From flyboys and college boys to doughboys.
THE WATCH ON THE RHINE
The Wehrmacht east of the Rhine first stared into 86th Division guns while the Black Hawks straddle Cologne on a 23-mile front and frustrated German activity with raids and patrols.
THE RUHR POCKET
The Germans in the Ruhr were the first to feel the relentless Black Hawk drives which in 10 days netted 33,000 prisoners. In two long left-flank dashes, the 86th united with the 9th Army, and the Pocket, now split for the first time, soon withered.
THE BAVARIAN DOUBT
Swift river-hopping and Black Hawk “business” on a 24-hour basis kept Bavarian Nazis capable of rallying scattered defenses. After starting southeast of Nuremburg, 86th doughboy-engineer teams jumped six major water obstacles.