395th infantry regiment 99th infantry division

Troops were fatigued by weeks of continuous combat, Allied supply lines were stretched extremely thin, and supplies were dangerously depleted. The 12th SS pushed through the woods and probed the villages at around 1100 hours. The 99th RSC's mission was to provide command and control and full-service support for assigned units and facility management. 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. They killed Germans coming at them from the front, flanks and rear. "[9]:1738 On at least six occasions they called in artillery strikes on or directly in front of their own positions. The division was chiefly manned with graduates of the ROTC programs of the Carnegie Institute of Technology, Duquesne University. 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. The 395th Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment of the United States Army, part of the 99th Infantry Division during World War II. [1] Family lore, The 99th Infantry Division Artefacts Collection. It had its headquarters at Franklin, Pennsylvania, and drew its personnel from Pennsylvania. 20th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) - atozwiki.com 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]. When the Germans finally broke through 3/395s lines and established a foothold in the town, the Americans recaptured the buildings by firing anti-tank guns through the walls. Troops Fight at Elsenburn Ridge", "Why the Bulge Didn't Break: Green Troops Grew Up Fast to Become Heroes of Hofen", "The Battle for Lanzerath HillThe True Story16December1944", "A hero remembers the Battle of the Bulge", "The Heroic Stand of an Intelligence Platoon", "General Orders No. 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. In the 12 years he was Manager of Research Services, Seth and his team increased the oral history collection from 25 to nearly 5,000 oral histories. Wendell Clark - 99th Infantry Division Battle of Elsenborn Ridge - Wikipedia The blue and white are taken from the coat of arms for William Pitt for whom Pittsburgh was named. The 99th Infantry Division, comprising the 393rd, 394th, and the 395th Infantry Regiments, arrived in England on 10 October 1944. As many as half a million civilians remained in Stalingrad when the Germans approached in the late summer of 1942. The inexperienced troops of the division were lodged on the northern shoulder of the Ardennes Offensive on 16 December. The platoon members were not recognized for their courageous deeds for thirty-seven years. 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. [10], Around Hfen, which the 395th defended, the ground was marked with open hills. The 5 th Infantry Division was moved from Saarlautern, Luxembourg to the area of south and southwest of Echternach. 99th Infantry Division vehicles en route to the battle zone. The ferocious assault caught the Allies off-guard and the rapid German advance famously caused a bulge on Allied maps. Two months later, when the 99th Division was transferred to VII Corps under Maj. Gen. Walter E. Lauer, the commanding officer of V Corps, Maj. Gen. Clarence R. Huebner, wrote him: The 99th Infantry Division arrived in this theater without previous combat experience early in November 1944. 99th Infantry Division (United States) | Military Wiki | Fandom They were tasked with moving 10 miles (16km) behind the German lines and cutting the Autobahn to prevent the withdrawal of the Germans. [16], After Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990, 22 99th units deployed to Saudi Arabia, Europe, and other locations. 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. 99th Infantry Division used the relatively quiet period to prepare an extensive defensive system, including redundant lines of communication, precise positioning of weapons to provide interlocking grazing fire, and aggressive patrols that kept the Germans off guard. [5] The 99th boarded ships bound for England on 10 October 1944 and briefly stayed at Camp Marabout, Dorchester, England. It was activated on 1 December 1939. In 1975, the 99th ARCOM moved its headquarters to Oakdale, Pennsylvania. [16], Following the 11 September 2001, terrorist attacks, the 99th mobilized large numbers of Army Reserve Soldiers. After fighting in the Ruhr area, the unit moved southward into Bavaria, where it was located at the end of the war. The 99th RRC continued to provide command and control for assigned units and support for the ongoing deployments. The 395th Infantry, Organized Reserves, was organized in 1921. There Major Butler collapsed due to exhaustion on 30 April, and Lt. Col. J. 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. 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. No reserves were available . 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. [16] The accurate fire from the 12 3-inch guns of A Company, 612th Tank Destroyer Battalion, was instrumental in keeping German tanks from advancing. Crest The crest is that of the U.S. Army Reserve. The 395th was held in the United States until more room was available for the unit to enter Europe. "[13] The division continued to attack without opposition to the Inn River and Giesenhausen until VE-day. The 395th's casualties were extremely light: four dead, seven wounded, and four men missing. 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 Allied victory against the Axis was a long journeyone that actually took much longer than the war itself. The last stand of 3/395: how one US Army battalion helped win the That task fell to the 277th Volksgrenadier Division and the 12th SS Panzer Division. 395th Infantry Regiment Medical Detachment (99th Infantry . 197th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) - Wikipedia 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. Ehrenfried-Oskar Bge. [11] They continued to Linz am Rhein and to the Wied River. 99th Infantry Division (United States) - Wikipedia 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. The Battles for Elsenborn Ridge Part I - New Orleans 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. [6], The regiment's (3rd Battalion) earned the sobriquet Butler's Battlin' Blue Bastards derived from the name of its single commander, its special fighting abilities, the battalion's color designation, and because the regiment was often lent out and belonged to no one. 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. No one had anticipated such a rapid Allied advance. Most of the publicity for the American victory falls on the shoulders of the 101st Airborne and the map grid that centers on the town of Bastogne. The division headquarters was organized in November 1921. The unit crossed the Altmuhl River on 25 April, the Danube River on 27 April, and the Isar River on 30 April. The 99th was selected as one of these new regional support commands. Hfen-Monschau was vital to the operations success because the nearby road junctions would enable rapid movement of tanks. The lines were then moved back to form defensive positions east of Elsenborn Ridge on the 19th. The 10 geographically-based RRCs, including the 99th, were inactivated and replaced with four regional base operations commands. The 99th Infantry Division, on December 12, . 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. 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 also had its own Intelligence and Reconnaissance Platoon, as well as medics and support personnel. After failing to capture Monschau on the battles second day, the 326th Volksgrenadier Division turned its attention back to Hfen on December 18th. 395 Infantry Regiment Medical Detachment (99th Infantry Division) Report, January 1945. 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). The 99th RSC's mission was to provide base operations functions for the assigned 13-state Northeast Region. 395th Regiment - U.S. Army Center of Military History Fort Benning | Maneuver Center of Excellence Libraries | MCoE HQ EN. Specific units were charged with penetrating Germany's West Wall. [16], In September 2007, in preparation for the transition to Fort Dix and establishment of the new 99th RSC, the 99th RRC assumed administrative responsibility for the former regions of the 77th and 94th RRCs, which had inactivated. Even the most hardened veteran occasionally thinks he hears twigs snap, boots crush snow or other odd noises that can cause nerves to fray. Those Germans who made it into the town itself were quickly mopped up. Shield Argent, a buck's head attired of ten tynes couped Proper. The division lost about 20% of its effective strength, including 465 killed and 2,524 evacuated due to wounds, injuries, fatigue, or trench foot. 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. Not so in the pre-dawn hours of December 16 in the Ardennes Forest. 395th Infantry Regiment (United States) - Wikipedia When three hours later a third SS assault hit the defenders, it too was stopped. 394th Infantry Regiment Medical Detachment (99th Infantry Division), Medical History, December 1944. Below are the top five veteran research questions, where to go for further resources, and how to begin your search. The regiment helped to capture the Ruhr Pocket, where thousands of German troops and hundreds of German vehicles were captured. The 99th crossed the Ludwig Canal against stiff resistance and established a bridgehead over the Altmuhl River, 25 April. 99th Infantry Division Historical Society 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. 395th Regiment | Lineage and Honors | U.S. Army Center of Military History 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. Due in part to the 99th Infantry Division, this ground mission has not been continuous, and he will not achieve his goal[15]. 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". 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. EN RU CN DE ES. The Battle of the Bulge was the largest battle ever fought by the United States Army. The success of the defense of the twin villages would be short-lived if ammunition was not resupplied. Troops Fight at Elsenburn Ridge", "Bob Galloway, the Battle of the Bulge, and the 99th Infantry Division", "Heidelberg staff retraces historical Battle of the Bulge route", United States Army Center of Military History, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=395th_Infantry_Regiment_(United_States)&oldid=1076569987, 395th Infantry Regiment: Lt. Col. Griffin, 3rd Battalion: Lt. Col. McClernand Butler (1 November 1942 30 April 1945) Lt. Col. J.A. 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. The Germans, moving across illuminated open ground without cover, fell by the hundreds against the murderous American fire. Fort Benning | Maneuver Center of Excellence Libraries | MCoE HQ The German assault caught the 99ers off guard initially, due to the heavy artillery bombardment, but the infantrymen and their supporting mortar fire were able to repel the initial assault at a murderously close range due to the proximity of the opposing tree line from where the enemy advanced. This was the road network the Germans needed to meet their objectives. Butler's father had been a major in the Illinois National Guard and urged his son to become a guardsman when he was 16 years old. 395th Infantry Regiment (United States) - Infogalactic: the planetary Crest That for the regiments and separate battalions of the Army Reserve: From a wreath Argent and Azure, the Lexington Minute Man Proper. Staff Sergeant, Service Company, 395th Infantry Regiment, 99th Infantry Division, ETO, participated in the Battle of the Bulge, the Ruhr Pocket, and the Occupation of Germany, recipient of the Bronze Star. Location of the 99th ID sector (red box) on a map of the Bulge. The town of Kuckhof cost the battalion dearly, with more than fifty casualties inflicted on one company alone (I Company). Several photos from the private collection of, THE EARLY YEARS Joseph Richard Evans (Dick) was born on October 17, 1920 to Charles E. Evansand Wenonah (nee Muirhead/Miller)in, Source: family of Raymond J. Willaredt. 394th Infantry Regiment Co. A, first platoon This is my Dad's story. He returned to Illinois and in 1933 was commissioned a second lieutenant in the National Guard. His World War II story. The National WWII Museum Digital Collections. 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. When I got to Hfen, I found the area too big to cover in one afternoon. 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. Dad proudly told that the 99th was the first complete unit cross the Remagen Bridge on March 9th or 10th. It was credited with destroying "seventy-five percent of three German infantry regiments." 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). 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. When told it was 3/395, the prisoner replied, It must be one of your best formations.. Gallagher (1 May 1945 29 September 1945), Organized Reserves redesignated 25 March 1948 as the Organized Reserve Corps; redesignated 9 July 1952 as the Army Reserve, Relieved 29 October 1998 from assignment to the 99th Infantry Division, Redesignated 17 October 1999 as the 395th Regiment and reorganized to consist of the 1st, 2d, and 3d Battalions, elements of the. German losses were much higher. 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. 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 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. The distinctive unit insignia was originally approved for the 395th Regiment Infantry, Organized Reserves on 16 June 1931. 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 three heavy German assaults had worn down the ammunition supply, particularly that of the machine gunners, and had left the defenders mostly helpless. 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. 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.. In January 2003, the 99th RSC started mobilizing units for projected operations in Iraq. 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. The Battles for Elsenborn Ridge Part II | The National WWII Museum Every member of the platoon was decorated, which included four Distinguished Service Crosses, five Silver Stars and ten Bronze Stars with "V" devices signifying awards for valor in combat.[10]. 26 (Unit Commendations)", The 99th Infantry Division During World War II, "Battle Babies: The Story of the 99th Infantry Division", Office of the Chief of Military History Department of the Army, http://www.history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/cbtchron/cbtchron.html, Battle Babies: The Story of the 99th Infantry Division, Checkerboard, official publication of 99th Infantry Division Association, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=99th_Infantry_Division_(United_States)&oldid=1131083137, Infantry divisions of the United States Army, United States Army divisions during World War II, Military units and formations established in 1918, Infantry divisions of the United States Army in World War II, Military units and formations disestablished in 1945, United States Army divisions of World War I, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2015, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. The rapid advance did not deter the men of the 38th Infantry Regiment, however, who put up a fierce defense. Mission of the 395th Infantry Regiment I. The 99th RSC continued to support operations in the Balkan Republics while providing refuge to those fleeing Kosovo as they sought temporary recovery in the United States. 99th Infantry Division - U.S. Army Center of Military History 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. In the pre-dawn hours of December 16th, Hitlers final major offensive began. A U.S. Army World War II division was configured as a Triangular division, with three regimental maneuver elements. [4], Distinguished Service Cross (United States), "Lineage And Honors Information, 395th Regiment Lineage", "World War II: Interview with Lieutenant Colonel McClernand Butler", "The Operations of the 3rd Battalion, 395th Infantry (99th Infantry Division) Prior to and During the German Counter-Offensive, 10November 24 December 1944 (Ardennes Campaign) (Personal Experience of a Company Commander and Battalion Operations Officer)", "Why the Bulge Didn't Break: Green Troops Grew Up Fast to Become Heroes of Hofen", "The Battle of the Bulge Part II Holding the Line (review)", "Chapter 5: The Ardennes, the Battle of the Bulge", "Battle of the Bulge: U.S. As the American defenders began to assess casualties and ammunition supplies, the 12th SS hit them again. The war was over six days later.[6]. The unit reported on May 4 that it had "liberated 3 labor camps and 1 concentration camp." This assault, like the first, was ground to a halt due to heavy American small arms and artillery fire. The 99th battled on to the bridge at Remagen that was taken on March 7th. The 99th Infantry Division Artefacts Collection. The Germans were counting on something else, toothey knew that this sector was thinly manned by untested troops. The three regiments of the 99th IDthe 393rd, 394th, & 395th Infantry Regimentswere thinly spread across this frigid but quiet portion of the front. [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. The last drive began on 23 April. 395th Infantry Regiment (united States) - Encyclopedia Information I decided to stage the night attack at Bergheim because my troops would be going across an open area about 500 yards (460m) long and 400 yards (370m) wide. The Army operated a program designed to capitalize on the large number of educated and intelligent recruits that were available. It was organized with the rest of the 99th on 16 November 1942 at Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi. squares centered on a black shield. More often than not, the noises thought to have been heard arent anything at all, and the forest resumes its eerie silence. While the supply situation improved in October, the manpower situation was still critical. To make circumstances worse, just beyond the bloodied-but-not-beaten Volksgrenadiers waited the tanks of the 6th Panzer Army. The buck's head was used to indicate the allocation of the organization to the mountainous section of Pennsylvania, where deer abound. On 17 October 1999, the 3rd Battalion, 395th Regiment was reactivated as an Armor Training Support (TS) Battalion. There was no cover. Hfen, along with the nearby town of Monschau, was strategically vital because it sat on elevated terrain overlooking an important road junction. The 395th Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment of the United States Army, part of the 99th Infantry Division during World War II. [13], To the north of Hfen lay a paved main road that led through the Monschau Forest, at whose eastern edge it forked. They continued to fight even as the American press trumpeted the rapid crumbling of German resistance. Some toppled directly into US foxholes as American troops engaged them at point-blank range. Richard Mills were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. 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. Butler held a single platoon of 40 men from Company L in reserve. Alexander John Mackenzie was born in New York City, 22 February 1895, the son of Alexina and Kenneth M. During the first day of the Battle of the Bulge, the 3rd Battalion took 19 prisoners and killed an estimated 200 Germans. 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. By signing up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, MIGHTY NETWORKS, 2023 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, Artificial Intelligence just flew an F-16 Fighting Falcon for the US military, WWII vet finally receives Silver Star for heroism at Battle of the Bulge, This is the massive Nazi sneak attack at the Battle of the Bulge, Rarely seen footage from the Battle of the Bulge, The first tank to break into Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge was almost lost to history. 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. The German 20th Infantry Division was an infantry division of Nazi Germany.HistoryThe was established in 1934 under the cover name. Was the 5th infantry at the battle of the bulge? 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. Category: 395th Infantry Regiment Lt. Col. Henry B. Koon Sr. Special Troops They then crossed the Wied River, where they joined up with the 7th Infantry Division. Good luck with your quest. On 2 March 1945, the division took the offensive, moving toward Cologne and crossing the Erft Canal near Glesch. Honor Roll - 99th Infantry Division "They shall not grow old, As we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, Nor the years condemn. The 99th Infantry Division, comprising the 393rd, 394th, and the 395th Infantry Regiments, arrived in England on 10 October 1944. [1] After defensive patrolling, the 99th probed the Siegfried Line against heavy resistance on 13 December. 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.