Ernst Simon lived in Reichenberg (Sudentenland
in North Bohemia) and joined the Luftwaffe as a Fallschirmjager (paratrooper).
He was assigned to the 1st Parachute Division. After 4 weeks of
jump school at Fallschirmschule 3 in Braunschweig during May and June of 1940, Simon became a
member of 13 Company FJ Regiment 1.
In
the May of 1941, Simon parachuted into Crete (specifically Heraklion) out of
a Ju-52. Each Ju-52 contained 12-13 para’s who jumped with only a
Luger pistol and several hand grenades on them. The heavy equipment, such as
machine guns, mortars, and rifles, was dropped in weapons containers after the
last para left the aircraft. It typically took the para’s approximately five
minutes to reach these containers. The regiments were met with heavy
resistance, which was not expected. The Luftwaffe was supposed to suppress the
defenders during the parachute drop. However, the parachute attack was two
hours behind schedule due to a poor estimation of refueling and loading time
for the Ju-52’s.
The
British (English, Scottish, Australian, & New Zealand) and Greek Troops
knew where and when the para’s would land because the British had broken the
German radio code. To compound the situation, German intelligence failed to
collect and relay accurate information as to how many troops were defending
Crete. These failures resulted in many of the para’s being killed before or
right after landing. Simon said that the worst weapon used against them during their descent was the
40 mm Bofors gun. He witnessed 8 Ju-52’s shot down during this airborne mission
and from those planes; only 3-8 para’s got out of each.
His
platoon was lucky in regards to where they landed…in a vineyard that provided
some cover for the men. They quickly opened their weapons containers, loaded up
with weapons, and headed out for their objectives. The 2nd Battalion,
which landed at the airfield, was attacked with anti-aircraft guns and tanks.
Most of these para’s were annihilated.
Several unsuccessful attacks were
launched on the first afternoon and the next morning Simon’s battalion began a
coordinated attack to take Heraklion, which was
surrounded by a high wall. They began by firing all of their mortar ammo (24
per mortar), after which they became a normal assault platoon. Thankfully they
had been trained for such circumstances.
The battalion successfully broke
through the towns heavily defended western wall door on the morning of 21 May, after which eight hours of house to house combat ensued. Simon’s squad leader was killed at a
street corner and Simon received a gun shot through his right shoulder.
Fortunately it was only a flesh wound. He took refuge in a nearby home where a
comrade bandaged him up. The two men holed up in a protected corner for a bite
to eat while bullets whizzed by all around them. By evening, the Germans had
incurred heavy losses, were running low on ammo, and had their line of retreat
closed up.
The battalion, with some
difficulties, was able to get out of the town and what was left of the 3rd
Battalion reassembled. The dwindling ammo was evenly distributed among the
remaining men and came to 15 rounds per rifle and 150 rounds per machine gun
(mg). Simon remarked of the desperate situation, “It would have been about 8
seconds of fire for each mg….there after we would have had to throw stones!”
The British forces chose not to
attack the German’s at this point, a fatal error. Despite the circumstances
looking bleak for the Germans they stood their ground and about a day later the
4th Mountain Division landed in Maleme airport along with ammo,
various supplies, and reinforcements…. turning the tide in favor of the
German’s. A few days later Simon’s group was ordered to the 1st
Battalion which lay east of Heraklion airfield.
After a long night march they
reached their objective without being detected by the British. The men did have
to storm a minor hill on the last stretch. With the Germans now at an
advantage, they steadily pushed back the defenders. One by one the cities fell
into the hands of the Germans. The British did manage to get their troops
aboard two destroyers without the Germans knowing. The Greek troops were left
on the island and had to surrender.
The Germans collected and buried
their dead, including Simon’s Company Commander, Platoon Leader, and Squad
Leader. His regiment suffered losses of roughly 45%. On 10 June the men flew back
to Greece, then traveled by truck and then by rail to their garrison in Stendal,
Germany (100 km west of Berlin). Their popular Regimental Commander, Col.
Brauer, assembled his men and gave his speech, “Boys you are now going on
furlough. I wish you a good time. Don’t talk so much about this operation….I
know myself…it was $h*t.”
Shocked by the high losses of the
Crete operation, the German High Command would never again launch another major
airborne attack. Both the Axis and
Allies recognized the possibilities of an airborne attack and the Allies built
up great airborne forces. The Germans learned from their mistakes and made
improvements to their own airborne troops.
Among
the changes were having paratroopers jump with their rifles and machine guns.
The weapons were attached to them with a 16 foot line and after opening their
chute, the men would let the guns go so their hands were free for landing. The
breach of the gun had a clothe cover, easily ripped off and a plastic end cap
kept them usable.
After
Crete, German paratroopers were used primarily as a fire brigade, thrown in
when the front was at risk of breaking down. Essentially, they were used to
“put out fires”. The first time the need arose for such a brigade was at the
beginning of winter in 1941 when the Russians tried to break out of the
Leningrad encirclement.
The
critical point was east of Leningrad at the river Newa between Lake Ladoga and
the city. The Russians attacked the German corridor to Lake Ladoga from the
North and the South. The 1st Parachute Division was flown to this
area with two regiments. They were at the front line for 46 days, during which
time they managed to hold the line and defeat 146 Russian attacks. Their losses
however were again heavy. One company of Fallschirmjager Regiment 3 was down to
three sergeants and three men by the time they were relieved!
The
men returned to their garrison and were given furlough over Christmas and New
Year in Stendal. A few months later they traveled to Northern France, Normandy to be specific. Simon said that they had a
good relationship with the French in the area. He specifically recalled a local
one-legged WWI vet who sold him eggs and butter, as well as taught him to drink
Calvados (the local apple brandy) mixed with olive oil.
In
September of 1942, the Russian front situation again became grave for the
Germans. Simon’s Division was sent in as fire brigade once again and was given
a 40 mile stretch of front line to hold. The success of this task rested on the
shoulders of only three regiments. The winter was very harsh, with temps
dropping in the below 40 degree range. Simon was with the Forward Observer Post
with 4 Company, only 250 meters (890 ft) from the Russian line. Simon noted
that it was fatal to pop your head up for more than a few seconds. This was
evident by the 4 Company’s losses, among them it’s Commanding Officer,
Oberleutnant Holters.
Because
of the low numbers of men, Simon’s Operation Post crew took their turn standing
night watch with the machine gun (mg). The watch was divided up into about one
hour increments because of the extremely low temperatures. The men’s sole water
source was roughly 100 ft behind their trench and it was always a dangerous
trip. On one such trip to the water, the man sent to retrieve it received a
gunshot to the chest. The bullet pierced one of his lungs and he was laying
helpless out in the open.
Simon and a comrade were given the task of getting the injured man back to the safety of the
trenches. Lt. Glombowski (Simon’s boss) had two mg’s rain down a hail storm of
rounds on the Russian positions. This covering fire allowed them the time and
protection needed to drag their comrade to the trench. (The man did survive his
wounds.) Simon shared that it was an unwritten rule among his unit that no
wounded man would be left without everything possible being tried to save him.
Another
example of this unwritten rule in action is the tale of a similar experience as
above. A man was wounded and lying in front of their trench. The first two
medics who went out to retrieve the man were killed. Despite this, a third
medic bravely went out and successfully retrieved the wounded comrade.
Toward
the end of Simon’s six months (~ March 1943) along the Russian line, he was
sent by the Company Commander for a day with the artillery unit (~ three miles
in the rear). He was to participate in an advanced fire control methods
presentation. It was the one and only time Simon was away from his Company.
Shortly after arriving, he witnessed his platoon in a desperate race towards
the west.
Wondering
what had happened, he returned to his Company’s original location. The Company
Commander explained that the Russians had launched a counter offensive at the 3rd
Battalions location and the support of Simon’s Company was needed. A comrade
went in Simon’s place since he was absent. Upon the Company returning,
nearly the entire Observation Post crew had been killed, including Simon’s
Platoon Leader (Lt. Glombowski) and the comrade sent in Simon’s place.
Simon’s
Division was scheduled to be relieved but the Divisional Commander insisted on
handing the position over just as they had received it. This was a problem
because two important hills had been taken by the Russians. After
reinforcements and supplies arrived, especially self propelled anti-tank guns,
Simon’s Division set about their task. They waited until nightfall and then
attacked with flamethrowers and grenades, successfully reclaiming both hills. Simon
said his Company played a small role in the mission.
After
being relieved, the men had to tackle nearly impossible roads. It took them
roughly a month to get from the front line to Southern France. They were then
given furlough, had their depleted ranks filled, and received further training.
During a series of full scale maneuvers (beginning with parachute jumps), Simon ended up dunked in water that
filled a ditch next to the barbed wire fence he ran into on his landing.
Then,
on 9 – 10 July of 1943, the Allies landed in Sicily. The 5th U.S.
and 8th British flooded the beaches. The Italians threw their arms
down and retreated, leaving two German divisions to their fate. On 17 July,
Simon’s Division was tasked as acting as fire brigade in an attempt to save
their comrades from capture and hopefully to keep the Allies at bay. Two regiments
of the 1st Parachute Division and a few smaller units were flown
from Marignane (Southern France) to Naples in He-111 transport planes.
While
in Naples, the German para’s stayed close to the trenches and endured American bombing
attacks every couple of hours. The men waited a days’ time for their Ju-52’s to
arrive, on which they would load up for an airborne mission. Once the Ju-52’s
arrived, the Squadron Leader was hesitant to take off in daylight without any
fighter protection.
The
para’s eventually convinced him to take off and when they reached the North
Coast an alarm was raised letting them know that enemy fighters were
approaching. The para’s immediately began their jumps and their weapons
containers were successfully dropped after them. Simon and the men later found
out that their Ju-52’s were shot down after they jumped. They succeeded in
holding the 8th Army back for an entire month, allowing all the
German troops, equipment, and weapons to be safely ferried to the Italian
mainland. Simon was wounded on 5 August by an exploding grenade, one day after
his 22nd birthday. He ended up with splinters in his hands and face,
including his eyes.
Simon
was transported in the only vehicle, a 20 year old hearse from the Catania
Cemetery, to the closest field dressing station. He vividly remembers the black
draperies and gold fringe which lined the vehicle. Both of his eyes were
bandaged and he was taken to the next field lazarette by the Messina ferry. Once
there his left eye was unbandaged and he was again able to navigate on his own.
From there he was taken to a Bavarian hospital where they were unable to save
his right eye. To this day, Simon still carries two small splinters in that
eye.
In
October of 1943, Simon was released from the hospital and sent on furlough. He
was considered “not fit for combat duty” and sent to the reserve battalion in
Germany. This is where all para’s were sent who were released from hospitals
and lazarettes. If they were fit, they were sent back to the para divisions.
Simon’s injury led him to be placed into the staff company, which was
responsible for administration tasks.
It
was a cushy job but Simon’s heart was with his fellow fallshirmjagers. He asked
the chief doctor to allow him to be classified as “fit for combat duty on own
request”. Not only was this request granted, but he demanded that he be
transferred back to the 1st Parachute Division in Italy and this too
was granted. It was custom for the “repaired” veteran para’s to be sent to new “para
divisions”. (These new divisions were made up mostly of new recruits who had no
jump training.)
Simon
noted of his returning to 13 Company, “….it was really a very touching occasion.
I was received like the lost son.” He found out that his Company Commander had
requested twice that Simon be sent back to his Company, fit for combat duty or
not, but he was met with no success.
Simon
was given the choice of staying with the rear echelon and acting as an
instructor or becoming platoon leader of a new 12 cm mortar platoon (the first
in the Division). He was honored that as a “mere sergeant” he would be offered
such an opportunity as the latter. He gladly accepted. The Company was just
beginning to reorganize after the Cassino battles near Lake Trasumeno at this
time. The men were forced to retreat to the Adriatic line where they tried to
hold but to no avail.
Slowly
the Germans were pushed to the North. Simon said the superiority of their
enemies increased dramatically with each day. The air too was dominated by the
Allies. Simon recalled the Allied planes attacking them, even single soldiers
trying to escape. The German’s mortar ammo was becoming so scarce that the
Company equipped one platoon with Italian 8 cm mortars because of their
commonness in Italian arsenals.
During
the winter of 1944/1945, the men held a position in the Apennin Mountains for
several months. In a night surprise attack, the Germans took Mount Castellaro
from the enemy where Simon served as Forward Observer. At midnight on New Years
Eve 1945, both the British and the Germans held a grand fireworks show, created
by firing every weapon with colored tracer ammunition. The British fired propaganda
shells that contained the message, “Merry Christmas from your British Neighbors”.
The Germans followed suit and for at least a little while in one corner of the
world, there was peace on the battlefield.
The
Germans were forced to leave these positions because the enemy had broken
through east of them and they were at risk of being encircled. A series of
minor and major fights took place on the retreat. Simon had several close calls
during this time, typically when he served as Forward Observer. Upon getting
close to the river Po in April, Simon’s Battalion was assigned to be the rear
guard and charged with holding the enemy until morning to allow German troops
to be ferried to the north bank during the night.
Once
they arrived, they saw that the two ferries, which were supposed to carry the
troops across, were nowhere to be seen. They found out that one had been
destroyed by an artillery hit and the other blown up prematurely by German
engineers. The troops were then ordered to swim across. They stripped nearby
homes of every wooden door to use as floats for their supplies and clothing.
The men then stripped down themselves and started across the river. Simon
recalled the river being ~150 ft wide and the water very cold due to it being
fed by the thawing ice from the Alps.
Simon
said of this memory, “We (all) made it, including our Battalion Commander who
was swimming with us, smoking a thick cigar. It was quite a sight…the River
full of our men, naked soldiers on both banks (but with a steel helmet on)….firing
with mg’s and rifles at the fighter bombers which attacked us with their guns.”
The men actually managed to shoot down one plane. The pilot parachuted out and
landed among the Germans on the South Bank. He had to swim with them, which he
wasn’t very happy about.
A
retreat followed the river crossing and Simon had several more near escapes.
Their trucks had to be destroyed because they received no more gasoline. The
heavy mortars had to be drawn by oxen after that! At one point the men
attempted to harness a wild bull but it proved to be more than they could
handle. Eventually the oxen had to be left behind as well. The men finally made
it to Predazzo in the Italian Alps and in the first days of May 1945, the
German surrender came down.
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| Ernst Simon Jan. 1945 - San Martino di Castrozza (Rest Home Of 1st Para Division) |
American
troops arrived but Simon and his comrades were left alone for several days.
Finally the American troops returned and transported the Germans to the region
of Trient where the other part of their Division was located. The Germans were billeted
in Italian homes, one squad to a house. They were supplied with U.S. Army
rations and allowed to keep some of their light weapons. They stayed at this
location for a little more than one week. Each day the men would walk down to
the lake for a swim and all wondered why they weren’t behind barbed wire like
the rest of their comrades.
Finally,
what was left of the German 1st Parachute Division was gathered
together on the grass field. Each regiment sat in a circle around their
commander and the explanation came: The U.S. Command wanted to know if the men
would be willing to fight on the Allied side at the invasion of Japan. (Note:
At this time, the U.S. military knew nothing about the atomic bomb and the
Division had quite an excellent reputation.)
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| FJ Ernst Simon's ID Tag, Patches, Pins, etc. |
Simon
said the German para’s saw no future for them in Germany, so after a lengthy
discussion they agreed to do so IF for every man of their Division..one ton of
food stuffs per month be sent to Germany. The men waited a week before they got
their answer from Allied HQ ……such terms could not be guaranteed. So the 1st
Parachute Division was broken up and the officers sent to separate POW camps.
All ended up behind barbed wire. Simon spent time in several American POW camps
in Italy including Ghedi, Pisa, Livorno, Naples (a voluntary work team), and
lastly Bad Aibling in Bavaria.
He
was released from the POW camp in April of 1946 but could not return to the
home he knew before the war because the Czechs had thrown out all three million
Sudenten Germans (including his parents). He first tried to find his parents,
as he hadn’t been in contact with them for over a year. He finally found them
in Northern Germany, living as fugitives. Simon wandered from place to place for
some time and eventually landed in Bavaria where he found work. A year later he
brought his parents over. Years after the end of the Second World War, Simon
and the other remaining 1st Parachute Division Fallschirmjager’s
were made Honorary Members of the New Zealand Crete Veterans Association. Today Simon lives in Germany and is 90 years
old.
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| Simon's Honorary Membership into the Crete Veterans' Association |
