by Ian Gardner
Further up the road, Hank and Sgt Luther Myers were ordered to take their respective squads and investigate several houses that formed the tiny settlement of Weisbach, as Hank remembers: “After leaving the road we fired a few token shots at the buildings and several German soldiers emerged under a white bed sheet of truce.” While herding the prisoners back toward the company, the men came under artillery fire from the slopes above. DiCarlo recalls:
Pfc Claude Rankin and Wilber Johnson were in front of me as we double-timed behind the Germans. Another shell came screaming in over our heads and exploded close to Rankin, who carried on running for a few steps before falling to the floor. Incredibly, a large piece of shrapnel had ripped through Claude’s upper body. I could see right through Rankin’s torso to the German soldier in front who also went sprawling to the ground dead. I still cannot believe something as senseless as this actually happened! Especially when we learned shortly afterwards [1750hrs] that Army Group G had surrendered and there was now a ceasefire in place! Tragically, at the time Claude had family problems back home and was waiting for compassionate leave.
The shelling also killed Pvt Nick Kozoroski and seriously wounded Pvt Bob Dunning (both from HQ Co), who had to be carried back down the road for emergency treatment to his stomach. Rankin and Kozoroski were to be the last combat casualties suffered by the 506th PIR in World War II.
The German artillery was quickly located and identified as a pair of 88mm antiaircraft guns. B Battery, from 321st GFA, who had been attached to the battalion, fired a barrage of phosphorous rounds at the 88s. Several four-man patrols from H Co were then sent up the hill to flank and neutralize the guns from behind. It transpired that the “men” crewing the 88s were in fact boy soldiers from the Hitler Youth, as Ralph Bennett recalls: “They were easily disarmed when our guys overran their positions, forcing the kids to give up. I saw a few of them afterwards, when they had reverted from ‘deadly killers’ back to being children.” Members of G Co, including Jim Martin, were also part of the hunter force and arrived on scene about 10 minutes after the guns had been captured.
“Later, while continuing toward Berchtesgaden,” recalls Ralph, “we stopped one young fellow about 12 years old to find out what he was doing. The boy had been one of the Hitler Youth kids up on the hill and after being processed and given a pass by one of the other groups had then been told to go home. All he could tell us was that he was going to see his mom. Sgt Bob Hoffman [who was later assigned to Regimental HQ as an interpreter] asked where his mother lived. The teenager named a town nearly 200 miles away! A little astonished by the kid’s response, Hoffman replied, ‘How on earth do you think you are gonna get there?’ The young German arrogantly blurted out, ‘I don’t know, but I’ll walk every damn step of the way if I have to!’ With that, I swung around shouting ‘Raus’ and planted my boot firmly up the kid’s arse to help him on his way!”
After the 88s were silenced, the battalion was held up by another blown bridge 4 miles further along the road at Unterjettenberg. Jim Martin remembers seeing three Shermans that had been abandoned by the French after becoming stuck while trying to ford the boulderstrewn river further downstream. At this point the men de-trucked, scrambled across the rubble, and continued on foot.
Advancing uphill, 3/506 passed the beautiful 15th-century church of St-Sebastian at Ramsau. From here the road crosses back and forth over the river Ache as the awesome valley ascends toward the railway station on the southwestern edge of Berchtesgaden. With 2 Ptn G Co on point the troopers walked the last 6 miles, arriving late in the evening of May 5. “There were only a few civilians in town when we finally got there,” recalls Ralph Bennett. “However, we could clearly see the damage caused by the French, who had driven their Shermans through the front walls of several buildings.”
By then the French had moved across the Ache and were looting Obersalzberg. Execution squads brought a number of SS and regular soldiers down to the river before cutting their throats and throwing the bodies into the clear blue mountain water. Most of the dead were eventually recovered and buried in a communal grave at the town’s cemetery.
“The 101st turned a blind eye to most of this,” recalls Jim Martin, “but things really started to get out of hand when we heard that one of the French soldiers had raped a ten-year-old girl. Col Sink wasn’t going to stand for this and, as I understand it, issued an ultimatum to the French commander that if his forces did not leave Obersalzberg immediately, then the 506th would commence combat operations against them … and thank goodness they listened.”
The battalion was divided up and billeted in various buildings around the resort. “I was based at the Berchtesgadener Hof Hotel [on the southwestern edge of town along Haniel Strasse] where everything was immaculate, even the pure white bed sheets,” recalls Bennett. “The boys took virtually every piece of expensive china and silverware from the beautifully appointed wood-paneled dining area.”
The hotel was well known for the view across the mountains from its magnificent rear terrace and over the years had seen an impressive array of guests, including the Duke and Duchess of Windsor (who visited on October 27, 1937), Neville Chamberlain, and David Lloyd George, as well as many leading figures in the German government and military. Even Eva Braun had lived here with Hitler’s younger sister, Paula Wolff, while the Berghof was being refurbished.
“I don’t recall seeing any enemy soldiers or civilians; the place seemed totally deserted,” remembers Lou Vecchi. “A number of our guys from the outfit, including my platoon, were shown to the Berchtesgadener Hof. As platoon sergeant it was my job to designate the rooms to the men. The room I was sharing with Sgt Bob Martin must have once belonged to a German officer because we found a beautiful pair of leather boots that fitted me perfectly, so I kept them as a souvenir.”
“The residents of a plush two-storey apartment block in the main street were evicted and 2 Ptn moved in,” recalls Jim Martin. “Painted either end of the building’s outside walls were the most beautiful murals depicting local scenery. We were living three or four guys to each apartment, and the previous owners of my quarters had left behind dozens of glass photographic plates showing local Nazi buildings such as the SS barracks at Obersalzberg.”
First lieutenants Lewis Sutfin (HQ Co 81mm) and Clark Heggeness (H Co) rejoined the battalion in late April 1945. Clark recalls: “After the 506th occupied Berchtesgaden, sovereignty and control transferred to us. Immediately afterwards a curfew was enforced, schools were closed, and all public amenities such as post, bus, and rail services stopped, along with daily newspapers.”
Bob Harwick, who had recently returned to active duty with the 501st PIR, wrote the following letter to his wife Eileen and daughter Bobbie on notepaper previously belonging to Adolf Hitler: “This morning at one minute past midnight the War [in Europe] came to an end. I send you all my love and hope with all my heart to be with you once again. With Victory I am suddenly very tired, very conscious of missing friends and very anxious to be home.”
On May 7, 1945, the German Army surrendered and the first VE Day of sorts was quietly celebrated. Officially, at 0230hrs, representing Karl Dönitz, Generaloberst Alfred Jodl (chief of operations of the High Command of the German armed forces) surrendered to Gen Eisenhower at his temporary HQ in a small schoolhouse at Reims.
“To think that I had a very good chance of getting home alive was almost more than I could believe,” recalls Harold Stedman. “When we heard the announcement, I climbed the nearby hill by myself and cried for an hour until my stomach hurt and the tears ran dry.”
After some intense negotiations Generalleutnant Tolsdorff and a small party of senior officers from 82.Armeekorps arrived at Hotel Geiger to formally sign a surrender deal with Col Sink. The next day Sink received this short note from Maxwell Taylor: “A German colonel has arrived at the HQ of 36th Infantry Division from Hermann Göring. The colonel has a letter that he is taking to generals Devers and Eisenhower. He states that both Göring and Kesse
lring are present with a small staff just north of Bruck – go get them.” Patrols were sent and roadblocks established but Sink was too late as BrigGen Robert Stack (deputy commander of 36th ID) was already one step ahead.
Hermann Göring had gone to ground in Austria and sent his adjutant, Bernd von Brauchitsch, to discuss possible surrender terms with elements of the 36th ID who escorted him to the SS Cavalry Center at Schloss Fischhorn (Fischhorn Castle) in Bruck. After several frantic telephone calls, Von Brauchitsch was able to locate Göring and his convoy, who were waiting along the roadside at a small village close to Bruck.
Göring, his family, and around 75 personnel (including the Luftwaffe soldiers who had previously rescued them) surrendered at this location to BrigGen Stack on May 7. A reconnaissance company from 636th TD Bn was then sent ahead to Fischhorn, and around 2330hrs the first dozen or so vehicles led by Stack arrived at the castle. Göring was riding in a large Mercedes containing his wife, daughter, Von Brauchitsch, and nanny Christa Gormans – who were all allocated rooms on the second floor and given a hearty meal.
Bizarrely, the Luftwaffe troops who had rescued Göring were placed on guard duty around the building alongside the GIs from the 636th and a small contingent of SS cavalrymen who were already stationed there. Also residing at the castle was the ex-commander of the 37.SSFreiwilligen-Kavallerie-Division (Volunteer Cavalry Division) Lützow, SS-Standartenführer Waldemar Fegelein (whose brother Hermann had been executed by Hitler on April 28), and Reich chancellery chief Philipp Bouhler (who happened to be “No. 12” on the Allies’ “Most Wanted List”) along with his wife Helene. The following day Gen Stack sent Göring, Von Brauchitsch, General Franz Ritter von Epp (Governor of Bavaria), Fegelein, and his adjutant to 42nd ID HQ at Kitzbühel before they were flown to Seventh Army HQ in Augsburg.
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Back at Berchtesgaden, teams were sent out to look for any facilities that might contain weapons and ammunition. Hank DiCarlo remembers finding plenty of equipment but no “Werewolves.” “One trick we learned was to spray any suspicious areas with water, because this often showed if the ground had been disturbed. The civilian population made a quantum leap, as many former military men and government officials tried to pass themselves off as innocent bystanders.”
S/Sgt George Allen was one of the first counterintelligence specialists from regiment to start work in the area. He recalls:
Myself and Eric Albrecht found three substantial archives containing reports of Hitler’s High Command meetings and many other important pieces of information. Eric and I were quickly involved in the arrest of two senior members of the Forced Labor Organization, Dr Robert Ley and Fritz Sauckel. Others we apprehended included Hitler’s sister Paula Wolff, who gave her address as Alpenwirtschaft Vorderorand, Gemeinde Königsee, Kreis Berchtesgaden, and Hitler’s former butler, Albert Kannenberg.
We also picked up SS-Obersturmbannführer Erich Kempka, who had served as Hitler’s chauffer since 1934 and provided us with some previously unknown details about Hitler’s death. Amidst all this my ex-boss, M/Sgt Charles Wahler, happened to bump into me in the street. Wahler always called me “Sport” or “Chief ” because he couldn’t pronounce the soft “G” in George and went on to say in his heavy Austrian accent, “Chief, you chust got yourself five points.”
At the core of the US Army Demobilization Plan was the point system. Points were awarded for the number of years and months spent overseas, medals, commendations, campaign battle stars, and other factors such as Purple Hearts, Presidential Unit Citation, and even number of children. The magic figure for being sent home was 85 points. “At that moment,” continues Allen, “I didn’t fully comprehend what Wahler was talking about. He then explained that our IPW detachment had been awarded a Bronze Star, to be given to the person who most deserved it. They all agreed it should be me because of what I’d done for the German prisoners back in Bastogne! This award meant that potentially I now had 90 points and could be home before Christmas, which was unbelievable.”
Due to constantly changing attachments the regiment struggled to get its correct ration allotments from either Seventh or Third armies. Consequently, Harley Dingman was involved in several hunting parties scouring the surrounding high ground for animals such as goats and sheep. “We even had beaters to flush out wild birds and groups catching fish.”
“Officially we hunted and ate anything that would keep our troops fed except for larger animals like cows,” Dingman continues. “It was brought to my attention that cattle were being killed, but as most of the men didn’t know how to process the carcasses properly they started getting sick. We liberated a duplicating machine from the district commissioner’s office and I ran off a bulletin sheet with instructions on how to butcher and cure bovine meat before consumption – with the proviso that the killing of cows was still strictly against regimental policy and anyone caught would face a heavy penalty.” Bob Izumi recalls, “We were so hungry that I shot a cow and Sgt Bob Parks butchered it for the guys to cook and eat. Nobody told Captain Cann who was most upset when he was forced to pay for the missing animal.”
Pfc Ray Skully returned to G Co around this time after being wounded in Holland and was put on light duties in the mess hall. “The guys liberated dozens of bottles of Cognac from Göring’s cellar and stored them under my bed. The window to my room on the ground floor was always open, giving the boys easy access to the booze which was then decanted into Marmite containers so the officers wouldn’t find it!” It was rumored that Göring’s cellar contained over 10,000 bottles of vintage wine and spirits, although only a fraction was pilfered before F Co placed the store under permanent guard.
2 Ptn G Co patrolled Kälberstein and Lockstein mountains, looking for any sign of “Werewolf” activity but there was none. “We just hiked around enjoying ourselves and the wonderful scenery,” recalls Jim Martin. “Later Captain Cann told me off for shooting some German girls in the behind with a .177 air rifle from the upstairs window of our apartment. The girls had been fraternizing and cheering small groups of German soldiers coming in to surrender.”
“We spent less than a week at Berchtesgaden, and during that time security was pretty slack (no reveille or formations), and as long as we told our platoon sergeant where we were going you could do pretty much what you liked,” Martin continues. “There was a lot of looting, and vehicle theft began to get out of hand. When guys started getting injured in road traffic accidents the division started to clamp down. There was a scheme set up to vet some of the DPs (displaced persons), mainly women, as domestic staff for our officers who often shared the same house.” The refugees had to wear black armbands about 4in wide with the letters “DP” stenciled in white. “We began to see posters pinned up by some women DPs looking for a man who could provide food and shelter in exchange for work and sometimes other more personal services. It wasn’t unheard of for some German men to have five women living with them. I recall seeing one guy in particular sitting in a cart being drawn by a number of women, just like they were pack mules.”
Checkpoint “KESSELRING”
Ed Shames and the regimental patrols platoon had been amongst those tasked to find Göring along the Austrian border. “We had been sent south by Maj Clarence Hester to establish roadblocks around Saalfelden. There were several incidents when drivers refused to stop, forcing us to open fire, killing the occupants. I was given photographs of wanted Nazis, both military and governmental officials, which made it easier for us to identify anyone trying to flee from the country.”
Sgt Rod Strohl stopped a small convoy heading north and was astonished to discover it contained Feldmarschall Kesselring. He recalls: “At that point in time, to my knowledge, Kesselring and his entourage were the only command who still hadn’t officially capitulated.”
Previously, leaving his chief of staff at Alm, Kesselring had decided to transfer himself, along with a reduced HQ, to a train (that had belonged to Heinrich Himmler) now standing empty in a siding at Saa
lfelden station. From here Kesselring appointed staff member Generaloberst der Waffen-SS Paul Hausser (ex-commander of Heeresgruppe G) to oversee the efficient surrender of all SS troops in the area.
What happened between the Feldmarschall arriving at the train and his small convoy running into 3 Ptn is unclear. However, Ed Shames picks up the story from his perspective:
At that moment I was at one of our other vehicle checkpoints (VCPs) with Roy Gates when the call came in for me to get over to Strohl’s VCP. When I arrived there were three vehicles – two sedans and a saloon in which Kesselring had been traveling. All told there were about 16 people who made up the Feldmarschall’s immediate staff. For what it was worth, Kesselring was a very big fish for us to catch. When I approached, he smiled and confirmed in very good English exactly who he was. Before I arrived there had been a brief argument with Strohl after he demanded the Feldmarschall’s sidearm. “Popeye” Wynn was also jumping around wanting to shoot everyone, so we had to calm him down first.
Kesselring turned to me for help. I wasn’t going to comply and politely requested that he please remove his pistol, which he refused. Drawing my .45 I pointed it at his head, which seemed to do the trick. Begrudgingly he slid the petite holster from his belt and handed it over. I was surprised to find that the pistol was an unusual 7.82mm semiauto with wooden grips that had been made under license in Czechoslovakia. Placing Strohl in charge, I sent them all back to Berchtesgaden and the rest is history.
The Feldmarschall was taken to Sink’s CP at Hotel Geiger before Gen Taylor collected and took him to the Berchtesgadner Hof Hotel. Climbing the steps to the main entrance, Taylor snapped back a salute at the two soldiers guarding the door (both from 1/506), while Kesselring raised his ornate baton in semi-acknowledgment. The Feldmarschall’s entourage were then given the best rooms in the house and allocated a chaperone, Lt Brown, a German speaker from Division.
