17th Airborne Jump, March 1945

I think the name of the town was Surzelburg. It was in American hands, and thus, so were the towns behind it that had been taken by the Americans. Why then was an utterly useless combat jump carried out by the 17th Airborne at this time?
3 men survived including Major Nixon of 101st Airborne regimental headquarters...what a tragic waste. All those KIA were 20 years of age or younger...

 

Panzer, could you elabortae on this jump. I have never heard about it? How many troopers were involved? I know the 17th jumped in operation Varsity, the rhine crossing. Have been in touch with a trooper who wrote a book about it. But I don't recall a allied jump after that (except the French commando's jumping in the Dutch provence of Drenthe...)

 

Stevin-the 17th Airborne carried out a jump in March 1945 over apparently German-held territory, but the surrounding areas were in American hands!
Now-the plane (a C-47 Dakota) took an enemy shell in the fuselage and 3 men got out alive, including Captain Nixon of the 101st Airborne regimental HQ. 19 men died-all were under the age of 20.

 

You mean this was a divisional size jump??? What happened to the other planes? What was the objective? Was there any ground fighting? Was the loss of that C47 the only loss?

I am amazed that I have never heard anything about this. Do you have a codename for this operation or some sources?

Any pointers would be greatly appreciated.

[ 22 October 2002, 05:43 AM: Message edited by: Stevin Oudshoorn ]

 

Sorry Stevin, I have no other details...

 

Taking off from marshalling areas in France, the 17th dropped into Westphalia in the vicinity of Wesel, 24 March. Operation Varsity was the first airborne invasion over theRhine into Germany itself. On the 25th, the Division had secured bridges over the Issel River and had entrenched itself firmly along the Issel Canal. Moving eastward, it captured Haltern, 29 March, and Munster, 2 April. The 17th entered the battle of the Ruhr Pocket, relieving the 79th Infantry Division. It crossed the Rhine-Herne Canal, 6 April, and set up a secure bridgehead for the attack on Essen. The "Pittsburgh of the Ruhr" fell, 10 April, and the industrial cities of Mulheim and Duisburg were cleared in the continuing attack. Military government duties began, 12 April, and active contact with the enemy ceased, 18 April.

Panzer, It looks like you are talking about operation Varsity, the crossing of the Rhine into Germany, not Austria. I really don't know how this operation went for the 17th. Have a book coming on the subject written by a veteran. Maybe he writes more about this incident. I don't think, however, that the 17th jumped into US held territory, so bits and pieces might be mixed up here...More when I find out...

 

Thanks for the help Stevin-I heard about this incident from the testimony of a discussion that took place after the incident between Major Richard Winters and Captain Nixon.

 

Stevin-I finally got all teh facts of my previous obscure postings. The jump was in fact part of Operation Varsity, and Captain Nixon had been requested to make the jump to accompany intelligence proceedings for the 17th, and to get out of Regimental HQ because he was seen to be extremely bored!!!
Sorry I couldn't assist earlier Stevin and thankyou for the help...

 

Thanks for the update panzer! Interesting to read that elements of the 101st (or just Nixon?) were attached to the 17th for such a role... I am still baffled about the Austria link here...Austria is way South of the dropzones of Varsity.

[ 06. January 2003, 03:02 AM: Message edited by: Stevin Oudshoorn ]

 

No Austria association at all Stevin-sorry if I gave that impression. Yes-it is quite interesting indeed-Colonel Sink, commander of the 506th PIR noticed that Captain Nixon was doing precious little at Regiment HQ, that he told him to get some combat time!!!!

 

When I am home tonite, I will see what 'they' write about it in RENDEZVOUS WITH DESTINY. As a 101 buff, I am sure you know this book. In case some one doesn't: this book was written right after WW2 by two officers.

From a review:

Not only was the 101st one of the most distinguished American divisions of the war, but it also has a fine unit history. The pair of officers who wrote the book utilized veterans to a far greater extent than did most writers: circulating questionnaires to clarify specific actions and meeting with groups of vets to review early drafts. In addition, Rapport and Northwood took advantage of the ground-breaking work of S.L.A. Marshall. Marshall spent considerable time with the 101st, interviewed many of the men, and wrote a number of after action reports on their engagements, many of which are included in this volume, notably Marshall's account of the opening days of the encirclement at Bastogne.
The 101st was activated in Louisiana on 16 August 1942 with the "amboeba-like breaking-in-two" of the 82nd Division. Initially commanded by Major General William Lee—known in those days as the "Father of the Airborne," but nearly forgotten sixty years later despite a solid biography by Jerry Autry—the 101st began arriving in England in 1943 and was soon engaged in serious preparation for the return to the continent.
The story of the division's role in Operation Overlord need not be repeated here, because nearly everyone familiar with any aspect of America's participation in World War II will know about the dramatic drop into Normandy in the pre-dawn hours of 6 June 1944. And, of course, the 101st went on to even greater fame in Holland during Operation Market-Garden and at Bastogne in the Battle of the Bulge.
For the most part, Rapport and Northwood provide a very detailed, unblinking account of the division's battles:


The colonel went outside and sent about ten men up the field which lay well beyond the farmhouse between the road and the Madeleine. They moved on as far as the crossroads. Four Germans came out of the woods shouting "Kamerad!" But they still held their arms. Two men of Company H had been killed by this same trick within a few hundred feet of the same spot earlier in the day. So the patrol shot into them. Two went down and the other two jumped back into the woods. Otherwise the patrol found nothing but dead Germans. They came back and reported it. Colonel Cole sent a second force of twenty-five men under Lt. George H. Craft and Lt. George E. Bean, both of Company G, to prowl the orchard. They crossed the first field in a skirmish line—a scratch force drawn from all four companies. There was no German fire; however, the advancing line continued to fire into the base of the hedgerow as it went forward. The second hedgerow and the orchard were about seventy-five yards away and it was another hundred yards across the orchard. From the area embracing the field and orchard had come most of the enemy fire throughout the day. The artillery had cut a few convenient holes in the hedgerow. Some of the men jumped through them. Others went by the gate. They stayed in the field and orchard for more than an hour. A German machine gun fired loosely at them from far over on the left. Next to the hedgerow they found an American 60mm mortar which the Germans had been using against them. Colonel Cole came up to them where they had formed a fire line along the hedgerow. He told them to hold it until 2nd Battalion came to relieve them. The German fire could still be heard faintly in the distance, but the whole front had cooled along the bank of the Madeleine. By morning the Germans had disappeared from this sector of the front.
In addition to the famed battles of Normandy, Market-Garden, and Bastogne, Rendezvous with Destiny devotes about a hundred pages to the final campaigns of the 101st in France, Germany, and Austria.
The authors weave into their narrative recollections of veterans but place all this material in the context of a larger perspective. In addition to photos and sketches, there are also more than a hundred maps.
In sum, Rapport and Northwood have done just about everything right. This is a divisional history definitely worth having.

This review is for the 2000 Battery Press publication (which is a fine publishing house BTW). I have a edition that was published by the 101st AB div Asso. itself, in coop with some publisher...

A MUST HAVE for any 101 buff....

But what I wanted to say, I will see if they write anythiing about this...

 

Stevin-unfortunately, no library or bookstore stocks this book in Oz as there isn't enough interest. I have heard excellent things about this book for sometime now, so I will have to enquire about having it ordered in.
Of course as a 101st buff I have heard of it though...

[ 06. January 2003, 04:30 AM: Message edited by: Panzerknacker ]

 

I got my copy Last time when I was in teh States....and to rub some salt in your wounds: for a very nice discount price! It is a very nice, hard back, copy with some pics (not too well printed though) for US$12 if I remember correctly. Fun thing is that they included all the lyrics of those running/cadence airborne songs in the back!

So people will find me running, singing these WW2 airborne songs! ( Glory, Glory, What a hell of a way to die....

 

My great-uncle was a member of the 17th airborne. He was killed on March 24, 1945. On March 29, 1945 he would have turned 23 years old.

 

Thanks for sharing that Callolin-hope to see you frequenting these forums.