It would have been nice to wait there for
liberation, but the Germans had different ideas. At least now we knew
it would not be long before we would be free. The Germans did not
guard us much this time and we were nearly on our own as we marched.
Our ranking officers made the decisions to march mostly at night to
avoid mistaken attack by American fighters. We also had ten minute
rest breaks every hour and the Germans gave us enough bread and soup
to keep us alive. We went through the railroad yards at Nuremburg and
saw the bomb damage. We were glad to get out of there before another
raid came. Our line was soon spread over seven miles and we made the
decision to stay with the group instead of trying to escape into the
woods and head for the American front. Probably some of the crazier
ones did try it.
We spent the first night in barns and any building we could find. The
weather was much warmer and we enjoyed the nice spring days. I pinned
a sock to my pant leg, found a pop bottle in a trash pile. and
carried it full of drinking water. When we went by houses the Germans
stood along the road watching us and very often they would fill my
bottle with fresh water. The Germans in the areas that had not been
bombed were friendly, but those in the cities were more hostile. The
American fighter planes were flying over us every day and we could
see the smoke from the bombed cities all around us.
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