99th Infantry Division vehicles en route to the battle zone. 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. This assault, like the first, was ground to a halt due to heavy American small arms and artillery fire. Richard Mills were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. 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. Soldiers who were in direct support of the relief efforts were also awarded the Humanitarian Service Medal as a personal award. After fighting in the Ruhr area, the unit moved southward into Bavaria, where it was located at the end of the war. Earl Denzil Reese April 13th, 1945 - A combat engineer snapped this series of photos while riding on back of a truck during the Battle of the Ruhr Pocket. Fourteen of the 18 platoon members were wounded, while only one soldier, a member of the artillery observation team, was killed. . The division insignia is a three lined checkerboard design of blue and white It was organized with the rest of the 99th on 16 November 1942 at Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi. 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. Many of the 99th Division's best soldiers were products of the ill-fated ASTP program. American troops from the 290th Regiment near Amonines, Belgium. The National WWII Museum Digital Collections. The 99th crossed the Ludwig Canal against stiff resistance and established a bridgehead over the Altmuhl River, 25 April. Category: 395th Infantry Regiment Lt. Col. Henry B. Koon Sr. Special Troops Formerly nicknamed the "Checkerboard Division," which referred to its shoulder patch, in late 1944 having not yet seen battle, the division was nicknamed the "Battle Babies. 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. 395th Infantry Regiment Medical Detachment (99th Infantry . [14] If the Germans penetrated Hfen, the U.S. soldiers would have to withdraw several miles to the next defensible position.[10]. It was not just the lives of 3/395 at stake; a German breakthrough here would have enabled the Sixth Panzer Army to outflank the 2nd ID and 99th ID and achieve a direct route to the Meuse River. Later that night, another enemy assault was similarly unsuccessful. Butler's father had been a major in the Illinois National Guard and urged his son to become a guardsman when he was 16 years old. 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. On 3 November 1944, the 395th Regiment disembarked at Le Havre, France. 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 US Armys 99th Infantry Division, recently arrived in Europe and untested in combat, was assigned to the northern shoulder of the Allied front line in the Ardennes Forest. Those Germans who made it into the town itself were quickly mopped up. Through this eerie artificial moonlight, the 326th Volksgrenadier Division advanced on 3/395s position. Crest That for the regiments and separate battalions of the Army Reserve: From a wreath Argent and Azure, the Lexington Minute Man Proper. ", The 99th Infantry Division, outnumbered five to one, inflicted estimated casualties on the Germans in the ratio of eighteen to one. In the pre-dawn hours of December 16th, Hitlers final major offensive began. This, however, was the moment that Hitlers master plan collided headfirst with American fortitude. 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. The camp was newly built, and the barracks were covered in tar paper. Originally planned as a Pennsylvania unit, But the infantry often bore worse casualties than the tanks did and had to be replaced and reinforced more quickly. He found that his 600 riflemen were assigned an extremely large area about 6,000 yards (5,500m) long without any units in reserve. Troops Fight at Elsenburn Ridge", "Bob Galloway, the Battle of the Bulge, and the 99th Infantry Division", "Heidelberg staff retraces historical Battle of the Bulge route", United States Army Center of Military History, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=395th_Infantry_Regiment_(United_States)&oldid=1076569987, 395th Infantry Regiment: Lt. Col. Griffin, 3rd Battalion: Lt. Col. McClernand Butler (1 November 1942 30 April 1945) Lt. Col. J.A. Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action at Elsenborn Crest. The 99th Infantry Division was formed in 1942 and deployed overseas in 1944. A second road ran parallel to the division center and right wing, leaving the Hfen road at the small hamlet of Wahlerscheid, and continued south through two very small villages, the twin towns of Rocherath and Krinkelt. The citation read: During the German offensive in the Ardennes, the Third Battalion in the 395th Infantry, was assigned the mission of holding the Monschau-Eupen-Liege Road. 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. It had its headquarters at Franklin, Pennsylvania, and drew its personnel from Pennsylvania. [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. A 105mm artillery piece from the 2nd Infantry Div. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The 395th received the following campaign streamers: The entire regiment was recognized with the following unit decorations: A silver color metal and enamel device .mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}3732 inches (2.94cm) in height overall consisting of a shield blazoned: Argent, a buck's head attired of ten tynes couped Or. Shield Argent, a buck's head attired of ten tynes couped Proper. 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. On 17 October 1999, the 3rd Battalion, 395th Regiment was reactivated as an Armor Training Support (TS) Battalion. 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. 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. By December 1944, Allied armies had reached the western border of Germany itself. In the opening days of the Battle of the Bulge, Robert's regiment was on the front lines in the Losheim Gap. 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. The black represents the iron from the mills of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where many of the troops were from. The Army operated a program designed to capitalize on the large number of educated and intelligent recruits that were available. [2]:33 On at least six occasions they called in artillery strikes on or directly in front of their own positions. At the end of the day, the veterans of the 26th Infantry still held their ground, and looked out on a battlefield strewn with destroyed German armor and scores . 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. In March 1945, the 99th advanced into the Rhineland, crossing the Rhine River at Remagen on March 11. It was organized with the rest of the 99th on 16 November 1942 at Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi. "[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. Alexander John Mackenzie was born in New York City, 22 February 1895, the son of Alexina and Kenneth M. When the Germans finally broke through 3/395s lines and established a foothold in the town, the Americans recaptured the buildings by firing anti-tank guns through the walls. A. Gallagher assumed command for the last few days of the war. [14], The 99th as a whole, outnumbered five to one, inflicted casualties in the ratio of eighteen to one. Told it was the 3rd Battalion, 395th Infantry, he said, "It must have been one of your best formations." 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. [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. 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. 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 German 20th Infantry Division was an infantry division of Nazi Germany.HistoryThe was established in 1934 under the cover name. Battle of the Bulge They inflicted disproportionate casualties on the Germans, and were one of the only units that did not give ground during the Battle of the Bulge. Plans called for the division to include the 393rd, 394th, 395th, and 396th Infantry Regiments. Family lore, The 99th Infantry Division Artefacts Collection. The 99th Infantry Division, comprising the 393rd, 394th, and the 395th Infantry Regiments, arrived in England on 10 October 1944. [11] They continued to Linz am Rhein and to the Wied River. [2], Because of the success of the 395th and the 99th, the Americans maintained effective freedom to maneuver across the north flank of the German's line of advance and continually limited the success of the German offensive. The unit reported on May 4 that it had "liberated 3 labor camps and 1 concentration camp." The blue and white are taken from the coat of arms for William Pitt for whom Pittsburgh was named. The coat of arms was originally approved for the 395th Regiment Infantry, Organized Reserves on 15 June 1931. 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.". 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". During the first day of the Battle of the Bulge, the 3rd Battalion took 19 prisoners and killed an estimated 200 Germans. info@nationalww2museum.org The regiment arrived at Camp Van Dorn in early December. 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 99th Infantry Division Artefacts Collection. They then crossed the Wied River, where they joined up with the 7th Infantry Division. The 395th Regiment's success earned it many difficult assignments. The battalion also had its own Intelligence and Reconnaissance Platoon, as well as medics and support personnel. Attached below the shield a silver scroll inscribed "VIGILANS ET CELER" in Black letters.[21]. 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 T. E. Piersall and Pfc. The buck's head was used to indicate the allocation of the organization to the mountainous section of Pennsylvania, where deer abound. Even the most hardened veteran occasionally thinks he hears twigs snap, boots crush snow or other odd noises that can cause nerves to fray. The 197th Infantry Division (German: 197. They engaged in division-level maneuvers in July 1944. The Germans were counting on something else, toothey knew that this sector was thinly manned by untested troops. At precisely 0530 hours, the forest erupted in an ear shattering German artillery barrage along a 100 mile front. 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. The 395th Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment of the United States Army, part of the 99th Infantry Division during World War II. That task fell to the 277th Volksgrenadier Division and the 12th SS Panzer Division. Not only did your command assist in effectively frustrating that particular part of the plan, but it also inflicted such heavy losses on the enemy that he was unable to carry out other contemplated missions in other sectors of the Allied front. [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. After the war, the Division founded its own Association and for many years the veterans and their families got united at the many conventions that were held. 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. [14] The first town they were tasked with capturing was Bergheim, "the door to the Rhine." 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. The platoon members were not recognized for their courageous deeds for thirty-seven years. [11], The area around Hfen and Monschau were critical because of the road network that lay behind them. The 395th Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment of the United States Army, part of the 99th Infantry Division during World War II. 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. represents the iron district of Pennsylvania. On 25 October 1981, the entire platoon was recognized with a Presidential Unit Citation. 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. In January 2003, the 99th RSC started mobilizing units for projected operations in Iraq. 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. Hfen, along with the nearby town of Monschau, was strategically vital because it sat on elevated terrain overlooking an important road junction.
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