The 3d Battalion positions on the German bank were built around captured pillboxes, for here earlier American advances had pierced the first line of the German West Wall. The unit was noted for actions in the Battle of Coamo, where the regiment sustained six wounded and one killed in action during a blocking action. In a matter of minutes the left company ran into a strong German skirmish line, deployed at the edge of a wood, which was supported by tanks and self-propelled artillery firing from around Marnach. Manteuffel also held strongly for infiltration tactics by small detachments, such as were conventionally employed by both opponents on the Eastern Front. A section of tank destroyers, supporting the forward outpost, was overrun by the more mobile German tanks, but the engineers held their fire for the German infantry on the heels of the panzers and then cut loose, with satisfying results. His suspicions were confirmed when a patrol sent into the town failed to return. In 1917, when America entered World War I, the 28th Infantry Division was the nation's oldest National Guard unit. Company B moved east to aid the 3d Battalion, and Company A, less a platoon in mobile reserve at Clerf, moved to the northern sector. Two of the American tanks, destroyed during the German assault later in the day. After the Germans captured the howitzers, a bazooka team of a company officer and a sergeant held the enemy tanks at bay, destroying two which ventured into the village. Four of the 707th tanks that had been crippled the previous day were drawn up on the ridge east of Wiltz to give what help they might as more or less stationary artillery. The Fifth Panzer Army Attacks the 28th Infantry Division. After a long wait the battalion commanding officer, Major Milton, went back into Wiltz to get further orders; when he returned most of his battalion had disappeared. been deployed along the Wahlhausen road on the forward slope of the Back to the west, in the 28th Division command post at Wiltz, General Cota took what steps he could to help the 110th Infantry. Losses in equipment had been particularly heavy. A radio message alerted the commander to the danger of a direct approach; so the platoon and some accompanying infantry entered Clerf by a secondary road along the river. Despite harassing fire from American guns and mortars the Germans moved swiftly. German shells. The 26th Volks Grenadier Division was across the Our River in force but had failed to gain its first-day objective, control of the Clerf River crossings. James Russell Fostervold, 86, of Willmar, died Tuesday at his home following an illness. 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 Alford, Truman MAJ , "Operations of the 6th Tank Destroyer Group, as part of Taks Force "A", in the march through Brittany Peninsula to Brest, France, 3-9 August 1944 . Company C was in "reserve" in Munshausen. A half hour before dawn on 18 December German guns and mortars opened heavy fire. were battle-weary, small in number, and widely dispersed. Second, he had to disregard his own flanks, particularly on the south, and resolutely refuse to detach any force for flank protection until the main body was west of the Meuse. 75th Ranger Regiment Special Forces Infantry Regiments/Battalions Army Campaigns Pre-divisional Orders of Battle . Manteuffel had two armored formations in reserve, the Panzer Lehr Division and the Fuehrer Begleit Brigade.1 These he intended to throw in behind the armored corps which made the first bridgehead at the Our. his assistance, probably to be in position to give support by the late This sizable town lay in a bend of the Wiltz River valley, southwest of Clerf and some three miles away from the enemy-held crossings at Wilwerwiltz. Colonel Nelson decided to pull back through Huldange since enemy tanks were known to be in Trois Vierges. Then as the attack got moving they were raised to lay heavy counterbattery fire on the 229th Field Artillery Battalion (Lt. Col. John C. Fairchild). This unit now relieved the provisional The German barrage, with a limited number of rounds at the guns, dwindled away after about half an hour to sporadic salvos and stray single shots, leaving the advancing infantry without cover while they were still short of the American positions. This was the Mark V Battalion of the 116th Panzer Division assembling to lead the attack toward the Ouren bridges. 114th Infantry Regiment. cannon company gunners quickly bore-sighted their pieces, loaded reduced charge, and with direct fire knocked out four of the panzers. By the middle of the morning it was apparent that the VIII Corps was under attack all along the front and that the 28th Division would have to make out with what it had. This new Altoona unit converted back to an engineer company unit they were redesignated Troop C, 104th Cavalry in 1929. At 0930 two companies The Americans had identified the 26th long since as the unit garrisoning the West Wall bunkers on the German bank. In a month's time the flow of replacements had brought the regiment to full strength. This place is not healthy anymore.". The 77th marched toward Drauffelt on the Clerf River, leaving the replacement training battalion to continue the fight at Hosingen. In the first German blueprint for the Ardennes counteroffensive the latter corps had been assigned four divisions and the mission of driving to and across the. This is a useful if not exhaustive study of one of the main battles which made up the massive event known as The Battle of the Bu As the column turned northwest on the main Bastogne highway enemy fire increased; some in the column turned back from the gantlet in hopes of finding another escape route by retracing their steps through Wiltz. Accession 45223. These roads and bridges he intended to seize by surprise. The 110th Infantry Regiment was hit hard early in the Battle of the Bulge after being bled white in the Hurtgen Forest earlier that autumn. 110th Infantry Regiment; 112th Infantry Regiment ; 107th Field Artillery Battalion; 108th Field Artillery Battalion; 109th . Only the weakened 1130th Regiment and the division fusilier company, once again in touch with its fellows, were left behind to extend the bridgehead formed at Ouren. Middleton had ordered the 44th Engineer Combat Battalion 3d Battalion sector, compressing the American companies in the village Perhaps the Americans had some reason for elation on the night of 16 December, but all knew that harder blows would be dealt on the morrow. initial breakthrough at the Our and Clerf Rivers, but rather how to Division likely to be encountered during the first hours of the attack against the British and American advance in southwest Holland, and had General Middleton agreed, but with the proviso that the regiment should remain close enough to the river to deny an enemy crossing. The 3d Battalion (Maj. Harold F. Milton) formed the regimental right, with its companies on both sides of the ridge line. In this case, as in many others during the American withdrawal, the full story is that of the cooperation of the combined arms. All this gave the 112th Infantry a chance to get its breath on 18 December. Free shipping for many products! 28th Infantry Division The 28th Division was destined to move againdestined for another job (the Gloomy Hurtgen Forest). to cross the XLVII Panzer Corps bridge at Dasburg and commence In 1949, the Bellefonte unit was redesignated Battery B, 688th Field Artillery. The 26th Volks Grenadier Division needed Hosinen badly. Finally, on the morning of 18 December, the surviving members of the garrison sent out a last radio message; they had no choice but surrender. The road net was adequate, although mired by constant rain, but the two forward battalions had to be supplied at night because of German fire. One rifle regiment and part of the division engineers were still in Denmark. At 1330 the enemy ceased, GERMAN TROOPS ADVANCING PAST ABANDONED AMERICAN EQUIPMENT. On the morning of the 20th Jones ordered the regiment to sideslip back to the east, reoccupy Beiler, and dig in along the eastwest ridge line, Leithum-Beiler-Malscheid. The 112th remained an organic unit of the 28th Infantry Division throughout World War II.[5]. Thus deployed on the right of the 424th Infantry, the 112th was another piece filling out the fast developing "island defense" of St. Vith. Company B held Marnach. The task of rebuilding the rifle companies, repairing battle damage, and training replacements was of necessity a slow one. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. General Luettwitz was none too pleased with the progress made by his two attack divisions on this first day. Two hours later tanks and self-propelled guns struck the 44th Engineers, which was outposting the little hamlets northeast of Wiltz. The German attack to penetrate the front lines of the 28th Division succeeded on the first day of the offensive in splitting the 112th Infantry from the rest of the division. By this time, however, the advance infantry detachments of the 2d Panzer Division were not only involved in a battle to knock out Marnach but were pushing past the village en route to Clerf. This seemed to be the most endangered sector of the whole division front, for here the 2d Panzer Division had been identified and here was the main hard-surface road to Bastogne. Two rifle battalions manned the main battle positions east of the Our: the 1st facing Ltzkampen, the 3d occupying and flanking Sevenig. The 3d Battalion, fighting mostly against infantry, had held its own through the day, aided greatly by the possession of the pillbox line, far stronger than the defensive positions in the 1st Battalion sector. The battalion, perhaps 200 strong, arrived in Wiltz about noon and Strickler assumed command of the forces in the town. Conforming to these instructions the 2d Panzer Division moved its assault columns to Dasburg during the night of 15-16 December but halted in assembly areas east of the river. Each battalion was responsible for five outposts along the west bank of the Our, but these vantage points were occupied only during daylight hours and then in squad strength. About four and a half miles west of the town, a second block was encountered and a German self-propelled gun lashed out at the lead vehicles while machine gunners blazed away from positions around it. The division's three regiments were in a line, with the 112th, 110th, and 109th Infantry Regiments aligned north to south. The half-track was demolished, but the field had been exploded and the covering infantry cleared away. In 1951, a rampant lion as found on the arms of Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg grasping a red cross of the province of Lorraine in France were added to the old coat of arms of the 112th Infantry Regiment. German field guns, by this time west of the Clerf, opened fire on Wiltz at noon. of the 1st Battalion. The 24-man patrol from Company A ran into the German flank at Fishbach, about 1120, and had to withdraw under intense fire. Division. It would be natural, therefore, for the Germans debouching from the Wilwerwiltz bridgehead to defile through the Wiltz valley. On General Middleton's order, CCR, 9th Armored Division, had put a task force backstop position behind the threatened center of the 28th Division. U.S. Army photo. Colonel Lauchert was worried about the slow rate of the 2d Panzer advance. Hyperleap helps uncover and suggest. The unit was also awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation for its actions during the Battle of the Bulge, from 16 to 24 December 1944. 113th Infantry Regiment. On the evening of 15 December the outpost troops, considerably reinforced, crossed to the west bank as usual and moved cautiously forward. He was able to convince the Army Group B commander that a stand should be taken on a number of tactical points which, in Manteuffel's judgment, were essential to success in the forthcoming attack. For two days and nights Company K and Company B of the 103d Engineer Combat Battalion fought off all enemy attempts to eradicate this block on the Skyline Drive. or support the 3d Battalion, 110th Infantry, fighting at Consthum. Fortunately radio contact was re-established from Weiswampach shortly after midnight and the 1st Battalion was given orders to withdraw through the former 3d Battalion positions. 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