Back to the Third Army

Again, for unknown reasons, we were transferred from the Seventh Army back to the Third Army as the final phase of the war was at hand.

This time we were in the Third Corps of the Third Army along with the 14th Armored Division.

By this time organized resistance had practically ceased and the Third Army was rolling ahead 15 to 20 miles per day. Despite this growing lack of resistance on the ground, we were amazed to find that the Luftwaffe was becoming active again - perhaps because we were so close to some of their main airbases.

On April 16, two ME-109's came in on bombing and strafing runs and our gunners reported hits on both planes. The following day, a flight of 20 ME-109's appeared over Altdorf but were driven off by our heavy firing. Although no planes were knocked down, the engagement turned out to be profitable as 74 enemy soldiers, impressed by our display of firepower, came out of a nearby woods to surrender. Jet propelled planes also showed up for the Luftwaffe's last stand and one was shot down by the sections guarding Division headquarters.

On April 25 we reached the Danube River near Ingolstadt but the main bridge had been blown up by the Germans. While we were waiting for a pontoon bridge to be put in place, a message arrived from Battalion headquarters concerning me. It directed me to proceed to the airport at Nuremburg, which was now safely in American hands, and catch a plane to Nice, France, for a 10-day furlough. It seems that I was about the last of the Battery's troops to get any time off from combat alert since we landed at Utah Beach, and I was lucky enough to be able to go to Nice.

I caught a C-47 airplane at Nuremburg and we flew nonstop to Nice.

The weather on the Mediterranean Sea was warm, clear and sunny when we arrived. Visibility was excellent and we were a little perturbed at our first sight of the Nice airport. It was flanked by sheer mountainous hills on the north side and it was easy to see the wreckage of quite a number of airplanes plastered against the hills. We hoped that our Air Force pilot had been here before and knew how to land!

I was assigned to a good hotel in the center of town and learned that we could tour around the area of Nice and Monte Carlo and the perfume factories at Grasse during our stay. Cannes was off limits to enlisted men inasmuch as it was reserved for officers. This was a good idea as our separation from the officers eliminated the need for constant saluting as we walked down the streets.

The beach at Nice was still off limits as it had not been entirely cleared of barbed wire, X-shaped steel girders, mines and other defensive equipment that the Germans had installed to discourage Allied landings. However, we were able to go into the countryside on tours and to see the gambling halls at Monte Carlo and to sniff the perfumes at Grasse. In the evenings there were band concerts and entertainment to keep us occupied.