Rockwood 2006
Excerpt from the Diary of 18 März,
By SS-Sturmann Richard Burkhalter, Sanitäter, 1.2.2
I awoke just after dawn to the sounds of my kameraden returning from battle with the invaders from America. The Ami's had been repulsed, and the men were in high spirits. They joked of the ambush they had prepared and of the surprise in the enemy's eyes as they realized the trap. I was content to see the men in such joyous moods, and with minimal casualties. That I somehow slept through this I can only blame on the extra ration of Opa's glühwein.
The men had a quick meal and had just begun to rest when the Speiss informed us we had ten minutes to assemble for formation. Luckily he did not hear the muttered words of contempt from the men who had just returned!
A whistle blows. We sprint into formation. Weapons are inspected, ammunition checked & extra equipment distributed to several new soldaten who have recently joined our ranks. The Kompanieführer informs us of our objective; we are to defend the command camp at all costs! He reports that we are greatly outnumbered, even with the support of a Heer unit and members of the HG Luftwaffe division. We also lack the support vehicles of the Ami's. Oddly enough, the bleak prospects for victory only seem to boost the morale of our men!
The LAH are deployed in two flanks protecting our Kommandlager; the north flank along a ridge overlooking a wooded valley where the American forces are expected to infiltrate, the west flank covering the road into our camp along a line down to a lake which protects our camp from the South /South East.
As expected, the Ami's attempt to infiltrate up the valley. From my perspective, we are the frontline defenses along this ridge, but somehow the Heer soldaten manage to push their line well forward of the Leibstandarte's position, deep into the valley, and begin the fight without our help!
Soon there is activity on the flank covering the road into camp, Ami's are spotted in the woods. My first encounter with the enemy! They move through the trees toward our position. The rattle of machine pistols and karabiner rifles are a blow to the senses. The acrid smell of gunfire fills the air. My first casualties of the day result from this action; I treat numerous wounds of several soldaten of the Heer & Luftwaffe. The wounded are treated and directed back to camp, the dead are left where they lie. Two LAH men in motorcycle and side car move up to support the flank with their mounted machinegun, but they too are hit by the Americans. Luckily I was not hit, though several Ami's try to shoot me despite my Red Cross armband. Schweine!
The west LAH flank moves forward to fill the gap left by the Heer/Luftwaffe soldaten, and the Americans are again repulsed. They try a frontal assault but they are picked off one by one. They try to sneak up on our flank by moving along the perimeter of the lake from the South/Southwest, this too is unsuccessful. Hours pass as they try again and again to break through. They are continually frustrated in their attempts. Our men hold the line. We suffer minimal casualties, and are never forced to retreat, though one young Sturmann receives a very nasty wound to the groin. I attribute our success to the high morale of our men, the well-placed machineguns, and the field phone that allows constant coordination with the Kommandlager.
At last there is a break in the action. We allow the American medics to treat their wounded and remove their dead. I distribute drinking water to those in need. I notice several Luftwaffe men who are questioning a captured American officer. One of them takes his sidearm, an American-made 'Colt' pistol. The Luftwaffe soldaten spins it on his finger like the cowboys do in the 'talkie' movies. What a laugh! I escort them back to camp and report the circumstances of our casualties to the Kompanieführer.
Suddenly the roar of machine guns and the sounds of a large vehicle not too far away, followed by men screaming "Sani!", "Sani!" I run towards the sounds, though by the time I get there, the gunfight is over. There is an American halftrack in the road not far from our camp, now still and silent. The occupants are dead or wounded. There are several American casualties lying around. The Kompanieführer orders me to tend their wounded. I make my way to the halftrack, watching closely for any suprises that might wait inside. Then I saw them, the men of my gruppe, near the field phone that had helped so much throughout the day. Mein kameraden: All of them hit! Scheisse! I defy the Kompanieführer's orders and tend to our men first as I was sure he would have wished if he were able to see the situation firsthand.
Our wounded are treated as best as possible & escorted back to camp. Apparently some valuable information is extracted from the American officer who has been captured, as we are ordered to prepare for battle once again! This time we are to take the initative and take the battle to the Americans. We are told their gathering point has been found North of our camp, just a few miles away! The majority of our men are assigned the task of moving along the road out of camp, while the combined Heer, Luftwaffe & remaining forces are ordered to go North through the valley. I am ordered to fall in with the members of zweiter zug, including the men of my gruppe, and am relieved to at last be in the secure company of my LAH kameraden, rather than the other second-rate soldaten.
We begin our trek along the road heading west out of camp. A smoke granate is used to cover our advance. We are forced to proceed with caution as the sounds of a jeep moving at high speeds nearby keeps us aware of our exposed flank. The road curves to the north, we move along another several hundred meters until we come to a clearing, in a hilly area, with no trees to provide cover. The sunlight in this area is very bright, making the area conspicuous to enemy observation.
We move off the road, using the tree line to the right for cover and to protect our flank. We come upon a small American medical camp at the crest of the small ridge, which appears deserted. Just then, the sound of a vehicle approaching at high speed! We take cover in the grass and our men open fire with full force on this lone vehicle. Miraculously they do not hit any of the occupants of the jeep as they all keep firing back!!! The engine sounds fade, but are replaced with other larger vehicles not far away... we have found their gathering point!
We move to the top of the ridge, looking across a large valley to a hilltop where we could see American halftracks, trucks, jeeps & personnel moving into position. The hill they occupy looks to be the best vantage point in the area.
Our group splits in two parts; one moves through the briars and into the trees heading east towards the Americans, the other moves along the tree line towards the same point, through the middle. I watch from there as our men take their positions, just low enough on the crest of a ridge to get a good view of the Ami's hill and still have some cover. I ran down the hill and into the tall grass with the men of my gruppe.
Hell breaks loose! I have no time to catch my breath. We come under fire from the hill, and from a suprise point on our left flank; a truckload of infantry has come out of nowhere! Infantry from the left and front slowly tighten the vice on our position. There is nowhere to go. Our men continue fighting as the Ami's surround us.
Chaos overcomes those of us remaining. The few of our men that try to surrender are shot. Our kriegsberichter lets out a scream as he falls on his helmet with a crunch. I lay there, glued to the ground, watching my kameraden die.
The last thing I remember is the face of a youthful American as he shot the man closest to me. I couldn’t take anymore. I pulled my Luger from it’s holster, jumped and tried to fire at him. Several Ami’s opened fire on me and I fell to the ground. Then darkness creeping in... I try to think of my mother's face, but can only see the face of the American schweine... the light of the sun above fades...
Meine Ehre Heißt Treue