Germans booby trapped their own dead men

Our Company was battling down the Vire-Tinchebray road in hot pursuit and had stopped for the day for food and refueling. We set about digging our fox holes and needed something to keep the rain off, doors keep you dry and also give one a false sense of security

Spud! Now there is a name to conjure with, Spud Murphy our D.R and myself always tried to share the task of digging our holes! First back from that day's operation would start the hole for both of us.

We both decided that a door over our hole would improve our creature comforts and set off for a farm a short distance away, when we got there, all seemed safe and quiet, no sign of the Enemy, we started to look for our door, no sign of civilians, they had long departed for safer areas.

While looking for our door we found the farm cattle in an enclosed yard, all suffering from wounds that had been sustained by setting off booby traps, this had an immediate effect of making us a great deal more cautious, still in search of our door for the night we came to a farm outhouse, this was one of those typical Normandy outhouses where they kept the great cider barrels up on racks at the back and on the cobble stone floor.

Spread-eagled on the cobbled floor was a dead German officer, resplendent in full uniform with sword and Nazi dagger, his medals pinned on his chest, including the iron cross. Knowing the Germans and their dirty tricks, we were only too aware that moving him would set off a booby trap of some description.

Spud and I talked about "making him safe" by putting a rope round his feet and giving him a pull from a safe distance, to set off the very loud bang we knew would follow, in the end we decided against it, some else could do it, it would be far to messy.

For me, to booby trap your dead comrades is an utterly evil act, and shows little respect for ones comrades in arms. Despicable!
Sapper

 

Imagine fighting for your country and putting your life on the line only to be treated like that by your own men. Disgraceful.
Great description though Sapper.
Didn't the Japs do that too?
All a bunch of loony balls if you ask me.

 

From: My Life In The Army With Co B 55th AIB

I remember one town near Longchamps in Belgium. We got the hell knocked out of us going in. We cleared the town and stayed there that night. The next day was bright and sunny. We could see some dead Germans laying in the snow, up in a field, near some woods. We found a long piece of rope and went up there. There were twelve lying frozen in many positions. Sometimes the Germans would "booby- trap" their dead. We would tie the rope around a leg and drag them a ways and make sure there were no wires attached to the bodies. Then we looked for watches and pistols. I remember one that I rolled over. His face was gone from the forehead down.

 

Did they ever do it to our guys. So that when we went to clear up our dead men on the battlefields, the bombs would go off?

 

I cannot recall our own dead being booby trapped by the enemy.
It is a practice that no Britisher would indulge in.
Sapper

 

Didn't the Japs do that too?


There were many noted instances of the Japanese booby trapping their own dead. Burma was a prime example.

 

It is a practice that no Britisher would indulge in.

Yeah mate but I'm not saying that. If the Germans would booby-trap their own officers, then surely they must have booby-trapped some of our dead guys, so we'd get injured when moving our own guys?

 

Did they ever do it to our guys. So that when we went to clear up our dead men on the battlefields, the bombs would go off?

My father told me that they lost a couple of men to booby traps on British Soldiers, in the Collumbelles (suburb of Caen) factory area of Normandy. Always the newest men to get caught out as they were not 'war wise'.

Dad said what was worse was, finding 2 of their own, one with his throat cut the other shot in the back of the head, both with hands barbed wired behind their backs. They had been out trophy hunting!!!!