commanders. While the 99th was fully involved in this large mobilization, the headquarters moved to Coraopolis, Pennsylvania. During the first morning of the Battle of the Bulge, they defended a key road junction in the vicinity of the Losheim Gap. In the opening days of the Battle of the Bulge, Robert's regiment was on the front lines in the Losheim Gap. The statue of the Minute Man, Captain John Parker, (H.H.Kitson, sculptor), stands on the common in Lexington, Massachusetts. From 21 December 1944 to 30 January 1945, the unit was engaged in aggressive patrolling and reequipping. WWII and Park Staff Connections - Eisenhower National Historic - NPS The division was chiefly manned with graduates of the ROTC programs of the Carnegie Institute of Technology, Duquesne University. Encountering paltry resistance at first, the Germans launched an attack on the towns and initially met with success, pushing into Rocherath with a clear path beyond. 394th Infantry Regiment Co. A, first platoon This is my Dad's story. By December 1944, Allied armies had reached the western border of Germany itself. Crest The crest is that of the U.S. Army Reserve. and the situation was desperate. The Germans threw wave after wave of infantry, and a unit of panzers, at the town. The campaign in North Africa began with a daring Anglo-American commando raid code-named Operation RESERVIST. Peipers right flank had to be secured and the Americans in that region had to be destroyed. Butler's great-grandfather, General John Alexander McClernand, commanded infantry during the Civil War. The Army operated a program designed to capitalize on the large number of educated and intelligent recruits that were available. Shield The 395th Infantry, Organized Reserves, was organized in 1921. "[7]:24, Two Distinguished Service Crosses and several Silver Stars were awarded to members of the battalion for valorous actions against the enemy during this battle. [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. He found that his 600 riflemen were assigned an extremely large area about 6,000 yards (5,500m) long without any units in reserve. The German armor, with SS Panzergrenadiers riding on their decks, clattered down the icy roads of Rocherath and headed for Krinkelt, only a stones throw away. The 395th's casualties were extremely light: four dead, seven wounded, and four men missing. It was organized with the rest of the 99th on 16 November 1942 at Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi. 395th Infantry Regiment, 99th Infantry Division | American Battle Eisenhower wrote, "the action of the 2nd and 99th Divisions on the northern shoulder could be considered the most decisive of the Ardennes campaign."[3][4]. 99th Infantry Division Historical Society 99th Infantry Division Battle Babies 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. No reserves were available . The situation became so dire that Butler deliberately called in artillery on his units own position to prevent them from being overrunone of six times this would occur at Hfen. From Camp Maxey they took a train to Camp Myles Standish outside Boston. [11], The area around Hfen and Monschau were critical because of the road network that lay behind them. The 10 geographically-based RRCs, including the 99th, were inactivated and replaced with four regional base operations commands. A group 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. This quick infusion of personnel into the 99th Division occurred in March 1944, when more than 3000 joined the division. Butler attended, but did not graduate from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. The camp was newly built, and the barracks were covered in tar paper. The 5th replaced the 4 th Infantry Division on December 23 rd, and pushed the Germans back to the Sauer River. 99th Infantry Division soldiers putting up a winterized squad hut. A second road ran parallel to the division center and right wing, leaving the Hfen road at the small hamlet of Wahlerscheid, and continued south through two very small villages, the twin towns of Rocherath and Krinkelt. Soldiers who were in direct support of the relief efforts were also awarded the Humanitarian Service Medal as a personal award. Grouping from Col. Alexander John Mackenzie, Regimental Commandor of 395th Infantry Regiment 99th Infantry Division While an RSC is allowed to wear the insignia and use the same number as a previous infantry division, it is not entitled to its lineage and honors. About: 395th Infantry Regiment (United States) - dbpedia.org The battalion was badly outnumbered and nearly surrounded. [citation needed]. [5] After more than ten days of intense battle, they pushed the Americans out of the villages, but were unable to dislodge them from the ridge, where elements of the V Corps of the First U.S. Army prevented the German forces from reaching the road network to their west. The three regiments of the 99th IDthe 393rd, 394th, & 395th Infantry Regimentswere thinly spread across this frigid but quiet portion of the front. The 3rd Battalion of the 395th Infantry Regiment (3/395), commanded by Lieutenant Colonel McClernand Butler, occupied the town of Hfen on the German border. 3/395, soon to be nicknamed Butlers Blue Battlin Bastards, was one of the only US Army units that did not retreat in the opening days of the battle. The Germans, moving across illuminated open ground without cover, fell by the hundreds against the murderous American fire. A written commendation was received from Maj. Gen. Leonard T. Gerow, V Corps Commander: I wish to express to you and the members of your command my appreciation and commendation for the fine job you did in preventing the enemy from carrying out his plans to break through the V Corps sector and push on to the Meuse River. Was the 5th infantry at the battle of the bulge? Formerly nicknamed the "Checkerboard Division," which referred to its shoulder patch, in late 1944 having not yet seen battle, the division was nicknamed the "Battle Babies. The 5 th Infantry Division was moved from Saarlautern, Luxembourg to the area of south and southwest of Echternach. Alexander John Mackenzie was born in New York City, 22 February 1895, the son of Alexina and Kenneth M. On 1 February 1944, Major Butler assumed command of the 3rd Battalion, 395th Regiment. At the end of the day, the veterans of the 26th Infantry still held their ground, and looked out on a battlefield strewn with destroyed German armor and scores . [4] Lt. Col. Butler retired from the Army on 14 January 1946 and worked for the phone company for the rest of his career. DELBERT A. SAYRE - 99th Infantry Division 504-528-1944, Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy, Black Volunteer Infantry Platoons in World War II, Kasserine Pass: German Offensive, American Victory, The Top 5 Veteran Research Questions: Where to Go and What to Know, Gallantry against Great Odds: LTC George Marshall and Operation RESERVIST, Prelude to Liberation: Genesis of American Amphibious Assault in the ETO, Black Thursday October 14, 1943: The Second Schweinfurt Bombing Raid, An Exercise in Depravity: The Establishment of the Warsaw Ghetto, Unsung Witnesses of the Battle of Stalingrad. The buck's head was used to indicate the allocation of the organization to the mountainous section of Pennsylvania, where deer abound. The 99th battled on to the bridge at Remagen that was taken on March 7th. The 395th Infantry, Organized Reserves, was organized in 1921. A popular historical anecdote is the design of the famous M1 carbine by convicted murderer David Marshall Williams. The 1st Battalion was positioned on the right. Attached below the shield a silver scroll inscribed "VIGILANS ET CELER" in Black letters.[21]. General Eisenhower and his staff chose the Ardennes region, held by the First Army, as an area that could be held by as few troops as possible. The unit was inactivated after World War II, then became a reserve unit, and was redesignated as the 395th Regiment in 1999. The Medal of Honor was awarded T/Sgt Vernon McGarity, Company L, 393rd Infantry, 99th Infantry Division, for actions taken near Krinkelt, Belgium, on 16 December 1944 during the opening phases of the Ardennes Offensive. The 99th then moved to Schwarzenau, on 3 April, and attacked the southeast sector of the Ruhr Pocket on the 5th. "In two cases, the enemy fell in the BAR gunners' foxholes. The German 20th Infantry Division was an infantry division of Nazi Germany.HistoryThe was established in 1934 under the cover name. At the end of the day, the veterans of the 26th Infantry still held their groundand looked out on a battlefield strewn with destroyed German armor and scores of enemy dead. Army policy does not allow for the lineage and honors of a TO&E organization, such as an infantry division, to be perpetuated by a TDA organization, such as an RSC. The infantry at Hfen lay in a foxhole line along a 910 metres (2,990ft) front on the eastern side of the village, backed up by dug-out support positions. Byers, Carl F. MAJ, "Operations of Company G, 395th Infantry, 99th Division, in the Reduction of a Fortified Position of the Siegfried Line, West of Schleiden, Germany, 14-15 December 1944". Told it was the 3rd Battalion, 395th Infantry, he said, "It must have been one of your best formations." Those Germans who made it into the town itself were quickly mopped up. [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. Below are the top five veteran research questions, where to go for further resources, and how to begin your search. Many members of the 99th Infantry Division had participated in the Army Specialized Training Program or ASTP, derisively nicknamed "all safe 'till peace;" in February 1944, the program was drawn down, and the majority of its members were assigned to later-deploying divisions such as the 99th. Through their stories, we gain a glimpse into the challenges they faced, the horrors they endured, and the triumphs they achieved. The 14th Armored Division and the Liberation of Stalag VIIA [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. The battalion also had its own Intelligence and Reconnaissance Platoon, as well as medics and support personnel. The unit crossed the Altmuhl River on 25 April, the Danube River on 27 April, and the Isar River on 30 April. German losses were much higher. 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 last stand of 3/395: how one US Army battalion helped win the The enemy was moving through large gaps in the lines, and Americans were either being captured or killed in enormous numbers or retreating in disarray and panic. 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 On 3 November 1944, the 395th Regiment disembarked at Le Havre, France. Field Artillery Battalions were the 370th, 371st, 372nd & the 924th. 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. Crest That for the regiments and separate battalions of the Army Reserve: From a wreath Argent and Azure, the Lexington Minute Man Proper. In the event of an emergency, the battalion headquarters and company administrative personnel, including clerks and motor-pool staff, were to join the platoon, creating a small reserve force of about 100 men. It then intersected a main eastwest road at Bullingen. 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. The sudden infusion of new men caused some friction with the old hands in the short term, but the long-term effects were generally positive. The Germans were counting on something else, toothey knew that this sector was thinly manned by untested troops. The town of Kuckhof cost the battalion dearly, with more than fifty casualties inflicted on one company alone (I Company). ", The 99th Infantry Division, outnumbered five to one, inflicted estimated casualties on the Germans in the ratio of eighteen to one. Despite mauling the Germans on their first attempt to take Hfen, 3/395s situation was grim. TO: Division Surgeon, 99th Infantry Division I. 395th Infantry Regiment (United States) - Wikiwand After failing to capture Monschau on the battles second day, the 326th Volksgrenadier Division turned its attention back to Hfen on December 18th. EN RU CN DE ES. 18 Dec 44-7 Jan 45 Attached to 2d Infantry Division, Blandford (Longton Long, Dorset Barracks), 370th Field Artillery Battalion (105mm Howitzer), 371st Field Artillery Battalion (105mm Howitzer), 924th Field Artillery Battalion (105mm Howitzer), 372d Field Artillery Battalion (155mm Howitzer). Seth Paridon was a staff historian at The National WWII Museumfrom2005 to 2020. The 99th Infantry Division, the "Checkerboard" division, gained its nickname from the division's insignia. . In the pre-dawn hours of December 16th, Hitlers final major offensive began. The stiff American defense prevented the Germans from reaching the vast array of supplies near the Belgian cities of Lige and Spa and the road network west of the Elsenborn Ridge leading to the Meuse River. The enemy artillery was so intense that communications were generally out. The ferocious assault caught the Allies off-guard and the rapid German advance famously caused a bulge on Allied maps. [2] Historian John S.D. Pennsylvania State College, and the Pennsylvania Military College. After fighting in the Ruhr area, the unit moved southward into Bavaria, where it was located at the end of the war. Here it held firmly against violent enemy attacks. [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. Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action at Elsenborn Crest. Battle of the Bulge The 3rd Battalion received a Presidential Unit Citation for its actions around Hfen from 16 to 19 December. Excited to share my latest group in the 99th Infantry Division collection. A few miles to the east lay the Siegfried Line, the enemys final defensive line guarding the German heartland. 395 th Regiment Constituted 23 July 1918 in the National Army as the 395th Infantry and assigned to the 99th Division Demobilized 30 November 1918 Reconstituted 24 June 1921 in the. Either short or completely devoid of ammunition, the defenders of Rocherath began to filter to the rear in the growing darkness that swallowed the battlefield. His World War II story. 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 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. Unknown to the Allies, the Germans were preparing a surprise counter-offensive through the Ardennes with the goal of splitting the Allied armies and recapturing the Belgian port city of Antwerp. : 33 On at least six occasions they called in . Sgt Harold Rutz, 395th Infantry Regiment, M Company. represents the iron district of Pennsylvania. The division was destroyed near Vitebsk during the Soviet Vitebsk-Orsha Offensive of Operation Bagration in the summer of 1944. The National WWII Museum Digital Collections. The 3rd Battalion, 395th Infantry, led by Lt. Col. McClernand Butler and 2nd Lt. Col. Roy S. Groffy, occupied the area around Hfen, Germany, on the border with Belgium during early December. Plans called for the division to include the 393rd, 394th, 395th, and 396th Infantry Regiments. On 25 October 1981, the entire platoon was recognized with a Presidential Unit Citation. Still, some German assaults penetrated American lines near the town of Hofen where they were eventually captured after retreating into houses in the town. Butler's uncle, General Edward J. McClernand, fought in the Indian Wars and was awarded the Medal of Honor. "[9]:1738 On at least six occasions they called in artillery strikes on or directly in front of their own positions. Score: 4.8/5 (10 votes) . The distinctive unit insignia was originally approved for the 395th Regiment Infantry, Organized Reserves on 16 June 1931. Chapter 6-THE ARDENNES: BATTLE OF THE BULGE ABMC Headquarters 2300 Clarendon Blvd, Suite 500 Arlington, VA 22201 Phone: 703-584-1501 He returned to Illinois and in 1933 was commissioned a second lieutenant in the National Guard. The 395th Infantry was in the woods east of the northernmost section of the 2d Division withdrawal route and would provide cover for the first stage of the tricky move parallel to and close. They engaged in division-level maneuvers in July 1944. For their actions the battalion was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation which read, in part: outnumbered 5 to 1, [3/395] inflicted casualties in the ratio of 18 to 1. 99th Infantry Division (United States) - Wikipedia There Major Butler collapsed due to exhaustion on 30 April, and Lt. Col. J. Table of Contents. . No division commander was appointed during the organization's brief existence. The 99th RSC's mission was to provide base operations functions for the assigned 13-state Northeast Region. The regiment assumed occupation duties in Hammelburg and Bad Brckenau until it was shipped home in the summer of 1945. The German pre-dawn artillery bombardment on December 16th destroyed 3/395s communication wires at Hfen, but the stunned soldiers soon witnessed an even more ominous sight: enemy searchlights, reflecting off the dense clouds, illuminated the snowy open ground east of Hfen. An overwhelming majority of them were women and children. The 99th Infantry Division was recognized as a liberating unit by the US Army's Center of Military History and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1992. The "Checkerboard" or "Battle Babies" division landed at the French port of Le Havre and proceeded northeast to Belgium. Notable. There was no cover. By 17 December, German military planners knew that their objectives along the Elsenborn Ridge would not be taken as soon as planned. The 197th Infantry Division (German: 197. It was activated on 1 December 1939. The 393rd, 394th, and 395th Regiments were put on line, each unit protecting approximately 11 kilometres (6.8mi) of front, roughly equivalent to one front-line infantry man every 91 metres (299ft). [16], The U.S. Army Center of Military History states that the 99th RSC does not perpetuate the lineage and honors of the 99th Infantry Division. The 393rd, 394th & 395th were the Infantry Regiments of the 99th Infantry Division. When the Ardennes Offensive ended, Gen. Lauer received verbal commendations from Field Marshal Sir Bernard L. Montgomery, 21st Army Group Commander, and Gen. Courtney Hodges, First Army Commander, on the vigorous and effective defense contributed by the 99th. Forests, by nature, are eerily quiet at night. The Germans would never take Hfen, nor most of their other ambitious objectives in the Ardennes, due in large part to the soldiers of 3/395 and the 99th ID as a whole. April 13th, 1945 - 99th Division, 395th Infantry Regiment, in the Ruhr This northern shoulder of the American line where the 99th ID was entrenched would be the hinge on which the German assault would pivot northwest toward Antwerp. German troops pass burning American equipment during the Ardennes offensive. Ehrenfried-Oskar Bge. Hfen, along with the nearby town of Monschau, was strategically vital because it sat on elevated terrain overlooking an important road junction. Richard Mills were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. After clearing towns west of the Rhine, it crossed the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen on the 11th. Hfen, along with the nearby town of Monschau, was strategically vital because it sat on elevated terrain overlooking an important road junction. The 395th Regiment became an active unit as part of the 99th Infantry Division on 16 November 1942 at Camp Van Dorn, Missouri, along with its brother regiments, the 393rd and 394th. The regiment helped to capture the Ruhr Pocket, where thousands of German troops and hundreds of German vehicles were captured. German Panzer tanks en route to the Ardennes. Unbeknownst to its commanding general at the time, Maj. Gen. Walter E. Lauer, the division would play a strategic role in the war and would gain the honor of having the most decorated platoon of the US army during World War Two. The war was over six days later.[6]. The US Armys 99th Infantry Division, recently arrived in Europe and untested in combat, was assigned to the northern shoulder of the Allied front line in the Ardennes Forest. There are nine white squares and nine blue ones, signifying the number 99. The 395th received the following campaign streamers: The entire regiment was recognized with the following unit decorations: A silver color metal and enamel device .mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}3732 inches (2.94cm) in height overall consisting of a shield blazoned: Argent, a buck's head attired of ten tynes couped Or. [2]:33 On at least six occasions they called in artillery strikes on or directly in front of their own positions. The regiment arrived at Camp Van Dorn in early December. The 395th Infantry Regimentwas an infantryregimentof the United States Army, part of the 99th Infantry Divisionduring World War II. As the night grew darker, optimistic American officers in the 2nd Division relayed a message to headquarters, Action quieting; believe we can hold. This would prove to be a false hope. 394th Infantry Regiment Medical Detachment (99th Infantry Division), History, January 1945. [13], German prisoners captured during the Battle of the Bulge volunteered praise of the 99th's effective defense of Hfen. While the 99th ARCOM was allowed to wear the shoulder sleeve insignia of the 99th Infantry Division and use its number, Department of the Army policy does not allow for the lineage of MTOE units, such as infantry divisions, to be perpetuated by TDA units, such as ARCOMs. It had its headquarters at Franklin, Pennsylvania, and drew its personnel from Pennsylvania. Because of Major Butler's success in leading his battalion in successful night attacks during the war, which the U.S. Army handbook did not recommend, the French army later asked him to write a paper on battalion-size night attacks.[6]. I never dreamed that we would have a defensive position of this size without any backup or help from our division or regiment. When told it was 3/395, the prisoner replied, It must be one of your best formations.. The thick forest was tangled with rocky gorges, little streams, and sharp hills. [15], The 395th hit the attacking Germans with such terrific small arms and machine gun fire that the Germand couldn't even remove their dead and wounded in their rapid retreat. The Battles for Elsenborn Ridge Part II | The National WWII Museum As the American defenders began to assess casualties and ammunition supplies, the 12th SS hit them again. The three heavy German assaults had worn down the ammunition supply, particularly that of the machine gunners, and had left the defenders mostly helpless. Yet, despite their successful defense and reinforcement from the 2nd Division, the 395th was in a precarious position on the morning of the December 17. [1] After defensive patrolling, the 99th probed the Siegfried Line against heavy resistance on 13 December. 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 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. When hostilities ceased on 7 May 1945, the regiment had during six months of fighting experienced 300 percent turnover due to casualties. This assault, like the first, was ground to a halt due to heavy American small arms and artillery fire. 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. Hfen remained in American handsfor now. The buck's head was used to indicate the allocation of the organization to the mountainous section of Pennsylvania, where deer abound. [4], The 395th, entrenched along the "International Road" and Elsenborn Ridge, forced the Germans to commit and sacrifice many of their infantrymen and expose their armored formations to withering artillery fire.
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