The 99th Infantry Division, comprising the 393rd, 394th, and the 395th Infantry Regiments, arrived in England on 10 October 1944. A captured Lt. Bemener, formerly commander of the 5th Company of the 753rd Volksgrenadier Regiment, asked his American interrogator about the unit that had defended Hfen. So fierce in fact that the German commander pulled his tanks back for fear of running into a superior American force, deciding to hold his positions until the following morning. . In the opening days of the Battle of the Bulge, Robert's regiment was on the front lines in the Losheim Gap. The German 20th Infantry Division was an infantry division of Nazi Germany.HistoryThe was established in 1934 under the cover name. During the first morning of the Battle of the Bulge, they defended a key road junction in the vicinity of the Losheim Gap. The 395th Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment of the United States Army, part of the 99th Infantry Division during World War II. 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.. Earl Denzil Reese April 13th, 1945 - A combat engineer snapped this series of photos while riding on back of a truck during the Battle of the Ruhr Pocket. The division crossed the Danube near Eining on the 27th and after a stubborn fight the Isar at Landshut on 1 May. 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. 99th Infantry Division soldiers putting up a winterized squad hut. [6][17]:vii. [5] The 99th boarded ships bound for England on 10 October 1944 and briefly stayed at Camp Marabout, Dorchester, England. Shield Argent, a buck's head attired of ten tynes couped Proper. As many as half a million civilians remained in Stalingrad when the Germans approached in the late summer of 1942. One Wehrmacht officer captured at Hfen asked his interrogators which unit had defended the town. [13], German prisoners captured during the Battle of the Bulge volunteered praise of the 99th's effective defense of Hfen. The 1st Battalion was positioned on the right. The 99th RSC was awarded the Army Superior Unit Award on 9 May 2016 by the US Army Human Resources Command for its role in the relief support after Hurricane Sandy, from 29 October 2012 thru 31 March 2013. 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. The 99th Infantry Division received recruits from the ASTP program (Army Specialized Training Program, to make up for the personnel shortages in front line units during 1944. . The regiment helped to capture the Ruhr Pocket, where thousands of German troops and hundreds of German vehicles were captured. The division was chiefly manned with graduates of the ROTC programs of the Carnegie Institute of Technology, Duquesne University. 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. Battle of Elsenborn Ridge - Wikipedia "[13] The division continued to attack without opposition to the Inn River and Giesenhausen until VE-day. The largest of the ghettos where Eastern European Jews were first confined and, later, deported to extermination camps by the Nazis was set up in Warsaw, Poland. [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. 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. Good luck with your quest. 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. 395th Infantry Regiment, 99th Infantry Division | American Battle This page was last edited on 11 March 2022, at 19:44. Pennsylvania State College, and the Pennsylvania Military College. [2], Because of the success of the 395th and the 99th, the Americans maintained effective freedom to maneuver across the north flank of the German's line of advance and continually limited the success of the German offensive. 395th Infantry Regiment, 99th Infantry Division | American Battle Although cut up and surrounded in part, the 99th was one of the only divisions that did not yield to the German attack, and held their positions until reinforcements arrived. Any delay would jeopardize the plan to cross the Meuse River and advance on Antwerp before the skies cleared and the Allies regained their balance. A member of the 395th Infantry Regiment , the photographer captured an amazing scene through the lens of this camera in these images. 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. After the Gulf War, the 99th ARCOM became the 99th Regional Support Command (RSC). The unit reported on May 4 that it had "liberated 3 labor camps and 1 concentration camp." There was no cover. ABMC Headquarters 2300 Clarendon Blvd, Suite 500 Arlington, VA 22201 Phone: 703-584-1501 To make circumstances worse, just beyond the bloodied-but-not-beaten Volksgrenadiers waited the tanks of the 6th Panzer Army. On 17 October 1999, the 3rd Battalion, 395th Regiment was reactivated as an Armor Training Support (TS) Battalion. The Battle of the Bulge was the largest battle ever fought by the United States Army. Butler's uncle, General Edward J. McClernand, fought in the Indian Wars and was awarded the Medal of Honor. The regiment arrived at Camp Van Dorn in early December. Crossing on the 23d, it pushed east on the Koln-Frankfurt highway to Giessen. Led by 20-year-old Lieutenant Lyle Bouck Jr., they delayed the advance of the 1st SS Panzer Division, the spearhead of the entire German 6th Panzer Army, for nearly 20 hours. [1] The rapid advance did not deter the men of the 38th Infantry Regiment, however, who put up a fierce defense. The 99th held lines stretching from Monschau, Germany to Losheimergraben, Belgium, totaling 35 kilometres (22mi). 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. It was not just the lives of 3/395 at stake; a German breakthrough here would have enabled the Sixth Panzer Army to outflank the 2nd ID and 99th ID and achieve a direct route to the Meuse River. [16], On 16 July 2003, the command was redesignated as the 99th Regional Readiness Command, placing additional emphasis on training, readiness, and mobilization. commanders. This required the corps commander to draw on an infantry battalion from another division, and because of the reputation the 395th had earned at Hfen, it was transferred often to various divisions, including the 9th Infantry Division, the 3rd Armored Division, and the 7th Armored Division. The division was reconstituted in the Organized Reserve on 24 June 1921 and assigned to the western half of the state of Pennsylvania. They engaged in division-level maneuvers in July 1944. The Battles for Elsenborn Ridge Part I - New Orleans After clearing towns west of the Rhine, it crossed the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen on the 11th. 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. Fort Benning | Maneuver Center of Excellence Libraries | MCoE HQ During the battle to come, if the Germans succeeded in taking Hfen, their ranks would be swelled rapidly, and the 99th and 2nd Infantry Divisions would be outflanked and could be attacked from the rear. Organization and training began in October but were not complete by the time the war ended in November 1918, so the division was demobilized in early 1919. The 10 geographically-based RRCs, including the 99th, were inactivated and replaced with four regional base operations commands. and the situation was desperate. About: 395th Infantry Regiment (United States) - dbpedia.org 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. There Major Butler collapsed due to exhaustion on 30 April, and Lt. Col. J. This article contains content in the public domain from U.S. military sources. 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 division insignia is a three lined checkerboard design of blue and white squares centered on a black shield. During the heavy fighting in the Battle of the Bulge, the unit suffered many casualties, yet tenaciously held its defensive position. He began his career conducting oral histories and research for HBOs miniseries The Pacific and holds the distinction of being the first historian hired by the Museums Research Department. "[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. The 14th Armored Division and the Liberation of Stalag VIIA 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. Through this eerie artificial moonlight, the 326th Volksgrenadier Division advanced on 3/395s position. The 99th was selected as one of these new regional support commands. The 395th's casualties were extremely light: four dead, seven wounded, and four men missing. Due in part to the 99th Infantry Division, this ground mission has not been continuous, and he will not achieve his goal[15]. So I stayed in the village overnight. Asked why he thought so, he said, "Two reasons: one cold-bloodedness; two efficiency. The 99th RSC's mission was to provide command and control and full-service support for assigned units and facility management. During the first day of the Battle of the Bulge, the 3rd Battalion took 19 prisoners and killed an estimated 200 Germans. The blue and white checkerboard in the division's insignia is taken from the coat of arms of William Pitt, for whom Pittsburgh is named. The division headquarters was organized in November 1921. On 1 February 1944, Major Butler assumed command of the 3rd Battalion, 395th Regiment. The 99th RRC continued to provide command and control for assigned units and support for the ongoing deployments. Who were the soldiers of the 99th infrantry div? | WWII Forums The program never fulfilled its promise, and the large number of "ASTPers" were rapidly integrated into various divisions to make up for personnel shortages in front line units during 1944. The men carried out missions without orders when their positions were penetrated or infiltrated. 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 horizontal band of white and blue squares was adopted from the coat of arms The insignia was devised upon the 99th's formation in 1942 when the division was headquartered in the city of Pittsburgh. [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. The 99th crossed the Ludwig Canal against stiff resistance and established a bridgehead over the Altmuhl River, 25 April. The unit's distinctive shoulder patch consisted of a five-sided shield of black on which is superimposed a horizontal band of white and blue squares. 2nd and 3rd Battalion cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action in the Ardennes. No one had anticipated such a rapid Allied advance. 395th Infantry Regiment (United States) | Detailed Pedia Shield The 395th Infantry, Organized Reserves, was organized in 1921. German troops pass burning American equipment during the Ardennes offensive. What was left of the 99ers in and around Rocherath appeared to be doomed, and like the calvary in Western movies, salvation appeared in the forms of infantry from the 2nd Division and incredibly heavy artillery fire that dropped onto the Germans like rain. From Camp Van Dorn they were transferred to the more established Camp Maxey in Paris, Texas for additional training. Infanterie-Division) was a German division in World War II. Told it was the 3rd Battalion, 395th Infantry, he said, "It must have been one of your best formations." Under the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, Congress Sign up for our newsletter and receive the mighty updates! It then intersected a main eastwest road at Bullingen. Delbert followed a communication training and became enlisted radio repairman. 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 Akins, Thomas W. MAJ, "Operations of Company "E", 442nd Infantry Regiment, Attached to 92nd Division, at San Terenzo, Italy, 20-23 April 1945" (Po Valley Campaign) Albright, Barry E. CPT, "Operations of the 2nd Battalion, 508th Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, in the Invasion of Normandy, 5-13 June 1944" (Normandy Campaign. 395thIR - 99th Infantry Division [10], Around Hfen, which the 395th defended, the ground was marked with open hills. "[16][17]:75 Another German officer who was captured said, "I have fought two years on the Russian front, but never have I engaged in such a fierce and bloody battle. 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. The 197th Infantry Division (German: 197. The silver and bronze star medal of Col. Alexander John Mackenzie, Regimental Commandor of the 395th Infantry Regiment. "In two cases, the enemy fell in the BAR gunners' foxholes. On 2 March 1945, the division took the offensive, moving toward Cologne and crossing the Erft Canal near Glesch. 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. The battalion was badly outnumbered and nearly surrounded. In a long fight with about 500 men of the 1st Battalion, 9th Fallschirmjaeger Regiment, 3rd Fallschirmjaeger Division, the 18 men of the platoon along with four artillery observers inflicted between 60[6][7] to more than 100[8] casualties on the Germans. [2]:33 On at least six occasions they called in artillery strikes on or directly in front of their own positions. Two men who had been sent on foot to regimental headquarters to seek reinforcements were later captured. The Germans, moving across illuminated open ground without cover, fell by the hundreds against the murderous American fire. The 395th Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment of the United States Army, part of the 99th Infantry Division during World War II. On 3-4 May, the division liberated two labor camps and a "forest camp" (Waldlager) related to the Mhldorf concentration camp, a sub-camp of Dachau. 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. Soldiers who were in direct support of the relief efforts were also awarded the Humanitarian Service Medal as a personal award. . Gen. von Manteuffel, commander of the 5th Panzer Army, stated in the address to his troops prior to the attack that "our ground mission must be continuous; otherwise we will not achieve our goal". Sgt. This did not turn out to be true. The 5 th Infantry Division was moved from Saarlautern, Luxembourg to the area of south and southwest of Echternach. 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). 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 A few miles to the east lay the Siegfried Line, the enemys final defensive line guarding the German heartland. [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 March 1945, the 99th advanced into the Rhineland, crossing the Rhine River at Remagen on March 11. T. E. Piersall and Pfc. The division insignia is a three lined checkerboard design of blue and white The Ardennes area was chosen because of a lack of operational objectives for the Allies, the terrain offered good defensive positioning, roads were lacking, and the Germans were known to be using the area within Germany to the east as a rest and refit area for their troops. 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 99th Infantry Division, outnumbered five to one, inflicted estimated casualties on the Germans in the ratio of eighteen to one. The 12th SS pushed through the woods and probed the villages at around 1100 hours. Medical Detachment, 395th Infantry A. P. O. 99th Infantry Division (United States) | Military Wiki | Fandom With ammunition supplies dwindling rapidly, the men obtained German weapons and utilized ammunition obtained from casualties to drive off the persistent foe. It was demobilized on 30 November 1918, but was later reconstituted on 21 June 1921 as a member of the Organized Reserves just like the 99th Infantry Division. The lines were then moved back to form defensive positions east of Elsenborn Ridge on the 19th. The war was over six days later.[6]. The 395th Infantry Regimentwas an infantryregimentof the United States Army, part of the 99th Infantry Divisionduring World War II.
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