It had its headquarters at Franklin, Pennsylvania, and drew its personnel from Pennsylvania. A few miles to the east lay the Siegfried Line, the enemys final defensive line guarding the German heartland. 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. Plans called for the division to include the 393rd, 394th, 395th, and 396th Infantry Regiments. In early December, the front was unusually calm and the weather was bone-chilling cold. Up to that point, the Army had married a battalion of tanks to a battalion of infantry in support of the tanks. Despite fatigue, constant enemy shelling, and ever-increasing enemy pressure, [they] guarded a 6,000-yard front and destroyed 75 percent of three German infantry regiments.. Gallagher (1 May 1945 29 September 1945), Organized Reserves redesignated 25 March 1948 as the Organized Reserve Corps; redesignated 9 July 1952 as the Army Reserve, Relieved 29 October 1998 from assignment to the 99th Infantry Division, Redesignated 17 October 1999 as the 395th Regiment and reorganized to consist of the 1st, 2d, and 3d Battalions, elements of the. This did not turn out to be true. 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. This northern shoulder of the American line where the 99th ID was entrenched would be the hinge on which the German assault would pivot northwest toward Antwerp. Crossing on the 23d, it pushed east on the Koln-Frankfurt highway to Giessen. The Germans were not finished with Butlers men, either. German assaults in the heavily wooded area in front of the villages pushed the 99ers out of the woods and caused them to flee, many in disarray, back through the twin villages of Krinkelt and Rocherath behind them. 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. The 99th Division was constituted at Camp Wheeler, Georgia, on 23 July 1918. 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 enemy artillery was so intense that communications were generally out. The German 20th Infantry Division was an infantry division of Nazi Germany.HistoryThe was established in 1934 under the cover name. This, however, was the moment that Hitlers master plan collided headfirst with American fortitude. . 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. "[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. Not so in the pre-dawn hours of December 16 in the Ardennes Forest. Family lore, The 99th Infantry Division Artefacts Collection. The 38th Cavalry Squadron (led by Lt. Col. Robert E. O'Brien) was deployed to the north along the railroad track between Mutzenich and Konzen station. [11], The area around Hfen and Monschau were critical because of the road network that lay behind them. Unbeknownst to its commanding general at the time, Maj. Gen. Walter E. Lauer, the division would play a strategic role in the war and would gain the honor of having the most decorated platoon of the US army during World War Two. The battalion was badly outnumbered and nearly surrounded. The 10 geographically-based RRCs, including the 99th, were inactivated and replaced with four regional base operations commands. The Ardennes area was chosen because of a lack of operational objectives for the Allies, the terrain offered good defensive positioning, roads were lacking, and the Germans were known to be using the area within Germany to the east as a rest and refit area for their troops. Although the enemy resisted fiercely, the Ruhr pocket collapsed with the fall of Iserlohn, on 16 April. Butler's regiment crossed the Erft Canal near the Rhine and enlarged the bridgehead, taking that town with a night attack without losing a single man. In the pre-dawn hours of December 16th, Hitlers final major offensive began. The unit's distinctive shoulder patch consisted of a five-sided shield of black on which is superimposed a horizontal band of white and blue squares. 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. Lieutenant Colonel McClernand Butler, commander of 3/395. On 25 October 1981, the entire platoon was recognized with a Presidential Unit Citation. Some toppled directly into US foxholes as American troops engaged them at point-blank range. Their success in defending Hfen resulted in the 395th Infantry being repeatedly assigned to other divisions for difficult assignments during the remainder of the war, earning them the sobriquet, Butler's Blue Battlin' Bastards. 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 99th Infantry's report stated that 1,500 Jews were "living under terrible conditions and approximately 600 required hospitalization due to starvation and disease.". A. Gallagher assumed command for the last few days of the war. . While the 99th was fully involved in this large mobilization, the headquarters moved to Coraopolis, Pennsylvania. On the east lay a section of the Monschau Forest. Butler's great-grandfather, General John Alexander McClernand, commanded infantry during the Civil War. 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. Location of the 99th ID sector (red box) on a map of the Bulge. squares centered on a black shield. The Allied victory against the Axis was a long journeyone that actually took much longer than the war itself. A group of photos from his wartime, unfortenately we have not been able to. Those Germans who made it into the town itself were quickly mopped up. At the going down of the sun And in the morning We will remember them." 324th Engineer Combat Battalion Albertson Dale W Bass Robert D Brown Edwin C Busk 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. On at least six different occasions the battalion was forced to place artillery concentrations dangerously close to its own positions in order to repulse penetrations and restore its lines . There are nine white squares and nine blue ones, signifying the number 99. Good luck with your quest. 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. The 99th then moved to Schwarzenau, on 3 April, and attacked the southeast sector of the Ruhr Pocket on the 5th. The 5 th Infantry Division was moved from Saarlautern, Luxembourg to the area of south and southwest of Echternach. This was the road network the Germans needed to meet their objectives. The 99th crossed the Ludwig Canal against stiff resistance and established a bridgehead over the Altmuhl River, 25 April. Through this eerie artificial moonlight, the 326th Volksgrenadier Division advanced on 3/395s position. German troops pass burning American equipment during the Ardennes offensive. 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. Subscribe to 394th Infantry Regiment, 99th Infantry Division Footer menu. The remainder of the battalion reached the Rhine River on that same day and crossed the Remagen Bridge which four days after being captured was still being shelled by German artillery. That was not the case for the Americans near Elsenborn. "In two cases, the enemy fell in the BAR gunners' foxholes. [1] 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. A written commendation was received from Maj. Gen. Leonard T. Gerow, V Corps Commander: I wish to express to you and the members of your command my appreciation and commendation for the fine job you did in preventing the enemy from carrying out his plans to break through the V Corps sector and push on to the Meuse River. On 17 September 2008, the 99th Regional Support Command was activated at Fort Dix, N.J. [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. [12] The 99th Infantry's after action report stated they found 1,500 Jews "living under terrible conditions and approximately 600 required hospitalization due to starvation and disease. Originally planned as a Pennsylvania unit, the horizontal band of white and blue. The success of the defense of the twin villages would be short-lived if ammunition was not resupplied. 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 . Due to the dwindling attendance over the years, the decision was made to hold the final convention in 2011. ", The 99th Infantry Division, outnumbered five to one, inflicted estimated casualties on the Germans in the ratio of eighteen to one. Troops Fight at Elsenburn Ridge", "Why the Bulge Didn't Break: Green Troops Grew Up Fast to Become Heroes of Hofen", "The Battle for Lanzerath HillThe True Story16December1944", "A hero remembers the Battle of the Bulge", "The Heroic Stand of an Intelligence Platoon", "General Orders No. He found that his 600 riflemen were assigned an extremely large area about 6,000 yards (5,500m) long without any units in reserve. It was organized with the rest of the 99th on 16 November 1942 at Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi. The 3rd Battalion received a Presidential Unit Citation for its actions around Hfen from 16 to 19 December. This assault, like the first, was ground to a halt due to heavy American small arms and artillery fire. 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. 395th Infantry Regiment Medical Detachment (99th Infantry . 99th Infantry Division used the relatively quiet period to prepare an extensive defensive system, including redundant lines of communication, precise positioning of weapons to provide interlocking grazing fire, and aggressive patrols that kept the Germans off guard. After the battalion was inactivated on 29 September 1945, its colors remained folded for more than fifty years. Accurate estimates of German wounded were not possible, but about 20 percent of the 326th Volksgrenadier Division were lost. 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. On 1 February 1944, Major Butler assumed command of the 3rd Battalion, 395th Regiment. By December 1944, Allied armies had reached the western border of Germany itself. . From Camp Maxey they took a train to Camp Myles Standish outside Boston. Mission of the 395th Infantry Regiment I. The unit reported on May 4 that it had "liberated 3 labor camps and 1 concentration camp." The 99th held lines stretching from Monschau, Germany to Losheimergraben, Belgium, totaling 35 kilometres (22mi). [13], German prisoners captured during the Battle of the Bulge volunteered praise of the 99th's effective defense of Hfen. 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. The 99th Infantry Division, comprising the 393rd, 394th, and the 395th Infantry Regiments, arrived in England on 10 October 1944. On 17 October 1999, the 3rd Battalion, 395th Regiment was reactivated as an Armor Training Support (TS) Battalion. [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. The 99th Infantry Division was the first complete division to cross the Rhine. When the Ardennes Offensive ended, Gen. Lauer received verbal commendations from Field Marshal Sir Bernard L. Montgomery, 21st Army Group Commander, and Gen. Courtney Hodges, First Army Commander, on the vigorous and effective defense contributed by the 99th. TO: Division Surgeon, 99th Infantry Division I. The Combined Bomber Offensive (CBO) in the European Theater was one of Americas bloodiest campaigns. commanders. The division was destroyed near Vitebsk during the Soviet Vitebsk-Orsha Offensive of Operation Bagration in the summer of 1944. Hfen-Monschau was vital to the operations success because the nearby road junctions would enable rapid movement of tanks. Category: 395th Infantry Regiment Lt. Col. Henry B. Koon Sr. Special Troops EN RU CN DE ES. Infanterie-Division) was a German division in World War II. Despite fatigue, constant enemy shelling, and ever-increasing enemy pressure, the Third Battalion guarded a 6,000 yards (5,500m)-long front and destroyed 75 percent of three German infantry regiments. 2nd and 3rd Battalion cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action in the Ardennes. 3/395 greeted the Volksgrenadiers with a punishing hail of bullets, mortars, and artillery. 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. Battle of the Bulge The Germans were operating under a tight timetable, however, and the assaults center of gravitythe 6th Panzer Armyhad only one day to breach the 99th IDs line. 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. Allies and former enemy Germany mark 75th anniversary of Battle of Battle of the Bulge: WWII vets travel to Belgium for 75th anniversary. While an RSC is allowed to wear the insignia and use the same number as a previous infantry division, it is not entitled to its lineage and honors. provides support December 1944. 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. The thick forest was tangled with rocky gorges, little streams, and sharp hills. This page was last edited on 11 March 2022, at 19:44. 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. The 12th SS pushed through the woods and probed the villages at around 1100 hours. When I got to Hfen, I found the area too big to cover in one afternoon. I never dreamed that we would have a defensive position of this size without any backup or help from our division or regiment. Soldiers who were in direct support of the relief efforts were also awarded the Humanitarian Service Medal as a personal award. The other two regiments of the 99th Division had been beaten to a pulp by the initial German assault, and for the most part had been rendered ineffective, thus leaving the 395th dangerously exposed to a flank assault. Butler's uncle, General Edward J. McClernand, fought in the Indian Wars and was awarded the Medal of Honor. It was demobilized on 30 November 1918, but was later reconstituted on 21 June 1921 as a member of the Organized Reserves just like the 99th Infantry Division. Through their stories, we gain a glimpse into the challenges they faced, the horrors they endured, and the triumphs they achieved. 945 Magazine Street, New Orleans, LA 70130 info@nationalww2museum.org EN. In the northern sector opposite the 99th, this included more than 4,000 deaths and the destruction of sixty tanks and big guns.[8]. Still, some German assaults penetrated American lines near the town of Hofen where they were eventually captured after retreating into houses in the town. The 99th battled on to the bridge at Remagen that was taken on March 7th. Encountering paltry resistance at first, the Germans launched an attack on the towns and initially met with success, pushing into Rocherath with a clear path beyond. A group 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 Below are the top five veteran research questions, where to go for further resources, and how to begin your search. 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. 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. The ferocious assault caught the Allies off-guard and the rapid German advance famously caused a bulge on Allied maps. As they did so, another German assault hit them, this time with support from 5 MKV Panther tanks. It was organized with the rest of the 99th on 16 November 1942 at Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi. ABMC Headquarters 2300 Clarendon Blvd, Suite 500 Arlington, VA 22201 Phone: 703-584-1501 The combination of no ammunition and heavy German armor caused the American lines to fold, like a dam bursting. The three regiments of the 99th IDthe 393rd, 394th, & 395th Infantry Regimentswere thinly spread across this frigid but quiet portion of the front. The unit was inactivated after World War II, then became a reserve unit, and was redesignated as the 395th Regiment in 1999. 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. These two German divisions directed their fury against the 395th early on the morning of the December 17. [12] For their part, the German army was planning a seven-day campaign to seize Antwerp. One Wehrmacht officer captured at Hfen asked his interrogators which unit had defended the town. The Germans, moving across illuminated open ground without cover, fell by the hundreds against the murderous American fire. The 99th Infantry Division, comprising the 393rd, 394th, and the 395th Infantry Regiments, arrived in England on 10 October 1944. It was organized with the rest of the 99th on 16 November 1942 at Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi. In January 2003, the 99th RSC started mobilizing units for projected operations in Iraq. The 99th RRC continued to provide command and control for assigned units and support for the ongoing deployments. The 395th Infantry Regimentwas an infantryregimentof the United States Army, part of the 99th Infantry Divisionduring World War II. 504-528-1944, Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy, Black Volunteer Infantry Platoons in World War II, Kasserine Pass: German Offensive, American Victory, The Top 5 Veteran Research Questions: Where to Go and What to Know, Gallantry against Great Odds: LTC George Marshall and Operation RESERVIST, Prelude to Liberation: Genesis of American Amphibious Assault in the ETO, Black Thursday October 14, 1943: The Second Schweinfurt Bombing Raid, An Exercise in Depravity: The Establishment of the Warsaw Ghetto, Unsung Witnesses of the Battle of Stalingrad. After fighting in the Ruhr area, the unit moved southward into Bavaria, where it was located at the end of the war. The buck's head was used to indicate the allocation of the organization to the mountainous section of Pennsylvania, where deer abound. It was redesignated with description updated, for the 395th Regiment on 7 June 1999. Specific units were charged with penetrating Germany's West Wall. The 5th replaced the 4 th Infantry Division on December 23 rd, and pushed the Germans back to the Sauer River. [15], The 395th hit the attacking Germans with such terrific small arms and machine gun fire that the Germand couldn't even remove their dead and wounded in their rapid retreat. The men carried out missions without orders when their positions were penetrated or infiltrated. Crest That for the regiments and separate battalions of the Army Reserve: From a wreath Argent and Azure, the Lexington Minute Man Proper. Due in part to the 99th Infantry Division, this ground mission has not been continuous, and he will not achieve his goal[15]. The 395th was held in the United States until more room was available for the unit to enter Europe. There was no cover. This article contains content in the public domain from U.S. military sources. The platoon seriously disrupted the entire German Sixth Panzer Army's schedule of attack along the northern edge of the offensive. The black represents the iron from the mills of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where many of the troops were from. The 99th Infantry Division, comprising the 393rd, 394th, and the 395th Infantry Regiments, arrived in England on 10 October 1944. represents the iron district of Pennsylvania. The defense of Rocherath that had been held most of the day by infantry was decided in less than thirty minutes by 5 German tanks. In early December, much of the Allied forces were established in a general defensive line from the North Sea to the Swiss border. 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. [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. When three hours later a third SS assault hit the defenders, it too was stopped. [16] The accurate fire from the 12 3-inch guns of A Company, 612th Tank Destroyer Battalion, was instrumental in keeping German tanks from advancing. 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. German losses were much higher. After failing to capture Monschau on the battles second day, the 326th Volksgrenadier Division turned its attention back to Hfen on December 18th. Dad proudly told that the 99th was the first complete unit cross the Remagen Bridge on March 9th or 10th. 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.

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