Dortmund-Ems Canal

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On April 1, 1945, the  290th infantry Division which includes the 75th Infantry Division attacked with the 289th Infantry Division through the pinned down 8th Armored Group to reach Dortmund-Ems Canal near Datteln Germany. On the same day, the American 9th Army and American 1st Army met at Lippistadt Germany enclosing the Ruhr Pocket. About 350,000 German soldiers were surrounded.

On April 3 to 5, 1945 the canal was crossed as infantry scaled up and over ladders. Bulldozers worked slowly to bridge the canal. Thr 75th Infantry crossed 0n April 4, 1945.

I hiked along a section of the canal that was cut off and isolated from the main canal. That is where I found these Historical Barrier Gates.The barrier gates were needed during World War II because the Royal Air Force kept bombing critical German supply routes. These gates offered quick deployment as a safety measue to prevent catastrophic water loss and flooding from the damaged canal structures. These wartime gates, along with permanent lock gates, protected vital railway tunnels and controlled water flow, making them key tactical elements in canal defense and operation. They are no longer in use today.

This isolated section of the canal was about a quarter mile long. One of the hiking paths was completely covered with bright orange leaves which had dropped off the trees. This isolated section of canal might have been cut off  when the Americans used bulldozers to fill in to create a soil bridge for Infantry and tanks.

The 75th Infantry reinforced the 320th Regiment, and the 35th Infantry Division. Two  slave labor camps were liberated in the area with 3,000 inmates. An estimated 30,000 forced laborers were deployed in the city of Dortmund alone. Dealing with so many displaced persons became a logistical problem.

Cub planes flew supplies over to the far side of the canal and brought back wounded.

My father, 1st Lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken was in charge of C-Company. C-Company soldiers who were killed in action  at the Dortmund-Elms Canal…

Private Howard Hall. Died April 2, 1945. Age 20. From Lynchburg, Moore County Tennessee.

Private First Class Chester W. Novonski, Age 33, Died April 2, 1945. Toward Dortmund-Ems Canal.

Private  William R. Speaker. Toward Dortmund-Ems_ Canal.

Datteln Germany: War Graves

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On April 3, 1945 the 75th Infantry Division was in Datteln Germany.I decided to sketch in a cemetery where German soldiers from World War II were buried. At this location a German gentleman who was walking his dog stopped to chat. He spoke fluent English. He told me about how important coal mining was in the area although all the coal mines are now closed.

He also told me about the canal system which was used to transport coal and other goods. The canals are named with the city on one end of the canal and also the city at the other end of the canal. The history books I have been referring to only gave the canals one city name. I had just picked up a large paper map from a museum several days before. on this night I opened the map and spread it out on a table and used blue colored pencil to boldly indicate where each canal was that the 75th Infantry Division had to cross. Crossings would happen with assault craft of quickly assembled pontoon bridges. Each crossing was dangerous because a snipper on the opposite bank would have a clear shot at the troops struggling to cross. I am certain that my father 1st Lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken would have dreaded each crossing.

During WWII, Datteln, Germany, a crucial canal junction, suffered extensive damage from Allied bombing particularly in March of 1945, which crippled the vital waterway traffic on the Dortmund-Ems Canal system. The town experienced the destruction of historic buildings and significant loss of life. Datteln was captured by Allied forces on April 2, 1945, marking the end of the war in the area. 
Before the war, Datteln had 18 Jewish families, none of whom survived or returned after the war, though descendants are now involved in reconciliation efforts with the town. A few of the jewish children in town were rescued from the Nazis by the American based organization known as the German Jewish Children’s Aid. As boycotts of jewish businesses were beginning in the town, patents had to make the agonizing decision to give up custody of their children and send them to America where they entered the foster care system. About One Thousand Children were ultimately saves. while their parents faced deportation to the concentration camps.

April 2-3, 1945: Oer-Erckinswick Germany

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I decided to focus my attention on coal mines to get a sense of what the Ruhr might have been like back in 1945. The Bergau und Gesichts Museum located at Oer-Erckinswick Germany. This museum seemed to be run by ex-miners. I entered a room full of men who didn’t seem to understand my request  to see the museum. Perhaps it was because my German is so bad. Finally one of the men agreed to give me a tour but the tour wouldn’t start for an hour. I settled in and started to sketch until the tour began.

Museum staff  started to gain interest as they saw my sketch progress. Art is a universal language. Those who were not giving a tour went into back workshops probably to help refurbish displays. The tour did go to areas that were set up like the tunnels deep underground. I used Google translate to try and understand what was being said in German. I suspect the cell connection was lost underground since translating stopped working.

A manakin was dressed as a miner rescue worker. He wore a large solid backpack. The tour guide opened the backpack to reveal a mini bar of liquor bottles. Th guide laughed. The backpack was actually supposed to house oxygen and medical supplies for any injured miners. I vot my one pair of decent hiking pants dirty by kneeling in a mine tunnel. A small family joined the tour and I got to hear the introductions a a second time. One tunnel had a bicycle that was altered so it would ride on a rail. The little boy from the family was encouraged to ride down the tunnel on the bike.

This museum allowed me to experience what it would be like to work deep underground. Forced laborers were used to step up the mining of coal during world War II. Oer-Erkinswick experienced the war’s impact, since the mining town was important in supplying energy for the war effort. The area faced Allied bombing, like Operation Clarion, targeting infrastructure.

On April 2 and 3, 1945. Oer-Eckinswick was a command post for the 75th Infantry Division.  A main intersection in town was called Adolph Hitler Platz. After Hitler committed suicide the intersection was renamed Hunenplatz in late 1945.  After WWII all Nazi street names were abolished.

Generators at Umspanwerk, Recklinghausen Germany

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In Recklinghausen Germany there is a museum right near the Rhine-Herne Canal. After sketching the canal, I walked over a footbridge and decided to go into the Umspannwerk museum. The museum tracks the progress of technology and energy in Germany. I figured that understanding the progress of energy in Germany might help me understand how energy fueled the German war machine during World War II.

What I decided to sketch was a large Tesla designed generator. A photo of Tesla was on the wall behind the generator. The front desk curators were very kind about getting me set up to sketch. Rather than getting my compact art stool outI decided to use a stackable chair that was with several other unused chairs behind the generator. The stackable chairs were locked together and I couldn’t get then unstuck. The guy behind the desk helped me by laying the chairs sideways on the floor and the. stepping on the legs. They snapped apart effortlessly.

The Ruhr area of Germany has deep veins of coal. The coal is fairly close to the surface near the Ruhr river in the south and it gets deeper as it is mined further to the north. What made the Ruhr area so important to the war was this source of energy.

Hydro power was used for some industry. Huge generators like the one I sketched would convert energy of spinning turbines spun by water onto electrical energy. Hydro electricity was important for specific industries like the aluminum and chemicals industries.

Germany’s energy consumption during WWII was characterized by a massive escalating demand primarily for oil (especially aviation fuel) which was provided through a huge synthetic fuel industry which converted coal to oil. This system collapsed under allied bombing, crippling the military by 1944-1945, forcing reliance on coal for electricity, and ultimately leading to fuel-starved German forces relying on horses.

The Allies crippled Germany’s energy by launching devastating bombing campaigns against oil fields, refineries, and synthetic fuel plants (the Allied Oil Plan), which drastically cut petroleum, oil, and lubricants production by over 90% by late 1944, which grounded the Luftwaffe and immobilized Panzer divisions, grinding the German war machine to a halt and severely limiting mobility for all forces. By 1945, the Wehrmacht was so fuel-starved that army vehicles were sometimes pulled by oxen, effectively ending mechanized warfare.

April 2, 1945: Rhine-Herne Canal Germany

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During WWII, the Rhine–Herne Canal,a vital industrial waterway in the Ruhr area of Germany, was a strategic target, seeing heavy fighting as Allied forces broke into the region in April 1945; the Germans destroyed bridges to slow the advance, but American troops eventually crossed the canal, securing cities like Herne and Gelsenkirchen, capturing key crossings and disrupting German resistance as part of the final push into Germany’s industrial heartland. 

On April 1, 1945. (Easter Sunday) C-Company spearheaded a drive south, atop of tanks of the 701st Tank Battalion to Rhine-Herne Canal virtually unopposed. By April 2, 1945 C-Company was at the Rhine-Herne Canal the 75th Infantry Division replaced elements of the 134th Infantry Division to secure the area.

Crossing the canal would require assault boats and pontoon bridges to be built by engineers. Each canal that the 75th Infantry Division had to cross was a dangerous natural barrier to the advance into the heart of Germany.

Having sat at the West bank to sketch I can say that the crossing would involve bridging about 100 yards while possibly under enemy fire. I sketched a crane as unloading several barges. The company tower was for Rolland Mills West which mills flour for baked goods.

Herzogswall Recklinghausen Germany

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Recklinghausen Germany was known as the fortress city. It also had the nickname of the waffle because of the shape of the city walls as seen from the sky. Recklinghausen’s oil facilities made it a key target for Allied bombing, particularly by the Royal Air Force. The Allies launched a major bomb attack on the city on March 23, 1945 killing 173 people.

On April 1, 1945 (Easter Sunday) the 134th US Infantry Division American troops captured the city which was strongly fortified by Germans. The Germans knew that this fortified city was needed to stop Americans from crossing Rhine-Herne Canal. My father, 1st Lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken with his C-Company troops were moving south with the goal of cutting the trapped German troops in the Ruhr Pocket in half.

By the end of the day on April 2, 1945, the 134th Infantry Division had cleared Recklinghausen and was being relieved by elements of the 290th Infantry, 75th Infantry Division, and elements were heading to an assembly area in the vicinity of Westerholt Germany. Remaining elements of the 134th Infantry in positions along the Zweig Canal were relieved by the 290th Infantry. The 75th Infantry Division assumed responsibility for the sector.

The German flanks were  secured by Lippe Canal to the north and Rhine-Hern Canal to the south.  The final artillery battle was fought in the Recklinghausen Market square.

After Germany surrendered on May 7, 1945, an Interment camp was stablished in Recklinhausen for German civilians in a former forced labor camp in the Hillerheide district. This Civilian Interment Enclosure 91 held 20,000 prisoners. It was used by the Allies to question German prisoners about war crimes and mistreatment of forced laborers. The 44th Infantry Division was involved in  involved in investigating potential war crimes around May 3, 1945, where local people were forced to bury bodies from mass graves near Recklinghausen (Suttrop). The camp closed on April 15, 1948.

I decided to sketch a remnant of the medieval city wall. Only a few short sections remain of this wall.

Old Town, Westerholt Germany

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The 75th Infantry Division went to an assembly area near Westerholt Germany after clearing Die Haard Forest. They might not have been in the city center but I decided I should explore regardless. Westerholt was impacted by World War II  because of its industrial importance, the presence of key military figures, and its experience as part of occupied Germany after the war. Though much of the city experienced significant damage from Allied bombing, somehow the Altes Dorf (Old City) managed to be spared. By sketching here I felt I was seeing what the city looked like before World War II. My German Great HGreat Great grandfather left Arolsen Germany in 1830 which was a city that looks very similar to theWesterholt old city.

Westerholt, Germany, fell during the final months of World War II as Allied forces pushed into Germany, likely around in late March or early April of 1945, with American forces capturing areas near the Rhine River and puching south to the Ruhr River, leading to mass surrenders of German soldiers and the end of fighting in the region by May 1945, coinciding with Germany’s overall surrender on May 8th. 

I was seated on my artist stool in front of an artist gallery. There was a bench in front of the gallery and I had considered sitting there but the bench faced straight a ross the street. I wanted a view down the old city street. The gallery owner noticed me at work and started taking to be in German. I have been studying German on Duolingo which gave me enough vocabulary to order food and check in to hotels but fast conversation always would leave me like a dear staring at headlights.

I always assume people who approach are scolding me for creating art in public. In Winter Park Florida it is illegal to create art in public. Through our broken conversation I figured out that she was offering her bench for me to sit on. I was already adding color to my sketch, so changing location wasn’t an option. After my sketch was done, I looked at the display on the gallery window. The artist’s work was bold and abstract. She offers printing workshops in the downstairs gallery. What a beautiful way to make a living.

The tiny building across the street was new but it was being build using the old beam and stucco techniques. It used to be a storage shed but it was being rebuilt to blend in better with the whole neighborhood. The whole time I was sketching the neighborhood were chatting in German on the street or walking their dogs. I felt at peace. If only I could find such a beautiful historic place to set down roots.

April 2, 1945: Westerholt Germany

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When I realized how important coal mining was to the German war effort, I began searching out coal mines. The Colliery Schlagel & Eisen is near Westerholt Germany.

On April 2, 1945 the 75th infantry Division was moved to an assembly area near Westerholt Germany which is a short distance south of Marl Germany which the Division had helped capture the day before.

Colliery Schlagel & Eisen was a significant German coal mine known for its impressive industrial architecture, especially Shaft 7, and its role in the Ruhr region’s mining history, now preserved as a cultural monument with unique buildings, showcasing Bauhaus-influenced designs, and a reminder of industrial heritage in a city which was for a long time the largest mining center in Europe.

The mine was crucial to the German war effort and suffered from allied bombing, with its head frames and infrastructure damaged. Some of the older parts of Westerholt survived unlike many other German towns. The region’s coal supported the war, while notable figures like fighter ace Adolf Galland hailed from Westerholt, and the nearby Westerholt cemetery holds victims of Nazi tyranny, highlighting the broader impact of the war on the area. 

When I sketched the mine the fall colors had started to turn. The maple tree had bright red leaves.The same color could be seen in the rust of the old buildings. The mine is a memorial today. I considered going inside. but there were so many signs that said verboten.

Punta Gorda Florida: Christmas Display

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I am interrupting the WWII series to post a few holiday sketches. In Punta Gorda Florida there is this amazing trailer home with tons of lights and every imaginable inflatable. Instead of focusing on the Macy’s Day Parade, I decided to sketch these inflatables. After Thanksgiving diner at the Eagle lodge I asked to be dropped off at this house. I had talked to the person working on the display in the morning, and he said that I should come back after 4pm which is when it started coming back to life.

when I returned the inflatables were still pancakes on the ground. I just focused my attention on the home and waited for them to inflate. There is actually far more to the display on the far side of the house and on back. To the right is an outdoor drive in theater with teddy bears, frogs and other stuffed characters watching the screen. Loony Toons cartoons were soon being shown.

A penguin would climb the ladder and then slowly make its way back down. I was told that a rotisserie motor was used for the movement. The advantage of that motor is that it reverses itself. Washing machine motors run the Carousel and Ferris Wheel. A rabbit and teddy bear were on a see saw which also used a rotisserie motor.

M&M signs showed up throughout. I wondered if it was an infatuation with that brand of candy, but the owner explained that it was the initials for him and his wife. He was making adjustments and adding light the whole time I sketched. It was a never ending job. The inflatable at the peak of the roof refused to sit up, so he had to climb up on the roof and lift it up by hand.

April 1, 1945: Die Haard Forest

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After capturing Marl Germany, the 75th Infantry Division pushed east towards the Dortmund-Ems Canal. The Wehrmacht was making its last attempts at resistance before Germany would surrender. 75th Infantry Division combed the forest to engage remnants of German troops. My father 1st Lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken and his C-Company troops would have advanced through the woods. This was a challenge since they wanted to be sure to find all enemy troops. Any tree could hide a German sniper.

With the regiments abreast, the 75th Infantry advanced on a line towards the Dortmund-Ems Canal to the east. Die Haard forest was cleared on April 1, 1945 as part of the push into the Ruhr Pocket which was an egg-shaped pocket 30 by 75 miles in diameter. The pocket had sealed shut on April 1, 1945 when two US armies—the 9th coming over from Wesel and the 1st coming up from Remagen—made contact.

There was fierce German resistance in difficult terrain. This engagement was part of the broader Western Front offensive, where the “Charlie” C_Company of the 75th Infantry Division faced heavy fighting, but ultimately securing the area and pushing east. 

My father would have been aware of the allied losses in the Hürtgen forest one year before. The battle in the Hurtgen forest became known as the “green hell.” Lasting 88 days, it was the longest American battle on German soil during World War II. The Hürtgen Forest cost the U.S. First Army at least 33,000 killed and wounded, including both combat and non-combat losses, with upper estimates at 55,000; German casualties were 28,000.

The Haard Forest was less costly. None of the soldiers of C-Company lost there lives clearing this forested area.

I decided to hike through the forest from west to east and then loop back to where I parked the rental car. Germans love to hike through the woods so I came across many other hikers. Some people were gathering mushrooms for cooking.This hike felt like I was truly following the footsteps of my father. The woods were quiet but once in  a while I might hear people hiking other trails in the distance. The hikers would be speaking in German. If my father heard these  German conversations the hair would bristle on the back of his neck and a deadly squirmiest would certainly ensue.

I was using a hiking app to navigate the trails. After sketching and hiking for several hours, I realized that the app had drained the battery on my phone. I was afraid that the phone would die, and I would become helplessly lost. I turned the phone off and started navigating by the angle of the sun and trusted that I was heading back to the site I had parked. I made it back safely, but now I wish I had brought along a traditional hand held liquid compass for navigating. Digital devices cannot be trusted to last out in the woods.