In the chill December air, standing before an 18-foot statue of composer Johann Sebastian Bach, Janet Byington stood precisely where her father had after helping to liberate the city of Leipzig in World War II.
For three days in April 1945, Lt. Archibald Farrar was stuck in Germany, with what was left of the 200 soldiers he entered the city with. The city was full of Nazis, and those few who were left had no backup.
In those three days of battle, Archibald found solace at St. Thomas Church, where Bach composed many of his famous pieces.
Afterward, Archibald had his photo taken with one of his friends in front of the Bach statue. Janet recreated that photo with her daughter Emily Johnson this year.
“He talked in his story about going into the church where Bach had been the musician, and he said it was amazing,” Janet said. “It’s funny that we were able to be in the same position that my dad was with his friend 79 years ago.”
Credit: Janet Byington
Credit: Janet Byington
At the beginning of December, Janet visited the city, which significantly impacted her father. She joined a group of women from her church who were going to see the Christmas Markets in Germany.
A member of her church, David Jahner, orchestrated the trip, and when Janet told him about what Leipzig meant to her family, he arranged a tour of the City History Museum of Leipzig. In that museum, Janet saw photos she’d never seen before of the tank her father rode into battle and the men he fought alongside.
Throughout her life, Janet has seen photos and pieces of memorabilia from her dad’s time in the military. Her father scrapbooked the photos he had taken in Germany when he returned, and her mother saved everything she could about the Leipzig battle.
Despite growing up with these mementos, seeing videos and footage of the battle fascinated Janet. As she walked the streets of Leipzig and visited the museum, she saw another side of the battle she grew up hearing about.
“I always thought Leipzig was a little bitty town, but it was the cultural center of Germany,” she said, paging through her father’s scrapbook. “He didn’t talk about it much. I understand why he never could talk about it, but he did write about it.”
To share his story with his family, Archibald wrote about what happened in those three days. He wrote about the battle, talking about the men he lost and how he liberated the city.
The Battle of Leipzig
“Our intelligence informed us there were 50,000 German troops entrenched around the city of Leipzig,” Archibald wrote.
A group of 200 American soldiers entered the city in tanks, under immediate fire from the Germans. The soldiers pushed forward, but when they reached the center of the city only 40 men survived.
“He was furious that they sent in only 200 men,” Janet said. “One of his men had 32 bullet wounds from the ride into town.”
Credit: Rachel Hartdegen
Credit: Rachel Hartdegen
The lieutenant led a troop of 40 men known as Farrar’s Fighting Forty. During the battle, Archibald lost sight of some of his men and wouldn’t leave them behind.
“I told them I was going back across the street to find my men if I could,” Archibald wrote. “I didn’t have hardly any of the platoon left there, and I wanted to go back and find them. I’ll never forget that I was running scared to death.”
“I started picking up some of my men who were on the side of the street. I don’t recall how many, but there were only 14 of my men left out of a platoon of 40.”
Archibald entered the battle in a tank with 10 men, but he was the only one to survive. Once the remaining men reached city hall, they tried to convince the mayor to surrender. The soldiers fired at the building, but after that didn’t work, Archibald convinced a German officer to speak with the mayor.
The mayor surrendered, but when Archibald entered his office, he found that the man, his wife and his daughter had committed suicide.
“That would have to be really hard to think about,” Janet said. “It was a very traumatic time. You don’t think about your dad going through that.”
After the battle was won, Archibald stayed in Germany for a year and received numerous awards for his service. Out of the 40 men who survived the battle, he was one of three who received the Distinguished Service Award.
Credit: Rachel Hartdegen
Credit: Rachel Hartdegen
His awards hang above a map of the path he traveled on the way to Leipzig that spring, in Janet’s living room. Memorabilia from his time in war is displayed throughout the house, telling his story.
When she decided to visit Germany, Janet collected photos and documents to bring to the museum. It was important to return some of these pieces of history to the city where it happened, she said.
“I had a hard time parting with just the things I had given the museum,” she said. “It’s neat to have all this stuff, but I was glad to give some of it back to Leipzig too.”
The documents and photos Janet gave the museum will be part of the 80th-anniversary exhibit, which will be displayed in April.
Credit: Rome News-Tribune
Credit: Rome News-Tribune
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