February 1996 - World War II History Round Table
December 1999
Volume 8 Number 4
Published by The WW II History Roundtable
Edited by Jim and Jon Gerber
Welcome to the December meeting of the Dr. Harold C. Deutsch World War Two History Roundtable. Tonight’s program is on the 99th Infantry Division and the northern shoulder of the Battle of the Bulge.
Patton’s Dream
During the Battle of the Bulge in late December of 1944, General George Patton awoke from a sound sleep at 3 AM for no apparent reason. He telephoned his longtime secretary, Sergeant Joseph Rosevich, and told him to, “Get over here right away!” When Rosevich arrived at Patton’s Luxembourg quarters, he found him partly dressed, wearing a combination of his stylish, custom-made uniform and his pajamas. The sergeant guessed correctly that the general had jumped out of bed and wanted to dictate. Nothing his boss did ever surprised Rosevich. He was, however, slightly taken aback when Patton told him that he was expecting the Germans to mount a major offensive at a certain point along the Third Army’s line on Christmas Day. Patton said that acting on a “sudden inspiration that struck me right in the ass in the middle of the night,” he would thwart the Germans by launching an attack of his own just before the enemy force was to jump off.
Patton began dictating orders for his attack to Joe Rosevich. When he was done he told the sergeant to type up the transcript, make copies and distribute them to his staff. Then Patton went back to bed. On Christmas morning, the Americans attacked, catching the Germans off guard at the very moment they were preparing to assault American lines - just as Patton had envisioned. The enemy was stopped cold in their tracks.
Unlikely Reunion
By late March 1945, five powerful Allied armies had crossed the Rhine River, Germany’s historic barrier to invasion from the west and were charging into the Third Reich. The entire German defense had began to crumble. PFC William Bohlenberger was a member of an American artillery battery. He was riding in a truck going through one little German town after another. His convoy finally halted to permit the GIs to relieve themselves. Bohlenberger suddenly realized that he recognized the place. It was as though he were in a dream. As his buddies looked on in amazement, he ran all out toward a little, white house just off the road, calling out, “Mom! Mom!” Bohlenberger bolted through the front door and found his mother washing dishes in the kitchen. Seated in the living room was his brother, still wearing his Wehrmacht uniform, although he had deserted and had come home a few days earlier when it was clear to every German except Adolf Hitler that the Third Reich was finished. It had been fifteen years since the Bohlenbergers had seen one another, and the GI, a naturalized US citizen and his German mother were laughing and crying at the unexpected reunion. But the American and his German brother didn’t speak a word to each other. Soon Bohlenberger’s comrades came and told him it was time to go. They had to all but drag the young man away from his weeping mother.
The Rhine Flows to the Sea
When the Allied armies finally reached the Rhine in the spring of 1945, many of the troops performed a little male ritual to express their contempt for all things German. It is not known how many men piddled in the Rhine, but among the many thousands who so indulged were the entire British Imperial General Staff, led by Winston Churchill (who reportedly did so with great relish, to the cheers of onlooking American troops, who had themselves just performed the little ceremony), and George S. Patton, who was photographed in the act.
A Lot Of Metal Up There
As Allied bombers were approaching their target, they knew they would hit a “wall” of flak. Since early in the war, most antiaircraft groups followed the practice of firing “barrages” of heavy (75mm and larger) shells with timer equipped fuses that would explode at a specified altitude. A network of observers would send reports to a command post and there the speed, direction and altitude of the bombers would be calculated. Further calculations determined when the guns should fire, for how long and at what altitude they should set their shells to explode. The gunners simply cranked their guns to the required angle and direction, set the fuses and fired the number of rounds they were ordered to. They could usually hear the bombers but could not always see them because many of the raids were at night. The Germans continually refined this barrage technique, especially the use of heavy caliber (120 mm - 150 mm) guns. Even so, it took several thousand shells to score one hit and the heavy Allied bombers needed many hits to bring them down. Over 12,000 heavy bombers were brought down during the war, so you can imagine the number of shells that were fired.
Sixty Years Ago This Month
Battle of the Atlantic
Allied shipping losses are 73 ships of 189,000 tons. U-boats sink 25 of the ships at a cost of one of their number.
December 2, 1939
Finland - Finland appeals to the League of Nations to mediate their quarrel with the Soviets. The League meets between December 9 - 11 and agrees to intervene. The Soviets refuse to recognize this offer and are expelled on December 14th. This is one of the few times the League has tried to take a decisive stand. The slow Soviet advance continues. The Finnish defenses have not yet been reached in most areas.
December 5, 1939
Finland - Forward units of the Soviet Seventh Army reach the main Finnish defenses, the Mannerheim Line. Already the Finns are learning to exploit the poor management of the Soviet advance. They are developing tactics to master the Soviet tanks by separating them from their supporting infantry and emerging from concealed positions during the night to destroy them.
December 12 - 15, 1939
Finland - The Finns send in a series of attacks against the Soviet Eighth Army. The 139th Division is virtually destroyed and the 75th Division is also hard hit. The Finns capture much valuable equipment.
Further Reading On Tonight’s Topic:
The Key To The Bulge: The Battle of Loshiemergraben
by Stephen M. Rusieck
Praeger Publishers
Westport, CT 1996
Battle Babies: 99th Division In WW II
by Maj. Gen. Walter Lauer
Battery Press
Nashville, Tn. 1985
Krinkelt - Rocherath: The Battle for the Twin Villages
by William Cavanagh
Christopher Publishing House
Hanover, Mass. 1986
Dauntless: History of the 99th Infantry Division
by William Cavanagh
Taylor Publishing Co.
Dallas, Tx. 1994
The Shock of War
by Joe Dowerny
Vert Milon Press
Alexandria, VA 1994, 1995, 1997
Up Front With Charlie Co.
by Vernon Swanson
Red Danube Publishing Co.
Deerfield, Ill.
Into the Deep and Misty Woods
by Walter Niedermayer
A. G. Halldin Publishing Co.
Indiana, Pa.
Happy holidays to all of you.
See you next year and don’t let Y2K bug bite.
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