The 75th Infantry Division Command Post was in Leutherheide Germany on March 7, 1945. The troops were in Kaldenkirchen Germany a 10 minute drive to the west. During World War II Kaldenkirchen was located near the Siegfried line which was a critical German defensive position along the Western front. Allied forces encountered the Siegfried line in the final months of the war. The Rhineland campaign which involved allies clearing the area west of the Rhine and then crossing the Rhine River involved significant fighting in this area.
About 65 German soldiers marched into Leutherheide Germany. An allied patrol spotted the troops and reported their position back to the 135th Infantry Division headquarters. A convoy was assembles of anti tank guns, assorted vehicles and 7 jeeps carrying troops from Company’s K and L. When the American troops rolled into town the German troops were completely surprised. About 40 surrendered and the others fled. There were no casualties.
The saying on the large headstone with the German helmet on top, translated says…”We remember our hero’s.”
What I sketched was the Peter and Paul German War Graves in Leutherheide Germany. After completing the sketch I was getting back in the rental car when an old woman drive her motorized scooter up to my drivers door window. She asked me a question in German and I didn’t understand. She sounded upset or annoyed, soI decided to just show her my sketch. Then she pointed at the gate to the cemetery and I understood enough words to realize she wanted me to let her into the cemetery. I flipped open the squeaky iron latch and swung the gate open for her. She thanked me and motored inside. When I left the gate swung closed. Now I am wondering how she got back out of the cemetery. If she couldn’t open the gate going in, then she wouldn’t be able to open the gate to get back out.