| Show War ar Correspondents Correspondent's Notebook 1 1 Yank Uses Pillbox Telephone To Persuade Nazis to Quit i By Harold V. V Bo Boyle le i IN OCCUPIED G GERMANY Delayed 7 P LL P LU Ray S. S Earheart who used to he be an office manager back in Columbus Columbus Columbus Colum Colum- bus Ohio has become an expert In the painless removal of ot enemy pillboxes He and his men In two days destroyed 25 bunkers In Germanys Germany's Germanys Germany's Germanys Germany's Ger Ger- many's Siegfried line In a n 1000 yard advance over a front 2000 yards wide Dont Don't let any swivel chair field marshal tell you cracking pillboxes pillboxes pillboxes pill pill- boxes isn't a science Since pillboxes are so placed that they protect each other with covering fields of fire we had to take out more than one oneat oneat oneat at a time Earhart said Ve We would move our tanks in on the flank or rear real of oC a pillbox pillbox pillbox pill pill- box to get et on ft its blind side Meanwhile a forward observer observer er er riding in one of the tanks would call down artillery to drive back any German infantrymen infantrymen inCan inCan- waiting to take a close- close up crack at our tanks tank As our tanks got ot into position position position tion to fire through the rear door or apertures of ot the pillbox pillbox pill pill- box we were attacking another of or our assault teams would begin begin ben be be- gin n pasting adjoining pillboxes so the men inside had to button up and couldn't throw any supporting supporting supporting sup sup- porting fire In most cases the Germans were ready to give up after our I tanks began knocking on their steel doors with piercing armor-piercing shells At a R. given signal the tanks would lift their fire and our doughboys would rush inand Inand in inand and throw concussion and fragmentation fragmentation fragmentation frag frag- grenades into the pillbox if It the hadn't come out Then the Ule first assault team teRm would rest up by providing covering fire while the second assault team the next pillbox One of ot our sergeants sergeants Ezra Ezra Cook of Mount Airy N N. N C. C got C.-got got into one pillbox where enemy phone lines were connected and said W We are coming over to the next pillbox now so you might as well hell give up When he walked out he saw 25 to 30 Germans walking out of the next pillbox They had heard him and gave up without a shot being fired The actual job of ot cleaning out and blowing up pillboxes was superintended by Lt Joe T. T Harper 26 of McAlester cAl ster Okla whose men took 80 prisoners in one afternoon We Ve moved right in behind an assault team and took over aft- aft ter they drove the German outside outside outside out out- side guards back into the pillbox pillbox pillbox pill pill- box he said We Ve got up close under cover of or a steady stream r 1 of or fire from machine guy gun light tanks that pinned C I stray Germans any left toun I If a pillbox was u tl p i w tC wIn our engineers blew it up 41 i In several sc pillboxes i wee vc f f fighting c com o m p S and apparently no nol left at home But when e ae inside we caught Germans fa Ing in their bunk and hoping we would them by By then most of the f 54 was out of ot them But you o u take any chances with t th I They're always pulling t stuff We would challenge ti th from a rear door and if the they thet I fused to come com out w We vc e 1 flipped In some grenades rH always brought them ouli out js If i the explosion doesn't ha h them they cant can't stand the of the grenade fumes in in close quarters 1 In knocking out thc pillboxes we lost only two n killed and our total casual less than were 20 20 Harper an officer in Jn armored Hell on Wheels slon lion said aid his men calle called callei 1 English Engli h for the cornered je Jerra to surrender t We were too busy to l r German he grinned a asides and d sides it wasn't nee necessary sary caught the Idea pretty qu 1 |
