167th and the Bellegarde Ambush

167^th and the Bellegarde Ambush

On August 14 the battalion moved to three miles NW of Le Grand-Lucé. On August 15 the BN was attached t= o the XII Corps. The 167th particip= ated in the movement of the Corps to capture the city of Orléans by working on roads and engineering reconnaissance.

Tykol’s factual account of the activities of the 167th in the first half of August = 1944 , does not convey the danger and chaos of the situation. The U.S. Army repo= rt, Breakout and Pursuit, provides us= with the broader view. =

Patton ordered the Fourth Armored Division to take Orléans. General Gilbert R. Cook long time assistant to Patton headed the XII Corps to which the 167th was attached.&nbs= p; “Cook formed an armored infantry column composed of elements from both divisions and headed down the main road from Le Mans to Orléans on 15 August. . . there was little knowledge of enemy st= rength or disposition save vague reports that the Germans were assembling forces to defend Chateaudun and Orléans. As a result of conflicting intelli= gence, Cook received contrary orders from Patton to proceed directly to Orlé= ;ans and also to go by way of Chateaudun.

“With very few maps, without prior reconnaissance, lacking information of enemy dispositions, and ignorant of the natural obstacles of the region, tankers and infantrymen plunged boldly toward Orléans. Though all the bridges between St. Calais and Orléans<= /i> had been destroyed, energetic reconnaissance revealed crossing sites. (probably the work of the 167th). Because of changing plans at higher levels of command, Patton directed Cook to halt the advance on Orléa= ns and secure Chateaudun.” (p.566) On August 16 Cook attacked Orléans. On August 17 Chateaudun was secure.

The area in general, however, was far from secure from German Occupation. “Since the American sweep to Orléans had followed routes along the north bank of the Loir River, a tributary of the Sarthe that parallels the Loire for about seventy miles, a buffer zone about twenty-five miles wide existed between the Loire and the Loir—a sort of no mans land inhabited by American and German patrols = by the FFI. Contrary to later le= gend, General Patton appreciated the possibi= lity that the German troops at the Loire migh= t make sorties against the underbelly of the Third Army.” (P. 567)<= /o:p>

Bellegarde<= o:p>

August 20 was a Sunday. On the previ= ous day Company A had fixed a bridge near Chateaudun and was now bivouacked two miles SE of Neuville-aux-Bois. It is likely that the day begin with church services lead by the BN Chaplin in a field near their camp. Follow= ing the services Company A set out on a mission which was to reconnoiter the ar= ea around Bellegarde. The 134th infantry division had planned to attack Bellegarde on this day. There were 2,000 Germans in the to= wn; however, intelligence reported that the Germans had left and the attack was cancelled. =

With incomplete intelligence and questionable maps the platoon headed down the r= oad in very uncertain and dangerous territory.= Four days prior on August 17 the Germans captured 37 members of the French Resistance in the = Orléans Forest near Lorris.= They lined them up, men and young = boys and shot them to death. Rows = of white crosses mark the spot today in a crossroads deep in the forest.

General Patton was fearful that German units would attack the underbelly of the Thi= rd Army. Remnants of the German = 708th Division were scattered throughout the area and were instructed to prepare their own defense positions (Breakout and Pursuit p. 566).

Company A, under the command of Lt. Tucker, would have traveled southwest on D11 in= to the Orléans Forest to where it intersected with N60, the main road between Bellegarde and Orléans.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'>   The small caravan was led by= a jeep followed by a two and a half ton GMC truck.   The company leaders in the j= eep and the rest of the company sitting on the tool boxes that lined the back of the truck. D11 intersected N6= 0 near Chateauneuf. They would have = turned right toward Bellegarde. At t= his point the road is deep within the forest.&= nbsp; Smaller unpaved roads appear on the side serving as access into the = deep woods.    In approxi= mately twenty miles N60 intersected with D114.&nb= sp; At this point a concrete bridge crossed the <= st1:PlaceName w:st=3D"on">Orléans Cana= l.    Going left would have = put them on D114 toward Nesploy, Nibelle and Pithiviers. They turned right and headed down = the road to Bellegarde.

It was early August evening, between 7:00 and 8:00 PM.   As they approached the town = the forest opened into farm fields. The = hops and maze (corn) had turned brown and were ready for harvest. The men of the company would have = seen these crops. They also would = have seen rows of red, pink, yellow, and white roses. Most had never seen a rose field before. Farmers working in the field saw them pass. Some say= they seemed happy and carefree. Ot= hers said they tried to warn the soldiers, but they couldn’t understand French.

The first building marking the city is a two story stone structure on the left.   At this point the= road becomes a narrow village street, the Rue Nationale. The Germans, hiding in the two sto= ry building, probably waited for the company to get into their trap before the opened fire. In the first min= utes three soldiers (probably in the lead jeep) Joseph Chuhak, Arthur Criswell, = and Ira Cornell fell.    PFC Leo Kalet grabbed the machine gun and opened fire. The GMC turned around and drove qu= ickly from the town. They say the w= hole battle lasted twenty minutes. Kalet would be awarded a Silver Star.

In the village Christiane Dupré heard the battle and knew what it meant. Tears fell down her eyes. The Americans had come.= The village was free. <= /span>

Five women from the French Red Cross rushed to the scene. One of the soldiers died on the sc= ene, two were seriously wounded. T= he women and men from the village took the wounded soldiers to a building along the road.    Andre&e= acute; Cognet ordered someone to Orléans for a doctor. Then she attended to the two men.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'>   Despite the language barrier= s Ira tried to ask her for his field jacket.&nbs= p; Some of the nurses were reluctant to give it to him, but Andre&eacut= e; did as he asked. He pulled a = wallet from the pocket. It contained= two pictures. One of his wife and= baby and one of the baby. Andre&ea= cute; said, “He kissed the pictures and died. He was a beautiful man. What a senseless death.”

The villagers, probably led by Andreé Cognet prepared to honor the three dead Americans, Joseph Chuhak, Arthur Criswell, and Ira Cornell.   They placed the bodies in wo= oden coffins along the buildings where they had died. They surrounded the caskets with f= lowers cut from the rose fields.   Members of the French Resistance, loyal friends of the ones killed in the forest, carried the caskets to the ancient Notre Dame Catholic Church where services were led by a Priest and a Protestant Chaplin from the Battalion.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Following the religious ceremony, = Mr. Joseph Gavaret, Deputy Mayor of Bellegarde spoke to the French Underground = Forces and others assembled from the community.

<= /p>
Ladies and Gentle= man

=

The passing yeste= rday all day in front of the remains of the three soldiers fallen for us last Mo= nday evening, by covering their coffins with flowers and by a large crowd of peo= ple crowding this ceremony at their funeral service, and by giving them up to t= he end a send-off almost triumphant, the population of Bellegarde and its surrounding country has shown with a touching unanimity the gratefulness wh= ich it feels towards those who, in order to liberate our fatherland, have left = their own and have come to perish far from theirs.

=

I congratulate you for your beautiful gesture and I am sure that I can make myself a truthful interpreter of your sentiments in addressing in your name a supreme thank y= ou and a last farewell to these three heroes whose sacrifice has saved our tow= n.

=

Ladies and gentle= men, before their bodies leave us, in order to repose in the American cemetery o= f Le Mans, a last duty is placed upon us. I want to accomplish it by turning with you, with our thoughts and w= ith our hearts beyond the Atlantic and by bowing down low, all of us, before th= ree mourning families, before three poor mothers especially who will not again = see their dear little boys. =

=

When they will he= ar with what honors we have surrounded these sacred remains of their glorious sons, we hope that it will act as a balm of consolation which will sooth th= eir wounded heart.

=

Therefore, in the name of all the population of Bellegarde, I am sending you the next of kin = and especially to the mothers of our three heroes, the moving respect of our deepest sympathy.

=

As for you, depar= ted comrades who died in order that France may live, again we thank you and we thank you from the bottom of our heart.&nb= sp; 23 August, 1944

Following the service they placed the bodies in the Army trucks for transfer to an American Military Cemetery in Le Mans.