![]() Kindle Edition.Ī German soldier who blundered into the American position on horseback was taken down by Corporal Don Hoobler. Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest (pp. He found some pieces of bodies and a part of a sleeping bag.Īmbrose, Stephen E. Luz went to check on Muck and Penkala, the men who had offered to share their foxhole with him. Lipton had never smoked, but he asked for one, and that night had his first cigarette. A shell that was a dud hit just outside their foxhole. Alex Penkala called out to him to jump in with them, but he decided to get to his own and with shell bursts all around, splinters and branches and whole trees coming down, made it and dived in. Suddenly a shell burst in the trees, then another and another. The company reached its objective and dug in. On January 9 the company participated in the clearing operation in the woods west of Foy. Sergeants Guanere and Toye each lost a leg to German shells and ended their fighting days there in the woods. Direct hits on fighting positions were deadly. Shells that hit the trees sprayed fragments on the men taking cover in foxholes. While the trees provided concealment, they provided little protection. Kindle Edition.Īs American forces took up positions in the Bois Jacques the Germans responded with artillery and air attacks. ![]() Had they known that two battalions were moving toward their position in giant skirmish lines, the shelling and machine-gun fire would have been much more intense.”Īmbrose, Stephen E. In Sergeant Christenson’s analysis, “The denseness of the woods was a bewilderment and confusion to the Krauts, whose visibility was no better than ours. As quickly as it started, the firing ceased. Immediately German artillery fired back, but not as counterbattery the German shells were landing in and on the paratroopers. Simultaneously, supporting American artillery began to whine over the heads of the men. Machine-gun fire from directly in front hit E Company. The sense of isolation coupled with the feeling of tension to create a fearful anticipation of the inevitable enemy response. The snow and trees absorbed the noise so that even the clank of equipment, a sign that the men on each side were advancing with you, was absent. Immediately upon plunging into the woods, contact between platoons, even squads, sometimes even man to man, was lost. The struggle to get through caused the body to sweat profusely, which was not a problem until one stopped after a few minutes the wet underclothing could chill the body to the bone. Moving in those dense woods was an exhausting process under the best of circumstances, completely so when carrying rifles, machine-guns, mortars, grenades, knives, ammunition, and rations. Winters called out the command, “Move out!” The men began the advance. Before initiating attacks on the village of Foy, and then Noville beyond, troops of the 506th had to clear the cultivated woods, the Bois Jacques, to their right. Airborne troops had earlier pulled back from Noville, to the northeast of Easy Company’s defensive position. It was time to push back against the Hitler’s army. ![]() By 2 January 1945 the 101st was obtaining resupply and air support. The heroic defense by the 101st became one of the legends of the American military. After ten weeks they were pulled off the line for rest and refitting, but on 18 December they loaded onto trucks and drove into Bastogne, Belgium, to stymie the German attack in what was to be known as the Battle of the Bulge. It was their last combat jump of the war. In September they went into Holland as part of Operation Market-Garden. The 506th, as part of the 101st Airborne Division, jumped into Normandy on D-Day, 6 June 1944, and was taken off the line and back to England after six weeks. The images are from the History Channel’s syndication release. Ambrose, but it’s easiest for me to follow the narrative through the HBO mini series of the same name. I’m posting this on the anniversary of Easy Company’s action at Bastogne, 70 years ago. I have the book Band of Brothers by Stephen E. This is the seventh in a series of posts on the story of Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Brigade during World War Two. Lieutenant Compton’s last day as a combat officer.
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