There's no easy way to stop a runaway Sherman tank, as Sergeant Dan Diel learned at Fort Benning in 1943. But first, an introduction to Colonel Whitside Miller, the 712th Tank Battalion's original commander who inspired an insurgency among his officers. Check out this and earlier episodes of War As My Father's Tank Battalion Knew It.
Thursday, July 25, 2019
Tuesday, July 16, 2019
The Death of Shorty
Marion "Shorty" Kubeczko and Ed "Smoky" Stuever were buddies in the 11th (horse) Cavalry. They remained close when the 11th was mechanized as part of the 10th Armored Division and when the 712th Tank Battalion was broken out of the division as an independent unit. Stuever was a sergeant in the battalion's Service Company, and Kubeczko was the driver of his tank recovery unit. Shorty was killed during the battle for Hill 122 in Normandy. In this episode of "War As My Father's Tank Battalion Knew It," Stuever describes some of those first moments of combat, and the pain of losing a friend.
Sunday, July 7, 2019
This Old Horse
In this episode, Ed "Smoky" Stuever, a maintenance sergeant in the 712th Tank Battalion, shares some memories of his time in the horse cavalry in 1941 before the 11th Cavalry was transferred to Fort Benning, Georgia, as part of the cadre of the 10th Armored Division.
Thursday, July 4, 2019
The Fourth of July, 1944
July 4th came a day early in 1944 with a massive artillery barrage in preparation for an assault on the Haye du Puits sector of the Normandy campaign. The 712th Tank Battalion suffered numerous casualties on its first day of combat. Lt George Tarr became the first officer in A Company to be killed. Sgt. William Schmidt was the first member of C company to be killed. In this episode, Jim Rothschadl, a gunner in C Company, talks about the meaning of the Fourth of July, and Stanley Klapkowski describes the death of Sergeant Schmidt.
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