Dave,
Combat is seldom, if ever, fought on an even keel, IE, one on one on both sides, both with the same weapons, and the opponents with equal drive for patriotic or monatary reasons.
    At the end of our battles in Normandy we came to the grand battle for the 101st, "The Battle of "Bloody Gulch."  The Germans had 1 full division of armor, 1 full division of Panzer Grenadiers, 1 full regt. of top of the line battle seasoned paratroopers, the Hermann Georing 6th Para Rgt.  They were backed with dug-in heavy and light artillery and carried 81 mm mortars with them.  They were on their home ground of four years in France and had chosen the field of battle in their favor.  
   We had 2 rgts of battle worn paratroopers, the 506 and the 501, armed as light infantry, rifles, 60 mm mortars and machine guns.  We were totally alien to the battle grounds and had to attack into the enemy in their field of choice of high ground, high hedgerows, a full div of armor firing high velocity flat trejectory artillery straight into us, pre-dug in mach guns, six cross firing on one field alone with 81 mortars falling like rain and heavy artillery blanketing the hedges and areas.
    Still we attacked into them in an ordered bayonet charge, driving them back through the hedges for nearly 1/2 mile but the situation became in doubt; until our 2nd Armored fresh in from Utah Beach arrived and with their help our battle was won.  We suffered heavy casualties that day, June 13, 1944, but we won.  We had that old "Frying Pan" attitude,  "You aint man enough to make me quit."    
    If our 2nd Armored Div. hadn't arrived in time I feel strongly that our situation would have ended the way General Custer's day at Little Big Horn did.  

    Another battle that took place in Holland, our battle worn depleated 1st Bn, 506 took on 2 enemy Btn's at the same time in a short lived high pitched battle.  In the end the Germans with many wounded and dead surrenderd and we won with two of our men dead.  The Battle of the Apple Orchard in Tuindoff, Holland.
    When questioning the officers and men we found that most of the enemy were from the defunct German navy and their officers were of the same; their Bn Cmdr was a former U-Boat Commander and this was their first land battle.  They were confused and knew nothing of hand to hand fighting or tactics.  The battle was over in 1/2 hr and the enemy suffered very heavy casualties in dead and wounded.  
    I went to aid and comfort their wounded, two of the enemy had multiple chest wounds and they asked me for a cigarette.  I gave them each a cigarette and lit them for them.  I was surprised to see that one of the men would take a deep drag on a cigarette and smoke would come out of his chest from a hole under his left arm pit.  The other man lying on his back had smoke escape from several bullet holes in his chest every time he would take a drag on his cigarette.    
    And so goes little known tales of combat and the odds in casualties, dead and wounded .
Don Burgett

Changes made:  The 327 was left behind to hold Carentan and was not with us.  Col Cole's 502 was shot up too bad in leading the attack on the Carentan causeway and also was not with us.  
There were only two Rgts of the 101 that fought "The Battle of Bloody Gulch." the 506 and the 501.  Sorry, I have been working hard lately and caught my errors when I returned this PM and corrected them.  DRB

Was just informed this afternoon of the TV schedule. Here's info in case anyone visiting the site, lives in Bergen County, New Jersey.

September 2010

No Bridge Too Far is scheduled for broadcast via Bergen Community College in New Jersey, in September 2010. Special thanks to Ed Pittarelli, Dean of Program Development, Learning Technologies, and Process Improvement, for making this a reality. Ed is also the proud son of Carmine Pittarelli, 36th Combat Engineer.

Check here to view their broadcast schedule for September:

http://www.bergen.edu/include/apps/torchtv/displayschedule.asp

Note: Chapter One airs in September on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday at 10 AM, 6 PM, and 10 PM on FiOS Channel 26 in Bergen County. Chapter Two follows in October.

I found out via Reg. I too was stunned. I knew he had been very sick with cancer for a long time. We talked via email, texted a couple of times on the phone and talked once or twice. I had truly hoped he was going to overcome this hurdle, but alas, it was not meant to be.

His brother Dave is going to keep his site alive as a tribute to Doug and his father. I am so glad to hear this.

I was fortunate to meet Doug on two separate occasions. One: Reg mentioned above (I am standing next to Doug in the photo). Second was previous to that, when he and I met for the first time in Michigan at a 326th Engineer Reunion. We spent two days together and I so loved his company. We had such a great time.

I will miss you so much my dear friend. It won't be the same without you. 

 I have roughly calculated the wounded as being 5 wounded to 1 killed in battle.  At times that ratio would be drastically different.  
Don B-



[/quote]

Hi Don-- thanks for answering my question.  If you have time, could you explain that statement?  What might cause the ratio of casualties to fluctuate so much? 

Thanks again for being willing to share your knowledge and experience here with us-

Dave

John,
I am not picking flyspecks out of pepper with Major Winters, he is a good combat man,  But he is one of a few that went strictly by the rules, as told many times in his own writings.  Therefore, I can only surmize that the Major did not keep a diary as such; but I feel strongly that he did retain the originals of his "After action reports" which would give him a boost on detailed information on hand.  
    Cole Kingseed is probably an excellent writer, as you say, but even a good writer when working as a helpmate with another primary writer can go only so far in correcting the man that was there and whose memory and story it is they are writing about.

I haven't finished reading Major Winters book as yet, I am strapped for time now, but I intend to read it in full as soon as possible.  I have read parts where Easy Co and/or 2nd Bn wasn't active as were other units and found they were more or less sort of left out of the history telling rather than an attempt to change things as they happened.   IE, 2nd Bn, Easy Co, was in Rgt'l reserve and billited for the most part in houses and barns in Luzery in the opening of the Battle for Bastogne.  
    The Division's battles began 19 Dec 1944.  Easy Co did not get into the battle until after 2 Jan 1945 or so and divisional records and the monument to Easy Co outside Foy shows that Easy Co lost a total of 14 men killed during the entire Battle for Bastogne.  First Bn. lost a total of 212 officers and men killed in the first six hours of battle in Noville, not counting the wounded, with A Co losing 112 men killed and wounded during that same battle and time, leaving A Co with only 58 men to fight the Battle of the "Woods Fight" while Easy Co still had a full compliment of men in reserve in Luzery.  
    Easy Co's men and Easy Co itself are of the highest quality in the military, bar none, but the military being what it is the high command gives the orders, right or wrong and we of the cannon fodder class obey.  It was Easy Co's turn to be in reserve at that time as it was A Co's turn at other times .  But in writing, some gaps of a units inactivity are written in such a way that the gap is smoothly closed over.   Don B-    

Dave,
Our attack into Noville 19 Dec 44 was to have jumped off a 12:00 noon but due to Lt. Rice, 10th Armored having scrounged ammo for us and handing it out near Foy caused a delay and we began our attack at 1330 hrs through Noville and up the high ground to the east.  The Germans lifted their heavy artillery barrage at that time to send armor and infantry into us; A Co. had reached the summit of the ridge at that same time, that is when the down and dirty fight began.  
    It is impossible to guestimate how many troops we had in our 1st Bn, for there was a surge of volunteers in Mourmelon le Grande just before and at the time of the enemy breakthrough of The Battle of the Bulge.  I am not certain but I feel the division took all volunteer replacements, registered or not at that time, broadcast them out amoung the Regts and we went for it.  I have roughly calculated the wounded as being 5 wounded to 1 killed in battle.  At times that ratio would be drastically different.  
Don B-

Hi Don,
Interesting addition and obseravtion re Maj Winters. As this book was written by Cole Kingseed and Dick Winters together just a short time ago I'd imagine his memory of the events would not be as sharp as yours. I am not making excuses but did he keep a diary, notes etc or like you put it all down on paper shortly after these events occured? I don't know but what I do know is that Cole Kingseed is a fine writer and historian and worked very closely with Dick Winters during the writing of the book.
Its the sheer number of losses that always gets to me reading this part of the book. The savage fighting, the cold, low on ammo and food and death just around the corner. How one survives this I am truly amazed.
As always,
John.

Have read, re-read, and read again your account of the battle for Noville, I dont think there is any way that I or most others will ever be able to comprehend the the ferocity of the battle that took place there.  At least by reading your account though, we can remember and honor the men who fell there, as well as those who survived to fight on.

The figure of 199 men and 13 officers killed-- I assume the numbers of wounded must have been much higher.  I understand that many replacements probably never showed up on the roster before they were killed or wounded, but what would your estimate be of the strength of the 1st Bn as they entered the fight?

Thanks to you and your comrades-

Dave

One later addition to the above "Woods Fight."  A Co, 506 consisted of only 58 men, reinforced by one depleated platoon of C Company when we attacked into the Boise Jacques.  We made a good accounting of ourselves, A Co lost 8 men killed, I don't know the casualties of C Company.  In our first attack into Noville 1st Bn 506 had 13 officers and 199 enlisted men killed, not counting our wounded, all in that first afternoon, 19 Dec 1944.  

We wiped out a German Battalion, there were NO German survivors.  

A couple of days after A Co and the pltn of C company made the attack 22 Dec, 1944, Easy Co made a patrol through this part of the woods to the Halt Station.  Major Winters wrote in his book "Beyond Band of Brothers" "They came upon a scene of torn woods, enemy bodies all over the woods and some American bodies, where a terrible, terrible fight had taken place.  Major Winters wrote further they didn't know who the dead Americans were."  

A Co knew who they were, they were our men, Speer, Alvardo, Bielski, Horn plus 4 men I didn't know and men of C Co's pltn.  All one had to do was glance at the dead troopers helmets to see the 506 Spade with the tick at 3 O'Clock to know they were troopers of A Co, 1st Bn 506 killed 22 Dec 1944 in our "Woods Fight."  Major Winters should have known who those men were, all units in that area were alerted that A Co. 506 was to make an attack that morning in the Boise Jacques to the Halt Station, clearing the woods and the area in front of 2nd Bn 506 of all enemy.  We completed our mission, after a terrible, terrible fight.  Don Burgett

Thanks for sharing this with us Don. Must have been a very good time for you, spending those days with the other veterans.