Buchenwald, Captured.

Continued from previous post:

We took Buchenwald. I didn’t know what was happening, I had EXCELLENT maps, and the moves across Germany. I had EXCELLENT maps, I KNEW so much! But there was an area here, that I didn’t know anything. I had maps, but they didn’t tell me anything. And as we moved along 57mm – had not yet gotten 90mm guns, I was still on 57mm – met FIERCE resistance, FIERCE! I mean, we could not move! And I was uncertain how to approach it. At this stage of the war, I was very alert to saving lives. We couldn’t take casualties at this point. I valued this guys that were with me too much, to take any chances at their lives, on any decision that I would make. So, during the night I just fretted about it. Couldn’t move.

Come daylight, I still didn’t know exactly what I was going to do, except that I couldn’t sit there. Started moving and there was no objection! Moved right in! Right into Buchenwald! The German’s had abandoned it and left it to us. And here we were. Now, the ovens, I won’t say were still warm. I would say that there were lives, casualties, stacks of bodies and that kind of thing. But I had learned one major thing. If you have a chance to move ahead, you don’t stop! You don’t wait. You don’t pause. You keep right on going. Because if the German’s can set up a defense on you, you’re going to take causalities. But while you got em moving back, keep moving! Keep moving! Keep moving! So we didn’t stay long in Buchenwald. We kept right on moving through. 

What I saw was shocking, but the better part of good judgment, we had to keep moving. So we did, we didn’t stay long, kept right on moving. And they kept backing up, backing up, backing up. And we had them on the run, and moved from there. I saw Buchenwald, but only briefly, really. What they did with life was everything you had been told.