(no subject)
The 4th Armored Division is known by various names. However, it seems that the general agreement is that their name was enough to send the opposition packing. Their campaigns included Normandy, Northern France, Ardennes, Centeral Europe, and Rhineland. However, the Division’s claim to fame seems to be the relief of Bastogne.
The outstanding celerity of your movement and the unremitting, vicious and skillful manner in which you pushed the attack, terminating at the end of four days and nights of incessant battle in the relief of Bastogne, constitute one of the finest chapters in the glorious history of the United States Army. You and the officers and men of your command are hereby commended for a superior performance. [1]
In fact, their performance was so outstanding that on March 28, 1945, the 4th Armored division was awarded the Presidential Citation. Those alive and deceased are still remembered today. The booklet, “The 4th Armored From the Beach to Bastogne” was even dedicated in remembrance to the fallen soldiers of the 4th Armored Division. There was a total of 1,400 deaths accounted for and plenty more wounded. Although many of these brave men have passed on, thousands will remember those of the 4th Armored Division and know that they have something to respect and be proud of.
Not only was the 4th Armored Division given the Presidential Citation, but the Division was awarded one more accolade. The Division in its entirety was awarded the French fourragḗre, which was the equivalent to a collective Croix de Guerre. In English terms, this means the Division as a whole showed many acts of heroism within combat. It is also used to distinguish an individual or group when a deed of great magnitude was performed in combat. Needless to say, this was a very honorable accolade to receive considering we were one of France’s allied forces. Even General George S. Patton Jr. would go on to say that: There never has been such a superb fighting organization as the Fourth Armored Division [2].
Going deep into enemy territory, the 4th Armored Division was lead by Captain Baum into what some military officers claimed to be a suicide mission.
It all began on 26th March 1945, when an order by General Patton came from Third Army headquarters through XII Corps to the headquarters of the 4th Armored at Rossdorf, southears of Frankfurt. The order called for formation of a task force with the mission of fighting its way to a huge prisoner-of-war camp for American officers. The camp was near Hammelburg, sixty miles behind the enemy’s unbroken frontline based on the east bank of the main river. [3]
One of the main things that was a definite trouble for the task force was that no one cared to believe that Captain Baum would succeed. The mission itself was dangerous and the hills were filled with many enemy soldiers. Even if the tanks succeeded in breaking enemy lines and taking over the camp, the tanks only had enough room to bring a few of the prisoners back. It was believed that if the mission was indeed possible, then the only Division that could complete the task and bring the prisoners back alive was indeed the 4th Armored Division.
Captain Baum had exactly 292 officers and men and some fifty-odd vehicles with which to do the job. From the 10th Armored Infantry Batallion he got A Company, an assault-gun platoon and a reconnaissance patrol; from the 37th Tank Battallion, he got C Company and a D Company platoon of light tanks…
The vehicles consisted of twenty-seven halftracks, ten medium tanks, six light tanks, three assault gun carriers mounting 105-mm guns and six peeps. Only the halftracks, with their token armor plate, were capable of transporting many soldiers in addition to their crews. [4]
So, in reality if they lost the halftracks their objective would be pointless. Of course they were heavily armed with their assault guns and their tanks, but the fact that over three hundred men’s lives rested on those halftracks would make anyone nervous. As March 26th moved onto March 29th, a radio message from the 4th said: “No news of Baum.” The division was still on the move and German officers were struggling to find the answer as to how American tanks were so far into their ranks. Meanwhile, ten days after the Division had been dispatched, all 293 men of the taskforce were stamped as “missing in action.” It was only on April 9th that Captain Baum came back with only about thirty-five men.
Task Force Baum had existed from five p.m. on 26th March until nine a.m. on 28th March-forty hours filled with the shattering blasts of Panzerfausts, the crack of Karabiner, the rip of burp guns, the crash of artillery and the evil singing of the 88s. They had reached their objective with only half of the force still in fighting shape. Wounded men lay on gas cans in the halfracks and helped steady one another at the machine guns. If a man was so badly hurt that he would die in a jolting vehicle, he was given first aid and left at the side of the road, with a prayer that the Germans would soon find him and give him medical care. [5]
After encountering many more enemies, Captain Baum planned the attack on the POW camp. After receiving intelligence he found that there was more than 2,000 prisoners within the camp. Many of them were enlisted Americans as well as Serbians. When the prisoners saw the white stars on the tanks, they knew that the Americans were there to save them. Upon being freed, moral went up drastically and the prisoners went to the length of taking rifles from wounded men and fighting alongside the soldiers who had soon before rescued them.
Sadly, there was no room for the prisoners in what was left of the vehicles. The Americans were forced to retreat and most of the prisoners were sent back to the POW camps. The fit prisoners that could fit in the tanks. Hours later, Captain Baum himself was captured and put in a prisoner hospital where he found thirty-five of his soldiers. On April 6th American tanks once again attacked Hammelburg.
The whole desperate operation was later credited by General Patton with diverting German strength and aiding in opening the way for the armored drive to the northeast. [6]
293 men were a part of Task Force Baum. Thirty-two were reported wounded, nine were killed, and sixteen men were reported missing. Nearly all other 236 men were taken prisoner somewhere along the line. Very few escaped and most were not returned to the United States until the war was nearly over. All that came home were Honorably Discharged, much like my Grandfather was. I’ve found more than a piece of history by researching this specific event. I found a part of my family’s history that will always be remembered and honored. It didn’t matter if you were a Private First Class or someone high ranking like Captain Baum. What each man did to overcome such odds in the battles of WW2 was amazing and at times, heart wrenching.
“You’re from the 4th Armored,” the second lieutenant said eagerly. “You’ve got some boys in your division I’ll never forget. I was in that Hammelburg PW camp when they came in. I didn’t know they were American until they came over the hill and I saw those white stars on the tanks. They shout the hell out of the Krauts. I grabbed a gun and took off with them. When there wasn’t anything left, I made it back to the American lines on foot. Now I just got this new outfit and I’m going home. If any of those men got back, I want you to shake their hands for me.”
[1] Lt. Gen. George S. Patton, The 4th Armored From the Beach to Bastogne, (Defosses-Neogravure, n/a)
[2] General George S. Patton Jr., General Patton’s Mistake: Task Force Baum To Hammelburg (Merriam Press, 1997)
[3] Page 1, General Patton’s Mistake: Task force Baum to Hammelburg (Merriam Press, 1997)
[4] Page 2, General Patton’s Mistake: Task force Baum to Hammelburg (Merriam Press, 1997)
[5] Page 3, General Patton’s Mistake: Task force Baum to Hammelburg (Merriam Press, 1997)
[6] Page 5, General Patton’s Mistake: Task force Baum to Hammelburg (Merriam Press, 1997)