ADOLF HITLER Biography

Born: April 20, 1889
Braunau, Austria
Died: April 30, 1945
Berlin, Germany
German dictator and nationalist

The German dictator Adolf Hitler led the extreme nationalist and racist Nazi party and served as chancellor-president of Germany from 1933 to 1945. Arguably one of the most effective and powerful leaders of the twentieth century, his leadership led to the deaths of nearly six million Jews.
Early life

Adolf Hitler was born on April 20, 1889, in the small Austrian town of Braunau on the Inn River along the Bavarian-German border. The son of an extremely strong-willed Austrian customs official, his early youth seems to have been controlled by his father until his death in 1903. Adolf soon became rebellious and began failing at school. He finally left formal education altogether in 1905 and began his long years of aimless existence, reading, painting, wandering in the woods, and dreaming of becoming a famous artist. In 1907, when his mother died, he moved to Vienna in an attempt to enroll in the famed Academy of Fine Arts. His failure to gain admission that year and the next led him into a period of deep depression as he drifted away from his friends.

It was during this time of feeling rootless that Hitler first became fascinated by the immense potential of mass political manipulation (control). He was particularly impressed by the successes of the anti-Semitic, or anti-Jewish, nationalist Christian-Socialist party of Vienna Mayor Karl Lueger (1844–1910). Lueger's party efficiently used propaganda (spreading a message through literature and the media) and mass organization. Hitler began to develop the extreme anti-Semitism and racial mythology that were to remain central to his own "ideology" and that of the Nazi party.

In May 1913, Hitler returned to Munich, and after the outbreak of World War I (1914–18) a year later, he volunteered for action in the German army in their war against other European powers and America. During the war he fought on Germany's Western front with distinction but gained no promotion (advancement) beyond the rank of corporal (a low-ranking military officer). Injured twice, he won several awards for bravery, among them the highly respected Iron Cross First Class.
Early Nazi years

The end of the war left Hitler without a place or goal and drove him to join the many veterans who continued to fight in the streets of Germany. In the spring of 1919, he found employment as a political officer in the army in Munich with the help of an adventurer-soldier by the name of Ernst Roehm (1887–1934)—later head of Hitler's elite soldiers, the storm troopers (SA). In this capacity Hitler attended a meeting of the so-called German Workers' party, a nationalist, anti-Semitic, and socialist group, in September 1919. He quickly distinguished himself as this party's most popular and impressive speaker and propagandist, and he helped to increase its membership dramatically to some six thousand by 1921. In April of that year he became Führer (leader) of the renamed National Socialist German Workers' party (NSDAP), the official name of the Nazi party.

The poor economic conditions of the following years contributed to the rapid growth of the party. By the end of 1923, Hitler could count on a following of some fifty-six thousand members and many more sympathizers, and regarded himself as a strong force in Bavarian and German politics. Hitler hoped to use the crisis conditions to stage his own overthrow of the Berlin government. For this purpose he staged the Nazi Beer Hall Putsch of November 8–9, 1923, by which he hoped to force the conservative-nationalist Bavarian government to cooperate with him in a "March on Berlin." The attempt failed, however. Hitler was tried for treason (high crimes against one's country) and given the rather mild sentence of a year's imprisonment in the old fort of Landsberg.

It was during this prison term that many of Hitler's basic ideas of political strategy and tactics matured. Here he outlined his major plans and beliefs in Mein Kampf, which he dictated to his loyal confidant Rudolf Hess (1894–1987). He planned the reorganization of his party, which had been outlawed and had lost much of its appeal. After his release, Hitler reconstituted the party around a group of loyal followers who were to remain the center of the Nazi movement and state.
Rise to power

With the outbreak of world depression in the 1930s, the fortunes of Hitler's movement rose rapidly. In the elections of September 1930, the Nazis polled almost 6.5 million votes, and the party had gained undeniable popularity in Germany. In November 1932, President Hindenburg (1847–1934) reluctantly called Hitler to the chancellorship to head a coalition government of Nazis, conservative German nationalists, and several prominent independents.

The first two years in office were almost wholly dedicated to balancing power. With several important Nazis in key positions and Hitler's military ally Werner von Blomberg in the Defense Ministry, he quickly gained practical control. Hitler rapidly eliminated his political rivals and brought all levels of government and major political institutions under his control. The death of President Hindenburg in August 1934 cleared the way for Hitler to remove the title of president. By doing this, Hitler officially became Führer (all-powerful ruler) of Germany and thereby head of state, as well as commander in chief of the armed forces. Joseph Goebbels's (1897–1945) extensive propaganda machine and Heinrich Himmler's (1900–1945) police system perfected the complete control of Germany. Likewise, Hitler's rule was demonstrated most impressively in the great Nazi mass rally of 1934 in Nuremberg, Germany, where millions marched in unison and saluted Hitler's theatrical appeals.
Preparation for war

Once internal control was assured, Hitler began mobilizing Germany's resources for military conquest and racial domination of central and eastern Europe. He put Germany's six million unemployed to work to prepare the nation for war. Hitler's propaganda mercilessly attacked the Jews, whom Hitler associated with all internal and external problems in Germany. Most horrifying was Hitler's installment of the "final solution" of imprisoning and eventually destroying all Jewish men, women, and children in Himmler's concentration camps.

Foreign relations were similarly directed toward preparation for war. The improvement of Germany's military position and the acquisition of strong allies set the stage for world war. To Germany he annexed, or

Adolf Hitler.
Reproduced by permission of the Corbis Corporation.
added, Austria and the German-speaking Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia, only to occupy all of Czechoslovakia early in 1939. Finally, through threats and promises of territory, Hitler was able to gain the neutrality of the Soviet Union, the former nation that was made up of Russia and other smaller states. Alliances with Italy and Japan followed.
The war

On September 1, 1939, Hitler began World War II with his quest to control Europe. The sudden invasion of Poland was immediately followed by the destroying of Jews and the Polish elite, and the beginnings of German colonization. Following the declaration of war by France and England, Hitler temporarily turned his military machine west, where the light, mobile attacks of the German forces quickly triumphed. In April 1940, Denmark surrendered, soon followed by Norway. In May and June the rapidly advancing tank forces defeated France and the Low Countries. In the Air Battle of Britain, England sustained heavy damage, but held out after German naval operations collapsed.

The major goal of Hitler's conquest lay in the East. On June 22, 1941, the German army advanced on Russia in the so-called Operation Barbarossa, which Hitler regarded as Germany's final struggle for existence and "living space" (Lebensraum) and for the creation of the "new order" of German racial domination. However, after initial rapid advances, the German troops were stopped by the severe Russian winter and failed to reach any of their three major goals: Leningrad, Moscow, and Stalingrad. The following year's advances were again slower than expected, and with the first major setback at Stalingrad (1943), the long retreat from Russia began. A year later, the Western Allied forces of America, England, and Russia started advancing on Germany.
German defeat

With the German war effort collapsing, Hitler withdrew almost entirely from the public. His orders became increasingly erratic (different from what is normal or expected), and he refused to listen to advice from his military counselors. He dreamed of miracle bombs and suspected betrayal everywhere. Under the slogan of "total victory or total ruin," the entire German nation from young boys to old men, often barely equipped or trained, was mobilized and sent to the front. After an unsuccessful assassination attempt on July 20, 1944, by a group of former leading politicians and military men, Hitler's reign of terror further tightened.

In the last days of the Nazi rule, with the Russian troops in the suburbs of Berlin, Hitler entered into a last stage of desperation in his underground bunker in Berlin. He ordered Germany destroyed, believing it was not worthy of him. He expelled his trusted lieutenants Heinrich Himmler and Hermann Göring (1893–1946) from the party and made a last, theatrical appeal to the German nation. Adolf Hitler committed suicide on April 30, 1945, leaving behind a legacy of evil and terror unequaled by any leader in the modern world.

source: www.notablebiographies.com/. ../Hitler-Adolf.html

Pointe du Hoc by Brian Williams

The Objective
Pointe du Hoc was located on the coast to the west of the Omaha beach landings and was the position of six 155mm cannons with a range of 25,000 yards. These cannons had a commanding view of both Omaha and Utah beaches and the potential to cause much damage to the invading force. The area had been bombed since May and then grew in intensity during the three days and nights before D-Day. During D-Day, the USS Texas bombarded the point as did 18 medium bombers of the Ninth Air Force at H-20.

The point stood on cliffs between 85 to over 100 feet high at whose base was a very small rocky beach that offered no protection. Because the point was positioned on near impregnable cliffs, the Germans had concentrated their defenses in anticipation of a ground assault from inland. Above were heavily fortified concrete casements interlaced with tunnels, trenches, and machine-gun positions around the perimeter. Although the 716th Infantry Division was thinly stretched along 30 miles of the shoreline, approximately 200 German troops (125 infantry and 85 artillery men) were garrisoned in or around the point.

The task fell to Lt. Col. James Earl Rudder's 2nd Ranger Battalion and called for 3 Companies (D, E, and F) of the battalion to scale the heights. Company D was to approach the heights on the west, while E and F were to attack on the east. The main Ranger force (5th Battalion and Companies A and B of the 2nd) were to wait off shore for signal of success and then land at the Point. In addition to destroying the guns, the Rangers were to move inland and cut the coastal highway that connected Grandcamp and Vierville. They were then to wait for the arrival of the US 116th Infantry from Omaha Beach to the east - scheduled to relieve them at noon on the 6th. Once linking up with the main force, they were then to move on Grandcamp and Maisy to the west in order to attempt to link up with the forces that were to land at Utah beach.

The Landing
H-Hour was scheduled for 0630 on June the 6th. The Rangers approached the point with their flotilla of ten landing craft and four DUKW's, but the seas were rough and one LCA sank after taking on excessive water. Ten minutes later, a supply craft sank leaving only one survivor. In the confusion and strong tide, they approached the beach near Pointe de la Percée, at over 3 miles east of their objective. Rudder immediately realized his error and headed west toward the point, but not before losing another DUKW to 20mm fire. The error proved to be costly because the Rangers were now 35 minutes behind schedule at which time the defenders at the point were able to reenter their positions after the bombardment. The main Ranger force was to wait until 0700 at which time if the landing was successful, they would follow the landings at Pte-du-Hoc. If not, they would land on the western side of Omaha and fight their way westward to the point. The designated time came and went and word was given to land at Omaha - Rudder and his Rangers were on their own.

The Rangers headed for the cliffs, but now they found themselves only on the Eastern side of the point when the plan called for landings on both sides. The beach at the base of the cliff was only 30 yards wide and heavily cratered from the bombardment. In order to climb the heights, the Rangers' LCA's were equipped with rocket-fired grappling hooks and the DUKW's were fitted with fireman ladders. But, because of the shelling from the USS Texas and others, earth had piled up at the base of the cliff and the DUKW's couldn't approach close enough to the cliff to effectively use their ladders. On the other hand, the piling at the base gave the men somewhat cover from enemy fire and also made the height to climb less.

After several failed attempts (due to the weight of soaked ropes) and due to the assistance of naval artillery (especially the British destroyer the Talybont), the Rangers finally struggled to the top after incurring only 15 casualties. As men reached the top, they went off in small groups to accomplish their missions.

They reached the gun emplacements only to find that they had been removed and telephone poles had been temporarily installed. Lt. Col. Rudder then split his command into two. One group stayed behind to establish a command posts, while the other went in search of the missing guns. The second group headed south and found the guns in an apple orchard, where they had been removed in order to be saved from the bombardment. They were unguarded and were destroyed with thermite grenades. The primary mission of the Rangers had been accomplished.

Up to this point, the German defenders had not yet recovered from their initial confusion. They were slowly regrouping and assembling, and later that day the 916th and 726th counterattacked the Ranger positions. Throughout the day, the USS Satterlee, Barton, and Thompson gave fire support to the Rangers when possible. By nightfall, the Ranger were forced back into a 200 yard wide defensive position inside the battery. The Rangers had lost 1/3 of his men and ammunition was running low.

By June 7th, the next day, of his original 225 men, Rudder had fewer than 100 and almost no food. Despite attempts of the 5th Ranger Battalion that had landed at Omaha Beach four miles to the east, the Rangers remained under siege. By the 8th of June, the 5th Ranger Battalion finally relieved Rudder's position. They were almost 2 days behind schedule.

In the end, Rudder's Rangers had suffered 70 percent casualties and held off five German counterattacks. Rudder was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his service at Point du Hoc and went on to command the 109th Infantry Regiment later in the war.

D-Day 6

HITLER MENYEPELEKAN SEKUTU
Selain perencanaan yang matang serta koordinasi yang luar biasa – menggerakkan armada dan logistik sebesar itu – terdapat sejumlah faktor teramat penting yang menyebabkan kemenangan pendaratan di Normandia yang diberi nama sandi Operation Overload tersebut.

Faktor Rusia jelas sangat tak bisa diabaikan. Saat itu Hitler tengah ngotot maju ke Rusia, dengan mengabaikan medan barat yang sudah berhasil ditakhlukkan. Akibatnya 56 divisi AB Jerman dialihkan ke Rusia. Untuk medan timur ini Hitler mengerahkan 157 divisi. Sementara itu Rusia melalui Stalin melakukan ofensif besar-besaran. Dalam sepuluh hari, 130 divisi pasukan Rusia berhasil menghancurkan seluruh kekuatan Jerman di situ, sehingga menewaskan, melukai dan menawan 350.000 tentara Jerman.

Faktor lain kesalahan Hitler sendiri, Sang fuhrer terlalu berobsesi segera mencaplok Rusia, sehingga ia mengabaikan permintaan para jenderalnya di medan barat. Von Rundstedt dan Rommel minta supaya pasukan di timur dikonsolidasikan, dan mengalihkannya ke Prancis. Ia pun tak bisa memberi solusi atas pertentangan dua jenderalnya itu. Von Rundstedt usul divisi tank diletakkan di garis belakang untuk melakukan serangan balasan secara massal kepada pasukan pendarat di Normandia. Sedangkan Rommel yakin, Sekutu harus secepatnya diusir ke laut pada jam-jam pertama. Ketidakbecusan Hitler mengambil keputusan berakibat fatal. Pasukan tank datang terlambat. ”Aku sungguh ingin menjabat tanggannya (Hitler) kata jenderal Sekutu.

Disamping itu, keberhasilan tersebut ditunjang oleh operasi intelijen yang terjitu dalam sejarah perang modern. Yaitu mengalihkan perhatian Jerman dengan mengerahkan dua armada pasukan palsu dibawah komando Jenderal Patton. Misi Patton seolah tengah bersiap menggempur Jerman dengan cara masuk lewat selat yang ditutup Jerman di Pas de Calais. Dengan sandi Double Cross, intelijen Inggris yang berhasil menggarap mata-mata Jerman lantas membocorkan informasi itu. Sehingga mereka mengirim pesan ”gerakan Patton” itu kepada Hitler. Selain itu intelijen Sekutu berhasil membongkar pula sandi rahasia intelijen Jerman sehingga diketahui segala informasi penting mengenai gerakan dan rencana pasukan Jerman.

Dan faktor terpentig lainnya adalah kemampuan pesawat udara Sekutu makin cangging yang sebelumnya diabaikan oleh Nazi. ”Mereka (AS) hanya bisa membikin mobil dan lemari es, bukan pesawat,” begitu ejek panglima AU Nazi (Lutfwaffe), Hermann Goering, pada Agustus 1941. Namun, kenyataanya sungguh lain, pesawat-pesawat AS dapat memotret udara dan pertahanan vitalnya. Tidak ada pesawat Jerman yang dapat mendeteksi serbuan pesawat Inggris. ”Di medan timur kita bertempur orang melawan orang, tapi di sini kami bertarung melawan mesin perang,” kisah seorang prajurit Jerman yang terjebak di Normandia. Dalam suratnya kepada anaknya beberapa pekan setelah Hari-H, Rommel mengatakan, ”Segala bentuk keberanian tidak membantu. Sungguh mengerikan... Setiap tembakan kita sekarang ini sepertinya berbalik menghantam kita sendiri dalam jumlah ratusan kali lipat.”

Bagaimana bila Operation Overload itu gagal? ”Jika Hari-H itu gagal, maka Agustus 1945 Amerika mungkin terpaksa menjatuhkan bom atom di Jerman.” Tutur William O’Neill, profesor sejarah PD II, ”bukannya di Hiroshima dan Nagasaki yang akan kita kenang, tapi Berlin dan Frankfurt”. Dua pekan setelah pendaratan di Normandia itu, AS berhasil membuat bom atom pertama.

Peristiwa besar itu sudah berlalu, 64 tahun silam. Operasi pendaratan ala Normandia mungkin tak akan ada lagi dalam sejarah perang masa sekarang dan masa mendatang. Zaman sudah bergulir ke teknologi jarak jauh, tapi lebih memusnahkan.

D-Day 5

HITLER TIDUR NYENYAK

Ketika pasukan payung Inggris mendarat di gelap pagi di sebelah timur kota Caen, Jenderal Erich Marck, sang panglima pertahanan Jerman ke-84, justru tengah berpesta merayakan ulang tahunnya. Lalu Marsekal Erwin Rommel, sang panglima Nazi untuk pertahanan Eropa, saat itu justru tengah berpesta merayakan ulang tahun intrinya, Lucie. Tiga hari sebelumnya ia sempat pergi ke Paris untuk membelikan sepatu buat ultah istrinya. Dari komando Paris ia memperoleh laporan bahwa tak ada tanda-tanda Sekutuakan menyerang. Ia pun sempat melaporkan soal tersebut kepada Hitler, dan sempat mengotrol divisi panser dan tank. Rommel pun sempat meninjau pertahanan di Normandia. Sesudah memastikan keamanannya, ia mengajak istrinya berjalan-jalan sambil mencoba sepatu barunya.

Pada saat Sekutu menyerbu itu, Hitler pun tengah terlelap dalam mimpi. Ia kebetulan berada di Calais, prancis. Ia segera mengamati peta Prancis dan mengistruksikan serangan balasan kepada anak buahnya Goering. Tapi telat. Pasukan udara Inggris ke-6 lebih dulu memporakporandakan markas besar Divisi ke 716. Bahkan beberapa wilayah lain disekitar itu telah dikuasai. Kubu pertahanan Jerman pun kacau balau. Gelombang pendaratan tak tertahankan lagi, sementara dari belakang pasukan payung sudah menggunting. Praktis pantai Normandia jatuh hari itu. Dan dalam 24 jam berikutnya, sebanyak 155.000 pasukan Sekutu sudah bercokol di pantai tersebut. Ribuan tank, panser, jip, truk dan amunisi langsung pula didaratkan. Pijakan kokoh untuk melanjutkan pembebasan Eropa sudah digenggam Sekutu.

Pada hari-H itu, pihak Sekutu mengerahkan 155.000 pasukan, Jerman hanya 50.000 pasukan. 12.000 pesawat udara Sekutu, Jerman hanya 890 buah. 4,100 kapal pendarat dan 1.200 kapal Sekutu, sementara Jerman hanya 21 kapal. 950 tank Sekutu dan Jerman hanya 127 tank. Pada 24 jam pertama pertempuran hampir separuh pasukan Jerman dengan peralatan tempurnya diatas tewas.

Perintah Hitler supaya pasukannya bertahan sampai titik penghabisan pun tak bisa mengubah keadaan. Memang banyak unit pasukannya yang melawan habis-habisan. Tapi banyak unit lainnya yang langsung menyerah. Mereka kebanyakan terdiri dari orang tua, anak-anak dan para wajib militer dari negara-negara yang dikuasai Jerman. Satu batalion tentara Nazi bahkan menyerah dengan menggunakan sandi semapur kepada kapal perusah AS McCook yang menghujani mereka dengan meriam. Jernderal Karl Wilhelm con Schlieben, sang panglima Cherbourg, yang mengancam ”hukuman mati buat pasukannya yang mundur dari posisinya’ pun akhirnya menyerah setelah meriam AS mengarah ke bunkernya.

Toh, gerak maju Sekutu masih belum semulus rencana. Kota Caen yang dirancang bisa dikuasai pada hari pertama – kota ini strategis untuk loncatan serangan ke Paris – ternyata baru bisa dikuasai setelah enam minggu. Setelah itu gerak maju pasukan Sekutu seolah tak terbendung. Melalui operasi pemboman yang masif pada 31 Juli 1944, dengan sandi operasi Cobra, pasukan Jenderal George Patton berhasil menguasai kota strategis Avranches. Dari kota ini pasukan patton mengumpulkan tenaga dan bergerak ke timur. Pihak Jerman yang mencoba melakukan serangan balasan, justru terjebak di Argentan, dengan hasil 10.000 pasukannya tewas, dan 50.000 ditawan. Akhir Agustus Paris berhasil dibebaskan.
Bersambung ke D-Day 6

God Was On The Beach

God Was On The Beach On D-Day : Chaplain Burkhalter Tells Power of Prayers.

"Dear Mable,

It is mid-afternoon here in France several weeks after D-Day. Shells from heavy artillery are humming overhead and the sounds of shells bursting are coming from all directions in the not-so-far-off distance. The regiment I'm with forms part of the front line.

I entered France on D-Day with the "Fighting First Division." This Division has well-trained, courageous and experienced men. Our officers are of the highest order, men of great courage and experience who are war-wise and have seen a lot of battle. The First Division was the first to enter France in World War I and first to enter France in this war; they were the assault troops in the American sector on D-Day. There are not many close-up photographs of the First Division on D-Day because the beach was too hot for photography in those early morning hours and also all through the afternoon. Picture-taking was better in the days that followed.

When my part of the Division landed, there were impressions made on my mind that will never leave it. Just before landing we could see heavy artillery shells bursting all up and down the beach at the water's edge under well directed fire. As I stood in line waiting to get off the LCI to a smaller craft to go into shore, I was looking toward land and saw a large shell fall right on a landing craft full of men. I had been praying quite a bit through the night as we approached the French coast but now I began praying more earnestly than ever. Danger was everywhere; death was not far off. I knew that God alone is the maker and preserver of life, who loves to hear and answer prayer. We finally landed and our assault craft was miraculously spared, for we landed with no shells hitting our boat.

Ernie Pyle came ashore the morning after the assault and after seeing the results of what took place the day before he wrote in his article for the Stars and Stripes, "Now that it's all over, it seems to me a pure miracle we ever took the beach at all."

The enemy had a long time to fix up the beach. The beach was covered with large pebbles to prevent tank movements, and mines were everywhere. The enemy was well dug in and had set up well prepared positions for machine guns and had well chosen places for sniping. Everything was to their advantage and to our disadvantage, except one thing, the righteous cause for which we are fighting - liberation and freedom. For the moment our advantage was in the abstract and theirs was in the concrete. The beach was spotted with dead and wounded men. I passed one man whose foot had been blown completely off. Another soldier lying close by was suffering from several injuries; his foot was ripped and distorted until it didn't look much like a foot. Another I passed was lying very still, flat on his back, covered in blood. Bodies of injured men all around. Sad and horrible sights were plentiful.

In a recent write-up it is said of one of the colonels of the First Division that led his regiment in on the beach during the early morning, "This blue-eyed soldier had stood on the beach where thousands of men were pinned down by enemy fire, and in a quiet drawl said, 'Gentlemen, we are being killed here on the beaches; let's move inland and be killed there.'"

In from the beach were high hills which we had to climb. We crawled most of the way up. As we filed by those awful scenes going up the hill and moving inland, I prayed hard for those suffering men, scattered here and there and seemingly everywhere.

We filed over the hill as shells were falling on the beach back of us, meaning death for others who were still coming in. Later, one of the soldiers told me that on this occasion he saw a shell land right on top of a wounded man and blow him to bits. Before going over the top of the hill we crouched for awhile close to the ground just below the top. While lying there I did most of my praying. The shells were falling all around and how I knew that God alone was able to keep them away from us. I shall never forget those moments. I am sure that during that time I was drawn very close to God.

Later, about ten of us were crossing along the edge of a field when we heard sniper bullets whiz by. We all fell to the ground. As we lay there hugging the earth, that we might escape shrapnel from shell fire and bullets from sniper's guns, the birds were singing beautifully in the trees close by. As I lay there listening I thought of the awfulness of it all; the birds were singing and we Human Beings were trying to kill each other. We are the greatest of God's creation, made in the image of God, and here human blood was being spilt everywhere. About three minutes later and only about forty yards away we filed by one of our own boys lying by the side of the hedge, crouched over with a hole in the back of his head. His eyes were open but he was dead, hit by a sniper. We didn't have time to stop, we were pushing on inland making a new front as we went. Someone behind and hours later would move him.

On the afternoon of the second day we were quite a way inland and two of my assistants and I were out trying to locate bodies of dead soldiers. We always take care of the American dead first and then the enemy dead. This was the second day and we were still fighting our way ;inland, moving fast. Since we did not have any vehicles yet to send bodies back, all we could do on the move was to put the bodies in mattress covers and leave them in a marked place to be taken care of later by the rear echelons. Our business was to keep fighting on inland and pushing the enemy back. On the roadside my assistants and I saw a dead German officer. He was a tall fellow; must have been about six feet four. We turned him over and stretched him out the best we could. I looked at his face and was surprised to see how young he looked. No doubt he was in his twenties but he had the face of a boy. I thought: surely, this fellow was too young to die. It almost seemed that he had asked for it. I became conscious of an awful evil force behind it all to cause a young fellow like this to seemingly hunger and delight to kill and be killed. We slid his body into a mattress cover and left him by the side of the road.

Most of this section of France we are moving through is farming area with fields and hedges and orchards. We see cows and chickens and ducks and pigs and all that goes with farming.

On one occasion we were near some farm houses and some large shells began to fall, so several of us near a stone barn dashed into it to get out of the way of shrapnel. Just inside was a mother hen covering her little chicks. When we hurried in she became frightened and fluffing her feathers rose up to protect her young. I looked at her and silently said, "No, mother hen, we are not trying to hurt you and your little family, we are trying to hurt each other."

Nobody can love God better than when he is looking death square in the face and talks to God and then sees God come to the rescue. As I look back through hectic days just gone by to that hellish beach I agree with Ernie Pyle, that it was a pure miracle we even took the beach at all." Yes, there were a lot of miracles on the beach that day. God was on the beach D-Day; I know He was because I was talking with Him.

While in England Chaplain Burkhalter wrote his wife that he had visited many places of interest in his days off duty and among them, he was exceptionally happy to have the privilege of visiting the Baptist Headquarters in London and had a nice little visit with 'dear Dr. Rushbrooke," President of the Baptist World Alliance. He said that "Dr. Rushbrooke is such a humble and Godly man and that you could just see the Lord in his face."

Since his equipment has arrived, Chaplain Burkhalter has a jeep and a trailer, a square box with canvass covering, in which he carries his organ, desk, typewriter, song books, bed roll, etc. He has a clerk and four assistants working with him. He has held field services out under the trees in France, and the Lord has been very real as they felt His presence there. Chaplain Burkhalter is the proud father of a baby daughter, Mabel Jean, born March 21, after he went overseas. Mrs. Burkhalter is living with her mother in Crawfordsville, Indiana.

caption : Capt. John G. Burkhalter, former Miami minister and now chaplain with the "Fighting First" division in France, performs a job not required of him by checking the identification of a dead German soldier just ahead of the burial squads.

Be Strong

Be Strong!

Be strong!
We are not here to play, to dream, to drift.
We have hard work to do and loads to lift.
Shun not the struggle,
face it: 'tis God's gift.

Be strong!
Say not the days are evil. Who's to blame?
And fold the hands and acquiesce, O shame!
Stand up, speak out
and bravely, in God's name.

Be strong!
It matters not how deep entrenched the wrong,
How hard the battle goes, the day is long:
Faint not, fight on!
Tommorrow comes the song.

-- Maltbie D. Babcock
highrock.com/ JohnGBurkhalter/D-day.html

D-Day 4

SEMUA MELESET DARI RENCANA

Pihak sekutu sendiri sejak 1942 sudah merumuskan strategi: harus masuk dari Prancis untuk menusuk jantung Jerman. Namun rencana itu selalu saja berantakan karena kerap terjadi perbedaan pendapat mengenai strategi dan logistik antara Inggris dan AS. Akhirnya rencana besar itu – dengan komando dipegang oleh Jenderal Dwight ”Ike” Eisenhower – mulai digarap serius sejak 1943 sampai awal 1944. selagi perencanaan digodok terus, tentara AS diterbangkan ke Iggris selatan, sehingga mencapai hampir satu juta orang menjelang D-Day.

Pilihan pendaratan jatuh ke Normandia. Alasannya, meski dari segi alam lebih ganas, tapi pantai itu lebih lemah pertahanannya. Pilihan tidak jatuh ke Calais, atau pelabuhan besar lainnya. Pihak Sekutu belajar dari pengalaman pahit pasukan Kanada ketika menyerbu Pelabuhan Dieppe Prancis pada 1942, yang gagal total sebelum mendekati pelabuahan gara-gara benteng pertahanannya sangat kuat.

Ofensif ke Normandia itu pun menggunakan taktik ”klasik”: menusuk dari depan dan belakang. Selain mengerahkan gempuran dari kapal meriam, memuntahkan pasukan ke pantai, Ike mengerahkan serbuan pasukan payung besar-besaran ke garis pertahanan belakang Jerman untuk memotong bala bantuan serta diterjunkan di pantai. Dari udara pesawat pembom melakukan gempuran. Untuk menangkal serangan balasan dari pesawat udara Jeman, pihak Sekutu melepaskan balon-balon udara yang diikat dengan kawat baja. Kami harus secepat mungkin memperoleh pijakan dulu dan bru menusuk ke pedalaman,” kata komandan lapangan Inggris Jenderal Bernard Montgomery sebelum penyerbuan.

Toh di atas kertas lain dengan hasil di lapangan. Rencana pendaratan tanggal 5 Juni terpaksa dibatalkan setelah sepuluh perahu dengan 1.000 tentara yang mencoba melakukan pendaratan, lenyap disapu ombak. Tanggal 6 Juni yang diramalkan bakal cukup baik cuacanya, ternyata tetap kurang menguntungkan meski sudah lebih baik ketimbang hari sebelumnya.

Maka sejak dari perintah pertama penyerbuan dikumandangkan, mulailah kesalahan demi kesalahan terjadi. Pasukan payung yang diterjunkan dari ratusan pesawat transpor C-47 – dengan kapsaitas 12 pasukan – nyaris tak ada mendarat di tempat yang tepat, akibat kabut tebal dan angin kencang. Mereka harus membersihkan arena pendarata buat para marinir. Gempuran meriam dari kapal-kapal sekutu pun tak mampu melumpuhkan kubu-kubu meriam Jerman yang terus memuntahkan maut. Dalam suasana yang kacau-balau itu, pukul 05.00. sekitar 3.000 tentara Sekutu berhasil menginjak pasir Pantai Normandia. Mereka harus tertatih-tatih menghindari semburan peluru dan meniti medan ranjau. Dari jumlah pendarat pertama itu, hampir separuhnya tewas sebelum sempat melepas satu peluru pun.

Pantai Omaha benar-benar berubah menjadi arena penggilingan daging. ”Pantai Omaha benar-benar mengerikan.” tulis Letjen Omar Bradley dalam laporannya. Setelah itu, gelombang demi gelombang pasukan berdatangan, dengan kematian yang setiap menit menjemput. Mereka berhasil menembus pertahanan Jerman di perbukitan.

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D-Day 3

NERAKA DI NORMANDIA
Posisi tentara Jerman di pantai dan dibukit-bukit patai lebih menguntungkan. Akibatnya, lebih dari 200 pasukan AS yang mendarat pertama tewas, tanpa memiliki kesempatan membalas. ”Pantai dan daratan Omaha menjadi lautan mayat,” kata Letjen Omar Bradley, komandan lapangan AS di garis depan. ”Kulit kami bergidik melihat pemandangan itu. Sejumlah orang diam dalam kesunyian. Hanya terlihat air mata dan kematian yang ada. Saya tidak ingin merasakan seperti itu. Saya hanya melihat dan segaera membenahi perahu. Salah seorang prajurit menangis melihat temannya tewas. Kapal yang hancur ditarik ke kapal USS Chase, yang kami tinggalkan seperempat jam sebelumnya.” Divisi tank Jerman ke 21 berhasil membuat kocar-kacir tentara AS sejauh tiga mil dari pantai.

Norbert N. Peters, dari Divisi Infantri ke-1 berkisah, di depan kami terhalang bukit yang terjal. Tingginya 15 meter. Tapi itu harus dilewati, apapun risikonya. ”Kami mendaki lewat batu-batu, saya lihat empat prajurit Jerman yang menangani meriam. Saya menghampirinya dengan sembunyi. Dengan jarak yang enak, saya menghantamnya. Dua orang tewas, dua menyerah. Saya menyelamatkan teman-teman saya di bawah.” katanya.

Adolf Hitler pun kaget. Dalam kalkulasi Hitler dan para jenderalnya. Termasuk Jenderal Erwin Rommel yang bertanggung jawab atas Normandia. Sekutu tak mungkin melakukan pendaratan di Normandia. Alasanya, kawasan laut di situ sangat berbahaya. Cuaca sangat cepat berubah dan arus lautnya deras. Maka dalam kalkulasi Nazi Jerman, pendaratan ke Prancis yang sudah dikuasai Jerman sejak 1942 akan dilakukan di Calais, sekitar 300 km utara Normandia, atau Cherbourg. Asumsinya, di situ perairan selat yang paling dangkal. Serta ada pelabuhan besar. Di situlah Nazi menempatkan pasukan perhanan pantai yang amat kuat. Toh, di Pantai Normandia, Hitler menempatkan lebih dari 10.000 pasukan yang dilengkapi dengan bunker, meriam pantai, Tank Tiger MK IV berbobot 80 ton dengan meriam 88 mm, meriam antithank Flak 42 ukuran 88 mm, tank Panther, dan senapan mesin MG-42.

bersambung di D-Day 4