Chapter 8
By the morning of 25 March, Ninth Army was firmly established on the east bank of the Rhine. Attempts to dislodge 17th Airborne Division had failed and at first light convoys of tanks, artillery and halftracks began to move into the bridgehead bringing welcome support to Major General Miley’s beleaguered paratroops; his men would no longer have to rely on long range artillery from across the river. 155th Anti-Tank Battalion and the three-inch towed guns of 605th Tank Destroyer Battalion would be able to fend off armoured attacks while the halftracks of 387th Anti-Aircraft Automatic Weapons Battalion took the place of the captured German anti-aircraft guns. Artillery support supplied by the British 53rd Division, 25-pounder guns of the 692nd Field Artillery Battalion and a Company of 4.2 inch mortars, would also soon be on call. Plans were already being transmitted for the advance east and Shermans of the 771st Medium Tank Battalion were going to provide armoured support for Miley’s paratroopers. The 6th British Guards Armoured Brigade was also on its way forward to join the next phase of Montgomery’s plan, the drive into northern Germany, codenamed Operation PLUNDER.
Paratroopers expand the bridgehead east of the Issel. 111-SC-206558
German activity had melted away on at first light on 513th Regiment’s front allowing Colonel Coutts’ men to move north and contact the British glider troops around Hamminkeln. While 513th Parachute and 194th Glider Regiments took advantage of the lull in the fighting, General Ridgway was explaining the next phase of the operation to General Miley. British troops were moving in force into 507th Regiment’s area and Colonel Raff was moving to the east of Wesel, extending the division’s right flank south of the Issel Canal. The first item on General Miley’s agenda was to straighten 194th Regiment’s line, removing the awkward salient east of Wesel. With 507th Parachute Regiment moving into position on the division’s right flank, Colonel Pierce could move east to the London Line, expanding his hold on the east bank of the Issel Stream.
Having reached the London Line, it was time to dig in and await the German response.
At 16:00 hours 3rd Battalion moved through 1st Battalion’s positions, coming under rifle and machine-gun fire as they began to execute a turning manoeuvre across the Regiment’s front. The glider infantry had run into 84th Division’s final line of defences, a line of emplacements held by the 1052nd Infantry Regiment’s cadre.
With no time to arrange effective artillery support 3rd Battalion’s mortar teams and heavy machine-gun crews worked furiously, targeting each enemy dugout in turn as the glider troops advanced. Many German positions fought to the last round, or in some cases last man and dozens were killed. Eventually, 229, many of them wounded, were taken prisoner, wiping out 1052nd Infantry Regiment and the Elbe Artillery Regiment. With the London Line in 194th Regiment’s hands, Major General Miley was ready for the next stage of the operation.
Despite the set back, General Strabe refused to withdraw and made one last attempt to break the paratroopers’ line later that evening. The first attack fell on the boundary of 513th and 194th Regiments:
At darkness a German attack of about company strength, supported by tanks and other armoured vehicles was stopped by a massed artillery, mortar, machine-gun and rifle fire after it had penetrated Company B’s front. All of the enemy were killed, captured or driven out. Immediately afterwards, Company C was hit on its left flank in the gap between Company B and the right of 513th Parachute Infantry Regiment. A platoon of Company C was immediately committed to extend the left flank of Company B and restore the position. This platoon was almost immediately enveloped and a second platoon of Company C was thrown in to further extend the left flank. The Germans also enveloped this platoon and the rest of Company C had to be committed. The position was restored and held for the rest of the night against continuous German attacks. Throughout the night troops were constantly shifted to meet threats that became increasingly more violent.
For the second night in a row the German attacks had been defeated, and with more tanks, halftracks and towed weapons moving into position alongside the paratroopers, General Miley’s men knew that the time to strike was drawing near.
30th Division
In the centre of Ninth Army’s front 30th Division’s Major General Hobbs was looking to advance quickly through Staatsforst Wesel. Tanks were already moving forward to join the infantry and the divisional artillery had started to cross at first light; if he could strike quickly Hobbs could be through the forest by nightfall and into open country. With German reserves moving to block the division it was going to be a race against time; it was a race against time that Hobbs did not want to lose.
Fighter-bombers paved the way for 120th Regiment’s advance onto the hills beyond Bruckhausen, codenamed Helen, and as 1st Battalion moved up the slopes in extended order, howitzers and mortars hammered the summit with white phosphorous shells to create a mile long smokescreen. Lieutenant Colonel Butch Williamson unleashed the second phase of his plan as the infantry advanced but as seven tanks and four tank destroyers carried Company A towards along the road towards the village, it looked as though the Germans were preparing to fight:
As the troops were entering the woods which bordered the objective an enemy counterattack appeared to move forward to meet them; it proved to be separate groups, marching files and stray individuals, all with their hands raised and surrendering. In an hour and a half, the objective had fallen and 200 prisoners were being carried back.
Objective Helen was taken without a fight, allowing 1st Battalion to push east to the Autobahn; paving the way for the next stage of 120th Regiment’s attack.
After following 1st Battalion to the Autobahn, 3rd Battalion turned south towards Objective Martha, moving quickly through the woods; Colonel Purdue was anxious to extend the Regiment’s front along the west side of the Autobahn as quickly as possible.
To keep the enemy pinned down in the assault, a rapid advance coupled with a steady volume of fire from the hip was employed successfully in the attack.
There was little opposition and 3rd Battalion had crossed the cutting to take Objective Martha within the hour. After hearing the news, Colonel Purdue ordered McCullough to push on and extend a protective flank for the final stage of 120th Regiment’s drive on Kirchhellen:
Now move two-thirds of your unit east on Objective Rose, setting up your defense to face to the south, southeast and west. You should be prepared in the south and southeast part of Rose for a counterattack. Your mission is right-flank protection for our Task Force Hunt passing through you. One platoon of Tank Destroyers will be sent to you as quickly as possible.
As 3rd Battalion moved through the trees, the tanks and support vehicles struggled along the single forest track and although there was no sign of the enemy, McCullough’s men were over half a mile in front of the rest of the Regiment; Purdue was taking a chance.
Company I stumbled on a camouflaged machine gun on Objective Rose and as the GIs fanned out into the undergrowth, they directed two M10 tank destroyers forward to silence the outpost. It had been a valuable lesson. From now on the tank destroyers would lead, directed by three volunteers armed with a bazooka and sub-machine guns. For the next three hours Company I inched their way through the quiet woods but their advance had not gone unnoticed; a German sentry had reported 3rd Battalion’s position to the artillery.
Armoured columns were restricted to a small number of forest tracks as they drove deep into German lines.
The shells started to fall at 16:00 hours and while the GIs dug foxholes, shrapnel flayed the trees and incendiaries set fire to the undergrowth. With nowhere to hide, McCullough’s men would have to ‘sweat it out’ and the queue of tanks and support vehicles behind the infantry found themselves confined to the forest trail by mines. 3rd Battalion faced a nerve-racking evening as it waited for the rest of the Regiment to draw up alongside.
The Germans had abandoned the woods in 117th Regiment’s area and air strikes planned to hit Objectives Ann and Dot had to be rescheduled; Colonel Johnson’s men were moving too fast. 3rd Battalion came under fire from AA guns covering the approaches to Buchholt but 1st Battalion came to the rescue, sending one company forward mounted on DD Sherman tanks. The flak crews surrendered as soon as the tanks approached and by mid afternoon 117th Regiment had reached the Autobahn taking 140 prisoners including 1221st Regiment’s commanding officer.
119th Regiment had also made good progress along the south bank of the Lippe Canal, and although assault guns operating on the far bank continued to harass Colonel Baker’s flank, 3rd Battalion swept the wooded hills overlooking the river, rounding up groups of Germans trying to reach Hunxe. Progress was slow but by mid-afternoon the GIs had captured 125 prisoners and seized a sizeable cache of weapons including seven 88s, eight 20mm AA guns, two radar stations and a searchlight; bazooka teams had also knocked out two Panzer IVs.
By midday on 25 March it was clear that German resistance was collapsing and General Hobbs had told Colonels Johnson and Purdue to arrange armoured columns in the hope of clearing Staatsforst Wesel by nightfall. The plan was to push GIs, mounted on tanks and tank destroyers, along the two forest roads while the rest of the infantry swept the woods. 120th Regiment would drive through the woods towards Kirchhellen on the division’s south flank while 117th Regiment captured Hunxe on the Lippe Canal; 119th Regiment would then take over the advance along the canal, heading for Gahlen.
On 120th Regiment’s front, 2nd Battalion joined 744th Light Tank Battalion and two Companies of the 823rd Tank Destroyer Battalion, forming Task Force Hunt led by the tank commander, Lieutenant Colonel Richard Hunt. The officers joined Colonel Purdue at his forward command post at noon as tanks pulled into position and the GIs of Company E climbed onboard. The tanks moved out at 15:15 hours.
The column was making good progress when a radio call from 3rd Battalion’s command post at 17:00 hours changed the whole mood. A patrol had taken a prisoner belonging to the 60th Panzer Grenadier Regiment; 116th Panzer Division had reached Staatsforst Wesel – there would be no quick breakthrough.
As the Allies crossed the Rhine and began pushing east, General Blaskowitz had been considering how to deploy Army Group H’s depleted reserve. 116th Panzer Division, XLVII Panzer Corps’ remaining division, was stationed on the Dutch border when Operation VARSITY began and 21 Army Group was threatening to break through at three points; on the British front between Xanten and Rees, from XVIII Airborne Corps perimeter near Hamminkeln and south of the Lippe river on General Hobbs’ front. Of the three, Blaskowitz considered that 30th Division’s attack through Staatsforst Wesel posed the greatest threat.
Generalmajor von Waldenburg had to commit his troops piecemeal into the forest.
At 14:00 hours on 24 March Generalmajor der Panzertruppen Siegfried von Waldenburg, 116th Panzer Division’s commander, had been ordered to move in a huge arc around 21 Army Group’s bridgehead to counter 30th Division’s advance through the forest. But it took time to gather enough fuel for the move and the fear of Allied air attacks had delayed the division’s move until nightfall and by the morning of 25 March von Waldenburg’s panzers were closing in on the Lippe river. Allied air superiority meant that movement by daylight was extremely hazardous but risks had to be taken if he was to stop 30th Division breaking out into the open ground east of the Staatsforst Wesel. Throughout the morning small battle groups of tanks and halftracks ran the gauntlet of Allied fighter-bombers as they raced towards the bridges at Gahlen and Dorsten and although a few groups were attacked the leading elements crossed the river as Hobbs’ three tasks forces prepared to advance.
General von Waldenburg was unaware that 30th Division had already crossed the Autobahn and sent his battle groups forward with orders to reinforce the beleaguered 180th Division; both Hobbs and von Waldenburg were about to receive an unpleasant shock.
The first German assault gun and halftracks to arrive caught Task Force Hunt in column as it headed towards Schwarze Heide, a large clearing on the road to Kirchhellen. Machine-gun and shell fire sent Lieutenant George Terry’s men scrambling for cover as the tank crews struggled to manoeuvre off the narrow forest trail; three Chaffee tanks had been disabled before 744th Tank Battalion was able to respond.
120th Regiment runs into 60th Panzer Grenadier Regiment on the Kirchhellen Road.
GIs hit the dirt as shrapnel from bursting shells rips through the trees.
Lieutenant Colonel Cantey was fortunate enough to have a considerable amount of artillery on call and as Company E fanned out into the woods, guns and howitzers began to target the German battle group, forcing it to withdraw. Hunt would later discover that his men had knocked out two tanks, four half tracks and a number of lorries; the retreating Panzergrenadiers had also left behind three 105mm field pieces and five anti-tank guns. Cantey’s men found dozens of dead and injured men as they pushed forward and eventually rounded up forty prisoners, including the Panzergrenadiers’ commanding officer.
By 19:00 hours the danger had passed and despite heavy casualties amongst men and tanks, Task Force Hunt had held its ground. Colonel Purdue was anxious to follow up the success but as the German and American artillery pounded the woods, ammunition dumps and a truck loaded with shells exploded in sheets of flame, setting the trees either side of the only road on fire; Task Force Hunt would have to wait until dawn before it could resume the advance.
After coming under fire GIs scramble for cover and try to spot their enemy.
The rest of 120th Regiment had also encountered elements of 116th Panzer Division as it moved towards Schwarze Heide and 3rd Battalion had been forced to withdraw a short distance after running into a prepared line of machine-gun posts. Meanwhile, 1st Battalion had also run into difficulties as it advanced across the steep wooded slopes of Bruckhauser Heide. Company A’s scouts had seen men running through the trees as they approached Nottenbohm and Lieutenant Jack Henterly’s platoon came under fire as it moved in extended order towards the hamlet. Running forward, the GIs formed a defensive perimeter around the first building only to find a large group of Germans, numbering around 100, assembling at the far end of the hamlet. Once again the artillery came to the rescue and a rapid salvo of 105mm shells from the Regiment’s Cannon Company scattered the Panzergrenadiers, leaving Henterly’s men in a precarious position out in front of the rest of 1st Battalion. As Company A’s machine-gun platoon gave covering fire, Captain D’Amico ordered the rest of his men forward to rescue the trapped platoon:
Sergeant Dale Cline moved his squad down the road and took up positions around the burning house. Sergeant Trombley moved his squad one hundred yards past the burning house, but was stopped by another strongpoint, which consisted of two machine-gun squads and a rifle squad. Because cover was unavailable and the enemy had good observation and excellent fields of fire, the position became untenable. The platoon withdrew; but later that evening the company commander arranged for two light tanks from the 744th Light Tank Battalion to assist another platoon in knocking out the strongpoint. The tanks were late in arriving; so the company decided to attack without them and in a short time succeeded in capturing the strongpoint. With this point cleared the mission of Company A was complete.
While 120th Regiment struggled to hold its own either side of the Kirchhellen road, 117th Regiment’s transport had failed to arrive and as Brigadier General William Harrison, 30th Division’s Assistant Commander, moved forward to take command of the Task Force, he was frustrated to hear that a number of the lorries carrying 2nd Battalion had become bogged down as they tried to push forward along the narrow forest road. Darkness was beginning to fall by the time the column rendezvoused with 743rd Tank Battalion and the elements of 843rd Tank Destroyer Battalion news of 120th Regiment’s encounter with the Panzergrenadiers had begun to filter through. At 19:30 hours General Harrison confirmed the rumours by radio:
Plan of attack changed. 120th Infantry is up against 116th Panzer Tiger tanks. Button up your units in defensive positions for tonight, attack will be continued in morning.
On 119th Regiment’s front a prisoner had notified an interpreter that his patrol was expecting to meet 60th Panzergrenadier Regiment. The information confirmed what General Hobbs had been afraid of; his men faced the entire weight of the 116th Panzer Division. Veterans knew they faced a hard fight. The Old Hickory Division had fought the 116th in the Normandy bocage nine months earlier during the bloody Battle for St Lô. The time for rapid advances had passed; 30th Division would have to fight for every square metre of Staatsforst Wesel.
A column of M-24 Chaffee tanks passes a burning Sdkfz 250/17, a three tonne German halftrack armed with a 20mm flak gun capable of being used in a ground or air support role. 111-SC-203439
The arrival of 116th Panzer Division in the forest posed a serious problem for General Simpson for although he had superiority in men, tanks and artillery, the woods hemmed in 30th Division. The lack of suitable roads made it impossible to bring the full weight of XVI Corps to bear while the Germans were in an ideal position to keep Ninth Army’s bridgehead bottled up. 8th Armoured Division had already crossed the Rhine but with no room to deploy, General Devine’s tanks and halftracks would have to wait until the forest had been cleared.
79th Division was looking to extend XVI Corps flank towards the Rhine-Herne Canal and the towns and villages along the northern outskirts of the Ruhr. Meanwhile General Hobbs would have to bludgeon his way through Staatsforst Wesel. There would be no respite for the Old Hickories until the forest had been cleared.
A few hours after the cancellation order was given, Brigadier General Harrison was notified that he should try a night advance to Meesenhof, a small hamlet on 117th Regiment’s road, in the hope of gaining ground before the Germans dug in:
General Hobbs wants us to take Objective Sally tonight. Put your tanks in the lead followed by your foot troops. Follow the original plan without the trucks. Let me know where your foot troops are when you have them assembled.
The tanks moved along the forest track at 22:45 hours as the GIs searched the woods and apart from an occasional shot from German sentries and a lone anti-tank gun, Task Force Harrison’s advance was unopposed. It reached its objective two hours later, capturing a huge 270mm artillery piece and two 150mm howitzers.
A platoon checks its weapons before moving out through the forest; the GI on the right is armed with a rifle grenade.
117th Regiment’s battle for Hunxe.
Task Force Harrison’s advance into the unknown allowed 1st Battalion to sweep the south bank of the Lippe Canal as far as Hunxe by the early hours, panicking the German engineers into blowing the river and canal bridges. One possible crossing for 156th Panzergrenadier Regiment had been sealed off.
While 117th Regiment spent the night clearing Hunxe, Major General Hobbs ordered Colonel Baker to patrol the road towards Gahlen in the hope of securing two bridges either side of the village before the Panzergrenadiers arrived. Task Force McCown, 119th Regiment’s 1st Battalion, advanced slowly through the night clearing a number of roadblocks before it reached the high ground overlooking the village. It was too late. Although the Germans had already destroyed the first bridge, the bridge on the far side of Gahlen was still intact but a rearguard of the 180th Division prevented McCown’s men advancing any further. It was too late to bring up tanks and while the GIs dug in they had to watch and listen while German tanks and halftracks crossed the Lippe Canal.
Tank destroyers worked closely alongside the infantry during 79th Division’s advance east of Dinslaken. 111-SC-335600
An infantry officer clings to the turret of a tank destroyer as he directs the crew towards a German strongpoint.
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill visited XVI Corps bridgehead on 25 March accompanied by General Anderson; General Simpson follows close behind.
79th Division
On XVI Corps’ right flank, 79th Division had to expand its bridgehead to make room for the 35th Santa Fe Division east of Dinslaken, allowing General Wyche to redirect his advance south towards to the Rhein-Herne Canal. On the German side, General Abraham had moved 2nd Parachute Division forward to support LXIII Corps’ front in the hope of containing the bridgehead.
79th Division’s attack began at first light on 25 March and tank destroyers from 813th Battalion worked closely alongside 315th Regiment, knocking out machine-gun nests and anti-aircraft guns en route to the high ground near Eppinghoven.
While 313th Regiment continued to hold positions along the Neue-Ernscher Canal, 314th Regiment advanced towards Hiesfeld. 40mm anti-aircraft guns on the outskirts of the village kept 1st Battalion at bay until noon when Company C found a way across the Rotbach Stream and moved into the houses. Company B followed and as the two worked a pincer move along the edges of the village, the German infantry withdrew beyond the Autobahn to the east; a strongpoint manned by a few fanatics was reduced to rubble by tank destroyers. Although Company E advanced quickly to the objective on 2nd Battalion’s front, Company F came under heavy fire from a battery of six 88mm guns covering the roads into Eickhof from the Dinslaken rail embankment. After withdrawing to regroup, Company F followed the rest of the battalion and waited for nightfall in the hope that the gun crews would retire during the night.
Later that night Company F’s commanding officer was ambushed leading a two-man patrol through Eickhof. Several hours passed before another, larger, patrol located and rescued the captain; it was a stern reminder that the German paratroopers had not given up the fight.