Agreed. The radio logs are beyond compelling. They paint a portrait of field commanders who are capable, calm, and resolute in the face of unexpected crisis. And the story of individual units standing and fighting to thwart the Germans' attack and timetable inspire me.
These accounts are actually quite chilling to read. The communications may appear calm and the officers resolute, there are still a couple of things to keep in mind:
1) The 106th was as green a division as there was on the Western Front. This was their first taste of combat.
2) Given the locations of the points where they were fighting, the 422nd and 423rd COs knew they were in danger of encirclement.
3) Loss of communication with neighboring units and subordinate units is becoming a problem, too.
One thing to note about these dispatches. Command and control is breaking down in the regular communications net, but by and large the artillery net is still operational. I’ve commented on this before. The redundancy in the artillery net made it more durable in combat than the regular command net, and was the key to the flexibility and effectiveness of American artillery.