The Ottré Massacre - An Inconvenient Truth

This is the story of the men of F company, 331st Regiment/ 83rd Infantry Division, who were ambushed outside of Ottré on 10 January 1945.

“On 11 January 1945 two assault squads of the 3rd Platoon/ F Company ran into a German ambush and were pinned down by MG42 machine gun crossfire. The entire slope was raked continuously for several minutes. Many of his men were dead, most of the others wounded. He saw two SS troopers coming down the slope from the ridge and he dropped his head and watched from the corner of his eye. They began searching the clothing of the dead soldiers. A man groaned and a rifle shot rang out. Blood trickled from the man’s temple. Another groan was heard, followed by more shots. Everyone of the wounded was riddled and their clothes searched. Shoemaker was the only one who escaped to tell the story.”

Tips:
– Trouble reading? Press control and “+” to zoom in.
– At the end of the text in each chapter you will find the link to the next chapter.
– Do you have any comments after reading? Feel free to sent me an email: bob(at)grandmenil.com !

Chapters:

1. Introduction (chapter will open in tab)
2. The Monument
3. The Ottré massacre – as told during the years.
4. Starting the Research
5. The story of Bob Kauffman.
6. Sgt. Harry E. Shoemaker
7. July 1944: Ferme des Ormeaux.
8. December 1944: The attack on Gey and getting out of the army
9. Other statements
10. Tony Vaccaro
11. The tanks in the field
12. Prisoners of War
13. Panzer Aufklarungsabteilung 9
14. 10 January 1945
15. We Remember…
16. Sources and acknowledgments
Appendix 1: Radio traffic
Appendix 2: Media articles
Appendix 3: Maps
Appendix 4: Video’s
Reactions on the article (added in September 2022)