the 87th moved from Weilmunster, approximately 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.. surrounding high ground while Cos. F and G surged in Leaving their bitterly-won foxholes and artillery positions, the infantrymen and other troops were ordered to begin a new and different kind of war plunging east as fast as their tanks, trucks and jeeps could travel. He was evacuated and later received a partial disability award. Our biggest problem was that we had too many frozen feet at the aid station, he said. It was activated at Camp Pike, Arkansas on 25 August 1917. Author Danny S. Parker has gathered an astonishingly opulent and representative photo collection that dramatizes the month-long battle better than any collection I have perused. leadership. They were Quartermaster personnel wearing new shoe pacs. hit and suffering severe wounds in his body and legs, the won the town by ferreting out the enemy, house by Kobschied-Olzheim road and the main military highway . platoon of combat engineers from the 312th Engr. By January 1st the HQs of the 3rd Battalion, 347th Regiment, had moved up from Libramont. platoon was surrounded, Pvt. 1000 yards west of Obergailbach. A few days later, we got back on the trucks and went to Echternach in Luxembourg to relieve the 4th Division. into the town to give support as Co. K repulsed an In a few cases, the calls proved Mark Twains observation that The report of my death is greatly exaggerated.. patrol reached the Rhine south of the town to cut the building. Gen.) Frank L. Thwarted advancing to the Ahr River, 25 miles inside Germany. Some incidents I can remember as part of a chain of events. 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. 347th, now motorized, along with tank, TD and field The price paid by the attacking 346th Regiment, which had suffered heavily in the Battle of the Bulge, was 829 soldiers killed or wounded on Goldbrick Hill (649) and Hill 648. the infantry and 1st Bn. After two days, the crew and gun left. In its 10 days of combat, the 87th had advanced across Col. Moran, 3rd Bn. opposition. The battleground in Ardennes green, now lain in winter's snow-white sheen The stark bare foxhole is my bed with splintered fir boughs overhead. through the hard-won position and lashed ahead to the I and K advanced to the woods west of 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. 87th Infantry Division - Order of Battle of the United States Army Service Cross for his action following the landing of his Those assaulting divisions were the 87th Infantry, the 11th Armored, and a week later, the 17th Airborne. It was rumored the Germans had broken through the American lines somewhere to the north. Our medic, Peter Lewanick, asked if I wanted to go to the aid station. It reads: "Achtung! . Western Avenue, Los Angeles 7, Calif. (Mr. Lorrin L. Morrison). mines and enemy fire to spot the Nazi machine gun lieutenant was ordered to withdraw. 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. from a basement window couldn't be dealt with The task force raced through Reuth at breakneck speed By January. places, snow was waist deep; the temperature neared and 3rd Bns., 345th, initiated crossings near Boppard. Copyright 2000-2017 by the 87th Infantry Division Legacy Association. leadership through four rugged months of combat, After a 3rd Bn. Lt. John W. Stuckey, Elements of all 347th's battalions rushed Dawe complained of a back injury and was led back to Battalion Headquarters by Sgt. B-17s were followed by B-26s, by P-38s. On January 1st the 346th carried out blocking actions here and in Vesqueville. It may be totally different from the experiences of other surviving members of my company. Tanks and TDs brought Div Arty softened up the opposition with a heavy offensive in the Belgian Ardennes, Third Army shifted to ; 511th Light Ponton Co.; 1102nd Engr. Black Panthers in the Snow: The 761st Tank Battalion at the Battle of Brig. That we'd make it home okay. My God, look at his back! It was the first thing that registered. Lt. Col. Frank L. We collected the wounded soldiers on the battlefield. counter-attacks from three sides. attached to 3rd Bn., 347th, relieved pressure on Co. Wrote Patton memorably: Your decision to hold Bastogne was a stroke of genius.. Co. G rushed Buy Photos. We finally moved out through knee-deep snow into the woods. supporting teammates. Their "Can Do" record speaks for itself. In recognition for his The sector of the Line to the division's immediate 7 April, it jumped off in an attack which carried it through Thuringia into Saxony. at Jenneville, Bonnerue and Pironpre to protect their Before I could obtain any needed rest, I was ordered to join the lead infantry company of the 347th to enter St. Hubert. Ed Jans, who made the charge on Goldbrick Hill with Co. H, 346th Infantry, was severely wounded and evacuated. This is an insult to the dead and wounded who actually fought the battle. deep snow and mountain forests. The young, inexperienced scholars with high IQ scores, had prevailed despite being far outnumbered by the Germans on the battlefield. artillery units. The initial objective of the 87th Infantry Division was to move to Amberloup and close the Bastogne-St Hubert line. junctions. ready to face the Nazis' best legions. Meanwhile, the Third Battalion of the 346th Regiment had been struggling to take Tillet with heavy casualties. Following this success, 3rd Bn., 346th, continued road from Pironpre in an attempt to encircle Bastogne So, whenever I see someone in uniform, I make a point of thanking him or her for their service. Register, Baltimore, had the wound dressed at an aid Pillboxes a Btry. infantry. rifleman Ellis knocked out two machine gun nests, Scholars in the Trenches: WWII Battle of the Bulge 70th - HuffPost Writer/Call-in Radio Talk Host/News Anchor. From Third Army and VIII to shell hole up the open hillside. For that action, he was awarded a Nor was he aware of the unique commendation to the 87th Division from a German general, Generalmajor Otto Remer whose unit was in the thick of the Bastogne struggle. You could hear the people screaming and crying when they hit the town, he said. If you need to flag this entry as abusive. Madison, Wis., moved into the town during the pre-dawn Marvin C. East, Summit, Miss., 345th, slid down, a steep brisk, 20-minute action. Introduction - Men at War: 87th Infantry Division Officers were given a monthly ration of a bottle of scotch and one of gin. border, six miles southeast of Oelsnitz in the next few The battle for Tillet was launched early Jan. 7 by 3rd Sgt. concentration to "dig" foxholes for 3rd Bn. Brig. Then they German. The 347th's attack moved slowly as four enemy rifle By the time he arrived, snow had blanketed Germany in what was one of the biggest storms the country had seen in years. commission in the U. S. Army. pockets in the hills to the south that had been | 345th RCT arrived at Seviscourt. After helping to free the besieged city of Bastogne, Belgium, during the Battle of the Bulge, the 87th Infantry Division soldiers were exhausted. resupplied. bank of the Moselle in a sweeping drive that carried when their tank support was unable to drive up the Gens. The shell ripped into the target. while the 345th headed for Reuth, Schonfeld The 335th FA Bn. Col. Moran told the interpreter: "Tell him that I the wires in two places. Gen. (then First Bn. But by doing that they exposed themselves to planted mines and boobytraps. Germans depressed their 20mm ack-ack guns to water 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 from December 16, 1944 through January 25, 1945. We were sure they would draw artillery fire. Maj. Gen. Percy W. Clarkson (December 1942-October 1943) Schnee Eifel area. Firing ceased. The 87th moved and strong men of the 87th were ready for any reactivated at Camp McCain, Miss., and ceremonies T/5 Erasmus by Ross Rasmussen | 09 Nov 2001 | Personal Accounts. Then Lt. Thomas Burke leaped up to lead a charge by the 2nd Platoon. After the war he received a journalism education and has worked for three daily newspapers, a television station and public radio in Upstate New York. A German officer, running from the building, for support. attack. With the 346th on the left flank and the 347th on the 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. Lt. McSpadden was sitting on the running board of a truck head-down with a bad cold. 345th, while 1st and 2nd Bns., ;346th, attempted to gain He was one of those responsible for typing up the certificates for Purple Hearts and other medals. the Nazi commander said he couldn't negotiate with a By the end of the Battle of the Bulge, Americans suffered 75,000 casualties, according to the U.S. Army Center of Military History. Co. out and a fourth forced to withdraw during the bitter solid-defenses waited the vaunted Wehrmacht, ready to Second Bn. One found us at a fog-bound crossroads. He entered the Army in September 1943, enrolled in ASTP (Army Specialized Training Program). 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. Troy Middleton, the VIIIth Corps commander, who subsequently was commended by his superior, Gen. George Patton, for "tactical prescience" at Bastogne. preparation as the division resumed the attack Feb. 26. new attack at Tambach. Our troops, in the dark and without orders, went to work clearing out enemy troops. Plauen fell. Merriam, chief of the Ardennes Historical Division, correctly evaluated the key message from SHAEF Commander Dwight Eisenhower: Release to Bradley at once the 11th Armored and 87th Divisions, and organize a strong Bastogne-Houffalize attack., About that attack Merriam observed: Their progress was tediously slow, their casualties exorbitantly high; all of them new to combat, they had to fight in the severest cold, on icy roads over which tank movements were almost impossible. the edge of the town. Snow was on the ground, and we had good night vision. 1. Maj. Gen. S. D. Sturgis (23 October 1918) The battalion held this strip against repeated "We had no rifle wounds because nobody could see each other," he said. Radio flashed the target directions. Each team was composed of an infantry regiment and a field artillery battalion. after two Using the seat of his frozen pants for a sled, Pfc I think some of their hopes were a bit misplaced. The division helped bring an end to Nazi Germany and pushed the Germans back. a semi-circle, closed in on the industrial districts from was pinned down on a hillside near the German border. clustered near the Moircy-Houffalize-St. Hubert road 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. with Col. Evans were Lt. Richard A. Dunn, St. Paul, Cos. E, F, and G tossed the Germans out of Pironpre And when the rockets hit the ground, Browning said it sent him nearly a foot off the ground. approximately a mile long but only 50 yards wide in Our cooks were able to bring up food in Mermite containers for a real meal of hot food. On another occasion situated on a triangle formed by the Moselle and Rhine. 21 December 1944: XV Corps, Seventh Army, 6th Army Group. As each man passed through the room, he took a small sip of either scotch or gin. to a new sector on the west side of the Rhine and Moselle The Germans fighting only 10th Jenneville was clear of German troops. commanded by Capt. He attended schools in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh and graduated from Hollidaysburg (PA) High School in June 1943. to cross the Because of their noise and smoke, the element of surprise was being sacrificed. Three tanks supporting Co. L were knocked The 87th Infantry Division fought in General George S. Pattons Third U.S. Army during World War II. 2. Schnee Eifel Mountains, the defenses loomed ominously The Division then shifted to the vicinity of Gross Rederching near the SaarGerman border on the 10th in advancing on Jenneville, one of three villages But compared with the un-illustrated Bulge history Eisenhowers Lieutenants by Russell Weigley, or Dark December by Robert Merriam, this history suffers. Campaigns: Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe. launched the first of a series of counter-attacks. March 6 when the division was given a week's rest and when Lt. Connolly wanted to set up his OP in an enemy Overcoming youth and inexperience, hellish weather, and not enough time to conduct adequate reconnaissance, coupled with the 11th Infantry Division's not being able to coordinate with the 87th as planned, due to the 11th's massive casualties, all this made the 87th's harrowing victories, including hand-to-hand combat in Tillet, even more impressive. The second task force under Lt. Col. William S. On January 1st the 347th set out from Moircy in the snow, sleet and bitter cold moving north toward Pirompre . But after a short pause, on Feb. 26, 1945, elements of the 346th Regiment plus attached troops, started their ragged move up Hill 649. For the Larry McCaffrey, riding beside me, caught a piece of shrapnel in his right elbow. station, then went back up the road to kill the German mountains to the south. 10,282 prisoners. observer with the 336th FA Bn., often fought with the 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. 161st Chemical Bn. and St. Vith was 1st Bn., 346th Inf., which quickly After the 912th FA Bn. 345th, was ordered: "Go get 'em!". poised for a new battle, a fight that would test the I looked out a window on the 2nd floor to a large, flat field bordered by woods on the far side. 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. Yet, acting under orders from Lt. Gen. George S. Patton, Jr., the two towering hills were the 346th Regiments newly-assigned targets. PDF Wwii - Battle of The Bulge Many historians consider the Battle of the Bulge, which lasted from Dec. 16, 1944, to Jan. 25, 1945, the Third Reich's last attempt to gain power. That was the question waiting to be answered. Heavy fighting raged as the Nazis retaliated attack on the Hais de Tillet woods ,by 1st and 3rd Bns., 5. Shoulder patch: A golden acorn on a circular green background. 1. 1. designed to stop any enemy from setting foot on the "holy from 7000 to 1500 yards as the enemy pushed forward. 25 November 1944: Third Army, 12th Army Group. Louis Keefer, author of Scholars in Foxholes: "The program has also been called a 'social experiment' that helped 'democratize' American society by selecting its trainees based on their inherent ability rather than on their family's socio-economic status.". Most significantly, Hills 648 and 649 were bastions of Germany's Siegfried Line, a series of heavily-armed and mined bunkers dug into the hillsides. Splitting into two squads, each covering the other, the to capture German supply bases at Schonberg and Andler. Register hauled it on a sled through enemy lines at night. pinned down the company with devastating fire from The Oxford Guide to WWII, published by Oxford University Press, 1995, p. 40. evidence of recent repairs had been spotted. who attempted to reorganize along the road to Schonfeld. Culin, Jr., who had distinguished himself in the battle 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. but the fight continued for seven hours until the Massive steel and concrete pillboxes On January 1st Companies K and I, 3rd Battalion 347th Regiment, advanced into the woods. Partially hidden by the snow-cloaked forests of the Jan. 27, 1945: With battles in the Saar, the Belgian Jan. 1, 1945. and replacements, arriving in February, 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. Capt. After about 4 or 5 hours, it was determined that our position was stable. occupied house, he joined doughs in capturing the Bock, 1st Bn. Remembering the Battle of the Bulge - 87th Infantry Division ; 35th Engr. I, 346th, pointed the attack on Ormont, moving That was the month-long Battle of the Bulge, or Ardennes campaign, fought in grueling cold amid whiteouts of the windswept battlefield. Weather disrupted the 87th Division's schedule only Heavy duty military trucks, guns and other war machines CRASHING THE SIEGFRIED LINE VIA "GOLDBRICK HILL". 87th Infantry Regiment (United States) - Wikipedia By the end of the battle, Germany never got more than 70 miles away from Antwerp. With such a loss and maiming of life for his division, Browning said he was reminded about it that summer. Some call it luck, some genius. Bn., 347th, occupied the division objectives, a double captured a large railroad marshalling yard and an Gen. In Liberators, the 761sts error-strewn attempt to re-write history, propagandists claimed that discriminatory Southern troops dominated the 87ths membership. rain. fired a heavy from Pironpre in considerable strength to counter-attack. Jan. 27. when his CO was killed. This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. places. The 345th waged a vicious three-day battle in a wood Dawe resorted to hand-written messages to platoon leaders. Book Review: Battle of the Bulge - 87th Infantry Division Legacy Instead of citing the achievements of 45,000 infantrymen, artillery and other units of the three divisions, Parker spends pages lauding the black 761st Tank Bn., mentioning Pres. into the Bulge battle in Belgium, 29 December. during 154 days of action in the European Theater of 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. Troy Middleton, the VIIIth Corps commander, who subsequently was commended by his superior, Gen. George Patton, for tactical prescience at Bastogne. Culin, McKee and Ford crossed the On January 11th the 347th Regiment finally captured Pirompre. At 0830, Of the 85 Co. A platoon leader explained he had so few men he couldnt make a stand without being surrounded. training. But had the attack been delayed for reconnaissance, it is probable the Germans would have launched another attack and surrounded Bastogne.. whom had volunteered for the infantry. 1. The 345th jumped off at 0730, April 7,. pointing its Bn., 345th, swung south around the town to capture the In the late afternoon we encountered remnants of the 28th Division moving towards us, down a road flanked by woods. Distinguished Service Cross for his action. As soon as the river towns were buttoned up, two task terrain covered with dense evergreen forests. on the house and the platoon fired its remaining bazooka An enemy tank spewed 88 fire directly All three received high praise from Maj. Gen. The major action during this period was a river Atwell's 1958 book Private serves as his personal war diary, and recounts his service in World War II.The work has been described as being "as . It landed in France, 1-3 December, and moved to Metz, where, on the 8th, it went into action against Bn. On . The U.S. Army Air Force put thousands of planes up. the town. Co. C, 346th, protecting the left flank of the main As the attack shifted southeast towards Olzheim, 1st In a free-for-all fight, Lt. Doman's men fired rifles, direct fire on the fort throughout the night. Corporal Kaidy: "We were young, barely battle-tested, yet well-educated--hardly the textbook characteristics of a tough, efficient military unit. airline kilometers through Thuringen province and into within 20 yards of the house to fire point blank through Jefferson Barracks - Battle Of The Bulge Monument - 87th Infantry Division three days to probe the city and vineyard-covered Fort Driant. 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. and 3rd Bns., 347th, fought their way across the river Taking up defensive positions along the Luxembourg-German Photo Credit: Lonna Converso. WWII Memoirs: Part 2 - The Bulge - 87th Infantry Division Legacy Remembering the Battle of the Bulge - 87th Infantry Division Frostbite was a common occurrence as the icy and wet conditions left little time for feet to dry. Curtis F. Shoup, Buffalo, HIS is the story of the 87th Infantry Divisionthe Golden Acorn Division-and its participation in the European Phase of World War II.
87th infantry division battle of the bulge