The Colmar Pocket and Uncle Billy

Colmar is a small town in the Alsace-Lorraine region of eastern France, the home of all things Alsatian.  It was the site of the last German stronghold in France during WWII.  The military referred to the German stronghold as the “Colmar Pocket” and because of the fierce, do-or-die resistance of the German forces, it is sometimes called the second “Battle of the Bulge.”  This is the place and time where Audie Murphy won his Congressional Medal of Honor and where uncle Billy (William Raymond Henderson) found himself in early January of 1945.  Billy had just turned 17 and had just returned to the front after spending Christmas with his family in Sacramento, California.

Uncle Billy on the right, November 1944

General Eisenhower’s plan for invading Germany was contingent on all Allied Forces “closing on the Rhine River” and that meant “collapsing” the Colmar Pocket.  The initial assault on the Colmar Pocket began on the 20^th of January, 1945 when the French 1^st Corps and U.S. 3^rd Division of the 30^th Infantry (Billy’s unit) attacked from out of the forest in a snowstorm.  The weather at the time was later described as “Siberian” with temperatures of -4 degrees Fahrenheit, three feet of snow, and strong winds.  Uncle Billy was there.

Alsace-Lorraine, winter of 44/45

When German counterattacks began, Allied troops were exposed and being unable to dig foxholes because of the frozen ground had to fall back into the tree line for protection.  The retreating soldiers suffered heavy casualties and this is when Audie Murphy, also in the 30^th Infantry (but not Billy’s Division), climbed onto a burning M10 tank destroyer and used its heavy machine gun to cover the retreat of his men.

The Battlefield at Colmar

These back and forth pitched battles continued for 12 days until, on January 31^st, 1945, uncle Billy’s unit reached the Rhone-Rhine Canal, just five miles from the Divisions crossing point over the Colmar Canal.  At this point, uncle Billy’s unit was pinned down by intense German artillery fire.  After a bitter day-long battle, Sgt. Forrest E. Peden dashed through intense German fire to summon help for the ambushed infantry unit but was killed when he returned on a light tank that was hit and destroyed; Sgt Peden posthumously received the Congressional Medal of Honor for his heroism.  Uncle Billy was “Killed in Action” on that same day, he was 17 years and 59 days old.