September-October - Air Defense Artillery

orne Sidelights on
"ERE
Antwerp
,-
X
By Brigadier General George M. Badger, US~
J~lroR'S NOTE: The extracts beloll' are from an article
Gelleral Badger submitted
. t cated portions of the story
to tile JOUR~AL whicll
by Captain Dal/meyer.
dllpli-
It is
II/elielled that additional light will be thrown on tile operation
at Amwerp by General Badger's comments. Durillg
the operation General Badger comlllmlded the 56th
, AAA Brigade which c01/Sisted at differe'nt times of from
tll'O to tllree Groups of eiglJt to ten battalions. Tilis
Brigade covered the sector of the defenses Oller whicll the
greatest Illllilber of pilotless aircraft approaclled Antwerp.
it was during a night in late November 1944. A heavy
. anket of fog enveloped the flat countryside of northern
t Igium. I was
r ateau, or castle,
billeted on the second floor
as it is called bv the natives.
of an old
The buildg
had formerly been occupied b)' German troops who had
d before the British some two months previous. It was
c worse for wear. Downstairs was the AAOR furnishing
rly warning for the firing batteries which were deployed
n a belt for the protection of Antwerp against the robot
mb.
~
1\ly bed was a sleeping bag thrown upon a wooden bedcad
which was in the room when the Americans had oc-
,upied the building. I awoke about three o'clock in the
orning after rolling and tossing in my bed. It was deathly
quiet outside. A chill and dampness permeated the atmosphere,
lending an eerie feeling to the surroundings.
A clear strong voice broke the silence: "Diver two three
dogtwo six able-Diver two three dog two six able."
Silence again reigned, only now it was emphasized.
Nothing for perhaps thirty seconds, then "Diver two three
charlie nine
x-rav. "
eight x-ray-Diver two three charlie nine eight
There was. no question about it. A robot bomb, flying
on its deadly course, had been located by the early warning
sources. Its location had been phoned to the plotters manning
the operations board. vVithout a second's delay the
inFormation was announced by the teller to the firing batteries
who were on twenty-four hour alert. It was the
teller's voice which I had heard.
As I lay there, now fully awake and slightly tense, many
thoughts raced through my mind. \Vould the batteries be
1ert? \Vould the horrible weather conditions interfere
with the accuracv of fire? vVhere was the infernal machine
headed? If we 'missed, what untold miserv and damage
would the missile cause? These questions, a~d many mo(e,
raced through my mind. The waiting seemed eternity. The
eerie silence was perforated only by the clear steady voice
of the
Course.
teller announcing the flying bomb's onrushing
Suddenly a terrific roar burst forth. The angry guns
Were barking a challenge at the clever ingenuity of the
Germans. Seconds later the bursting projectiles cracked
loudly in the night air. Several batteries had now taken
up the challenge and the ground and air shook in unison
From the e,:plosions. Beyond the din of firing I could
plainly hear diver twenty-three puttering out its uncanny
sound. The exhaust from its jet was sending out long
flames in rapid succession and the noise resembled a loud.
fast outboard motor, strangely traveling in the sky. It was
coming nearer and nearer. Not only did the sound of the
onrushing flying bomb come closer, but also the explosions
of the projectiles were getting louder and louder as they
chased their elusive target through the sky. vVould the
two ever meet in the thick wet fog that enshrouded everything?
Then, suddenly, a huge explosion. The building rocked
upon its foundation; windows flew open; the bed lurched
violentlv. There could be no mistake. Diver twentv-three
had be~n killed in its tracks. Sounds of a few m~re exploding
projectiles that were on the way before the target
had been hit, and then deathly silence again. This time it
was more omnipotent than ever before. After this strange
and unreal battle between a pilotless aircraft and American
antiaircraft gunners, it is little wonder that,the new silence
took on added power and authority. J\llodern warfare knows
no limit to the ingenuity of the human mind. The human
mind knows no limit in devising machines that will cause
death and destruction. The American soldier and the excellent
American equipment had answered the V-I-Hitler's
overestimated secret weapon.
I turned over and went back to sleep.
".
".
The 80th British AA Brigade, commanded by Brigadier
Deacon, first set up the defenses of Antwerp X; it had a
light and two heavy regiments in position when the Americans
first arrived in October. The 30th AAA Group, commanded
by Colonel Ralph \\'. Russell, arrived in the Antwerp
area on 23 October. At about ~he same time, the
407th, 740th, 125th and the 126th AAA Gun Battalions
also arrived. The 56th AAA Brigade which I commanded
was ordered to the Antwerp X defenses and arrived on
28 October, relieving the 80th British AA Brigade. During
the next two weeks, the following American units
arrived and were deployed: The 45th AAA Group, commanded
bv Colonel Ovid T. Forman; the 17th AAA
Group, co~manded by Colonel Carl R. Adams; the 22d
AAA Group, commanded by Colonel Harold C. Mabbott;
the 405th, 494th, 184th, 601st, 136th, 495th, 605th
and 519th AAA Gun Battalions; and the 787th, 788th and
789th AAA Automatic \;\,leapons Battalions. On 10 November,
the 50th AAA Brigade, commanded by Brigadier
General Clare H. Armstrong, arrived in the Antwerp area
and assumed command of Antwerp X.
".
".
The supply of ammunition proved quite a problem at
times. Due to the large amounts expended, 6,400 rounds
daily average for February, it was difficult to keep the proper
level on hand. On some occasions the supply ran dangerously
low. Mixed lot numbers were another handicap.
One battery commander once reported that he had fifty-six
".
".