. >> i am fritz kramer. i was with the 84th divisioner as a rather elderly soldier for my 35th to 37th year. i do remember very clearly now the feelings we had, like all men who go into battle for the very first time, we uncertain. we unsure of ourselves. we knew very well that combat was very different from training. and i remember this excitement. and i may frankly say for all soldiers who may come after us, we were also full of fear. not necessarily fear of the enemy. but fear of our own making it or not making it. how would we stand up. as our general later told us that he had been praying in those hours and he committed the men he had trained for the first time for combat. i know now we all know now, that the battle went well and that our one regiment that was attached to combat-proven british forces did well, with the praise of the british. and we immediately gained extraordinary increase in self-confidence. we had met the enemy. and while we certainly hadn't performed any great heroics, we felt our se