Account of Liberation of Stalag VI-A at Hemer, Germany 14 April 1945
Wesley Johnston
S. 7th Armored Division, which will be added to the 7th Armored Division
dcoument repository web site at http://home.comcast.net/~johnstonww/ this
coming week. The entire document is about 84 pages. The following excerpt
(including mis-spellings as in the original) contains the complete text
relating to the taking of Hemer, Germany and the liberation of Stalag VI-A
there, which took place on 14 April 1945.
SUMMARY 14 APRIL
The attack to the north and west continued on 14 April with Combat Command
"A" making the main effort to capture the airfield (0401) east of HEMER
(0310) and the town. By 1400 the landing field had been taken intact with
much valuable equipment. At 1200 operations against the town of HEMER itself
were temporarily called off to negotiate terms for declaring the town an
open city because of the presence of 24000 allied PW's just outside the
town. The terms of the CG of the German division opposing the attack were
refused and at 2030 Combat Command "A" resumed the attack on HEMER. By this
time, the RUHR Pocket was definately split in two parts and knowledge of
this was widespread among the Germans opposing our advance. The prisoner
take for the day was somewhat in excess of 4500.
BATTLE OF HEMER
Combat Command "A" resuming the previous days attack at 0615, continued to
the north and west. TF WEMPLE captured the village of HUSTADT at 0812,
HONNETHAL at 1014, and BROCKHAUSEN (0709) at 1100 with little or no
opposition encountered. The next important objective was the town of HEMER.
Operations against the town itself were temporarily suspended at 1200 while
the CO of TF DAILEY, Major THOMAS DAILEY, Executive Officer, 17th Tank
Battalion, was taken behind enemy lines in an attempt to negotiate a
peaceful entry of our troops into HEMER. The Germans wished to declare it an
open city because of the presence of slightly over 23000 allied prisoners in
a prison camp just outside the town. However" the German General's terms
were unsatisfactory and at 2030 the attack was resumed. Meanwhile Combat
Command "A" had moved up into position from which an easy entry could be
affected if necessary.
This operation in the words of the 17th Tk Bn After Action Report was "most
picturesque we have ever participated in or observed. The terrain was
excellent for the tanks and they moved in at about 15 mph. The formation was
perfect and the enemy artillery fire and air-bursts were sufficient to make
it more than a dry run, in fact many of the rounds were very close misses
and it is surprising that we suffered no casualties." At 1400 TF RHEA had
seized the landing field intact where, contrary to usual procedure, the AA
Guns were not manned. TF WEMPLE held control of the woods on the high ground
southwest of HEMER, TF DAILEY had moved south of the town, and TF DANUBE
(3/395) had attacked, seized and secured SUDWIG (0839) under moderate
artillery and AT fire at 1250. These positions were consolidated and tanks
and TD's deployed so that they could fire into the town. At 2030 TF DANUBE
attacked and secured HEMER with TF RHEA, TF WEMPLE, and TF DAILEY prepared
to support with direct fire across their front if they needed it. 3/395 Inf
Regt returned to the control of the 395th RCT in place at HEMER at 2230.
SURRENDER OF PRISON CAMP
At 1600, the tank company commander and the battalion S-2 of the 17th Tk Bn
who were in the assault wave of TF WEMPLE, walked to the large PW enclosure
that was at the foot of the hill west of their position. Here they were met
by a German officer bearing a note stating that there were 23000 allied
prisoners of war in the enclosure whom the officials were ready to surrender
to our forces. The tank CO and S-2 were taken to the Camp Commandant where
they learned that Major THOMAS DAILEY CO of TF DAILEY and at that time
negotiating for the surrender of HEMER, had already been there and
instructed the Germans to keep control of the PW's s until some of our
forces could take over. He foresaw the impossible situation if all these
half-starved prisoners were turned loose on the countryside. However, as
most of the guards had already disposed of their weapons and the prisoners
were beginning to clip the barbed wire and slip out in twos and threes, it
was necessary for TF WEMPLE to send two platoons of infantry and one platoon
of light tanks to keep them in the cage.
BREAKDOWN AND LIVING CONDITIONS
A breakdown of prisoners in this camp by nationality was as follows:
19,411 Russians
2,753 French
548 Belgians
190 Italians
140 Polish
107 Jugoslavs
99 Americans
30 Roumanians
14 Greeks
4 Czecks
___4 British
23,302 Total
The living conditions were atrocious. The hospital had 9000 patients, with
typhus, pneumonia, spotted fever, T B, and dysentery raging unchecked
throughout the camp. There were an average of 100 to 150 deaths a day and
bodies were lying around unburied. The prisoners clothes were in rags, body
lice were everywhere, and the sanitary facilities were both filthy and
woefully inadequate. The food situation was however probably the worst.
There had been no food whatsoever for the four days proceeding the American
arrival and before that the prisoners had been living on barley soup (one
bowl per Russian per day and two bowls per other nationalities per day) and
one loaf of bread for every ten men. The Russians who had been there the
longest were all suffering from malnutrition. The Americans, most of whom
had been captured only a short time before, were in comparatively good
condition.
FIRST MEAL
At 1900, a kitchen was operating and what available food supplies there
were, were being distributed. It was necessary at first to fire with small
arms and a light tank over the heads of the prisoners to break up
semi-rioting groups in the chow line. They were hard to control because we
were handicapped by a lack of people who spoke Russian. However, a
propaganda tank operated by 12th Army Group and attached to TF WEMPLE was
brought into action and after the situation was explained, the trouble
quieted down. On the following morning, 15 April, as the division boundaries
were shifted and the camp now fell the 99th Division's sector, Corps
relieved the Seventh Armored Division of this responsibility. TF WEMPLE
turned it over to the 395th Inf Regt. at 151015 April.