"These are Czechs along the road as we (4th Armored Div) entered Czechoslovakia near Pisek or Strakonic in May of 1945"
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All of the next set of pictures have this signature on the back which Dad identifies as 1st Lt. Platoon Leader, Censor
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Dad eating tasty cakes?
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Title
05-13-1945 Czechoslovakia
Date
May 13, 1945
Location
Czechoslovakia
Transcription
May 13 1945
Dear Mother & Dad:
Well, I suppose you are pretty anxious
to hear from me. Life has been pretty soft for
the past few days. However, I did not write
because we have been moving around quite a bit
and never staying in one place long enough
to get settled.
How did you celebrate the ending of
the European war? I got a chance to see
one more foreign country before the war was
over. I am now in Czechoslovakia. Boy! The
people here have been wonderful to us. Words
can't explain the welcome we received. Our
vehicles are covered with flowers every place
we go. They are forever giving us cakes & eggs &
beer when they have it. Every small town
has large signs all over it, such as "We welcome
our Liberators" or "We are grateful to the U.S Army."
It is really a wonderful experience.
We have also met the Russians. There
is an army for you. I have yet to see a
Russian soldier who wasn't stewed to the
gills. They are the most drunken army I
have ever seen. However, they are happy to
see us and we are happy to see them.
I am enclosing some pictures of myself
and the boys. I hope they go through.
Well that's all for now. I'll write
again soon.
Your Loving Son
Oby
Description
Writes to describe end of the war, that they've been on the move, currently in Czechoslovakia and meeting the Russians. He includes pictures from Czechoslovakia and I also included pictures of what appear to be German POWs. He doesn't refer to POWs in his letters, but they were taking a lot of at war's end.
In the letter he references meeting the Russians. He had once described that they met up with the Russians at the Elbe River. They were barreling through Germany from the West and the Russians from the East and suddenly there they were in front of each other. Russians on one side of the river and Americans on the other. Neither was quite sure what to do, whether they should consider the other enemies and continue to fight or lay down arms. A Russian officer broke the ice by breaking open a bottle of vodka and they all got drunk and celebrated. Don Fox in his book describes that the Americans first met the Russians near Riesa, Germany on April 25. There is an unlabeled picture that appears to be of Russian soldiers/officers. So, I include it here. The picture, however, does not appear likely to be by the Elbe River. Instead, it looks like it might more likely be in Czechoslovakia.
Which is the story of how dad ended up in Czechoslovakia. Patton was wholly distrustful of the Russians/Stalin and some suggest that he thought they should continue fighting to take him down while they were at it. Germany surrendered unconditionally in May 1945, but the boundaries between Western Allied and Soviet forces followed occupation and demarcation agreements made earlier — primarily at Yalta and through Allied military planning bodies. Since they were making such fast advances, Patton kept his forces moving toward Czechoslovakia to cut off the option of SS troops in Czechoslovakia from retreating or fleeing west and to secure the territory before the Soviets arrived. He wanted to continue on to Prague. The Fourth Armored had gotten word of the Prague uprising and they wanted to help Czech citizens. But they were ordered to make a hard stop at the demarcation lines.
Once the unconditional surrender took hold, Germans (aside from hardcore SS troops who chose to fight to the death), most German troops headed west to surrender to the Americans rather than face their fate with the Soviets. Little did they know, the agreement with the Soviets was not only to respect the agreed upon boundaries, but also, they would turn over all German POWs to the Soviets. So, they certainly got what they deserved, though the Czech citizenry did not. Dad's photo of the Russians looks like it was most likely their meeting in Czechoslovakia at the war's end.
Don Fox in his book provides a more detailed description of the 4th Armored Division's actions in Czechoslovakia.
There is also video of the 4th Armored Division being welcomed in Czechoslovakia.
And also, there is one picture in dad's collection of a truck filled with Germans. This was a common scene in Czechoslovakia as Germans retreated. This picture taken by dad is very similar to footage taken of their retreat.
