| Original caption: “Wounded once, this German would not quit and was grenaded to death.” A Nazi German Heer (“Army”) soldaten wearing a Feldbluse M43 tunic, M43 wool trousers, and canvas anklets with gaiters. His Stahlhelm is next to him. The United States Army 100th Infantry Division faced a mixed force of Hitlerjugend, Volkssturm, Heer, Politzei, Sturmabteilung (SA), and Schutzstaffel (SS) when they invaded Heilbronn. The city, especially the old center, had been devastated by aerial bombing in January-February 1944, and the raids continued until April. Sporadic attacks continued until the evening of December 4, 1944, when the Royal Air Force (RAF) sent Number 5 Group with 252 Avro Lancasters and Handley Page Halifaxes that killed 6,500 residents in a firestorm. 62 percent of the city was destroyed. But rubble is often easier to defend than standing buildings. The 398th Infantry Regiment crossed the Necktar River by small 6-man assault boats. The Battalion lacked heavy armor initially, and did not expect a counterattack by a 1,000 Nazi German soldiers. Some of the 100th, in their 1st combat encounter, were overwhelmed and surrendered. But despite initially being outnumbered, they held the bridgehead until reinforcements could arrive. The 397th Infantry Regiment crossed south of the city, and were stunned to see hundreds of dead Americans from the 398th as they entered Heilbronn. Dual Drive Sherman tanks, with canvas aprons, swam across the Necktar. The American combat engineers built bridges for armor to cross, but accurate Nazi German artillery fire destroyed the 1st attempts. Eventually the 824th Tank Destroyer Battalion crossed several platoons before the Bailey Bridge was again knocked out. Fighting was house to house. Mortars, grenades, and machine guns were effective in urban combat. The Americans drew on M1 155 millimeter (6.1 inch) “Long Toms” 8 miles away that accurately targeted Nazi German positions. Nazi German morale began to fray, and Hitlerjugend attempting to surrender were shot by their officers. While Heilbronn was in American hands by April 9, another bridge wasn’t built until April 12. in 9 days of fighting, the 100th Infantry Division lost 85 men killed and probably 3 times that number wounded. In the process, mhe 100th Infantry Division captured 1,500 Germans, mostly from the 17th SS Panzer Grenadier Division. Photo by Sergeant Harold W. Clover (April 8, 1918 – December 15, 1974) S-2 Section, 31st Combat Engineer Battalion, documented the scenes and events around him as his unit pushed from the French Alsace into Nazi Germany, then into Austria, where they served occupation duty, in 1945. After the war, he worked for E. H. Sheldon Woodworking as company photographer for 19 years, and the Muskegon Country Sheriff’s Department as head the Marine Division for 10 years. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0852.jpg |
| Image Size | 1.14 MB |
| Image Dimensions | 2920 x 2339 |
| Photographer | Harold W. Clover |
| Photographer Title | |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | April 10, 1945 |
| Location | |
| City | Heilbronn |
| State or Province | Baden-Württemberg |
| Country | Germany |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | NWDNS-200-HC-78 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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