"Hero Of Holzwihr"
On the morning
of January 26, 1945, German armor moved out from the town
of Holzwihr, France, toward the woods
where remnants of company B, 15th Regiment,
3rd Infantry Division were trying to hold their
positions. The German armor advance
was preceded by an artillery barrage and the
six tanks were supported by approximately
250 soldiers from the 2nd Mountain Division,
some of Germany's best troops.
When Lt. Audie Murphy saw his only two tank
destoyers knocked out of action in the first minutes
of the battle, he knew his men were
doomed. Seeing a .50 caliber machine gun on the M-10 tank destroyer
closest to him, he jumped up onto the
tank and began firing at the advancing Germans. He only stopped firing long
enoungh to re-load or to call in supporting artillery fire from the rear.
Lt. Murphy fired the gun with such
accuracy for what seemed like forever, that the Germans troops and tanks
finally withdrew, thinking they were
attacking a more heavily fortified position than they had originally
thought. Audie
Murphy single-handedly held the position and save many GI's lives. He was
awarded the Medal Of Honor
for this action.
Hero Of Holzwihr
Original painting available - Call
for details
Oils on Belgian linen
30 X 40 inches
Giclées on canvas available:
