End of the Road

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The Last Plane

Nuremberg, Germany, shortly after capture in 1945.

Eltersdorf
Eltersdorf is a sector of Erlangen, itself a northern component of the metropolitan area of Nürnberg. Erlangen was captured by the US Army VII Corps on 16 APR 1945, and troops moved into the garrison area that had been home to German military troops for more than 75 years. The garrison remained occupied by American soldiers through the period of occupation and then as a US Army base until its closure in 1993.

The 129th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Gun Battalion (Mobile) arrived six days after the town was captured by the Army, but apparently didn't engage any aircraft during their time there.

A tranquil morning in Eltersdorf, Germany.

Kornburg
Nuremberg, the second largest city in Bavaria and the spiritual home of the Nazi party, fell to the allies on 20 April 1945 after 5 days of intense urban combat. The 129th was sent to this southern suburb of Nuremberg four days after the city was captured, but, in four days of covering the crossing of the Danube River, they apparently saw no activity.

Kornburg has a modest memorial to her boys lost in both global wars their country instigated. Some may feel their remembrance does not deserve to be honored here, but they were sons, brothers, husbands, fathers, and uncles whose lives were snuffed out in a war they could not escape, so they are honored here.

Marthweg
Our diarist recorded “Martheim" in his journal, however I was unable to find such a place anywhere in Germany, let alone in the Nuremberg area. I was able to find Marthweg, which, apparently is just the name of a street. I took no photos here, but “Marthweg" was huge to the 129th as at this location they shot down what turned out to be their final target aircraft, capturing the crew of the downed plane as well, perhaps symbolizing for them the sum of the war: Germany is captured, defeated.

Bamberg*
Having no military or industrial significance (no bases, no airfields, no munitions or war materiel plants), Bamberg was left largely unscathed by Allied bombing in the run-up to the invasion of the country. It is not to say the city remained entirely unscathed, as American troops encountered resistance as they approached and entered.

Basically relieved of anti-aircraft duties, the 129th was assigned to the processing of Allied prisoners of war in a “RAMP (Released Allied Military Prisoners) Camp as well as patrolling the city, as Bamberg is where they were on 8 May 1945, the official end of hostilities in the European Theater of Operations, when the partying and carousing of elated GIs was likely at a fever pitch.

I was unable to find any information about the explosion mentioned in the diary .

*The photos of Bamberg posted here were taken on 14 June 2023 as we visited the city out of the order listed in the diary for logistical reasons; a lot of time and ground to cover backtracking up and down.

Aiglsbach
Just prior to the end of the hostilities, Aiglsbach had been beset by American artillery because a German army SS unit was billeted in the town. There was apparently no other military action upon the arrival of Allied ground units.

The war dead of Aiglsbach honored in the town square.

The 129th was sent to Aiglsbach two weeks after the end of the war for what basically looks like “make-work" duties. In other words, just give the soldiers stuff to do to keep them occupied and out of trouble. Dad tried to explain the “Points" system once, but it never made sense to me. All I know is that once a soldier accumulated a certain number of points he was allowed to ship back home, and that his points were always foremost on his mind.

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