Kassel — Railroad Marshalling Yard

Mission Narrative

On December 4, 1944, the 351st returned to Kassel — a city the group had last attacked in September when the target was the Henschel tank factory. This time, the target was Kassel's railroad marshalling yards, a critical junction in central Germany's rail network. Kassel sat at the crossroads of major north-south and east-west rail lines, making its yards essential for the movement of military traffic.

The city's defenses had been heavily reinforced after the September attacks. Kassel's rail yards would be struck repeatedly by the 8th Air Force throughout the fall and winter of 1944-45 as part of the systematic effort to paralyze German transportation.

This was Carl's fourteenth mission. Twelve days after this mission, the German Army would launch its surprise offensive in the Ardennes — and the 351st Bomb Group would be called upon for a very different type of mission.

Strategic Context

In early December 1944, the Allied high command was focused on preparations for the final push into Germany. Unknown to virtually everyone on the Allied side, Hitler was massing three armies in the Eifel region for a massive counteroffensive through the Ardennes. The troops, tanks, and supplies for this offensive were being moved into position via the very rail network that the 8th Air Force was trying to destroy — making every transportation mission a potential disruption of German offensive plans.