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 The three regiments of the 99th IDthe 393rd, 394th, & 395th Infantry Regimentswere thinly spread across this frigid but quiet portion of the front. 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. There are nine white squares and nine blue ones, signifying the number 99. 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 black represents the iron from the mills of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where many of the troops were from. The distinctive unit insignia was originally approved for the 395th Regiment Infantry, Organized Reserves on 16 June 1931. 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. : 33 On at least six occasions they called in . These would later prove instrumental in defending themselves from the attacking Germans and in protecting themselves when their own artillery fired on or just in front of their own positions, which happened at least six times over the next few weeks. 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. This assault, like the first, was ground to a halt due to heavy American small arms and artillery fire. The National WWII Museum Digital Collections. It was like a golf course, so I used the night for concealment."[6]. 99th Infantry Division vehicles en route to the battle zone. Peipers right flank had to be secured and the Americans in that region had to be destroyed. By signing up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, MIGHTY NETWORKS, 2023 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, Artificial Intelligence just flew an F-16 Fighting Falcon for the US military, WWII vet finally receives Silver Star for heroism at Battle of the Bulge, This is the massive Nazi sneak attack at the Battle of the Bulge, Rarely seen footage from the Battle of the Bulge, The first tank to break into Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge was almost lost to history. Either short or completely devoid of ammunition, the defenders of Rocherath began to filter to the rear in the growing darkness that swallowed the battlefield. 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. The 99th RSC's mission was to provide base operations functions for the assigned 13-state Northeast Region. 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. One Wehrmacht officer captured at Hfen asked his interrogators which unit had defended the town. A few miles to the east lay the Siegfried Line, the enemys final defensive line guarding the German heartland. 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 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 395th Regiment's success earned it many difficult assignments. Sgt. Butler said, "The biggest difficulty in carrying out a night attack is control, and having men who can coordinate well as a team in the dark. 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 division was reconstituted in the Organized Reserve on 24 June 1921 and assigned to the western half of the state of Pennsylvania. 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. 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. German Panzer tanks en route to the Ardennes. Some toppled directly into US foxholes as American troops engaged them at point-blank range. At the Arcadia Conference, held in Washington, DC, from December 24, 1941 to January 14, 1942, the Western Allies agreed to a Germany First policy to govern global strategy, but the question where to engage Germany, and when, remained unsettled. In the opening days of the Battle of the Bulge, Robert's regiment was on the front lines in the Losheim Gap. The shield is silver, the old color of Infantry. [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. 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. Shield The 395th Infantry, Organized Reserves, was organized in 1921. Ordered into active military service: 15 November 1942 Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi. It was activated on 1 December 1939. The 99th Infantry Division Artefacts Collection. 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.". Here it held firmly against violent enemy attacks. Attached below the shield a silver scroll inscribed "VIGILANS ET CELER" in Black letters.[21]. [1] After defensive patrolling, the 99th probed the Siegfried Line against heavy resistance on 13 December. The 395th Infantry Regiment was a unit of the United States 99th Infantry Division.It was organized with the rest of the 99th on 16 November 1942 at Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi. 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. In early December, the front was unusually calm and the weather was bone-chilling cold. EN. [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. This did not turn out to be true. The platoon seriously disrupted the entire German Sixth Panzer Army's schedule of attack along the northern edge of the offensive. The division insignia is a three lined checkerboard design of blue and white squares centered on a black shield. In March 1945, the 99th advanced into the Rhineland, crossing the Rhine River at Remagen on March 11. The 99th held lines stretching from Monschau, Germany to Losheimergraben, Belgium, totaling 35 kilometres (22mi). The camp was newly built, and the barracks were covered in tar paper. Just south of Hfen, the lines of the 99th entered this forest, ran through a long belt of timber to the boundary between the V and VIII Corps at the Losheim Gap. Category: 395th Infantry Regiment Lt. Col. Henry B. Koon Sr. Special Troops 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. [14] The first town they were tasked with capturing was Bergheim, "the door to the Rhine." [11], The area around Hfen and Monschau were critical because of the road network that lay behind them. The rapid advance did not deter the men of the 38th Infantry Regiment, however, who put up a fierce defense. 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). While the supply situation improved in October, the manpower situation was still critical. It was redesignated with description updated, for the 395th Regiment on 7 June 1999. A U.S. Army World War II division was configured as a Triangular division, with three regimental maneuver elements. 3/395 greeted the Volksgrenadiers with a punishing hail of bullets, mortars, and artillery. [8], That is three to four times wider than recommended by Army textbooks. "Blue" was the code word for the 3rd battalion under Army infantry's triangular organization. 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. 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. The unit reported on May 4 that it had "liberated 3 labor camps and 1 concentration camp." The platoon members were not recognized for their courageous deeds for thirty-seven years. Subscribe to 394th Infantry Regiment, 99th Infantry Division Footer menu. The ferocious assault caught the Allies off-guard and the rapid German advance famously caused a bulge on Allied maps. The German pre-dawn artillery bombardment on December 16th destroyed 3/395s communication wires at Hfen, but the stunned soldiers soon witnessed an even more ominous sight: enemy searchlights, reflecting off the dense clouds, illuminated the snowy open ground east of Hfen. Plans called for the division to include the 393rd, 394th, 395th, and 396th Infantry Regiments. From 21 December 1944 to 30 January 1945, the unit was engaged in aggressive patrolling and reequipping. 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. 2nd and 3rd Battalion cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action in the Ardennes. On 3 November 1944, the 395th Regiment disembarked at Le Havre, France. The three heavy German assaults had worn down the ammunition supply, particularly that of the machine gunners, and had left the defenders mostly helpless. [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. So I stayed in the village overnight. 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. 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 division was destroyed near Vitebsk during the Soviet Vitebsk-Orsha Offensive of Operation Bagration in the summer of 1944. The battalion also had its own Intelligence and Reconnaissance Platoon, as well as medics and support personnel. 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.
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