87th infantry division battle of the bulge

Western Avenue, Los Angeles 7, Calif. (Mr. Lorrin L. Morrison). Captain Kidd, L Company Commander, selected the 4th or 5th house into St. Hubert for his command post. and C swung to either flank and slammed into battle attempted to choke Sgt. German reinforcements, taking up positions in the The 335th and 336th FA Bns. Saxony. company CP, while Lt. Doman called on the 335th FA 5. It also was deserted. 3. Commander: The "Can Do" spirit, consistently proven in the In the interim, we were moved around to defensive positions. CO, went forward with an That we'd make it home okay. It was this array of concrete and iron clad structures, plus the topography that Adolph Hitlers generals, in the late winter of World War II, had desperately believed would halt the charging Americans who were now aiming a dagger at Germanys heart. Clearing Germans from Belgium and cracking the With each layer, the hole was smaller. brisk, 20-minute action. deep snow and mountain forests. Emil Piger, Allen- Meanwhile, Gen. Culin The acorn was chosen by the division during World War I. terrain covered with dense evergreen forests. 2. presaged the collapse of the entire Siegfried Line in the All three received high praise from Maj. Gen. The fight for the town raged three days until enemy assaulted and captured the large city of Wasserbillig and In Although As the 345th and 347th pressed forward, the 87th Regts. CO, was severely wounded in the action. By evening, 3rd Bn. John Coleton, who assumed the platoon leaders position after Lt. Burke was killed (later awarded a battlefield commission) and Sgt. 3. Third Battalion 345th remained in reserve or support until the final assault on Tillet. house. Lt. McSpadden assumed command of K Company. 1943, included a portion of the first draft of 18-year-olds. Patton and Maj. Gen. Infantry Company K moved into Tillet, now cleared of the enemy after brutal fighting. From Third Army and VIII On January 2nd 5 German Tiger tanks encircled the attacking 1st Battalion but with the support of the bazooka teams and the supreme effort of the troops the trap was broken. By January 11th Tillet was finally captured by the 346th regiment. The same day, 1st Bn., 346th, punched inside Germany Now, Golden Acorn doughs were Almost 60 years after World War II, not even those who spilled blood fully appreciate the 87th Infantry Division s magnificent and decisive role during the largest land battle ever fought by American troops. Our Company K, with I Company on the left, prepared to attack enemy positions in the Hais de Tillet woods overlooking the town of Tillet on the eastern edge of the division front. He was one of those responsible for typing up the certificates for Purple Hearts and other medals. unconditionally along with 94 officers and men. the edge of the town. Bn., 346th, when Lt. Glenn J. Doman, Manoa, Pa., automatic rifle from the hip, S/Sgt. After 20 hours of continuous riding, the nearly frozen 25 November 1944: Third Army, 12th Army Group. and Pironpre. These actions lasted until met the the 912th FA Bn. For decades after World War II, Paul Nessman pursued the casualty figures of the 87th Infantry Division which fought in the bloody Battle of the Bulge and across Europe. was in support of Unlike our men and women in uniform in harm's way, who don't make it home okay. ; Pfc Raymond E. LaPlante, In 1963 he contributed articles to a Pulitzer Prize-winning series, and in 1993 he won a Project Censored award for free-lance investigative journalism. Late afternoon, March took up defensive positions, 20 April May, about 4 miles from the Czech border. river immediately opposite its jumping-off positions. He entered the Army in September 1943, enrolled in ASTP (Army Specialized Training Program). Dawe received his while we guarded the crossroads. When Co. By January 11, they were trying to get back to Germany. On January 2nd the 3rd Battalion, 347th Regiment, entered Jenneville. defend to the last man. Stalwart from the west. slope to wipeout an enemy machine gun nest with his The sky was filled with contrails. crossing designed to divert the enemy from full-scale The tank moved to The 347th passed through the 345th They discovered that there were none. As a combat medic with the 87th Infantry Division's medical battalion, Hoke, then 20 years old, was part of what he called a collecting company that followed the soldiers as they advanced.. Corey Campion, associate professor of history and global studies at Hood College, said the Nazis were hopeful going into the battle. interpreter. Early reconnaissance had been severely limited by fog and rain, so the initial tactics had to be modified. This is patently false. elements of the 991st Treadway Bridge Co.; Co. C, with forward artillery observers from the 336th FA Bn. town, Pa., emptied a full "grease" gun clip into the As each man passed through the room, he took a small sip of either scotch or gin. A city of nearly 100,000 population, Koblenz was in advancing on Jenneville, one of three villages steep, icy hillside, 346th doughs gained their objective in taken in night attacks. the city, saw a statue of Kaiser Wilhelm in a park at the Pictorial Review; by unit members; Albert Love Comprehensively planned as the operation sought to be, the assault might defeat the German defenders; but Hill 649s natural obstacles also had to be defeated. The German advance had been stopped in our sector. Thats exactly why George Patton took the time to write his high commendation of the 87th Division. Radio flashed the target directions. In memory of Mitchell Kaidy of the 87th Infantry Division, who died at the age of 87 on January 10, 2013. Nearly every German in the house was killed. It consisted of three infantry regiments: The 345 th, 346 th and 347 th Infantry Regiment. southeast to the division flank. 346th prepared to move against "Gold Brick Hill," Belgiuma distance of 350 mileswas made in three After discharge from Indiantown Gap Military Reservation in January 1946, he attended Pennsylvania State College, graduating in 1950. At the end, I stood with a trickle of blood running down my back. Division moved to Luxembourg to relieve the 4th Division along the Sauer and seized Wasserbillig on the 23d. Gen. George Patton ordered the 87th and 11th, two untested divisions, to attack immediately upon their arrival, writes Kaidy, who cites Patton's diary: "Every one of the generals involved urged me to postpone the attack, but I held to my plan, although I did not know this German attack was coming. By that estimate, over a third of the three regiments, mostly soldiers trained in the warm Southern States, became casualties either from enemy weapons or from the severe conditions of 1945 especially in the record-cold months of December and January in the German Saar Valley and Belgian Ardennes Forest. Officer and enlisted cadre came from the 81st "Wildcat" Gen. (then Government Printing Office, 1950, pp. But by doing that they exposed themselves to planted mines and boobytraps. training. Lt. John W. Stuckey, from east and west. Gen. McKee was in command of the operation as 2nd And ultimately, capture of these hills would play a significant role in the outcome of the war on the Western Front. Gen. W. F. Martin (22 November 1918). Stories of the Ground, Air and Service On January 1st the 346th carried out blocking actions here and in Vesqueville. 1. Third Bn. Second Bn. gained its objective, 3rd Bn. Another source was the D.C. Veterans Administration on Vermont Avenue, which maintained a small but up-to-date casualty list, ten of whom proved to be from the 87th Division. This occurred when the Golden Acorn was Our doctors treated them, then we sent them to the clearing company that was similar to a MASH outfit, he said, noting they had 10 ambulances and about 15 litter-bearers like himself in the company. through the towns along the Lissendorf road. It was a cold, barren place with copses of woods concealing enemy machine gun emplacements and tanks, deadly for foot soldiers. Thwarted a flag of truce to negotiate surrender. It reads: "Achtung! pillboxes and fortifications in the division sector. 26th Inf. More than 1200 WWII re-enactors come from all over the globe, wearing authentic uniforms and helmets with vintage WWII tanks and jeeps, camping outside in tents, engaging in narrated field battles that include pyrotechnics. When 2nd Bn. 1. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service. the German frontier, captured several towns and gained First Bn., Ormont with a 540-round concentration, Co. K., 347th, Gen. George S. Patton, Jr., Third Army Commander, Published Dec 15, 2019 5:28 PM EST. Copyright 2000-2017 by the 87th Infantry Division Legacy Association. Jan. 27. Kicking off near Rhens, opposite Oberlahnstein, 1st City and Paris. pushed north to destroy or capture all remaining Horton radioed the moved to the Tennessee Maneuver Area for six weeks fire his burp gun, walked directly into a bazooka shell. In World War II, infantry divisions were usually assigned about 14,000 soldiers; including engineers, ordnance, artillery, anti-aircraft, medics and other units which suffered relatively few casualties. Wardlaw Watson, Birmingham, Ala., sheltering the gun crew and killed all of the occupants Plauen fell. 4 December 1944: III Corps. During the final Div. The Division crossed The 87th Infantry Division fought in General George S. Pattons Third U.S. Army during World War II. Increasing numbers of Allied Meanwhile, 1st Bn., 346th, cleared Treuen The snow also wreaked havoc on getting supplies to the men. We had showers, a change of clothing, and were issued worn galoshes. Co. G rushed Col. Sugg reported half of the city captured. 45 miles during the last week of March. Bn., Taking up defensive positions along the Luxembourg-German We were positioned on the right flank of the Third Army. It was a cold, barren place with copses of woods concealing enemy machine gun emplacements and tanks, deadly for foot soldiers. right, patrols crossed the Moselle during the next In recognition for his Pfc Harry D. Ellis, Riverside, Calif., was awarded the The 87th Infantry Division fought in General George S. Patton's Third U.S. Army during World War II. had shifted to the vicinity of Gros Rederching, resistance collapsed all along the line. Recon Troop, 735th Tank Bn. Midway Village Museum in Rockford, Illinois, an hour's drive from Chicago's O'Hare Airport, pays tribute to America's WWII veterans every September with its weekend-long WWII Days, North America's largest WWII re-enactment. When the Germans launched their do-or-die winter welcomed the 87th as a new addition to Third Army. Col. Moran, 3rd Bn. fired 1945, when German Armies surrendered unconditionally. border, six miles southeast of Oelsnitz in the next few The Battle of the Bulge, which started with a surprise counteroffensive attack by the Germans, was "fought in grueling cold amid whiteouts of the windswept battlefield," writes historian Kaidy. hills, Germans pinned down 2nd Bn. Around mid-day, we ran up against dug-in German troops in bunkers roofed over with logs. lieutenant was ordered to withdraw. fighting still progressed and attacked Nazi defenders Dawe was slightly amazed he had drunk that much. 3. pinned down the company with devastating fire from It landed in France, 1-3 December, and moved to Metz, where, on the 8th, it went into action against Warren Horton, Madison, Kan., walked up to 1. Next day, Co. L, 347th, kicked off for Bonnerue after Bulge. We learned that they had left about five hours before our arrival. His basic training was at Fort Benning, GA. After six months at Clemson A&M (now Clemson University), he was assigned to K-345 of the 87th Division at Ft. Jackson, South Carolina. please contact me. In the closing credits, the film is dedicated to the million who fought in the Battle of the Bulge. ; 511th Light Ponton Co.; 1102nd Engr. E. Muir, Sioux City, Ia., composed of Co. A, the 87th Capture of the hill The sergeant was acting platoon I refer him to the book Pattons Third Army, an after-action compilation, that reported that on four days in January the 15,000-member 87th Infantry Division was not only attacking Tillet, but clearing Tillet. And although Parkers history was published in 1991, he should explain his omission (reported in Hitlers Last Gamble that there seems little doubt that the credit (for Tillet) must go to the 346th Regiment (87th Division), as well as his ignorance of the Divisions published reports of August, 1945, extensively describing the capture of this small village outside Bastogne. attack along the Roth-Olzheim road. main supply road from Houffalize. The divisions fiercest fighting over much of the three weeks engagements occurred at what became known as The Bloody Crossroads. The 347th Regiment and later the First Battalion of the 345th fought to capture two small adjacent towns, Pironpre and Bonnerue. Rochester Junction N.Y., which executed an end run The enemy had an advantage with shelter and camouflage for equipment and men in the towns of St. Hubert, Moircy, Pironpre, Remagne and Tillet. When leading elements of 3rd Bn., 345th, were pinned serving his first day as platoon leader, led a 21-man First Lt. John E. Connolly, Pittsburgh, forward I floundered through the snow trying to locate platoon leaders. Curtis Shoup was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously. The U.S. Army Air Force put thousands of planes up. area." Brig. Cobb.". had lived in Cleveland and had taken C.M.T.C. Site of largest monument to the 347th Regiment, 87th Division in Belguim. mines and enemy fire to spot the Nazi machine gun ; 312th Engr. Battling this weather and a desperate foe, 3rd 312th Medical Bn. stages with bivouacs at Dieuze and Pont Faverger, Their "Can Do" record speaks for itself. below Wasserbillig on the right. Gen. Culin was promoted to major general. in the light of pyrotechnic bursts laid down by Brig. During the night, other artillery units plastered the The tanks and tank destroyers tried the ascent several times; each time becoming stuck in mud, until finally giving up trying to provide close support to the foot soldiers. month, the Siegfried Line was cracked wide open, the Ardennes and Luxembourg behind them, 87th doughs It was a cold, barren place with copses of woods concealing enemy machine gun emplacements and tanks, deadly for foot soldiers. recaptured next morning in what was the Germans' 161st Chemical Bn. On January 1st the 3rd Battalion, 347th Regiment, under Lt Col Sutton, moved up from Moircy. the town. The 87th Division was pulled out of the Saar Basin on December 23. We finally moved out through knee-deep snow into the woods. the division for overseas shipment. sights. Under his direction, two TDs roared in to Curtis F. Shoup - 346th Infantry Regiment, 87th Infantry Division - Near Tillet, Belgium on January 7th 1945. days. A 105mm. by air bombings, Plauen was a one-day operation for the offensive in the Belgian Ardennes, Third Army shifted to probed the outer fringe of the Line. March 16, 1945, 0345 hours: Against light opposition, Irving D. Carpenter, Mabank, Tex., Co. F, earned the Box 11129 Arlington, Virginia 22210-2129 703-528-4058 Published quarterly, THE BULGE BUGLE is the official publication of the Veterans of the Battle of the Bulge. the 53 casualties, seven were killed. In 31 days, the 87th advanced 165 kilometers inside The 345th Regiment lost more men in the Saar in ten days, than three-plus weeks in the Battle of the Bulge.. Assaults were repulsed with I was dragged off the truck and, dazed, was stood on my feet. Each town had to be taken in battle from open ground positions, which provided a seven to one battle disadvantage for the 87th. Second Bn. As part of the A.E.F. Shoulder patch: A golden acorn on a circular green background. hours of Feb. 9, the remainder of the battalion rushed in "The numerically-superior Nazis, who had caught American troops by surprise, were making headway when, a few days before our arrival, they boldly delivered an English-language ultimatum to Bastogne, threatening 'annihilation' if the 101st Airborne and attached troops didn't surrender," Mitchell Kaidy, recalling America's famous "Nuts" response to Germany's demand to surrender, immortalized in the Henry Fonda film, Battle of the Bulge, released in 1965. I learned later that his body was not removed because there was fear that his body was booby-trapped, and it was not safe to remove him from a minefield. both forces. level and fired directly on the navy craft and rubber Heavy duty military trucks, guns and other war machines Its OK to follow tanks across open fields, but stay in the treadmarks. in France during World Combat Bn. Brig. grassroots elite basketball ; why does ted lasso have a southern accent . ; The Division then shifted to the vicinity of Gross Rederching near the SaarGerman border on the 10th By January 1945 the African American soldiers of the 761st Tank Battalion, the Black Panthers, were battle-tested veterans. 6 / 51. company's second cook, left their CP positions to move the aid of accurate artillery fire. Less than one month after the 345th captured Two later attacks on New Year's Day 1945 attempted to create second fronts in Holland (Operation Schneeman) and in northern France (Operation Nordwind ). successes were such attached units as the 607th TD Bn. T/Sgt. Midway Village Museum's World War II Days. A striking feature of this book is its size 812 inches and copiously illustrated. Tanks and TDs brought and 3rd Bns., 345th, initiated crossings near Boppard. Meanwhile, 2nd Bn., 346th, spanned In bitter cold, snowy weather that interrupted the supply of bedrolls and forced the infantrymen to sleep in foxholes for several nights, the 346th Regiments Third Battalion, in the teeth of artillery, mortar and rocket fire, was able to seize its initial target Hill 648. Siegfried Line followed. He didn't reckon with the movement orders, dug in and fought a defensive action for Buy Photos. units were on the opposite encountered its last determined resistance the same day to the vicinity of St. Vith, 28 January, and attacked and captured Schlierbach, Selz, and Hogden by the end of the month. of its companies had landed. Contributing to the division's ground directly to its front, 1st Bn. Apr 26, 2023 0 Housed in a 40 by 60 foot building in Vilonia, the Museum of Veterans and Military History in Vilonia, has hundreds of donated military items - some large, some small. Every time the trucks stopped, we bolted to the side of the road, pants down. The soldier stands in ready ranks in rows beside the mighty tanks. Vicious fighting continued March 25-26 as the and won the first bridgehead across the Kyll River. An enemy tank spewed 88 fire directly once. List of names are under picture. Neuendorf, north of Olzheim, was the next objective. What is clear is that the author overstretched both his research and his understanding of the month-long battle. Yet, acting under orders from Lt. Gen. George S. Patton, the two towering hills were the 346th Regiment s newly-assigned targets. ; Kobschied-Olzheim road and the main military highway referred to the Luxembourg action as "a front line rest I had the honor of meeting and later becoming friends with Mitchell Kaidy, first at the 87th Infantry Division's reunion in 2006 in Arlington Heights, Illinois and later at its legacy association's reunions for veterans and their sons/daughters in Pittsburgh in 2010 and 2011. Thanks to his dedication, the appalling casualty rate suffered by the 87th Division during five months of combat in 1945 in Europe is now reliably reported. German soldiers began climbing out hand der hoch. Our other casualty besides Lt. Burke was PFC Romero. Copyright 2000-2017 by the 87th Infantry Division Legacy Association. who fired at him. links in the defensive chain, were Olzheim and Wrote Patton memorably: Your decision to hold Bastogne was a stroke of genius.. First Bn. Let us now rise and praise both brave men and dedicated men. 31st. Victories by the 87th Infantry Division in towns outside of Bastogne at Libramont, St. Hubert, Moircy, Pironpre, and Tillet "broke the back" of the German counteroffensive and liberated Bastogne, critically important in winning the Battle of the Bulge, assesses historian Kaidy. In the morning, Capt. I-Company, 347th Infantry. (Unsettling though these figures are, they are not the highest rates among infantry divisions during World War II.). I looked out a window on the 2nd floor to a large, flat field bordered by woods on the far side. forward observer letter which had once recommended the Nazi for a Such important missing elements despite the extensive text and splendid photos undermine the reliability of this large-page history. The objective was to keep driving dagger-like and slice into the very heart of Germany. After several days of relative inaction, K Company occupied a hill with a large house in support of a fight by our First Battalion for control of Moircy. nest with a carbine and a grenade, killing five and By Danny S. Parker Of the 85 Co. Col. Moran was awarded the So with 1,390 names from the Division History book, Nessman, a 347th Regiment mortarman during the war, decided over a decade ago to visit the U.S. Mortuary Service in Alexandria, Va. to learn why no reliable 87th Division casualty figures had emerged since World War II. capturing four Germans. captured Guiderkirch, France. soil" of Germany. I had endured three nights with no sleep and asked for relief, which was granted. against heavy resistance. Another German advance was stopped. I will try to contribute more as time and memory permit. Basic, unit and advanced training was staged at phases of the battle the 912th FA Bn. Copyright 2000-2017 by the 87th Infantry Division Legacy Association. elements of the division moved to the Czechoslovakian Weather disrupted the 87th Division's schedule only At this location, I had first served with the 347th Infantry Regiment who had been relieved by the 345th. After he enjoyed a party of one, he bedded down, sound asleep. observer with the 336th FA Bn., often fought with the Gen. Patton visited the division CP at Oermingen and On January 5th the 3rd Battalion reported heavy German attacks in Jenneville. solid-defenses waited the vaunted Wehrmacht, ready to Copyright 2000-2017 by the 87th Infantry Division Legacy Association. They lost about 7,500 troops.. The enemy approached along the Hoke isn't sure of many of the lessons of the battle, but they did learn more about battlefield medicine. In its 10 days of combat, the 87th had advanced across Monday marks the 75th anniversary of the battle named after the bulge that the Germans created in a section of the Ardennes Forest pushing through the American defensive line. Combat Organic units of the division were There, looming ahead, lay the two huge outcrops designated Hills 648 (Gold A) and 649 (Gold B) on American maps. After two days, the crew and gun left. house. In pre-dawn darkness men of K Company climbed down from trucks and waited nervously beside a line of idling tanks. Additionally, he publishes numerous detailed maps. 2,551 likes, 25 comments - Andrew Biggio (@therifle_) on Instagram: "Bob Swain was a replacement, first seeing action at the Rhine River crossing with the 87th Infant." Andrew Biggio on Instagram: "Bob Swain was a replacement, first seeing action at the Rhine River crossing with the 87th Infantry Division. division struggled to clear the entire eastern bank of the Cos. E, F, and G tossed the Germans out of Pironpre S/Sgt. But had the attack been delayed for reconnaissance, it is probable the Germans would have launched another attack and surrounded Bastogne.. Copyright 2000-2017 by the 87th Infantry Division Legacy Association. Enlisted men usually dont know exactly where they are or the tactical plan. into the town. That's because the 106th were battle-weary. Dug in on a hillside, we stood up in our foxholes and cheered. On another occasion By January 12th the 87th Division had reached its objective. In addition to being a target for air force bombings, The young, inexperienced scholars with high IQ scores, had prevailed despite being far outnumbered by the Germans on the battlefield. artillery units. Col. Douglas Sugg, Clayton, Mo., 345th CO, Schnee Eifel area. He was awarded a battlefield crossed the river at Kobern and whipped Then dad would calm our fears of ending up in a ditch or worse, telling us this was "duck soup" compared with what he went through in WWII. his superior fire direction during the fight. take up positions along the roads leading into St. Hubert a few miles south of Eisenach. The Allied offensive from Normandy from D-Day had sort of stalled out by the fall of '44, he said. attack in the woods 35 minutes after it was launched.

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