WALLENDORF-HOESDORF
In editing this itinerary which looks at the Westwall, or Siegfried Line, I turned to my friend Roland Gaul, without doubt the leading authority on this area. In 1982, a small group of enthusiasts and militaria collectors founded the Diekirch Historical Society, a non-profit organisation, entirely composed of volunteers, that was to become the platform for the future Diekirch Military Museum. As one of the founding members, Roland Gaul, himself a prolific author and true expert on the battles in this area, has kindly permitted me to make use of the museum’s brochure entitled Promenade du Souvenir. This is a seventeen kilometre walking tour which starts in Hoesdorf and is marked by blue signs bearing white stars.
START POINT: THE PATTON MONUMENT ON THE LEFT SIDE OF N7 AT THE EASTERN EDGE OF ETTELBRÜCK.
In Ettelbrück this fine monument and a small museum (www.patton.lu) in town pay tribute to the commander of Third Army, Lieutenant General George S. Patton Jr. The General is buried in the Luxembourg U.S. military cemetery close to the national airport.
Drive east to Diekirch passing the old railway station on the left (still sporting traces of small arms fire) and stop just past the Hotel de Ville on the right.
In the municipal park off to your right is a memorial commemorating American units that passed through town at various stages in 1944-45. There is also a walkway in memory of the Luxembourg citizens who were either deported by the Nazis or conscripted and sent off to the eastern front. At the turn of the millennium as part of a project called ‘M-2000’ the authorities here in Diekirch erected a memorial commemorating in a condensed fashion, the country’s military history. A pamphlet produced by the Diekirch Historical Society entitled Diekirch and surrounding areas during the Bulge 16 December, 1944 - 21 January, 1945, recalls events in the town:
‘During the Nazi occupation, the city of Diekirch became an administrative centre for the NSDAP (Nazi party), responsible for the smaller communities in northern Luxembourg. At the same time, Diekirch was also a secret site of Luxembourg resistance against the German occupants.’
On 11 September 1944, armoured and mechanised infantry elements of the US 5th Armored Division, liberated Diekirch, after patrols of the 85th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron had touched base with several local civilians to find the Germans no longer held the town. Prior to abandoning Diekirch, on 9 September, the retreating Germans blew the Sauer River Bridge. News of the subsequent arrival of American troops spread like wildfire and within minutes, thousands of townspeople poured onto the streets to welcome their liberators with flowers, drinks and above all, tears of joy in their eyes. Church bells rang; children rode Sherman tanks while townspeople and soldiers danced in the street in an indescribable atmosphere of exhilaration at their liberation.
Whereas military operations in Belgium and the nearby German border town of Wallendorf continued, normal life gradually returned to Diekirch. A US Civil Affairs detachment commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Charles Mathews established its headquarters in town to assume responsibility for Northern Luxembourg. In early October 1944, troops of the 8th Infantry Division replaced remaining elements of 5th Armored Division. Operating from Diekirch they undertook extensive patrol and intelligence activity along the German border. No significant combat activity took place during that time.
In turn, Major General Norman D. Cota’s 28th Infantry Division replaced the 8th after suffering heavy losses in the battle of the Hürtgen Forest and moved into this ‘quiet’ sector of Luxembourg to rest and refit. Lieutenant Colonel James Rudder’s 109th Infantry Regiment assumed positions in the greater Diekirch area with two battalions on the defensive ‘front’ line overlooking the Our River. Colonel Rudder’s 3rd battalion, in reserve here in Diekirch, took hot showers, received new clothes and above all, the spontaneous hospitality of the town’s grateful citizens. U.S.O. shows entertained the troops featuring such notable stars as Mickey Rooney and Marlene Dietrich. Other than sporadic artillery and counter-battery fire, neither side took offensive action of any significance. (At that time German troops were already moving into assembly areas in the Siegfried Line for their forthcoming counterattack). Combat intelligence and reconnaissance missions continued in attempts to find any weaknesses in the German defensive line. Occasional German patrols entered Luxembourg but on the whole, a sort of ‘gentleman’s agreement’ deadened the effects of war.
An acute shortage of jerrycans prompted the US army to put up signs urging the populace to hand in any cans they found. (US Army Signal Corps).
The citizens of Diekirch enjoyed a traditional turkey dinner on Thanksgiving Day in a unique atmosphere of Luxembourg-American friendship. Needless to say, children enjoyed Hershey bars, chewing gum and candy, while their parents invited American GIs to sample local specialities. By early December the reorganisation of the 109th was completed when new replacements arrived and the regimental sector of responsibility redefined. As a consequence, the 2nd and 3rd Battalions were assigned to the front line (two companies of each), whereas the entire 3rd Battalion remained in reserve at Diekirch.
The Regimental headquarters moved to Ettelbrück. Gun batteries of the 107th and 108th Field Artillery Battalions provided fire support along with Sherman tanks of the attached 707th Tank Battalion. In case of emergency, nearby batteries of Combat Command A, 9th Armored Division (3rd Field Artillery Battalion) as well as other elements of the 28th Infantry Division could be called upon for support if needed.
During the second week of December, the weather turned very cold: there was light snow on the ground that often turned into mud, there was also rain, snow, sleet and above all, fog. GIs in their foxholes did their best to keep warm and dry as they dreamt of Christmas and a not too distant end to the war.
On 16 December 1944, at 05.30 am, all hell broke loose when, quite unexpectedly, German artillery opened up with a deadly and intense rain of shells and rockets. The thirty minute barrage pinned down the men of the 109th who initially didn’t realise what was going on. Shells ploughed into the US front line positions while others set alight various buildings in Diekirch. Massive German infantry attacks across the Our River followed the artillery barrage that signalled the start of the Battle of the Bulge. At first light, all front line companies of the 109th Infantry between Vianden and Wallendorf reported communications problems and attacks by German infantry. Enemy soldiers of the 915th and 916th Regiments of the 352nd Volksgrenadier Division crossed the swollen Our River to attack the 3rd Battalion of the 109th while the 914th Regiment and elements of 5th Parachute Division attacked Rudder’s 2nd Battalion. Backed up by their own 81mm mortars, the 105mm howitzers of Lieutenant Colonel James Rosborough’s 107th Field Artillery Battalion and the 155mm batteries of the 108th Field Artillery Battalion both positioned on the high ground north of Diekirch – Rudder’s men defended themselves well. The attacking Germans made some progress against the 2nd Battalion when they surrounded and captured men of Company E holding the village of Fouhren. On 18 December, German pressure increased considerably and harsh fighting on the morning of 19 December prompted Colonel Rudder to order his men to pull back behind Ettelbrück to a new defensive line. The 3rd Battalion moved through Bettendorf and Gilsdorf after destroying the Sauer river bridges to deny the enemy usage thereof and reached Diekirch late afternoon on 19 December having suffered considerable losses. Together with the local authorities, resistance fighters and police, the 3rd Battalion executive officer, Captain Harry Kemp, worked out an emergency evacuation order for the population of Diekirch in such a way as not to interfere with the battalion retrograde movement. The civilians left Diekirch around midnight via the still intact Railway Bridge then off to the south while the remaining troops of the 109th established new positions on the high ground overlooking Ettelbrück. According to civilian eyewitnesses (some had missed the evacuation), the first Germans entered Diekirch in the early morning hours of 20 December.
The German advance continued through Ettelbrück in the direction of Feulen, Mertzig, Michelbuch, Pratz and Bettborn, where on Christmas Day 1944, attacking elements of the 80th Infantry Division of Patton’s Third Army pushing up from the South stopped them.
On 23 December, American troops recaptured Ettelbrück while elements of the 80th Division and the 109th Infantry Regiment attacked the more advanced enemy forces around Mertzig who were suffering from a lack of armoured and inadequate artillery support. After a desperate struggle, the Germans abandoned all their heavy equipment and those who had not been killed or captured, tried to pull back to a new defensive line behind the north bank of the Sauer River in the Diekirch-Bettendorf sector. In the meantime, units of the 5th Infantry Division (again of Patton’s Third Army) took up position on the high ground overlooking the South bank of the Sauer, thus preventing any German attempt at crossing the river. Early January found American troops well entrenched on this new line and awaiting orders to counterattack, while the Germans tried to hold the same sector on the opposite bank. After a very heavy late December snowfall, temperatures plummeted and the weather took a severe turn for the worse. On the US side, the 2nd and 10th Infantry Regiments of the 5th Division carried out extensive patrol activity aimed at probing weaknesses in the German line. On 10 January 1945, a six-man patrol, of the 10th Infantry Regiment penetrated Bettendorf at night and captured several German prisoners, one of whom, an NCO had valuable papers on him. These documents were of great help to the Regimental Executive Officer of the 10th Infantry, Lieutenant Colonel William K. Breckinridge and his staff in finalising plans for the division’s attack in this sector. On the left flank, the 2nd Infantry Regiment found out that Diekirch was only heavily defended in two places.
The American counterattack in the Sauer River sector (Diekirch-Bettendorf) by the 5th Infantry Division jumped off at 03.00am on 18 January while its right flank neighbour, the 4th Infantry Division joined in from Moestroff-Wallendorf. The objective was to cross the river and push twenty kilometres north as far as Hoscheid and clear the remaining German pockets of resistance. Wishing to retain the element of surprise, the two American divisions did not call upon their artillery to support the attack, unless the attacking infantry encountered stiff resistance.
Soldiers of the 7th Engineer Combat Battalion ferried the GIs of the 2nd Infantry Regiment across the icebound Sauer River near Diekirch and the companies of the 10th Infantry near Bettendorf. Unfortunately, the Germans, having insufficient troops to defend the sector, had heavily mined the banks of the Sauer River. The mines, mostly of a non-metallic type, proved difficult to detect and caused heavy casualties as did fire from numerous automatic weapons. Sporadically, German Nebelwerfer rocket batteries also fired at the crossing points. On 19 January, a two-pronged attack by the 2nd Infantry Regiment succeeded in re-taking most of Diekirch while the 110th Infantry Regiment took Gilsdorf and Bettendorf. After consolidation of the US bridgehead near Diekirch, Sherman tanks broke up the last German resistance in the northern part of town. Around noon on 21 January 1945, the last German troops surrendered on the high ground north of Diekirch and the city was thus definitely liberated. About 60 percent of the buildings in town had been badly damaged by shellfire and its citizens returned to their shell-torn city in March 1945, after US engineers cleared all mines from the area.
Continue into Diekirch following the signs for Echternach until you reach the centre of Bettendorf where you turn right on route 357 to cross the Sauer River Bridge.
German prisoners of Grenadier Regiment 914 from the 352nd Volksgrenadier Division captured near Merzig, December 1944. (US Army Signal Corps).
This bridge bears a plaque honouring Lieutenant Colonel William M. Breckinridge, regimental executive officer of the 10th Infantry Regiment of the 5th Infantry Division who planned the attack on Bettendorf. There is also a monument to the 5th Infantry Division’s 10th Infantry Regiment in a corner of ‘Major-General William Breckinridge Square’ (on the left after crossing the bridge). On 20 January 2001, an additional bronze plaque portraying the crossing of the Sauer on 20 January 1945, was fixed to a triangular stone about 200 metres from the afore-mentioned memorial. This plaque is a masterpiece, copying the original picture taken in 1945 at this exact location.
Return to the main road (N-19) turning right in the direction of Echternach. Upon arrival in Reisdorf take the left turn just prior to reaching the bridge and continue straight on to the Our River Bridge at Wallendorf-Pont. Across the Our note the bunker in front of you at the ‘T’ junction.
This bunker is in fact a reinforced concrete ‘pillbox’ established as an observation and listening post with a clear view of the bridge spanning the Our and overlooking ‘enemy’ territory (Luxembourg was neutral at that time). In September 1944 it looked out over American held ground on the West Bank of the Our. This bunker had a two or four-man crew with an armoured gun post to accommodate an automatic weapon.
As the smallest of its type, it was commonly known as ‘Panzerwerk C’ or simply ‘C-Werk’ in the classification system of German defensive structures. It was one of the very first of this type constructed in this section of the Westwall parallel to the Our River, marking the border between Luxembourg and Germany. Early planning and excavation work for the construction of the Westwall (a static and heavily-armed defensive structure that almost stretched from the North Sea to the Swiss border, following the political and natural borders of pre-war Nazi Germany,) had already begun in 1936. The Westwall represented in fact the counterpart to the French Maginot Line and can be seen as still in line with military doctrine based upon the World War 1 (static front) experience. For camouflage and deception purposes, the entire operation was then called ‘Bauvorhaben in Westen’ (construction enterprise in the West). It was only in 1938 (after a major public speech by Hitler), that the enterprise became known to the world as the ‘Westwall’.
A section through a bunker in the Siegfried Line – constructed in the 1930s – it was given wide publicity. This defensive system was to remain untried until late 1944.
The bunkers and pillboxes along the Our River, which were all located and constructed to support each other with interlocking fire in case of enemy attack, were normally of this type (C-Werk), serving primarily as a solid medium artillery shell-proof shelter for front-line observation teams. A field wire and telephone network connected the various bunkers amongst themselves and with larger structures further back. There were no anti-tank ‘Dragon Teeth’ obstacles in this sector unlike further north however, barbed wire obstacles and mine fields usually located in front of the bunker’s field of fire and toward the river, supplemented the bunker’s protection.
The stone wall constructed in front of this actual pillbox was in fact a deceptive camouflage measure aimed at giving the impression of a garden wall. Other bunkers of this type could be camouflaged as a shed, stable or heavily covered and overgrown with natural vegetation. Furnishings included 2 or 3 cots, a table, benches, a drinking water, storage, ration and ammunition cache, lighting and communications equipment, a ventilating system and sometimes, a stove. Larger bunkers also had special mounts for periscopes, or other sighting equipment. The gun port was normally reinforced with thick armour plate, leaving only a narrow slit for observation or a weapon. A heavy gas tight access door was usually built into the rear side of the bunker.
Prior to 10 May 1940 (beginning of the German campaign in the West), the present pillbox served in its intended capacity and, with the fall of Luxembourg and Belgium, along with the rest of the Westwall, became redundant. Many such bunkers were cleared of their weapons and leased to farmers for agricultural storage. In late summer, 1944, with the German retreat to the borders of the Reich, the Nazi leadership made a major effort to re-arm the Westwall to defend its borders. With the wartime advances in arms technology since the building of the Westwall, most of the larger bunkers (especially those intended to house anti-tank or artillery pieces) could no longer accommodate the larger calibre weapons and hence became almost useless, as time didn’t permit sufficient upgrading.
The first Americans hit the German border in this area on 11 September 1944 to find most of the small bunkers on the immediate front line unoccupied, however the Westwall remained a powerful psychological weapon in the eyes of allied troops who over-estimated its potential. Following the American retreat from the Wallendorf sector after limited initial success by elements of the 5th Armored Division supported by the 112th Infantry regiment of the 28th Infantry Division. In late September 1944, and the following 3-month ‘quiet’ period prior to the German attack on 16 December, this bunker was only occupied under cover of darkness. It acted as a listening and observation post toward the opposing high ground, then occupied by soldiers of the 109th Infantry and only put up limited resistance to U.S. forces in February 1945 during the opening phase of the invasion of Germany. American and French engineers destroyed most of the nearby bunkers and pillboxes during the post-war occupation years.
Facing the bunker, turn right and drive toward the town centre church. Upon reaching the church turn left following the sign bearing five crosses (symbol of the German War Graves Organisation) and marked ‘Kriegsgräbstätte’. The Cemetery entrance is on the right hand side opposite the parking lot of the Hotel Wallstein.
A flat tire in Bettendorf. (US Army Signal Corps).
The ‘Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge’ maintains the small Wallendorf German war cemetery containing the remains of 326 German soldiers who died during fighting in the larger Wallendorf area on both riverbanks between September 1944 and February 1945.
The river crossing at Bettendorf 18 January 1945. (Courtesy, Roland Gaul).
As can be seen from the grave markers, most of those buried here were quite young. Units represented include the 2nd Panzer Division, 108th Panzerbrigade, 212th, 276th and 352nd Volksgrenadier Divisions, 5th Fallschirmjäger Division, Volkswerferbrigade 18, Volksartilleriekorps 406 and other smaller Corps support and engineer units.
Occasionally, the remains of soldiers are found and buried, the last one being in 1993 near Bettendorf.
At 05.30am on 16 December 1944, after a thirty minute intense artillery and Nebelwerfer rocket barrage, German troops of the 352nd Volksgrenadier Division, crossed the Our River in the Wallendorf-Gentingen sector to assault the American positions atop the Hoesdorf-Bettendorf Plateau. Their objective was to capture the vital road to Diekirch/Ettelbrück as well as the Sauer (Süre) River bridges in this sector. There followed three days of intense fighting in the woods, during which both sides suffered numerous casualties. The remaining troops of the 109th Infantry Regiment withdrew in the direction of Diekirch and further south destroying the Sauer bridges as they went. The 352nd Volksgrenadier Division made further progress till shortly after Christmas when elements of Patton’s Third Army counterattacked.
From late December 1944 through till the end of January 1945, the bunkers in the greater Wallendorf sector were primarily occupied by German rear echelon and guard units as a weak defensive force to channel logistics.
On 7 February 1945, the bunkers became key targets when attacked in combined action by artillery, infantry and engineer elements of the 4th, 5th and 80th U.S. Infantry Divisions during the initial phase of the Our and Sauer River crossing operations preceding operations in Germany. Flame-throwers, shaped charges and explosives, as well as artillery destroyed numerous bunkers and pillboxes. Poorly armed and equipped, the Westwall bunkers were no longer a match for overwhelmingly superior US forces.
Upon leaving the cemetery, carry on uphill for about another four hundred yards and at the intersection of two small country roads stands another bunker, park here.
Construction workers of the ‘Organisation Todt’ probably completed construction of this ‘B-Werk’ type bunker in 1938. The larger structure with reinforced concrete walls up to a maximum thickness of 1.5 metres, was designed to serve as an observation bunker located on the heights overlooking the confluence point of the Our and Sauer Rivers, as well as the high ground on the Luxembourg side. This type of bunker was well furnished and could provide room for a squad (ten to twelve men). In addition to optical observation and communications equipment, a power unit, ration and ammunition storage, its main armament normally consisted of machine guns, an automatic grenade launcher, and sometimes, a static directional flame-thrower for close defense. Again, this bunker was probably disguised as a garden house by means of a mock wooden front structure camouflaged with natural overgrowth and had overlapping fields of fire with smaller neighboring C-Werk type pillboxes.
The Führer on a pre-war inspection of the Westwall visits a newly constructed bunker. Many such fortifications still exist on the east bank of the Sauer River. Below: Hitler is reputed to have visited this same bunker prior to the Second World War.
According to a local eyewitness, Hitler, visited here while on an inspection tour of the Westwall in the Eifel around 22-28 August 1938. He is said to have stopped briefly to visit this very bunker and from its top, took a look into Luxembourg.
After the German invasion of Luxembourg on 10 May 1940 and throughout the Wehrmacht’s ensuing campaign in the West, (‘Fall Gelb’ – ‘Plan Yellow’), this structure lost its military importance. In August 1944 the Germans hastily re-occupied and armed it, when alarming news of the American advance made it obvious that Wallendorf was once again to become the front line. During the year of occupation, the Westwall had lost its significance and the bunkers stripped of their weapons systems. Lack of proper maintenance meant that communications lines, power units and ventilation equipment were in poor condition when the Americans hit the Westwall in the fall of 1944.
On 14 September 1944, after a four to five hour artillery preparation, mechanised elements of Combat Command Reserve, 5th Armored Division supported by troops of the 112th Infantry Regiment attacked to seize a bridgehead across the Sauer in order to probe the Westwall defenses in the direction of Bitburg. Luxembourgers escorting the Americans informed them of this bunker’s existence so they shelled it with 155mm projectiles. The shelling ripped off the bunker’s natural camouflage leaving it exposed to observation by the attackers. Heavy fighting in and around Wallendorf and subsequently the neighboring villages continued until 23 September, when, lacking adequate logistics and flank protection, the US task force had to withdraw. It had suffered sizeable casualties as a result of constant counterattacks by various German armoured and infantry elements, which were, then globally under the command of either 1st SS Panzerkorps or LXXX Armeekorps. Needless to say, the town of Wallendorf was almost completely wiped out by artillery fire and strafing by fighters of the 9th US Air Force.
Still today there are myths (primarily) on the American side concerning the unconfirmed story of Wallendorf civilians waving white flags from their houses to lure the Americans into a trap. Another story mentions the ‘Ghost of Wallendorf’ – a woman in white clothes directing artillery fire by moving from target to target. On the other hand, Nazi propaganda then alleged that the ‘American Murderers’ deliberately wiped out Wallendorf and its inhabitants as a powerful message that the German soldier must never yield to protect the homeland.
After the American withdrawal from the German side of Wallendorf, the Germans used this bunker as a fire direction centre for their gun batteries to the east. Sporadically, US Artillery engaged in ‘firepower demonstration’ missions in this sector, but seldom could a US shell destroy a bunker. After Thanksgiving Day 1944, the 3rd Battalion 109th Infantry Regiment‘s Companies L and I occupied the high ground opposite. Wallendorf constituted the southernmost flank of the entire 28th Infantry Division whose front stretched north for about thirty-two kilometres to Ouren. On the German side, Wallendorf was also the boundary between the 352nd and 276th Volksgrenadier Divisions. The 276th commander, Generalmajor Kurt Moehring was killed on 18 December near Beaufort when his staff car was ambushed by American troops.
Return to Wallendorf and take second road on the right uphill (following star markers) for about 400 metres. Here on the left side of the small road to Ammeldingen there is yet another signpost for a bunker.
The Panzerwerk C pillbox at Wallendorf. It served as a medium artillery shell-proof shelter for front-line observation teams.
This bunker suffered very little in the way of shell damage, its function being an observation post over the high ground on the far bank and heights of the Our River. Further downhill on the same road are two additional C-Werk type bunkers, located in such a way as to protect the flanks of the present B-Werk. As usual, all three were connected by underground telephone and wire equipment.
As can be seen, the service entrance was always in the rear side of the bunker, with a machine gun mounted in a side armour plate gun port, to protect the heavy entrance door. Of special interest are also the concrete bullet deflector housing the machine-gun mount, as well as the air vents of the bunker’s ventilation system. Through steel tubes imbedded in the wall, grenades could be thrown outside from the interior, where the steep incline trench around the backside of the bunker would increase the concussion and fragmentation effects of the explosion.
Inside, the bunker has several compartments that could be sealed off with additional gastight doors. At the time of writing, several wartime inscriptions can still be seen. A nearby spring and cistern provided drinking water by means of a pump.
In mid-September, incoming units of the US 5th Armored Division knew of its existence thanks to sketches made by a Luxembourg engineer earlier in the war and from which the Americans drew vital intelligence. Shelling ripped off its natural camouflage exposing the concrete structure and the Americans no longer considered it a threat. In spite of this, German soldiers continued to occupy it prior to the Bulge, entering at sunset and leaving at dawn. On one occasion, an American reconnaissance patrol became engaged in close-quarter fighting after clashing with a German patrol near this bunker. American artillery regularly fired propaganda rounds across the Our River in attempts to weaken the combat morale of the Westwall defenders in efforts to get them to run over and surrender.
Pass through Ammeldingen in the direction of Gentingen and about 500 metres before reaching the village stop by another bunker on the right side of the road.
This B-Werk bunker is preserved as a timeless and silent testimony to the second World War by the community and tourist office in Wallendorf. (At the time of writing had become overgrown and can be inaccessible after heavy rain)
Throughout the Battle of the Bulge this bunker, just south of Gentingen, served as a Company Command Post of the 352nd Volksgrenadier Division.
As can clearly be seen here, this bunker on the outskirts of Gentingen, had a larger gun port facing the narrow road as well as the banks of the Our River. Originally conceived to house a 37mm anti-tank gun, like others in the area it was stripped of its gun after the campaign in 1940. According to eyewitness narrative, German Volksgrenadiers manned the bunker prior to the start of the attack in preparation for their crossing of the Our River. In his book The Battle of the Bulge In Luxembourg (Volume 1) Roland Gaul included the story of 17 year old Private Schmäschke who served as a runner with Grenadier Regiment 916 of the 352nd Volksgrenadier Division.
He told of his memories of bunker life shortly before they received their attack order:
‘The company commander took our sealed message envelopes at the bunker; they included detailed maps of our sector. A tense silence prevailed as we handed him a small stack of pamphlets they had given us at battalion headquarters. Printed on red paper was a daily order to the soldiers of the Western Front, signed by OB West, Field Marshal von Runstedt. It said roughly: “Soldiers of the western front. From the North Sea to the Swiss border, an advance such as the world has never seen has begun. I expect obedience and fulfilment of duty from you to the last; you sense it all, we are gambling everything! It is time to turn the war around.” The peaceful silence of the bunker was now replaced by restless muttering. There were even comrades who broke out in wild euphoria. The company commander ordered me to pass the attack order to all lieutenants and lower-rank leaders of the individual platoons by telephone. After half an hour, everyone had assembled. A discussion inside the bunker with the artillery fire-control officer followed. The objective of the attack was made known, as was the time for the crossing of the Our River. Then we had a hot meal which some of the men ghoulishly called our hangman’s meal. Our iron rations were distributed and checked. Some of the men turned to their liquor ration to raise their spirits. Then, the soldiers began to check their assault-packs; everything non-essential was left at the bunker. Hand grenades, Panzerfausts and extra small arms ammunition were passed out again and we had to lie down and rest while fully dressed. Now we knew that was it – the unavoidable! The last hours before something we couldn’t change, were a strange time for us. It had a numbing effect upon us. Our minds were cleared, resulting in a terrible emptiness. No thoughts of home or family. I could have screamed, and at the same time I knew that it would have been senseless. Other soldiers crawled inside themselves as if they could escape everything, but there was no escape. The morning of 16 December came inexorably. We were to be awakened at 04.00am but that didn’t prove necessary since nobody slept. Shortly after 04.00am, we left the bunker and silently climbed down the mined trail in direction of the river.’
NB: Friederich Schmäschke participated in the heavy fighting on the Hoesdorf Plateau opposite the bunker and was wounded on 18 December in the afternoon in Longsdorf, Luxembourg, only four kilometres from here.
Drive into Gentingen stopping by the small footbridge that spans the Our River (adjacent to the small chapel).
At this very spot where today’s small bridge spans the Our River to link Germany and Luxembourg, German army engineers constructed an improvised heavy infantry bridge, capable of bearing the weight of smaller armoured vehicles and artillery prime movers. Prior to the attack of 16 December, terrain reconnaissance had indicated that, because of the gently sloping bank on the other side, this was definitely the best location for a heavy infantry bridge in this sector. The bridge was also intended to carry the 352nd Volksgrenadier Division artillery, (partially horse-drawn) and the 18-ton ‘Hetzer’ tank destroyers and other tracked vehicles.
Normally, the Our River is less than three feet deep, but in December 1944 it was heavily swollen as a result of heavy rain earlier in the month. According to available statistics it was then five to seven feet deep, the depth and fast-moving current thus prohibiting the movement of vehicles across the river.
In the wake of the initial thirty minute long artillery barrage, the 352nd Volksgrenadier division’s organic engineer battalion, supported by additional Corps engineer troops, began moving bridging equipment down to the east bank of the Our River. Transportation problems meant that an insufficient amount of such equipment had reached the Westwall supply points in time so it took until the evening of 17 December to get the rest forward.
Again in his book, Roland Gaul tells the story of Lieutenant Günter Stottmeister, a company commander with the 352nd Engineer Battalion:
‘Unfortunately due to supply problems, the promised bridging equipment didn’t arrive on time so we had to make do with a makeshift wooden bridge that would bear the weight of the Hetzers. When the artillery opened up, with effort unimaginable today, we felled trees up to fifty centimetres in diameter, with axes, two-man saws and NSU chainsaws. We moved the timber down to the river by winch and line. Actual construction of the bridge began at daybreak. Meanwhile, assault troops of the division, crossed the Our in rubber assault boats or on infantry footbridges between here and Ammeldingen then started moving forward. We could clearly hear the sound of combat on the opposite side. A first attempt to equip the bridge with a central pier made of timber, failed when the strong current tore the bridge apart even before it could be fastened in place. Since timing was critical, we dispensed with the central pier and made do with two reinforced end piers. The construction of the various components using improvised equipment and timber as the raw material went on until twilight on 16 December. At that point, we came under direct mortar fire aimed at the bridge site. This American defensive fire forced us to take shelter for about two hours. Throughout the night, the bridge building continued all night with artificial moonlight provided by heavy anti-aircraft searchlight batteries and sporadic US mortar and artillery fire. Medics transported the wounded to the battalion command post bunker. The battalion surgeon Dr. Krause, amputated torn limbs before my eyes, it was horrible.
‘Around noon on 17 December, we joined together and reinforced parts of the wooden frame after pushing them over the river. To increase the bridge’s carrying capacity, we put another layer of tree trunks over it since we didn’t know whether or not it could hold a weight of 25 tons. That evening, we reached the stage where they declared the bridge to be in a state of readiness so the first Hetzer rolled slowly across the makeshift structure and it held. Others followed, then several RSO tractor units with anti-tank and artillery pieces in tow. Much of our engineer transport was badly damaged by incoming American fire so we had few vehicles left with which to move our equipment as we advanced. All through 18 December other units of the division followed with their heavy equipment, mainly artillery pieces, mostly of the horse-drawn type, a few full-tracked vehicles, supply trucks and the infantry field kitchens. Given the importance of holding this bridge open as a supply route for the division, what remained operational of the 352nd Engineer Battalion stayed in Gentingen to secure it using only mortars and machine-guns.’
Generalmajor Kut Moehring, Commander of the 276th Volksgrenadier Division, died on 17 December 1944 on the outskirts of Beaufort on a trip back from visiting his troops. The Division Chaplain retrieved his cap, ear-muffs, belt and leather map case from the shot up VW 82 in which Moehring and three of his staff had died. He returned these to the General’s family in 1994. The General’s son, a retired Bundeswehr officer, donated his entire uniform to the National Museum of Military History in Diekirch. (Courtesy Roland Gaul).
A little further upstream at the small town of Roth an der Our, the 5th Pioneer Battalion of the 5th Fallschirmjäger Division completed a similar but more elaborate bridge on 18 December bringing the divisional assault guns and division artillery across the Our. In early and mid-January 1945, American artillery and fighter aircraft constantly harassed both bridge sites. Although both bridges were damaged, under constant repair they remained operational until the latter part of January 1945 as German troops withdrew east across the Our to take up new defensive positions behind the Westwall.
Return to the centre of Wallendorf-Pont crossing back over the river and drive into Kleinreisdorf and about 500 metres further on turning right in the direction of Hoesdorf. At the first intersection turn left looking out for another white star sign on the right a little further on.
This is number 1 Panel of the ‘Promenade du Souvenir’.
After the loss of the Wallendorf bridgehead in late September 1944, remaining smaller troop elements of 5th US Armored Division established observation/listening posts on the Hoesdorf Plateau. At an average altitude of 380 meters, these observation posts offered a good view over the north bank of the Our River and into the Westwall. American troops while remaining alert, found time for much needed rest and recuperation during which time, some of them using knives or bayonets, carved their names, addresses, girlfriends’ names or states on nearby beach trees. Although many of the wartime trees have long since disappeared, two remain as silent tokens of the American presence on the plateau. Others nearby still sport signs of damage by shell fragments or small arms fire.
Return in the direction of Hoesdorf finally stopping just before you enter the village.
From here, those wishing to do so can follow the Promenade du Souvenir circuit using the map, which is available from the Tourist Office in nearby Reisdorf. With its extension on the Wallendorf side, the entire circuit covers a distance of +/- seventeen kilometres.
After the January 1945 operations in northern Luxembourg, the 80th US Infantry Division took up positions parallel to the Sauer River as of 1 February. German units in this area, especially remnants of the battle-weary 352nd Volksgrenadier Division, having withdrawn from the Sauer River valley and bridgehead, managed to occupy most of the bunkers and pillboxes on the east bank and high ground across the Our River.
For about a week, organic elements of the US 80th Division spent their time patrolling the West Bank of the Our and preparing to cross the river to assault the Westwall. More specifically, the division’s 319th Infantry Regiment was to attack in the Hoesdorf-Wallendorf sector, whereas the 318th Infantry was to pass through the 3rd Battalion of the 319th to tie in from a jump-off line near Bettendorf. The division’s 317th Infantry was to remain as division reserve in Diekirch.
In the early morning hours of 7 February 1945, the 1st Battalion of the 319th Infantry moved forward under cover of darkness, from its assembly area at Kleinreisdorf to the vicinity of the Our River north of Wallendorf. Around 10:00 a.m., the 2nd Battalion 319th, prior to forcing a crossing of the Our, closed into Hoesdorf. The battalion experienced considerable difficulty due to the high flood level of the Our, the swiftness of the current and heavy enemy artillery and rocket concentrations. Engineers in support were unable to complete construction of bridges; thus all crossings had to be made in assault boats. Units that managed to cross the river, got pinned down by heavy mortar and accurate artillery fire on the north shore of the Our.
Division alerted the 319th Infantry to make a crossing early on the morning of 8 February, so troops began moving from their assembly area at Bettendorf into Moestroff and Kleinreisdorf preparatory to crossing. The regiment’s 3rd Battalion started to move to its crossing site but at about 06:00 a.m. the attack failed when German artillery fire wrecked the assault boats. The Americans brought forward additional assault boats but two subsequent crossings at 09.00 a.m. and 4.00 p.m. also failed. It was only on 9 February that elements of the 319th Infantry managed to cross the Our near Wallendorf and secure a hold after repulsing attacks by enemy infantry. Units of the 1st and 2nd Battalions assisted in mopping up the high ground Northeast of Wallendorf and protected the north flank of the bridgehead.
On 11 February the 319th Infantry was able to assemble all its troops in an area approximately one kilometre northwest of the confluence of the Our and Sauer after heavy fighting over two days to clear pillboxes, other pockets of resistance and expand its bridgehead to the north and east. Close artillery and mortar support proved invaluable during these operations and on 13-14 February the regiment continued clearing pillboxes north of Wallendorf as well as near Ammeldingen.
Private First Class Robert Harmon was a member of the anti-tank platoon of the Regimental Headquarters Company of the 319th Infantry and as such assigned to patrolling and combat missions in a bazooka team. He told Roland Gaul of his memories:
‘None of us had a clear idea of what we were about to attempt. We were told we would make an assault crossing of the Our into the Westwall forts and could expect heavy machine-gun, mortar and artillery fire. We had no experience of working with the plywood assault boats, each of which was quite heavy, but large enough to carry up to ten men together with their weapons and gear. We made an ‘approach march’ of a few kilometres from some nearby village through the forest under cover of darkness. Unfortunately, just as we organised the final approach toward Hoesdorf, German artillery came in causing a number of casualties. This was not good for morale.
‘When we reached the area just above the village of Hoesdorf, where our engineers had placed the assault boats we found that up to half a dozen of these heavy boats were frozen together. We pried them apart and organized soldiers into boat teams. Getting the boats away from where they had been dumped proved a nerve-wrecking chore as more than one GI got his fingers or hand caught between boats as we tried to separate them.
‘For my boat crew, the assault that night failed. Shells came in when we got to the river; boats capsized in the icy water and one could hear the cries of wounded drowning men as their equipment dragged them under the water. We were in Hoesdorf for two or three days, I’m not sure. Finally, the division commander arranged for some medium and heavy mortars (81mm and 4.2” chemical mortars) to ‘zero in’ on the Westwall forts with special attention to the pillbox escape and exit stairways on the German side of the hill opposite Hoesdorf. This took at least one full day, then some self-propelled 155mm guns rolled into Hoesdorf at dawn firing 100-pound shells and finished off the pillboxes in a few hours. They fired coaxial .50 calibre tracer rounds until the Germans closed the gun ports on their bunkers. Then, the 155mm would fire, usually one round – end of story! I do not think they fired more than one round at any one fort. The range was short and the shells were accurate. When a high explosive shell burst inside a bunker, everyone inside died.
‘As we waited in the houses in Hoesdorf, to make the crossings, there was a good deal of shelling on both sides. There were a number of Quad 50s (4x.50 calibre machine-guns) which were part of our antiaircraft units. We used these highly effective guns, along with 40mm Bofors antiaircraft guns to sweep a barrage of rounds over the German lines as suppressing fire. The night of 7-8 February 1945, the whole valley was lit by tracers, the crash of artillery and the usual mysterious flashes of light, which sweep over battlefields.
‘We finally crossed the river downstream at Wallendorf, late in the day and in the dark then proceeded up the hill and into some small village beyond the river and Wallendorf. Somewhere up there, in Germany, I spent part of an afternoon lying on top of the rearmost Westwall bunker, talking to the German troops inside. We were trying to get them to surrender. There was a German mortar in the area, probably firing from a small patch of woods a few hundred yards from where we were. When we heard the shells in the mortar tube, we would scurry off the bunker and into shallow foxholes scraped in the dirt around the construction. Our usual argument to the German soldiers inside was simple: “Der krieg ist verloren”(The war is lost). They finally emerged and surrendered. Another GI and I marched them down the hill into some sort of regimental POW area.
‘I was anxious to be one of the guards taking them to a POW concentration point, because we all knew that there would be a chance of a hot meal at regimental headquarters and that’s what happened!’
Return to Diekirch to spend the rest of the day in the magnificent National Museum of Military History located on the left side of the main road-leading north out of town in a former brewery.
German propaganda leaflet aimed at demoralizing GIs of Major General Norman D. Cota’s 28th Infantry Division. Both sides engaged in such attempts to undermine the morale of the opposing forces.
This museum is without a doubt, the very finest example of a balanced, impartial and objective representation of the historical facts of the Battle of the Bulge to be found on the entire battlefield.
Address:
10 Bamertal
L-9209 Diekirch
Luxembourg.
Tel (352) 808908 or (352) 804719
Website: www.mnhm.lu/
Email: info@mnhm.lu
Suggested Reading:
MacDonald: Chapters 7 and 17.
Cole: Chapter 9.
Gaul: Volumes 1 + 2 ‘The Battle of the Bulge In Luxembourg’.