This was from the Hutchinson, Kansas newspaper after my dad returned from WWII.
Russian Tanks Led by Woman Liberate Yanks
When Russian tanks, spear-heading an armored column, roared into Stalag III-C, 50 miles east of Berlin, to liberate 4,000 American, Russian, French and Italian prisoners interned there, the Yanks rubbed their eyes in surprise—commander of the lead tank was a woman! T-Sgt. Joe B. Lewis, son of Mr. and Mrs. H.A. Lewis of Sylvia, has this woman patriot and other fighting Red troops to thank for his freedom today. They effected his release after five months internment, his camp being the first for enlisted men to be liberated in Germany. Looking fit as the proverbial fiddle, Sgt. Lewis is home on 60 day furlough. He shows few marks of his experience as enforced guest of the German government. The Nazis fed him little more than soup and bread during his imprisonment, but Red Cross parcels came through with surprising regularity and kept the prisoners alive. The pounds he did lose have been regained since his release, for, as he says, he had been living on “the fat of the land.”
Taken Captive Last September
Lewis was taken captive on September 10, after landing on the “Omaha” beachhead in France, July 5, fighting through the difficult St. Lo campaign and then south with the Third army to Nancy.
That night his company was detailed to cross a German-held bridge over the Moselle river and to seize high ground on the other side where a beachhead could be established.
“It looked like a dash to death,” the soldier said. “The bridge was covered with machine guns and artillery and had been mined. The first company started over about 9, we followed at 10:30.
“We ran all the way, dodging the mines which we could see by artillery flares and the half-moonlight. One or two men were blown up by mines and some were shot, but all the time I was running the enemy never fired a machine gun.
“Incidentally, they didn’t blow the bridge until 2 o’clock the next morning—why they were so slow we didn’t know, unless they thought they could finish us off after we reached the other side.
Had To Set Up Defense
“The first thing we had to do, when we got across, was to try to get our men together (Sgt. Lewis was weapons platoon sergeant) and set up some kind of defense.
“My group made it about one-third the way up a hill, but the Germans were walking down a road firing at us, and it soon got too hot. We had to retreat back to a little drainage ditch and dig in there.
“By that time, we were pretty disorganized. My machine gun section set up along the ditch and fired down the road at the advancing Germans. We killed some, but they kept coming.
“We finally got them just about stopped, but small patrols of Nazis would try to infiltrate our positions. The fight went on until 3 o’clock in the morning, when they brought up their heavy tanks, the Mark VI.
“We hadn’t been able to bring any tanks or tank destroyers across the bridge before it was blown up, because of the mines, nor could we get any more ammunition or supplies. It looked hopeless.
Bazooka Knocked Out Tank
“We did knock out one tank with bazookas, but the other Marks came up and started firing. They blew some of our men right out of their foxholes.
“A German hand grenade went off about two feet from where I was standing in the ditch. Fragments hit me in the hand and the lip, although that didn’t bother me too much.
“With such odds against us, there wasn’t anything to do but to give up. Some 200 of us were captured. The others were killed, wounded, or drowned while trying to swim back across the river. A few made it. Our bunch never had a chance to try. The Kraut-eaters were between us and the Moselle.
“Our company commander surrendered his men. The Germans told us to throw down our weapons and come out with our hands above our heads. It was still dark then—about 4 o’clock.
“All walking casualties were taken to a German aid station two miles away, but I went on into Nancy with the rest of our bunch.
Sgt. Lewis Questioned
“We were taken to German headquarters and searched, then certain of us were interrogated. I was one. They tried to bribe me with food, cigarettes, coffee and wine, but I never told them anything. However, they already knew our outfit and division.
“Afterwards, I was given first aid at a hospital. That took some time, so I missed being shipped by train to Lemburg, Poland, with the other prisoners. Instead, several of us had to stay two days in a schoolhouse in Nancy.
“About 75 of us were finally assembled and walked from Nancy to Saarbrucken. The first night we stayed in a cow barn and the second at a Brown Shirt headquarters. We weren’t mistreated on the way.
“At Saarbrucken we were put on a train and taken to Lemburg, arriving there on Sept. 18 and staying until the 23rd in the transit camp. Were registered, had our clothing checked and got our German dog tags.
Worked On Railroad
“Some of the fellows had to sleep out in the open—on ‘starvation hill’ we called it—and they nearly froze, but I was lucky and got to sleep in a barracks for that privilege, I had to work on the railroad at Lemburg. We filled in bomb craters, fixed the rails and cleaned up. Worked from 8 to 6, but it wasn’t too hard because we GIs would lean on our shovels whenever the Jerries weren’t looking.
“Sanitary conditions at the camp were very bad, and so was the food. For breakfast we had tea or coffee, for dinner soup. In addition, six men were allotted one loaf of bread a day. No Red Cross packages had arrived, and we nearly starved.
“After five days there, we were moved to Stalag III-C by boxcar. The first Americans ever in that camp had been interned only two weeks before. There were many men from our other Allied armies, but we weren’t allowed to mingle with them. However, we would talk to the Russians through the fence and trade them cigarettes for bread.
Never Had To Work
“At this camp, we didn’t have to do any work. We sat around and talked—mostly about food. It got rather cold, and we didn’t have enough fuel, but a Red Cross representative from Geneva and a YMCA man from Berlin visited us and found out the conditions. After that, things were better. We got clothing, equipment, toilet articles, etc., from the Red Cross.
“The Germans allowed us to shower once a month. We had to wash our clothes at a pump. As for the food—it was about the same as before, but the Red Cross parcels began coming rather regularly.
“When Christmas finally rolled around, we decorated our barracks with crepe paper, made icicles out of tin cans and fixed up a Christmas tree. We had special programs and sang carols at the hospital. For dinner that day, there was a treat—potatoes, compliments of the mess sergeant and his gang who had snitched them from the Germans.
Russians 12 Miles Away
“On the thirtieth of January, we learned that the Russians were only 12 miles away. The following day the Germans tried to evacuate the camp.
“At 10:30 that morning, we were made to walk about six miles, but the Russians fired on our troops, thinking we were the enemy. They killed 27 Americans, I heard, and wounded twice that many. Our column turned around and headed back to camp. A few of our men, however, broke away and ran to the Reds to tell them who we were.
“Again at 1 o’clock that afternoon, the Germans tried once more to move us. The Reds turned us back again, but this time no one was hurt.
“After that, there wasn’t anything to do but stay in the air raid shelters at the camp. It was hot around there—German planes were in the sky, and artillery was pounding.
Camp Not Defended
“The Germans had no defenses set up at the camp, so there was no opposition when the Russian tank column came rolling up. Several German guards at Stalag III-C had surrendered to the Americans that morning in order to escape the Russians but the next day the Reds took them out and shot them.
“The Red spearhead went driving on. We stayed in camp three days until the mail body of their troops came up. On Feb. 3, the Russians moved us to a town about five miles away, and from then on we were on our own.
“We lived off the fat of the land. Ransacked deserted German houses for food. There were few natives around.
“In small groups, we rode bicycles, walked, hitch-hiked and even rode in wagons until we reached Lublin, Poland. There we came across some Yank officers who had been liberated, and we were given some semblance of order.
Polish People Helped
“The Russians provided us with a building to sleep in, and the Polish people divided what little they had with us. We were visited by Red Cross workers, who helped a lot.
“We stayed in Lublin for five days and then were taken by train to Odessa, Russia. After that the Reds took pretty good care of us. We were in Odessa about a week, before we boarded a British transport for Port Said, Egypt. There we lived like kings, drew three men’s rations, had ice cream and attended shows. Then we were taken by boat to Naples, where we joined our own forces.
Source: The Hutchinson News Herald
Hutchinson, Kansas
Sunday, May 6, 1945
