| The Battle of Jebsheim, France from a French point-of-view-- Page 6 |
| 27 January 1945: At 0830 (8:30 AM) , General Schlesser, commanding the 4th CC to the right of the 6th CC has succeeded in pushing southward. Having passed Wicherschwihr, he reaches the Colmar Canal. But he remains blocked in front of the canal since all of the bridges across the canal have been destroyed. To the left of the 6th CC (to the north), the 5th CC held in reserve, moves through Illhaeusern in the direction of the mill of Jebsheim, with the order to cover Colonel de Lavilleon's left flank, opposite Grussenheim. At Jebsheim, the Americans (254th Infantry Regiment) take advantage of the night to penetrate and advance in the northwest part of the village. At 0700 hours (7:00 AM) they signal that they hold half the village (in reality half of the north section.). At noon the taking of Jebsheim is announced. Cruel error!, The Americans--advancing as far as the church-- have seen in the distance, farther to the south, "the other village". What they saw in the distance was in reality, cut in two by a large no-man's land, the center of the village, which had been completely destroyed by German artillery in 1940 and was now covered with fresh snow! Sub-Group R of the 6th CC, with a platoon of medium tanks, two Tank Destroyers and the 10th Company of the 3rd RMLE moves on Jebsheim. The paratrooper battalion holds the mill, the Provencal platoon and the 3 tank destroyers control by their fire the north borders of Jebsheim. At 1000 hours (10:00 AM) the command post of Sub-Group R moves into Jebsheim. Sub-Group B of the 6th CC moves toward Jebsheim and reaches the village at noon. At 1500 hours (3:00 PM) the Bouvet detachment moves out of the Artzenheim road with three tanks, a Tank Destroyer , a detachment of the 11th Regiment of African Riflemen and a section of the RMLE. It is engaged by anti-tank weapons located on the borders of Hardt Woods (Bois de la Hardt). Two tanks are destroyed and Lt Bouvet is killed. The platoon of officer- cadet Debrinay continues the mission, then falls back to the vicinity of the cemetery for the night. Prisoners have been taken. The Guillard detachment, with three tanks, one tank destroyer and a section of legionnaires, gains a foothold in a group of houses to the southwest of Jebsheim (at the end of Riedwihr Street). Sub-Group V of the 6th CC moves from Maison Rouge to Jebsheim and occupies the eastern borders of the village in the part liberated by the Americans of the 254th Infantry Regiment. The northern part of the village is subjected to violent fire from mortars and enemy artillery. Colonel Renaudeau d'Arc takes command of all the elements of the 6th CC that are in Jebsheim and directs the mopping-up operations.. The 1st Battalion of the 1st Regiment of Paratroopers, the Legionnaires of the 3rd RMLE, the 2d Battalion of the 1st Regiment of Paratroopers arrive one after the other to join in the battle inside the village. Taken and retaken, lost and lost again, taken back again, Jebsheim will be the stake in a fight with no mercy, with furious hand-to-hand fighting. But this day of 27 January will bring nothing more than the mopping-up of several blocks of houses. When night comes it can no longer be a question of exploiting a breach in the enemy lines, nor of going to spend the night at Neuf-Brisach, as everyone had hoped for a time. The enemy is not yet broken. The 1st DMI with the support of the 2d Armored Division, has not yet taken Grussenheim, and Jebsheim is still held in part by the Germans. The 6th CC cannot therefore move out. In fact, events evolved rapidly. The enemy does not wish to die. Holding in front of Neuf-Brisach is a question of life and death for him. He counterattacks everywhere, refusing to yield the least bit of terrain. What might have been true at noon is no longer true at 1300 hours (1:00 PM). On the enemy's side the 2d GJD(Gebirgsjagerdivision) took command of the sector located between Jebsheim and the Ill River. Its command post is in Urschenheim. The general commanding the 64th AK (Army Corps) receives the following "very urgent" order: "The breach in the HKL (Hauptkamflinie- Main line of basttle) between Grussenheim, Jebsheim and the canal to the north of Muntzenheim must be closed with all the forces of which the corps disposes, reinforced and defended. The enemy must not be able to overrun this HKL and push in the direction of the East, under pain of causing serious consequences in the conduct of the entire fighting of the Corps. New reserves must be constituted in the region to the east of Jebsheim and to the south of Muntzenheim." 28 January 1945: The battle of Jebsheim reaches its culminating point on the 28th and 29th of January. The fighting in the village itself, with troops being constantly reinforced on both sides, slowly took on proportions that, in the beginning, were entirely unforeseen. The battle became one of the bloodiest and most glorious episodes of the war. The Germans still held two-thirds of Jebsheim. They are supported by powerful artillery and the fire from numerous tanks located in Bois de la Hardt (Hardt Woods). The Panthers, Tigers and Rhinocereos come out of cover, advancing frequently half-way through the village as far as the border of the Old Roman Way, at this hour covered with snow. They fire many shells on the north area occupied by the Americans and elements of the 6th CC. The battle continues all during the night of the 27th to the 28th. At sunrise on the 28th, the streets are strewn with bodies that had been crushed by the tanks, and the fight continues. We receive and return fire from house to house, while machine guns keep the streets and intersections empty by firing long bursts that sweep the street. The tanks of the 6th CC bring effective aid, making breaches in houses, which fill immediately with assault troops from the 1st Regiment of Paratroopers. Bazookas (Panzerfaust) abandoned by the Germans are immediately put to use by the paratroopers. Attacks with flanking actions are carried out on the east and west borders of the village and allow us to take a foothold in houses whose defenders are held down by the frontal attack of the tanks. Towards 0800 hours (8:00 AM). Captain Berg and Captain Masselot, with a platoon of tanks and a section of the Legion, surge from the cemetery towards the south. After 300 meters, Tank #34, hit by a shell burns and tank #32 is immobilized as well as the tank destroyer accompanying it. On all sides the enemy appears armed with bazookas. Advance is impossible. An artillery duel begins. The light has revealed the enemy's anti-tank weapons as well as several Tigers or Panthers. Towards noon, columns of black smoke rise here and there on the Roman way and the west border of Hardt Woods. Many of these fearful beasts (Tigers and Panthers) have been hit by planes that have been called up and directed several times by radio. The brave piper-cub pilots, friends of the Artillery and Infantry are in the air almost all the time and signal by radio everything they see. The heavier Thunderbolts (P47's) pass in clusters, machine gunning and bombarding the targets that we point out to them. Towards noon, the Deroulede platoon of the 3rd Squadron, fires smoke-shells on the west borders of Hardt Woods to aid the advance of a group from the 2d Armored Division from Grussenheim. At 1700 hours (5:00 PM) a shell falls on the forward section of tank #55 taking it out of action The Lavilleon Sub-Group with the tanks of Lt Joyau's platoon is near the church. From there he hopes to reach the south area of the village and take it. To do so, he will have to move from the church to the old train station, by Grand Rue and precede the paratroopers who, with elements of Boulanger's Sub-Group, will advance from the south and southwest. Fresh snow has fallen. Officer-cadet Merel, with a section of Legionnaires, is fighting in Grand Rue, supported by two of Lt Joyau's tanks. The detachment has scarcely gone 30 meters when the first tank is blown up by a mine hidden in the snow. Immediately the windows of the neighboring house fill up with Germans who open fire with rifles and machine guns. Several Legionnaires are killed or wounded. Among the wounded is Officer- cadet Merel who has a bullet hole through his leg. Under fire, the second tank collects the wounded and takes them on board, but on the return, it is blown up like the first tank by a barrage of mines. The street will have to be cleared of mines. With calm courage, the American mine clearers go about it and , at the beginning of the afternoon, all of Grand Rue is in the hands of Vieville's sub-group. But the losses are serious. The losses among the paratroopers of the 1st Regiment have also been enormous. Young and eager, all volunteers for the duration of the war, with taste for bold acts, and not able at the time of this campaign to act as paratroopers, they fight on the ground just like the Infantry. Constantly lending a strong hand to their brothers in arms, with the esteemed Lt Col Faure (a former ski champion), they are admired by everyone, even the Legionnaires, who know what real men are! The African Riflemen, paratroopers, legionnaires, Americans and Germans all have equipped themselves with helmets, hoods or white garb, often cut out of sheets ( a slash with a knife in the middle of a sheet to make a hole for the head with string for a belt) in order to be less visible in the snow. But mistaken identities occur- friends or foes? With a finger on the trigger, we look each other over, suspicious at each quick appearance and disappearance of a white figure. A number of such errors, comical and for the most part without serious consequences for our soldiers, will be told later! By the evening of the 28th, no one is talking any longer about Neuf-Brisach, but the disappointment of the first days has given way to a glimmer of hope. As things have turned out, each day has seen the Allied troops progress and the nightmare can be expected to end the next day. Only the southern part of the upper village and Vosges Street remain to be liberated. This will be the most difficult part causing the most casualties and destruction. It is no longer a question, as had been intended, of withdrawing to the northern part of the village and smashing the rest of the center and southern part of the village with heavy artillery. The disengagement of each house is too dangerous. Besides, many women and children are still in houses or buildings held by the Germans. If we act as planned, they will surely die. |
