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. 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. 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). A member of the 395th Infantry Regiment , the photographer captured an amazing scene through the lens of this camera in these images. [7]:3, Col. Butler went ahead to look over the area they were assigned to defend. No one had anticipated such a rapid Allied advance. 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. 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. 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. The regiment helped to capture the Ruhr Pocket, where thousands of German troops and hundreds of German vehicles were captured. 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. 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. The three regiments of the 99th IDthe 393rd, 394th, & 395th Infantry Regimentswere thinly spread across this frigid but quiet portion of the front. It was organized with the rest of the 99th on 16 November 1942 at Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi. "[9]:1738 On at least six occasions they called in artillery strikes on or directly in front of their own positions. On 28 April the 14th Armored Division, commanded by MG Albert C. Smith, crossed the Danube River at Ingolstadt, and passed through the 86th Infantry Division, which had established a bridgehead on the previous day, with the mission of securing crossings of the Isar River at Moosburg and Landshut. 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. Eisenhower wrote, "the action of the 2nd and 99th Divisions on the northern shoulder could be considered the most decisive of the Ardennes campaign."[3][4]. Those Germans who made it into the town itself were quickly mopped up. On 17 October 1999, the 3rd Battalion, 395th Regiment was reactivated as an Armor Training Support (TS) Battalion. It attacked toward the Monschau Forest, on 1 February, mopping up and patrolling until it was relieved for training and rehabilitation, on 13 February. Excited to share my latest group in the 99th Infantry Division collection. 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. . 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. 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 concentration camp was one of the "forest camps" (Waldlager) tied to the Mhldorf camp complex. [16], After Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990, 22 99th units deployed to Saudi Arabia, Europe, and other locations. The 99th Infantry Division Artefacts Collection. the horizontal band of white and blue squares was adopted from the coat of arms [2] Historian John S.D. When told it was 3/395, the prisoner replied, It must be one of your best formations.. 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. Due in part to the 99th Infantry Division, this ground mission has not been continuous, and he will not achieve his goal[15]. The 5th replaced the 4 th Infantry Division on December 23 rd, and pushed the Germans back to the Sauer River. The 99th Infantry Division, on December 12, . Ehrenfried-Oskar Bge. 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. 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. Sgt Harold Rutz, 395th Infantry Regiment, M Company. "[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. The 99th Infantry Division, comprising the 393rd, 394th, and the 395th Infantry Regiments, arrived in England on 10 October 1944. Plans called for the division to include the 393rd, 394th, 395th, and 396th Infantry Regiments. The division insignia is a three lined checkerboard design of blue and white squares centered on a black shield. Butler attended, but did not graduate from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. 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. A group of photos from his wartime, unfortenately we have not been able to. [16], Following the 11 September 2001, terrorist attacks, the 99th mobilized large numbers of Army Reserve Soldiers. 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. The division crossed the Danube near Eining on the 27th and after a stubborn fight the Isar at Landshut on 1 May. The insignia was devised upon the 99th's formation in 1942 when the division was headquartered in the city of Pittsburgh. Shield The 395th Infantry, Organized Reserves, was organized in 1921. [8], That is three to four times wider than recommended by Army textbooks. 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.". The Combined Bomber Offensive (CBO) in the European Theater was one of Americas bloodiest campaigns. 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 99th Infantry Division, outnumbered five to one, inflicted estimated casualties on the Germans in the ratio of eighteen to one. The regiment assumed occupation duties in Hammelburg and Bad Brckenau until it was shipped home in the summer of 1945. . By December 1944, Allied armies had reached the western border of Germany itself. [5] The 99th boarded ships bound for England on 10 October 1944 and briefly stayed at Camp Marabout, Dorchester, England. 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. A U.S. Army World War II division was configured as a Triangular division, with three regimental maneuver elements. The regiment was organized with three battalions, each containing three rifle companies and a weapons company armed with .30 caliber and .50 caliber machine guns. The Medal of Honor was awarded T/Sgt Vernon McGarity, Company L, 393rd Infantry, 99th Infantry Division, for actions taken near Krinkelt, Belgium, on 16 December 1944 during the opening phases of the Ardennes Offensive. 3/395 greeted the Volksgrenadiers with a punishing hail of bullets, mortars, and artillery. This was the road network the Germans needed to meet their objectives. [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. ABMC Headquarters 2300 Clarendon Blvd, Suite 500 Arlington, VA 22201 Phone: 703-584-1501 It was redesignated with description updated, for the 395th Regiment on 7 June 1999. It is believed that Delbert was transferred to the 395th Infantry Regiment at some point. Although 3/395 had only 600 men to defend a large area, they had been told that the German army, or Wehrmacht, was no longer capable of major offensive operations and that their winter in the Ardennes would be a quiet one. The battalion also had its own Intelligence and Reconnaissance Platoon, as well as medics and support personnel. Even the most hardened veteran occasionally thinks he hears twigs snap, boots crush snow or other odd noises that can cause nerves to fray. It then intersected a main eastwest road at Bullingen. This was the most southern area of the Battle of the Bulge. 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.