The FReeper Foxhole Remembers Will Rogers Jr. & the Battle for St.Vith (Dec/1944)

On To Belgium

Assigned to plug the gap between British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery's Twenty-First Army Group and General Omar N. Bradley's Twelfth Army Group, the 7th Armored shuttled among the First Army, the British Second Army and the Ninth Army, all the time fighting against a stronger enemy force than Allied Intelligence had estimated. Two months after the 7th Armored began trying to clear the Germans west of the Maas River, two full British corps finally overcame the stubborn enemy holdouts. Casualties in the gun companies ran high in the peat bogs of the Peel Marshes because equipment had to stay on the roads, allowing no chance to maneuver. In later years Rogers recalled the sporadic enemy shelling and the patrols along the Asten-Nederweert road, even at night, to counter enemy mine-laying attempts. Nederweert, he said, was his platoon's town, and he spent three nights in the church tower observing the Germans across the canal before they put a shell through the tower on the fourth night.

During November, the 814th began replacing its M10s with the M36 tank destroyer, a gasoline-powered vehicle also built on a Sherman M4A3 medium tank chassis but mounting a 90mm gun. Assigned to the Ninth Army, the 7th Armored moved elements to attack Geilenkirchen on Germany's Roer River. Their advance toward the Roer halted when the 814th received orders to move out at 7:30 a.m. on December 17, 1944, and join the 7th Armored's convoy to Vielsalm, Belgium. Hitler's last gamble had begun. Destined to be the largest battle ever fought by American troops, it was dubbed the Battle of the Bulge by British Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill.

Battle Of St. Vith

Major General Robert W. Hasbrouck, having assumed command of the 7th Armored, ordered Brig. Gen. Bruce C. Clarke's Combat Command B to defend the French town of St. Vith. Bolstered by elements of the 9th Armored Division and remnants of the 106th Infantry, Clarke formed a horseshoe defense, with reconnaissance elements patrolling the flanks. According to battalion supply officer J. William Goodwin, after a hurried briefing by Colonel Jones, Reconnaissance Company Captain John P. Reed issued an urgent call: "Get me Lieutenant Rogers!"

The mission given Rogers included reconnoitering Poteau, a village between Vielsalm and St. Vith. An early morning incident at Poteau was described years later by Rogers during the filming of the military documentary The Battle at St. Vith. Rogers' platoon had stayed overnight in Poteau, and early the next morning the men discovered a German tank parked nearby. Rogers and one of his men went to their jeep and, after some effort, disentangled the rocket launcher from the camouflage net. Trying to pull the frozen rockets off the jeep, they chipped the ice away, pulled off the bag and the rockets fell into the mud. They managed to load the rocket launcher, but their first attempt to fire failed. They had forgotten to attach the wires. After connecting the wires, Rogers aimed, fired and his rocket hit the tank. When the smoke began to clear, Rogers saw the tank commander open the hatch and look around as the tank backed away...undamaged.

German troops advancing past abandoned American equipment. (National Archives)

Enemy pressure mounted on the St. Vith horseshoe, and the perimeter during the six-day defense shrank to what historians would call a fortified goose egg. Montgomery, commander of the northern sector of the Bulge, countermanded the First Army's order that the defenders of St. Vith hold their line and await resupply by air. His message to the 7th Armored read: "You have accomplished your mission -- a mission well done. It is time to withdraw."

Withdrawal

A hard freeze on the night of December 22 made withdrawal possible, since the tanks were able to pull out of the mud and snow. By dusk on December 23, most of the 7th Armored had passed over the Salm River and through the lines of the 82nd Airborne Division. Task Force Jones, commanded by the 814th's Colonel Jones, fought the rear-guard action that had allowed the successful daylight withdrawal.

German Panther made to look like an M-10 as part of Operation Greif

As Task Force Jones prepared for withdrawal, reconnaissance platoons maintained defensive roadblocks. An article in the Kansas City Star of January 2, 1945, reported: "Will Rogers Jr. -- found his reconnaissance platoon engulfed in Germans December 23 and had to retreat. But he left the enemy a warning in red letters. [He] obtained a 4-foot sheet of wrapping paper, nailed it to a big tree in the middle of the road and printed with a red grease pencil: 'Beware! We will be back in two weeks with our new secret weapon.'"

An aerial view of St. Vith in December 1944.

The loss of Task Force Jones' four M36 tank destroyers at the rear of the column increased pressure for the remainder of the force to speed up movement along the Salm River and through Vielsalm, the only escape route. At Vielsalm, two of the column's leading light tanks were hit with anti-tank fire, setting them ablaze. Enemy fire on the front and rear of the column created havoc. Some vehicles plowed ahead; others turned around and moved to the rear. Most of the vehicles pulled off the road and into narrow clearings in the forest. Dismounting, some of the trapped troops planned an escape, while those still in their M8 armored cars heard the voice of Colonel Jones blaring over their radios, "Burn your vehicles and get out of there on foot!"

Beautiful Moonlit Night

Rogers later jotted down a few cryptic notes about Task Force Jones' withdrawal: "[We] joined a column going down to the Salm River, and went into a deep canyon. Road block ahead [the burning light tanks], and being shot at in the rear. Beautiful moonlight night. Took out a patrol to find out what the roadblock was, and a trigger-happy G.I. shot Sgt. Simmons; however [he] didn't flinch, and merely yelled to have the shooting stopped. Also ran across a German SS soldier leaning up against a tree, and took him prisoner. Finally got back to vehicles after finding out the roadblock couldn't be passed, and took winding 'glorified cowpath' out of the valley. Then came up to a quiet small stream, but only tanks could make it across. Lost all [my] vehicles, and destroyed them with grenades....After crossing the stream jumped on a tank and hung on like a bunch of monkeys while the tank rolled towards and through the 82nd Airborne lines, and that was a very great relief."

Lieutenant Rogers received a Bronze Star for this action, and his citation reads in part, "...for heroism in leading his patrol against an enemy force threatening to cut off part of an armored column retreating from St. Vith." During this withdrawal, 20 men of Task Force Jones went missing and were later reported captured.

Back In Action

Within two days, portions of the 814th rumbled back into action at Manhay, and on January 23, a month to the day after the 7th Armored's withdrawal, General Clarke led the force in taking back St. Vith. The 814th engaged in small-unit actions with the 75th and 99th Infantry divisions before reaching the Rhine River at Remagen, and on March 12, 1945, its 90mm guns began indirect firing missions at targets across the Rhine. From March 23 until the 25th, the 814th and the 7th Armored crossed the Rhine and then began pushing from the bridgehead toward the Ruhr and the industrial heart of Germany. The Ruhr Pocket action consisted mainly of taking prisoners, and the 7th Armored captured more than 45,000. This action resulted in casualties among the attacking troops, however, and one of these was Lieutenant Will Rogers, Jr., who had recently been given command of a tank destroyer platoon. He wrote about the shrapnel wound to his hip: "Wounded in the Ruhr Pocket...and evacuated to England...never did get north to meet the Russians. Bounced around in hospitals and replacement depots until war's end, then discharged (third and final?) at Ft. MacArthur January 1946." Rogers also reported his reconnaissance platoon's total combat casualties: "Of the 21-man 1st Platoon, four were killed; seven, including myself, wounded."

The 7th Armored, including the 814th, moved on toward the Elbe River, meeting little resistance before crossing it on May 2 and 3. Attached to the Second British Army, the 7th headed for Lübeck and the vicinity of the Baltic Sea. As the British and American troops approached the Baltic, they encountered thousands of German soldiers surrendering to anyone other than the Soviets. There were also thousands of displaced persons from almost every country in Europe, as well as German civilians seeking refuge in the West. V-E Day brought a feeling of great relief.

Discharged from Service

Once the situation stabilized, formal occupation duties began. By December, most of the 814th's soldiers had returned to the United States and were discharged from the service. Many veterans of the 814th maintained contact with each other over the years, including Rogers, who often met in Kansas City with former members of his reconnaissance platoon.

Lieutenant Will Rogers, Jr., enjoys a meal in France in 1944. When the going got tough, his company commander, Captain John P. Reed, would inevitably call out, "Get me Lieutenant Rogers!" (National Archives via Calvin C. Boykin, Jr.)

In January 1946, Rogers entered the California race for the U.S. Senate, won the Democratic Party's nomination, but lost in the general election. Shaking off his disappointment, he jumped into politics again and managed the victorious presidential campaign of Harry Truman. Setting politics aside, he starred in three films: The Story of Will Rogers (1952), with Jane Wyman; The Boy From Oklahoma (1954), with Nancy Olson; and Wild Heritage (1958), with Maureen O'Sullivan. On radio Rogers became known as "Rogers of the Gazette," while he also hosted CBS-TV's morning show in 1957 and 1958. It was broadcast from New York with Andrew Rooney as head writer, assisted by Barbara Walters.

Drawn to public service for most of his life, Rogers served in many capacities, including chairman of the California State Park Commission and assistant to the U.S. Commissioner of Indian Affairs. Periodically, he served as special consultant to the U.S. Department of the Interior. As the eldest Rogers son, he also acted for 46 years as the family representative on the Will Rogers Memorial Commission of Oklahoma. In later years, Rogers retired to his ranch in the Tubac artist colony south of Tucson, Ariz. At times he appeared on television as a product spokesman, and he continued filling speaking engagements.

The Will Rogers Follies opened on Broadway in 1991, reviving interest in the late humorist. When contacted about the June 1993 reunion of former members of the 814th in Savannah, Mo., Rogers replied that he was not well and seldom traveled, but that he would be attending a Will Rogers Follies reception in New York. A month later, while in a pasture near his retirement home at Tubac, the 81-year-old Rogers died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. A family spokesman explained that Rogers had recently suffered strokes, had heart problems and had undergone hip implant surgery. Following a military graveside service, his body was interred next to his wife, Collier, in Tubac Cemetery. Survivors included his two adopted Indian sons, Clem and Carlos, both of Tucson; his brother Jim Rogers, of Bakersfield, Calif.; and three grandchildren.

At their reunions, former members of the 814th tell stories about the dashing commander of a reconnaissance platoon who led an armored force into action. Many recall the words of his captain, spoken when the going got tough: "Get me Lieutenant Rogers!"

Additional Sources:

bhhs.beverlyhills.k12.ca.us
www.pbs.org
lib.lmu.edu
www.armourinfocus.co.uk
freefrench.free.fr
iquebec.ifrance.com
www.probertencyclopaedia.com
ardennes44.free.fr
www.lakemartin.net
www.dean.usma.edu
www.army.mil
users.pandora.be/dave.depickere

Late on the night of December 23rd, Sergeant John Banister of the 14th Cavalry Group found himself meandering through the village of Provedroux, southwest of Vielsalm. He'd been separated from his unit during the wild retreat of the first days and joined up with Task Force Jones, defending the southern side of the Fortified Goose Egg. Now they were in retreat again. The Germans were closing in on the village from three sides. American vehicles were pulling out, and Banister was once again separated from his new unit, with no ride out.

A tank destroyer rolled by; somebody waved him aboard and Banister eagerly climbed on. They roared out of the burning town. Somebody told Banister that he was riding with Lieutenant Bill Rogers. "Who's he?" Banister wanted to know. "Will Rogers' son," came the answer. It was a hell of a way to meet a celebrity.

An hour later they reached the main highway running west from Vielsalm. There they found a lone soldier digging a foxhole. Armed with bazooka and rifle, unshaven and filthy, he went about his business with a stoic nonchalance. They pulled up to him and stopped. He didn't seem to care about the refugees. "If yer lookin for a safe place," he said, "just pull that vehicle behind me. I'm the 82nd Airborne. This is as far as the bastards are going."

The men on the tank destroyer hesitated. After the constant retreats of the last week, they didn't have much fight left in them. But the paratrooper's determination was infectious. "You heard the man," declared Rogers. "Let's set up for business!" Twenty minutes later, two truckloads of GIs joined their little roadblock. All through the night, men trickled in, and their defenses grew stronger.

Around that single paratrooper was formed the nucleus of a major strongpoint.

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