Western Germany, April 1945

Friday afternoon about 1500h I arrived at the Kaserne to report for duty after an enjoyable period of leave. Soon after making up my bed and storing my equipment, I met my kamerad Kurt Becht, also back from leave. Together we traveled to a nearby town for a meal.

At the restaurant, we couldn’t help but notice a subtle spirit of defeatism. We were the only customers in the place, yet the space behind the counter was crowded with malnourished-looking teenage Frauleins and a bloated, squint-eyed counter-man with a filthy apron. Kurt and I silently wondered how he had managed to escape conscription into the Volkssturm, but we supposed that even the Volkssturm must have some recruiting standards!

In any event, the counter-man behaved most strangely; when he saw that we were soldaten, he insisted on summoning a friend of his from a nearby house. Kurt and I became rather anxious… who was this "friend"? A war-wounded former soldat? A deserter? Or perhaps even a defeatist traitor who might try to fill our heads with lies? Our concerns were alleviated when the friend arrived. He turned out to be a harmless individual, who in fact was acquainted with some of the men in our unit! We passed an enjoyable few minutes in conversation while we ate our food, and then it was back to the Kaserne.

Later, we gathered a few kameraden from the 9. SS ,,Hohenstaufen" to join us at a local Biergarten. The mood at the Biergarten was much more optimistic, as many local civilians approached us to inquire of our fortunes, and some even expressed an interest in volunteering for service in the Leibstandarte!

At about 2030h, I happened to glance at my watch, which suddenly reminded me that we had been told of an inspection to occur at 2100h! My kamerad Kurt didn’t believe me at first, but I convinced him we should return to the Kaserne just in case I was right.

We arrived just in time to arrange our bunks and equipment for inspection! Each soldat stood to attention as our officer, Kompanieführer Grossardt, along with Unterscharführer McClain and Unterscharführer Chesebrough conducted the inspection. Fortunately, no major infractions were detected and after a fashion we were free to return to the Biergarten.

When we got there, the party was in full swing. Kameraden not only from the ,,Hohenstaufen", but also from 17. SS ,,Gotz von Berlichingen" and from Panzergrenadier-division ,,Grossdeutschland" were drinking and laughing together. There was even a Knight’s Cross holder, with Oakleaves and Swords no less! In all my time of service I had never seen such a soldat before, except on postkarten of course!!

All too soon it was 0030h and time to return to the Kaserne in anticipation of the day of combat to follow. We collapsed into our warm beds and fell immediately asleep. About 0330h more of our kameraden arriving from leave disturbed our sleep, but on1y for a moment before we rolled over and drifted off again.

At 0530h we were jolted awake by bright lights and the shouts of the Unterscharführer. "Raus! Raus! Out of bed!" Yawning soldaten rubbed their eyes and grimaced as warm bare feet landed on the freezing cold floor of the Kaserne. But the barrack-room was not without its comforts, as all had the opportunity for a hot shower and shave before formation.

Formation was to be in full combat order. All through the Kaserne, LAH kameraden were busy helping one another straighten their uniforms and arrange their equipment. Hobnails rang on the Kaserne staircase as the soldiers made their way outside for a quick smoke or chat before falling in.

The next while was spent in drill, both marching and with rifles. It felt good to be back to the discipline of military life after the chaos of leave, with its rationing and constant air raids. After such things the Kaserne felt safe by comparison – but we had the enemy yet to meet that day.

Suddenly the order came to board the transport trucks and be driven into action. After a short ride along back roads we arrived at our staging area. Unterscharführer Durenberger led my squad. We were heavily armed, with our five men carrying two of the excellent Gewehr 43 rifles and the Uscha. with his MP40, in addition to two K98 rifles. As we waited for our marching orders we watched two motorcycle combinations from the ,,Gotz von Berlichingen" arrive. Jabos circled in the sky some way in the distance but didn’t trouble us.

Then our orders came. Our squad was to hold a sector of the front against the Amis. The important hill near the road was to be held at all costs. We took our positions in some copses of trees just off a dirt road. Carefully we watched for the enemy, but their effort was concentrated elsewhere on the front. A soldier’s life, waiting! Eventually the Uscha. shifted us rearward and contracted our front in preparation for an American assault. At a moment’s notice we were in action against the enemy!

I found myself rushing with my kameraden into a large area of young trees perhaps a metre high. We hugged the ground, rising occasionally to take a shot at the enemy laying just in front of us. We were so close that we actually jeered each other! Then, a rumbling engine sound from behind. We were outflanked by an American armored car! Its mounted .50 caliber machine gun barked with a bass thud, wreaking havoc on our extended line. We withdrew from that encounter in disorder!

Eventually the American armored car withdrew and we were able to reform. Our squad regrouped on a small hill near our start line. Our mission was to hold the hill against an expected American attack. Fortunately the hill had been the site of some previous action, as it was criss-crossed with shallow trenches and gun pits. We no sooner had jumped into the trenches than the American assault began! Shots rang out from everywhere, forcing our heads down. Then, just to my left, I could see a suicidal American assault begin. A mass of khaki-clad soldiers surged up the hill, as we fired our weapons as fast as we could. Soon the tide was stemmed, as the Americans struggled and died under a withering hail of fire. As the firing stopped and the hill grew quiet, I looked back up the hill. My heart was stirred by the sight of so many of my kameraden rising up from our trenches after the tremendous fight. We made our way down among our fallen American enemies, bandaging wounds and giving water to the few survivors of their suicidal attack.

We took the opportunity of this lull in the fighting to eat our lunches and soak up the glorious sun. But all too soon came the call to action once more! Yet again, the LAH was ordered to lead a breakout from enemy encirclement. The objective lay to the west, but between us and the objective, the enemy!

Uscha. Durenberger led our squad in a wide flanking maneuver around the main enemy mass. Using fire and movement, we sprinted from cover to cover, under fire from the enemy. Eventually, as had been predicted by Uscha. McClain, our squad picked up stragglers from other units, and so became proudly known as Kampfgrüppe ,,Durenberger"! The rest of the day blurs together for me now, a succession of headlong assaults, sweeping encirclements and surprise feints, and an everlasting push through the thick prickly underbrush and over the muddy, mossy banks of a cold-flowing stream. Still, images stand out from that day – charging an enemy position with my kameraden, struggling to clear a jammed cartridge from my rifle while under fire, seeing the look of surprise and shock on the faces of English paratroopers we had outflanked and charged from behind.

Finally, tired and thirsty, we had achieved our objective and arrived at our rallying point to wait for transport back to the Kaserne. We piled into the trucks and, each man lost in his own thoughts of the day, rode in silence back to our barracks.

Once there, we were informed of a formation, with presentation of awards, to take place outside the Kaserne. My friend Kurt was particularly excited; he was to receive not only the coveted cuff-title of the LAH, but also the Fallschirmjäger-abzeichen (awarded for his previous service) and as well, the Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse.

Under the warm April sun we men of the LAH stood proudly to attention as Kompanieführer Grossardt thanked us for our efforts that day in defending our beloved Fatherland. The names of the LAH soldaten who were to receive awards were called, and in turn, they paraded before the unit to receive the applause of their kameraden. The names of the decorations awarded were a roll of honour – Nakampfspange… Eisernes Kreuz… Ostmedaille. The recipients of the honours held their heads high as they accepted the congratulations of the assembled LAH.

But even as the warm sun beat down on our grey steel helmets, and we witnessed our kameraden proudly receive the honours they had earned on the field of battle, deep inside ourselves, each of us carried private thoughts of the uncertain future that lay ahead…

Respectfully submitted,

Johann A. Ziegler

SS-Kandidat