OneMansCourage

March 1st, 1945
Combat Command A and B were engaged in expanding their positions
north of Bitburg, on the west bank of the Kyll River.
Reconnaissance was also made for possible bridges and bridge
sites, but none were found. Combat Command B received a
counterattack from twelve enemy tanks, assault guns, and
approximately 100 enemy Infantry near the town of Sefferweick.
Direct fire destroyed three enemy assault guns and one enemy
tank, while small-arms fire inflicted heavy casualties on the
enemy's Infantry, warding off the attack.

March 2nd at 2300 hours
The division fired all its guns at enemy targets across the Kyll
River in various attacks, while the 5th Infantry Division
crossed the river to the south with little opposition from the
enemy and established a bridgehead. The following two days were
used to prepare to attack through the bridgehead, north of
Koblenz, with the Rhine River as the objective.

March 5th
At 0730, the division moved northwest of Bitburg, through the
5th Infantry Divisions bridgehead, crossing the Kyll River,
north of Huttingen. Combat Command B encountered enemy
resistance north of Baden consisting of artillery and rocket
fire. Combat Command B destroyed four enemy tanks by direct fire
near the town of Meisburg.

Combat Command B continued their attack to the northeast, taking
the towns of Orsfeld, Weidenbach, and Wallenborn with little
resistance from the enemy. The rapid advance of Combat Command B
destroyed much of the enemy's equipment, allowing many prisoners
to be taken. Combat Command A attacked on the right flank,
parallel to Combat Command B. Near the town of Aberkail, bad
roads and blown bridges forced the column to stop.

March 6th
Continuing their attack to the northeast, Combat Command B was
fired upon by five enemy tanks near the town of Putzborn with
Combat Command B destroying one of the five tanks. Combat
Command B moved quickly through the towns of Neunkirchen, Daun,
Darscheid, Schonbach, and Ulmen, receiving artillery, mortar,
and rocket fire. An enemy Corps Headquarters was captured at
Neunkirchen and the Commander, Lt. Gen. Edwin von Rothkirch, who
had led enemy forces at Bastogne, was taken prisoner.

March 7th and 8th
The weather was poor and so was the visibility as Combat Command
B attacked from the town of Ulmen and moved through the town of
Buxhel. Combat Command B delivered an ultimatum over a
loudspeaker system in the town of Kaisersesch, and the town
surrendered without a shot being fired.

Combat Command B issued a similar ultimatum in the town of
Kehrig, but the enemy responded with anti-tank and bazooka fire.
Combat Command B counterbalanced the enemy's resistance with
artillery bombardment. Little enemy resistance was met in the
towns of Polch and Achtendung, and several enemy columns fleeing
toward the Rhine were brought under fire and destroyed.

The following day, Combat Command B seized the Andernach-Coblenz
highway, firing at enemy columns fleeing toward the town of
Coblenz.

Combat Command A captured the towns of Bassenheim, Karlich,
Mulheim, and Rubenach with only light resistance from enemy
small arms fire while attacking to the south.

March 9th - March 14th
Combat Command B was replaced by Reserve Command and, together
with Combat Command A, they cleared the west bank of the Rhine
River between the towns of Urmitz and Coblenz.

In the meantime, Combat Command B moved through the towns of
Kehrig, Dungenheim, Kaisersesch, Hambuch, and Binningen, and
captured a bridge over the Moselle River near the towns of
Carden and Treis.

Numerous minefields, along with artillery, bazooka, and small
arms fire, were encountered in the town of Carden, and all units
continued to mop up enemy resistance along the Rhine and Moselle
Rivers.

The division was relieved by the 5th and 90th Infantry Divisions
on the 11th and assembled near the towns of Gamben and Biningen.
Over the next three days, Combat Command B prepared to attack
over the Moselle and Nahe Rivers, through the 5th and 90th
Division bridgeheads, with Bad Kreuznach as their first
objective.

March 15th
Combat Command B moved from the town of Gamben and crossed the
Moselle River at Muden. Excellent air support helped in their
advance through the towns of Burgen, Macken, Evershausen,
Dommershausen, Dorweiler, Beltheim, Godenroth, and Laubach.

Combat Command B reached the town of Simmern, and a bridgehead
was quickly established over the Simmern River. Combat Command B
encountered some resistance from scattered small arms fire
during their advance.

Combat Command A moved from the assembly area near the town of
Kerben, crossed the Moselle River at Hatzenport, and moved
through the towns of Morshausen, Beulich, Gondershausen, and
Leisenfeld. In the town of Leisenfeld, small-arms fire was
received from four anti-tank guns. Two guns were destroyed by
tank fire, and the others were captured.

March 16th
Combat Command B continued their attack to the southeast, moving
from Simmern through the towns of Teifenbach, Winterbach,
Winterburg, Bockemau, Sponheim, Mandel, Rudesheim, Weisheim,
Huffelshiem, and Norheim, reaching the Nahe River by noon, and
captured a railroad bridge in the town of Bad Munster.

Combat Command B crossed the river quickly and established a
bridgehead near the town of Dreineiherof. Enemy vehicles
attempted to flee from elements of the Third and Seventh United
States Armies.

The enemy's 6th S.S. Mountain Division set up roadblocks in the
town of Rheinbollen and resisted the advance of Combat Command A
with bazooka and small arms. Air support and artillery destroyed
the obstacles, and most of the enemy was taken prisoner.

Combat Command A continued through the towns of Neuhutte,
Stromberg, Schueppenhausen, Windesheim, Waldhilbersheim,
Heddesheim, and Langenlonsheim. By nightfall, Combat Command A
reached the Nahe River near the town of Gensingen and the enemy
retreated, destroying all bridges over the river.

March 17th
Combat Command B expanded their Nahe bridgehead by taking the
towns of Furfeld and Frei-Laubersheim. Late that night, Combat
Command B received orders to attack Bad Kreuznach.

The enemy resisted with bazooka and small arms fire from cellars
and concealed positions, and set up a defensive perimeter around
the city for the night. Combat Command A moved south along the
Nahe River to the town of Bretzenheim and captured a bridge was
too weak for our tracked vehicles to cross.

Units of the Reserve Command followed Combat Command B and
encountered an attempted ambush in the heavily wooded area near
the town of Winterburg by enemy ground forces fleeing toward the
Rhine River. Deployment of tanks at strategic positions around
the woods blocked the attempted ambush and resulted in heavy
casualties to the enemy.

An enemy prisoner had reported the intention of the ground
forces was to reorganize in Bad Kreuznach; however, the speedy
advance of Allied Forces from the Moselle River prevented their
restructure.

The units of Combat Command A moved out in the morning near the
towns of Zotzenheim and Ippesheim to attack the towns of
Sprendlingen and Gau-Buckelheim. The enemy offered no resistance
as they captured these towns.

It had been reported that Combat Command A was threatened by
enemy tanks while C/8 and C/53 were protecting their right
flank. P47 air support bombed and strafed the enemy tanks,
destroying most of the tanks, forcing the remainder to withdraw
in a southeasterly direction.

The Nazis strongly resisted the advance of C/8 and C/53 in their
attack of St. Johann with bazooka and small arms fire. C/8 had
five tanks destroyed by bazooka fire before the town was
cleared. Nine enemy 20mm AA guns were destroyed. B/8 and B/53
then moved through St. Johann, attacking the town of Wolfsheim,
with modest resistance from the enemy.

March 18, 1945 was one of the happiest days of Donald's life. It
was the day he was liberated.

The Nazis knew American and allied forces were quickly closing
in on the area and attempted to move prisoners out of Bad
Kreuznach; however, the 4th Armored Division of General Patton's
Third Army were knocking on their door long before the Germans
had the chance.

Donald knew about the tunnels at the camp because he saw the
Germans using them, and when all hell broke loose, he and a
handful of other prisoners hid in the tunnels until the Army
liberated them.

Donald one of approximately fifty American prisoners liberated
at the enemy hospital in Bad Kreuznach that day and it was total
mayhem. At some point, while the Army was still clearing Bad
Kreuznach, a sergeant with the 4th Armored asked Donald if he
knew how to drive one of those German trucks fueled by methanol.

Donald said, "Sir. I can drive anything with four wheels and a
track." He then ordered Donald to load the prisoners that were
hiding with him into the truck and drive like hell!

Donald chuckled, "I was a driving fool; that is, until the damn
truck broke down. Then all hell broke loose again."

Some allied fighter planes spotted the German truck, and Donald
guessed they mistook them for Nazis and started shooting.

Donald said, "There was not much we could do but lay flat on the
ground as close to the tires as we could, and pray. We prayed
hard, too! I can't tell you why they ceased fire, but I suppose
someone radioed them and told them we were Americans, not
Germans."

Donald and the others were eventually transported to a secured
field somewhere in the area, then flown to Camp Lucky Strike.

Camp Lucky Strike

Camp Lucky Strike, also known as Camp R.A.M.P (Recovered Allied
Military Personnel) was located approximately forty miles from
Le Havre, France. In 1940, this camp was occupied by German
troops who constructed an airfield with a landing strip, and by
1944, the Nazis installed V-1 rocket launching ramps in the
woods surrounding the airfield for the attacks on England.

The British returned fire, heavily bombing the landing strip,
and by September 1944, the men of the American Engineer Corp
overtook the area, which included five thousand Nazis who became
Prisoners of War.

The Nazi prisoners were assigned various types of labor duties
such as repairing the landing strip and constructing what became
The Lucky Strike Camp, while liberated allied prisoners were
given strict orders to relax and keep clean.

Allied prisoners slept in Army tents that weren't winterized nor
did they have floors. They did, however, have four rows of thick
wood shavings to relax and sleep on. The only tents with floors
were the mess hall tents and the tents used for recreational
purposes.

The Non-Commissioned Officers, along with other ranks, had a
compound of their own. This compound consisted of two large
barracks and five tents. Half of one barracks accommodated the
sick and injured. Three of the five tents were reserved for the
Americans and two tents reserved for the British.

Once Donald and the other newly liberated prisoners arrived at
Camp Lucky Strike, they were placed into dipping tanks, which
removed the lice and fleas that inundated their undernourished
bodies. Once prisoners were deloused, they went into the showers
for as long as they pleased. No one was rushed since most of the
men hadn't been privy to hot showers for many months. Finally,
prisoners were given a thorough medical examination, issued new,
clean, dry uniforms, and debriefed.

Most of the old uniforms were destroyed, with the exception of
pieces prisoners wanted to keep as souvenirs. Once clean,
prisoners had the task of bringing various Army forms up to
date, and they even received some of their back pay.

The following Surgeons Bulletin was made available to all
Prisoners of War at Camp Lucky Strike.

Take the Doctors Advice

The Medical Department welcomes you. You have
just been liberated from your enemy, the
Germans. It is up to you now to liberate
yourselves from your new enemy, your appetite
and your digestive system.

After eating here several times, you may begin
to wonder what the score is; why the medics
will not let you gorge yourself with doughnuts
and hotdogs, complete with mustard and
sauerkraut, about which you must have dreamed
for months.

You may begin to wonder why the mess
supervisors will not let you come back for
seconds when you are still hungry. There is a
reason for it!

Most of you have been on a starvation diet for
months. A regular diet consisting of German
bread and watery soup, when taken over a
period of weeks and months, does something to
your stomach, digestive system, and entire
body.

You have lost tremendous weight; there have
been changes in your digestive system, your
skin, and other organs. You are weak and are
susceptible to diseases. You almost all have
severe diarrhea.

The reason is that you lack vitamins, and you
have lost the proteins so necessary in
building healthy, solid tissues and muscles.
The lining of your stomach is sore, delicate,
inflamed, and irritated. Your stomach has
shrunk.

If you overload that weak, small, sore stomach
of yours, you will become acutely ill. Your
belly will become swollen and painful. You
will have cramps, and your diarrhea will be
much worse. Some of you will have to be
hospitalized and even become seriously ill.

You must overcome the terrible cravings and
curb your appetites. You must realize that to
become well quickly and get back to normal,
you must eat small feedings at frequent
intervals until gradually you can once again
tolerate a normal diet.

The food you will be served is good, and you
will get more than enough. If you get hungry
between meals, go to the Red Cross for cocoa
and eggnog. Just do not drink too much. The
first kitchen you go to will feed you a soft,
bland, non-irritating diet.

Your next kitchen will give you a diet which
approaches normal. Know this for your own
good. The Medical Department advises you to
obey the following rules and build yourself
gradually to the point where you can once
again eat anything you want, and as much as
you want, without getting severely ill.

-Eat only as much as you are given in the chow
line.

-Do not come back for seconds.

-Take the vitamin pills given to you in the
mess line (and swallow them).

-Go to the Red Cross for eggnog or cocoa
between meals if you get hungry. Do not drink
more than one cup.

-Do not overeat. If you overload your small
stomach, you will get sick.

-Do not eat candy, peanuts, doughnuts,
frankfurters, pork, rich gravies, liquor,
spicy foods, or anything that you know will
make you sick.

There are three dispensaries in each of the
three areas where you will bivouac. As you
move from one area to the other, go to the
dispensary in that area. Sick call will be
held between 0800-1700 hours. After that, come
only for an emergency.

For the Camp Surgeon,
Francis E. Downey (Signed)
Capt., AGD Adjutant