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This is one of a series of G.I. Stories of the Ground, Air andService Forces in the European Theater of Operations, issued bythe Orientation Section, Information and Education Division,ETOUSA. Major General Terry Allen, commanding the 104thInfantry Division, lent his cooperation to the preparation of thepamphlet, basic material was supplied to the editors by his staff.
G
ETsmart and get tough" expresses the spirit of Timberwolf training. Inour initial campaign with the First Canadian Army in Holland, the divisionspearheaded the drive to the Maas River. We then fought in Germany with theFirst U.S. Army in the drive to the Roer River and later to Cologne andbeyond the Rhine. Enemy resistance was decisively overcome by continuouspressure and aggressive night attacks. All objectives have been taken "perschedule". Ground never has been given. The tenacity of our Infantry, theskill of our Artillery, the cooperation of our Engineer, Signal and Reconnaissanceelements, and the efficiency of our Medical, Quartermaster, Ordnance, Headquartersand Military Police personnel have been outstanding. The 555th AAA Battalion,750th Tank Battalion and the 692th Tank Destroyer Battalion have contributedeffective support.
We must always live up to our battle slogan "Nothing in hell must stopthe Timberwolves."
THE STORY OF THE 104th INFANTRY DIVISION
The sacred soil of Germany shall never be invaded by the enemies ofthe Reich. — Adolf Hitler
S
ACREDtowns of Germany — scores of them — have been taken by the104th Infantry Division. Nazi towns, wrenched from Hitler's Third Reich, serveas battered and bruised evidence of the ripping, fighting Timberwolves who haveclawed their way over countless miles of industrial Germany.
Smashed with devastating fire, surprised by night attacks, soundly drubbed by thesmooth combination of guts, brains and supplies, Germans have had cause to reelin headlong retreat.
Timberwolves have sustained casualties, but the enemy has paid a higher price, includingmany prisoners. On frequent occasions, complete divisions fronting the 104th had to bereplaced.
The drive on Cologne — once a great German city but now a brooding, conqueredrubble heap — is a typical result of the division's speed and effectiveness.
The massive offensive for the "Queen City of the Rhine" jumped off after a pulverizingartillery barrage flashed and rumbled along the east bank of the Roer River where Durenlay in the Timberwolves' path. In one of the numerous night attacks which has gainedthe division world-wide recognition, the 104th spanned the Roer Feb. 23, 1945.
Racing ahead and gobbling up thousands of prisoners, Timberwolves smartly outflankedDuren with a succession of brilliant maneuvers that saved lives yet took objectivesahead of schedule.
Hardly pausing at Duren, the 104th roared on. Fighting 24 hours a day, elements movedin for the kill as the Wehrmacht became confused, uncertain, stumbled, finally fell. Wholebattalions were captured by the fury and speed of Timberwolf tactics.
Ancient Rhineland castles, scarred and battle-pocked, were the settings for spectacularfights. By Feb. 26, the 104th was only 11 miles from Cologne with the three Erft Riversstreaming across its front. Again in a night operation, the division hurdled the riverswith comparative ease. Constant pressure, the result of unrelenting attacks, was payingamazing dividends.
Once across the rivers, a great team — the 104th and the 3rd Armored Division — lashedout at Cologne, clearing one perimeter town after another until the spires of the Dom, thecity's famous medieval cathedral, were visible.
Germany's third largest city fell March 5, 1945, a symbol of the disintegration of Nazidomand its once-feared Wehrmacht.
The men under Maj. Gen. Terry Allen, Division Commander, always have turned in a superbperformance. Everywhere — in Belgium, Holland, Germany — Timberwolves havelet actions speak for themselves.
During the days of the division's initial action in Germany, Maj. Gen. J. Lawton Collins,VII Corps Commander, wrote Gen. Allen:
I am taking advantage of the first lull in our current fighting... to express toyou and the officers and men of the 104th Infantry Division my admiration and keenappreciation of the magnificent work you did for the VII Corps during our recentcampaign.
The mission of seizing the great industrial area Eschweiler-Weisweiler-Stolberg, whichwas assigned to the 104th Division in the first phase of our operations, was a difficult,nasty task. The division cleared this important area in much shorter time than I hadexpected and with the minimum of loss. The speed with which this was accomplished isa tribute to the leadership, dash and sound training of the division.
The second phase involving the crossing of the Inde River and the advance tothe Roer was even more difficult, but with characteristic skill and dash, in a series ofbrilliant night attacks, the 104th Division forced a crossing of the Inde and in a fewdays had cleared its entire sector to the Roer River. I regard the operation as one ofthe finest single pieces of work accomplished by any unit ofthe
During the entire time that the 104th Division was under my command, I and my staff weretremendously impressed with the cooperative spirit and exceptional fighting ability of theofficers and men of all ranks. We regard the Timberwolf Division as one of the finestassault divisions we have ever had in this Corps...
Gray Wolves Attack by Night
N
OV. 15,1944, 2255 hours: The phone rang at Division Headquarters. The officer who answeredrepeated what he heard. "The word is Wolf."
This was the signal. The Timberwolves were to begin their battle through Germany.
Preceded by a crushing, record-breaking air bombardment, attackers kicked off at 1115 thefollowing night. Long embattled Stolberg and
, directly to its right,were the prime objectives. Third Bn.,
, ripped its way throughStolberg, while
,
, pounded
,no ordinary mound.
Controlling the surrounding area, the hill had withstood three major assaults before theTimberwolves' entry into the line. Second Bn., 414th, also was on the move, aided by suchmen as T/Sgt. Robert J. Warner, Pomona, N.C., who twice adjusted punishing mortar fire aftervoluntarily crawling to an exposed positiononly
from
Germans. Hill 287 held out two moredays while it was battered from the air, assaulted by tanks and rocked with artillery. Thedefense cracked
when doughs punched to the summit.
This valley of factories and dingy stone houses dominating the industrial valley belowhad been transformed into a bristling hedgehog of defense. Doughs soon were to discoverhow Germans would defend their industrial towns. Timberwolves were to fight from house-to-house,from cellar to-cellar, for every fortress-factory. Every inch was mined; every housebooby-trapped.
Rain was followed by more rain. Doughs slogged ahead in ankle-deep mud. Visibility waslimited and lashing winds threatened to blow observers from vantage points.
Paced by veterans like Sgt. Clifford P. Haynes, Paducah, Ky., of
, the413th Inf. captured Verlauntenheide. The sergeant set up his machine gun in a fullyexposed position, then knocked out an enemy gun after a vicious, short-range duel.
Siegfried Line pillboxes with eight-foot thick concrete walls crumbled to TNT,flame-throwers, eight-inch guns and courage — raw courage. Garrisons died,surrendered or pulled out. Pushing on from Verlauntenheide, the battalion tookover a portion of the famous Adolf Hitler Autobahn, a
widesuperhighway.
First Bn., 414th, crept through a forest to surprise the enemy, Nov. 18. Moving as silentlyas ghosts, the battalion stole through this integral part of the Siegfried Line without aman being injured or a shot fired. Some of the fiercest fighting of the campaign followednext day as the 413th bore down on Rohe, Helrath and Durwiss. The 414th was temporarilyheld up at Volkenrath, Bergrath and Hastenrath, while the 415th slugged forward toEschweiler, a city with a normal population of 36,000.
In swift, slashing strokes, the 413th buttoned up the three towns. Germans used everythingbut armor against the battalion which insisted on victory. Pvt. Lucky C. Harkey,Davidson, N.C.,
, crawled across 500 yards of fire-swept ground tolead his imperiled platoon to safety.
A bitter bayonet and grenade battle raged but Germans were "kaput" bymorning.
plunged forward to gain a 1000 yard areanorth of Durwiss.
It had been quite a day: 3700 yards of Germany changed hands; Nazis said goodbye to threeof their battered towns; PWs continually asked about the division's "automatic artillery."
Patrols probed Eschweiler shortly before noon Nov. 20. By 1640, 1st Bn., 415th, wascellaring itself at the southern tip of the town as 2nd Bn. smashed to the outskirtsafter a 3000 yards skulk through the dense Propster Forest where trip-wired explosiveshung from trees like Christmas decorations.
The next night, Cos. A and C, 415th, tossed a nightmare at napping Nazis. In an attacklaunched at 0300, Co. C, 329th Engrs., cleared a route through mines and booby traps asattackers shoved ahead. Four hours after the jump-off, doughs were in the heart ofEschweiler; five hours later they had blazed their way completely through the city. Itwas an incredible performance — moving through a staunchly-defended German townand seizing it from a non-plussed enemy who had yet to learn how to deal with theseTimberwolves who fought by night.
In the fighting east of the city, Sgt. Anthony J. Schukes, Mechanicsville, N.Y., Co. D,414th, virtually thwarted an enemy counter-attack single-handed when he killed sevenGermans and routed their companions.
By now, Timberwolves were tired. But the Germans were just as tired and considerablyweakened by punishing body blows they were absorbing. Putzlohn was next.
The 413th bellied ahead under raking fire until 3rd Bn. was pinned down by tanks on theoutskirts of the town. Fighting reached a furious high Nov. 23 when
attacked in the pre-dawn darkness, wrenching the southeast corner of the town whileheating off vicious counter-thrusts by Nazi tanks and infantry.
pushed ahead to seize Hill 272. Putzlohn capitulated finally to indomitable Timberwolves.
Confronted by open ground over which Germans had grazing fire, the 414th decided toattack Weisweiler, the next objective, at night. In the glum dusk, one attack jumpedoff; another followed several hours later. By 2200, 3rd Bn. was in the hem of the townas withering fire poured from an 80-foot slag pile.
By the time the battalion had readied itself for an assault on the slag pile nextevening, Capt. Bernard E. Barker, New Raymer, Colo., and Capt. Cornell E. Bryhn,Madera, Calif., commanders of Cos. C and E respectively, had drummed up a plan.
A shifting barrage of covering fire followed attackers so close that three men werewounded. The
was, however, that not another man was lost to the deeply-entrenchedand numerically superior enemy. One German, forced to keep his nose buried in the earth bythe blazing fire, finally looked up to stare straight into the smudged faces of threeTimberwolves.
The commander of an adjacent task force called this mission the "best example of aninfantry attack I ever have seen."
Weisweiler was rough. Germans threw every conceivable weapon at the 414th whose grenadesand bayonets took a heavy toll in the savage, house-to-house fighting. Capt. CharlesGlotzback, Paxico, Kan., Co. B commander, supervised the pulverizing of enemy forceswhen he asked for, and received, fire on his own position in a factory. By Nov. 25, Wolveshad slammed to the center of the town, forcing Germans to withdraw toward Lamersdorf.
In the original plan, the Timberwolves were to be pinched out of the offensive as soon asthey reached Weisweiler. A higher commander smilingly told Gen. Allen: "You'll be pinchedout, Terry, when we reach Berlin."
The division hadn't even called for the help of another combat team which had beenexpected to join it. That assistance never was necessary for a good reason — theWolves were moving just a trifle too fast!
Across the Inde, Up Lucherberg
S
TILL acomparatively new outfit, the 104th was being mentioned in the same breath with famedveteran units. A correspondent for Newsweek wrote: "...By the third week of the bigpush, it became apparent that Terry Allen had trained a very good division indeed..."
The 104th now was drawing close to the Inde River and three more towns — Frenz,Lamersdorf and Inden. Timberwolves looked to the east in cool, clear weather, hung moregrenades on themselves and prepared to jump off again.
Mopping up Weisweiler by noon, Nov. 26, the 414th requested, and was granted, permission tomove on to Frenz. After an advance of only 500 yards, the regiment was pinned down by everythingin the ammunition chest. The 386th FA then laid down a thunder of punishing artillery and
and E ripped forward. Eight hours later, weary doughs secured Frenzagainst counter-attacking Germans. Tanks of the 750th, spurting death-dealing support,immeasurably aided the Timberwolf assault.
Nov. 27, 1944 — The front lines advanced 300 yards northeast from Frenz againstthe fiercest and most intense concentration of mortar, artillery and small arms fire yetexperienced in the operation. — Operations Journal
The Germans were snarling now. Though the Inde River was only 20 feet wide, they were goingto fight for it — fight hard. Open ground sloped gently down to Lamersdorf and Inden,ground that would be deadly to cross in daylight.
An order came for two night attacks. Capt. Ralph N. Gleason, Townville, S.C., hunchedCo. C, 413th, into pitch-darkness and doughs silently glided undetected to the northportion of Inden. That initial entry began a fight that was to rage for the next five days.
Capt. Gleason flanked one platoon across the river. When the unit found itself in the midst ofan enemy hotspot and with its return route cut off, Pvt. Robert B. Thompson, Findlay, Ohio, swamthe stream carrying a cable which he secured to a tree. The platoon came back, hand over hand,thwarting expectant Krauts.
Shouldering in from the north,
moved alongside
. Later,
raced down the open slope clinging to the hulls of fast-moving 750th lighttanks. The battle swirled, flamed.
T/Sgt. John McCaslin, Duquesne, Pa., kayoed a tank from such close range that shrapnel from thegrenade he tossed cut his face. Keen enemy eyes were blinded by the pall of dense smoke laid byartillery. Fighting with Co. L, 413th, Pvt. John B. Murray, Falls City, Nebr., refused medicalattention while he supported his company's attack for nine hours, spraying the enemy with BARfire from an exposed position. When one of his squads was isolated by theenemy, Sgt. Jean L. Dondanville, Moline, Ill., Co. C, 413th, walked into an Inden street withhis BAR blazing to free the men.
Kraut artillery screamed to a frenzied crescendo of 50 shells a minute. Armor and aircraftentered the fray, boosting the pitch still higher. Evidence of the white heat of battle cameback in fragmentary reports: "Bridges all blown;" "four houses left to clean out;" "wire teamspinned down;" "artillery on Inden terrific;" "boats and bridge equipment pinned down orburning."
This was bitter fighting. Timberwolves had to dig Germans from cellar hideouts. Pfc Francis T. Chase,Utica, N.Y., Co. L, 414th, blew two 88s out of action with his bazooka after they had beenturned on him. One shell knocked down a building in which he huddled, but that didn't stopthe bazookaman.
The struggle for Inden waxed hotter as determined enemy tank-infantry teams grudgingly countedinches. Elements of the 413th, 692nd TDs and 750th Tank Bn. edged ahead. The procedure was thesame — house-to-house under a storm of fire. Troops were reinforced as thesavage,
scrapping continued one exhausting day after another.
While this battle raged, 2nd Bn., 413th, was cracking Lamersdorf. The
cameat night as German star shells lighted the heavens. Against strong opposition, doughs punchedahead doggedly. Pvt. James V. Polio, Hazlehurst, Pa., Co. F, crawled close to two blazing machinegun nests and silenced them with grenades.
The battalion had clamped a firm hold on the town by nightfall as five mediums from the 750thclanked in the following day to support infantrymen. By midnight, the Timberwolves heldLamersdorf. The north jaw, already in place, now had a southern mate. Together they crushedInden. The immediate job now was the crossing of the Inde River.
Preceded by a terrifying artillery barrage, two companies of 2nd Bn., 415th, waded the icystream an hour before midnight, Dec. 2. Surprised Nazis, dazed by the heavy fire, were overrunin cellars and bayoneted and grenaded into submission after staging several rallies.
At the same time, 3rd Bn., 414th, forded the river in the center of the town. Probing its wayslowly through the black night, the battalion hacked out a 300-yard East Inden beachhead bydawn.
"We are killing Germans by the score," and later, "Killing Germans right and left," wereflashes coming back from the tiny 536 radios of Co. G, 415th, then fighting in the dismalinterior of a factory after a midnight crossing.
Lucherberg, citadel town perched on a 500-foot height with a steep cliff on its northernapproach, became the next objective after Inden fell Dec. 3. Striking again inpitch-darkness, Co. I, 3rd Bn., 415th, led by Lt. John J. Olson, crossed the river, headedfor Lucherberg as the Nazi garrison slept.
By scaling the cliff, Co. I doughs knew they could surprise the defenders. Climbingupward, the raiders pried three houses from the rim of the silent town before they werediscovered.
It was then that the lieutenant radioed back: "We are very close to them now; theyare firing with everything they have; I am going to rush them."
When enemy counter-attacks threatened to overwhelm the company, Lt. Olson, laying longodds, called for fire on his position. Artillery promptly responded.
Almost six hours later, Lt. John D. Shipley, Appleton, Wis., who had taken over whenLt. Olson was wounded, reported: "We have so many dead Germans in front of us thatwe can't see to shoot!"
Co. L had been stopped Outside the town at daylight by heavy fire. Refusing to give up, doughsnow retraced their steps, wading the river they had crossed and moved south. Splashing in thecold, waist-deep water a third time, the company angled in from the south toaid
which still defied frantic enemy attempts to be dislodged. Othercompanies implemented the attack. By late afternoon, the 415th had taken Lucherberg. Thecost had been only 13 casualties, while more than 400 Nazis had been killed or captured.
Reluctant to relinquish this strategically-located town, Germans countered with 10 tanksand supporting infantry. A 70-ton Tiger Royal tank fired point blank into Co. F's CommandPost. Sgt. George E. Burns, Findlay, Ohio, rushed from the building and fired his bazooka— only seven feet from the tank. The bulky tank waddled away in flaming retreat.
The Corps Commander messaged: "Congratulations to the 104th Division on its superb performancein capturing Lucherberg."
Three More Towns Fall Prey
T
HREE moreGerman towns remained west of the Roer River. On Dec. 10, the 414th hurled itself againstSchophoven and Pier, meeting heavy fire and mixing into a see-saw melee at the westerntip of Pier.
Three tanks were kayoed by German self-propelled 88s which ran up and down streets anddarted out from behind walls. After crumbling buildings that sheltered battalion doughs,the same 88s fired the buildings with incendiaries, forcing one company to dig itself fromthe flaming rubble. Parts of two other companies were reported safe in cellars althoughbuildings had collapsed on them.
Pfc Francis F. Sloan, Co. B, fired every weapon he could find, including tank machineguns, a rifle, German bazooka and a BAR to allow his company, trapped in a cellar, toescape. Schophoven fell as did Pier after a maelstrom of fierce combat.
Merken was jolted by a perfectly planned and executed night attack as 1st Bn., 415th,pressed into the heart of the town. Lt. Jerry Hooker. Eugene, Ore,. Co. C, andCapt. Raymond Garino, Passaic, N.J.,
, hooked their outfits into Merken fromthe northeast.
"We have nine houses along the northeast edge of town," radioed
. "
holds 11 houses," wasthe next report, followed by: "
88sgiving trouble." Reports of progress followed the moving hands of anxiouslyconsulted watches. At 1700 came, "Two thirds of the town is in our hands. Prisonertotal 168. Streets littered with more than 200 enemy dead."
A routed foe pulled out of Merken.
The next few weeks were spent mopping up the area west of the Roer and sending patrolsacross the river to the enemy-held east shore. Then, as all the world knows, the Germanslaunched their heavy offensive which struck south of the 104th sector.
While the fighting in the Bulge waxed and finally waned, the division waited word forthe drive to the Rhine and Cologne. Orders came in late February and Timberwolvesripped all the way to Cologne within 11 days to climax its second campaign that hadbegun March 22 near Aachen. Proof of sound training was evident. A late starter, thedivision was contributing vitally to the defeat of the Wehrmacht.
The 104th was whelped back in 1921 as an infantry division of organized reserves todraw its personnel from Idaho, Montana, Utah, Wyoming and Nevada.. Charles LivingstoneBull designed the now famed shoulder patch in 1924, the same year that the 104th begancalling itself the Timberwolf division.
Came World War II and reserve units were activated. The 104th waited awhile — then,Sept. 15, 1942, the Big Grey Wolf came into being at Camp Adair, Ore.
Men came from every corner of the nation to join the division in December. With themen came the rains. During that wet Oregon winter, fillers became soldiers, sloshingthrough mud the like of which was to greet them later in France, Belgium, Hollandand Germany. Mid-summer 1943, the 104th moved to the high desert of Oregon fordivision and Corps maneuvers.
After taking preliminary desert training in the California-Arizona Maneuver Area, the104th paused briefly at Granite, Calif., before shoving off early in March 1944 forCamp Carson, Colo.
For the next three months, Timberwolves developed the tricks of night fighting. Excitementof going overseas mounted throughout July. Destination guesses ranged from Inner Mongoliato the docks at Hoboken. Transportation was to be by dog sled, glider, roller skates, and,of course, by foot.
The blue chips went down Aug. 9 when advance parties suddenly were alerted. The 413th and415th were recalled from the field. The advance party pulled out on two hours' notice witheverybody wondering just what he had packed and where he had packed it. By Aug. 15, the entiredivision was aboard trains, headed for the POE. Trips averaged four days and featured poker,blackjack, "calihoostics," engine grime and heat.
With the embarkation hour set, Timberwolves rolled their 12 long tons of equipment into horsesho*rolls, packs, duffle bags and pockets, then marched to trains taking them to ferries and finallyaboard ship. By Aug. 27, the division was underway.
Life aboard ship was easy and lazy in the clear, balmy weather. When the ship rolled, someboys lost their lunches; when the bones rolled, others regretted their hunches.
The destination was unknown, but latrine pilots had the division landing in Liverpool,Glasgow, Calcutta and Providence, R.I. One guess did click — Cherbourg — andthe 104th became the first American troops to land there directly from the States.
The division moved on to a staging area where it awaited its first assignment. AtBarneville, provisional truck companies composed of more than 2500 Timberwolves helpedroll the famed "Red Ball" as it performed miracles of supply. Under the supervision ofthe artillery, including drivers from every unit, these truck companies earned thepraise of Lt. Gem John C. H. Lee, who wrote Gen. Allen:
...The superb performance you, your officers, your men and your trucks have given uswill always be remembered as a great service in time of great need. The magnificent mannerin which you went about and have completed your mission reflect highest credit to the 104thand its Commander who never fails. Now you're going forward again on a specialmission — also of highest importance to the Allied Forces. Our devoted bestwishes go with you...
After a short stay at Barneville, the Wolves shoved off again — anxious,ready to begin their prowl. It was in Belgium where the 104th first met theGermans.
First Fight — "Battle of the Dikes"
A
NTWERP'Sgiant cranes and miles of docks now are stevedoring millions of tons of "what ittakes" from ships for the journey to front line troops. This shortened supply linewas instrumental in bringing Nazis to defeat.
Timberwolves played a vital role in wresting control of the great seaport from thefoe. Thrown into the thick of the fight near the Netherlands border, in a land asflat as a billiard table and criss-crossed with innumerable canals, the divisionwent to work. There began the "Battle of the Dikes."
Oct. 23, 1944, 1700 hours: Wolves dug in on a line near Wustwezel facing the mightyMaas River, 22 miles to the north, after relieving the British 49th Division.
Originally assigned a defensive role that was to last only a few hours, the divisioninstituted vigorous patrolling. The first PW was captured by a Co. E, 414th, patrolled by Lt. Herman C. Kramer, Mt. Vernon, N.Y.
It was a chill, overcast day as the regiments mudded toward Holland, meeting only slightresistance and chalking up a considerable advance. By nightfall, the division had crossedthe Netherlands frontier, and preparations were made for the first of attacks which wereto gain the Timberwolves their impressive reputation as night fighters.
While the 385th FA battered the enemy, 413th doughs squished forward just beforemidnight. As the advance continued next day, Pfc Beverly Tipton, Wineheath, Ky.,Co. L, inched within six feet of a chattering machine gun that pinned down hissquad. Firing point blank with his BAR, Tipton silenced it.
First and 2nd Bns., 414th, strangled the Breda-Antwerp highway. Although casualties weresuffered as intense machine gun fire sprayed its front and flanks and mortars and 88srained down incessantly, 2nd Bn. rallied, plunged on. To the left, the 415th carved a1600 yard salient.
As the 413th right-hooked Zundert, the 414th jabbed the center and the 415th uncorked apowerful left. Zundert took the count and its citizens decked their homes and streets withlong hidden Netherlands' flags and "Welcome to Our Liberators" signs.
The tempo quickened. The 414th sped toward Breda, swallowing Rijabergen, while the 415thin a fast-moving and deadly night strike stormed 5000 yards to break an enemy positionnear Sprundel.
The 414th slammed forward Oct. 29, hitting a solid German block at the Vaart Canal. Thebreakthrough was forced mainly through the work of Capt. Dar Nelson, Laramie, Wyo.,
commander. Moving far forward to an exposed position, thecaptain directed artillery fire so effectively that the enemy was forced to pullout. The battalion then advanced 1000 yards beyond the canal. A grim-faced enemywaited along the Breda-Roosendahl road but the 415th broke through after minedapproaches were cleared.
"Push on tonight and force a crossing of the Mark River in the vicinity ofStaanddarbuiten," was the order. First Bn., 415th, complied by thrusting abeachhead across the stream before astonished Germans could act. Angrycounter-attacks and aroused artillery made reinforcement of assault forcestoo perilous, so Corps ordered a withdrawal. A crackling wall of fire on thenorth shore cut off two officers and 65 men from Cos. A and B with no weaponsother than their rifles. Here began one of the gallant stands of this or anyother war.
Three days later, Staanddarbuiten literally was blasted to rubble by a stunning, earthquakingartillery concentration which lasted an hour. Then, at 2100 on Nov. 2, the 413th and 415thassault-boated the Mark. Just 50 minutes later, four infantry battalions were pickingStaanddarbuiten's bones. One of the most difficult of military maneuvers had beenachieved with the smoothest precision; it was an accomplishment worthy of the best troops:
The courageous band of isolated men under Lts. Ernest D. Fox, Salt Lake City, andGeorge K. Squires, Portland, Ore., was rescued from the thin, pocked crescent whichit had held for three nightmarish days against jabbing German tanks, infantry andwhining 88s. The men had subsisted on turnips and beets, had treated their ownwounded, had killed many enemy, had refused to quit. Later, PlatoonSgts. James H. Ferguson, Downers Grove, Ill., and Edward R. Arbogast, Norton, W. Va., wereawarded battlefield commissions and Silver Stars.
By the next day, the 329th Engrs. had completed two bridges across the river, workingconstantly under deadly accurate artillery and mortar fire. Three Germans who directedthe fire from the abutment of the old bridge were ferreted out. This explained repeatedhits that caused constant reconstruction.
Attacking by night, by day, but always attacking, Timberwolves crossed dike after dike, floodedfield after flooded field, took town after town. Second and 3rd Bns., 415th, converged onZevenbergen. Patrols of 1st Bn., 414th, dipped into the Maas River and sent a bottle ofits water to Gen. Allen. These patrols were the first Allied troops to reach this river.
Nothing in Hell Has Stopped Timberwolves
O
NE ofthe world's longest bridges spanned the Maas at Moerdijk. The division was assigned themission of taking the town in conjunction with the Polish 1st Armored Division, whichhad been operating on its right.
When orders arrived the same day shifting Timberwolves to the Aachen vicinity where theywere to become a part of First Army, 2nd Bn., 444th, and the 386th FA were left to continuethe Moerdijk operation.
It was here that T/Sgt. John A. Cronin, Mauchunk, Pa., left his covered position to go tothe aid of a fire-raked platoon. Moving from man to man, he administered first aid whileunder constant fire. Later, he supervised evacuation of 21 wounded. His devotion to dutyexemplifies the actions which have earned aid men the respect of the doughs.
Just before the Timberwolves retired from the "Battle of the Dikes," which helped to freeAntwerp, Lt. Gen. G. G. Simonds, First Canadian Army Commander, passed on the followingletter from Field Marshal Sir Bernard L. Montgomery, 21st Army Group Commander:
Now that the operations designed to give us the free use of the port of Antwerp are nearlycompleted, I want to express... my admiration for the way in which you have all carried outthe very difficult task given to you. The operations were conducted under the most appallingconditions of ground — and water — and the advantage in these respects favoredthe enemy. But in spite of great difficulties you slowly and relentlessly wore down enemyresistance, drove him back, and captured great numbers of prisoners. It has been a fineperformance and one that could have been carried out only by first class troops.
The Canadian Army is composed of troops from many different nations and countries. Butthe way in which you have all pulled together, and operated as one fighting machine, hasbeen an inspiration to us all...
Gen. Simonds then answered:
On behalf of First Canadian Army will you kindly express to the Commander-in-Chief,12th Army Group, my appreciation of the services of 104th U.S. Infantry Division whileunder this command. I realize that it is not easy for a division to have itsintroduction to battle in an ,Army other than its own. Nevertheless, once theTimberwolves got their teeth into the Boche, they showed great dash, and Britishand Canadian troops on their flanks expressed the greatest admiration for theircourage and enthusiasm.
During the time the 104th Division has served in the First Canadian Army, relationshave been most cordial and we have received the utmost cooperation from General Allen, hisStaff and all commanders. I am sorry that they are leaving us and feel sure that when theyagain meet the Boche "All hell cannot stop the Timberwolves."
Lt. Gen. Courtney H. Hodges, First Army Commander, in commending the division, wrote:
Field Marshal Montgomery recently forwarded to the Commanding General, 12th ArmyGroup, the attached copy of a letter from Lt. Gen. Simonds, First Canadian Army, expressingthe latter's appreciation of the splendid services of the 104th Infantry Division whileunder his command.
I am very pleased to learn of the high esteem in which both the British and Canadiantroops hold your Division, and am confident that it will continue to maintain the highstandard of battle conduct it has established.
The story of the 104th Division is the story of how a team trained conscientiously andthen made that training pay off in battle — in battle where green troops smackedbattle-wise veterans from the very outset.
Many victories were achieved by employing Gen. Allen's favorite maneuver — thenight attack. Casualties were held to a minimum because of good headwork.
One correspondent wrote after the division's first few engagements: "It is alreadypossible to say that it is a very good division. And that, in such fast company aswe have here on the First Army front, is a real compliment."
By its actions, the 104th has lived up to its battle slogan and
Nothing in hell must stop the Timberwolves.
RALLY THE PACK
From way up north in Oregon to
Southlands far away,
We've moved across the desert sands
a-fighting all the way.
We'll climb the highest mountains in
any state or land.
We will swing along by combat-team
a-fighting hand to hand.
CHORUS:
Oh, this is our night to howl boys,
just follow us with will,
The Timberwolves are on the prowl,
we're closing in to kill.
We're a helluva gang to fight with,
just follow us and see,
The 104th will lead the way from hell
to victory.
Photos: U.S. Signal Corps
Printed by Curial-Archereau, Paris
