The Abbeville Boys

Chapter 19: The Boys Tangle with the Americans

      After the engagement at Calais the Boys were concerned about the P-47. They gathered all the intelligence reports they could on the plane. They were starting to get a bleak picture. The Americans were coming with many heavy bombers and fighters. The Luftwaffe had replacements for most of the fighters lost but couldn’t afford heavy casualties. Morale was still high. Since the Luftwaffe had stopped bombing England and the RAF didn’t cross the channel except at night, the Boys didn’t have much to do. Fortunately, the night bombing by the RAF continued to be ineffective.

      After a few days Kurt got a leave to fly his 109 into Leipzig. He went straight to Gretchen’s house. Her mom answered the door and saw Kurt. She immediately screamed and started crying. Kurt was shocked and didn’t know what to do. Mr. Bauer ran to the front door and grabbed his wife. They were both in distress. After several seconds of catching their breath Kurt said, “What’s wrong?”

      Mr. Bauer looked at him and said, “The SS troops took Gretchen to a house in northern Germany where women are to breed with SS officers to make Aryan children. They saw her on the street one day and just abducted her. She’s gone.”

      Kurt stood there looking at them. This can’t be possible. He’s a Captain in the Luftwaffe. No matter what, these things don’t happen to Luftwaffe pilots.

      Kurt’s heart was racing, “Where did they take her? What house is she in?”

      Bauer looked at him, “We don’t know. We heard it was a house close to Bremen. The SS would know.”

      Kurt didn’t even go see his mom and dad. He went directly to the airfield and flew to Abbeville. When he touched down, he was greeted by Galland, “Welcome back kid. I’ve got good news. Since you now have forty five victories a promotion came through. You’re now a Major.”

      That was the last thing on Kurt’s mind. He thanked the commander. He immediately said, “Sir the SS abducted my fiancé and took her to a house in northern Germany to breed with other SS officers.”

      Galland looked distressed. No one liked dealing with the SS. He told Kurt to follow him back to his office. Galland had power in the military. He called Gestapo headquarters in Berlin, “Yes, this is Commander Adolf Galland with Jagdgeshwader 26 stationed in Abbeville, France. Your troopers took a woman to one of your homes in northern Germany to breed Aryan children. She is the fiancé of a top pilot of mine. He’s an ace and a major. I need her back.”

      The SS man was short with him and didn’t want to be bothered, “I will check on it. We have many women come and go through those homes so it might take a while.”

      Galland, who was known for his obstinance said, “I want some action on this. I expect to hear back from you by tomorrow.”

      The SS officer casually said, “Yes commander. I’ll get back to you.”

      He then hung up and looked at Kurt, “I’m sorry. I don’t know about any experience you’ve had with the Gestapo, but I don’t trust them. They’re ruthless animals. I’ll keep working on it kid.”

      Kurt sat there devastated, “Thank you sir. I deeply appreciate your efforts.”

      Kurt got up and left. He walked over to the bar where everyone was drinking and having a good time. When he walked in, they all started a toast to the Kid’s promotion and a celebration started. The pilots were laughing but Kurt just wanted to drown his sorrows with schnapps. He was starting to despise the Nazi regime. He was thinking his brother, Joseph, couldn’t be accounted for and the fascist government kidnapped his fiancé. This was his turning point. He was a major in the Luftwaffe and a famous fighter pilot. He decided he was going to use his rank to get his fiancé out of the situation she was in and find out where his friend was.

      Kurt was distraught. He went up on patrol every day, but the allies didn’t venture across the channel. He continued to talk with Galland to check on Gretchen. It was always the same, no word about her. Kurt still had a good life but knowing Gretchen was being forced to be with other men was abhorrent to him.

      It was now early 1943 and Kurt decided to ask to fly to the house Gretchen was at. He had got information about which house it was. Kurt walked into Galland’s office, “Commander I would like to request a leave. I want to get my fiancé back. There’s not much going on now and I feel like it’s a good time.”

      Galland looked up at Kurt, “I will give you permission to go get your fiancé but not right now. I’ve gotten word in the next few days the Americans are going to begin daylight bombing soon. They have heavy bombers and P-47 escort fighters. I’ll get you a leave as soon as I can, but we need you here right now.”

      Kurt looked at him and saw he was concerned about the situation, “Yes sir. I understand.”

      All of the sudden everything on the airbase was tense. The Commander and his staff acquired intelligence information on the B-17 bomber. They would be flying deep into France to bomb German targets during daylight hours. The pilots started to realize the world was coming at them. They were confident the Luftwaffe could handle the job.

      After two days the men were awakened at 06:00 hundred hours. It was January 1943 and still dark. There had been reports the B-17’s had gone around France a few days earlier and attempted to attack German submarine pens at Wilhelmshaven. The B-17’s suffered heavy losses. The Americans were now heading into France as predicted.

      The Commander met for a short meeting with the squadron. He said, “We’re coordinating with other squadrons to attack the bombers coming across the channel. There should be several hundred German fighters in the sky. They’ll have P-47 escorts until the water’s edge. Then they’ll have to turn back. When the P-47’s turn back we’ll attack the bombers. You’ve all read the intelligence reports on the vulnerability of the B-17. Attack where they’re weak. Good luck.”

      The men left without eating breakfast and went to their planes. Eberhart came up to Kurt, “Listen, this is going to be a crazy situation. When I was in Spain we flew cover for bombers. Things get completely confused. Now we’re going to be shooting them down. No matter what happens you stay right on my tail. Understand?”

      “Yes sir. I can do it.”

      Eberhart smiled, “I know you can kid. You’re a great pilot. We’ll be alright.”

      The planes formed up on the runway and Kurt’s Schwarm took off in their usual precision. They formed up with the rest of JG 26 and headed for the coast. As they went west hundreds of Luftwaffe 109’s joined them. It was an impressive sight.

      The 109’s meandered for a short time until at 07:15 hours they observed a large group of B-17’s coming at them. There were maybe a hundred bombers. The P-47 escorts had turned back. They were on their own. Intelligence believed they were headed for a war plant established by the Germans in Reims. It was a small French town, and the plant produced bullets for the German Army.

      The German armada attacked the formation. Kurt stayed on Eberhart’s tail. He was a master. He weaved in and out of the formation shooting as wove through. Whenever Eberhart turned Kurt would send a blast into a B-17. They would then get underneath the bombers. This was their vulnerable position. They had a belly gunner, but it was difficult working the gun and he wasn’t effective.

      Eberhart and Kurt came up from underneath. Eberhart laid machine gun fire on the bomber, and it was in flames. Kurt turned slightly to his right and fired into another bomber as he quickly gained altitude. As Kurt went through the formation the bomber exploded. He rose high above the fray. Kurt realizes he has to stick with Eberhart, but he’s gone. Kurt calls out on the radio, “Boss where are at?”

      A voice came back, “Wolf, I’m up top of the formation to the south.”

      Kurt turned abruptly, “I see you. I’ll be on your tail in seconds.”