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MAJ Mark E Cooper
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Baade, Paul William, MG USA(Ret).
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Contact Info
Home Town Fort Wayne
Last Address Santa Barbara, CA
Date of Passing Oct 09, 1959
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Last Known Activity:
MG Paul William Baade
(1889-1959)
Born and raised in Indiana, Paul entered West Point in June of 1907 with a Bachelor of Science already to his credit. Upon graduation in 1911 he was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant and awarded degrees of B.A. and A.B. Then began the commissioned service of nearly 40 years.
The new lieutenant joined the 11th Infantry at Fort D. A. Russel in Wyoming.
To Texas City with the regiment on Border Patrol until August 1914. Then to the 8th Infantry in the Philippines for 3 years and then to the 54th Infantry at Chickamaugua, Park, Georgia. As a new major, he sailed for France with the advance party of the 81st Division and was quickly in action.
With the 322nd Infantry in the occupancy of the St. Die Sector, the Vosges and on to Verdun. He fought as a Lieutenant Colonel in the bitter actions east of the Somedian Sector and in the Meuse Argonne. After returning home with his regiment in June 1919 he spent four years at various schools, four years in the office of the Chief of Infantry, Graduated from the Army War College, four years duty at the USMA then two years with the 29th Infantry at Fort Benning. After several more assignments he received his first star in July 1941. July 1942 he was Assistant Commander of the 35th Division Guarding the southern California coast.
A major general in July 1943 and in command of the division, he moved it from San Luis Obispo to Camp Rucker, Alabama and in November '43, through the Tennessee maneuvers and then to Camp Butner, N.C. until May '44.
The division landed on Omaha Beach on July 8th, '44 to join the Battle of Normandy under the XIX Corps, First Army.
General Baade led the division in almost constant combat for 11 months and 1600 miles, through St. Lo, the Vire River, Mortain, Orleans, Montargis, Troy, Nancy, Sareguemines, the Bleis river, Bastogne, the lower Vosges, the Roer River, Venlo, Wesel, the Ruhr, and on to the Elbe river. This included five countries, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, The Netherlands and Germany.
On occupation duty in Hanover and Recklenhausen and the Coblenz area until July 1945, when control was relinquished to the French.
The division came home in September 1945, and demobilized at Camp Breckenridge, N.C.
The General continued to serve until his retirement, disability in the line of duty, 30th September 1946. Among the numerous decorations he received were the Distinguished Service Medal, two Silver Stars, The Legion of Merit, three Bronze Stars, and Purple Heart. From France he received the honors of Officer of the Legion of Honor and the Croix de Guerre and from the Netherlands, Grand Officer Orange van Nassau.
He retired to his home in Santa Barbara, California with his wife Margaret. The general was active in civic and church activities until his death on the 9th October, 1959.
WWII - European Theater of Operations/Ardennes Alsace Campaign (1944-45)/Battle of the Bulge
From Month/Year
December / 1944
To Month/Year
January / 1945
Description The Battle of the Bulge (16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945) was a major German offensive campaign launched through the densely forested Ardennes region of Wallonia in Belgium, France and Luxembourg on the Western Front toward the end of World War II in Europe. Hitler planned the offensive with the primary goal to recapture the important harbour of Antwerp. The surprise attack caught the Allied forces completely off guard. United States forces bore the brunt of the attack and incurred the highest casualties for any operation during the war. The battle also severely depleted Germany's war-making resources.
The battle was known by different names. The Germans referred to it as Unternehmen Wacht am Rhein ("Operation Watch on the Rhine"), while the French named it the Bataille des Ardennes ("Battle of the Ardennes"). The Allies called it the Ardennes Counteroffensive. The phrase "Battle of the Bulge" was coined by contemporary press to describe the way the Allied front line bulged inward on wartime news maps and became the best known name for the battle.
The German offensive was supported by several subordinate operations known as Unternehmen Bodenplatte, Greif, and Währung. As well as stopping Allied transport over the channel to the harbor of Antwerp, Germany also hoped these operations would split the British and American Allied line in half, and then proceed to encircle and destroy four Allied armies, forcing the Western Allies to negotiate a peace treaty in the Axis Powers' favor. Once that was accomplished, Hitler could fully concentrate on the eastern theatre of war.
The offensive was planned by the German forces with the utmost secrecy, minimizing radio traffic and moving troops and equipment under cover of darkness. Despite their efforts to keep it secret, the Third U.S. Army's intelligence staff predicted a major German offensive, and Ultra indicated that a "substantial and offensive" operation was expected or "in the wind", although a precise date or point of attack could not be given. Aircraft movement from the Russian Front and transport of forces by rail, both to the Ardennes, was noticed but not acted upon, according to a report later written by Peter Calvocoressi and F. L. Lucas at the codebreaking centre Bletchley Park.
Near-complete surprise was achieved by a combination of Allied overconfidence, preoccupation with Allied offensive plans, and poor aerial reconnaissance. The Germans attacked a weakly defended section of the Allied line, taking advantage of heavily overcast weather conditions, which grounded the Allies' overwhelmingly superior air forces. Fierce resistance on the northern shoulder of the offensive around Elsenborn Ridge and in the south around Bastogne blocked German access to key roads to the northwest and west that they counted on for success; columns that were supposed to advance along parallel routes found themselves on the same roads. This and terrain that favored the defenders threw the German advance behind schedule and allowed the Allies to reinforce the thinly placed troops. Improved weather conditions permitted air attacks on German forces and supply lines, which sealed the failure of the offensive. In the wake of the defeat, many experienced German units were left severely depleted of men and equipment, as survivors retreated to the defenses of the Siegfried Line.
About 610,000 American forces were involved in the battle,[2] and 89,000 were casualties, including 19,000 killed. It was the largest and bloodiest battle fought by the United States in World War II.