1939 Ends - 1940 Begins
Sunday, September 30, 2018 at 10:50AM
Saturday, December 30, 1939
Left Téterchen in the morning and arrived at Tromborn in the afternoon. The village was empty. There was a feeling of deep sadness all around. The homes had been looted. Furniture broken, the walls filthy. Only pictures of saints and crucifixes had been spared. This disaster was the work of a group of crazies we call the “BAT D’AF” or “Happies”: “Bat d’Af” means African Battalion, where most of the men are former prisoners. The disastrous behavior of these vandals and the heavy snow made the place even sadder. We were in the frontlines and the sound of the cannons let us know we were in for it.
Tuesday, January 2, 1940. Left Tromborn in the morning and arrived in the evening at the forward posts around Bouzonville. We took up Post 213. We’ll get “battle pay” during our stay in the forward posts as soon as we leave for the front lines. I can’t remember how much, it’s been such a long time.