395th infantry regiment 99th infantry division

The statue of the Minute Man, Captain John Parker, (H.H.Kitson, sculptor), stands on the common in Lexington, Massachusetts. The regiment helped to capture the Ruhr Pocket, where thousands of German troops and hundreds of German vehicles were captured. Still, some German assaults penetrated American lines near the town of Hofen where they were eventually captured after retreating into houses in the town. The combination of no ammunition and heavy German armor caused the American lines to fold, like a dam bursting. The 99th battled on to the bridge at Remagen that was taken on March 7th. 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.. Wendell Clark - 99th Infantry Division His World War II story. The shield is silver, the old color of Infantry. They killed Germans coming at them from the front, flanks and rear. 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). 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.". But the infantry often bore worse casualties than the tanks did and had to be replaced and reinforced more quickly. Grouping from Col. Alexander John Mackenzie, Regimental Commandor of The distinctive unit insignia was originally approved for the 395th Regiment Infantry, Organized Reserves on 16 June 1931. 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. Allied forces were fighting their way across France, and fresh units were badly needed in autumn 1944 to continue to press the offensive. 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 campaign in North Africa began with a daring Anglo-American commando raid code-named Operation RESERVIST. 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 99th RSC's mission was to provide base operations functions for the assigned 13-state Northeast Region. [1] After defensive patrolling, the 99th probed the Siegfried Line against heavy resistance on 13 December. and the situation was desperate. 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. [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. represents the iron district of Pennsylvania. 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. Field Artillery Battalions were the 370th, 371st, 372nd & the 924th. Hfen, along with the nearby town of Monschau, was strategically vital because it sat on elevated terrain overlooking an important road junction. The battalion was badly outnumbered and nearly surrounded. Some toppled directly into US foxholes as American troops engaged them at point-blank range. Richard Mills were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. It was redesignated with description updated, for the 395th Regiment on 7 June 1999. "[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. 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. One Wehrmacht officer captured at Hfen asked his interrogators which unit had defended the town. 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. 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. Due in part to the 99th Infantry Division, this ground mission has not been continuous, and he will not achieve his goal[15]. In March 1945, the 99th advanced into the Rhineland, crossing the Rhine River at Remagen on March 11. "[7]:24, Two Distinguished Service Crosses and several Silver Stars were awarded to members of the battalion for valorous actions against the enemy during this battle. 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. Lieutenant Colonel McClernand Butler, commander of 3/395. In early December, the front was unusually calm and the weather was bone-chilling cold. [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. In 1975, the 99th ARCOM moved its headquarters to Oakdale, Pennsylvania. 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. . 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. The Army operated a program designed to capitalize on the large number of educated and intelligent recruits that were available. 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). 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. Peipers right flank had to be secured and the Americans in that region had to be destroyed. In early December, much of the Allied forces were established in a general defensive line from the North Sea to the Swiss border. 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. A few miles to the east lay the Siegfried Line, the enemys final defensive line guarding the German heartland. [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. 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. Troops were fatigued by weeks of continuous combat, Allied supply lines were stretched extremely thin, and supplies were dangerously depleted. German losses were much higher. The 99th Infantry Division, comprising the 393rd, 394th, and the 395th Infantry Regiments, arrived in England on 10 October 1944. 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. From 21 December 1944 to 30 January 1945, the unit was engaged in aggressive patrolling and reequipping. 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. The "Checkerboard" or "Battle Babies" division landed at the French port of Le Havre and proceeded northeast to Belgium. In January 2003, the 99th RSC started mobilizing units for projected operations in Iraq. Honor Roll - 99th Infantry Division The 99th was selected as one of these new regional support commands. On 17 October 1999, the 3rd Battalion, 395th Regiment was reactivated as an Armor Training Support (TS) Battalion. The 197th Infantry Division (German: 197. 3d Battalion (TS)(AR) 395th Regiment - GlobalSecurity.org What was left of the 99ers in and around Rocherath appeared to be doomed, and like the calvary in Western movies, salvation appeared in the forms of infantry from the 2nd Division and incredibly heavy artillery fire that dropped onto the Germans like rain. German troops pass burning American equipment during the Ardennes offensive. ABMC Headquarters 2300 Clarendon Blvd, Suite 500 Arlington, VA 22201 Phone: 703-584-1501 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. 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. The Germans were counting on something else, toothey knew that this sector was thinly manned by untested troops. After fighting in the Ruhr area, the unit moved southward into Bavaria, where it was located at the end of the war. The blue and white checkerboard in the division's insignia is taken from the coat of arms of William Pitt, for whom Pittsburgh is named. 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. 99th Infantry Division vehicles en route to the battle zone. This required the corps commander to draw on an infantry battalion from another division, and because of the reputation the 395th had earned at Hfen, it was transferred often to various divisions, including the 9th Infantry Division, the 3rd Armored Division, and the 7th Armored Division. The division was destroyed near Vitebsk during the Soviet Vitebsk-Orsha Offensive of Operation Bagration in the summer of 1944. Hfen remained in American handsfor now. So I stayed in the village overnight. During the first morning of the Battle of the Bulge, they defended a key road junction in the vicinity of the Losheim Gap. info@nationalww2museum.org The division was chiefly manned with graduates of the ROTC programs of the Carnegie Institute of Technology, Duquesne University. The Battles for Elsenborn Ridge Part I - New Orleans The 395th Regiment's success earned it many difficult assignments. The blue and white are taken from the coat of arms for William Pitt for whom Pittsburgh was named. April 13th, 1945 - 99th Division, 395th Infantry Regiment, in the Ruhr 99th Infantry Division Historical Society 20th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) - atozwiki.com More often than not, the noises thought to have been heard arent anything at all, and the forest resumes its eerie silence. 395th Regiment | Lineage and Honors | U.S. Army Center of Military History 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 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. There Major Butler collapsed due to exhaustion on 30 April, and Lt. Col. J. 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 National WWII Museum Digital Collections. The division lost about 20% of its effective strength, including 465 killed and 2,524 evacuated due to wounds, injuries, fatigue, or trench foot. 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 then moved to Schwarzenau, on 3 April, and attacked the southeast sector of the Ruhr Pocket on the 5th. Led by 20-year-old Lieutenant Lyle Bouck Jr., they delayed the advance of the 1st SS Panzer Division, the spearhead of the entire German 6th Panzer Army, for nearly 20 hours. After the Gulf War, the 99th ARCOM became the 99th Regional Support Command (RSC). [5] The 99th boarded ships bound for England on 10 October 1944 and briefly stayed at Camp Marabout, Dorchester, England. 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. An overwhelming majority of them were women and children. The 393rd, 394th & 395th were the Infantry Regiments of the 99th Infantry Division. The black represents the iron from the mills of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where many of the troops were from. When hostilities ceased on 7 May 1945, the regiment had during six months of fighting experienced 300 percent turnover due to casualties. 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 99th Division was constituted at Camp Wheeler, Georgia, on 23 July 1918. [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. 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. The inexperienced troops of the division were lodged on the northern shoulder of the Ardennes Offensive on 16 December. The 99th Infantry Division, comprising the 393rd, 394th, and the 395th Infantry Regiments, arrived in England on 10 October 1944. 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 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. The 395th's casualties were extremely light: four dead, seven wounded, and four men missing. 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. Outnumbered five to one, they inflicted casualties in the ratio of 18 to one. 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. The 3rd Battalion of the 395th Infantry Regiment (3/395), commanded by Lieutenant Colonel McClernand Butler, occupied the town of Hfen on the German border. The camp was newly built, and the barracks were covered in tar paper. 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 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.