75th anniversary of D-Day...

[Tidewater]

I found an account of a GI who served as a guard and a interpreter at one of the Rheinwiesenlager.
Interesting.
He saw German "disarmed enemy combatants" starving to death and dying of exposure in the camps. He tried to smuggle food into the camps, but was threatened with punishment. Later he saw a U.S. army captain shooting at German civilian women trying to bring food for the German prisoners.

"This is when I realized I was dealing with cold-blooded killers filled with moralistic hatred. They considered the Germans subhuman and worthy of extermination; another expression of the downward spiral of racism. Articles in the G.I. newspaper, Stars and Stripes, played up the German concentration camps, complete with photos of emaciated bodies. This amplified our self-righteous cruelty, and made it easier to imitate behavior we were supposed to oppose. Also, I think, soldiers not exposed to combat were trying to prove how tough they were by taking it out on the prisoners and civilians.”

Most estimates of German deaths in these camps range from 3,000 to 10,000.

 

[Go Bama]

I found an account of a GI who served as a guard and a interpreter at one of the Rheinwiesenlager.
Interesting.
He saw German "disarmed enemy combatants" starving to death and dying of exposure in the camps. He tried to smuggle food into the camps, but was threatened with punishment. Later he saw a U.S. army captain shooting at German civilian women trying to bring food for the German prisoners.

Most estimates of German deaths in these camps range from 3,000 to 10,000.

I did not know this. War certainly brings out the worst in people. Very interesting article.

 

[Tidewater]

I did not know this. War certainly brings out the worst in people. Very interesting article.

5.7 million Germans in uniform in April 1945.
The Allies did not have 5.7 bed spaces and barracks to house 5.7 million men (and women).
The Judge Advocate General came up with the legal leger de main of calling them "Disarmed Enemy Combatants" rather POWs. As POWs, the capturing party must house and feed them, but as "Disarmed Enemy Combatants," it was presumably somebody else's job. (The German government's?)
The key factor for the Allies was to prevent these German soldiers from taking up guerrilla warfare against the occupying Allied forces (i.e. become "werewolves"), so they had to be corralled somewhere.
The sad thing is that those charged with securing them were not given strict orders to not abuse the DECs and positive orders to feed and generally care for them. There was food available to help feed the Germans, as the article shows.
This was a failure of leadership at the highest levels, including Ike, Bradley, Monty. They should have checked on conditions in the Rheinwiesenlager.

 

[crimsonaudio]

April 3, 1945: It’s Tuesday - today marks 43 weeks (301 days) since the D-Day Invasion at Normandy and the beginning of the liberation of Europe.

Allied troops capture Hengelo, the Netherlands as British 2nd Army mop up Rhine and attack toward Osnabruck. US 9th Army captures Muenster and Recklinghausen, pushes toward Bielefeld, and continues attacking the Ruhr pocket. US 1st Army also continues reducing the Ruhr pocket and pushes east, capturing Fulda and Kassel in Germany. US 45th Infantry Division of US 7th Army captures Aschaffenburg, Germany. Patton’s US 3rd Army pushes toward Muhlhausen and Suhl. The French 1st Army are attacking toward Karlsruhe.

In Birken, Germany, Private First Class Walter C. Wetzel, serving in the 13th Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division, smothers the blasts of German-thrown grenades with his body, sacrificing himself to protect those around him. He is posthumously awarded the Medal Of Honor ten months later, on February 26, 1946, by President Harry S. Truman. Here is his citation:
“Pfc. Wetzel, an acting squad leader with the Antitank Company of the 13th Infantry, was guarding his platoon's command post in a house at Birken, Germany, during the early morning hours of 3 April 1945, when he detected strong enemy forces moving in to attack. He ran into the house, alerted the occupants and immediately began defending the post against heavy automatic weapons fire coming from the hostile troops. Under cover of darkness the Germans forced their way close to the building where they hurled grenades, 2 of which landed in the room where Pfc. Wetzel and the others had taken up firing positions. Shouting a warning to his fellow soldiers, Pfc. Wetzel threw himself on the grenades and, as they exploded, absorbed their entire blast, suffering wounds from which he died. The supreme gallantry of Pfc. Wetzel saved his comrades from death or serious injury and made it possible for them to continue the defense of the command post and break the power of a dangerous local counterthrust by the enemy. His unhesitating sacrifice of his life was in keeping with the U.S. Army's highest traditions of bravery and heroism.”
Wetzel was buried in the Netherlands American Cemetery, Margraten, the Netherlands.

German rocket troops are converted to regular troops and join the German 5th Army Corps.

Thousands of prisoners of Buchenwald concentration camp are forced to evacuate and march away ahead of Allied advance.

Over Germany, US 8th Air Force attacks U-boat base at Kiel with 717 bombers (two are lost), sinking 6 U-boats and 8 other German vessels. RAF Bomber Command sends 255 aircraft to attack Nordhausen during the day and 95 aircraft to attack Berlin overnight. US 9th Air Force aircraft fly armed recon, escort, patrols, leaflet missions, ground support, and tactical bombing missions, including 220 bombers that are sent to attack Holzminden and Hameln.

On the eastern front, Soviet 1st Ukrainian Front, 1st Belorussian Front, and 2nd Belorussian Front deploy along the Oder and the Niesse for new offensive to Berlin and the Elbe. Soviet 2nd Ukrainian Front penetrates the German defensive lines between Wiener Neustadt and Neusiedler Lake, advancing toward Vienna, Austria. Major Carl Szokoll, a leader of the Austrian resistance, meets with Soviet authorities about cooperation in Vienna to prevent the city's destruction. Almost all of Hungary is now clear of Axis troops while in Czechoslovakia Bratislava is besieged. After several days of heavy artillery attacks, Soviet 3rd Belorussian Front opens final assault against Koenigsberg. The 7th Guards Army of Soviet 2nd Ukrainian Front attacking German 8th Army around Bratislava

In Italy, troops of British Special Boat Service and Italian 28th Garribaldi Brigade captured islands in Lake Comacchio in northern Italy. US 12th Air Force bombers are mostly grounded by poor weather conditions, but some aircraft attack transportation lines, supply depots, methanol plants, and other targets in the Po valley and elsewhere in northern Italy.

Pictured: US soldiers rest in war-littered street of Fulda (Germany) April 3, 1945.; Tankmen of the 761st Tank Battalion and infantrymen of the 3rd Battalion, 409th Regiment, 103rd Division, 7th U.S. Army, make pancakes together near Reisdorf, Germany, on April 3, 1945.; A British soldier is dwarfed by a German railway locomotive resting at a precipitous angle in a heavily-bombed railyard in Munster, April 3, 1945.; Retired MSgt Leo Bolick visiting PFC Wetzel's grave at Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial in 1990. Leo was Wetzel's Platoon Sergeant and one of the men PFC Wetzel gave his life to save.

 

[Tidewater]

This is a metaphor for Nazi Germany overall.

 

[Go Bama]

View attachment 7071

That's a grateful man with a lump in his throat.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

5.7 million Germans in uniform in April 1945.
The Allies did not have 5.7 bed spaces and barracks to house 5.7 million men (and women).
The Judge Advocate General came up with the legal leger de main of calling them "Disarmed Enemy Combatants" rather POWs. As POWs, the capturing party must house and feed them, but as "Disarmed Enemy Combatants," it was presumably somebody else's job. (The German government's?)
The key factor for the Allies was to prevent these German soldiers from taking up guerrilla warfare against the occupying Allied forces (i.e. become "werewolves"), so they had to be corralled somewhere.
The sad thing is that those charged with securing them were not given strict orders to not abuse the DECs and positive orders to feed and generally care for them. There was food available to help feed the Germans, as the article shows.
This was a failure of leadership at the highest levels, including Ike, Bradley, Monty. They should have checked on conditions in the Rheinwiesenlager.

The Germans and Austrians haven't forgotten it. Ever so often, an article surfaces there on the topic. The virus has squeezed almost everything out, but I read a German article on the conditions probably no more than a couple of months ago. Are you staying stateside now?

 

[Tidewater]

The Germans and Austrians haven't forgotten it. Ever so often, an article surfaces there on the topic. The virus has squeezed almost everything out, but I read a German article on the conditions probably no more than a couple of months ago. Are you staying stateside now?

And the Germans should not forget.
It is one thing to have people unavoidably suffer in DEC camps because those idiots Hitler and Martin Bormann told Germans to engage in insurgency. The Allies had a compelling interesting in preventing insurgency inside Germany which would kill lots of Allied soldiers and result in the deaths of lots of Germans, including noncombatant civilians.
On the other hand, Americans (and maybe Brits and, more likely, French), it seems exercised, at best, criminal negligence and, in some cases, deliberate cruelty towards their former opponents and thousands died as a result.

I am probably stuck on this side of the Atlantic at least until September.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

And the Germans should not forget.
It is one thing to have people unavoidably suffer in DEC camps because those idiots Hitler and Martin Bormann told Germans to engage in insurgency. The Allies had a compelling interesting in preventing insurgency inside Germany which would kill lots of Allied soldiers and result in the deaths of lots of Germans, including noncombatant civilians.
On the other hand, Americans (and maybe Brits and, more likely, French), it seems exercised, at best, criminal negligence and, in some cases, deliberate cruelty towards their former opponents and thousands died as a result.

I am probably stuck on this side of the Atlantic at least until September.

As might be expected, the estimates of deaths in the German publications are several times what the Allies estimated. Undoubtedly, there was a lot of studied neglect - "let them eat cake" - attitude. I've found that the German press as a whole is more conspiracy-minded than any US organ, save Fox News. Any anti-US article is sure to sell (or drive clicks). It drives my German SIL up the wall when I say that, but he's unlikely to track down my remarks here.

 

[Tidewater]

As might be expected, the estimates of deaths in the German publications are several times what the Allies estimated. Undoubtedly, there was a lot of studied neglect - "let them eat cake" - attitude. I've found that the German press as a whole is more conspiracy-minded than any US organ, save Fox News. Any anti-US article is sure to sell (or drive clicks). It drives my German SIL up the wall when I say that, but he's unlikely to track down my remarks here.

I'm not sure if we'll ever know how many died.
Too many, I suppose.
The episode remains a black mark on what is otherwise a glorious American achievement.
Having defeated the Germans, it was time, as Lincoln said, to "let'em up easy," which Americans did in other ways in other venues.
We now have a solid ally. Of all the nationalities I have worked with, I enjoy working with Germans the best. Hard-working and smart.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

I'm not sure if we'll ever know how many died.
Too many, I suppose.
The episode remains a black mark on what is otherwise a glorious American achievement.
Having defeated the Germans, it was tim, as Lincoln said, to "let's up easy," which Americans did in other ways in other venues.
We now have a solid ally. Of all the nationalities I have worked with, I enjoy working with Germans the best. Hard-working and smart.

I don't have anything against them. I know more of them than any other nationality. Two aunts by marriage were German. My daughter is married to one. I prefer them to the French. I still remember a Frenchman telling my wife to be, at a party in Paris, that the US had bombed excessively in order to destroy as much of France as possible. His name was Lionel Jospin...

 

[crimsonaudio]

April 4, 1945: In northern Europe, British and Canadian (of British 2nd Army) troops cross the Dortmund-Ems canal at Lingen and Rheine, attack and capture Osnabruck, and push on to Minden. US 1st Army makes limited gains, repels counterattacks, and prepares for a major assault against Ruhr pocket. The US 9th Army continues attacking the Ruhr pocket and pushes to Minden and Hamelin, and crosses the Weser River to commence a rapid advance to reach the Elbe River in Germany. US 7th Army attacks into Wurzburg and Heilbronn. French 1st Army captures Karlsruhe.

Troops from US 3rd Army accepts surrender of Kassel, encircles Muhlhausen, and captures Suhl while other units take Gotha and advance near Erfurt. At Merkers, elements of US 3rd Army capture a salt mine containing art treasures, the Nazi gold reserve, and other hidden valuables.Troops of US 89th Infantry Division (part of US 3rd Army) capture the Ohrdruf Concentration Camp (a satellite of Buchenwald Concentration Camp) discovering mass graves of 10,000 Jews and other prisoners.

Himmler orders immediate evacuation of concentration camps at Dachau and Flossenbuerg

US 8th Air Force attacks airfields with 352 bombers, U-boat base at Hamburg with 22 bombers, and Kiel with 505 bombers, sinking three U-boats. US 15th Air Force attacks rail traffic with 94 P-51 fighters. RAF Bomber Command sends 244 aircraft to attack Nordhausen during the day, 341 aircraft to attack Leuna overnight, 327 aircraft to attack Harburg overnight, 272 aircraft to attack Lutzkendorf overnight, 35 aircraft to attack Berlin overnight, and 31 aircraft to attack Magdeburg overnight.

In the east, German troops counterattack Soviet forces near Moravska-Ostrava and Nitra in Czechoslovakia. Meanwhile, 7th Guards Army of Soviet 2nd Ukrainian Front troops enter Bratislava, Czechoslovakia. At Kosice in the Slovak Republic, the Soviet Union sets up a provisional Czechoslovakian government. On the fourth day of the Soviet 3rd Belorussian Front artillery bombardment, Königsberg loses electric power. No German troops remain on Hungarian soil.

In Italy, British 8th Army continues attacking around Lake Comacchio while US 12th Air Force aircraft attack transportation lines, supply depots, methanol plants, and other targets in the Po valley and throughout northern Italy.

Pictured: Corporal Luther E. Boger of US 82nd Airborne Division reading a warning sign, Cologne, Germany, April 4, 1945; note Thompson submachine gun and Panther tank wreck.; A Sherman tank of the Royal Scots Greys, 7th Armoured Division, crossing the Dortmund-Ems Canal, April 4, 1945.; The salt mine of Merkers was cleared by April 4, 1945. All that was known from slave laborers was that the mine contained some German equipment and money. But after General Patton ordered the vault door blown, 7,000 bags of gold and silver were revealed, as well as many stolen works of art, in all the largest treasure hoard ever found. General Eisenhower was moved by the experience of his visit, noting that the trove had been obviously looted from private dwellings across Europe.; Prisoners were forced to exhume the decomposed bodies of their former comrades and cremate them on a makeshift grid of railroad rails set up near the pit. With the American armor only a few hours away, the SS guards had abandoned this project in a grisly state of half-completion, machine-gunned those prisoners too ill to walk in the courtyard of the concentration compound, and had fled.

 

[Go Bama]

My goodness, that last picture of the burnt corpses is grisly indeed.

 

[Tidewater]

April 4, 1945: ... Pictured: Corporal Luther E. Boger of US 82nd Airborne Division reading a warning sign, Cologne, Germany, April 4, 1945; note Thompson submachine gun and Panther tank wreck.;
View attachment 7087

I see the Panther taken out by the Pershing in March was still there. I wonder when the house cleaning of stuff like that started. Probably not until summer when the fighting was over.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

Eventually, the recovered steel became important...

 

[Tidewater]

Eventually, the recovered steel became important...

The vehicles left behind by Kampfgruppe Peiper at La Gleize were chopped up by a U.S. Army engineer unit in the summer of 1945, I believe. All but one Tiger II.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

The vehicles left behind by Kampfgruppe Peiper at La Gleize were chopped up by a U.S. Army engineer unit in the summer of 1945, I believe. All but one Tiger II.

BTW, I'm reading "Four Hours of Fury" on the 17ths drop. It's organized more like a novel...

 

[crimsonaudio]

April 5, 1945: On the western front, 18 US Divisions began to clear the Ruhr pocket in Germany. US 1st Army hammers the Ruhr pocket and continues pushing east around Warburg and Kassel while US 9th Army attacks across the Weser River at Hamelin and continues assaulting Ruhr pocket. Patton’s US 3rd Army captures Muhlhausen and Meiningen while US 7th Army captures Gemuenden, pushes toward Schweinfurt, and attacks into Heilbronn. British 2nd Army captures Lingen and Osnabruck, and Canadian 1st Army crosses Twenthe canal and captures Almelo. French 1st Army begins attacking toward Pforzheim.

Serving in the Medical Detachment of the 48th Armored Infantry Battalion, 7th Armored Division in Alemert, Germany, Corporal Thomas J. Kelly repeatedly exposes himself to hostile fire in order to drag wounded men to safety. For these actions, he is awarded the Medal of Honor seven months later, on November 1, 1945. Here is his citation:
“He was an aid man with the 1st Platoon of Company C during an attack on the town of Alemert, Germany. The platoon, committed in a flanking maneuver, had advanced down a small, open valley overlooked by wooded slopes hiding enemy machineguns and tanks, when the attack was stopped by murderous fire that inflicted heavy casualties in the American ranks. Ordered to withdraw, Cpl. Kelly reached safety with uninjured remnants of the unit, but, on realizing the extent of casualties suffered by the platoon, voluntarily retraced his steps and began evacuating his comrades under direct machinegun fire. He was forced to crawl, dragging the injured behind him for most of the 300 yards separating the exposed area from a place of comparative safety. Two other volunteers who attempted to negotiate the hazardous route with him were mortally wounded, but he kept on with his herculean task after dressing their wounds and carrying them to friendly hands. In all, he made 10 separate trips through the brutal fire, each time bringing out a man from the death trap. Seven more casualties who were able to crawl by themselves he guided and encouraged in escaping from the hail of fire. After he had completed his heroic, self-imposed task and was near collapse from fatigue, he refused to leave his platoon until the attack had been resumed and the objective taken. Cpl. Kelly's gallantry and intrepidity in the face of seemingly certain death saved the lives of many of his fellow soldiers and was an example of bravery under fire.”
He died at age 65 and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington County, Virginia.

Above Germany, US 8th Air Force attacks two munitions dumps with 305 bombers, Bayreuth with 112 bombers, Plauen with 151 bombers, an airfield with 59 bombers, an electric plant with 13 bombers, Furth with 54 bombers, Nurnberg with 308 bombers, and targets of opportunity with 33 bombers. US 15th Air Force attacks rail traffic with P-51 fighters.

On the eastern front, Soviet 3rd Ukrainian Front cuts the rail line from Linz to Vienna, occupied Austria. Soviet 2nd Ukrainian Front and 3rd Ukrainian Front attack German 6th SS Panzer Army around Vienna. On the fifth day of the Soviet 3rd Belorussian Front’s artillery bombardmen on Königsberg, Germany, a break in the weather allows Soviet aircraft to join in on the attack. By this time, German defenses can offer little opposition to enemy aircraft.

Moscow notifies Japanese ambassador the 1941 non-aggession pact with Tokyo will not be renewed.

On the west coast of Italy, American units from US 5th Army begin diversionary attacks to the north near Massa, south of La Spezia. British 56th Infantry Division (part of 8th Army) attacks German positions near Lake Comacchio in northern Italy. US 12th Air Force aircraft attack transportation lines and other targets in the Po valley and throughout northern Italy, including support for ground operations around Massa Lombarda and US 15th Air Force attacks Alessandria, Brescia, Turin, and Udine.

Second Lieutenant Vernon Baker, serving in the 366th Infantry Regiment, part of the 92nd Infantry Division, participated in an attack on the German stronghold of Castle Aghinolfi. During the assault, Baker led his heavy weapons platoon through German army defenses to within sight of the castle, personally destroying a machine gun position, two observation posts, two bunkers, and a network of German telephone lines along the way. It was for these and other actions including leading a battalion advance under heavy fire that he was later awarded the Medal Of Honor. Here is his citation:
“For extraordinary heroism in action on 5 and 6 April 1945, near Viareggio, Italy. Then Second Lieutenant Baker demonstrated outstanding courage and leadership in destroying enemy installations, personnel, and equipment during his company's attack against a strongly entrenched enemy in mountainous terrain. When his company was stopped by the concentration of fire from several machine gun emplacements, he crawled to one position and destroyed it, killing three Germans. Continuing forward, he attacked an enemy observation post and killed two occupants. With the aid of one of his men, Lieutenant Baker attacked two more machine gun nests, killing or wounding the four enemy soldiers occupying these positions. He then covered the evacuation of the wounded personnel of his company by occupying an exposed position and drawing the enemy's fire. On the following night Lieutenant Baker voluntarily led a battalion advance through enemy mine fields and heavy fire toward the division objective. Second Lieutenant Baker's fighting spirit and daring leadership were an inspiration to his men and exemplify the highest traditions of the Armed Forces.”
Baker died at his St. Maries, Idaho, home on July 13, 2010 after a long battle with cancer. He had been near-death due to brain cancer in 2004 but had recovered. His funeral at Arlington National Cemetery on September 24, 2010, was attended by three other Medal of Honor recipients, and his family, for whom funds for them to travel to Arlington, Virginia were raised by their local community.

Private First Class Sadao Munemori, serving in Company A, 100th Infantry Battalion, 442d Combat Team, earned the Medal Of Honor in northern Italy by taking out two machine guns nests then sacrificing his life by jumping on a live grenade to protect two fellow soldiers. Here is his citation:
“He fought with great gallantry and intrepidity near Seravezza, Italy. When his unit was pinned down by grazing fire from the enemy's strong mountain defense and command of the squad devolved on him with the wounding of its regular leader, he made frontal, one-man attacks through direct fire and knocked out two machine guns with grenades. Withdrawing under murderous fire and showers of grenades from other enemy emplacements, he had nearly reached a shell crater occupied by two of his men when an unexploded grenade bounced on his helmet and rolled toward his helpless comrades. He arose into the withering fire, dived for the missile and smothered its blast with his body. By his swift, supremely heroic action Pfc. Munemori saved two of his men at the cost of his own life and did much to clear the path for his company's victorious advance.”

Pictured: A Sherman tank of The Canadian Grenadier Guards, Almelo, Netherlands, April 5th 1945 - the sign they’re holding translates as ‘Wehrmacht commandant's office’.; The cavalry recon squadron of 9th Armored Division occupies the town square in Pegau, Germany on April 5, 1945.; General Bradley and General Patton at Bastogne, April 5, 1945.; Thomas J. Kelly, Corporal, United States Army, awarded the Medal of Honor for actions in World War II.; Grave of Medal Of Honor recipient Vernon Baker at Arlington National Cemetery.; Grave of Medal Of Honor recipient Sadao Munemori.

 

[Tidewater]

April 5, 1945: On the western front, 18 US Divisions began to clear the Ruhr pocket in Germany. US 1st Army hammers the Ruhr pocket and continues pushing east around Warburg and Kassel while US 9th Army attacks across the Weser River at Hamelin and continues assaulting Ruhr pocket.

370,000 German soldiers from 15th Army, 5th Panzer Army, and two corps of the 1st Parachute Army.
That's a big pocket.

 

[crimsonaudio]

April 6, 1945: On the western front, British 2nd Army forces attack toward Bremen. US 9th Army crosses the Weser River near Minden and continues to attack the Ruhr pocket along with US 1st Army. Elements of US 1st Army also push toward Northeim and Duderstadt. US 3rd Army captures Grossalmerode, Trubenhausen, Bad Sooden, Langensalza, and Eisenach while US 7th Army pushes toward Schweinfurt and attacks into Heilbronn. French 1st Army attacks around Pforzheim.

15,000 prisoners of Buchenwald Concentration Camp in Germany are evacuated by German authorities as US 3rd Army pushes ever closer.

Serving in Battery A, 861st Field Artillery Battalion, 63rd Infantry Division, First Lieutenant James E. Robinson, Jr. led his company in an attack against German lines near Untergriesheim, Germany. Although severely wounded, he refused medical attention and continued on until the objective had been taken. He died of his wounds later that day. He was posthumously awarded the Medal Of Honor on December 11, 1945 - here is his citation:
“He was a field artillery forward observer attached to Company A, 253d Infantry, near Untergriesheim, Germany, on 6 April 1945. Eight hours of desperate fighting over open terrain swept by German machinegun, mortar, and small-arms fire had decimated Company A, robbing it of its commanding officer and most of its key enlisted personnel when 1st Lt. Robinson rallied the 23 remaining uninjured riflemen and a few walking wounded, and, while carrying his heavy radio for communication with American batteries, led them through intense fire in a charge against the objective. Ten German infantrymen in foxholes threatened to stop the assault, but the gallant leader killed them all at point-blank range with rifle and pistol fire and then pressed on with his men to sweep the area of all resistance. Soon afterward he was ordered to seize the defended town of Kressbach. He went to each of the 19 exhausted survivors with cheering words, instilling in them courage and fortitude, before leading the little band forward once more. In the advance he was seriously wounded in the throat by a shell fragment, but, despite great pain and loss of blood, he refused medical attention and continued the attack, directing supporting artillery fire even though he was mortally wounded. Only after the town had been taken and he could no longer speak did he leave the command he had inspired in victory and walk nearly 2 miles to an aid station where he died from his wound. By his intrepid leadership 1st Lt. Robinson was directly responsible for Company A's accomplishing its mission against tremendous odds.”
Robinson, 26 at death, was buried in Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, San Antonio, Texas.

First Lieutenant Raymond O. Beaudoin, serving in Company F, 119th Infantry, 30th Infantry Division, was leading his platoon over open ground when all were pinned down by a devastating curtain of fire from enemy machineguns and automatic weapons. By rotating his men in firing position he enabled his platoon to dig in against the numerically superior force and inflict heavy casualties on it. However, enemy reinforcements made the platoon’s position precarious. In order to allow a runner to secure help, Lieutenant Beaudoin decided to make a one man charge on the most dangerous sniper nest some 90 yards (82 m) away. Despite a barrage of rifle and bazooka fire he reached the nest and wiped out three of its inhabitants, the fourth falling from covering fire from the American platoon. Continuing the attack, Lieutenant Beaudoin charged a dugout, but was killed by a blast of machinegun fire. The runner was able to secure help, however; and the platoon was saved. For the supreme sacrifice which he made in saving the lives of the men under him, Lieutenant Beaudoin was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. here is his citation:
“He was leading the 2d Platoon of Company F over flat, open terrain to Hamelin, Germany, when the enemy went into action with machineguns and automatic weapons, laying down a devastating curtain of fire which pinned his unit to the ground. By rotating men in firing positions he made it possible for his entire platoon to dig in, defying all the while the murderous enemy fire to encourage his men and to distribute ammunition. He then dug in himself at the most advanced position, where he kept up a steady fire, killing 6 hostile soldiers, and directing his men in inflicting heavy casualties on the numerically superior opposing force. Despite these defensive measures, however, the position of the platoon became more precarious, for the enemy had brought up strong reinforcements and was preparing a counterattack. Three men, sent back at intervals to obtain ammunition and reinforcements, were killed by sniper fire. To relieve his command from the desperate situation, 1st Lt. Beaudoin decided to make a l-man attack on the most damaging enemy sniper nest 90 yards to the right flank, and thereby divert attention from the runner who would attempt to pierce the enemy's barrier of bullets and secure help. Crawling over completely exposed ground, he relentlessly advanced, undeterred by 8 rounds of bazooka fire which threw mud and stones over him or by rifle fire which ripped his uniform. Ten yards from the enemy position he stood up and charged. At point-blank range he shot and killed 2 occupants of the nest; a third, who tried to bayonet him, he overpowered and killed with the butt of his carbine; and the fourth adversary was cut down by the platoon's rifle fire as he attempted to flee. He continued his attack by running toward a dugout, but there he was struck and killed by a burst from a machinegun. By his intrepidity, great fighting skill, and supreme devotion to his responsibility for the well-being of his platoon, 1st Lt. Beaudoin single-handedly accomplished a mission that enabled a messenger to secure help which saved the stricken unit and made possible the decisive defeat of the German forces.”
Beaudoin was buried in a family plot in Notre Dame Cemetery in South Hadley, MA

On the Island of Texel off the Dutch coast, the Georgian troops serving as volunteers with the German army mutiny. Some 246 German troops are killed in their sleep by the Georgians (most of whom had originally been captured on the Eastern Front) and a battle breaks out which eventually results in 800 Germans, 500 Georgian and 117 Texel civilian fatalities. The fighting ends only when the Canadians arrive on May 20, 1945 - some two weeks after the end of the European war.

Above Germany, US 8th Air Force attacks Leipzig with 321 bombers, Halle with 183 bombers, and targets of opportunity with 33 bombers.

In East Prussia, after six days of artillery and aerial bombardment, the Soviet 3rd Belorussian Front begins its final attacks on Konigsberg - 137,000 Soviet troops rush into the city, supported by 530 tanks and 2,400 aircraft. To the south, forces of the 3rd Ukrainian Front enter the suburbs of Vienna. Yugoslavian forces capture Sarajevo.

Reich Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels announces that a German victory is to come during this month and only Adolf Hitler knows the moment. He obtained this information from astrology.

Artillery preparation for the Allied Operation Grapeshot - an attack by US 5th Army, British 8th Army and Brazilian Expeditionary Force into the Lombardy Plain - begins in northern Italy. British 8th Army attacks across the Reno River while US 5th Army attacks around Massa, Monte Cerreta, and Monte Belvedere. US 12th Air Force aircraft attack transportation lines and other targets in the Po valley and throughout northern Italy, including support for ground operations around Massa Lombarda. US 15th Air Force also attacks Verona and Brescia with 387 bombers and bridges near German border with 14 fighters.

Pictured: Young German POWs captured by Guard's Armoured Division, April 6, 1945.; GIs of the 62nd Armored Infantry, 14th Armored Division, make their way through the ruins of Gemünden on April 6,1945.; US soldiers break into the gates of the German POW camp Oflag XIII-B in Hammelburg on April 6, 1945.; Grave of Medal Of Honor recipient James Robinson.; Grave of Medal Of Honor recipient Raymond Beaudoin.