Noble, Srov. Charles H.

Nostalgic notes

Colonel Charles H. Noble, Commander, Combat Team B, 16th Armored Division

All members of the 16th Armored Division will remember the secrecy of the holding area at Camp Shanks. Locked up like prisoners... no passes. The censor cut so extensively from our letters that they were as transparent as a sieve until you couldn't decipher what your wife or girlfriend was trying to tell you. You couldn't even tell if she still liked you, if she didn't care if the Nazis shot you, or if she had a new boyfriend!

We snuck out of the line-up in the middle of the night under the strictest blackout... if the army had had enough rubber soled trainers, perhaps we would have had to carry our field boots in our hands! When your field cutlery rattled, the sergeant gave you a good ride! We finally arrived at the embarkation point in New York and boarded the ships that were assigned to us. It was so dark that one soldier fell off the gangplank into the Hudson River. And then lo and behold, when the sun came up, we walked out of the harbor past the Statue of Liberty and wondered if we would ever see the "old lady" again. Bands played, flags flew, New York fireboats spurted fire hoses, and our men stared in amazement at the exuberant traffic on the river as it passed us by. I simply never understood the army's security measures!!

Our convoy assembled near Boston, ready for the winding journey across the Atlantic Ocean. We were soon joined by other ships to form a huge convoy, probably the largest and last across the Atlantic. Battle Group B (my group, less than half the division) was on the Santa Rosa, a Caribbean cruise ship not designed to sail across the rough waters of the Atlantic. The ship was soon rechristened the "Cradling Rose," and lived up to its name.

We felt quite safe under the protection of air, naval and underwater radar and depth charges, but we went through about six submarine alarms and saw several low-flying enemy reconnaissance planes. The biggest commotion along the way came on a day when our lower decks filled with smoke, and a general fire alarm sounded. Everyone rushed to their designated stations, but fortunately it was a false alarm. One sailor in the ship's laundry had left a hot iron lying on his bell-bottoms! Nor did anyone feel too ill during the voyage until we reached the English Channel. The worst part was when we looked over the bow of the ship and saw that we were heading straight for a large floating mine. Fortunately, we missed it by a foot or two. Those who saw the mine still wonder if it was functional.

We remember that we landed at Le Havre and that our first camp was Forges-les-Eaux. What a hole... knee-deep in mud! And also that after a few hours on land, our first pretty French girl was found by our Major Dowd, who we always thought was "slow"!

While our division was completing its training, several of our commanding and senior officers were sent to the front as observers in combat training. I was destined to be at the front of the 7th Army. As I was enthusiastically observing and learning, my jeep driver and I got too far ahead (for me) and it was not until too late that we discovered that our units (36th Engineer Battalion and Infantry) had retreated. We were soon alerted by a hail of bullets in the windshield!!! My brave driver headed back over the burning bridges the engineers had left behind to slow the enemy, just in time for us to escape the enemy's artillery barrage. On this, my deployment to Germany, I unfortunately had a sad sight in Herlesheim, Germany. At least sixty of our tanks and armored vehicles from the armored division assigned to the 36th Infantry Division fell into an ambush and were destroyed. They stood there alone and abandoned in the melting snow.

It seems that the American armored division had the misfortune to encounter battle-hardened German units. The latter had draped white tarpaulins over their well positioned and concealed tanks with ideal firing space. The ground was then covered with a dusting of snow, making the German tanks virtually invisible. It was a pitiful sight, probably the greatest disaster for our forces in the whole war, except for the landing beaches. Tankers were killed or captured and the Germans looted food and ammunition from the tanks. Empty crates of provisions and ammunition and pieces of uniforms were strewn around every tank without distinction.

Despite what I saw, and even though we had limited training and zero combat experience as a division, we were a great bunch of guys. I felt like we could beat anything the enemy could come up with... an armored division? Maybe even that one! At least we'll do our part. At the time, we were assigned to the 7th Army. After returning from my "observation" mission, I was ordered to take over the 23rd Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, which had previously protected the flank of the 86th Infantry Division, III Corps, 7th Army. We were to form a battle group by reinforcing the 23rd Armored Reconnaissance Battalion with a battalion of tanks, a battalion of artillery, and a battalion of supporting mixed units. This group was later called "BATTLE GROUP NOBLE". Before the reinforcements of the entire group moved out, we were transferred from the 7th to General Patton's 3rd Army, and the entire division was ordered to assemble north of Nuremberg.

At the head of the Third Army, we were to head for Czechoslovakia. Led by a battalion of armored reconnaissance and an engineer combat team, followed by tanks and infantry with artillery in the rear, we began our advance on Pilsen under radio silence with all radios switched to receive. Little did we know that large 88mm guns had targeted us during the advance, even my driver and I in our small jeep, as we moved under cover of an armoured reconnaissance vehicle moving ahead. Looking at the pictures of these hidden 88s later gave me quite a chill, although a long time had passed in the meantime. I guess they didn't want to waste quality ammunition on a small fish and were waiting for bigger prey!

My orders were to control and hold the high ground to the west of the town of Pilsen, which meant stopping west of Pilsen, but the knowledge that the other battle groups would soon be upon us gave me confidence. I therefore decided to continue the advance and try to capture the town, which could serve as a strong point against the enemy's armoured and infantry forces. With moderate enemy resistance, we approached Pilsen and the Skoda ammunition dump on the outskirts of the town. After capturing the Škoda works, a security detachment was left there and we moved towards the centre of the town. Orders were given for the armoured reconnaissance units to cover the town and the approach roads into it, and for the battalion of mechanised infantry to set up a command post at the town hall in the main town square and protect the approach to the town from the east for a short distance.

Sniper fire soon began to fall on our troops from the high buildings of Pilsen. This posed no problem for the tanks, which had only closed their hatches (so called "turned on"), and for the armoured personnel carriers, but for the commanders in open jeeps it was no fun. We had to dismount and use whatever cover was available in the sewers, crawlspaces or against the walls on the ground floor of buildings. The detachments sent into each building were soon able to silence the intermittent, desperate last gasp of defensive fire from the German garrison. Our section was supported by a loyal Czech military garrison and police. In the confusion that ensued the men were dressed in all kinds of uniforms, from gaudy ones that resembled theatrical costumes to Czech uniforms, and it was difficult to distinguish the Allies from the enemy. Now the Pilseners began to appear, showering the road in front of our advancing troops and the vehicles themselves with flowers, and serving us water, milk and soft drinks as they cheered. We found it strange that there was not a drop of BEER anywhere!! After all, Pilsen is the home and birthplace of the famous Pilsner beer. It was only later that we found out that (for us) a stupid US Air Force plane had mistaken the brewery for the Skoda Works and dropped bombs on the beer tanks instead of the foundries in the armoury.

We were amazed that we received such an enthusiastic, exuberant and excited reception. We didn't find out the reason until later. The German garrison was gathering forces and weapons and intended to kill all those who collaborated with the Allies and the resistance movement, and to carry out a bloody purge in the Czech military garrison the very next day. So we arrived in time to prevent this bloodshed. One more day and it would have been too late!! High up in the tower of the church in the town's main square, a fire suddenly broke out from tracer rounds. I ordered my second in command (Colonel Percy H. Perkins, Jr.) to take a squad and put the fire out. I do not know how many German defenders he had to contend with on his way up the narrow stairway. He was a brave and efficient soldier and carried out the task as if it were no big deal. He never mentioned any possible danger, nor did he question my seemingly impossible task.

After establishing a command post at the town hall, we learned from loyal Czechs that German Tiger tanks were approaching the town. An armored reconnaissance was immediately dispatched to find this unit, and the location was shown to me on a map donated by the townspeople. We did not encounter any enemy tanks as they had apparently withdrawn to Prague. At the same time, other battle groups were beginning to arrive, and finally the commanding general established a divisional headquarters west of Pilsen, which was surrounded by his battle groups. As usual, our division was divided into three groups: combat group A (CC A), combat group B (CC B), and reserve group (CC R). These other groups were delayed by winding roads, bridges blown up, stiffer resistance, etc.

The Czech garrison, now freed from the domination of the German garrison and the Gestapo, was now at our disposal to help us track down and destroy German strong points. The Germans were holed up in Czech buildings converted into barracks, but their Gestapo was still active and in permanence, gathering information about the Czech underground movement and its collaboration with American forces for possible later retaliation. The seething anger of the loyal Czechs, who had suffered mercilessly for six long years under the heavy heel of their oppressors, now turned against their own traitors and also against the Germans, who had been caught alone, and bloody beatings took place. We could not blame the Bohemians for seeking revenge, but our troops had to put a stop to it to prevent bloodshed and possible attacks on innocents.

Then the German garrison commander sent word to my headquarters that he intended to surrender. As I was busy deploying my own troops to capture the last points of German resistance in the main high buildings in the city, and as I did not quite believe that the Germans were prepared to surrender, I instructed Colonel Perkins and his escort to investigate the matter. He assembled several staff officers and men. They then followed the German guide for a purpose which I thought might be false or deceptive and which might serve to divert our attention from our own attacks. To my surprise, Colonel Perkins returned a short time later and stated that the German commanding general had indeed surrendered. He stated that our group had been taken to one of the German strong points where the entire German staff and their ladies were assembled. The General stood up, surrendered his garrison, and then in front of all present he pulled out a pistol, shot himself through the head, and fell down right in front of his wife, staff, and other ladies. This was the dramatic climax to the eventful capture and surrender of Czechoslovak Pilsen, where we also captured and detained thousands of German soldiers and tons of military weapons, ammunition, food and supplies with the help of Czech forces and Czech police.

On the same day, our commander, General Pierce, arrived at my forward command post in the town hall on the main square. When I reported the situation to him, he asked me if patrols had been sent out beyond the city limits for the next day, when I assumed we would be advancing on Prague. He was told that patrols had been sent out between nine and ten o'clock. To this he said I was lucky, because if it had been after twelve o'clock I would have been facing a supreme court martial. I thought this was foolish and strange, but the decision was probably made by the American and Russian high command at one of the top-level meetings at Yalta or Teheran, or it was an agreement made when the German forces surrendered.

For the next three days we waited for the Russians. All this time the Prague radio was urging us to rush to their aid and take Prague. It was the same mistake we made in Berlin. We could have had a much better starting position for peace negotiations and borders if we had occupied Berlin and Prague, because by the day of victory in Europe we would have had East Germany, East Berlin and Czechoslovakia from the countries behind the Iron Curtain.

Around three o'clock in the morning one day in May 1945, a guard woke me up, saying that a general wished to speak to me. As it turned out, it was the famous Belarusian "traitor" General Andrei Vlasov and several officers of his staff. General Vlasov had assembled an army of three divisions of Belarusians, anti-fascist Germans, Czechs and members of other nationalities who had turned against the Russians and were now fighting for freedom. Vlasov had previously been a distinguished lieutenant general in the Russian army and one of the heroes of the Battle of Moscow, during which he was captured by the Germans in 1942. Internally, his main concern was always the liberation of his beloved country from the communists, who were then fighting alongside the Western democracies. He was able to convince the Germans of his hatred of the regime ruling Russia and was allowed to form his own group to fight the communist-dominated Russians. He hoped to hold the Czechs against the Soviets until surrender to the Americans could be negotiated or until he could pass through our lines. It was also hoped that the 30,000 anti-Communist Cossacks who were retreating through Yugoslavia would join his army in the Czech basin.

We served the general and his staff breakfast and took them to the commanding general of the Fifth Corps in Pilsen, General Huebner, who was now in command of the advance divisions of the Third Army. After a lengthy conference, General Huebner told General Vlasov that he could not accept his surrender, nor could he allow his troops to pass through our lines, and advised him to disband his army. This refusal effectively constituted the signing of a death warrant for General Vlasov, for the Russians later captured and executed him and approximately 10,000 of his men. I felt extremely sorry for Vlasov. I am convinced that he was a brave man who fought for what he thought was right. In General Huebner's defence, it must be said that accepting this surrender to the Russians would have constituted aid to the traitor troops, which would probably have had political consequences. We would also have a whole other army to imprison, clothe and feed.

Another event that occurred was the arrival of the entire German garrison from Prague on our front line, where they surrendered to us rather than to the Russians, with whom they knew they would have a hard time. My command was in charge of the entry and disarmament points on our line of battle east of Pilsen. As the interminably long motorized column passed through our lines, we took over their armored and motorized vehicles. We also took weapons and luxury goods, so that we had a five-foot pile of rifles and machine guns, several thousand pistols and daggers, a pile of four-star Hennessy cognac, a pile of ladies' underwear and silk stockings, and a large pile of other cosmetics and luxury items. The German wives and Czech mistresses were separated from their husbands and lovers and all of them, according to their sex, were put into prison camps. With all the loot that fell into our hands, I must say, with all due respect to the wonderful Czechs, that some of them stole as much as they could. For a number of years they had not seen or had the luxury of stealing at all, and we had to prevent the theft by putting in place strong security. Cigarettes were sold for eight gold marks ($8) a pack or 1,500 marks a carton.

The Russians finally reached our lines and occupied their zone. It was surprising how young their soldiers were, mostly under twenty. Most of them were on horseback and they also used horses to pull vehicles. However, these intrepid young men walked or rode, fought and bled for nearly 3,000 miles from Stalingrad to Pilsen! The main item the young Russians admired and wanted was watches. They bought them at any price. The Soviets were also constantly pushing back our guards on the forward line of contact, sometimes under the pretext of pressuring their own lines. General Harmon finally issued orders to bury the tanks along our own front and not give an inch more or we would find ourselves in the Atlantic Ocean, treaty notwithstanding.

Until the Russian party commissars arrived, we got along with the Russians (I almost said "enemies") amicably. We met a Russian colonel who commanded a sector adjacent to mine. He was very cordial and invited me to dinner at his headquarters. My driver and I crossed the front lines in our jeep and after a few more checks by the Russian guards we arrived at the Russian headquarters. Here a thoroughly prepared reception was held, attended not only by the colonel but also by several Russian generals. Although I had to feign many of the usual toasts, I did not try to keep up with my hosts in the consumption of vodka and juniper brandy, for I knew I would end up under the table at the expense of the dignity of the American forces and my own. Accompanied by accordions and guitars, we enjoyed a choice dinner consisting of a series of cold bowls. A special character was the colonel's wife. Contrary to our custom here, wives accompanied their husbands to the battlefield, even to the front (feminists, beware!). The Colonel's wife, a nurse, had almost as many decorations as he himself and once even saved his life on the battlefield when she gave him first aid for a serious wound.

We reciprocated the hospitality with a dinner hosted at my headquarters for the Colonel and his honored wife. The Colonel invited us again for dinner and drinks, but we were rudely turned back at the border. The guards informed us that the Colonel had been relieved. We figured that the Russian political commissars had arrived, and the Iron Curtain slammed shut in our face. We never found out what happened to our friend, but we hoped that he had not been sent to Siberia because he had become too friendly with the Americans. He might even have found Americans to be humane and friendly, and he might also have admired American democracy and ideals, which was then and still is a crime.

During my occupation of Pilsen, my group was visited by an old friend and polo teammate, General Patton, and his Chief of Staff, General "Hap" Gay. He congratulated the 16th Armored Division on its lightning advance and acquisition of the Skoda Works at Pilsen. I was sorry we couldn't offer him a glass of Pilsner beer. Another important event was a high level reception held at the Smitka Grand Hotel in Pilsen, attended by all the Commanders-in-Chief. I was ordered to pick up Ambassador Murphy and General Bull at the airport (Murphy was a famous politician and diplomat). The plane was an hour late, and when we arrived at the reception, all the delegations were already slightly tipsy thanks to the slivovitz. This event was one of the few examples I've seen of an American really taking on the Russians. Russia's top General Zhukov (already slightly under the influence) pulled out one of his highest decorations for bravery in combat and pinned it on General Harmon's chest. Our astute commander took off his uniform the cheap badge for excellent completion of the rifle course, pinned it on the Russian general's chest, and returned the favor.

The Russians keep a theatre troupe within the army to entertain the soldiers. A number of officers and men of our division have attended several of these performances. The level of singing, dancing and acrobatic performances was amazing. During this period of close contact with the Russian people, we discovered that ordinary soldiers are simpler, more generous and friendly, as long as they do not have a party commissar standing behind them. The main obstacle to understanding was language differences. If we could read the same books, magazines and newspapers, listen to the same radio and lectures on political and economic subjects, watch the same television broadcasts, movies, plays, etc., it would ensure peace far better than the United Nations, Kissinger and our President combined. But this close contact has strengthened our conviction that only fear and greater force can stop the ruling party. To preserve freedom in the world and to ensure the defense, respect and security of our country and our people, we must not forget their ruthlessness and must maintain a first class armed forces.

At this time, the 16th Armored Division held a plaque presentation ceremony at City Hall to the citizens of Pilsen as an expression of our thanks for their friendship and assistance in liberating the city. The plaque was presented by General Pierce to the Mayor. At a reception in the Mayor's office, President Benes, General Harmon and myself (as saviors from the bloodshed) were awarded honorary citizenship of Pilsen. As a liberator, on any further return to the city, I was entitled to accommodation in the town house, free transport on trams (yes, they were still in use here!), etc. It was also ordered that a portrait of me be made at the city's expense (by a leading local artist) to hang in the city hall, and a street was renamed in my honor. I never had the opportunity to take advantage of any of these honors. When we withdrew and the Russians came after us, the divisional plaque, my portrait, and all other evidence of American cooperation and friendship with the Czechs took their toll.

As a tribute to American citizens, I can say that Czechs are much the same as Americans. They are naturally friendly, brave, have a sense of humour, are honest and enjoy life and its achievements as much as we do. Unfortunately, they are in a sensitive area and have long been under the domination of Germany or Russia. They have greatly appreciated the few years of freedom between the domination and I am sure that today they would fight again for their liberation if a real opportunity presented itself.

Another impressive and extensive military and civilian ceremony and parade was held in the main square. At this ceremony President Benes presented the highest Czech military decoration, the Order of the White Lion, to General Patton, General Gay and several corps and division commanders. I was lucky enough to be one of them. Our commander, General Pierce, and others among us received the Military Cross. For some reason, probably because my group was the first to reach Pilsen, I was considered the liberator of Bohemia. This honor was, of course, to be bestowed on the troops of the 16th Armored Division. After the presentation of decorations, which was a very colorful act (as all civilians, both men and women, were dressed in picturesque national costumes), a military parade took place, during which troops from all Czech and American military organizations that were in the area marched in front of President Beneš and the assembled officers.

Later, as the chief of supply for the American forces in the Pilsen area, which was the closest to the Czech capital of Prague, and during my subsequent tenure as chief of supply for the XXII Corps, I became friends with the famous Jan Masaryk. His mother was an American. With such ancestry, it was natural for him to yearn for independence and freedom, which later led to his death. Personally, I have never believed that he committed suicide after the Russian occupation and takeover of the government by the Communists, as the Russians claimed. In our dealings in personnel and supply matters, he was a true gentleman, an honest and straightforward man who loved life and had a keen sense of humour. Although the Russians claimed that he had fallen out of a window, my suspicion that the Russians had murdered him was later amply confirmed.

The XXII Corps was ordered out of Czechoslovakia on November 30, and I was promoted to Chief of Supply of the Third Army under General Truscott. He succeeded General Patton, who had been promoted to command all American occupation forces. Shortly thereafter, General Patton was killed in a traffic accident when an Army truck drove directly in front of his rushing staff car. Third Army headquarters was located in Bad Tölz and eventually moved to more permanent quarters in Heidelberg.

From the book 500 Hours of Victory by Karel Foud, Milan Jíša, Ivan Rollinger