Battle of the Bulge

Thomas P. Winburn
106^th Infantry Division
422^nd Infantry Regiment
Anti-Tank Company

No one in Thomas Winburn’s family knew what he did during WWII.  With only a few documents it was determined that he was with the 106^th Infantry Division at the Battle of the Bulge and was captured the first day. The family received the POW and Bronze Star Medals in addition to all the awards their veteran was entitled.

The Bronze Star Citation reads:

“For meritorious achievement while serving with the Anti-tank Company, 422nd Infantry Regiment, 106th Infantry Division in the European Theater of Operations on 16 December 1944, in military operations against an armed enemy of the United States during World War II.  Private Winburn’s exemplary performance of duty in active ground combat was in keeping with the finest traditions of military service and reflects great credit upon himself, the 422nd Infantry Regiment and the Army of the United States.”

Winburn’s other decorations include the:

Combat Infantry Badge
Purple Heart Medal
Good Conduct Medal
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal w/2 campaign stars
WWII Victory Medal

Thomas Winburn entered active duty on March 31, 1944 at Ft. Bragg, N. Carolina. He was sent for basic training at Camp Blanding, Florida from April 10 to August 5 1944, as well as anti-tank training. Camp Blanding was, at that time, an Infantry Replacement Training Center for both the European and Pacific theaters. Many soldiers were sent to other regiments after completing training here. The camp is located slightly south west of Jacksonville and still acts as a training base today.  Upon graduation Thomas Windburn was assigned to the 106^Th Infantry Division, 422^nd Infantry Regiment, AT (Anti-Tank) Company.

On the 18^th of October they were taken to the railroad station and boarded troop trains to be taken to the different Ports…Boston, New York City or Brooklyn and boarded the Aquitania, Queen Elizabeth, and the Wakefield respectively. On the 17^th of November the 106^th arrives in the United Kingdom in Liverpool, England and Greenoch, Scotland, finally assembling in Batsford Park in the South Midlands of England.  Around the 6^th of December the Division was transported across the English Channel to France, Le Havre and Rouen. From there they were moved by convoy to St. Vith, Belgium on the 10^th of December.  The next day they were put into line replacing the 2^nd Division along a 27 mile ridge called Schnee-Eifel. Normally a Division covered approximately a 5-mile stretch of the front line; however this part of the line was relatively quiet with only minor enemy patrol activity and was ideal for the 106^th to gain a little experience and confidence. This part of the line also jutted out somewhat into the German lines.

On the morning of the 16^th the Germans began their “Ardennes Offensive” with the 6th SS Panzer Army and 5^th Panzer Army along the entire line where the 106^th was situated.  It started with an artillery barrage in the early dawn and the German ground troops after the artillery subsided. The German’s advance was stopped twice, each time the Germans were replaced with fresh troops; however that was not the case for the 106^th. Eventually the German Panzers hacked away at the 106^th and completely surrounded the 422^nd and 423^rd Infantry Regiments.  Running low on ammunition and food, the Regiments requested re-supply and support, but due to the bad weather supplies could not be dropped and the 7^th Armor was engaged in St. Vith supporting the 424^th Infantry.  The 422^nd and the 423^rd regrouped on the December 18^th with the hopes of breaking through the German lines that surrounded them, but the massive numbers of the German troops made it impossible. 106th Division sent their final radio message — NEED AMMO — FOOD — WATER.    Both Regiments send same coded message — “WE ARE NOW DESTROYING OUR EQUIPMENT…”

Low on ammunition and no more food, on the 19^th what remained of the 2 regiments were surrendered. The persistence and heroism demonstrated by these two regiments caused the German commander to throw more assets into the battle and prevented the Ardennes Campaign from turning into a complete victory. Hitler’s plans was to send almost a quarter of a million troops into the allied front that stretched from southern Belgium into Luxembourg, where the Germans moved 50 miles into the Allied lines causing a bulge in their defenses and why this campaign was known to Americans as the Battle of the Bulge.  The 106^th Division suffered around 600 killed, 1200 wounded and in the vicinity of 7,000 missing in action, where many were prisoners of war.

The American prisoners were first taken to St. Vith, which had just been captured by the Germans. The prisoners were forced to march, without food or water, east into Germany and put on to trains to continue their trip to a prison of war camp.    They were actually crammed into “unmarked” boxcars and there were many cases where Allied aircraft bombed or strafed these trains not knowing that they carried POWs…many American POWs were unintentionally killed. Winburn was initially interned at Mühlberg which was known as Stalag IV-B and one of the largest POW camps in Germany. He remained there until April 23, 1945, when the Russian Army liberated the camp.

 

Florence, S. Carolina (2009)