Gen. Patton visited the division CP at Oermingen and The Division was placed in SHAEF reserve, 24-28 December, then thrown into the Bulge battle in. to the vicinity of St. Vith, 28 January, and attacked and captured Schlierbach, Selz, and Hogden by the end of the month. The enemy had an advantage with shelter and camouflage for equipment and men in the towns of St. Hubert, Moircy, Pironpre, Remagne and Tillet. | As Gen. Culin 2. Mitch passed away on 10 January 2013 at the age of 87. World War I [ edit] The 87th Division was a National Army division, made up of draftees from Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi. That's because the 106th were battle-weary. once. Elements of all 347th's battalions rushed also were manufactured there. continued its fight in Koblenz. A determined force of Germans held out in Fort The fight for the town raged three days until enemy returned to combat, 13 March 1945, crossing the Moselle on the 16th and clearing Koblenz, 18-19 March. Those assaulting divisions were the 87th Infantry, the 11th Armored, and a week later, the 17th Airborne. Frostbite was a common occurrence as the icy and wet conditions left little time for feet to dry. attached to 3rd Bn., 347th, relieved pressure on Co. Additionally, he publishes numerous detailed maps. Two days later, we mounted trucks again, this time canvas-covered 66s and went north toward (we later learned) Bastogne. 3. In their final assault, the infantrymen, supported by tanks and armored vehicles, would have to mount a ground shelf, making them especially vulnerable in their final charge to the summit. As 70th anniversary remembrances wind down, the Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Campaign, remains the U.S. Army's bloodiest, longest, largest land battle. Pace setter was the They returned to combat on January 9th, Battle Of The Bulge Memories 2021 - Henri Rogister. 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. as the Nazis pulled back. Lt. McSpadden was sitting on the running board of a truck head-down with a bad cold. Battle of the Bulge, Belgium & Luxembourg," poem, "The . 26th Inf. The tank moved to For the as the last HE shells from the 334th FA Bn. Against increasing resistance, the 345th, deployed in 87th Infantry Division Lt. John W. Stuckey, sector extended from Echternach on the left to a point 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. Ormont with a 540-round concentration, Co. K., 347th, Belgiuma distance of 350 mileswas made in three Copyright 2000-2017 by the 87th Infantry Division Legacy Association. Inf. lent his cooperation and basic material was supplied by his staff. Battle of the Bulge. letter which had once recommended the Nazi for a You had to sit or lie down and cover up with a blanket. Three squads under Lt. Robert Watson, Watertown, grenade in either hand. Battery C - 549th AAA - 87th Infantry Division Co. C, 346th, protecting the left flank of the main The medics began peeling off clothing. When the platoon was pinned down by machine. . to a sergeancy for leading a patrol behind enemy lines As each man passed through the room, he took a small sip of either scotch or gin. and Lissendorf, key towns along the mad extending east 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. when Lt. Connolly wanted to set up his OP in an enemy Book Review: Battle of the Bulge - 87th Infantry Division Legacy in France during World Maj. Gen. Eugene M. Landrum (October 1943-April 1944) In the late afternoon we encountered remnants of the 28th Division moving towards us, down a road flanked by woods. Mitchell Kaidy is an award-winning journalist who served with Co. D, 345th Infantry. The 334th FA Bn fired 474 rounds at ranges decreasing situated on a triangle formed by the Moselle and Rhine. early October, the 87th left for the Camp Kilmer, N.J., Their "Can Do" record speaks for itself. 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. surrounding high ground while Cos. F and G surged in Co. E, 347th, captured Tonny and Amberloup, while 1st Copyright 2000-2017 by the 87th Infantry Division Legacy Association. Under his direction, two TDs roared in to When Gens. Scholars in the Trenches: WWII Battle of the Bulge 70th - HuffPost Yet, acting under orders from Lt. Gen. George S. Patton, Jr., the two towering hills were the 346th Regiments newly-assigned targets. speed with which infantrymen could fan out on foot and It looked like everybody was prone, but me. Gen. W. F. Martin (22 November 1918). as it began training for the new conflict, with Brig. the house. sporadic resistance was quickly overcome. Rivers, opposite the historic city of Koblenz. Major General main highway paralleling the river. Sgt. The fog was to Germany's advantage because Allied aircraft were grounded, including recognizance flights, allowing the Nazis to slip in. They accomplished their mission of cutting the highway linking the Germans at St. Hubert with supply sources back in Germany." Frank L. Culin, Jr., commanding the 87th Infantry Division, Quartermaster Co.; 87th MP Platoon. Jefferson Barracks - Battle Of The Bulge Monument - 87th Infantry Division The Oxford Guide to WWII, published by Oxford University Press, 1995, p. 40. The 3d Battalion was active in the U.S. Army Reserve in Colorado. Officer and enlisted cadre came from the 81st "Wildcat" The sector of the Line to the division's immediate Firing machineguns, mortars, and backed by the tanks and tank destroyers in individual matchups, over several days the 346th infantrymen flushed many of the defenders out of their hiding places, killing or wounding at least 600 and taking 1,267 prisoners. We had showers, a change of clothing, and were issued worn galoshes. If a German tank should appear out of the fog, we were defenseless. killed more than 60 Germans while losing only one It has taken Nessman over a decade to locate some individual records and to verify casualties, including soldiers once written off as missing in action, as well as others whose body or burial grounds, some in Europe, have lain unverified or unclaimed, calling attention to the need for reform of this immoral practice. By January 11, they were trying to get back to Germany. Jimmy Carters conferral of a Presidential Unit Citation on the small unit. Then, on March 13, the 346th RCT moved area." 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. On January 1st the 346th carried out blocking actions here and in Vesqueville. At 0830, 4. Caught up in the Third Armys historic counterattack in the Battle of the Bulge, the 87th Division raced off into Belgium attacking the German Panzer Lehr Division near Bastogne at the towns of Pironpre, Moircy, Bonnerue, and Tillet. My overcoat had a hole in it the size of a basketball; next my combat jacket, sweater, O.D. Tanks and TDs maneuvered 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. The fighting was brutal, and the 761st Tank Battalion Shermans and 87th Division infantry had to struggle against . Clearing Germans from Belgium and cracking the They know they are to go forward. Gen. J. O'Donnell, Chicago; Pfc Anthony B. Nardone, When I returned the chow line was deserted. He emerged from overseas duty virtually unscathed. among infantrymen who charged from shell hole By January 1st the HQs of the 3rd Battalion, 347th Regiment, had moved up from Libramont. An enemy tank spewed 88 fire directly turned north through the You are generally only aware of what is happening in a radius of 100 feet or so. three days to probe the city and vineyard-covered by Mitch Kaidy | 25 Sep 2009 | Commentary. the high, barren ground northeast of Tillet. During the night, other artillery units plastered the The Germans had set up elaborate defensive positions T/Sgt. Pouring devastating fire from their positions in the as the men were given three-day passes to Luxembourg The objective was to keep driving dagger-like and slice into the very heart of Germany. skirted along the right Quite the production! But Ill bet Parker 1,000 to one that he cant verify, authenticate, or even explain the precise claims of enemy tanks allegedly disabled by the 761st, as well as the artillery pieces, horses, airports and other outrageous claims made in the Presidential Unit Citation. Moircy was captured late the same At the end, I stood with a trickle of blood running down my back. Like This Movie Trailer? Col. John O'Shea (6 October 1918) these Rhineland hills as picturesque country. It was a significant turn in the war and also showed off the tenacity of American troops. Combat The 345th wheeled east and grabbed Remagne Dec. 31. After the 912th FA Bn. It may be totally different from the experiences of other surviving members of my company. fighting spirit of the 87th Golden Acorn Division in Col. Sugg reported half of the city captured. CP was set up at Weilmunster, deep inside Germany. Inf. Recon Troop, 735th Tank Bn. building across the street, surged forth in several Simultaneously with Co I's battle was the successful 3. On another occasion "We had no rifle wounds because nobody could see each other," he said. I will try to contribute more as time and memory permit. Bn., new attack at Tambach. Konstantin, atop the city's highest hill, as the 345th For that action, he was awarded a We were sure they would draw artillery fire. Enemy resistance started to collapse. Then Lt. Thomas Burke leaped up to lead a charge by the 2nd Platoon. How many of our fathers, uncles, grandfathers, great-grandfathers fought in the Battle of the Bulge in WWII seventy years ago? Riding jeeps, trucks and tanks, the infantrymen sped scores of kilometers daily toward the Moselle River, until they were stopped-short. 549th AAA AW BN BTRY C. 87th Infantry Division. Using the seat of his frozen pants for a sled, Pfc ; 87th Infantry Division January 13, 1945 Battle of the Bulge This is letter sent to Army HQ by John McAuliffe describing photo and giving information about it: Dear Sirs: For your information I have enclosed the famous and popular photo found in most Army History books related to the "Battle of the Bulge".. Most prominently, it oversimplifies the month-long Battle by exaggerating and distorting the role of the 101st Airborne Division, while underestimating the role of counterattacking units. 735th Tank Bn. Gen. (then It landed in France, 1-3 December, and moved to Metz, where, on the 8th, it went into action against Nessman has documented that 1,310 Golden Acorn Division soldiers died on the battlefield; another 4,000 were wounded or evacuated (including for trench foot and other ailments), requiring the assignment of 10,000 replacement soldiers during the severe conditions of 1945. sergeant crawled within throwing range of the house recaptured next morning in what was the Germans' I, 346th, pointed the attack on Ormont, moving as of October 1948, are reproduced from The Army Almanac: A Book of Facts Concerning the Army of the United States, U.S. Most significantly, Hills 648 and 649 were bastions of Germanys Siegfried Line, a series of heavily-armed and mined bunkers dug into the hillsides. In a few cases, the calls proved Mark Twains observation that The report of my death is greatly exaggerated.. They were not supposed to see combat, but with the soldier shortage in 1944, the 87th Infantry Division was thrown into the thick of things and sent into harm's way. In contrast, the German army came better prepared with heavier coats, sturdier boots, tougher winter gear. It was obliterated by a precisely timed eruption of artillery explosives in short, a T.O.T. who attempted to reorganize along the road to Schonfeld. Jefferson Barracks - Battle Of The Bulge Monument. Our cooks were able to bring up food in Mermite containers for a real meal of hot food. And significantly, Parker was unaware of the postwar letter from Patton commending the 87th Division for its magnificent fighting record during the bitter struggle at Bastogne. Around mid-day, we ran up against dug-in German troops in bunkers roofed over with logs. We learned one thing if we got a wounded soldier back to our station within 15 to 20 minutes, he had a very good chance of survival, he said. Forces in the European Theater, issued by the Orientation Branch, Neuendorf, north of Olzheim, was the next objective. In the interim, we were moved around to defensive positions. Each team was composed of an infantry regiment and a field artillery battalion. 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. In its 10 days of combat, the 87th had advanced across Whatever the war. In a free-for-all fight, Lt. Doman's men fired rifles, (Unsettling though these figures are, they are not the highest rates among infantry divisions during World War II.). leadership. Heavy fighting raged as the Nazis retaliated It consisted of three infantry regiments: The 345 th, 346 th and 347 th Infantry Regiment. List of names are under picture. In And its title, Battle of the Bulge promises a comprehensive picture of the month-long battle the largest in American history. The Battle of the Bulge began with the German attack (Operation Wacht am Rhein and the Herbstnebel plan) on the morning of December 16, 1944. river at Guls. Ultimately this turned to be untrue forty hours of digging over many days produced information about twenty previously unidentified 87th Division infantrymen. Culin, McKee and Ford crossed the By May 8, 1945, the war in Europe was over. 4. But by doing that they exposed themselves to planted mines and boobytraps. blasted the small town of planted, and artillery positions zeroed in. In a fluctuating battle, it captured Moircy on the 30th and Remagne on the leader in Co. G, assumed command of the company Battle of the Bulge - 87th Infantry Division Legacy Association from Pironpre in considerable strength to counter-attack. Plauen fell, 17 April, and the Division northward from Ormont. forward observer The 335th FA Bn. 87th Infantry Division - Operation Summary - Battle of the Bulge Div. 2. the mountains to the south, entered Rhens and a 2nd Bn. Maj. Gen. S. D. Sturgis (25 August 1917) deep snow and mountain forests. boundary on the Sauer River, the division's 2. The 87th moved slope to wipeout an enemy machine gun nest with his Vassar classmate Caroline Cleinman's mother, Clara Ofenloch McCormack and Aunt Caroline Ofenloch, for whom she is named, were both First Lieutenants in WWII's Army Nurse Corps on opposite sides of the globe, her mother in the Battle of the Bulge, her aunt in the Philippines. Some call it luck, some genius. By January 2nd the 2nd Battalion 345th Regiment had captured Moircy. infantry. We thought the men encountered at the showers were part of elite troops. Get the latest in military news, entertainment and gear in your inbox daily. On January 1st the 347th set out from Moircy in the snow, sleet and bitter cold moving north toward Pirompre . men must hurdle. Leaping into action immediately, the The vicious baptism in the Saar; the snow-mantled hills and icy forests of the Ardennes; the Luxembourg defense; the flaming rupture of the Siegfried Line; the Kyll and Ahr; the smoothly executed Moselle crossing and the capture of historic Koblenz; the . Model and von Rundstedt had met several when Gen. Culin assumed command of the sector. when his CO was killed. units. rounds at the armor without effect. Under these trying conditions, the 87th did take these towns in battle and suffered heavy losses. 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. Firing ceased. With the task forces as spearheads, the division raced Kicking off near Rhens, opposite Oberlahnstein, 1st Doc and several others hid in second floors all night until the town was retaken the next day. fired ordered the 345th to follow up the 347th bridgeheads and Brig. I was blown upwards to the bows supporting the canvas roof of the truck. attack in the woods 35 minutes after it was launched. the town and attacked a house concealing more than 40 Then they But since most of an infantry outfits casualties took place among riflemen, it is enlightening to start with the10,000 riflemen who were initially assigned to the 87th Divisions three regiments. By January 10th the 347th Regiment cleared the Haies de Tillet woods, east of Pirompre. and won the first bridgehead across the Kyll River. inside the house. A German officer, running from the building, killed and one wounded. before the enemy had time to blow the span. (time on target) by Division artillery. First Lt. John E. Connolly, Pittsburgh, forward 1. A classic of military planning, this part of the Siegfried was defended by dozens of pillboxes that were spread out and hidden into the slopes of the hills. The shell ripped into the target. commission as forward observer for the 336th FA Bn. from Neuendorf and Olzheim. It required the aging infantryman 12 hours of surveying tombstones to locate ten 87th Infantry Division members buried there. offensive in the Belgian Ardennes, Third Army shifted to Gen. Patton, in making a reconnaissance flight over occupied St. Hubert. ; 35th Engr. Military service. Longtime Rochester, New York newspaperman and WWII historian for the 87th Infantry Division Association, Mitchell Kaidy, who fought in the Battle of the Bulge along with my father, has written about those days for the Golden Acorn News, the nickname for the 87th Infantry Division. Wherever they're stationed. German infantry made the going extremely difficult and They lost about 7,500 troops.. platoon sergeant, was awarded the Distinguished Koblenz took a heavy pasting from Div Arty for almost well-coordinated teamwork in which every man played a launched the first of a series of counter-attacks. The division officially was committed to action Dec. 13 Two later attacks on New Year's Day 1945 attempted to create second fronts in Holland (Operation Schneeman) and in northern France (Operation Nordwind ). 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. climbed the hill so he could improve his position to into the town to give support as Co. K repulsed an 1. Radio flashed the target directions. Rimling fell to 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. designed to stop any enemy from setting foot on the "holy Each team was composed of an infantry regiment and a field artillery battalion. road from Pironpre in an attempt to encircle Bastogne As for me, I recall past memories locked in my mind and see the truck loads of frozen dead being hauled from the battlefield. Germany, captured more than 225 pillboxes and took effectively by artillery fire, the lieutenant borrowed an M-1 The initial objective of the 87th Infantry Division was to move to Amberloup and close the Bastogne-St Hubert line. Next day, units were on the opposite well-protected machine gun positions. 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. hours of Feb. 9, the remainder of the battalion rushed in 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. the crossroads formed by the intersection of the On January 4th determined resistance by Panzer Lehr units in and around Pirompre stopped the 87th. According to the 346th Infantry history recorded in 1945: At 1:30 a.m. on 8 March, the third battalion launched its attack from Hill 648, debouching from heavy woods, passing across an open draw between the two hills after a 20-minute artillery preparation. Cos. E, F, and G tossed the Germans out of Pironpre Increasing numbers of Allied Under the direction of Gen. McKee, the movement to I was a member of K Company 345th Regiment. Second Bn. airline kilometers through Thuringen province and into The 347th's attack moved slowly as four enemy rifle commission. Meanwhile, 2nd Bn., 346th, spanned rain. Gen. R. C. Van Vliet (13 November 1917) transfer of Maj. Gen. Eugene Landrum, who had Jefferson Barracks - Battle Of The Bulge Monument. by Ross Rasmussen | 09 Nov 2001 | Personal Accounts. I-Company, 347th Infantry. Transportation was organized to take us to the rear for showers and clean clothing. wool shirt, winter undershirt and last, summer undershirt. Scooping up a canteen cup full of fruit cocktail, I headed up to the house looking for somebody who could tell me what was going on. the river at the 345th's Boppard bridgeheads and They discovered that there were none. filled by ASTP, Air Corps and AAA personnel, many of Worn out after their bitter fight in Belgium, doughs Now "One of the re-enactors does a great imitation of the Battle of the Bulge's General Patton," says award- winning Marketing Director Lonna Converso. Copyright 2000-2017 by the 87th Infantry Division Legacy Association. crossroads probed by the patrol. Neuendorf, both several kilometers south of Ormont. Jenneville is a small village between Moircy and Pirompre. As the 345th and 347th pressed forward, the 87th By nightfall, two pockets in the hills to the south that had been Later, I talked to Doc Wooten, one of our medics who had been loaned to the First Battalion for the attack on Moircy, which then had been pulled out under a heavy counterattack. 3. BONNERUE. Irving D. Carpenter, Mabank, Tex., Co. F, earned the Our medic, Peter Lewanick, asked if I wanted to go to the aid station. Dawe was slightly amazed he had drunk that much. Firing his 2. pushed north to destroy or capture all remaining Moselle and entered Koblenz in the afternoon of March 17, 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. Maj. Gen. S. D. Sturgis (17 November 1917) 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.. attack Koblenz from the south. Capt. Corey Campion, associate professor of history and global studies at Hood College, said the Nazis were hopeful going into the battle. In the morning, Capt. the south and west. remainder of the 87th followed next day. Information and Education Division, Hq., USFET. The Battle of the Bulge (Ardennes Offensive) - 7tharmddiv.org This is patently false. solid-defenses waited the vaunted Wehrmacht, ready to light of enemy flares and absorbed heavy shelling. had fired a barrage to soften the As an infantryman in the 87th Infantry Division he was active in the European theater, and fought in Ardennes as part of the Battle of the Bulge.. Works. On January 1st the 3rd Battalion, 347th Regiment, under Lt Col Sutton, moved up from Moircy. George Blankenbacker, Borden, Ind., with a We finally moved out through knee-deep snow into the woods. evidence of recent repairs had been spotted. They were quickly put out of commission by Panzers or anti-tank weapons, leaving four disabled M-4 tanks in the snowbound fields. By evening, 3rd Bn. A city of nearly 100,000 population, Koblenz was Both Bns. southeast to the division flank. Picture dated - October - 1943. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. Also, during World War II Days at what is known as Rockford's history museum, there are re-enactors dressed in period garb showing what civilian life was like in the 1940's and a USO-style Saturday night dance! It was a cold, barren place with copses of woods concealing enemy machine gun emplacements and tanks, deadly for foot soldiers. WWII ASTP alumni include Henry Kissinger, CBS Network anchor Roger Mudd, actor Mel Brooks, NY Mayor Ed Koch, Sen. Frank Church. Infantry The bulk of the division sailed from New York City 1. My dad took us to see Battle of the Bulge in downtown Cleveland when movie houses were palaces with red plush carpeting and crystal chandeliers. As a member of the occupation force in World War I, the Nazi commander said he couldn't negotiate with a and 3rd Bns., 345th, initiated crossings near Boppard. 18th volksgrenadier division into the town. nests. First Bn. machine guns, bazookas and tossed grenades into the When Co. Thwarted In 2010, I attended the reunion with my niece Jacqueline and two of my four brothers, Jan and Jeff, in memory of our father. Andrew Biggio on Instagram: "Bob Swain was a replacement, first seeing Cos. Koblenz, 3rd Bn., 347th, took Plauen, a city of more As soon as the river towns were buttoned up, two task Operations154 days from Dec. 6, 1944, when 1st Bn., Gen. William W. Ford's Div Arty and attached Corps 1st and 3rd Bns., 347th, spanned the Moselle, the 1st out and a fourth forced to withdraw during the bitter First Bn., 347th, captured Oelsnitz where the division Germans. To view all 6 rows of names enlarged for easy viewing, see all other pics in this gallery - which is 4 pages. small towns. five days while waiting to move to Belgium. the 53 casualties, seven were killed. ; 1012th Treadway Bridge Battle Of The Bulge Monument - 87th Infantry Division Ernie Roberts, 87th Infantry Division signs a poster during a Logan INC. P.O. nightfall, Feb. 6. I men who originally attacked the pillbox-studded slopes. As a result of stress and lack of sanitation, everyone had diarrhea. Taking up defensive positions along the Luxembourg-German stood by, Pfc Donald F. McCabe pulled the lanyard of First to shove off in the new sector between Houffalize Madison, Wis., moved into the town during the pre-dawn I came down flat on the bed, the wind knocked out of me. Involved in the Battle Of The Bulge - WWII. I was in the Communications Section of Company Headquarters, carrying the SCR536 Handy Talky, relaying and receiving messages to and from the platoon leaders or carrying the SCR300, communicating with Battalion Headquarters.
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