Battle of the Bulge - Bataille des Ardennes

 

 

© Yves Claude

 

Photos U.S. Army - Collection Rol. Gaul MNHM Diekirch, Lu

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This text is copyrighted by Mr William P. TAYMAN - U.S. Veteran
87th Infantry Division 345th Infantry Regiment Company C

MOIRCY BELGIUM

 

l dedicate this writing to my Grandson, Kyle, who has expressed a true interest in my WWII experiences.

Now for the part of this night of horrors that is not documented anywhere other than the indelible memory in my mind.

l am the Company Communication Sergeant ( MOS Communication Chief No.542). l am always with the Company Commander, a Captain, the Executive Officer, a lst Lieut. and four to five runners, they carry messages that l write to the rear ( Battalion Headquarters ).

It is near nighttime, we have been in the attack all day.
At one time l was caught by a sniper while running across an open field. l pretended l was hit and laid still. As long as l laid still he would stop firing, l guess thinking l was finished. My captain laughed at me later because there was an ammunition box near me and l tried to crawl to it thinking this would give me some protection ! My captain, who was behind me, sent a whole platoon to a group of trees to flush the sniper out. After this, the rest of the company crossed this open field. Later in the day we were pinned down by a German tank with surrounding infantry. Like a miracle from the Almighty, an Army fighter aircraft flew over at a low altitude sensing we were in trouble, he made two strafing runs using his 50mm machine-guns that proved to be very effective at this close range. I’m sure this was the tank l directed artillery fire on the next morning.

Night is approaching, and in accordance with the Geneva Treaty on engaging the enemy in warfare, each side pulls back at least 100 yards to rest, eat, get supplies, and transport the wounded to the rear. There were times in the thick of battle the Germans would wave a large white flag signaling the y want to talk. Everyone would stop fighting and an officer and sergeant would go forward trying to meet in the middle so neither side could come too near to the others main body of men. They would ask lets stop firing until an agreed on time, watches are synchronized, and the wounded are carried off the battlefield. If anyone as crawled over to the other side after being hit they are now exchanged. And, then the war resumes! Somebody has to be crazy! General Patton always said l want my men to sleep in a town whenever possible. Take a town, fight on, but come back to the town to sleep.

We had taken the town ( Moircy ) from the Germans but not cleared it, that means going from house to house hunting for enemy. The Germans had a large ammunition dump there, mainly large artillery shells. We pulled back to Moircy and selected a house with a basement for the Company CP for the added protection. We later learned there were only two houses in Moircy that had basements.

During the night, the Germans counterattacked on Moircy. Artillery shells started raining on the village like this was a second D-Day. Little did we know that the main shelling was from our artillery, a whole corps (see Captain Lunsford's letter). The village people came running for shelter in the basement of the house we were in. At the thick of this fire storm my Captain and Executive Officer went down in the basement also. Outside is like daytime from the light of the burning buildings. The barn across the street from us was where the Germans had stored their artillery shells and this was soon hit. It was a sight one could never forget, the shells were shooting up into the sky with a trail of fire and then exploding, it was the greatest 4th of July fireworks display l have ever seen. There are now at least 40+ villagers in the basement.

We have one guard on the front door, his name is Patton, for humanitarian reasons we let the villagers take refuge in the basement, crying babies and children, women and men.

There are about six of us in the kitchen trying to get some rest, one small candle burning on the table in the center when like a blast out of hell, two Germans came charging in, the table went over, people were trying to defend themselves and then the Germans left. As they did, the one threw a potato masher (Grenade) back in the room with us, the noise was deafening, shrapnel flew everywhere. Patton who was at the door received enough to kill him instantly. God was with him, his body shielded the rest of us.

At this time Captain Lunsford hollers up at me, "Sergeant Tayman, Sergeant Tayman, what's happened, come down here". l go half way down the basement steps, at the bottom is my Captain and Ex Officer pointing their carbines up at me, the Captain says, "we're ready for them". I look straight in his eyes and say "A hell .of a lot of good you are doing us down here". He then says, "We are no-good, you are going to have to run the company tonight. At this I turn and go back upstairs. I tell the men let no more people come in this house. I have one man on the front door armed with a "grease-gun" small machine gun and tell him to fire to kill anyone who comes in. I then have two men go upstairs to look out the windows to tell if anyone coming is one of our men. Soon a medic comes in to tell me there are 40 wounded in the barn next door and if we can't get litter bearers up tonight we might have to leave them here, not knowing what the morrow would bring. I tell him my radio will not work, and he says, can't you use the Artillery Forward Observers radio that was left in the field after he was hit today? With the situation worsening all the time I decided I will go get the radio. There are both Germans and Americans running through the streets, machine gun fire never stops, and the burning buildings light up the night sky like daytime. I get the radio, bring it to the top floor, putting the antenna through a hole that has been made in the roof by an artillery shell shooting through.

I get the radio to work, what joy and courage I now feel.There are transmissions continuously. I break in and say, "Hello artillery, this Is infantry, over" I say this many times when finally someone says "Hello infantry, this is artillery, do you have a message?"

We need litter bearers to take our wounded to the rear. He says, "Wait out". He then comes back, tell me your initials, the initials of your company commander, the date of when you came overseas, he then said, "Wait out". When he came back he said we know who you are, now tell me where you are, from my training I knew we were not supposed to use names of people or places over the radio, I then said we are under a very heavy artillery barrage. I will never forget his words to me, "that's our artillery falling on you, wait-out" and then they sent this message over the radio, "cease all firing on the town of Moircy." They then asked me to give them fire orders, which I did the first being to up their range by 100 yards.

Once I made radio contact with the rear I sent one of my men down to the basement to tell the Captain, thinking he would want to come up with me. His message to me was, tell Sergeant Tayman he has to run the company tonight. They were both in
shell-shock.I then asked that litter bearers be sent up to remove our wounded and a wounded German laying on the floor in the living room. The rest of the night was somewhat quieter, except for the occasional round of artillery shells to let the Germans know we were still alive and well !

At daylight, off to our right comes a German tank and infantry, my fire order was to fire one round 100 yards right from the last round. The shot goes left, I don't understand, thinking maybe the guns are not directly behind us. I then say fire left 200 yards. The shell lands very near the tank, my next order was "fire-for-effect." In the artillery they sense the "burst" while in the infantry we call the target to direct mortar fire. The tank was hit and the infantry carne no further, I’m sure they had no idea we would be on their neck so early in the morning.

Later in the morning a jeep came into Moircy with an Artillery Captain and a new radio. The battery of the one I was using was just about gone. As his driver brought him into town he kept asking where Sergeant Tayman was, by this time word had gotten around as to what I had done. When he came to me his first words were, "You have done an outstanding act and will be honored." He gave me a new radio to use until we were relieved.

I asked him where the guns were. He said directly behind you and then explained to me how the artillery calls the burst which is just the opposite to how the infantry directs mortar fire.

Now 8 days later I would be hit by machine-gun fire while running across an open field, at Bonnerue, Belgium, January 8, 1945.

The day I won a million dollars; that's an old infantry saying, when you are wounded but not killed!

© William P. Tayman

Merci
A M. Tayman pour l'autorisation de publier ce récit sur notre site.
A l'Ambassade Belge de Washington ( Gén.de Brig. Dany Van de Ven et le Cdt aviateur Baudouin Litt ) - de nous avoir fourni ce texte et leur précieuse collaboration.

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Photos : Collection privée de M. Tom Gillis - Vétéran - Capitaine AAA
Etat Major 3e Armée Général Patton - © Tom Gillis

American Tank and German " Kübelwagen " knocked out beside the road between Bastogne, Be and Wiltz, Lu Char US Sherman et " Kübelwagen " allemand détruit sur la route de Bastogne vers Wiltz

On Christmas day the HQ was moved to Luxembourg. This is the viaduct in Luxembourg city looking down the " Vallée de la Pétrusse ". ¨Le jour de Noël le Quartier Général a été transféré à Luxembourg Ville. Vue sur la Vallée de la Pétrusse.

An American M4 knocked out by a 75 mm AP round into the assistant drivers seat. Outside Wardin - Bastogne area, Be. Char US M4 "Sherman" détruit près de Wardin - région de Bastogne, Be

Two Germans who operated a machine rifle until knocked out in woods near Wardin - Bastogne, Be, during the Bulge Deux soldats allemands tués près de leur mitrailleuse dans les bois aux environs de Wardin - Bastogne, Be