134th Infantry Regiment "All Hell Can't Stop Us"

IPW Team 60 Report of activities since D-day

Headquarters
134th Infantry Regiment
IPW Team #60
APO 35, U. S. Army

7 February 1945

Subject: Report of Activities of IPW Team #60 since D-day.

To: Headquarters Military Intelligence Service, European Theater of Operations, APO 887, U. S. Army.

1. Campaigns and Battles: This team together with other elements of the division arrived at Omaha Beach, France on 6 July 44. The following day the team was divided according to prearranged plan whereby 1st Lt. Rempel (see Par 2 a), M/Sgt Ackerman and Tec 3 Heyman were assigned to the division PWE, and 2nd Lt Teimer, S/Sgt Swartz and Tec 5 Spritzer to the 134th Infantry Regiment. On 8 July one battalion of the 134th Regiment was committed via St. Jean de Daye, France, and the IPW half-team with the regiment remained with the engaged battalion until it rejoined the regiment of few days later: no PW were taken during this engagement, and the only mission assigned was the removal and examination of papers, etc., from enemy dead.

The next battle engaged in was that in which Villier Fossard, Emilie and St. Lowers taken following which the unit pushed on to Conde-sur-Vire, Torigny and the Vire River.

Following the German threat to Avranches this unit was committed via Mortain. After the reduction of this threat we forged to the east, taking LeMans, Montargis, Chateaudun, Troyes, Aix-en-Othe, Joigny, and intervening places, working in conjunction with the 4th Armored Division, until reaching the Moselle River where our unit was engaged in heavy fighting in the vicinity of Fort St. Vincent. The Moselle was crossed and the drive to the east continued with the taking of Nancy, crossing the Meurthe River and pushing in a north-easterly direction to the banks of the Seile River. Following a static situation of about six weeks duration the unit again jumped off taking Amelecourt, Achain, Morhange, Hellimer and St. Jean Rohrbach, along with intervening and laterally adjacent places. During the following week three river crossings were accomplished (the Moder, Saar, and Blies) and Putelange, Sarreguemines, and Habkirchen (Germany) were taken.

At this time the Germans counterattacked in the Ardennes Sector, and the division was committed in the vicinity of Bastogne, Belgium, to maintain contact with the previously isolated 101st Airborne Division and attack the German salient from the south. After taking Sanlez, Lutrebois, Lutremange, and other villages the division was divided with the 134th Infantry Regiment joining the 6th Armored Division and proceeding on to Luxembourg, while the other elements of the division were temporarily attached to Seventh Army units.

The division has now been reassembled for a new, undisclosed mission.

To date the total number of prisoners taken by the 134th Infantry Regiment is 4,209, and by the 35th Infantry Division, 12, 200.

2. Personnel:
a. The original personnel of this team consisted of the following:
1st Lt. Henry D. Rempel, AGD O507050
2nd Lt. Theodor Teimer, Jr., MAC O1546363
M/Sgt Efrain Ackerman, 32429795
S/Sgt Egen Swartz, 13143650
Tec 3 Vernon O. Heyman, 39132733
Tec 5 Herman Spritzer, 32090594

b. The following men were lost to the team for reasons indicated:
1st Lt. Rempel was recalled to MIS for another mission.
Tec 3 Heyman was severely wounded in action (see previously submitted report on this subject)
Tec 5 Spritzer was taken sick and evacuated to hospital.

c. Subsequent to the loss of Tec 5 Spritzer, Tec 5 Eric Liebenstein was "borrowed" from XII Corps IPW Team. Shortly thereafter he was severely wounded in action.

d. The following were received as replacements:
Tec 5 Herbert H. R. Senftleben, 32969701
Pvt. Walter Cerf, 36657298
Pvt. Fred Marshal

e. The following promotions have been made:
1st Lt. Rempel to Captain
2nd Lt. Teimer to 1st Lt.
M/Sgt. Ackerman to 2nd Lt.
S/Sgt. Swartz to T/Sgt.
T/5 Senftleben to T/3
Pvt. Cerf to Sgt.
Pvt. Marshall to Tec 5

f. The following distribution is made of personnel: Lt. Teimer, Sgt. Cerf and Tec 3 Senftleben are with the 134th Infantry Regiment. Lt. Ackerman and Tec 5 Marshall are with Division PWE. T/Sgt Swartz is with the division clearing station (110 Medical Battalion). Captain Rempel and Tec 3 Heyman had served at division PWE. Tec 5 Spritzer and Tec 5 Liebenstein had served at 134th Infantry Regiment. Before being detailed to clearing station (November 1944) Sgt. Swartz had served with 134th.

g. The following awards have been made:
To Lt. (then M/Sgt.) Ackerman, the Silver Star (See Par 4 d)
To Tec 3 Heyman and Tec 5 Liebenstein, the Purple Heart.
Sgt. Cerf has been proposed for the Bronze Star but action has not yet been taken on this.

3. Specific Contributions by Interrogation of PW: It is impossible at this stage to specifically enumerate such contributions made by this team at this time. As an example, however, a partial list of the results of interrogation by the half-team with the 134th Infantry Regiment is included.

This team has identified the following units or elements thereof:

17th SS Division 1st SS Armored Division
SS Division Das Reich 3rd Parachute Division
5 Parachute Division 3rd Parachute Division Training Regiment
2nd Panzer Division 116 Mot Division
9th Panzer Division 11th Panzer Division
19th Infantry Division 48th Infantry Division
559th Volksgrenadier Division 553th Volksgrenadier Division
353 Infantry Division 266 Infantry Division
352 Infantry Division 26th Volksgrenadier Division
36th Volksgrenadier Division 167th Volksgrenadier Division
340th Volksgrenadier Division 560th Volksgrenadier Division
5th German Air Force Regiment 91st German Air Force Training Regiment
57th German Air Force Signal Regiment 192, 198 Security Regiments
103rd Armored Reconnaissance Battalion (GHQ) 30th Mobile Brigade
401st Artillery Brigade (GHQ) 48th Fortress Machine Gun Battalion

The following locations have been "pin-pointed":
95 Command Posts (of units higher than companies)
28 Artillery batteries
41 Separate artillery pieces and self-propelled (SP) guns
1 self-propelled gun park
45 anti-tank guns
29 anti-aircraft guns
57 mortars
36 heavy machine guns
92 tanks
11 tank or mortar parks
20 anti-tank obstacles
20 minefields
21 supply trains
9 ammunition dumps
1 fire direction center
2 gasoline depots
5 factories currently producing war materials
2 straggler collecting points

In addition the strengths, dispositions, armament, supply routes, intentions, etc., of enemy forces opposing us have been determined.

4. Additional Activities:
a. Interrogation of civilians: When time has permitted this team has been active in the interrogation of civilians and displaced persons both for the purpose of determining their status as suspicious persons and for the purpose of obtaining enemy intelligence. By such interrogations many prepared gun emplacements, tank obstacles, bridges prepared for demolition, strength and attitudes of enemy units, etc. (those items not mentioned in Par 3) have been determined. Two specific missions in civilian interrogation have been assigned and accomplished, namely the location of potential fords and the general condition of the Blies and Our Rivers in preparation for crossing them. The ability of two interrogators to speak Italian (Lt. Ackerman and Sgt. Cerf) and one to speak Russian (Lt. Ackerman) has been of great value in handling displaced persons.

b. Examination of enemy equipment: The team has been called upon from time to time to determine the significance of the markings on captured vehicles, ammunition, etc. On one occasion a prisoner of war was used to instruct a group of our men in the firing of the "Faustpatrone".

c. Use of artillery liaison planes: In static or semi-static situations it has been found very advantageous to go on occasional flights with artillery observers. By such flights a better appreciation of the terrain features which prisoners of war mention can be obtained than by studying a map.

d. Truce party: One member of this team (Lt. Ackerman) accompanied a truce party into the town of Montargis, France, in an attempt to talk the German commander of this town into a surrender. He was awarded a Silver Star for this action.

e. Miscellaneous: On two occasions a member of this team has captured or participated in the capture of prisoners by talking them into surrender: in this was 28 were taken at Arraye-et-Han and 2 at Sarreguemines, France. On one occasion a member of the team has gone on a night patrol (vicinity LeMans, France) which was made in an attempt to capture an isolated group of Germans who had been raiding farms in the vicinity for food: the function of the interrogator was to shout threats and instructions to surrender to the field where the enemy was supposed to be. On several occasions men from the team have aided battalions in the evacuation of prisoners when German-speaking personnel was needed for this task.

5. Method of Reporting:

a. At regimental level two types of reports are made. Information of immediate value is phoned to the S-2 as soon as obtained. Following the complete interrogation of a prisoner of war a typed report is made in eight copies. These are distributed one to each battalion, one to the regimental commander, one to regimental S-2, one to G-2, one to the interrogator at division PWE and one retained for file.

b. At divisional level additional notes are made on the reports sent to them by regiments, and these are sent to G-2. In addition a daily consolidated report is made here. After use by G-2 both reports are turned over to the Order of Battle Team.

c. The interrogator at the clearing station reports the results of his work to G-2 and to the interrogator at division PWE.

d. Reports and captured documents relative to enemy communications are sent directly to the corps signal intelligence unit from any level.

e. Reports and documents which are of interest to the Psychological Warfare Board are sent directly to this agency.

6. Relationships to other Intelligence Teams: The work of the IPW team is sufficiently well defined that it does not infringe on that of other agencies, but in the temporary absence of Counterintelligence Corps (CIC) and Military Intelligence (MII) personnel this team has performed some of their functions as well. Information gathered by these other agencies has served as a basis for questioning prisoners. This team and the Order of Battle team have reciprocally furnished each other with information.

Theodor Teimer, Jr.
1st Lt. MAC
IPW Team 60, Comdg

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