Not so in the pre-dawn hours of December 16 in the Ardennes Forest. He found that his 600 riflemen were assigned an extremely large area about 6,000 yards (5,500m) long without any units in reserve. Harold was . The black background The town of Kuckhof cost the battalion dearly, with more than fifty casualties inflicted on one company alone (I Company). After the Gulf War, the 99th ARCOM became the 99th Regional Support Command (RSC). 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 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". The platoon seriously disrupted the entire German Sixth Panzer Army's schedule of attack along the northern edge of the offensive. 20th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) - atozwiki.com The insignia was devised upon the 99th's formation in 1942 when the division was headquartered in the city of Pittsburgh. 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. [16], In 2005, the Army Reserve began its latest transformation under the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) directive and lessons learned from eight years of deployments in support of the Global War on Terrorism. 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). Despite fatigue, constant enemy shelling, and ever-increasing enemy pressure, the Third Battalion guarded a 6,000 yards (5,500m)-long front and destroyed 75 percent of three German infantry regiments. That was not the case for the Americans near Elsenborn. 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 was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 21 March 1944, and remained in command of the 395th until 30 April 1945, when he collapsed from exhaustion. 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.. The Battles for Elsenborn Ridge Part I - New Orleans So I stayed in the village overnight. DELBERT A. SAYRE - 99th Infantry Division The buck's head was used to indicate the allocation of the organization to the mountainous section of Pennsylvania, where deer abound. It was like a golf course, so I used the night for concealment."[6]. Forests, by nature, are eerily quiet at night. 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. During the first morning of the Battle of the Bulge, they defended a key road junction in the vicinity of the Losheim Gap. But the infantry often bore worse casualties than the tanks did and had to be replaced and reinforced more quickly. The 3rd Battalion, 395th Regiment had acquitted itself with valor, having held its lines despite the harsh winter weather, the enemy's numerical superiority and greater numbers of armored units. : 33 On at least six occasions they called in . 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. 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. Later that night, another enemy assault was similarly unsuccessful. 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. Ordered into active military service: 15 November 1942 Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi. The 99th Division was constituted at Camp Wheeler, Georgia, on 23 July 1918. The 1st Battalion was positioned on the right. The failure to breach the 99th IDs sector stalled the entire German advance and a decisive breakthrough was never achieved. 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. 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]. The Germans, moving across illuminated open ground without cover, fell by the hundreds against the murderous American fire. The 395th Infantry Regimentwas an infantryregimentof the United States Army, part of the 99th Infantry Divisionduring World War II. 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. The coat of arms was originally approved for the 395th Regiment Infantry, Organized Reserves on 15 June 1931. The division headquarters was organized in November 1921. 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. Images of picturesque Ardennes landscapes before Christmas, conifers with branches drooping from heavy snowfall and beleaguered American forces doggedly defending against a last gasp attack by a defeated enemy all dot the mind when thinking of the Bulge. The statue of the Minute Man, Captain John Parker, (H.H.Kitson, sculptor), stands on the common in Lexington, Massachusetts. Allies and former enemy Germany mark 75th anniversary of Battle of Battle of the Bulge: WWII vets travel to Belgium for 75th anniversary. During the heavy fighting in the Battle of the Bulge, the unit suffered many casualties, yet tenaciously held its defensive position. They engaged in division-level maneuvers in July 1944. Grouping from Col. Alexander John Mackenzie, Regimental Commandor of 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. Delbert followed a communication training and became enlisted radio repairman. [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. [2]:33 On at least six occasions they called in artillery strikes on or directly in front of their own positions. Richard Mills were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. 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. While the 99th was fully involved in this large mobilization, the headquarters moved to Coraopolis, Pennsylvania. 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 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 three regiments of the 99th IDthe 393rd, 394th, & 395th Infantry Regimentswere thinly spread across this frigid but quiet portion of the front. Table of Contents. 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 395th Infantry Regiment was disposed defensively from north to south with the 3rd Battalion in the Hfen area in Germany, the 2nd Battalion was in the center at Kalterherberg, and the 1st Battalion remained on the regiment's right, southeast of Kalterherberg. 99th Infantry Division soldiers putting up a winterized squad hut. 3d Battalion (TS)(AR) 395th Regiment - GlobalSecurity.org The 395th Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment of the United States Army, part of the 99th Infantry Division during World War II. 395th Infantry Regiment (United States) - Infogalactic: the planetary 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 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. 395thIR - 99th Infantry Division No division commander was appointed during the organization's brief existence. The distinctive unit insignia was originally approved for the 395th Regiment Infantry, Organized Reserves on 16 June 1931. 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 black represents the iron from the mills of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where many of the troops were from. Notable. 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. Through their stories, we gain a glimpse into the challenges they faced, the horrors they endured, and the triumphs they achieved. ABMC Headquarters 2300 Clarendon Blvd, Suite 500 Arlington, VA 22201 Phone: 703-584-1501 and the situation was desperate. Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action at the Siegfried Line. 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. The lines were then moved back to form defensive positions east of Elsenborn Ridge on the 19th. [7]:3, Col. Butler went ahead to look over the area they were assigned to defend. [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. As they did so, another German assault hit them, this time with support from 5 MKV Panther tanks. Because of Major Butler's success in leading his battalion in successful night attacks during the war, which the U.S. Army handbook did not recommend, the French army later asked him to write a paper on battalion-size night attacks.[6]. The 3rd Battalion received a Presidential Unit Citation for its actions around Hfen from 16 to 19 December. Outnumbered five to one, they inflicted casualties in the ratio of 18 to one. Attached below the shield a silver scroll inscribed "VIGILANS ET CELER" in Black letters.[21]. "Blue" was the code word for the 3rd battalion under Army infantry's triangular organization. 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 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. Inactivated: 15 October 1945, Camp Patrick Henry, Virginia, Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 99th Infantry Division Artillery, 99th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop (Mechanized), Headquarters, Special Troops, 99th Infantry Division, Headquarters Company, 99th Infantry Division, 99th Counterintelligence Corps Detachment, 20 December 1944: Attached, with the entire First Army, to the, 7 January 1945: Relieved from attachment to the 2nd Infantry Division and assigned to V Corps, First Army (attached to the British 21st Army Group), 12th Army Group, 18 January 1945: V Corps, First Army, 12th Army Group, This page was last edited on 2 January 2023, at 13:21. Two men who had been sent on foot to regimental headquarters to seek reinforcements were later captured. 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. The camp was newly built, and the barracks were covered in tar paper. This page was last edited on 11 March 2022, at 19:44. [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 insignia is a three lined checkerboard design of blue and white squares centered on a black shield. It was organized with the rest of the 99th on 16 November 1942 at Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi. The 5 th Infantry Division was moved from Saarlautern, Luxembourg to the area of south and southwest of Echternach. The unit was inactivated after World War II, then became a reserve unit, and was redesignated as the 395th Regiment in 1999. 2nd and 3rd Battalion cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action in the Ardennes. He returned to Illinois and in 1933 was commissioned a second lieutenant in the National Guard. Many historians have written about the famous Buffalo Soldiers of the all-Black 92nd Infantry Division, who fought with distinction during World War II. Lieutenant Colonel McClernand Butler, commander of 3/395. Seth Paridon was a staff historian at The National WWII Museumfrom2005 to 2020. In March 1945, the 99th advanced into the Rhineland, crossing the Rhine River at Remagen on March 11. . 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. In the northern sector opposite the 99th, this included more than 4,000 deaths and the destruction of sixty tanks and big guns.[8]. Even the most hardened veteran occasionally thinks he hears twigs snap, boots crush snow or other odd noises that can cause nerves to fray. 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. Fort Benning | Maneuver Center of Excellence Libraries | MCoE HQ Battle of the Bulge Ehrenfried-Oskar Bge. It attacked toward the Monschau Forest, on 1 February, mopping up and patrolling until it was relieved for training and rehabilitation, on 13 February.

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