My father-in-law Cecil Clark was a sharpshooter in the Battle of Hurtgen Forest, also mentioned in this book. The Battle of the Hurtgen, although less familiar than the Battle of the Bulge, was more terrible. Soldiers literally had to "hug a tree" for protection, because if they laid down on the ground, they were exposed to the shrapnel from explosives lobbed overhead and if they came out from behind the tree, they were shot by snipers. Their only protection literally was the helmets on their heads and the trees they hugged. By our best calculations, my father-in-law was shipped directly from basic training in Indiana and put right into battle. So many were so green... He never talked about it, but his brother-in-law who fought at Metz was able to relate some of what happened in later years. Fay Clark -------Original Message------- From: CLARKE-L@rootsweb.com Date: 09/23/05 15:42:55 To: CLARKE-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [Clarke-Clark] Col. Bruce CLARKE, Combat Command A, 4th Armored Div In case this is helpful to anybody, I'll pass it along. It comes from Stephen E. Ambrose's *Citizen Soldiers / The U.S. Army From the Normandy Beaches to the Bulge to the Surrender of Germany,* Chapter 4 "To the Siegfried Line, August 26--September 30, 1944," p. 116: On the west bank, an improbable scene in World War II--a council of war held by four generals on a high bank in sight of the enemy. Also present were Col Bruce CLARKE [surname caps added], commanding Combat Command A of the 4th Armored Division, and Lt. Col. Creighton ABRAMS, commanding the 37th Tank Battalion. ABRAMS was a 1936 graduate of West Point; he was two days short of his thirtieth birthday. The generals were worried about sending ABRAMS's tanks over the pontoon bridge. The bridge might be destroyed by German artillery, as the Germans now had good observation on it. The tanks could be cut off. Besides, the bridgehead was so constricted the Shermans wouldn't be able to maneuver. And the tanks were short on fuel. Finally, the generals asked CLARKE and ABRAMS for their opinion. "Well,' CLARKE replied, 'I can't fight the Germans on this side of the river ' Pointing to the high ground on the other side of the river, ABRAMS told his superiors, 'That is the shortest way home.' Go for it, the generals replied. At 0800 ABRAMS led the way for the Shermans They rumbled over the bridge, deployed into fighting formation, and began blasting the Germans with their cannon and machine guns. As the enemy fell back, infantry from the 80th Division crossed and joined the attack. By nightfall, they had regained the position held the previous day. ==== CLARKE Mailing List ==== Message Boards > Clarke & Clark click on "Add Board To Notifications" & you'll receive notices of new posts click on "Links & Announcements" for other email lists & links http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec?htx=board&r=rw&p=surnames.clarke http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec?htx=board&r=rw&p=surnames.clark