Carroll H. Dunn
permanent kitchens and water cars on trains carrying troops. This experience certainly
indicated that our advance had somewhat outrun our organized support system.
Q ..
Did evidence of this crop up again?
A ..
That is the major instance of which I was personally aware. One earlier time was on
Omaha Beach
a major storm that occurred about the 16th or 17th of June, which
had disrupted supply transfer over the beach. There were times then when things got
a little short.
Q ..
After entering Germany, was there any sabotage of German industry that you recall?
A ..
I didn't see any signs that I could call sabotage. Actually, the breakthrough, with the
bombing and artillery shelling, reduced the border villages to piles of rubble with very
little industry actively working. Our division headquarters, for instance, was billeted in
a building that had been a glider factory at an earlier date. Those portions that had
escaped the bombing were perfectly usable. Utilities were out, both water and
electricity, but there was shelter. Several mines in the border area had escaped damage.
We found these very useful because the changing facilities at the mines were an
opportunity for showers, including hot water, which was a very precious commodity
at that time.
Q ..
Was there much equipment or usable material that was left behind by the Germans?
A ..
Not at this point because the movement had been too slow. Later, after we crossed the
Rhine in early April 1945 and began the rapid advance across Germany, there were
occasions when equipment and food were found. I remember, after capturing food
storage warehouses, [we found] one had mostly cheese and another frozen
strawberries. These obviously didn't last long and wouldn't have lasted long had they
not been, shall we say, requisitioned. Spoilage would have occurred, since there was
no electricity for refrigeration.
Q ..
What kind of general activity was the battalion engaged in after taking over each area?
After the initial breakthrough of the Siegfried Line, a major activity, as I have indicated,
A
was destroying the pill boxes so they couldn't be reused. Another activity was enlarging
the gaps through the tank traps that made up the line; clearing rubble to open at least
a passable road that was later improved and enlarged by the supporting engineer group.
We also carried on, where possible, some training with the infantry in preparation for
further attacks to the east through areas near the border that had been mined
previously. This basically was how we were engaged until the time the Battle of the
Bulge started in mid-December.
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