Hi Everyone My Grandad was a Engineer, he says he spent most of the war building bridges but he occasionly talks about being in combat. So heres my question, how much combat did Engineers go though? Thanks
Ah, the damned engineers ... http://motlc.wiesenthal.com/text/x17/xm1768.html US Army Engineers at the Bulge 1. "The damned engineers!" Watching helplessly on December 18 as a bridge spanning Belgium's Lienne Creek was blown up in his face, SS panzer leader Joachim Peiper pounded his knee in fury and muttered, "The damned engineers! The damned engineers!" Peiper's curse was a well - earned compliment for the US Army engineers, who turned up again and again to thwart German forces during the Battle of the Bulge. 2. On the defensive Like the men of other services, the engineers were engaged in routine work on the eve of battle-reconnoitering and mapping the terrain, quarrying rock for road building, operating sawmills to provide lumber for winter shelters, purifying drinking water. The instant the German offensive struck, they threw all their energies into efforts to block the panzer columns. Besides blowing bridges, they barricaded and mined roads vital to the German tanks. They also fought as infantry, defending critical positions until reinforcements arrived. In the Stavelot area, three units of engineers held their ground so stubbornly that Major General James M. Gavin of the 82 Airborne Division rated them "as effective as a good combat division." 3. On the offensive When the Americans mustered the strength to counterattack, engineers were in the forefront, moving up with the infantry and armor. They toiled night and day to replace destroyed bridges and to make roads passable and keep them that way in spite of snow, ice, and the German shelling. They risked their lives to clear paths through minefields under enemy fire; their urgent work rarely allowed them the luxury of taking cover. 4. Unsung heroes Yet for all their labors, their hard - won successes and the heavy casualties they sustained, the engineers still had to put up with the gibes of infantrymen-whether ignorant newcomers or wisecracking veterans who refused to forget the old rivalry between the services. An engineer outfit would trail in from the front line filthy and exhausted after fighting for days-only to hear some infantryman say, "Why the hell don't you rear - echelon bastards ever come up front and fight?"
Kiwi ace, I just want to say that there are interesting stories to hear even from the troops that didn't see much combat. The war isn't only about firearms and explosions, I'm sure that your grandad has lots of non-combat related stories, i.e. the engineer equipment and its prestanda. regards
Hi Kiwi, You've only got to look at Sapper's posting elsewhere on this site to see how active the Engineers were. In Italy the terrain was so hostile that they were an essential part of the army, and were often at the forefront of combat, laying bridges under fire, clearing minefields, removing demolitions etc etc. In Italy there were also RE tank units with 'Funnies' (Churchill AVRE, Bridgelayer etc) similar to the 79th Arm Division in Normandy. I have some good RE unit histories for Italy - casualties were high. Was your relative in the NZ ENgineers? You might find they have a unit history?
Thanks Everyone, I'm pretty sure he was in combat at sometime (from what he has said), but yep, hes got lots of non combat stories. He was with the New Zealand Engineers
Also, you must remeber the airborne engineers who blew and took the most powerful fortress in the world in May 10th 1940: Eben Emaël.
