March 17, 1945: Wallach Germany

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On March 10, 1945 Task Force Murray and the 137th Infantry Division advanced and seized Borch and Wallach Germany with light resistance.Task Force Murray was formed under the command of the 35th Infantry Division and included elements of Combat Command B (CCB) of the 8th Armored Division and the 137th Infantry Division. Specifically the 3rd Battalion of the 137th Infantry including Company K, captured the town of Wallach.

On the night of March 10, 1945, the 75th Infantry Division relieved Task Force Murray in the area around Kaldenkirchen, Germany. By March 11, 1945 the Allies had cleared the entire area West of the Rhine River. The plan was to gain a foothold on the eastern bank of the Rhine to then advance into Germany.

Between March 12 and 17th the 772nd Tank Destroyer Battalion was attached to the 75th Infantry Division. They were -repaired for direct fire on the West Bank of the Rhine River.

On March 17, 1945 Anti Tank guns were brought forward to a position south of Wallach Germany. The heavy artillery moved into Wallach was critical for the success of the crossing of the Rhine River. The gins fired until they were too hot to handle, barrels had to be replaced and entire artillery guns replaced.

On March 18, 1945 a squad from the 2nd Battalion of the 75th Infantry Division crossed the Rhine River and discovered defensive positions with 2-4 Germans. The squad made a detailed terrain study of the area noting roads through the German sector.

On March 21, 1945 a boat full of 5 man Germans was sighted near Company G of the 75th an infantry Division. Four Germans were killed and an officer captured. The goal of the 75th Infantry Division was to keep the Germans from gaining any intelligence about the impending Rhine River crossing.

On March 24, 1945 the Americans began the heavy artillery fire. There were 55 divisions of artillery. It would have been hell on earth on the opposite bank of the Rhine River. A-Company of the 772nd Tank Destroyer Division attached to the 75th Infantry Division fired 193 rounds and C-Company fired 23 interdiction rounds, 22 harassing rounds and 770 Normal rounds. 


Interdiction and Harassing rounds were a military tactic, especially associated with artillery and mortars, where standard High Explosive (HE) or other general-purpose shells were fired at suspected enemy areas, movement routes, or assembly points at random intervals, often throughout the night. The most common “normal” round for artillery was the High Explosive (HE) shell, which could be fitted with various fuzes (impact, graze, or time) to detonate at different times or upon impact. 

March 7, 1945: Leutherheide Germany

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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.

 

March 8, 1945: Kaldenkirchen Germany

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The 8th Armored Division passing through Kaldenkirchen Germany on March 3rd with little resistance. March 6, 1945 the 75th Infantry was ordered to move to an assembly area south of Kaldenkirchen Germany. That troop movement was completed by March 7, 1945. On March 7th there was small arms fire near the 75th Infantry Command Post. The Headquarters and Service Companies were alerted but no enemy troops were found in the area.

On March 9, 1945, a jeep patrol from the 75th Infantry division hit an anti-tank mine just east of Kaldenkirchen in farm country, resulting in several casualties, including one killed in action. The night of 10 March 1945, the 75th Infantry Division relieved Task Force Murray of the 35th Infantry Division working with the 8th Armored Division. The bridges to Wesel across the Rhine River had been blown by retreating Germans and the movement across the Rhine, halted.

From March 8-11 1945 the 75th Infantry Division was involved in clearing the area around Kaldenkirchen Germany as well as Venlo and Roermund Netherlands. The 35th Infantry Division had accomplished a breakthrough in this area but did not have time to completely eliminate all the enemy installations in the area. It fell to the 75th Infantry Division to take out each installation one at a time. German prisoners were taken, suspected were processed, mine fields were marked to keep troops from injury and for future clearing and large quantities of weapons and ammunition were confiscated.

From March 13 to March 23, the 75th patrolled a sector along the west bank of the Rhine from Wesel to Homburg.

 

March 2, 1945: Venlo Netherlands

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After a solid day of hiking through the woods of Groote Heide in search of the elusive Luftwaffe airport, I decided I should go into the city of Venlo and see the central market. This is tourist central so it would be very different that how it would have looked in February of 1945.

Venlo was liberated by the 35th Infantry Division on March 1, 1945. Immediately after the city’s liberation efforts were made to feed the starving population of the war torn city.

During the month of March the 772 Tank Destroyer Battalion was attached to the 75th Infantry Division. March 3rd the 75th Infantry, 3rd Battalion was moved to an area near Venlo Netherlands. It doesn’t sound like they went into the city itself for sight seeing. The Battalion was almost immediately alerted for a further move to Westerbroek Germany. The 290th Infantry entered Germany for the first time to relieve elements of the 291st Infantry providing a screen for the division sector. 290th Company’s I and R contacted the First Canadian Army to let them know the 291st was being relived. 1st Lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken was in the 75th Infantry’s 1st Battalion, C-Company. I am not sure of their exact position at this time but it would have been close to the movements of the 3rd Battalion.

From March 8-11 the 75th Infantry Division was occupied with clearing Venlo – Roermund and Kaldenkirchen of isolated German strong holds. A few days earlier another unit had accomplished a breakthrough and they didn’t have the time to thoroughly reduce all the enemy installations in the area. Prisoners were taken, suspects were processed and coal mines were marked that had large quantities of weapons and ammunition.

“At Venlo, C-Company was on the left flank of the American troops, next to the British, to the north. This was a holding semi-reserve position with only some shelling by the Germans and reconnaissance probes by us out in front of the dikes. Here we learned that the British fought a relatively civilized war, with no shelling at “tea-time”. Naturally, the Americans ruined this sort of short truce by shelling the Germans during this wonderful peaceful time and they retaliated, as one would expect. At Venlo my platoon lived in an old Brick Factory. We had found German carbide lamps that give good light but left us looking very black with soot, sort of like negative raccoons especially for these with glasses. Living in the ovens gave us, finally, a relatively safe, quiet place to relax.” – 1st Lieutenant Joe Colcord.