The Bradford Era
December 16, 1999
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Battle of the Bulge
(Part 1)
'round the square column |
| BATTLE OF THE BULGE: It was on December
16, 1944 - exactly 55 years ago today - that the crucial Battle
of the Bulge got under way. Joel Frampton Gilfert of Sarzbüttel, Germany, formerly of Eldred, sends us a timely reminder of this battle and particularly points to the heroics of two local men. Master Sergeant John L. Hall of Port Allegany and Staff Sergeant Joseph M. Kunkel of the Eldred area both served with the 423rd Regiment, 106th Infantry Division, one of four divisions along the Ardennes Front. The 106th was occupying a sector 27 miles long along the "West Wall" fortifications inside of Germany on the east banks of the Our River. Early on December 16, an intense artillery, mortar and rocket barrage rained down on their positions for 45 minutes. The German troops fought a pincer action to gain control of the bridge crossing the Our River in Schoenberg. The 14th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, which had been supporting the northern flank, became overwhelmed in the December 16 attack and retreated. The Germans had the town of Schoenberg and bridge under control by December 17. For the soldiers of the 106th, this was their first combat experience, and communication was nearly nonexistent. Belated orders were finally received to fight their way back to the American lines around St. Vith, Belgium, through German-occupied Schoenberg. In a November 1946 report, Colonel Charles C. Cavender, commander of the 423rd Regiment, writes: "The regimental supply sergeant, Master Sergeant John L. Hall of Port Allegany, Pa., was enroute from Division D.P. with rations on the morning of the 16th December. Encountering enemy small arms fire at Schoenberg, he set up a machine gun in a German farm house. He was captured when German Panzers appeared on the scene. Breaking away from his captors, he and another soldier returned to St. Vith, secured trucks and an armored escort and again started back with rations which he knew would be desparately needed. His trucks were knocked out by German armor, but he two soldiers returned to Division D.P. and loaded trucks. They waited in vain for the American armor to clear the road to the Schnee-Eifel. Even with support from the U.S. 7th Armored Division, there would be no break-through to the surrounded GI's." Tomorrow, the conclusion. |
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