I wish 2ndRanger was here to see this. Captain Milelr is a real person.
I quote here:
"In May of 1944 Major Hans von Luck took command of the 125th Panzergrenadier Regiment of the 21st Panzer Division. These forces were stationed near Caen, France on June 6th, 1944. Although von Luck and his men were prepared to launch counterattcks against either the nearby landings on Sword Beach, or the paratroopers who had landed inland earlier that morning, such movements against the British were delayed by the lack of authorization from higher authorities. Kampfgruppe von Luck was eventually ordered to attack the British paratroopers located on the east bank of the Orne River near Ranville.

On D-Day+3 (June 9th, 1944) Rangers of Charlie Company, 2nd Ranger Battalion, led by Captain Miller, captured twenty-three German soldiers belonging to the 346th Infantry Division, Kampfgruppe von Luck, during operations to clear out Sector 4."

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"GARRY OWEN"-Traditional war-cry of the US 7th Cavalry.
"CURRAHEE"-War-cry of the US 506th PIR.
"Everybody thinks that they are going to get the chance to punch some Nazi in the face at Normandy-and those days are over, they are long gone"-Lt Chris Burnett

Hey, thank you.

I have not heard of it. You learn something new everyday. [img]smile.gif[/img]

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"War is less costly than servitude, the choice is always between Verdun and Dachau." - Jean Dutourd, French veteran of both world wars

"A mon fils: depuis que tes yeux sont fermes les miens n’ont cessé de pleurir." - Mère française, Verdun

Although I can't add to the Rangers-taking-POWs story, von Luck's own vivid account of June 6 1944 can be read in his highly-recommended book, 'Panzer Commander'.

A couple of choice quotes : -
'Gradually we were becoming filled with anger...The hours passed...At the command post, I paced up and down and clenched my fists at the indecision of the Supreme Command in the face of the obvious facts. If Rommel had been with us instead of in Germany, he would have disregarded all orders and taken action. So the tragedy took its course'

Nice to discuss a German cock-up, for a change !

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"Stand by to pull me out of the seat if I get hit" - Guy Gibson

I second what Martin says on von Lucks book--great reading. I look at von Lucks book like I do with Knapps SOLDAT book--both are very similar in many ways and both are excellent reads.

[ 08 July 2002, 02:14 PM: Message edited by: C.Evans ]

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Lost are only those, who abandon themselves) Hans-Ulrich Rudel.

He first met Rommel in 1931 as a officer cadet in the infantry school in Dresden where he got Rommel (captain at the time) as his infantry instructor.

In the french campaign he served as a company commander in the 37th Recon Battalion of 7th Panzer Division commanded by Rommel.

In January 1942 von Luck left Russia for North Africa where he arrived on 8th April to take command of the 3rd Recon Battalion, requested by Rommel since November 1941. Trained future COs in the Panzer Reconnaissanse School in Paris from August 1943 until the beginning of March 1944 when he was posted as a regimental commander in the Panzer Lehr Division commanded by General Bayerlein. When he reported to General Bayerlein in early May he was again transferred to the 21th Panzer Division under Major-General Feuchtinger to take command of Panzer Grenadier Regiment 125. Later 1944 he commanded a the "Special Combat Group" of 21 Pz. Div. In the beginning of February 1945 he transferred with the 21 Pz. Div. to the "Eastern front" which then were about 50 km east of Berlin. Surrendered to the Russians on the 27 April 1945 with the rank of colonel and sent to prison camp in the Caucasus until the 5th January 1950 when he was released.

Quite a man as Rommel especially wanted him to Afrika Korps from The Russian front.I bought his book a while ago and intend to read it next!

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Normandy 1944:

A "Special HQ Paris" had been created, which was responsible for organization, etc. Here Major Becker, a reserve officer and the owner of a small factory in western Germany, played a decisive part. A highly gifted engineer, with excellent links with armaments industry, and a personal friend of Feuchtinger, he had a free hand to improvise and, with the French materiel, put some of his own designs into effect.

At the Hotchkiss works near Paris, Becker discovered a vast number of tank chassis, for which he organized guns and finished armor-plating in Germany in order to create an "assault-gun" battalion. In addition, he had rocket-launchers made to his design, which were demonstrated on the Normandy coast in May 1944 to Rommel and a few army commanders and filled even Hitler with enthusiasm when he was told of them. Because of his connections, Becker's battalion also received the latest radio equipment.

At first, we laughed at the monstrous looking assault-guns, but we soon came to know better. The assault-gun companies were trained to work closely with the grenadiers, and this was later to prove a decisive aid to our defense forces. Feuchtinger was naturally proud of Becker's achievement and was often at his "Special HQ" in Paris, therefore, so that he could follow up Becker's work.

http://search.eb.com/normandy/pri/Q00204.html

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Last night finished von Luck´s book. I enjoyed reading it, and it is written like it happened, no propaganda like with Rudel´s book. ( Just happened to read a bit on the latter one as well lately )

I recommend it to all who are interested in WW2 history.

It was a miracle he survived the war and even a bigger miracle to survive the Russian camps. But he did have his little lucky breaks to keep him alive...

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Kai, his book is an excellent book. I bought a copy several months ago and loved reading it. I have to say that the only part I was a tad bit bored on was when he was in the Afrika Korps--but the rest of the book more than made up for it. I especially liked reading about his experiance as a POW in Russia and then reading about what he did after his release and in later years.

I rank this book just below what I would rank SOLDAT at. Panzer General by Mellinthin was excellent too. One i suggest to try by Henry Metelmann is: Through Hell for Hitler and then another I suggest is by a member of the H.J. called: Berlin Dance of Death. You will not be dissappointed.

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Lost are only those, who abandon themselves) Hans-Ulrich Rudel.

Thanx for the tips,Carl.I´ll keep them on my mind next time I go abroad.

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Quite welcome but, you will probably have no time for reading--like i didnt til I got to Dingelsdorf--because I was too busy looking at all the buildings and the countryside.

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Lost are only those, who abandon themselves) Hans-Ulrich Rudel.