Section Leaders:
Your one stop shop for Combat Mission Scenarios and Operations
Tactical Allied Overview (potential spoiler) Tactical Axis Overview (potential spoiler)
Type: Meeting Engagement US Army vs. Germany (Historical) Date: September 9th, 1944 Location: Near Maastricht, Netherlands Weather: Clear Terrain: Dry Turns: 25 Size: Medium Scenario Briefing Sergeant Lafayette G. Pool – The “Texas Tanker” By Wild Bill Wilder It took a hearty soul to man the M4 Sherman tank and go
up against the superior firepower and armor of the Wehrmacht. Armor
crew casualties were high. The Sherman, though a good, reliable tank,
could not match the advantages of the firepower and thick Krupp steel
armor plating of a Panther or a Tiger. But some men were born to tank fighting. S/Sgt Lafayette
G. Pool, of Odem, Texas was one of those. With the first name,
"Lafayette," Pool grew up tough. He was a tall muscular young
man. On hearing him speak, there could be no trouble identifying his
Texas drawl. A golden gloves champ, he had accepted a challenge from
Joe Lewis, who was visiting US troops in England, to spar a few rounds.
Pool was always ready for a fight. He was a natural as a
tank commander. Serving with the 32nd Regiment, 3rd Armored Division,
he found himself in France in late June 1944. The Texas sergeant always
wore his cowboy boots while in his tank. His first one, "In the
Mood" was taken out on his first day of combat by a German
panzerfaust. Undeterred, he was given a second M4A3 and named it
"In the Mood II." During an air attack on German positions,
on August 18, 1944 at Fromental, France, an errant bomb from one of the
attacking Thunderbolts damaged beyond repair his second tank. One man
was injured and Sergeant Pool leaped from his own tank, and while under
heavy German small arms fire went to the man, loaded him on his
shoulders and carried him to safety. Once the remaining US tanks had been pulled back, Pool
insisted on going back to look for another man who was missing. It was
only because of direct orders of the company commander, Captain Burton
W. Benz that the courageous sergeant did not venture again into the
danger zone. But the good Sergeant from Texas was quick to get another
tank, this one a newer version of the M4A3 with the much more powerful
76mm gun. He and his crew, which was with him till the end, fought
their way across France and into Germany. An article in Yank Magazine, the Army Weekly, highlighted
the valor of this Texas Tanker and his crew in a special article about
them. "Pool's crew was ideal for the task, besides
Richards and Close (driver and co-driver) there was Cpl Willis Oller
from Morrisonville, Illinois, the gunner and T/5 Del Boggs, of
Lancaster, Ohio, the loader." During his short career Pool and his crew were credited
with 258 enemy vehicles kills, from Kubelwagens to Panther tanks. The
crew of "In the Mood" had taken over 250 prisoners and killed
over 1,000 German soldiers. The highpoint in the sergeant's exploits came at Namur,
Belgium, when he and his regiment killed sixteen enemy tanks with a
loss of only five of theirs. Pool was credited with 3 tank kills,
including a Panther at close range. It was during a night action near Colombier, France. In
the darkness, Pool's tank nearly rammed the Panther before it became
visible. The Panther got off two panicked shots at close range but
missed. Corporal
Oller, the ever-alert gunner (it was said he saw
all of France and Germany through the sights of his main gun) calmly
took aim, fired, and ripped the heavy turret from the body of the enemy
tank. Finding themselves then surrounded by German infantry,
Pool's crew fought them off with machine gun fire till reinforcements
appeared. Pool's adventures in a tank came to a tragic close on
September 19th, 1944. While covering the right flank of his combat
command, he and the other tanks in his platoon were engaged by tanks of
the 9th Panzer Division between Maastricht and Aachen. Here the "Texas Tanker" would end his fighting
career. He would, however, continue to serve as instructor in armor for
years afterward. When his tank was hit, he tried to back out of the
engagement, but a second shell slammed into the stricken Sherman,
setting it afire. Pool was thrown out of the turret, with a severe wound to
his right leg. His crew was able to escape and found aid for their
commander. In spite of the emergency care given Pool lost his leg and
his days of combat were at an end. The lion-hearted Sergeant, in spite of his wounds, did
not quit. He continued to serve as instructor in the US Army in matters
of armor for a number of years. After retiring, he became active in the church, pastoring
a small congregation in Texas. So renowned were his armored exploits in
Europe that Room 9312, a tank-driving simulator at Fort Knox was
renamed Pool Hall in 1993, two years after his death. Sources: Tank Action, Forty Tank Aces, Forty US Army in WW2, “The Siegfried Line Campaign”
Tactical Allied Overview (potential spoiler) Tactical Axis Overview (potential spoiler)
|
