Shooting from the tower of Plzeň

On 6 May, 1945, at 8 o'clock, first tanks of the U.S. 16th Armored Division under the command of Colonel Noble rolled into Plzeň. At the main square, they were soon greeted by enthusiastic crowds of the citizens of Plzeň. At about 10 o’clock, the relaxed atmosphere was suddenly interrupted by gunfire by German fanatics from the church tower. Panic broke out on the square, people fled in search of a shelter. Only the U.S. troops remained calm. Realizing that they were still at war, they focused on the elimination of the hideous gunman. They opened fire at the tower and a group of American soldiers fought against the Germans in the church. Finally they captured the shooter. Richard Smola witnessed the shooting at the school building in Husova Avenue. The fear of the local population was in stark contrast to the stoicism of the U.S. soldiers who were accustomed to permanent danger and warfare. Smola recalls: “Right in front of us, there was a U.S. tank and the guy in the gun tower was drinking milk. When the Germans began to shoot, he looked around, put the glass of milk on the tower, grabbed the gun and opened fire at the school building. He fired a few rounds and there was silence again. He took the glass again and sipped on.” After a brief shootout in a building used by the Gestapo on one of the banks of the Radbuza River, the Americans captured also about 40 Gestapo-men and prison wardens. Eva Vítová recalls: “I saw them taking out the Germans. The prisoners had to hold their hands behind their heads, but one Gestapo guy was still twitching his hand. One of the onlookers reported it to an American soldier. He reached into his pocket and found a grenade in it.” Fortunately, he didn’t have time to use it. After this episode, the U.S. soldiers ordered the on-looking local population to stay away in safety and they themselves cleansed the city for the remainder of the day, checking house by house. In total, they captured over 3,000 members of the Wehrmacht and the SS. During the operations in Plzeň, 17 U.S. soldiers of the 16th Armored Division got injured and one got killed.