INTERVIEW

Unit: Combat Command B, 8th Armored Division
Action: Roer-Rhine
Source: Captain John W Jonas, Liaison Officer to 35th Infantry Division.
Interviewer: 1st Lt Howard L Oleck
Place and Date of Interview: Lintfort, Germany, 1400, 7 March 1945

On 28 February 1945 the CP of CCB, 8th Armored Division, was at Brachelen, just west of the Roer River. It remained there until early on the morning of 1 March 1945 when CCB was moving and there was no division CP location. On the second of March in the morning CCB was approaching Wankum, Germany, just below Wachtenconk. There was a small action at Wankum and an artillery laison plane guided the column around Wankum. The same day a temporary CP was set up at Wachtendonk. Later the same day this CP closed and moved to Alderkerk, Germany, after mopping up Wachtendonk quickly and thoroughly. On 3 March, at Alderkerk, Captain Jonas was notified that he would be detailed as liaison officer to the 35th Infantry Division. Prior to that he was a company commander in CCB.

On the 4th of March CCB was attached to the 35th Infantry Division but maintained its own CP at Alderkerk. At 0200 on the morning of 5 March Captain Jonas went to the 35th Division CP at Niewkerk but there was nothing of particular interest for him as Col. Edward A. Kimball, Commanding Officer of CCB, already had been there.

At 0500 5 March CCB moved in complience with orders to advance northeast toward Rheinberg and the Rhine. Reconnaissance Troop B moved ahead.

Task Force Rosebourough consisting primarily of the 49th AIB, took Lintfort against heavy resistance and were through to its northeastern edges by 1400. There was heavy fighting north and east of Lintfort to Rossenrey. About 1600, light tanks moved alone through Dormannshof and above the Fossa Eugeniana bridge to the road at 184258. The road runs parallel and close to the Fossa Eugeniana Canal northeast out of Lintfort toward Rheinberg. Task Force Rosebourough encountered heavy resistance there from anti-tank and Panzer Faust, losing 11 light tanks, M-24. Captain Erdmann led this attack. Some medium tanks assisted. Several mediums were knocked out by mines on this road a short distance northeast of Steegman.

The 49th AIB and 36th Tank Battalion jointly took Lintfort and proceeded easterly to Repelen and thence north. At Horsemannshof, on the principle north-south road out of the southern edge of Rheinberg, there was very violent resistance from anti-tank guns, tanks, bazoolas and small arms. At Winterswick, on the road just south of Rheinberg, several of our tanks were knocked out.

Captain Jonas accompanied the advance to just below Winterswick where the going became too heavy for his peep. At this point Col. Kimball took a half-track and continued in the advance with troops to Rheinberg. The Colonel returned to his CP on hands and knees at 0100 the following morning. He had gotten into a cellar with a German patrol and both sides had withdrawn without damage from the cellar.

The southern edge of Lintfort was taken and the 137th Infantry Regiment of the 35th Infantry Division assisted in taking the rest of the town. The 809th Tank Destroyer Battalion also assisted. CCB outposted the town to the north.

On the 6th of March Rheinberg was cleaned up with the assistance of the 137th Infantry Regiment. Three battalions of Infantry were involved.

The 36th Tank Battalion and the 49th AIB were in the town and supply routes south and east to Lintfort were under constant artillery fire from the enemy. The supply problem became acute late in the afternoon and single supply vehicles ran the gauntlet of artillery fire to bring supplies from Lintfort to Rheinberg. In addition, the Fossa Eugeniana Road was heavily mined and was cleared by the 60th Engineer Battalion late during the day. The bridge on the road leading north out of Rheinberg was blown and it took almost 18 hours to replace. All this time the town was being shelled intermittently. The 60th Engineers worked on the bridge and had it completed and ready for use at 1830 of 6 March.

Dismounted armored infantry outposts and patrols kept off enemy snipers and burp gun patrols of the enemy which were constantly moving along the north edge of the Fossa Eugeniana Canal Road.

During the attack on Lintfort, 35th Infantry Division had issued orders reforming CCB and the 137th Infantry Regiment into a task force called Task Force Murray after Col. William S. Murray, Commanding Officer of the 137th Infantry Regiment, who was in command. At 1900 of the 6th of March pursuant to orders from the 35th Division, Task Force Murray moved out of Rheinberg across the newly reconstructed bridge to the north to proceed on the objective which now was Wesel, Germany on the east side of the Rhine.

Heavy resistance was met just below Ossienberg on the road leading north out of Rheinberg.

At Ossienberg and for the entire length of the Rhine north to Xanten and eastward throughout that area the German were holding against repeated attacks, apparently using the area as one of their principle routes of evacuation eastward across the Rhine. Resistance along the Ossienberg - Rhine area was particularly tenacious. Anti-tank guns, artillery, tanks and every variety of small arms formed an almost solid wall of resistance in that area.

In support of the attack, at 2000 of 6 March, there was an air strike by medium bombers against Wesel.

The supply problem from Lintfort to Rheinberg was made more difficult by very heavy mining of the road, and in the area to the east of the road, as well as to the north. Well-camouflaged fox holes were scattered throughout the area and numerous do-or-die German Panzer Faust men and snipers were scattered throughout the area even after the advance had passed them for a full day. The terrain south of Rheinberg is extremely flat, almost like a billard table with very little concealment and less cover. Moveover, it is broken up by numerous canals and small streams. As a result, Armor was canalized. It was the opinion of the tank unit officers that much more infantry support was needed. In fact, ultimately the infantry of the 137th Infantry Regiment was the decisive factor in the taking of the town by CCB. Enemy anti-tank guns were particularly numerous, well placed and well concealed. The weather was rainy and overcast and Captain Jonas saw no air support throughout the day.

Reconstruction of the bridge north of Rheinberg was made more difficult by repeated enemy strafing of the engineers at work there.