptured from the Germans. Anyone else have info/ knowledge of movements in that area? Floyd, in your travels did you hit this area?
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Post by floydragsdale on Apr 11, 2014 10:02:05 GMT -5
I recall reading about Wiltz in the Army Stars & Stripes paper, to my knowledge though, I do o recall being there.
Floyd
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