Luftwaffe Field Divisions 1941–45 by Kevin Conley Ruffner

Author:Kevin Conley Ruffner
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Luftwaffe Field Divisions 1941–1945
ISBN: 978178200
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Feldwebel Henke wearing walking out uniform, Germany, 1944. A former bomber radio operator during the Battle of Britain, Henke then served in Kholm with III.FR der Lw.4 and later as signal platoon sergeant, III.JR43. He wears the Tuchrock with the Sommermütze. Among his decorations are the ribbon for the Iron Cross 2nd Class, the ribbon for the Winter Campaign on the Eastern Front, the Air Force ground combat badge, and the Wound Badge. His arm-of-service colour on the collar tabs is gold-brown. (Jürgen Henke)

This proved impossible as Allied planes racked the extended German columns, dropping bombs and leaving a trail of destroyed vehicles. The Americans also shifted artillery fire onto the Germans, and launched a counterattack which created further problems for von Tresckow. The German commander now assumed command of all forces on the field as the ranking officer, and ordered that all German troops individually cut their way from the tightening trap. The two battle groups of 18.FD(L) had already succeeded in this earlier when they found an unoccupied route west of Mons. Generalleutnant von Tresckow took charge of a group of 300 men and evaded the enemy during the evening of 3 September. Later that night von Tresckow further divided his men into smaller groups of 40 each to allow for better control. The general continued to lead a group of three officers and seven men who marched directly east, avoiding large towns such as Charleroi, and eventually moving only at night to avoid Allied troops and unfriendly civilians.

Von Tresckow’s small band of soldiers faced other problems besides the enemy. They suffered from a lack of food and water, and had to ford many rivers and streams in Belgium, including the Sambre and Maas rivers, where enemy soldiers were on the lookout for escaping German troops. The band managed to cross the Maas in a small boat (which sank after the last members reached the eastern bank five kilometres south of Dinant). This was accomplished within yards of enemy patrols during a stormy night. The following day, 8 September, Belgian troops surrounded the woods where the Germans were resting and opened fire. Von Tresckow received wounds in both legs from a hand grenade and another soldier was also injured. The group immediately scattered, re-assembled a few kilometres away, and continued the march. By the morning of 15 September the handful of bedraggled survivors entered the Malmedy-Eupen region of Belgium and were greeted by German-speaking natives. They had evaded several attempts by American troops to capture them and had crossed another major river, the Ourthe. A last attempt to capture the group by Belgian troops on 16 September was fought off. Von Tresckow’s men reached the Belgian–German border and lay within the shadow of the West Wall; they had to be extremely careful to avoid being shot by their own troops as well as by enemy patrols. Waiting until dark, the four officers and four enlisted men made their way through the minefields and crossed into a zone of dragon’s teeth.

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