Cornelius Ryan WWII papers, box 007, folder 52: John J. Dolan

- 5 -

got up just like clock work to the edge of the road. They were under the heaviest small arms fire from the other side of the causeway, and from the cannon and machine gun fire from the tanks. To this day, I'll never be able to explain why all four of them were not killed. They fired and reloaded with the precision of well oiled machinery. Watching them made it hard to believe that this was nothing but a routine drill. I don't think that either crew wasted a shot. The first tank received several direct hits. The treads were knocked off, and within a matter of minutes it was on fire.

Then they went to work on the second tank, and within about 30 seconds, it was on fire. They fired every rocket that they had and then jumped into their foxholes. The 57MM during this time was firing and eventually knocked out the last tank. The gun crew did an excellent job.

My two bazooka crews called for ammunition. Major Kellam ran up toward the bridge with a bag of rockets followed by Captain Roysden. When they were within 15 or 20 yards of the bridge, the Germans opened up with mortar fire on the bridge. Major Kellam was killed and Captain Roysden was rendered unconscious from the concussion. He died later that day.

Both of the bazookas were destroyed by the mortar fire. Lt. Weir (Reg. Hq. Co.) and I carried Captain Roysden back. I then took over command of the batallion, being the senior officer present.

Company "B" was put into reserve in the perimeter of Company "A", so that we had almost a 360 degree perimeter defense. The rest of the day we were under heavy mortar and machine gun fire. The mortar fire was very effective as against the two forward platoons because of tree bursts. It took very little imagination on the part of the Krauts to figure out just where we would be dug in. As I recall, there was less than a seventy-five yard frontage on either side of the bridge from where we could effectively defend, so they could throw their mortar fire in our general direction with good results. During the night, the fire let up, but they started early the next morning and kept it up. My third platoon took the worst beating, as they were in a heavily wooded area, (tree bursts).

The second tank attack came on the afternoon of the second day. I was over on the north side of the bridge with the first platoon. For about an hour before the attack, they increased their mortar fire to the extent that the third platoon was just about knocked out, but not quite. I was not aware of this at the time. In addition to already heavy casualties, Sgt. Monahan, the platoon Sgt. was fatally wounded.

- 6 -

I learned second hand that some other troops had retreated through the third platoon's position, and then through my C.P. Rumors were around that we were going to give up the bridge. As a result of this, the 57MM A.T. crew took off. I didn't have an Executive Officer at the time. Earlier that day, he (Tom Furey) was put in command of Company "C". My First Sargeant was a jump casualty, so my Company Headquarters at the time was non-existent except for runners and radio operators. I can't recall why, but our radios were not working. The only way that we could communicate was through runners.

The first platoon was under heavy fire also. The platoon leader, Lt. Oakley, who had been doing an excellent job, was fatally wounded, and Sgt. Ricci was killed leaving the junior squad leader, Sgt. Owens, in command. You will recall that we have had some communication about Sgt. Owens in the past as to his personal courage and the way he commanded the platoon at this most critical time.

I recommended Sgt. Owens and my four bazooka men for the D.S.C. The bazooka men were awarded the D.S.C., but Sgt. Owens was not. This is a story in itself.

The second attack was with two tanks and infantry. I was unable to estimate the size. The tanks stayed out of effective bazooka range. (We had one bazooka left.) Not hearing any fire from the 57MM, I went over to it and found it unmanned. I tried to fire it, but the crew had taken the firing mechanism. I organized five or six men behind the hedge on the southerly side of the road with Gammon grenades, and just about this time, two of the gun crew returned with the firing mechanism. They knocked out the two tanks. They were two youngsters not more than 17 or 18 years old, who returned on their own initiative. I recommended them for Silver Stars.

The rest of our stay at the bridge was uneventful, except for the continued mortar fire, and at the end, artillery fire which damaged the 57MM.

Lt. Col. Mark Alexander took over command of the batallion later that day and continued to command it for most of the operation. Without exception, he was the finest batallion commander I ever served under. My second son, Mark Alexander Dolan, was named after him.

In conclusion, we held the bridge until relieved. In Co. "A" alone, in those days (three in all), we had seventeen known dead and about three times that number wounded. The rest of the batallion also had heavy casualties.

- 7 -

I have tried to give you an accurate picture of what happened; however, after fifteen years, the foregoing may contain some minor inaccuracies.

I will be glad to give Mr. Ryan any additional information he may require. You may assure him that I will be happy to cooperate with him in every detail.

Very truly yours, [inserted] John Dolan [end inserted] John J. Dolan

JJD:eg

P. S. Since writing this letter, I have read the account by David Howarth in the Saturday Evening Post, and I agree with you that it contains many inaccuracies. You will probably note that some of the events related tie in with what I have told you in this letter.

The most glaring inaccuracy is about the bridge being lost. For the record, this bridge was held by Company "A" from the time of its capture on "D" Day, until we were relieved.

There are a few other incidents that happened down at the bridge, which I will relate to you, as it is my intention to dop in on you at some time within the next few weeks.

[inserted] Original in Special File [end inserted]

UNIVERSITY 4-5770

Arthur D. Little, Inc.

ESTABLISHED 1886

THIRTY MEMORIAL DRIVE CAMBRIDGE 42, MASSACHUSETTS

March 27, 1959

Mr. Cornelius Ryan 230 East Forty-eighth Street New York 17, New York

Dear Connie:

I just received the attached from Dolan. Frankly, it is the first time that I have ever gotten this much detail out of him. Although I was with him from beginning to end of the War, he was never much for talking about what happened. I hasten to send it off to you because I think that it is quite good. To the best of my knowledge it is accurate in every detail.

Sincerely, [inserted] James Gavin [end inserted] James M. Gavin Executive Vice President

mhm Enclosures (7)