Cornelius Ryan WWII papers, box 007, folder 34: Denver Albrecht

DENVER ALBRECHT (Continued) -9-

Ryan: Because it was still swamps - you couldn't tell what was river and what was swamp

Albrecht: Well, no, we were away from the river but I wasn’t sure which...got out of the swamp and wasn’t sure I was on the right or the left bank. So we heard the naval gun fire and the...

Ryan: Doesn’t it bring you up now to about 5:30 if you heard the naval...

Albrecht: About 6 o’clock thats what...

Ryan: Ya between 9... 5:30 and 6 the naval bombardment - excuse me

Albrecht: They... so... for that time was I said well... it must be this side of the beaches so the best bet is to head for that naval gun for we're bound to run into some of our people. We continued moving through the hedgerows and finally came to a road and just as we came to this road we ran into a couple of men. Oh I don't know what time this is... 8.. 9 o’clock I think by this time and...asked them where the rest of the people are - who are you and so forth - I still don’t know who they were. They said there’s an outfit in St... chet du park (sounds like) and I said well, how large a group - what unit - they said its all mixed - anybody from the 508 - I think there are - they said General Gavin is in that area. Well I figured so long as Gen. Gavin is in that area

Ryan: Slim Jim yeh

Albrecht: Thats the place for me to be

Ryan: Sure

Albrecht: So we moved in to chep du pua (sounds like) down the road with definite instructions when these people said chep du pua is that way. We moved down the road seen more soldiers passed on the road

Ryan: Still no Germans having to take that road

Albrecht: Not at that particular time we were here - apparently got in there- they had a fight for chep du pua and we got in there just after the fight was over. Some of the men said it was... 40 people from what I understood were killed

DENVER ALBRECHT (Continued) -10-

Albrecht: And of course I tied myself in with the first group I seen. I didn't see any of our men A Lt. Colonel was in there.

Ryan: This wouldn't be Vandervost (sounds like) would it.

Albrecht: No I don't know

Ryan: The fellow with the broken leg

Albrecht: I seen him later

Ryan: Ye

Albrecht: I seen him later. I reported in to a Lt. Colonel that was there and there was a few other officers. They said well "Take a few men and take the left side of the road, pull up positions so I got a few men that I found, moved in to the area and I think I had ten men when I finally gathered a few loose ends here and there and dug into a position. Phil Millet (sounds like) came in that area about that time, I didn!t see him. It seems some of the people were in buildings and they wanted everybody outside of them. Well that night, of course in the meantime I've been moved back and forth into the center of town

Ryan: You mean into...into chep du pua (sounds like)

Albrecht: Right, chep du pua (sounds Like) I was on the left... I was in position at the left of chep du pua - just before you go off the bridge ...There was a cheese factory right there. I was right in front of it

Ryan: Was there much fire during the day now

Albrecht: No, there wasn't any fire at this time except that it was right after that there was a machine gun right across the bridge. Now this is getting pretty close to noon, I should say, or even later. As a machine there's a bridge right here

Ryan: Yeah I see it

Albrecht: I was in position here

Ryan: I see, almost on the line between the 82nd and 101st really there

DENVER ALBRECHT (Continued) -11-

Albrecht: No

Ryan: A little above

Albrecht: There wasn't any line actually

Ryan: Well know, but on the map

Albrecht: I think we were right in front of that cheese factory

Ryan: MM

Albrecht: This time the...an officer assembled all the officers...Lt. Col. assembled all the officers in front of the bridge and wanted volunteer to take the machine gun that was firing from across the bridge. Now this is late in the afternoon. I should say maybe its 2 - 3 o'clock. We had been there some time - well one lad more or less volunteered... he didn't make it and he got hit going across that bridge. In fact he got a big hole in his head and a couple other men got hit going across it - they finally got the gun - the gun withdrew - they got a few Germans in that area. There were a number of Germans killed - can't recall how many but we had periodic sniping all through the day there and artillery fire. They throw 88 fire in right on top of us

Ryan: Did you actually come in contact, apart from that first machine gun which you knocked over with the gamin grenade, did you actually come in contact with any Germans(or gerries sounds like)

Albrecht: Except for that one patrol that we had passed

Ryan: Yeh

Albrect: That was all until I ran against my own people in the dead end of Chef du Pont

Ryan: Now Were there any individual attack say that you led that day with platoons

Albrecht: Not that day - all that - that work stopped that night you might say - we stayed in that position for 2 days then reorganized back in a further area - rear area then this is when our operations actually started.

DENVER ALBRECHT (Continued ) -12-

Ryan: Now that bridge that is on the road going to Chef du Pont and that is just by the cheese factory there - there!s that bridge with the machine gun - that could not have been LaEiere bridge by any chance - could it Because Colonel - there was... a Colonel killed, there was an officer, there were several people killed and it was finally called the bridge of the two gunners. Does that ring a bell with you

Albrecht: I don’t recall any body named like that

Ryan: Yeh

Albrecht: This is a cheese factory and the road runs out like this there’s banks here - it has to be this bridge - thats the only bridge out of Chef du Pont and goes around here and there’s a chateau way over here and this is causeway from here on - this is causeway - its all swamp and the road also jumps us out this way. This bridge... well I know...

Ryan; Where’s your position now in relation to that bridge

Albrecht: Right here

Ryan: I see - now where is the machine gun fire coming from

Albrecht: Right this way

Ryan: I see - yeh, so its coming smack bang down along the road. You fellows have dug in here

Albrecht: Right

Ryan: Before you can move you’ve got to get rid of that

Albrecht: Well no - we're not dug in yet - we are in the process of digging

Ryan: So Now who was it who asked for the volunteers first of all, was that

Albrecht: Lieutenant Colonel

Ryan: Lieutenant Colonel - because I can check this you see - there’s only a few Lt. Colonels vho were in that

Albrecht: I don ’t know who he was. I don’t think he was from the 82nd. I think he was more or less from the 101st

DENVER ALBRECHT (Continued) -13-

Ryan: That could be because you

Albrecht: He wasn’t... he wasn’t from my battalion or my regiment

Ryan: By the way did you catch up with any members of your platoon

Albrecht: Oh yeh - later on

Ryan: Were they all.... unharmed ... or had they

Albrecht: There were a number missing

Ryan: Yeh

Albrecht: A number wounded

Ryan: Yeh

Albrecht: And some that we knew were killed

Ryan: Did you get wounded at all that day - I noticed that you got a ...

Albrecht: No, I got wounded three days later

Ryan: Yeh

Albrecht: Minor wound in the hand and I got other wound in the leg later

Ryan: Yeh - when did you know that the Utah beach had linked up with the 101st - Did you hear that during the day or did you hear a rumor to the effect that the amphibious landing had failed

Albrecht: No we didn’t hear that the amphibious landing had failed. I don’t recall the day we heard that they linked up - I think it was probably the second day that we got our information that the... some outfit would be passing through us soon and about the second day I believe we got a gun - they sent us a gun dovm here to help

Ryan: Did any gliders - any gliders land near that area during the afternoon or that morning

Albrecht: Oh yes sir, we seen gliders coming in and I don’t recall any landing right in this immediate area. I...in fact I don’t recall seeing any gliders land except that we could see them coming in and coming down. I think some of them landed in back of us. I’m not sure