Chapter XXV
Encirclement

Footnotes

1. 21 AGp Operational Situation and Dir, M-516, 4 Aug; see above, Ch. XXII.

2. British Army of the Rhine, Battlefield Tour: Operation TOTALIZE, 2 Canadian Corps Operations Astride the Road Caen-Falaise: 7-8 August 1944 (Germany: Printing and Stationery Service, Control Commission for Germany, 1947) (hereafter cited as British Army of the Rhine, Operation TOTALIZE), p. 9. The following account, except as otherwise noted, is taken from this source, which gives a detailed report of plans, preparations, intelligence, and execution, and includes excellent maps; see also Stacey, Canadian Army, pp. 188ff.; and Montgomery, Normandy to the Baltic, pp. 154ff.

3. Stacey, Canadian Army, p. 188.

4. AAF III, p. 252; Telecon, Kluge and Eberbach, 2200, 8 Aug, Fifth Panzer Army KTB; Leigh-Mallory, "Despatch," Fourth Supplement to the London Gazette of December 31, 1946.

5. Montgomery, Normandy to the Baltic, p. 157.

6. Many Poles had been equipped and trained in England with British aid. They were troops that had escaped Poland after the defeat in 1939 and had reached England by way of Norway, Hungary, France, and other lands, or volunteer units (formed in France and the Middle East), which after the French surrender in 1940 escaped to England in a variety of ways. See F. C. Anstruther, Poland's Part in the War (Glasgow: The Polish Library, 1944), a pamphlet, 39 pp.

7. AAF III, pp. 250-51; [Ackerman], Employment of Strategic Bombers in a Tactical Role, pp. 86-88; Wilmot, Struggle for Europe, pp. 410ff.

8. Second British Army Opns, 21 Jul-9 Sep 44, a chronological rcd submitted to Hist Sec USFET by Maj. D. P. Draycott, G (Ops) Rcds, Hq BAOR, 2 Nov 45, and Info furnished Hist Sec USFET by 21 AGp, 9 Aug 45, ML-2251; MS # B-840 (Eberbach).

9. Telecon, Kluge and Eberbach, 2100, 8 Aug, Fifth Pz A KTB; see also, Account by Brigadefuhrer Kurt Meyer, Commander, 12th SS Panzer Division, in British Army of the Rhine, Operation TOTALIZE, p. 101.

10. OB WEST, AGp B,and Fifth Pz A KTB's, 8 and 9 Aug.

11. MS # B-179 (Hausser) and MS # B-725 (Gersdorff) are basic sources for the following section. For a vivid account of the movement of the 331st Division from the Pas-de-Calais--movement made difficult by Allied air attacks on rail lines--see Leigh-Mallory, "Despatch," Fourth Supplement to the London Gazette of December 31, 1946, p. 63.

12. Seventh Army Order, Ia Nr. 640/44, 9 Aug, LXXXI Corps Befehle H Gr u Armee; Speidel's Est of the Situation, 1000, 9 Aug, AGp B Operationsbefehle.

13. Telecons, Kluge and Jodl, 1500, 9 Aug, and Buhle and Jodl, 2210, 9 Aug, AGp B KTB; Telecons Kluge and Gersdorff, 1520, 9 Aug, and Tempelhoff, Speidel, and Gersdorff, 1250, 9 Aug, Seventh Army Tel Msgs; Seventh Army Est of the Situation, 10 Aug, Msg, AGp B to OB WEST, 0200, 11 Aug, AGp B Op. Befehle, pp. 412-13; MS # B-445 (Krueger).

14. Telecon, Jodl and Blumentritt, 1745, 9 Aug, OB WEST KTB; Hitler Order, 2300, 9 Aug (WFSt/Op. Nr. 77280/44 g.Kdos. Chefs.), quoted in Msg from AGp B to the armies, 1130, 10 Aug, AGp B Fuehrer Befehle.

15. Quote is from MS # B-725 (Gersdorff).

16. Msg, AGp B to OB WEST and Seventh Army, 1815, 9 Aug, AGp B KTB; see OB WEST, a Study in Command, p. 132; MS # A-922 (Eberbach).

17. Pz Gp Eberbach Ltr, Ia Nr. 2/44 g.Kdos., 10 Aug, OB WEST, Anlagen, Incl to Annex 1458.

18. Kluge to Jodl, 10 Aug, AGp B Lagebeurteilungen, Wochenmeldungen.

19. Telecon, Blumentritt and Speidel, 0200, 11 Aug, AGp B KTB.

20. Telecon, Kluge and Eberbach, 0315, 11 Aug, AGp B KTB; Kluge's Est of the Situation, 10 Aug, AGp B Lagebeurteilungen, Wochenmeldungen.

21. Telecon, Kluge and Jodl, 0445, 11 Aug, AGp B Lagebeurteilungen, Wochenmeldungen.

22. Telecon, Kluge and Jodl, 11 Aug, AGp B Lagebeurteilungen, Wochenmeldungen.

23. Msg, Kluge to Jodl (info to subordinate comds), 1745, 11 Aug, AGp B Lagebeurteilungen, Wochenmeldungen.

24. Hitler Order, WFSt/Op. Nr. 772830/44, g.Kdos. Chefs., 11 Aug, quoted in AGp B Msg to the armies, 0030, 12 Aug, AGp B Fuehrer Befehle.

25. See MS # A-918 (Gersdorff); OB WEST, a Study in Command, p. 57.

26. Telecons, Collins and Hobbs, 1220, 8 Aug, and 2307, 9 Aug, 30th Div G-3 Jnl and File.

27. FUSA G-2 Jnl, entries 0215, 9 Aug, and 1700, 11 Aug; Hassenfelt Telecon, 0520, 8 Aug, 30th Div G-3 Jnl and File.

28. Telecon, Collins and Hobbs, 1044, 9 Aug, 30th Div G-3 Jnl and File; see also 30th Div Ltr of Instrs, 2230, 9 Aug.

29. 35th Div AAR, Aug, and G-3 Per Rpt 55, 8 Aug; VII Corps Msg, 8 Aug (recording 35th Div Radio Msg, 1517, 8 Aug); Telecons, Hobbs and Baade, 2225, 11 Aug, and 1255, 12 Aug, and Gen Hobbs, Col Howard S. Searle, and Gen Collins, 1021, 8 Aug, 30th Div G-3 Jnl and File; FUSA Daily G-1 Estimated Losses, Aug.

30. On the damage to Mortain, see Leon Blouet, Mortain en Flammes (Mortain, 1951).

31. Erichson, Byrn, Kerley, Reaser, and Woody received the DSC for their leadership on Hill 317.

32. Hewitt, Story of 30th Division, pp. 70-71; History of the 120th Infantry Regiment (Washington: Infantry Journal Press, 1947), pp. 46-56.

33. Telecon, Hobbs and Ellis, 2135, 9 Aug, and entry 2246, 8 Aug, 30th Div G-3 Jnl and File; MS # B-725 (Gersdorff).

34. See Telecon, Collins and Hobbs, 2307, 9 Aug, 30th Div G-3 Jnl and File.

35. Maj. William K. C. Collonan of the First Army G-4 Section had reconnoitred Hill 317 as a passenger in a light plane on 9 August in order to arrange for cargo drops. The plane was struck by flak, and Major Collonan parachuted and fell into enemy lines. He was awarded the DSC.

36. See Hewitt, Story of 30th Division, pp. 69-75, for a detailed account.

37. See Jules and Gilles Buisson, Mortain et sa Bataille; also their "Les Combats de Mortain," in Herval, Bataille de Normandie, I, 219-42.

38. MS # B-445 (Krueger).

39. For heroism on 8 August, 2d Lt. Glenn H. Warren of the 82d Armored Reconnaissance Battalion received the DSC. Capt. Thomas F. Carothers and Pvt. William J. Draper of the 41st Armored Infantry Regiment received the DSC for heroism from 9 to 14 August and on 11 August, respectively.

40. VII Corps, 2d Armd Div, 4th, 9th, and 30th Div AAR's, Aug; Msgs, Brooks to Collins, 0830 and 0907, 8 Aug, VII Corps G-3 Jnl and File; VII Corps Opns Memo 60, 8 Aug (confirming oral orders, 7 Aug); Collins' Talk at the Armored School, 19 Jan 48.

41. CI 96, 30th Div, 6-12 Aug; 30th Div FO 22, 1230, 9 Aug; Telecons, Gen Hobbs and Col Otto Ellis, 0823, 8 Aug, and Hobbs and Lewis, 1715, 7 Aug, 30th Div G-3 Jnl and File; Hewitt, Story of 30th Division, p. 77; MS # B-725 (Gersdorff).

42. TUSA G-2 Per Rpt 59, 9 Aug; FUSA G-2 Per Rpts 60, 61, and 64, 9, 10, and 13 Aug, and G-2 Est 14, 8 Aug; VII Corps G-2 Per Rpt 64, 8 Aug.

43. VII Corps and FUSA AAR's, Aug; Lt. Gen. Walter Bedell Smith, "Eisenhower's Six Great Decisions," Saturday Evening Post, Vol. 218, No. 50 (June 15, 1946), 18.

44. 30th Div G-2 Notes for Co Comdrs, 10 Aug, 30th Div G-3 Jnl and File.

45. V Corps Operations in the ETO, pp. 163ff.; CI 85 (the Battle for Vire); [Ferriss], Notes.

46. 12th AGp Ltr of Instrs 4, 8 Aug.

47. Bradley, Soldier's Story pp. 372, 374-75; Montgomery, Normandy to the Baltic, p. 158; Eisenhower, Crusade in Europe, p. 275; Butcher, My Three Years With Eisenhower, p. 636. For an interesting speculative account of the command decisions at Mortain, see G. G. Haywood, Jr., "Military Decision and Game Theory," Journal of the Operations Research Society of America, II, No. 4 (November, 1954), 371-85.

48. 12th AGp Ltr of Instrs 4, 8 Aug.

49. FUSA FO 6 and G-2 Est 14, 9 Aug.

50. Memo, Patton for Gaffey, 8 Aug, VIII Corps G-3 Jnl and File; TUSA Ltr of Instrs, Patton to Haislip, 8 Aug, XV Corps G-3 Jnl and File, and Dir, 10 Aug (confirming fragmentary orders, 8 Aug).

51. 21 AGp Gen Operational Situation and Dir, M-518, 11 Aug.

52. 30th Div G-2 Notes for Co Comdrs, 11 Aug, 30th Div G-3 Jnl and File.

53. 21 AGp Dir, M-502, 18 Jun.

54. XV Corps FO 3, 9 Aug; TUSA Ltr of Instrs, Patton to Haislip, 8 Aug; 12th AGp Ltr of Instrs 4, 8 Aug; XV Corps Outline Narrative, 1-14 Aug; see Xavier Rousseau, ed., La Bataille de Normandie au Pays d'Argentan (Argentan, 1945-47) (hereafter cited as Rousseau, Bataille de Normandie), p. 19.

55. Principal sources for the operational activity of the French division are Capitaine Even, "La 2e D.B. de son Debarquement en Normandie a la Liberation de Paris," Revue Historique de l'Armee, I (March 1952) (hereafter cited as Even, La 2e D.B.), 107-32; and 2d French Armd Div G-3 Rpt, Operations de la 2eme D.B. Depuis le Jour 'J' Jusqu'a la Prise de Strasbourg, ML-1051. See Cole, Lorraine Campaign, p. 187 and n. 4, same page. Leclerc was the nom de guerre of Philippe Francois Marie de Hautecloque.

56. Interv with Col Harry D. McHugh, Stockton's Hosp Intervs, Vol. III, GL-93 (235).

57. XV Corps AAR, Aug, and G-2 Per Rpt 8, 0300, 11 Aug.

58. The basic German sources are MS # B-807 (Kuntzen); MS # B-445 (Krueger); MS # B-725 (Gersdorff); MS # B-179 (Hausser); MS # A-922 (Eberbach).

59. Lt. Col. William A. Hamberg of the 10th Tank Battalion got his tank across a bridge raked by enemy fire that had already destroyed two American tanks. Reaching an infantry company disorganized by the death of the company commander, Colonel Hamberg dismounted and organized a tank-infantry attack. He was awarded the DSC.

60. When Pfc. Charles P. McGuire of the 47th Armored Infantry, who was driving the leading vehicle of a motorized column, was halted by enemy fire, he dismounted and advanced alone to destroy the hostile machine gun position. He then returned to his vehicle to lead the column again until he was killed by an 88-mm. shell. He was posthumously awarded the DSC.

61. Principal sources for American action are the XV Corps and 5th Armd Div AAR's, Aug; see Telecon, Oliver and Menoher, 1540, 11 Aug, XV Corps CofS Jnl and File.

62. See Commandant Richard Mouton, "Liberation d'Alencon," in Herval, Bataille de Normandie, II, 9-14.

63. XV Corps Opns Instrs, 2200, 11 Aug, cited in XV Corps Narrative Outline, 1-14 Aug; Notes of Mtg, 0730, 12 Aug, XV Corps CofS Jnl and File.

64. XV Corps G-2 Per Rpt 9, 0300, 12 Aug; Capitaine Jean Maigne, "Les Forces Francaises et la Jonction 'OVERLORD-DRAGOON,'" Revue d'Historie de la Deuxieme Guerre Mondiale, No. 19 (July 1955), 17-33.

65. OB WEST, a Study in Command, p. 129; Telecons, Kluge and Eberbach, 2345, 12 Aug, and Blumentritt and Speidel (reporting telecon, Blumentritt and Jodl), 1510, 12 Aug, AGp B KTB; Telecon, Eberbach and Wiese, 0630, 13 Aug, LXXXI Corps KTB.

66. Telecons, Eberbach and Kluge, 1750 and 2345, 12 Aug, and Blumentritt and Speidel, 1510, 12 Aug, AGp B KTB.

67. Kluge Order, 2100, 12 Aug, AGp B Lagebeurteilungen, Wochenmeldungen.

68. Msgs, Haislip to Leclerc and Oliver, 1845, 12 Aug, and Haislip to Patton, 2130, 12 Aug, XV Corps CofS Jnl and File.

69. Msg, Gaffey to Haislip, 0040, 13 Aug, XV Corps CofS Jnl and File.

70. XV Corps G-2 Per Rpt 11, 0300, 14 Aug; see Rousseau, Bataille de Normandie, pp. 40, 43-44; Even, La 2e D.B., pp. 110-11; Maigne, Les Forces Franchises et la Jonction 'OVERLORD-DRAGOON,' pp. 18-19.

71. Friedel Telecons, 1230 and 2140, 13 Aug, AGp B KTB.

72. Telecon, Speidel, Wiese, Cause, and Dietrich, 1035, 13 Aug, AGp B KTB.

73. Msg, Gaffey to Haislip (received at XV Corps CP, 1415, 13 Aug), XV Corps CofS Jnl and File; Memo, Patton to Haislip, 13 Aug; TUSA Dir, 13 Aug.