As the American defenders began to assess casualties and ammunition supplies, the 12th SS hit them again. The buck's head was used to indicate the allocation of the organization to the mountainous section of Pennsylvania, where deer abound. Troops were fatigued by weeks of continuous combat, Allied supply lines were stretched extremely thin, and supplies were dangerously depleted. A group of photos from his wartime, unfortenately we have not been able to. "Blue" was the code word for the 3rd battalion under Army infantry's triangular organization. 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 camp was newly built, and the barracks were covered in tar paper. [1] During the first day of the Battle of the Bulge, the 3rd Battalion took 19 prisoners and killed an estimated 200 Germans. The Army operated a program designed to capitalize on the large number of educated and intelligent recruits that were available. The regiment arrived at Camp Van Dorn in early December. provides support December 1944. During the first morning of the Battle of the Bulge, they defended a key road junction in the vicinity of the Losheim Gap. It was organized with the rest of the 99th on 16 November 1942 at Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi. The 1st Battalion was positioned on the right. [5] The 99th boarded ships bound for England on 10 October 1944 and briefly stayed at Camp Marabout, Dorchester, England. 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. 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. 449, U.S. ARMY 15 January 1945 SUBJECT: History of Medical Detachment, 395th Infantry Regiment, 1 December to 31 December 1944. 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 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. 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. In 1975, the 99th ARCOM moved its headquarters to Oakdale, Pennsylvania. The last drive began on 23 April. 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. 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. They were tasked with moving 10 miles (16km) behind the German lines and cutting the Autobahn to prevent the withdrawal of the Germans. 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 distinctive unit insignia was originally approved for the 395th Regiment Infantry, Organized Reserves on 16 June 1931. squares centered on a black shield. Through this eerie artificial moonlight, the 326th Volksgrenadier Division advanced on 3/395s position. German troops pass burning American equipment during the Ardennes offensive. German Panzer tanks en route to the Ardennes. Richard Mills were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. This, however, was the moment that Hitlers master plan collided headfirst with American fortitude. It was organized with the rest of the 99th on 16 November 1942 at Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi. Butler said, "The biggest difficulty in carrying out a night attack is control, and having men who can coordinate well as a team in the dark. 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. These two German divisions directed their fury against the 395th early on the morning of the December 17. Later that night, another enemy assault was similarly unsuccessful. In early December, much of the Allied forces were established in a general defensive line from the North Sea to the Swiss border. On 17 October 1999, the 3rd Battalion, 395th Regiment was reactivated as an Armor Training Support (TS) Battalion. 394th Infantry Regiment Co. A, first platoon This is my Dad's story. Crossing on the 23d, it pushed east on the Koln-Frankfurt highway to Giessen. "[9]:79, The battalion dug in, its purpose to hold the line so that other units could attack key dams across the Roer River. Although 3/395 had only 600 men to defend a large area, they had been told that the German army, or Wehrmacht, was no longer capable of major offensive operations and that their winter in the Ardennes would be a quiet one. From 21 December 1944 to 30 January 1945, the unit was engaged in aggressive patrolling and reequipping. 394th Infantry Regiment Medical Detachment (99th Infantry Division), History, January 1945. 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. Alexander John Mackenzie was born in New York City, 22 February 1895, the son of Alexina and Kenneth M. The campaign in North Africa began with a daring Anglo-American commando raid code-named Operation RESERVIST. [12] For their part, the German army was planning a seven-day campaign to seize Antwerp. The 99th Infantry Division was the first complete division to cross the Rhine. The division was destroyed near Vitebsk during the Soviet Vitebsk-Orsha Offensive of Operation Bagration in the summer of 1944. Accurate estimates of German wounded were not possible, but about 20 percent of the 326th Volksgrenadier Division were lost. 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. The 99th battled on to the bridge at Remagen that was taken on March 7th. That task fell to the 277th Volksgrenadier Division and the 12th SS Panzer Division. 99th Infantry Division vehicles en route to the battle zone. 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. By the end of the December 16, much of the American front lines in the Ardennes had been broken by the German assault. [9], Because the unit's radios had been destroyed, the soldiers captured, and the rapid subsequent German advance, U.S. Army commanders did not know about the unit's success at slowing the German advance, or even if they had been captured or killed. The division was reconstituted in the Organized Reserve on 24 June 1921 and assigned to the western half of the state of Pennsylvania. Below are the top five veteran research questions, where to go for further resources, and how to begin your search. Even the most hardened veteran occasionally thinks he hears twigs snap, boots crush snow or other odd noises that can cause nerves to fray. Plans called for the division to include the 393rd, 394th, 395th, and 396th Infantry Regiments. The 395th Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment of the United States Army, part of the 99th Infantry Division during World War II. Due in part to the 99th Infantry Division, this ground mission has not been continuous, and he will not achieve his goal[15]. After the battalion was inactivated on 29 September 1945, its colors remained folded for more than fifty years. 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. The breakout from Saint-L, France was accomplished far more rapidly than Allied planners had dared hope, and American units plunged through the French countryside with undreamed of rapidity, far in advance of operational plans. There Major Butler collapsed due to exhaustion on 30 April, and Lt. Col. J. At dusk on 16 December, after virtually no sleep during the preceding night and a full day of almost non-stop combat, with only a few rounds of ammunition remaining, about 50 German paratroopers finally flanked and captured the remaining 19 soldiers. "[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. Butler attended, but did not graduate from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. 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. 395th Infantry Regiment Medical Detachment (99th Infantry . The 197th Infantry Division (German: 197. The regiment was organized with three battalions, each containing three rifle companies and a weapons company armed with .30 caliber and .50 caliber machine guns. The 99th Infantry's report stated that 1,500 Jews were "living under terrible conditions and approximately 600 required hospitalization due to starvation and disease.". The 395th Infantry, Organized Reserves, was organized in 1921. Up to that point, the Army had married a battalion of tanks to a battalion of infantry in support of the tanks. The division was chiefly manned with graduates of the ROTC programs of the Carnegie Institute of Technology, Duquesne University. [10], Around Hfen, which the 395th defended, the ground was marked with open hills. The unit was inactivated after World War II, then became a reserve unit, and was redesignated as the 395th Regiment in 1999. Many of the 99th Division's best soldiers were products of the ill-fated ASTP program. 2nd Infantry Division soldiers dig in on a road bank and prepare defensive positions on the end of the Elsenborn Ridge on December 20, 1944. 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. That was not the case for the Americans near Elsenborn. Battle of the Bulge The 99th RSC's mission was to provide command and control and full-service support for assigned units and facility management. [19] The regiment's successful defense prevented the Germans, who had counted on surprise, numbers, and minimum hard fighting as their keys to success, from accessing the best routes into the Belgium interior, and seriously delayed their scheduled advance by more than 48 hours, allowing the Americans to move large numbers of units and bring up reserves. 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 5 th Infantry Division was moved from Saarlautern, Luxembourg to the area of south and southwest of Echternach. The 38th Cavalry Squadron (led by Lt. Col. Robert E. O'Brien) was deployed to the north along the railroad track between Mutzenich and Konzen station. 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. Crest That for the regiments and separate battalions of the Army Reserve: From a wreath Argent and Azure, the Lexington Minute Man Proper. 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. When hostilities ceased on 7 May 1945, the regiment had during six months of fighting experienced 300 percent turnover due to casualties. [6][17]:vii. This article contains content in the public domain from U.S. military sources. 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 real crusher to the German offensive plans in the Ardennes occurred 46 miles north east of Bastogne, in a small area consisting of a copse of small villages and a piece of high ground called Elsenborn Ridge. 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. Those Germans who made it into the town itself were quickly mopped up. Under the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, Congress Sign up for our newsletter and receive the mighty updates! [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. On at least six different occasions the battalion was forced to place artillery concentrations dangerously close to its own positions in order to repulse penetrations and restore its lines . the horizontal band of white and blue squares was adopted from the coat of arms It was organized with the rest of the 99th on 16 November 1942 at Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi. [4] Lt. Col. Butler retired from the Army on 14 January 1946 and worked for the phone company for the rest of his career. Category: 395thIR On this page, we honor the memory of the men of the 99th Infantry Division and pay tribute to their extraordinary contributions to the war effort. 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. [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. On the east lay a section of the Monschau Forest. 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. The black represents the iron from the mills of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where many of the troops were from. In January 2003, the 99th RSC started mobilizing units for projected operations in Iraq. Sgt Harold Rutz, 395th Infantry Regiment, M Company. The 99th RRC continued to provide command and control for assigned units and support for the ongoing deployments. Told it was the 3rd Battalion, 395th Infantry, he said, "It must have been one of your best formations." It was credited with destroying "seventy-five percent of three German infantry regiments." And while the defense of the crossroads of hell was gallant to be sure, it was not the back breaker that most people assume it to have been. [14] If the Germans penetrated Hfen, the U.S. soldiers would have to withdraw several miles to the next defensible position.[10]. 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. Battle of the Bulge The platoon members were not recognized for their courageous deeds for thirty-seven years. The division lost about 20% of its effective strength, including 465 killed and 2,524 evacuated due to wounds, injuries, fatigue, or trench foot; German losses were much higher. The silver and bronze star medal of Col. Alexander John Mackenzie, Regimental Commandor of the 395th Infantry Regiment. 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. 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. Their success in defending Hfen resulted in the 395th Infantry being repeatedly assigned to other divisions for difficult assignments during the remainder of the war, earning them the sobriquet, Butler's Blue Battlin' Bastards. No reserves were available . In the opening days of the Battle of the Bulge, Robert's regiment was on the front lines in the Losheim Gap. Asked why he thought so, he said, "Two reasons: one cold-bloodedness; two efficiency. As many as half a million civilians remained in Stalingrad when the Germans approached in the late summer of 1942. of William Pitt for whom the city of Pittsburgh was named. The Germans, moving across illuminated open ground without cover, fell by the hundreds against the murderous American fire. 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 insignia was devised upon the 99th's formation in 1942 when the division was headquartered in the city of Pittsburgh. Against light resistance, it crossed the Dill River and pushed on to Krofdorf-Gleiberg, taking Giessen 29 March. A 105mm artillery piece from the 2nd Infantry Div. 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. Excited to share my latest group in the 99th Infantry Division collection. The shield is silver, the old color of Infantry. info@nationalww2museum.org With its sister battalions, the 1st, 395th Engineer and 2nd, 395th Field Artillery, the 3rd Battalion (TS) (AR) role is to train National Guard armor and infantry battalions across a three-state region and improve their combat readiness. : 33 On at least six occasions they called in . [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. 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. No division commander was appointed during the organization's brief existence. . 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. 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. The Legacy of the 99th Infantry Division: Our Artifacts Collection The 99th Infantry Division Historical Society is dedicated to preserving, Discovering the Legacy of a WW2 Soldier: Tips and Tricks Are you interested in learning more about a WW2 veteran, They shall not grow old, As we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, Nor the years, Dean F. Gilbert was a membert of 3rd Platoon, L Company,394th Infantry Regiment. Location of the 99th ID sector (red box) on a map of the Bulge. [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. 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. After fighting in the Ruhr area, the unit moved southward into Bavaria, where it was located at the end of the war. Captain Ned Nelson, veteran of 3/395 and the battle at Hfen. 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. The combination of no ammunition and heavy German armor caused the American lines to fold, like a dam bursting. 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.. Sgt. In the pre-dawn hours of December 16th, Hitlers final major offensive began. When three hours later a third SS assault hit the defenders, it too was stopped. Seth Paridon was a staff historian at The National WWII Museumfrom2005 to 2020. They engaged in division-level maneuvers in July 1944. 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 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. This assault, like the first, was ground to a halt due to heavy American small arms and artillery fire. A member of the 395th Infantry Regiment , the photographer captured an amazing scene through the lens of this camera in these images. 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. [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. Ehrenfried-Oskar Bge. Several photos from the private collection of the family of Dean F. THE EARLY YEARS Joseph Richard Evans (Dick) was born on October 17, 1920 to Charles E. Evansand Wenonah (nee Muirhead/Miller)in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The National WWII Museum Digital Collections. There was no cover. The 99th Infantry Division, comprising the 393rd, 394th, and the 395th Infantry Regiments, arrived in England on 10 October 1944.
395th infantry regiment 99th infantry division