GC3: Town Without Pity WTO (id:#58614)

On All Fronts (On All Fronts #119 ID: O119.3)   [next]   [previous]

Prior Publication: GC3

Philippsburg, Alsace-Lorraine, France 1945-01-03 (9 others)

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Overview:

From an actual GI letter from the front: "The next morning, January 1st, we moved to the town of Philippsburg. No place in this world has a more terrible effect upon my memory than this town. It was a very small town of about 60 – 75 houses in the center of two big mountains and a main road ran through the center of it. An armored outfit had stopped a Jerries attack at the northern edge of town. From the dope we got, there was a reinforced German regiment plus armor making the attack. To make matters worse, the Germans were using S.S. troops and they are bad. There we were a green outfit against the best the Germans had to offer. . .About 7 am on the morning of the 3rd, the Jerries cut loose with everything they had in the way of artillery. Just about every place on the map was being pounded. We were well dug-in by this time so did not have much to worry about – only of course, a direct hit - that would have killed everyone inside but we were keeping our fingers crossed that this would not happen. About 7:30, a message came over the phone running to our observation post on hill x. One staff sergeant and one P.F.C. were up there with the rifle company waiting to direct our fire, if needed. They reported seeing several Jerries cross the main road about 1000 yards to our front. About 10 minutes later, they reported a German tank in the same area and coming toward the town. This call was followed almost immediately by another stating that there were 4 tanks in all and that the lead tank was camouflaged white to make it blend in with the snow. Following the tanks were 100 – 200 foot troops that we later learned to be the dreaded SS troops. Well our commanders had committed a serious blunder by leaving the 1000-yard gap and we were about to pay for it. The jerry tanks came down to the road crossing (B) and covered all three roads and surrounding area with machine gun and cannon fire. The main force of the enemy foot troops moved in along the road (c) and fanned out along the hill (G). The rest, with the exception of a few snipers who made their way to hill (f) infiltrated the town itself and got behind the rear most headquarters. Why they never came along road (D) is a mystery that has never been solved. If they had, I would not be writing this letter to you now – that is for certain." -- -In the early hours, German units had forced the Americans out of Philippsburg. Several hours later they had reformed and were ready for a counterattack.

Defender: German (SS) (6th SS Mountain Division)  

Errata (source)