Memorial

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1Lt Robert D. Lawrence enlisted in Richmond, Virginia on 7 August 1941.

The 271st Infantry Regiment, in accordance with the plans, swung wide behind the armor and went into position generally north of an east-west line running through the center of the city. The attack on the city began at 1245 on 18 April without artillery preparation. It soon became apparent that the Germans would fall back into the main part of the city. The two task forces were organized using tank destroyers and tanks from the 661st Tank Destroyer Battalion and the 777th Tank Battalion. The infantry was to ride on the vehicles. At 1500 on the 18th, these task forces attacked. By 2100, they had reached their objectives in the heart of the city. The two main points of opposition in the city were the railroad station (the largest in Germany) and the "Battle of the Nations Monument" or "Napoleon's Monument". Both were massive structures built of heavy masonry and stone from which artillery shells actually bounced. By 0800 on 19 April, these two points of opposition had been cleared, and the city of Leipzig had fallen.
Excerpt of a story told by Michael Kutzmonich:
"At day break, a couple of jeeps came out for us. Jim Kirchue was the driver in the one I was in. As soon as we got to the Company, a lieutenant told me to get a jeep and get the chow truck. When I came back, everyone was telling me I was lucky that I wasn't there. While I was gone, two guys in civilian clothes told the lieutenant that there were some Germans up the road that wanted to surrender. They said they were Polish. Lieutenant Lawrence was looking for me because I could speak their language. He wouldn't wait for me, so the lieutenant and Jim Kirchue and a few others went to see these Germans. They were all killed in an ambush."