On the afternoon of 3 May 1945 Major James Quimby was driving through Bavaria looking for a place to spend the night. As Executive Officer of the 2nd Chemical Mortar Battalion, attached to the 45th Infantry Division, one of his jobs was to reconnoiter with his HQ detachment select a location for the battalion Command Post. At the rate the Allies were advancing, this meant a new location every day for several weeks.
The Germans had lost the ability to fight as an army. Entire units were without orders or supply. Many surrendered at first contact with the Americans. Correspondents described the action as “pursuit” but the men in the lines were cautious. The Germans had been “near defeat” many times before, but if one of them shot you it didn't matter if his unit was disorganized. The 4.2-inch mortars of Quimby's battalion found plenty of work providing smoke to screen river crossings or raining high explosive on roadblocks, machine guns and anti-tank emplacements.
Quimby passed up several possible CP locations and decided to take a look at the little town of Traunstein. Even a village offered more resources and comforts than barns and cow pastures. The convoy, a mixed bag of a couple of dozen jeeps, ¾ ton weapons carriers and deuce-and-a-half-trucks, had reached the main street before Quimby realized that every uniform in sight was German field gray. Traunstein was still held by the Germans!
Read Full Article »