Ford - The Assault on Germany: The Battle for Geilenkirchen

First published in Great Britain in 2009 by
Pen & Sword Military
an imprint of
Pen & Sword Books Ltd
47 Church Street
Barnsley
South Yorkshire
S70 2AS

Copyright Ken Ford, 1989, 2009

PRINT ISBN: 978-1-84884-098-0
EPUB ISBN: 9781844687480
PRC ISBN: 9781844687497

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Dedication

William Charles Ford

19071968

Peter Arthur Lanning

19231985

Contents

Authors Acknowledgements

I would like to extend my sincere thanks to all who have helped me in the preparation of this book.

First, I wish to acknowledge the invaluable help of all the real life heroes who participated in the battle. I give special thanks to the following who were able to give information about Operation Clipper:

British 43rd Infantry Division

Ron Barber, Sam Beard, Major-General H.A. Borradaile, Douglas Burdon, William Caines, Colonel Michael Concannon, Louis Dawes, John Denison, George Drake, W.S. Drew, Maurice Edwards, Algy Grubb, Arthur Hitchcock, Brigadier Michael Lonsdale, Major George Loosley, J.L. Meredith, F.J. Petrie, Colonel John Ricketts, Colonel D.I.M. Robbins, Major Len Roberts, Cliff Roberts, Dan Robertson, Dick Rutter, Pat Spencer Moore, Brigadier George Taylor, Eric Tipping, Pat Tucker, Tony Walsh, Lieutenant-Colonel R.S. Williams Thomas, Sir David Willcocks

Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry

Major Peter Selerie, Rev Leslie F. Skinner

US 84th Infantry Division

Wendell E. Albert, Louis Alicandri, Lee C. Allen, Zeke Almaguer, Harry Amoroso, Major Kenneth Ayer, Everett Blackert, Clyde Boden, Gil Bradham, Christian A. Braun, James D. Callahan, Royce Clements, Joseph Curtis, Charles W. Dunn, R.L. Ellarson, C.B. Ellison, Ed Epstein, Captain George Felton, Frank Freese, Irving Friedlander, Joe Garcia, George W. Green, Jack Gromer, Floyd Hargus, Richard Howland, Howard H. Hyle, J. Horkin, John Housend, Paul Howeter, Edward W. Keen, Dempsey Keller, Colonel Fritz Kramer, Bill Knutson, James Kurtzweil, Thomas R. Kyle, David C. Laing, Mack Lawson, Colonel Harold P. Leinbaugh, Ray Lindsey, Roy Long, Clarence E. Love, James E. Meehan, Dan McCullen, William Miller Jr, John J. OMalley Jr, Governor Arch E. Moore, John F. Mulligan, Frank Pinto, Don Poorman, Robert Rachlin, John T. Reed, William P. Reed, Richard J. Roush, Walter E. Ruff, Frank Ruzica, August E. Schmidt Jr, David Skoler, William Sofield, Gene Solfelt, Jack Sutherland, Rev Dr Harold Weaver, Howard Weckel, Colonel William Wootton Jr, Maurice Wolfson, Frank Zeno

US 102nd Infantry Division

John Barnett, Raymond Bertie, Edward Brim, Robert Brockman, Gordon Caesar, Morton Chalef, Irvin M. Citron, Doug Connaher, Edwin S. Dojka, Daniel S. Ebling, John D. Emerich, Robert Enkelmann, George Fogle, Benjamin Gerber, Aubrey Green, Pasqual Guarez, John C Harber, Jim Harris, Erivin F. Hoffman, John E. Johnstone, John J. Kennedy, Wallace J. Katz, Leland F. King, Frank Kuplin, Francis Mead, John H. Middlebrooks, Richard S. Morse, Paul Proshuto, Brigadier-General Wilson R. Reed, Albert E. Schwabacher, Charles Schell, Arnold Short, Edward L. Souder, Chet Twentyman, Jack Vorhies, Benny Wiseman

US 28th Infantry Division

Frank Krackow

US 104th Infantry Division

Ken Parsons

US 2nd Armored Division

Charles Hinds

US 629th Tank Destroyer Battalion

Russell Brown

US 6th Tactical Air Support Squadron

T.M. Bliss

I wish also to thank the Imperial War Museum, London; the Public Records Office, London; the National Archives, Washington; the US Army Military History Institute, Carlisle Barracks; the American Legion magazine; the Veterans of Foreign Wars magazine; the Railsplitters Society and the 102nd Infantry Division Association for their assistance during my research.

I would also like to acknowledge all the kind assistance and hospitality I received during my visit to Germany: Leo and Annie Schreinemacher, Willi and Anna Offermann, Hans Kramp, Peter Brauweiler, Agnes Schummertz, Peter Porscheu, and Josef and Henny Buchkremer.

I owe a debt of gratitude to all the people who helped me assemble, translate and produce the wealth of details that went into this book: Stephen Schlerath, Sam Muscolino, Franz Kuhoff, Gordon and Cherry Neaves, and especially to John Haswell for the excellent maps.

I am also grateful for permission to use quotations from the following: The 43rd Wessex Division at War: 19441945 by Major General H. Essame; The First Battalion The Worcestershire Regiment in North West Europe, by Major D.Y. Watson and The 84th Infantry Division in the Battle of Germany, by Theodore Draper.

I would also like, in this new edition, to recognise the local historical research done by my friend Norbert Rosin during the years since the first edition was published. His efforts have given the people of Geilenkirchen, and the NATO servicemen and women stationed nearby, much new information on this important battle. My thanks go to him and his family for the support and hospitality they continue to give during my frequent trips to Germany.

In closing, I offer a very special thanks for the patience and understanding of my wife Valda and my daughters Amanda and Joanne during the preparation of this book.

Ken Ford, 2009

Prologue

It was raining. It had rained every day for the last two weeks. November 1944 was a wet and dreary month. The last leaves of autumn had been blown from the trees and blasted by the violent explosions of shell and fire. The River Wurm meandered aimlessly through a barren north German landscape of small villages, deserted quarries, dense woods and open fields of beet and cabbage. Between the ugly slag heaps, sparse houses and farms lay shattered and broken. The rain had turned the countryside into an ocean of mud. The debris of war lay all around.

Overlooking the desolate scene, a few hundred yards back from the now quiet front line, a fresh faced nineteen year old private stared out from his waterlogged foxhole. He was a long way from his Kentucky home and was new to the battle area, as were the rest of his buddies; the M1 carbine that he clutched tightly across his chest had not yet fired a shot in anger.

The young soldier could hear the sound of a jeep slowly approaching along the narrow muddy lane that led up to his post. He rose out of his trench and took cover behind a tree. The jeep contained three passengers and as it drew near he could see they were not Americans. With his rifle raised ready for action, he ordered the jeep to halt. Pointing his gun at the front seat passenger he demanded, Who the hell are you?

The tall distinguished passenger gingerly stepped out of the vehicle and onto the road. He was dressed in a short overcoat with a woollen scarf tied loosely around his neck. On his head he wore the peaked cap of a British officer displaying the metal cap badge of the Middlesex Regiment. I am a Britisher and whats more, your division has just been placed under my command, said the passenger.