| The Battle of Jebsheim, France - from a French point-of-view. Page 7 |
| 29 January 1945: During the night, the Germans moved in reinforcements from Muntezenheim and advance everywhere. French troops advance slowly along Grand Rue, taking farms in reverse by the east. One after the other the farms fall prey to flames, just as in Vosges Street. After the strong German counterattack at 0900 hours (9:00 AM), the enemy gains a foothold and then is thrown back towards the south, The Germans return at 1800 hours (6:00 PM) supported by a curtain of Panther Tanks. This counteroffensive is also stopped outright. Two Panther tanks are burning and light up the twilight in the distance. The other tanks turn back. But Germans still remain dug in at the last farms. Although the outcome of the fight is no longer in doubt, these Germans prefer death to surrender. Some NCOs and a few fanatics are determine to continue the fight until it becomes hand-to-hand (they have nothing to lose)! A few scores will be settled with knives with the horrified population looking on. At last, the final three houses are taken. Prisoners come out, throw down their weapons, and raise their arms..Many with frayed nerves and exhausted and many are wounded. At 1900 hours (7:00 PM) the radio of Boulanger's Sub-Group announces, laconically: Jebsheim mopped up, 600 prisoners, 500 dead. Never was street-fighting, even at Kayserberg, even at Orbey, so fierce, longer, more murderous. Jebsheim is a slaughterhouse. People walk on bodies. They are everywhere, in the streets and in the orchards. All the houses are gutted, charred remains of vehicles lie here and there, and the dead, some of whom have been crushed by tanks, litter the streets and gardens. It is difficult to treat the wounded. There are not enough doctors and nurses. Thus, from 27 January to 3 February, the 3rd Company of the 14th Medical Battalion will treat 602 of the wounded and 29 of them will die . The enemy is quiet during the night of 29 January. The next day, the 30th, he will attempt to hold onto the north and the south of Hardt Woods and try to bar, in spite of it all, the road to Durrennentzen and the road to Neuf-Brisach. He will not succeed! During the night of 29-30 January the Colmar Canal is crossed the regiments of the 3rd DIUS, followed by General Schlesser's 4th CC. Bischwihr, Muntzenheim, Fortschwihr, Wihr-en-Plaine are taken. During the morning of January 29, the attack on Hardt Woods begins. The enemy, entrenched in many thickets, had already nearly stopped the advance of the 2d Armored Division. This division, passing by the mill of Jebsheim and the northern part of the village had attacked Grussenheim from the south. Moreover, during the fighting in Jebsheim, tanks and heavy artillery had fired constantly on the village and the east borders to support the German troops. Several time German tanks had come close to the Jebsheim cemetery, but had to withdraw. It was thus essential that Hardt woods be cleared before any advance on the Rhone Canal to the Rhine at Neuf-Brisach. The Americans under General O'Daniel (3rd DIUS) attack on the right, that is to say on the south of Jebsheim and along the Muntzenheim Canal. The Sub-Groups V and R are to attack side by side, the first to the south, the second to the north of the Jebsheim-Artzenheim highway. Reinforced by the Shock Battalion commanded by Captain Lefort, their mission is to cover the advance of the 3rd DIUS, to occupy Hardt Woods, and push as far as the Rhone Canal to the Rhine. The attack that had been set for 0800 hours (8:00 AM) had to be postponed due to the late arrival of the Shock Battalion. The Sub-Group R moves out, after an artillery pounding. But right away, a tank gets stuck in the mud, the others are violently engaged. Tank #51 is hit and burns. Lt Deroulede's tank has its turret shot through- the Lieutenant and his gunner are killed. The enemy reaction grows more and more violent. At 0950 hours (9:50 AM) an enemy tank is engulfed in flames. At 1000 hours (10:00 AM), the Shock Battalion is stopped 50 meters short of its objective. Another tank is hit; the platoon made up of the four remaining tanks destroys a Jagdpanther Tank and comes to a halt about 400 meters from the woods in the front ranks of the infantry. At 1100 hours (11:00 AM) a second wave of infantry is stopped in turn by the violent bombarding from mines and time shells. Automatic weapons are spotted and engaged by our tanks. The Captain of the Legionnaires is killed. Two enemy tanks are located, but tank destroyers cannot intervene. At 1300 hours (1:00 PM) Captain Nodet's tank is hit and burns and the Captain is wounded. At 1330 hours (1:30 PM) tank #46 is hit and immobilized- Major Soutiere is killed shortly afterwards. The two remaining tanks cover the withdrawal of the infantry and return at 1500 hours (3:00 PM) to the east boundaries of Jebsheim, ready to fend off any counterattack by the enemy. Sub-Group V is engaged the minute it sets out. Tank #62 is hit and burns; Tank #61 gets stuck. The tanks go ahead of the infantry, who are pinned down and firing machine guns at groups of fleeing Germans. Some surrender. The armored vehicles surge rapidly to their objective. Towards noon, Captain Blacas's tank forces a Jagdpanther to flee, doubtlessly because it had run out of ammunition. Two half-tracks of the Legion, which had followed our tanks, are hit by anti-tank fire and burn. A violent barrage of time shells and explosives rains down where the five tanks of the 4th squadron have taken cover. This concentrated fire is followed by an attempted counterattack by the Germans who are easily dispersed by the fire from our tanks. The Sub-Group whose foot soldiers have been severely tried, is not in any condition to continue the fighting as far as the canal and remains facing the enemy objective, between the armored vehicles of Sub-Groupd R, on the left, and elements of the American infantry on the right, who are also withdrawing. At 1500 hours, this group receives the order to fall back to Jebsheim and take with it a hundred or so prisoners The 13 medium tanks and the 12 light tanks that are left, ensure the defense of Jebsheim for the night of January 30-31. Losses of the day- 6 tanks, 4 half-tracks, 225 dead or wounded, among whom 40 have frostbitten feet. Enemy losses: two Jagdpanther tanks and several anti-tank weapons destroyed, 150 prisoners taken and many dead and wounded. On 31 January 1945 the Germans withdrew from Hardt Woods as a result of their heavy losses. Elsenheim and Marckolsheim are taken by the 1st DMI in its descent on Artzenheim. The 2d Armored Division is at Marckolsheim and advancing towards Rhinau. The Americans are on the Rhone Canal at the Rhine. The die is cast. The 1st Army Corps is about to join the 2d Army Corps and close the pocket of Colmar. The town of Colmar will fall like a ripe fruit into the pouch of the 1st Army under General de Lattre de Tassigny! On 2 February 1945, Colmar will be liberated. On 3 February 1945, in the evening ,a group of the 1st Regiment of paratroopers leave Durrenentzen in a truck for Colmar and pass by Jebsheim and Maison Rouge. The ride through Jebsheim is impressive. The sun has melted the snow and thawed the ground. Numerous corpses still lie in the ruins- hundreds of anti-tank mines line the side of the road where the thaw has left them. Thanks to the frozen ground, very few of them went off during the battle. On 10 February, the Allies occupy the entire west bank of the Rhine!. |
