World War II Blogs

Past midnight, Phil’s 3rd Battalion, commanded now by Major Robert B. Pridgen, trudged slowly through the deep snow, cutting southeast through a thick forest known as the Forêt […]

There was still a lot of war to fight since the Allies were still in France. The elimination of the Colmar Pocket was assigned to the […]

The Colmar Pocket was in the heart of Alsace, where most of the citizens spoke French and German. The Allied soldiers found it increasingly difficult to tell […]

On January 20, the 30th Regiment held its usual pre-battle awards ceremony, this time in a blinding snowstorm. Ceremonies usually marked the conclusion of one regimental […]

Phil was called to the regimental CP to meet with Colonels McGarr and Neddersen. They wanted him to go back to his previous command since the […]

Morale was raised another notch with the far-overdue arrival of winter clothes—mountain boots, fur-lined caps, fur-lined jackets, heavy-lined pants—and mountain sleeping bags. The men were finally warm![1]

During January, Phil’s 30th Infantry Regiment instituted what the commanders called “Local Rest Camps,” but what the front-line men called “The Miraculous Tents.”[1]

The tacit understanding which had existed among officers and men of the 3rd Infantry Division that being on the defensive was not our style, well though […]

Occupying a frontline foxhole proved to be fatal to some soldiers on the front line and miserable for all, however. Two men were assigned to each foxhole, […]

A supply truck arrived carrying an issue of shoepacs[1] complete with arctic socks and felt insoles. “Where were you six weeks ago, when we needed you?” […]

Even in the midst of hellacious winter fighting, occasionally the men had a humorous incident to lift their spirits.