A Week From 1944 It was Monday, May 29th 1944. The brisk winds chilled the air, and I could see my breath as we ran through the mud. My standard issue black boots failed to repel the moisture seeping through to my socks. It had been raining for days, off and on, not too heavily, but a constant soft mist regardless, and it saturated the ground like a gentle flood. The balmy weather and constant precipitation turned the English city of Hampshire into a lush green tone on the shrubs and a white frosted color on the buildings we built just months prior. If I had made a guess, I would have assumed that two million troops were waiting in England. Waiting for action, waiting for orders from the big fella himself, General Ike, formally referred to …show more content…
I’m a 24 year old sergeant in the United States Army, and I have been in this division for just under a year now. My division is the 501st infantry company, filled with some of the allied forces’ youngest, but most skilled, soldiers. My C.O., Captain Paul Metcalfe, leads the routine runs that every division is expected to complete. He was one of 17 British-born men in our platoon. The 501st was a small group, consisting of roughly 100 men, with five 20-man platoons. I lead platoon division 2, referred to as “Delta Squad”. These platoons are who we’re based with, sleep with, and spend the most time with. They’re my family. In the past, the food on base was fairly standard, although the food so far this week has been exceptionally better than before, and the crew was getting suspicious. You could see it on their faces. The look of worry ran across most of our faces, more than …show more content…
Some senior officers were in attendance, including our own Captain Metcalfe. Colonel White’s voice boomed through the morning silence. “Alright, gentlemen, your objective is not a basic one. Your platoons need to cross the Atlantic Wall and secure the beachheads of Northern Europe before the end of the week. You execute as follows: Juno Beach is your primary objective, you will rush the beachheads at 6:30 on Monday the 5th. Naval support will be provided by Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay and his naval fleet. Aerial bombardment will begin the evening of Monday the 5th, which will leave only German battlements for you to destroy. These are imperative for the invasion of German-occupied Europe. Your respective commanders will have details for you about the LCVP. Good luck and godspeed, gentlemen! Take care out there.” We saluted White as he stepped into his staff car and left, and drew our attention towards Metcalfe. The day was looming over us, and we knew the chances of a successful raid to be low. The looks on our faces was something I would never forget. We were excited to return to battle, but dreaded the cards we were
The German gun positions were not aimed towards the sea, but coastline. However, they had Hitler’s Atlantic Wall to rely on. As they were approaching the shore, the Canadians were bombarded with weapons and heavy artillery, which was more deadly when the troops landed. Despite the circumstances of the Canadians, they were able to successfully land on Juno Beach, prepared to free France. D-Day was a defining moment for the Canadians not only because of this, but due to the fact that the troops’ had strong mental fortitudes regardless of the other factors that caused the
The Canadian Corps, a 100,000 strong fighting formation, was ordered to the Passchendaele front, east of Ypres, in mid-October 1917. Horrible Conditions Launched on 31 July 1917, the British offensive in Flanders had aimed to drive the Germans away from the essential Channel Ports and to eliminate U-Boat bases on the coast. But unceasing rain and shellfire reduced the battlefield to a vast bog of bodies, water-filled shell craters, and mud in which the attack ground to a halt. After months of fighting, Passchendaele ridge was still stubbornly held by German troops. Sir Douglas Haig, the commander-in-chief of the British Expeditionary Force, ordered the Canadians to deliver victory.
The militias marched swiftly and in feverish pace. They marched all night October 6, continuing to press onward until their arrival at King’s Mountain on the afternoon of October 7. The attack would come as a total and complete surprise. At 3:00 PM, Colonel Campbell pointed his sword at the British encampment and yelled, “There they are, men!
They were more startled, however their sunrise disembarkations were the main unsafe encounters, for each one of those going to battle. Lights flared on the landmass, and, very quickly, careful, defenders crushed Allied landing with exact shelling and enfilades. Advance gatherings of British and French troops arrived on the southern landmass, at Cape Helles. V Beach presented British troops to concentrated flame, in the tragic and bloodiest occasion, where Patterson trusted no man ought to ever have been landed. Hamilton lamented his assault on V Beach, and later composed that he ought to have allowed it to sit unbothered.
Everyone had seen those headlines. The same phrases had been plastered on the front pages of every newspaper for four everlasting years. Reports from aged soldiers; brave, bold boys and men; reduced to ghosts. And they were the lucky ones. Those who had escaped from the chaos that claimed the lives of thousands of others.
Once I got out of the medical tent, the month had almost passed and the trenches were fairly calm with the ending a year of fighting. The blighters just sat around in a quite lazy fashion, shaving their mustaches and greedily scarfing down the remains of their insufficient portions. It was a fairly quiet time compared to earlier incidents and episodes in the war. I was groggy and tired when I stepped back into the trenches, and even with many months of laying still in the hospital tent, my body and mind were still not replenished and in quite awful condition. The very strong medication the doctor had put me on did not help my grogginess in any way.
When we were told that the war started, I was right at the border. Of course, we were not sure whether we would survive or not. We knew we had to fight for real. We believed in Communist ideas. We had it with our mother’s milk.
Ellen’s point of view: Hello diary, tonight was a stressful night. German soldiers came looking for me and my family. I was so scared that they would figure out i was a Rosen and they would take me away and relocate me. They almost found out because of my hair and how i’m the only one with dark hair. But, the Johansens said that i was born with dark hair it just never fell out and came out blonde like most people.
It’s been awhile since I’ve written to you, my dear sister, and I suppose it’s my fault for not being able to keep up with writing. However, it is a little depressing about the bigger reason I wasn’t able to write to you. You must be worried sick, Lucina, but there’s no need to be worried about me! We both know that I can handle myself just fine in any situation, it’s what I was trained for, anyway. Anyway, aside from the babbling, I’m currently in Marne, and we were advancing, until the French and British stopped us.
Upon receipt of his mission, he immediately began to plan, prepare, and execute defensive operations and issued an order for his forces to build a fortified position on Breed's Hill. Prescott knew that his mission was to hold the position until relieved by friendly forces. He also understood the important mission his unit was given and the vital geographical position the hill had on Boston. Planning and preparation accomplish nothing if the command does not execute effectively. Perhaps the most important aspect of mission analysis is determining the combat potential of one’s own
1. In the book, All Quiet On The Western Front, written by Erich Maria Remarque, Paul realizes that, at this point in time, he either has to kill or be killed, he chooses to kill. Unwilling to die without a fight, "We have lost all feeling for one another. We can hardly control control ourselves when our glance lights on the form of some other man. We are insensible, dead men, who through some trick, some dreadful magic, are still able to run and to kill" (116).
Journal Entry 1: We are gathering at the camp to prepare for a speech from General George Washington. He began, “We are not much of a match for the British Army, but I know that our determination can win this.” Every time General George Washington gives us a speech it makes me want to fight even more. Washington continues, “We don’t have much food left or guns for that matter.” He adds, “But I assure you the Congress is sending us supplies as we speak!”
The Allies had planned the height of their flight to prevent any detection and they were successful. The German command structure was a complete and utter disaster. The following morning on Omaha beach Private Robert Healey of the 149th engineer division described the site of the beach, “ When we walked down to the beach, it was just an unbelieveable site . There was debris everywhere and all kinds of equipment washing back and forth in the tide. Anything you could think of seemed to be there.
The weather was so bad that the assault had to be delayed by a day. The next day the weather still was menacing. As the Canadians stormed the ridge, they encountered driving wind, snow, and sleet ("The Battle of Vimy Ridge"). These two factors came together to make the perfect storm for the Canadians. The cost for the Canadians were high.
Returning to the 4th Armored Brigade Combat Team (ABCT) to assume command as the brigade commander brings me much joy to be reunited with great Non-Commission Officers and Officers that I have previously served with. Unfortunately, this brigade is no longer the brigade I remember when I commanded a battalion within the 4th ABCT not so long ago. In the last 30 days, I have had the opportunity to observe the ABCT and review a multitude of historical documents to assess the state of the brigade. During my observation, I believe the critical leadership problem in the 4th ABCT’s is the lack of vision for the brigade. Therefore, this critical problem has led to other challenging issues within the brigade.