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. Hfen, along with the nearby town of Monschau, was strategically vital because it sat on elevated terrain overlooking an important road junction. Hfen, along with the nearby town of Monschau, was strategically vital because it sat on elevated terrain overlooking an important road junction. The 395th Infantry, Organized Reserves, was organized in 1921. Below are the top five veteran research questions, where to go for further resources, and how to begin your search. 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. 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". [13], To the north of Hfen lay a paved main road that led through the Monschau Forest, at whose eastern edge it forked. The artillery barrage lasted for an hour, and shortly afterwards German infantry from the 277th Volksgrenadier Division burst through the forest and headed at the positions of the 99th Infantry Divisions 395th Infantry Regiment near the village of Rocherath. 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. The blue and white are taken from the coat of arms for William Pitt for whom Pittsburgh was named. An overwhelming majority of them were women and children. 395 Infantry Regiment Medical Detachment (99th Infantry Division) Report, January 1945. Put under 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. 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". 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. When hostilities ceased on 7 May 1945, the regiment had during six months of fighting experienced 300 percent turnover due to casualties. During the first morning of the Battle of the Bulge, they defended a key road junction in the vicinity of the Losheim Gap. 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. The Combined Bomber Offensive (CBO) in the European Theater was one of Americas bloodiest campaigns. So I stayed in the village overnight. 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. [9], Because the unit's radios had been destroyed, the soldiers captured, and the rapid subsequent German advance, U.S. Army commanders did not know about the unit's success at slowing the German advance, or even if they had been captured or killed. About: 395th Infantry Regiment (United States) - dbpedia.org With ammunition supplies dwindling rapidly, the men obtained German weapons and utilized ammunition obtained from casualties to drive off the persistent foe. 395th Infantry Regiment, 99th Infantry Division | American Battle The division lost about 20% of its effective strength, including 465 killed and 2,524 evacuated due to wounds, injuries, fatigue, or trench foot. Was the 5th infantry at the battle of the bulge? The black background 20th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) - atozwiki.com Asked why he thought so, he said, "Two reasons: one cold-bloodedness; two efficiency. 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. 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. "[13] The division continued to attack without opposition to the Inn River and Giesenhausen until VE-day. This did not turn out to be true. 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. German troops pass burning American equipment during the Ardennes offensive. 395th Infantry Regiment (United States) - Wikipedia "[9]:1738 On at least six occasions they called in artillery strikes on or directly in front of their own positions. [16], Following the 11 September 2001, terrorist attacks, the 99th mobilized large numbers of Army Reserve Soldiers. 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. The 99th RSC's mission was to provide base operations functions for the assigned 13-state Northeast Region. After the Gulf War, the 99th ARCOM became the 99th Regional Support Command (RSC). the horizontal band of white and blue squares was adopted from the coat of arms 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. Forests, by nature, are eerily quiet at night. The Army operated a program designed to capitalize on the large number of educated and intelligent recruits that were available. To make circumstances worse, just beyond the bloodied-but-not-beaten Volksgrenadiers waited the tanks of the 6th Panzer Army. 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. [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. Sgt Harold Rutz, 395th Infantry Regiment, M Company. [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. [1] After defensive patrolling, the 99th probed the Siegfried Line against heavy resistance on 13 December. . History | AMEDD Center of History & Heritage - United States Army Grouping from Col. Alexander John Mackenzie, Regimental Commandor of Ordered into active military service: 15 November 1942 Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi. [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. The 99th was selected as one of these new regional support commands. As the American defenders began to assess casualties and ammunition supplies, the 12th SS hit them again. 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. 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. Allied forces were fighting their way across France, and fresh units were badly needed in autumn 1944 to continue to press the offensive. 395th Infantry Regiment (United States) - Wikiwand Butler held a single platoon of 40 men from Company L in reserve. From 21 December 1944 to 30 January 1945, the unit was engaged in aggressive patrolling and reequipping. 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. The National WWII Museum Digital Collections. These two German divisions directed their fury against the 395th early on the morning of the December 17. [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. Who were the soldiers of the 99th infrantry div? | WWII Forums American troops from the 290th Regiment near Amonines, Belgium. The war was over six days later.[6]. "[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. It was credited with destroying "seventy-five percent of three German infantry regiments." [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. WWII and Park Staff Connections - Eisenhower National Historic - NPS The division was reconstituted in the Organized Reserve on 24 June 1921 and assigned to the western half of the state of Pennsylvania. 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. Fort Benning | Maneuver Center of Excellence Libraries | MCoE HQ [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. The 99th then moved to Schwarzenau, on 3 April, and attacked the southeast sector of the Ruhr Pocket on the 5th. 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. 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. [20], After a short period off the line, the battalion conducted offensive operations in Germany, including the seizure of several German towns from 1 to 5 March. There was no cover. 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. On 17 October 1999, the 3rd Battalion, 395th Regiment was reactivated as an Armor Training Support (TS) Battalion. 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. . 395th Regiment | Lineage and Honors | U.S. Army Center of Military History German losses were much higher. 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. 197th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) - Wikipedia 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 Germans threw wave after wave of infantry, and a unit of panzers, at the town. 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. This assault, like the first, was ground to a halt due to heavy American small arms and artillery fire. Ehrenfried-Oskar Bge. Many of the 99th Division's best soldiers were products of the ill-fated ASTP program. When I got to Hfen, I found the area too big to cover in one afternoon. [6][17]:vii. Category: 395th Infantry Regiment Lt. Col. Henry B. Koon Sr. Special Troops Family lore, The 99th Infantry Division Artefacts Collection. This article contains content in the public domain from U.S. military sources. The enemy artillery was so intense that communications were generally out. 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. 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. 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. When three hours later a third SS assault hit the defenders, it too was stopped. The 395th Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment of the United States Army, part of the 99th Infantry Division during World War II.It was organized with the rest of the 99th on 16 November 1942 at Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi. 3d Battalion (TS)(AR) 395th Regiment - GlobalSecurity.org Medical Detachment, 395th Infantry A. P. O. Although cut up and surrounded in part, the 99th was one of the only divisions that did not yield to the German attack, and held their positions until reinforcements arrived. The insignia was devised upon the 99th's formation in 1942 when the division was headquartered in the city of Pittsburgh. 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. 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. No division commander was appointed during the organization's brief existence. Not so in the pre-dawn hours of December 16 in the Ardennes Forest. . On 1 February 1944, Major Butler assumed command of the 3rd Battalion, 395th Regiment. 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. The failure to breach the 99th IDs sector stalled the entire German advance and a decisive breakthrough was never achieved. Richard Mills were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. Pennsylvania State College, and the Pennsylvania Military College. 395thIR - 99th Infantry Division 2nd and 3rd Battalion cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action in the Ardennes. One Wehrmacht officer captured at Hfen asked his interrogators which unit had defended the town. 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. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Captain Ned Nelson, veteran of 3/395 and the battle at Hfen. Notable. 99th Infantry Division Historical Society 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 Allied victory against the Axis was a long journeyone that actually took much longer than the war itself.