Division Artillery

Activation and Training

On the first of June, 1941, the Eighth Division was formally activated at fort Jackson, S.C. The 28th Field Artillery was the only unit of the division Artillery which had been in existence prior to that time. Headquarters Battery, Division Artillery was formed from the 28th Field Artillery Headquarters Battery, and this Battalion also furnished a large percentage of the original cadres for the three light battalions. The other members of the original cadres were furnished by the 70th, 71st and 83rd Field Artillery Battalions which at the time were horse drawn outfits.

The light battalions operated for nearly a month with little more than their original cadres. It was not until after the Fourth of July that most of the men arrived from Fort Bragg, and it was the middle of the month before the majority of the batteries had close to their T/O strength. Brigadier General John Sloan arrived early in June to take command of Division Artillery. One of his first announcements was that the Division would take part in the Carolina maneuvers which were scheduled for the middle of September. With so little time, and especially since the majority of the men and officers were green, Lieutenant Colonel Thirkeldof the 43rd, Lieutenant Colonel Sawbridge of the 45th and Lieutenant Colonel Camm of the 56th had a job of whipping their battalions into shape during July and August. Although the 28th Field Artillery had also undergone a reorganization, Lieutenant Colonel Babcok had a great advantage over the other battalion commanders since a large percentage of his officers and men had some experience.

Carolina maneuvers proved a valuable experience from which we profited a great deal. The endless night marches, the perpetual dusty roads and the cold nights and mornings which came late in November were not too pleasant, but learning to endure such things helped to harden us for out future job. The various phases of the maneuver were generally short and left at least part of us free for the weekend. Many of us were fortunate enough to enjoy the southern hospitality of the numerous small towns near our various bivouacs. The Carolinian maneuvers offered an initial opportunity to see at first hand the many problems which arise in controlling, moving and coordinating a large group of troops in the field. At times it seemed as through everything was utter confusion, and one couldn’t help wondering what would happen if the Blue forces were actually shooting at us. Fortunately the most dangerous weapons faced were the red, green and white flags which the umpires and flag orderlies waved continually. Above all the necessity for teamwork which could only be achieved when every man did his job, was forcibly brought to our attention time and again.

Maneuvers ended, and we returned to Jackson early in December hopefully looking forward to long furloughs and leaves. However, a few days later we awakened to the bombshell of Pearl Harbor, and even the most optimistic of us now realized that the so-called “year of active duty” was a thing of the past. Most of us still managed to get home sometime during the holidays, but the time was shorter than we had hoped. Training was accelerated, and early in the spring we lost our first full cadre to the 77th Infantry Division. Later on we were assigned the mission of coastal defense, and batteries were scattered from North Carolina to Key West Fla. During the six weeks, our battalion commanders were able to exercise very little control over their widely separated units, and the responsibility placed on the individual batteries proved a valuable experience for officers and non-coms alike.

In June Brigadier General Sloan left use to take command of the 88th Infantry Division. Shortly thereafter, Brigadier General James A. Pickering took command of the Eighth Division Artillery. By this time many of our older officers had been transferred out of the Division, and all the battalions had had at least one change in commander. When we left for Fort Sill in July to act as school troops, Lt. Col. Thomas Wood was commanding the 43rd Field Artillery, Major A.E. Wood the 45th, Major John C. Nickerson the 56th and Major A.A. Green the 28th.

At Fort Sill we really learned what it meant to start shooting and keep going all day. The medium battalion as well as the lights spent most of their time with the old French 75s. Frequently we were called on to man more gun positions than there were batteries in the Division Artillery. Thus, firing by platoon was a common occurrence. Nearly everyone had a chance top take part in a gun crew, and due to the shortage of officers, many first sergeants and chiefs of section functioned as Executive Officers. It was hot and the hours were long. Often we left our tent camp at 0500, not to return until around 1900. Consequently we were not to sorry to leave for Tennessee maneuvers the Second week in September.

Our guns and vehicles went with us to Fort Sill, and then back to Tennessee, and after two train trips, we felt we knew all the tricks of loading and unloading. Tennessee provided us with an endless series of rocky roads and trails. River - crossing tactics were the theme of these maneuvers, and the many bends of the Cumberland River were always present. This was our first real opportunity to work with armored forces. The threat of the Fourth Armored Division during one phase never materialized and many still believe they must have spent the week in Nashville - which, by the way, provided more than a little entertainment for those fortunate enough to get weekend passes.

However, the Fourth Armored redeemed itself the following week after having been spurred on by a few words from the Second Army Commander, Lt. Gen. Ben Lear. We were caught flat-footed and the problem was called off on the second day. By that time there were more Red tanks in our area than there were in front of us.

The only person to remain calm during this minor debacle was a route marker from one of our battalions. He was positioned at the main intersection in Lebanon to hold up traffic while the remnants of the battalion withdrew during the night. It was not long before he found himself confronted by a column of Red tanks coming down the other road, but he proved himself equal to the situation by directing tanks through his battalion column one at a time, and the Reds never realized what was happening.

The Tennessee maneuvers finished, we passed a few miserable weeks of cold rainy weather in Tent City just outside of Camp Forest. A cold snowy road march ended at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., the first part of December. here we learned the “cold facts” of life as far as working in the field during snow and zero weather.

Later in March we were on the move again, this time by train, but without our guns and vehicles - our destination Camp Laguna near Yuma, Ariz.

The Division was still motorized when we arrived in the desert, and the first few weeks we were modern Arabian Knights, sweeping across the sand and cactus in varied formations with streamers flying from each jeep and command car antenna. For weeks we survived away from camp on one canteen of water a day, trying various ingenious devices to keep the water cool. It was difficult to decide which was the lesser of two evils, the fine dust or the hot, sweaty goggles and respirators.

By July we were enjoying maneuvers again, and the battle of Palen Pass was on. Even with the help of tanks and dive-bombers, and ably assisted by umpires, the 77th Division was never able to break through our defensive position. After that phase was over, the Seventh Armored joined the 77th Division to chase us hither and yon and finally into general confusion.

By the middle of August the desert was a thing of the past. We had completed another long train trip and were back at Camp Forest again - this time to live in barracks rather than tents. Spencer range with the AGF tests occupied us for awhile. Before long we knew our time had finally come - the Eighth was headed overseas!

Late in November, we arrived at Camp Kilmer, N.J., for a few hectic days before sailing from New York on the morning of December 5. Our convoy was large but unfortunately the same did not apply to the ships chosen for the artillery. Ten days of zig-zagging, rough water and submarine scares made everyone happy to walk down the gang plank at Belfast on the 15th of December.

Niessen huts were our homes for the next seven months. The artillery had two separate camps, Aughentaine and Blessingbourne, near the small village of Fivemiletown. The 43rd and the 28th occupied the former and Division artillery, the 45th and 56th the latter.

During our stay in Ireland we learned all about rain, peat-bogs and marshes. Any time we went to the field or out to shoot, half of our time was spent winching the guns and trucks either in or out of position. It didn’t take us long to find out that Belfast was the only city in North Ireland and even the most fortunate were unable to visit there more than once a month. passes to such places as Portrush, Bangor, Londonderry and Omagh helped to relieve the monotony and in many cases proved very enjoyable in spite of the tea.

After several months of debating and guessing the invasion date some of us began to wonder if there was going to be such a thing. Early in the spring, however, we awoke to the fact that it wasn”t going to be very long. Restrictions and practice loadings became common occurrences. This was topped off by a “dry run” which took the 56th all the way to Belfast harbor in the middle of the night. On the morning of June 6, radios blared forth the news of the invasion and speculation ran high as to how soon we would join in. Thee was talk of the Eighth going to Norway, but that ended late in June when we sailed our of Belfast Harbor in various crafts and headed south towards France and action.

Headquarters Battery

Eighth Division Artillery

On July 4, 1944, Headquarters Battery, Eighth Division Artillery - properly known as the artillery “nerve center” - moved out of crowded landing craft and began the long climb up the hill at Omaha beach and then along the dusty Normandy roads that led to combat.

Marching inland, the battery took up a position near the village of La Haye du Puits, prior to jumping off in a Eighth Corps attack. Here men and officers got their first taste of combat as German guns - 88s and bigger - began almost immediately to drop into the battery area, inflicting several casualties. Nonetheless, the battery proceeded with its duties - chiefly those of maintaining wire and radio communication - and played an instrumental role in the Eighth Division’s seizure of immediate objectives.

When the First Army’s attempt to break out of the Normandy Peninsula (the attack began July 26) proved successful, the battery moved with considerable speed, following in the wake of the Forth Armored Division’s rapid advance. Along the road that led to Rennes, a sizable city, the battery got its first real taste of Jerry strafing when a flight of MW-109s chewed up the highway with machine guns and cannon and added considerably to our roster of Purple Hearts.

Rennes fell. We rested, discovered cider, tried our luck with the French language, then moved to the outskirts of Brest and played or vital part in the reduction of that large port.

Following a quick motor march on the 11th of September to the Crozon Peninsula, the Division quickly broke enemy resistance there and captured General Ramcke the commander of Brest.

By this time the battery was combat seasoned. Our wire men had combined the fruits of mounts of training with battle experience. As a result they could lay wire and set up installations quickly and efficiently, untroubled by hostile artillery or sniper fire. Our radio men were veterans at maintaining communication with liaison planes and forward observation posts. Other sections performed as admirably and the battery, as a unit, could move positions daily with maximum speed and a minimum of confusion.

Crozon captured we rested for three days, then marched across France to new positions on the Luxembourg front facing the Siegfried Line. Here we billeted in houses and stood our ground on what was then a relatively stable front.

The battery practiced defensive ground maneuvers by day and cemented American-Luxembourg relations in the homes and small cafes in the town of Wiltz.

Such tranquillity could not be expected to last forever. On the 15th of November we moved to the already bloody Hurtgen Forest, taking up position in the town of Rott. Here was rain and mud and hectic conditions for our wire men. In December it grew cold as we moved forward near Germeter - with the command post in a pillbox and the men living in log covered foxholes.

Shortly after the Ardennes offense was launched we moved back to the town of Zweifall and later, back to the woods again, this time to live in log cabins of our own making.

Christmas and New Year’s were spent in the Hurtgen Forest. The days passed slowly and finally, on February 6, we pulled out of the woods and into new positions in the battered town of Merode opposite Duren.

The battle progressed well. The Division moved with considerable speed, and wire crews and forward parties of the battery ran into shell fire that brought back memories of Normandy.

The Division soon reached the Rhine and on the 6th of March we were out of action billeted in the town of Frechen. We jockeyed from Frechen to a position near Bonn; then back to Weiden, a suburb of Cologne - waiting all the time for the Remagen bridgehead to be expanded and the Eighth called into action once again.

On the 28th of March we crossed the Rhine. Our mission: the elimination of the Ruhr pocket. the battery will long remember the whirlwind campaign, if only by virtue of such place-names Hackenberg, Hager, Duez, Siegen, Olpe, Milspe and Wuppertal. We displaced positions daily and our wire men were continually on the go. At Milspe we ran into considerable harassing fire which put some of our men out of action.

The campaign ended as quickly as it had begun. Prisoners streamed to the rear, and the battery moved to the wealthy Ruhr town of Wuppertal for a few days of rest and recuperation.

But soon higher headquarters called for the Eighth again. Our mission involved the crossing of the Elbe River. We made a lengthy motor march to the Luneberg-Ulzen sector, and then followed our artillery units as they broke out of the bridgehead across the Elbe which had been established on May 1.

Movement was swift and casualties for the entire Division negligible. Prisoners surrendered in droves and by May 3, the battery found itself in the picturesque of Schwerin where we preformed police duty until the end of hostilities on May 8.

The pleasant days that followed, when we combined trips to the Baltic, baseball and boating with our regular duties, were to be the last that the battery would have together.

Soon our high-point men, most of them Regular Army, were removed for speedy shipment home. Later at Grebenstein and Camp Old Gold, Army of Occupation volunteers and other high-point men left us. Finally after the long trip home and furloughs, we assembled at Fort Leonard Wood, where the reshuffling process of the battery continued. Yet somehow, the men who trained so long together, who worked and fought through ten long months of combat will never forget the part they played as members of Headquarters Battery, Eighth Division