October 1999
Volume 8 Number 2
Published by The WW II History Roundtable
Edited by Jim and Jon Gerber
Welcome to the October meeting of the Dr. Harold C. Deutsch World War Two History
Roundtable. The topic for this evening is the role of the 78th Infantry Division in the battle of the
Huertgen Forest
The 78th Division was activated on August 27, 1917. It went overseas in May of 1918. It was
reactivated on August 15, 1942 and went overseas in October of 1944 to the ETO. The
impressive combat history of the 78th includes the cracking of the Siegfried Line, capture of the
Schwammenauel Dam, crossing of the Rhine River and the reduction of the Ruhr Pocket. The
78th first went into action near Roetgen on December 13, 1944 with the objective of capturing the
Schwammenauel Dam. It required one month to reach the dam. During that month the 78th took
Rollesbroich, Simmerath, Bickerath and Witzerath. It encountered severe resistance at
Kesternich and Schmidt. The capture of the dam freed the Allies from the threat of a 22 billion
gallon flood which might have been loosed to block their way.
December of 1944 saw many daring missions behind enemy lines and tales of heroic deeds. The
310th Regiment of the 78th recorded one such incident. Just after midnight on December 19th,
two dirty and haggard-looking men stumbled into the command post of the 310th’s 2nd Battalion.
They proceeded to tell a story of sheer drama right out of Hollywood. Out in the darkness, a six
hour crawl behind enemy lines, 74 men of F, G, and H companies were holding out in the cellar of
a battered house on the edge of Kesternich. A number of them were wounded. Most had trench
foot and other than a few green apples, had eaten nothing for four days.
Company F had been deployed on the outskirts of Kesternich and its position provided minimal
protection from overwhelming enemy hellfire. The ground was being chewed up and the
casualties were mounting. With the approach of darkness, outposts were established and the rest
of the company left their foxholes and with men of G and H companies, who had been separated
from their units, sought shelter in the cellar of the nearest building. That night, the enemy
counterattack forced the 78th out of Kesternich. The men in the cellar were trapped and cut off in
the far end of town. They sent out patrols and found that the approaches to the town were alive
with German soldiers.
In the cellar, the battered group tried to figure out what was happening around them. Being cutoff,
no one would know of their presence. So far, the Germans had not discovered them and they
figured that they had been marked off as dead or captured by their own battalion. Someone had
to get back to Simmerath but it was hard to find anyone with enough strength left to make the
difficult trip through the snow. Many were so weak or crippled that they had to be carried to their
guard posts. The two strongest men were finally selected and they made their way through
Kesternich, noting enemy mortar and artillery emplacements. They cut wires as they went and
after six hours of crawling finally reached an outpost of the 310th near Simmerath. There they
sent up a green flare to let their buddies know that they had made it to safety.
A rescue party was immediately organized but the two men were in no condition to lead the group
back. This was unfortunate because the rescue patrol managed to get into Kesternich but were
unable to find the house where the men were holding out. In the darkness, they went to the wrong
house and returned to Simmerath thinking that the men in the cellar had been captured. The
hopes of the battered and frozen men in Kesternich dropped as they realized that the rescue
party was not coming that night. They braced themselves for another ordeal of artillery and at
dawn the barrage began again. That night, two others made their way back to Simmerath.
Another rescue patrol was sent out and this time they found the men and brought back everyone
able to walk or crawl. Many came in barefoot with feet so swollen that they could not get their
boots on. 16 men, who were unable to move, were left behind in Kesternich and later that night
the rescue party returned with litters and brought them out.
The 78th’s 310th Regiment also crossed the Remagen bridge and the rest of the division was
quick to exploit this famed windfall. The bridgehead was quickly widened to 100 square miles by
March 17, 1945. In the Ruhr pocket, April 6 - 11, the 78th took 47,581 Nazi prisoners. At the end
of the war, the division was near Marburg, Germany.
Sixty Years Ago This Month
October 3, 1939
Poland - The last significant units of the Polish Army surrendered near Luck. The Germans took
700,000 prisoners and the Soviets 200,000. The Polish casualties were severe. The Germans
lost 10,000 dead and 30,000 wounded. Although tanks played a notable role in the campaign, the
tank forces were seen at this stage, except by enthusiasts like Guderian, as little more than useful
auxiliaries who could help the infantry do the real work.
October 6, 1939
Diplomatic Relations - In a major speech to the Reichstag, Hitler speaks of his desire for peace
with Britain and France. Hitler says that up to that point he had done nothing more than correct
the unjust Versailles Treaty and that he has no war aims against Britain or France.
October 9, 1939
German Planning - Hitler issues Directive No. 6. Its message: ‘Should it become evident in the
near future that England, and, under her influence, France also, are not disposed to bring the war
to an end, I have decided, without further loss of time to go over to the offensive.’ Although it lies
within Hitler’s authority, the German army feels that it should be asked where and how this attack
should take place. Even the normally subservient Keitel argues against Hitler on this issue.
October 14, 1939
War at Sea - the British battleship Royal Oak is sunk at anchor in the main fleet base at Scapa
Flow by U.47 commanded by Kaptain-leutnant Prien. This is a blow to British prestige as well as
an indication of very serious weaknesses in the defenses at Scapa Flow. These weaknesses are
quickly rectified.
October 19, 1939
Poland - Hitler officially incorporates western Poland into the German Reich. The first Jewish
ghetto is established in Lublin.
More Reading on Tonight’s Topic
A Dark and Bloody Ground
by Edward Miller
Texas A & M University Press
College Station, Texas 1995
The Battle of the Huertgen Forest
by Charles MacDonald
Jove Publications, Inc.
New York, New York 1963
The Battle of the Huertgen Forest
by Charles Whiting
Pocket Books
Simon and Schuster
New York, New York 1989
Follow Me and Die
by Cecil B. Currey
Stein and Day Publ.
Briarcliff Manor, New York 1984
After the Battle - The Battle of the Huertgen Forest - Issue 71
Check various military bookstores or order from: RZM Imports Issue 71
P.O. Box 995-WW2
Southbury, CT 06488
(203) 264 - 0774
The 78th Division
Turner Publishing Co.
Puducah, KY 42002-3101
1996
See you next month for the Dr. Harold C. Deutsch Lecture