The Guns at Last Light: The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945 (145 page)

The Dutch too would tramp away
: “Freedom Trail Arnhem,” n.d., city of Arnhem, author visit, May 24, 2009; Powell,
The Devil’s Birthday
, 229 (
plundered the city
and
eating dogs and tulip bulbs
); Saunders,
The Red Beret
, 262 (
execution of fifty resistance members
);
VW
, vol. 2, 416–17 (
rail strike
); Nijmegen signage, author visit, May 22, 2009 (
five thousand buildings
); Hitchcock,
The Bitter Road to Freedom
, 122 (
sixteen thousand died of starvation
); Urquhart,
A Life in Peace and War
, 75 (“
can never again afford
”).

21st Army Group had nearly doubled the perimeter
:
SLC
, 204–5.

That task would entangle most of Second Army
: Rapport and Northwood,
Rendezvous with Destiny
, 381 (
oxtail soup
); Arthur,
Forgotten Voices of World War II
, 368 (
empty oil drums
); Fauntleroy,
The General and His Daughter
, 134–35 (“
I’d be mortified
”);
SLC
, 206 (
another 3,600 casualties
); corr, JMG to MBR, Oct. 3, 1944, MBR papers, MHI, box 21 (“
much more vicious
”); T. G. Lindsay, “Operation Overlord Plus,” n.d., LHC, 54–55 (
which they stalked on ice skates
).

“
an epic cock-up
”: Arthur,
Forgotten Voices of World War II
, 346–47.

Eisenhower offered Montgomery a fistful
: corr, DDE to BLM, Oct. 11, 1944, DDE Lib, PP-pres, box 83.

Montgomery shifted his command post
: Biographer Nigel Hamilton considered
MARKET GARDEN
to be “Monty’s worst mistake of the war” (
Monty: Final Years of the Field-Marshal, 1944–1976
, 56, 97, 115).

“
will not affect operations eastward
”: Fraser,
And We Shall Shock Them
, 348.

“
the last occasion of the war
”: Hastings,
Armageddon
, 60–61.

“
The opening of the port
”: BLM, M-527, Sept. 27, 1944, National Archives of Canada, RG 24, vol. 1054 2, file 215A21.016(9).

“
There was a change of mood after Arnhem
”: Hastings,
Armageddon
, 141.

“
The picture is not very good
”: diary, Sept. 24, 1944, Raymond G. Moses papers, MHI, box 1.

“
I am not looking forward to the winter
”: Fauntleroy,
The General and His Daughter
, 57.

C
HAPTER
6: T
HE
I
MPLICATED
W
OODS

Charlemagne’s Tomb

For the most loyal Germans
: “Concise Guide to Aachen Cathedral,” n.d., Europäische Stiftung für den Aachener Dom,
www.aachendom.de
; “Aachen at a Glance,” Aachen Tourist Service, author visit, Sept. 25–27, 2009.

It was said that the fearless burghers
: Friedrich,
The Fire
, 116–17, 246–47.

Now smoke rose from Aachen again
:
SLC
, 252 (
First Army had narrowed its front
), 281–84 (
eighteen thousand German troops
); “Aachen: Military Operations in Urban Terrain,” 26th Infantry Regiment Association, 49 (
Seventy-four American gun batteries
); Middleton,
Our Share of Night
, 345 (“
gray and brown mass
”).

To help VII Corps complete Aachen’s encirclement
: “Breaching the Siegfried Line,” XIX Corps, Oct. 2, 1944, Charles H. Corlett papers, MHI, box 1, 9–15 (
Napalm fizzled
);
SLC
, 260–61, 279–80 (“
We have a hole
”), 294 (“
job is finished
”).

Hobbs was dead wrong
: “German Reaction to XIX Corps Breakthrough Siegfried Line, 2–16 Oct., 1944,” n.d., NARA RG 407, ML, box 24130;
SLC
, 287 (
huge white cross
); “Battle of Aachen, 18th Infantry Regiment,” n.d., NARA RG 407, E 427-A, CI (
gobbled down the breakfast
).

Field Marshal Rundstedt warned Berlin
:
SLC
, 299n; Wheeler,
The Big Red One
, 337 (
hardly a mile separated
); “The Fall of Aachen,” n.d., Stanhope Mason papers, MRC FDM, 1994.126 (“
no middle course
”).

Lest the Germans miss the message
: “The Fall of Aachen,” n.d., Stanhope Mason papers, MRC FDM, 1994.126; “Aachen: Military Operations in Urban Terrain,” 26th Infantry Regiment Association, 17–18.

Aachen’s dismemberment began in earnest
: “Aachen: Military Operations in Urban Terrain,” 26th Infantry Regiment Association, 17–18; Daniel, “The Capture of Aachen,” lecture, CO, 2nd Bn, 26th Inf, n.d., Quantico, Va., 8–11 (
tossed one thousand grenades
).

They found a
“
sterile sea of rubble
”:
SLC
, 308, 289; Daniel, “The Capture of Aachen,” lecture, CO, 2nd Bn, 26th Inf, n.d., Quantico, Va., 5 (“
Knock ’em all down!
”).

Street by street, building by building
: “Aachen: Military Operations in Urban Terrain,” 26th Infantry Regiment Association, 29–30; “Battle Experiences,” Apr. 15, 1945, NARA RG 407, ML #248, box 24148 (
perforated each building
); Beck, 384 (
beehive charges
); Wheeler,
The Big Red One
, 339 (
bulldozers piled rubble
); “Battle Experiences, Twelfth Army Group,” Dec. 5, 1944, NARA RG 337, AGF OR, no. 173 (
No. 2 green bean can
).

Three captured German streetcars
: “1106th Engineer Group South of Aachen,” n.d., Stanhope Mason papers, MRC FDM, 1994.126; “Aachen: Military Operations in Urban Terrain,” 26th Infantry Regiment Association, 6; Daniel, “The Capture of Aachen,” lecture, CO, 2nd Bn, 26th Inf, n.d., Quantico, Va., 15–16 (“
Surrender or get fried
”); “1st Division World War II Combat Achievements Report,” chapter XXV, “Aachen,” 2nd Bn, 26th Inf, Oct. 14, 1944, MRC FDM; Stanhope B. Mason, “Reminiscences and Anecdotes of World War II,” 1988, MRC FDM, 1994.126, 226 (
collect mattresses
).

Another lethal legacy from the Italian campaign
: Mayo,
The Ordnance Department
, 301 (
capable of keeping pace
); author visit, Sept. 25–27, 2009; “Clearing the Area South of the Railroad Tracks,” n.d., Stanhope Mason papers, MRC FDM, 1994.126 (
seven rounds down Hindenburgstrasse
).

Across the city the Americans crept
: Middleton,
Our Share of Night
, 349, 354 (“
fucking bastards
”).

As the house-to-house ruination proceeded
: “1st Division World War II Combat Achievements Report,” chapter XXV, “Aachen,” 2nd Bn, 26th Inf, Oct. 8–9, 1944, MRC FDM; Marshall, ed.,
Proud Americans
, 224 (
Not even a radio antenna
);
SLC
, 302 (“
have to close that gap
”).

Hodges also castigated the XIX Corps commander
: Farrington, ed.,
Cowboy Pete
, 9, 13, 21, 103.

“
Every hour seems interminable
”: Kingseed,
From Omaha Beach to Dawson’s Ridge
, 209–10.

“
I’ve calloused my emotions
”: corr, Joseph T. Dawson to sister, Sept. 19, 1944, MRC FDM, 1991.65.

“
His face is bony
”: Heinz,
When We Were One
, 39 (“
large ears
”), 20 (“
Just move the ones
”).

Bruno and the Swinging Tigers
: Alosi,
War Birds
, 91.

“
We could hear them singing
”: Wheeler,
The Big Red One
, 340.

By ten
A.M.
several Tigers had churned uphill
: “Attack on G and I Companies,” 16th Infantry, NARA RG 407, E 427-A, CI; Clay,
Blood and Sacrifice
, 216.

“
Situation very critical
”: Kingseed,
From Omaha Beach to Dawson’s Ridge
, 212–15; Heinz,
When We Were One
, 49 (“
thrown against the door
” and
Judy Garland sang
); Clay,
Blood and Sacrifice
, 216 (
P-47 fighters
).

“
Much moaning and groaning
”: “Attack on G and I Companies of the 16th Infantry Regiment,” n.d., Stanhope Mason papers, MRC FDM, 1994.126.

“
If higher authority decides
”: OH, James K. Woolnough, 1971, W. D. Macmillan and William M. Stevenson, SOOHP, MHI, 18.

As the enemy attacks grew feebler
: “Attack on G and I Companies of the 16th Infantry Regiment,” n.d., Stanhope Mason papers, MRC FDM, 1994.126; Heinz,
When We Were One
, 223, 41–42 (“
He doesn’t know why
”).

At 4:15
P.M.
on Monday, October 16
:
SLC
, 306; Marshall, ed.,
Proud Americans
, 241 (
sixty-three of ninety panzers
).

The tally for G Company
: Kingseed,
From Omaha Beach to Dawson’s Ridge
, 219–20 (“
somewhat shattered
”); Heinz,
When We Were One
, 223 (“
We died right here
”).

In keeping with the Führer’s wishes
: “Aachen: Military Operations in Urban Terrain,” 26th Infantry Regiment Association, 40 (“
We shall fight
”); “Clearing Area South of the Rail Road Tracks,” 26th Inf, n.d., and blueprint, map, Palast Hotel, “Aachener Quellenhof,” NARA RG 407, E 427-A, CI;
Register of Graduates
, U.S. Military Academy, class of 1938 (
John T. Corley
).

At seven
A.M.
, as mortars pummeled
: “1st Division World War II Combat Achievements Report,” chapter XXVI, “Farwick Park, Aachen,” 3rd Bn, 26th Inf, Oct. 14, 1944, MRC FDM; “Clearing Area South of the Rail Road Tracks,” 26th Inf, n.d., NARA RG 407, E 427-A, CI (
exchange of grenades
); Robert G. Botsford, “The City of Aachen,” in Stanhope B. Mason, “Reminiscences and Anecdotes of World War II,” 1988, MRC FDM, 1994.126 (
hunting-scene oils
);
SLC
, 316 (
ten thousand marks
).

The colonel instead had packed his bags
:
SLC
, 316; Whitehead, “
Beachhead Don
,” 273–74 (“
They marched smartly
”); “Aachen: Military Operations in Urban Terrain,” 26th Infantry Regiment Association, 42 (“
do it in our hearts
”); Knickerbocker et al.,
Danger Forward
, 266 (“
I don’t believe in miracles
”).

Nearly twelve thousand Germans had been captured
:
SLC
, 317–18; Wheeler,
The Big Red One
, 342.

“
These bitter tragic months
”: Wheeler,
The Big Red One
, 342–43. Promoted to major, Dawson would return to Europe to work with the OSS. An oil industry geologist after the war, he died in 1998.

Also sent home was General Corlett
: corr, ONB to DDE, Oct. 19, 1944, Charles H. Corlett papers, MHI, box 1 (
failing health
); Farrington, ed.,
Cowboy Pete
, 104–5 (“
plain heartbreak
”); OH, George I. Forsythe, 1974, Frank L. Henry, SOOHP, MHI, 212 (“
sasses the army commander
”); Berlin,
U.S. Army World War II Corps Commanders
, 6 (
Oklahoma National Guard soldier
);
http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/M/MC033.html
.

No one would take the waters in Aachen
: Robert G. Botsford, “The City of Aachen,” in Stanhope B. Mason, “Reminiscences and Anecdotes of World War II,” 1988, MRC FDM, 1994.126 (“
none of the grace
”); Carpenter,
No Woman’s World
, 165 (“
dead as yesterday
” and “
the dead from my house
”); Heinz,
When We Were One
, 226 (
83 percent
);
Reporting World War II
, vol. 2, 546–47 (“
These ruins
”).

A plump, sooty man wandering the streets
: Whiting,
The Home Front: Germany
, 178–79 (“Gebt mir fünf Jahre”); Robert G. Botsford, “The City of Aachen,” in Stanhope B. Mason, “Reminiscences and Anecdotes of World War II,” 1988, MRC FDM, 1994.126 (
graveyard uprooted
); Edsel,
The Monuments Men
, 142–44 (
formed a fire brigade
).

“
We can force the Boche to their knees
”: corr, JLC to M. S. Eddy, Oct. 24, 1944, JLC papers, DDE Lib, box 3, 201 file; “U.S. Military Government in Germany: Operations During the Rhineland Campaign,” 1950, CMH, 8-3.1 DA5, 34–35, 138; Whiting,
The Home Front: Germany
, 178–79 (
curfew was imposed
); Alosi,
War Birds
, 134 (“
clipping details
”); “Pigeon Report,” AFHQ G-2 to SHAEF G-2, March 12, 1945, NARA RG 331, SGS, Entry 15, box 112 (“
falconry unit
”).

“
We come as conquerers
”: “U.S. Military Government in Germany: Operations During the Rhineland Campaign,” 1950, CMH, 8-3.1 DA5, 34–39, 55a, 57, 105–6;
TSC
, 356–57 (“
not as oppressors
”).