Carroll H. Dunn
Q ..
And that was just reassembling the same structure?
A ..
Yes.
Q ..
How much coordination was there with the other Rhine River crossings at the time?
A ..
None with
other Rhine River crossings other than the fact that our assault followed
very shortly after an airborne assault across the river-by a combined U.S.-British
airborne group that was just to the north of us.
Q ..
So, when you were talking about the three units in
A ..
I was talking about within the 30th Division. We'd passed through another U.S.
division that was holding the river bank in three columns; a battalion at the lead of each
of these columns. This made the crossing three battalions abreast; regiments in columns
of battalions.
Q ..
At this point, the enemy's obstacles were not terribly formidable, is that not true, once
you broke through?
A ..
Well, the far river bank was fairly heavily defended at the river's edge. Once we broke
through the she11 and got ourselves established on the other side, then the problem
became similar to that with the move across France, of having supplies keep up with
the rapidity with which we could move. This was after we got about miles from the
river.
Q ..
Then after this operation your next major point was what?
We moved across the north German plain to Brunswick. There we stopped for a while
A
and negotiated with the Germans concerning a possible surrender of the area. They did
not surrender in the final analysis; however, actual resistance was minimal.
My next impression concerns the
village of
on the Weser River-the
village hall with the stone rat race around it commemorating the emptying of the village
by the Pied Piper. Things of that sort stand out, but mostly it was a matter of moving
30 or 40 miles a day, keeping watch for the enemy, outrunning the supplies, and having
to be somewhat concerned about protection from the rear-but not a great deal.
Hostilities
practically ceased except for a few pockets of short-time resistance.
The only time I had any leave during operations in Europe was shortly after the
crossing of the Rhine. I went back to England for three days. When I returned to
where my plane landed, my jeep driver was there to meet me. He
47
Previous Page
