Moe Hurwitz

Sergeant Samuel Moses "Moe" Hurwitz, DCM, MM, was born and raised in Montreal, Canada. He was the most highly decorated non-commissioned member of the Canadian Grenadier Guards during the Second World War and may have been the most decorated Jewish Canadian soldier of the war.

Earning the Military Medal

Hurwitz was awarded the Military Medal for extraordinary heroism and leadership in his first major action in France, during the epic Battle for the Falaise Road, on the afternoon of August 8, 1944. Reginald Roy of the Canadian War Museum described it as "one of the most swiftly successful troop actions by Canadian tanks in the entire Normandy Campaign". Moe was then second-in-command of #4 Troop, #3 Squadron of the 22nd Canadian Armoured Regiment (Canadian Grenadier Guards). Although missing one of its usual four Sherman tanks, and without infantry support, the group of 15 Grenadiers assaulted the flank of the main enemy defensive position in front of the village of Cintheaux. In little over ten minutes, they destroyed 11 German anti-tank guns, including six 88's, and forced two others to withdraw. The Grenadiers also killed at least 15 Germans, captured 31 others, and opened a kilometer-wide gap in the German front line, against a loss of only one Guardsman killed and one wounded.

Earning the Distinguished Conduct Medal

Six weeks later, Hurwitz was in command of #4 Troop. On September 20, 1944, assisted by three anti-aircraft Crusader tanks and C Company of the Algonquin Regiment (Motor Infantry), the Troop seized the railway station at Philippine, Holland, thus sealing off the German forces in the Breskens Pocket, during the Battle of the Scheldt. That morning, again with a lack of infantry support, Hurwitz dismounted and undertook the actions that would earn him the Distinguished Conduct Medal, the second highest award that a non-commissioned member could earn at the time. Armed only with a pistol and accompanied by two Guardsmen, Hurwitz personally attacked two German machine guns and captured 25 enemy soldiers. He later helped knock out another 88mm anti-tank gun. In all, the little force took 150 prisoners at Philippine.

Capture and death

After three weeks, on October 24, 1944, the Troop was leading a frustrating night attack over difficult terrain against the enemy's elite Hermann Göring SS Panzer and 6th Paratroop Division at Wouwsche-Plantage near Bergen-op-Zoom. Hurwitz' tank was advancing to the objective when the tank to his rear was knocked out, blocking the rest of the Canadian vehicles from advancing with him. The regiment fought hard and suffered other losses in a bid to reach him, but were foiled through a combination of bad luck, impassable ground, and dogged resistance from the Germans. Hurwitz' last stand began with a radio message that he was surrounded by enemy infantry and anti-tank weapons on all sides. The Sherman returned fire until it was knocked out, at which point the five-man crew dismounted and continued to fight on the ground until all were casualties. Hurwitz was captured by the Germans, severely wounded, and later died at the age of 25 while a prisoner of war, although his death was not known to the regiment until after it crossed the Rhine deep into Germany on 1 April, 1945.

In the official regimental history of the Canadian Grenadier Guards the following is written: "Lost to the Regiment was its most purposeful and persistent soldier whose deeds of gallant leadership were to be an inspiration to those who succeeded him in the battles that were to follow" (p. 305).

References

Secondary sources

• Duguid, A. Fortescue (Colonel) (1965). History of the Canadian Grenadier Guards, 1760 - 1964. Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Gazette Printing Company Limited.