Diary, 25.I.02

A special dispatch rider delivered the Führerbefehl to my comfortable abode in Valhalla informing me that my presence was required for the conduct of a secret offensive operation in the Ardennes forest region. The American and British forces had become too complacent and smug in their newfound accommodations around the resort area of Bastogne, Belgium. The time was ripe for a major counteroffensive thrusting through the overconfident and overfed Allies while splitting the American and British forces down the middle. Our final objective would be the vital port city of Antwerp. With dispatch in hand, I loaded my combat gear and began the 7-hour trek to our assembly area.

Arriving unscathed by enemy Jabos at the assembly area, we were greeted by extensive security measures due to a recent attack by partisans on September 11^th. Undeterred, we began the unloading process and secured billeting in preparation for the morning offensive.

With the sporadic arrival of the men throughout the evening and my required presence at several mandatory meetings, the official unit inspection was deferred until morning formation. This afforded the opportunity for the men to spend voluminous amounts of their hard-earned Reichsmarks at the local Truppensattlers acquiring new uniforms and field gear items for the upcoming battle. Caught up in the buying frenzy, I too acquired many items I would have to justify to my lovely Frau upon my next leave!

Diary, 26.I.02

As usual, dawn arrived too early for mortal men but grasping the element of surprise would be paramount in the success of the tactical operation. The men were formed up at 0730 hours in battle kit for inspection and movement to the combat trains. I conducted the inspection with SS-Oberscharführer Hutchinson. Two haircut infractions were observed and noted on the unit blotter. Of the 26 men pre-registered to partake in the attack, only 16 men made it to the assembly area. We could only assume the missing men had become casualties of Jabos while enroute or perished in the ubiquitous Allied carpet bombings of their beloved cities in Tennesseestadt, Kentuckyschweig or Alabamburg.

SS-Untersturmführer Pemberton and I unloaded my Schwimmwagen from its transport and prepared it for action while SS-Oberscharführer Hutchinson marched the men to the rally point. Per the previous evening briefing, the LAH was to load on the third transport vehicle for movement to the field. However, upon arrival at the rally point, we found that the previous orders had been changed and with the constant influx of new arrivals, things were beginning to fall behind schedule. Once the newly assigned transport vehicle was identified, the men were loaded for movement to the field. A lengthy delay ensued while the convoy of military vehicles was assembled for departure. It was at this time I learned that I would be the lead vehicle in the column. Just prior to departure, the SdKfz 251 sprung a radiator leak so the departure was further delayed while determination was made on whether it would be allowed into the field. It was decided that it would be left behind and blown in place.

After the combat trains (buses) had departed for the field, the military convoy finally moved out towards the engagement area. We were directed to our jumping off position and immediately upon arrival, we were mercilessly fired upon by Commonwealth troops before we could even assemble the men. The SdKfz 222 lurched forward accompanied by Panzergrenadiers which temporarily stemmed the Allied attack. However, upon rounding the turn just 50 meters ahead at the first intersection, it was engaged and destroyed by heavy fire from American M8 armored cars and jeeps with .50 caliber machine guns. The delay it created was enough for us to regroup the men and establish a defensive posture which kept us from being immediately overrun. Already, things were not going well for the troops of the Fatherland!

After the ensuing mêlée died down, the casualties were assessed and the LAH Soldaten were reorganized to finally begin the promised offensive.

The LAH, along with elements of other SS and Heer formations, began our push to the west. Initially, light resistance was encountered and eradicated without delay or remorse. Further probes to the west met increasingly stiffer resistance and the attack began to bog down. The LAH began to spread too thin to be effective so I sent a runner to collect SS-Rottenführer Shoop and his Gruppe. After they re-established contact with the main force, we reconnoitered the map for avenues of approach which would provide opportunities to exploit the enemy’s weaknesses. After formulating a plan for movement to contact along the south side of the road, we again moved towards our first objective, Bastogne.

Two thousand meters east of Bastogne, the Allies (who were now beginning to feel the benefits of their energy reserves due to being well fed) launched a major counterattack supported by armor, light skinned vehicles and countless infantrymen. The Heer units, who were safeguarding the north side of the road, began to take heavy casualties and their makeshift defense began to rapidly crumble. An open flank now compounded the dilemma of also being heavily engaged to our direct front. Panzergrenadiers who were sent across to the north side of the road to stem the Allied advance were quickly cut down in a hail of fire as they traversed the open terrain. British troops began to pour down the north side of the road unimpeded and threatened to encircle the LAH.

The brave men of the LAH attempted to establish a hasty defensive perimeter to the west and the north in an effort to curtail the wholesale rout of German forces in the area. Several individual acts of heroism were witnessed as the onslaught was bogged down by tenacious Panzergrenadiers of the LAH who picked off the enemy one by one. Unfortunately, despite the superior training and loyalty of the men, they were overcome by sheer numbers and the few survivors had to retreat under heavy fire. A temporary reprieve was granted as the men reassembled farther to the east to count our losses and lick our wounds (luckily, no one was shot in the schwanz).

Another substantial Allied attack followed shortly thereafter which was also spearheaded by armor and infantry. Again, by sheer numbers, the German defenses were overrun by a ratio of at least 5 to 1.

The final scenario required the combatants to reverse position 180 degrees since we were running out of training area to the east. This caused much consternation and confusion and by the time all of the details were worked out between the various commands (Allied and German), more than an hour had passed. Since some of the Allied units had objectives to the east, they refused to turn back to the west and were subsequently not involved in the last scenario. After all of this was sorted out, the final scenario began.

The German forces were now facing to the east defending the wooded areas just east of Bastogne. At the appointed time, the Allies began their push and they could be heard clamoring and stumbling through the woods for great distances. With the enemy at our heels, I deployed the LAH into ambush positions at a small road intersection. I was informed that some of the men only had a few rounds of ammunition left to which I replied that they had better be more selective on choosing their targets and to make each shot count. With that, I moved to the rear in the Schwimmer to confer with the overall SS Kommandeur and survey the defense. Moments after my departure, an enormous firefight developed followed shortly by casualties straggling to the rear. Despite a stubborn defense, superior enemy numbers combined with depleted ammunition sealed our fate. Bastogne would remain in enemy hands.

The LAH was gathered near Bastogne and formed up for movement back to the jumping off area. A headcount confirmed all of the men were present and SS-Oberscharführer Hutchinson marched the men back to the combat trains for the long retreat from the field. Unfortunately, the toll of combat was too much for SS-Untersturmführer Pemberton who passed out from combined battle fatigue and a sore ass caused from riding in the Schwimmer all day. After rifling his pockets for loot, I took the poor unconscious wretch to the rear where he will recover under the personal care of the unit male nurse, Franz.

In the barracks, a final formation was conducted with several medals and one cuff title being awarded on behalf of a grateful Fatherland.

Der Gut (the good):

· Plenty of attendees for this event as usual. The GI’s outnumbered us by at least 5 to 1. Some said 8 to 1 but I think that’s probably stretching it.

· Trigger time aplenty. During some engagements, firing did not stop for 15-20 minutes straight. For the most part, action was continuous. Just try to ignore all of the 1000 round burst firing propane guns.

· Once again, vendors galore! I didn’t see anyone walk out of any of the vendor buildings empty handed. The good thing about buying at Indiantown Gap is that the vendors cater to re-enactors and for the most part, their prices are reasonable. This is contradictory to militaria shows which only cater to the elite clique of fellow dealers and jack their prices to new astronomic levels because they keep buying from each others tables.

· Registration was quick and painless at the door (for a change). The helpers were well informed and fairly organized. All of the women processing registration were dressed in authentic period military and civilian (Allied and Axis) outfits. Some were knockouts! (A couple you wanted to knock out)

Der Böse (the bad):

· The event organizer’s attitudes towards pre-registration and their process for it. If you don’t get your money in by the deadline (6 weeks in advance), too bad. Their rationale is that they get enough people to come and play anyway. No leeway, no exceptions. 100% their way.

· There should’ve been a contingency plan for the disparity in numbers of Allies over Germans. Although the scenarios were better than in the past, we quickly reached the end of our engagement area which required everyone to turn around 180 degrees. This caused a lengthy delay and much confusion as mentioned above. Attitudes began to quickly deteriorate during this sequence of events. Additionally, this created a very long march to the buses after already humping through the woods all day.

Der Hässlich (the ugly):

· With heightened security at the post, no vehicles were allowed within a quarter mile of the barracks. This included authentic military vehicles. The parking lot was a quagmire and little/no security was provided for the many vintage vehicles which had to remain there in the open all night. Some of the chosen few were authorized to park their military vehicles in the motor pool garages but the balance were left outside in the elements running the risk of pilfering and vandalism. When asked about security for those vehicles, the organizer said the owners were responsible. Since the vehicles were not visible from the barracks he recommended posting a guard from each of our units. For a $40+ registration fee, this is a basic service which should be provided by the organizer.

· The same organizer (who will remain nameless) stormed into our barracks Friday night berating us for not allowing anyone else to stay in our building. He brought a couple “assistants” with him complaining that we did not own the barracks and that if we kept it up, we’d be thrown out, etc., etc. We had no clue what he was talking about since no one had asked us for any spare bunk space. Attempts to calm him down by a couple of LAH men just further aggravated the situation and he threatened to throw them out on the spot. I finally had to calmly inform him that no one had asked for room and that if anyone did, they’d be welcome. He had his unwilling assistants conduct a bunk count and registration check before he left in a huff and did the same thing downstairs. I overheard other re-enactors complaining about the same thing the next day in the field.

Gesamturteil (overall):

On a scale of 1 to 10, I’d probably rate this event an overall 7. The most important thing for me about this event is supporting our East Coast LAH Kamerads and the great selection of vendors and merchandise. For these two reasons alone, I’ll go back next year.

Im Kameradschaft,

Dale Taylor

SS-Hauptsturmführer

Bataillon IIa