Restaurant in Datteln Germany

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On April 4, 1945 the stage was set for an assault crossing of the Dortmind-Ems Canal at Datteln Germany. This would be a tough crossing but important for the advance into the heart of the Ruhr Pocket. Having reached the Dortmund-Ema Canal, the first stage of the Ruhr campaign was complete. The second stage would have the 75th Infantry Division push south, thus dividing the encircled German troops in half.

The attack across the Dortmind-Ems Canal jumped off with the 75th Infantry Division scaling ladders to cross up and over the canal. Bulldozers followed to mound up dirt to create a path for the tanks and tank destroyers. Creating these paths using bulldozers was a slow process since the Vanal was so wide, and the troops had already advanced across the canal and they were without supplies. Cub planes of the division were flown in to the rescue. They landed necessary supples and evacuated the wounded.

The Germans had retreated, however, they left ground mines behind. Martin Freeman Ables and one other soldier were in a Jeep, returning from picking up two wounded men, to take for medical treatment. Leaving the road to go around a tank, they ran over a ground mine and all four men were killed. This happened on April 1, 1945.

Allied air attacks heavily destroyed Datteln’s residential area. The worst attack was on March 9, 1944 by 77 Royal Air Force Halifax Bombers. They destroyed the churches, including St. Amanduskirche, 3 schools, several buildings of the local mine and 12% of the houses. 64% of the remaining homes were gravely damaged. There were a number of dead civilians who were buried in a mass grave. All of the bridges were blown up by Allied troops.

Confluence of the Wesel-Datteln and Dortmund-Ems Canals

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The Wesel-Datteln Canal (Lippe Canal) runs west and east and it joins the Dortmund-Ems Canal which runs north and south. The 75th Infantry Division was moving from west to east following the Wesel-Datteln Canal which is known as the Lippe Canal on the World War II history books I have been referring to. The two canals meet at the city of Dattlen Germany. The troops would have crossed the Lippe Canal to attack Dorsten, Marl and the Die Haard Forest in Germany but they kept moving along the southern bank of the Lippe Canal until they reached this confluence. Every factory, village and crossroad was a potential strongpoint for snipers and anti-tank guns. Each strongpoint had to be reduced. 50 or more bridges had been blown ip by the retreating Germans. American engineers had to repair each bridge to make it passable for huge Quartermaster trucks. Quartermaster (QM) trucks in WWII were the vital supplyline, delivering fuel, ammo, and food to the front lines, often under enemy fire.

The 2nd Battalion of the 75th Infantry Division closed in on Datteln On April 2l 1945. They fought until their ammunition was gone. Germans surrendered in droves. Lieutenant Stephen H. Lax from L-Company reported that, As we closed on the town, two German 40mm guns fired point blank.”

Despite 6 casualties, the 1st and 2nd platoons rushed into the town. Two other platoon were pinned down for over an hour before they could rush in for support. A flushing party scoured the north east section of town for snipers and they rounded up 1200 Germans, all in civilian clothes. The 75th Infantry Division was now 0n the western bank 0f the Dortmund-Ems Canal. which was rhe last water barrier it had to cross in Europe.

Teo days later the stage was set for an assault crossing of the Dortmund-Ems Canal. The 9th and 1st Armies had met ay Lippestadt thus encircling the Germans in the Ruhr. If the Germans learned they were trapped they might try and break through. The area surrounding the 300,000 or so trapped Germans had to be expanded. The push to the west was complete. The next phase would have the 75th Infantry push south to the banks of the Ruhr River and final victory.

Patrols pushed across the Dortmund-Ems Canal to locate possible crossing sights. Staff Sargent Alfred J. William calmly walked to the water’s edge in full view of the Germans on the opposite shore who were sunning themselves. He broke off a branch and stuck it in the water to measure the water’s depth. He then wiped off the stick and repeated the procedure to be sure of his gauge reading. The Germans must have been too surprised to shoot at him.

My father 1st Lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken lead the soldiers of C-Company of the u5th Infantry Division. Solders from C-Company who died at the Dortmund-Ems Canal were…

Private Ernie J. Guiger died at Datteln, Dortmund-Ems Canal

Private Howard Hall, died at Datteln, Dortmund-Ems Canal

Private Chester W. Novinski, age 33, died near the Dortmund-Ems Canal

Private William R. Speaker, died near Dortmund-Ems Canal

Private Clifton H. Veretto, died at Dattelin Dortmund-Ems Cana

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.