War As I Knew It.

When General George Smith Patton died in late 1945 his former Assistant Chief of Staff Paul Harkins compiled his notes and made War As I Knew It a book. Harkins was a former 110th Cavalry Trooper from Boston who entered West Point through his time in the Massachusetts Cavalry Regiment.

The book deals with all of Patton’s Second World War campaigns but is most detailed in the main push through Europe in the fall of 1944 through its conclusion in the spring of 1945.

Many references to the 26th Infantry division and Major General Willard Paul the division’s commander. The volume also covers the fact that Yankee Division overtook an area that had chemical weapons stored on a river in barges. The Germans came to his command post to ask him not to shell or bomb it, which he promptly got the word out. This is important in that YD was the most gassed unit of the First World War and appears to be the only unit of any size that came into contact with chemicals again, although the agents were not used.

Great book if one wants to know what happened during the Battle of the Bulge. The Yankee Division History 1917-1918 and 1944-1945 from the Yankee Division Veterans Association fills in a lot of the gaps to give a good picture of the actions involved.

George Linthicum

George Linthicum was a member of the 26th Recon Troop of Yankee Division during the Battle of the Bulge. The Philadelphia native went on to lead the the Yankee Division Veterans Association and the Battle of the Bulge Veterans Association.

An action he was involved in was used in the 1960s movie the Battle of the Bulge where Germans were captured in American uniforms. He passed away of cancer in 2008.

XX Corps Third Army ETO

XX Corps Third Army ETO

The 26th Infantry Division and the 94th Infantry Division were both members of the XX Corps subsequently to the Battle of the Bulge. This is interesting in that the formations fought side by side and were both New England based divisions and both have mementos in the Massachusetts State House.

The 26th Infantry Division was formed from the Massachusetts National Guard and known as Yankee Division. The 94th Was formed from New England Army Reserve units and had the nickname of Pilgrim Division.

The Corps designations and Army designations would change based on how worn out the unit was or the needs of the Army or Corps Commanders in order to achieve its objectives. General George Patton credited the ability to rapidly move divisions from Corps to Corps as one of the reasons America would overcome the German Army during the European Campaign of 1944-1945.

Ralph T. Malmgren

Born in Sweden and a 1939 graduate of Waltham High School Ralph T. Malmgren enlisted in the 110th Cavalry in 1939. When the Second World War broke out his unit was eventually converted into the 626th Tank Destroyer Battalion.

In 1945 he was Staff Sergeant who had been at the Hurtgen Forest during the Battle of the Bulge. He went on to own Barabara Jean’s Candy and Ice Cream Store in Newton, Massachusetts.

He passed away in late 2007 and his passion was the Wolfeboro, NH Historical Society.