"We’re gonna charge!" by Zen Karp (excerpt from H.L.I. and WWII)
C Coy: "We’re gonna charge!"
Back at the start line, Lt. Col. Griffiths ordered the second wave companies to step off, him going in with Able. At C Company's 13 Platoon, Privates George Mummery and Don Geroy had no idea how bad things were with the two forward companies, yet.
The volunteer piper, Private Sagan, stood up first at the very front of C Company. He breathed air into his bagpipes, causing the instrument to drone, and as George got up with the rest of his platoon, he could see the bandsman begin to play for only the briefest moment before being cut down by machine-gun fire.
The SS machine-gunners in Buron were firing without restraint over the hundreds of yards at these men who had only just begun their long advance across the field. (Piper Sagan survived the wound, the war and lived more than 50 years after).
When Lt McCormick signaled for his platoon to advance, 13 Platoon had barely started moving when they were forced back down to the ground. A continuous stream of machine gun rounds buzzed over their heads, like a thick nest of mad hornets. It was heavy enough and passed so close overtop that no one dared even to raise their heads. Lt McCormick could only assume the other two platoons in the company were in the same situation; communication between them was virtually impossible under such conditions. Eager to push forward, he raised his body off the ground and said to his men:
"Now boys, we're gonna charge!"
Privates George Mummery, Don Geroy and the others looked at him in disbelief, because as he spoke, bullets bounced off the spade he had stuffed behind his webbing, which was by his head. Another second later, he was shot through both eyes. The platoon proceeded to crawl the rest of the way to Buron. (Padre J. Anderson said after the battle that he knew he'd do something like that).
Back at the start line, Lt. Col. Griffiths ordered the second wave companies to step off, him going in with Able. At C Company's 13 Platoon, Privates George Mummery and Don Geroy had no idea how bad things were with the two forward companies, yet.
The volunteer piper, Private Sagan, stood up first at the very front of C Company. He breathed air into his bagpipes, causing the instrument to drone, and as George got up with the rest of his platoon, he could see the bandsman begin to play for only the briefest moment before being cut down by machine-gun fire.
The SS machine-gunners in Buron were firing without restraint over the hundreds of yards at these men who had only just begun their long advance across the field. (Piper Sagan survived the wound, the war and lived more than 50 years after).
When Lt McCormick signaled for his platoon to advance, 13 Platoon had barely started moving when they were forced back down to the ground. A continuous stream of machine gun rounds buzzed over their heads, like a thick nest of mad hornets. It was heavy enough and passed so close overtop that no one dared even to raise their heads. Lt McCormick could only assume the other two platoons in the company were in the same situation; communication between them was virtually impossible under such conditions. Eager to push forward, he raised his body off the ground and said to his men:
"Now boys, we're gonna charge!"
Privates George Mummery, Don Geroy and the others looked at him in disbelief, because as he spoke, bullets bounced off the spade he had stuffed behind his webbing, which was by his head. Another second later, he was shot through both eyes. The platoon proceeded to crawl the rest of the way to Buron. (Padre J. Anderson said after the battle that he knew he'd do something like that).
posted by scot at 12:36 PM
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