Last week I wrote about Christmas celebrations. This week I want to mention a Christmas Eve tragedy. I don’t mean for this to be depressing even though it certainly is a sad story. However, I do believe that remembering our past is important. We have to remember the events to celebrate as well as the errors. Remembering problems helps ensure that we don’t repeat them... at least not too often.
This is a World War II story about the SS Leo- poldville. World War II had been in full swing for several years by Christmas Eve 1944. American troops were moving through Europe now. The Battle of the Bulge was under way but by now the German advance was slowing. The SS Leopoldville was a Belgian troop carrier moving part of the American 66th Division from England to France to join the war.
The ship had made 24 successful Channel crossings and delivered an estimated 120,000 soldiers to France. Elements of the 262nd and 264th Regiments from the 66th Division loaded onto the HMS Cheshire and SS Leopold-ville on Dec. 23 for the trip. Organization during boarding broke down, so there was some confusion regarding who went on which ship. Previous crossings had been uneventful.
By now the German military machine had taken a severe pounding, but it was not dead. Not only was the army capable of launching an unexpected attack in mid-December, but the German submarines were still a threat. This night, U-486 would prove the undoing of the Leopoldville. Shortly before 6 p.m. on Dec. 24, the Leopoldville came into view and the U-486 did what it was trained to do.
A German torpedo ran straight and true, striking the starboard side of the troop ship. Many soldiers died quickly as the freezing water poured into the hold where they were billeted. The British and French escorts with the small convoy failed to prevent the attack and also failed to catch the U-486. The German submarine survived until April 1945 when it finally was sunk by a British submarine.
After the torpedo hit, several factors doomed hundreds of soldiers. Communications were confused regarding the likelihood of the ship sinking. Poor communications with forces ashore delayed the dispatch of rescue craft. Soldiers had not practiced the abandon-ship drill. Much of the crew abandoned the ship when ordered to do so, stranding hundreds of American soldiers. HMS Brilliant came alongside the Leopoldville to rescue soldiers but several who tried to leap across the intervening gap fell between the two ships.
Over 780 men died. The men on the Cheshire returned to England with no clear understanding of the disaster. One of my neighbor’s fathers, Capt. Thomas Fluker, was on the Cheshire. The tragedy shows that an enemy always has a vote in the outcome of battle and a war is not over until it’s over. It also points out that you just never know how people around you are connected to triumphs and tragedies.
John M. House is a retired Army colonel who lives in Midland, Ga. His e-mail is housearmylife@aol.com.
E-Mail
Print
