Just south of Hfen, the lines of the 99th entered this forest, ran through a long belt of timber to the boundary between the V and VIII Corps at the Losheim Gap. The Battles for Elsenborn Ridge Part II | The National WWII Museum The 99th held lines stretching from Monschau, Germany to Losheimergraben, Belgium, totaling 35 kilometres (22mi). [18], As the battle ensued, small units, company and less in size, often acting independently, conducted fierce local counterattacks and mounted stubborn defenses, frustrating the German's plans for a rapid advance, and badly upsetting their timetable. A. Gallagher assumed command for the last few days of the war. The buck's head was used to indicate the allocation of the organization to the mountainous section of Pennsylvania, where deer abound. Put under operational control of V Corps, First Army, it moved to Le Havre, France on 3 November and proceeded to Aubel, Belgium, to prepare to enter the front lines. The 395th Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment of the United States Army, part of the 99th Infantry Division during World War II.It was organized with the rest of the 99th on 16 November 1942 at Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi. of William Pitt for whom the city of Pittsburgh was named. Not only did your command assist in effectively frustrating that particular part of the plan, but it also inflicted such heavy losses on the enemy that he was unable to carry out other contemplated missions in other sectors of the Allied front. [17]:51, On another day, the 3rd Battalion took 50 Germans prisoner and killed or wounded more than 800 Germans, losing only five dead and seven wounded themselves. 3/395 greeted the Volksgrenadiers with a punishing hail of bullets, mortars, and artillery. Alexander John Mackenzie was born in New York City, 22 February 1895, the son of Alexina and Kenneth M. Told it was the 3rd Battalion, 395th Infantry, he said, "It must have been one of your best formations." Despite fatigue, constant enemy shelling, and ever-increasing enemy pressure, [they] guarded a 6,000-yard front and destroyed 75 percent of three German infantry regiments.. [14], The 99th as a whole, outnumbered five to one, inflicted casualties in the ratio of eighteen to one. After clearing towns west of the Rhine, it crossed the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen on the 11th. Your organization gave ample proof of the fact that it is a good hard fighting division and one in which you and each and every member of your command can be justly proud[16], Major Butler was decorated with the Silver Star, the French Croix de Guerre, the Belgian Fourragre, the Belgian Order de la Couronne, and the Bronze Star Medal with the Oak leaf cluster. [13], German prisoners captured during the Battle of the Bulge volunteered praise of the 99th's effective defense of Hfen. In the opening days of the Battle of the Bulge, Robert's regiment was on the front lines in the Losheim Gap. A popular historical anecdote is the design of the famous M1 carbine by convicted murderer David Marshall Williams. The division was also known as the "Battle Babies" during 1945, a sobriquet coined by a United Press correspondent when the division was first mentioned in press reports during the Battle of the Bulge. The Germans planned to use massed infantry assaults to punch holes in the American lines, after which the feared German tanks, or panzers, would race through these gaps while the winter weather kept Allied planes grounded. 394th Infantry Regiment Medical Detachment (99th Infantry Division), Medical History, December 1944. The German spearhead in the north, led by the 1st SS Panzer Division and Jochen Peipers Kampfgruppe plowed through jammed roads to the south of Elsenborn and the twin villages of Krinkelt and Rocherath hell bent on their ultimate destination of the Meuse River. . Butler held a single platoon of 40 men from Company L in reserve. The inexperienced troops of the division were lodged on the northern shoulder of the Ardennes Offensive on 16 December. The artillery barrage lasted for an hour, and shortly afterwards German infantry from the 277th Volksgrenadier Division burst through the forest and headed at the positions of the 99th Infantry Divisions 395th Infantry Regiment near the village of Rocherath. Put under the operational control of V Corps, First Army, it moved to Le Havre, France on 3 November and proceeded to Aubel, Belgium, to prepare to enter the front lines. The 99th was selected as one of these new regional support commands. The Battle of the Bulge was the largest battle ever fought by the United States Army. [5] The 99th boarded ships bound for England on 10 October 1944 and briefly stayed at Camp Marabout, Dorchester, England. The National WWII Museum Digital Collections. The 395th were moved by train and truck, and finally by foot, to front line positions near the German town of Hfen a few kilometers west of the Siegfried Line and near the Belgium-German border. Notable. The division first saw action on 9 November, taking over the defense of the sector north of the Roer River between Schmidt and Monschau, a distance of nearly 19 miles. [4] Lt. Col. Butler retired from the Army on 14 January 1946 and worked for the phone company for the rest of his career. [16], On 23 Dec. 1996, the 99th RSC mobilized the first of six units for deployment to Operation Joint Endeavor in support of peacekeeping missions in Bosnia. No division commander was appointed during the organization's brief existence. The battalion was badly outnumbered and nearly surrounded. The program was called the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP), and it sought to give extra training and special skills to a select group of intelligent and able young men, most of whom were taken from America's colleges. 395th Infantry Regiment Medical Detachment (99th Infantry . [2]:33 On at least six occasions they called in artillery strikes on or directly in front of their own positions. 197th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) - Wikipedia There was no cover. info@nationalww2museum.org TO: Division Surgeon, 99th Infantry Division I. These two German divisions directed their fury against the 395th early on the morning of the December 17. In the northern sector opposite the 99th, this included more than 4,000 deaths and the destruction of 60 tanks and big guns. For four successive days the battalion held this sector against combined German tank and infantry attacks, launched with fanatical determination and supported by heavy artillery. April 13th, 1945 - 99th Division, 395th Infantry Regiment, in the Ruhr The 395th Infantry had mostly held their lines, and now with the battle hardened 2nd Infantry Division on the way to back them up, the lines of defense near Elsenborn appeared to be significantly harder to pierce. The 395th Regiment's success earned it many difficult assignments. On May 34, 1945, as the 99th moved deeper into Bavaria, it liberated one of a number of Dachau subcamps near the town of Mhldorf. At the going down of the sun And in the morning We will remember them." 324th Engineer Combat Battalion Albertson Dale W Bass Robert D Brown Edwin C Busk [7]:3 American press reports from the European theater foretold the imminent fall of the Third Reich, and many men in Lt. Col. Butler's battalion thought that the war just might be over before they got there. Through this eerie artificial moonlight, the 326th Volksgrenadier Division advanced on 3/395s position. [12] The 99th Infantry's after action report stated they found 1,500 Jews "living under terrible conditions and approximately 600 required hospitalization due to starvation and disease. Cemeteries & Memorials; Burial Search; About Us; Education; Facebook; Twitter; YouTube; Instagram; ABMC Headquarters 2300 Clarendon Blvd, Suite 500 Arlington, VA 22201 Phone: 703-584-1501. Up to that point, the Army had married a battalion of tanks to a battalion of infantry in support of the tanks. As they did so, another German assault hit them, this time with support from 5 MKV Panther tanks. Score: 4.8/5 (10 votes) . The distinctive unit insignia was originally approved for the 395th Regiment Infantry, Organized Reserves on 16 June 1931. The last drive began on 23 April. Despite mauling the Germans on their first attempt to take Hfen, 3/395s situation was grim. The Germans, moving across illuminated open ground without cover, fell by the hundreds against the murderous American fire. Ordered into active military service: 15 November 1942 Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi. It was organized with the rest of the 99th on 16 November 1942 at Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi. Ehrenfried-Oskar Bge. The defense of Rocherath that had been held most of the day by infantry was decided in less than thirty minutes by 5 German tanks. It was organized with the rest of the 99th on 16 November 1942 at Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi. After failing to capture Monschau on the battles second day, the 326th Volksgrenadier Division turned its attention back to Hfen on December 18th. Allies and former enemy Germany mark 75th anniversary of Battle of Battle of the Bulge: WWII vets travel to Belgium for 75th anniversary. Asked why he thought so, he said, "Two reasons: one cold-bloodedness; two efficiency. This assault, like the first, was ground to a halt due to heavy American small arms and artillery fire. Motto VIGILANS ET CELER (Vigilant and Swift). Crossing on the 23d, it pushed east on the Koln-Frankfurt highway to Giessen. Those who survived the initial onslaught and did not manage to flee, had to eke out a living on a battleground ravaged by incessant bombardment and street fighting. Who were the soldiers of the 99th infrantry div? | WWII Forums squares centered on a black shield. "[13] The division continued to attack without opposition to the Inn River and Giesenhausen until VE-day. [20], After a short period off the line, the battalion conducted offensive operations in Germany, including the seizure of several German towns from 1 to 5 March. Chapter 6-THE ARDENNES: BATTLE OF THE BULGE An overwhelming majority of them were women and children. Not so in the pre-dawn hours of December 16 in the Ardennes Forest. 395th Infantry Regiment (United States) - Wikiwand The 394th Infantry Regiment was established on 23 July 1918 as the 394th Infantry and assigned to the 99th Division as a member of the National Army. The 395th Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment of the United States Army, part of the 99th Infantry Division during World War II. The 99th Infantry Division, nicknamed Battle Babies and compromised of the 393rd, 394th, 395th Infantry Regiments and supporting units, spent approximately 151 days in combat during World War Two. In the pre-dawn hours of December 16th, Hitlers final major offensive began. [16], After Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990, 22 99th units deployed to Saudi Arabia, Europe, and other locations. The 395th was held in the United States until more room was available for the unit to enter Europe. Hfen remained in American handsfor now. "Blue" was the code word for the 3rd battalion under Army infantry's triangular organization. [1] During the Battle of the Bulge, the regimentat times virtually surrounded by Germanswas one of the few units that did not yield ground to the attacking Germans. "In two cases, the enemy fell in the BAR gunners' foxholes. The 99th Division was constituted at Camp Wheeler, Georgia, on 23 July 1918. Richard V. Horrell WW 2 Connections, Aug 6, 2010 #6 Buten42 Member Joined: Jun 27, 2009 Messages: 1,287 Likes Received: 210 Location: Washington State During the Battle of the Bulge, the regimentat times virtually surrounded by Germanswas one of the few units that did not yield ground to the attacking Germans. Was the 5th infantry at the battle of the bulge? Delbert followed a communication training and became enlisted radio repairman. On 5 March 1941, as the United States began to mobilize for the possibility of war, McClernand Butler became a second lieutenant in the Regular Army. The 395th Infantry had mostly held their lines, and now with the battle hardened 2nd Infantry Division on the way to back them up, the lines of defense near Elsenborn appeared to be significantly harder to pierce.
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