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. While the supply situation improved in October, the manpower situation was still critical. No one had anticipated such a rapid Allied advance. In the northern sector opposite the 99th, this included more than 4,000 deaths and the destruction of 60 tanks and big guns. After failing to capture Monschau on the battles second day, the 326th Volksgrenadier Division turned its attention back to Hfen on December 18th. American artillery fired at pre-registered locations along the German route of advance, and along with support from in the knick of time arriving American armor halted and turned the German advance into a retreat. Troops were fatigued by weeks of continuous combat, Allied supply lines were stretched extremely thin, and supplies were dangerously depleted. The 395th Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment of the United States Army, part of the 99th Infantry Division during World War II. But the infantry often bore worse casualties than the tanks did and had to be replaced and reinforced more quickly. 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. On 1 February 1944, Major Butler assumed command of the 3rd Battalion, 395th Regiment. 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 are taken from the coat of arms for William Pitt for whom Pittsburgh was named. The 395th was held in the United States until more room was available for the unit to enter Europe. 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. [16], On 16 July 2003, the command was redesignated as the 99th Regional Readiness Command, placing additional emphasis on training, readiness, and mobilization. The division headquarters was organized in November 1921. 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". There are nine white squares and nine blue ones, signifying the number 99. Accurate estimates of German wounded were not possible, but about 20 percent of the 326th Volksgrenadier Division were lost. The 395th Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment of the United States Army, part of the 99th Infantry Division during World War II. The National WWII Museum Digital Collections. 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. 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. 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 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. 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]. Cemeteries & Memorials; Burial Search; About Us; Education; Facebook; Twitter; YouTube; Instagram; ABMC Headquarters 2300 Clarendon Blvd, Suite 500 Arlington, VA 22201 Phone: 703-584-1501. Sgt. Many of the 99th Division's best soldiers were products of the ill-fated ASTP program. With ammunition supplies dwindling rapidly, the men obtained German weapons and utilized ammunition obtained from casualties to drive off the persistent foe. [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. "[9]:79, The battalion dug in, its purpose to hold the line so that other units could attack key dams across the Roer River. German Panzer tanks en route to the Ardennes. In early December, much of the Allied forces were established in a general defensive line from the North Sea to the Swiss border. The 12th SS pushed through the woods and probed the villages at around 1100 hours. The division was destroyed near Vitebsk during the Soviet Vitebsk-Orsha Offensive of Operation Bagration in the summer of 1944. Pennsylvania State College, and the Pennsylvania Military College. [1] [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. This quick infusion of personnel into the 99th Division occurred in March 1944, when more than 3000 joined the division. The retreat turned into a route as the German tanks, two less due to a duel with two American Shermans, rolled unmolested down the street in the village. The Germans threw wave after wave of infantry, and a unit of panzers, at the town. On 28 January 1945, after six weeks of the most intense and relentless combat of the war in the biggest battle of World War II, involving approximately 1.3million men, the Allies declared the Ardennes Offensive, or Battle of the Bulge, officially over. In January 2003, the 99th RSC started mobilizing units for projected operations in Iraq. The camp was newly built, and the barracks were covered in tar paper. On 22 December 1967, the 99th Army Reserve Command (ARCOM) was activated. The insignia was devised upon the 99th's formation in 1942 when the division was headquartered in the city of Pittsburgh. Some toppled directly into US foxholes as American troops engaged them at point-blank range. Through their stories, we gain a glimpse into the challenges they faced, the horrors they endured, and the triumphs they achieved. Shield Argent, a buck's head attired of ten tynes couped Proper. The inexperienced troops of the division were lodged on the northern shoulder of the Ardennes Offensive on 16 December. Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action at Elsenborn Crest. [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. Asked why he thought so, he said, "Two reasons: one cold-bloodedness; two efficiency. [12] The 99th Infantry's after action report stated they found 1,500 Jews "living under terrible conditions and approximately 600 required hospitalization due to starvation and disease. 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. [2]:33 On at least six occasions they called in artillery strikes on or directly in front of their own positions. Fourteen of the 18 platoon members were wounded, while only one soldier, a member of the artillery observation team, was killed. 394th Infantry Regiment Medical Detachment (99th Infantry Division), History, January 1945. Despite mauling the Germans on their first attempt to take Hfen, 3/395s situation was grim. 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. 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. 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. The 197th Infantry Division (German: 197. [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. 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. 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. There was no cover. The 395th Regiment's success earned it many difficult assignments. Field Artillery Battalions were the 370th, 371st, 372nd & the 924th. Here it held firmly against violent enemy attacks. 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 Germans were operating under a tight timetable, however, and the assaults center of gravitythe 6th Panzer Armyhad only one day to breach the 99th IDs line. The division was reconstituted in the Organized Reserve on 24 June 1921 and assigned to the western half of the state of Pennsylvania. In 1975, the 99th ARCOM moved its headquarters to Oakdale, Pennsylvania. 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. Notable. [4] Lt. Col. Butler retired from the Army on 14 January 1946 and worked for the phone company for the rest of his career. The buck's head was used to indicate the allocation of the organization to the mountainous section of Pennsylvania, where deer abound. The three heavy German assaults had worn down the ammunition supply, particularly that of the machine gunners, and had left the defenders mostly helpless. 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. Ordered into active military service: 15 November 1942 Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi. American troops from the 290th Regiment near Amonines, Belgium. Up to that point, the Army had married a battalion of tanks to a battalion of infantry in support of the tanks. 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. 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. They engaged in division-level maneuvers in July 1944. The German 20th Infantry Division was an infantry division of Nazi Germany.HistoryThe was established in 1934 under the cover name. When I got to Hfen, I found the area too big to cover in one afternoon. Category: 395th Infantry Regiment Lt. Col. Henry B. Koon Sr. Special Troops The enemy artillery was so intense that communications were generally out. . 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. The "Checkerboard" or "Battle Babies" division landed at the French port of Le Havre and proceeded northeast to Belgium. The 3rd Battalion received a Presidential Unit Citation for its actions around Hfen from 16 to 19 December. The Allied victory against the Axis was a long journeyone that actually took much longer than the war itself. Soldiers who were in direct support of the relief efforts were also awarded the Humanitarian Service Medal as a personal award. 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 Battle of the Bulge was the largest battle ever fought by the United States Army. This, however, was the moment that Hitlers master plan collided headfirst with American fortitude. Through this eerie artificial moonlight, the 326th Volksgrenadier Division advanced on 3/395s position. He returned to Illinois and in 1933 was commissioned a second lieutenant in the National Guard. 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. Allied forces were fighting their way across France, and fresh units were badly needed in autumn 1944 to continue to press the offensive. 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. A U.S. Army World War II division was configured as a Triangular division, with three regimental maneuver elements. The concentration camp was one of the "forest camps" (Waldlager) tied to the Mhldorf camp complex. Mission of the 395th Infantry Regiment 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. From Camp Van Dorn they were transferred to the more established Camp Maxey in Paris, Texas for additional training. 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 platoon members were not recognized for their courageous deeds for thirty-seven years. It was organized with the rest of the 99th on 16 November 1942 at Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi. This did not turn out to be true. "In two cases, the enemy fell in the BAR gunners' foxholes. A member of the 395th Infantry Regiment , the photographer captured an amazing scene through the lens of this camera in these images. 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. This page was last edited on 11 March 2022, at 19:44. 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. 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. Score: 4.8/5 (10 votes) . [13], German prisoners captured during the Battle of the Bulge volunteered praise of the 99th's effective defense of Hfen. 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 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. 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. [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. [7]:3, Col. Butler went ahead to look over the area they were assigned to defend. In the pre-dawn hours of December 16th, Hitlers final major offensive began. 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. [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 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. 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. 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. Hfen remained in American handsfor now. 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. 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. [1] After defensive patrolling, the 99th probed the Siegfried Line against heavy resistance on 13 December. [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. At precisely 0530 hours, the forest erupted in an ear shattering German artillery barrage along a 100 mile front. Hfen-Monschau was vital to the operations success because the nearby road junctions would enable rapid movement of tanks. This was the road network the Germans needed to meet their objectives. 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 success of the defense of the twin villages would be short-lived if ammunition was not resupplied. 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. [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. 99th Infantry Division shoulder sleeve insignia, Army Battle Casualties and Nonbattle Deaths, Final Report (Statistical and Accounting Branch, Office of the Adjutant General, 1 June 1953), Distinguished Service Cross (United States), "Battle of the Bulge: U.S. As the tanks neared Krinkelt, they plowed right through elements of the 2nd Infantry Division, many of whom had arrived literally moments earlier to reinforce their brothers who had earlier reinforced the 99ers. [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. Ehrenfried-Oskar Bge. The statue of the Minute Man, Captain John Parker, (H.H.Kitson, sculptor), stands on the common in Lexington, Massachusetts. A group of photos from his wartime, unfortenately we have not been able to. Infanterie-Division) was a German division in 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. The battalion was badly outnumbered and nearly surrounded. [6][17]:vii. 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 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. 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. [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. Battle of the Bulge 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. No division commander was appointed during the organization's brief existence. The black background Due to the dwindling attendance over the years, the decision was made to hold the final convention in 2011. Forests, by nature, are eerily quiet at night. Richard Mills were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. . ", The 99th Infantry Division, outnumbered five to one, inflicted estimated casualties on the Germans in the ratio of eighteen to one. The lines were then moved back to form defensive positions east of Elsenborn Ridge on the 19th. While the 99th was fully involved in this large mobilization, the headquarters moved to Coraopolis, Pennsylvania. represents the iron district of Pennsylvania. The black represents the iron from the mills of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where many of the troops were from. Butler attended, but did not graduate from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. It was redesignated with description updated, for the 395th Regiment on 7 June 1999. ABMC Headquarters 2300 Clarendon Blvd, Suite 500 Arlington, VA 22201 Phone: 703-584-1501 It is believed that Delbert was transferred to the 395th Infantry Regiment at some point. The 99th Infantry Division Artefacts Collection. The Army operated a program designed to capitalize on the large number of educated and intelligent recruits that were available. It had its headquarters at Franklin, Pennsylvania, and drew its personnel from Pennsylvania. Attached below the shield a silver scroll inscribed "VIGILANS ET CELER" in Black letters.[21]. 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. 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 Combined Bomber Offensive (CBO) in the European Theater was one of Americas bloodiest campaigns. The 99th Infantry Division, comprising the 393rd, 394th, and the 395th Infantry Regiments, arrived in England on 10 October 1944. As the American defenders began to assess casualties and ammunition supplies, the 12th SS hit them again. 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. The 99th Infantry Division, comprising the 393rd, 394th, and the 395th Infantry Regiments, arrived in England on 10 October 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 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. When told it was 3/395, the prisoner replied, It must be one of your best formations.. As many as half a million civilians remained in Stalingrad when the Germans approached in the late summer of 1942. 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.
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