LIEUTENANT MACILL AND THE 20,000

The disappearance of the Germans brought up questions. Where had they gone? General Patton had already permitted a French division to capture Paris, so they couldn't be there. Lieutenant Magill of the Intelligence and Reconnaissance platoon was told to cross the river and find out. He and his platoon of twenty-four men crossed the river that night and disappeared. The next night at 3 :00 A.M. he reappeared with his jeep and driver, woke the RCO, and told him that there was a German general with 20,000 troops in the vicinity of Romarintin who would like to surrender. Lieutenant Magill had driven his jeep up to the General's command post and told him he would accept the surrender, but this wouldn't do. The General didn't want to surrender to the French or the English -- but to an American lieutenant? His prestige would not allow that. If the Americans would put a battalion across the Loire that would soften his pride.

The RCO called on the Division Commander but received a negative answer. When the Division Commander reported the situation to Ninth Army Headquarters the reply was different -- they would send an armored battalion. In the meantime, however, Lieutenant Magill had gone back to Romarintin and talked General Elser into surrendering without a token battle. General Macon (the Division C.G.) went to General Elser's headquarters and verified the surrender, and plans were made to bring the prisoners the eighty miles to the Loire river.

Among the things which had influenced General Elser to surrender was American aerial bombardment, which he avoided by marching at night and hiding out in the woods during the day, and bushwhacking by the F.F.I. The aerial bombardment could easily be stopped, but the F.F.I. bushwhackers were more of a problem. It was decided to move the prisoners in three columns, putting an American lieutenant with an American flag at the head of each column, and to allow the Germans to keep their rifles and ammunition to ward off individual bushwhackers. This plan did not receive complete approbation. A British Lieutenant-Colonel, who had been working with the F.F.I., appeared at Regimental Headquarters and asked the RCO if it was true that the Germans were to be allowed to keep their arms and ammunition while moving up to the Loire river. When assured that they were, he asked how many armed men would be available to disarm them when they got there. When told, "About 2000," he exclaimed, "Two thousand to disarm 20,000 armed men! The most fantastic thing I ever heard of !"

There was no trouble with the German soldiers. They were glad to get out of the war, but two things caused us trouble. The press, who descended upon the scene like vultures, and the Germans' horses. Because the disarmament at the river caused a rather ticklish situation, orders were issued that no civilians would be allowed across the river. Our venturesome press thought that this was a violation of their constitutional rights and they threatened Lieutenant Whitey Whitecotton, at the crossing point, with everything from a court-martial to reduction to private. Whitey couldn't be bulldozed, but we suffered later when our most prominent news magazine devoted a number of pages to the failure of the "Hell-on-Wheels" Division to effect a successful crossing of the Elbe river, and didn't even mention the name of the 329th Infantry, which made a successful bridgehead. Moral: don't antagonize the press.

The German transportation was mostly horse-drawn, and when we put the German prisoners in a stockade we found ourselves with eight hundred horses on our hands and no forage. Regardless of what is wanted, in any army unit there can usually be found men who can do it. A call was put out for cowboys and twenty were found without trouble. The horses were herded down to the Loire river for water twice a day, and herd-grazed on the French farmers' fields the rest of the time. To recompense the farmers we gave them a few horses.

We didn't care how many they asked -- we had lots of horses. One episode in this surrender has never been satisfactorily explained. As the officers were being marched into the stockade, a German Major approached the RCO. He was accompanied by two German G.I.'s carrying a large chest. In perfect English he told the RCO that he was the paymaster of the column and that the chest contained the funds of the expedition, about 50,000 francs, which he would like to turn over. The RCO told him he was busy and referred him to the Regimental Supply Officer. Where the chest went from there nobody seems to know.

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