Crest That for the regiments and separate battalions of the Army Reserve: From a wreath Argent and Azure, the Lexington Minute Man Proper. The buck's head was used to indicate the allocation of the organization to the mountainous section of Pennsylvania, where deer abound. The division first saw action on 9 November, taking over the defense of the sector north of the Roer River between Schmidt and Monschau, a distance of nearly 19 miles. The division was destroyed near Vitebsk during the Soviet Vitebsk-Orsha Offensive of Operation Bagration in the summer of 1944. The 99th held lines stretching from Monschau, Germany to Losheimergraben, Belgium, totaling 35 kilometres (22mi). [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. The German spearhead in the north, led by the 1st SS Panzer Division and Jochen Peipers Kampfgruppe plowed through jammed roads to the south of Elsenborn and the twin villages of Krinkelt and Rocherath hell bent on their ultimate destination of the Meuse River. The 3rd Battalion, 395th Infantry, led by Lt. Col. McClernand Butler and 2nd Lt. Col. Roy S. Groffy, occupied the area around Hfen, Germany, on the border with Belgium during early December. No one had anticipated such a rapid Allied advance. The lines were then moved back to form defensive positions east of Elsenborn Ridge on the 19th. The program never fulfilled its promise, and the large number of "ASTPers" were rapidly integrated into various divisions to make up for personnel shortages in front line units during 1944. 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. The 99th Infantry Division Artefacts Collection. The coat of arms was originally approved for the 395th Regiment Infantry, Organized Reserves on 15 June 1931. Inactivated: 15 October 1945, Camp Patrick Henry, Virginia, Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 99th Infantry Division Artillery, 99th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop (Mechanized), Headquarters, Special Troops, 99th Infantry Division, Headquarters Company, 99th Infantry Division, 99th Counterintelligence Corps Detachment, 20 December 1944: Attached, with the entire First Army, to the, 7 January 1945: Relieved from attachment to the 2nd Infantry Division and assigned to V Corps, First Army (attached to the British 21st Army Group), 12th Army Group, 18 January 1945: V Corps, First Army, 12th Army Group, This page was last edited on 2 January 2023, at 13:21. So fierce in fact that the German commander pulled his tanks back for fear of running into a superior American force, deciding to hold his positions until the following morning. 394th Infantry Regiment Co. A, first platoon This is my Dad's story. The three heavy German assaults had worn down the ammunition supply, particularly that of the machine gunners, and had left the defenders mostly helpless. 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. Butler was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 21 March 1944, and remained in command of the 395th until 30 April 1945, when he collapsed from exhaustion. This quick infusion of personnel into the 99th Division occurred in March 1944, when more than 3000 joined the division. This page was last edited on 11 March 2022, at 19:44. Captain Ned Nelson, veteran of 3/395 and the battle at Hfen. Peipers right flank had to be secured and the Americans in that region had to be destroyed. The regiment arrived at Camp Van Dorn in early December. The infantry at Hfen lay in a foxhole line along a 910 metres (2,990ft) front on the eastern side of the village, backed up by dug-out support positions. TO: Division Surgeon, 99th Infantry Division I. 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. Field Artillery Battalions were the 370th, 371st, 372nd & the 924th. 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. Against light resistance, it crossed the Dill River and pushed on to Krofdorf-Gleiberg, taking Giessen 29 March. In the northern portion of the American line, heavy artillery shells crashed around the positions of the un-tested 99th Infantry Division from Lanzerath in the south to the forested areas near Monschau in the north. Most of the publicity for the American victory falls on the shoulders of the 101st Airborne and the map grid that centers on the town of Bastogne. 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. German troops pass burning American equipment during the Ardennes offensive. As the tanks neared Krinkelt, they plowed right through elements of the 2nd Infantry Division, many of whom had arrived literally moments earlier to reinforce their brothers who had earlier reinforced the 99ers. A popular historical anecdote is the design of the famous M1 carbine by convicted murderer David Marshall Williams. 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. Earl Denzil Reese April 13th, 1945 - A combat engineer snapped this series of photos while riding on back of a truck during the Battle of the Ruhr Pocket. 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. [5] After more than ten days of intense battle, they pushed the Americans out of the villages, but were unable to dislodge them from the ridge, where elements of the V Corps of the First U.S. Army prevented the German forces from reaching the road network to their west. Butler attended, but did not graduate from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. At the end of the day, the veterans of the 26th Infantry still held their groundand looked out on a battlefield strewn with destroyed German armor and scores of enemy dead. And while the defense of the crossroads of hell was gallant to be sure, it was not the back breaker that most people assume it to have been. A. Gallagher assumed command for the last few days of the war. The Germans would never take Hfen, nor most of their other ambitious objectives in the Ardennes, due in large part to the soldiers of 3/395 and the 99th ID as a whole. The "Checkerboard" or "Battle Babies" division landed at the French port of Le Havre and proceeded northeast to Belgium. Through their stories, we gain a glimpse into the challenges they faced, the horrors they endured, and the triumphs they achieved. 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 was organized with the rest of the 99th on 16 November 1942 at Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi. During the heavy fighting in the Battle of the Bulge, the unit suffered many casualties, yet tenaciously held its defensive position. While the supply situation improved in October, the manpower situation was still critical. The 99th Infantry Division, comprising the 393rd, 394th, and the 395th Infantry Regiments, arrived in England on 10 October 1944. The rapid advance did not deter the men of the 38th Infantry Regiment, however, who put up a fierce defense. Because of Major Butler's success in leading his battalion in successful night attacks during the war, which the U.S. Army handbook did not recommend, the French army later asked him to write a paper on battalion-size night attacks.[6]. The 99th Infantry Division was the first complete division to cross the Rhine. Subscribe to 394th Infantry Regiment, 99th Infantry Division Footer menu. I decided to stage the night attack at Bergheim because my troops would be going across an open area about 500 yards (460m) long and 400 yards (370m) wide. [10], Around Hfen, which the 395th defended, the ground was marked with open hills. The 99th RSC's mission was to provide base operations functions for the assigned 13-state Northeast Region. 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 Two men who had been sent on foot to regimental headquarters to seek reinforcements were later captured. 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 regiment helped to capture the Ruhr Pocket, where thousands of German troops and hundreds of German vehicles were captured. Ordered into active military service: 15 November 1942 Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi. Harold was . 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. Soldiers who were in direct support of the relief efforts were also awarded the Humanitarian Service Medal as a personal award. In January 2003, the 99th RSC started mobilizing units for projected operations in Iraq. squares centered on a black shield. Staff Sergeant, Service Company, 395th Infantry Regiment, 99th Infantry Division, ETO, participated in the Battle of the Bulge, the Ruhr Pocket, and the Occupation of Germany, recipient of the Bronze Star. The camp was newly built, and the barracks were covered in tar paper. The regiment assumed occupation duties in Hammelburg and Bad Brckenau until it was shipped home in the summer of 1945. [17]:51, On another day, the 3rd Battalion took 50 Germans prisoner and killed or wounded more than 800 Germans, losing only five dead and seven wounded themselves. The situation became so dire that Butler deliberately called in artillery on his units own position to prevent them from being overrunone of six times this would occur at Hfen. 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 unit was inactivated after World War II, then became a reserve unit, and was redesignated as the 395th Regiment in 1999. 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. Butler's uncle, General Edward J. McClernand, fought in the Indian Wars and was awarded the Medal of Honor. The 395th Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment of the United States Army, part of the 99th Infantry Division during World War II. The 99th battled on to the bridge at Remagen that was taken on March 7th. Byers, Carl F. MAJ, "Operations of Company G, 395th Infantry, 99th Division, in the Reduction of a Fortified Position of the Siegfried Line, West of Schleiden, Germany, 14-15 December 1944". That was not the case for the Americans near Elsenborn. The 395th Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment of the United States Army, part of the 99th Infantry Division during World War II.It was organized with the rest of the 99th on 16 November 1942 at Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi. This was the road network the Germans needed to meet their objectives. [4], Distinguished Service Cross (United States), "Lineage And Honors Information, 395th Regiment Lineage", "World War II: Interview with Lieutenant Colonel McClernand Butler", "The Operations of the 3rd Battalion, 395th Infantry (99th Infantry Division) Prior to and During the German Counter-Offensive, 10November 24 December 1944 (Ardennes Campaign) (Personal Experience of a Company Commander and Battalion Operations Officer)", "Why the Bulge Didn't Break: Green Troops Grew Up Fast to Become Heroes of Hofen", "The Battle of the Bulge Part II Holding the Line (review)", "Chapter 5: The Ardennes, the Battle of the Bulge", "Battle of the Bulge: U.S. Later that night, another enemy assault was similarly unsuccessful. On 1 November 1944, the 99th Infantry Division, comprising the 393rd, 394th, and the 395th Infantry Regiments, was put under operational control of V Corps, First Army. The 99th RSC's mission was to provide command and control and full-service support for assigned units and facility management. 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. While the 99th was fully involved in this large mobilization, the headquarters moved to Coraopolis, Pennsylvania. The three regiments of the 99th IDthe 393rd, 394th, & 395th Infantry Regimentswere thinly spread across this frigid but quiet portion of the front. [1] After defensive patrolling, the 99th probed the Siegfried Line against heavy resistance on 13 December. By the end of the December 16, much of the American front lines in the Ardennes had been broken by the German assault. [7]:3 American press reports from the European theater foretold the imminent fall of the Third Reich, and many men in Lt. Col. Butler's battalion thought that the war just might be over before they got there. It had its headquarters at Franklin, Pennsylvania, and drew its personnel from Pennsylvania. After the battalion was inactivated on 29 September 1945, its colors remained folded for more than fifty years. The 99th RSC was awarded the Army Superior Unit Award on 9 May 2016 by the US Army Human Resources Command for its role in the relief support after Hurricane Sandy, from 29 October 2012 thru 31 March 2013. The Combined Bomber Offensive (CBO) in the European Theater was one of Americas bloodiest campaigns. 99th Infantry Division vehicles en route to the battle zone. The platoon members were not recognized for their courageous deeds for thirty-seven years. The 395th were moved by train and truck, and finally by foot, to front line positions near the German town of Hfen a few kilometers west of the Siegfried Line and near the Belgium-German border. The 10 geographically-based RRCs, including the 99th, were inactivated and replaced with four regional base operations commands. [19] The regiment's successful defense prevented the Germans, who had counted on surprise, numbers, and minimum hard fighting as their keys to success, from accessing the best routes into the Belgium interior, and seriously delayed their scheduled advance by more than 48 hours, allowing the Americans to move large numbers of units and bring up reserves. The 395th Infantry Regiment was a unit of the United States 99th Infantry Division.It was organized with the rest of the 99th on 16 November 1942 at Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi. The division crossed the Danube near Eining on the 27th and after a stubborn fight the Isar at Landshut on 1 May. A U.S. Army World War II division was configured as a Triangular division, with three regimental maneuver elements. [13], To the north of Hfen lay a paved main road that led through the Monschau Forest, at whose eastern edge it forked. 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. Crossing on the 23d, it pushed east on the Koln-Frankfurt highway to Giessen. The unit reported on May 4 that it had "liberated 3 labor camps and 1 concentration camp." There was no cover. 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. At precisely 0530 hours, the forest erupted in an ear shattering German artillery barrage along a 100 mile front. As the night grew darker, optimistic American officers in the 2nd Division relayed a message to headquarters, Action quieting; believe we can hold. This would prove to be a false hope. That task fell to the 277th Volksgrenadier Division and the 12th SS Panzer Division. Notable. Location of the 99th ID sector (red box) on a map of the Bulge. [6], The regiment's (3rd Battalion) earned the sobriquet Butler's Battlin' Blue Bastards derived from the name of its single commander, its special fighting abilities, the battalion's color designation, and because the regiment was often lent out and belonged to no one. The 99th then moved to Schwarzenau, on 3 April, and attacked the southeast sector of the Ruhr Pocket on the 5th. The 395th Regiment's success earned it many difficult assignments. Table of Contents. 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. In a long fight with about 500 men of the 1st Battalion, 9th Fallschirmjaeger Regiment, 3rd Fallschirmjaeger Division, the 18 men of the platoon along with four artillery observers inflicted between 60[6][7] to more than 100[8] casualties on the Germans. This assault, like the first, was ground to a halt due to heavy American small arms and artillery fire. The program was called the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP), and it sought to give extra training and special skills to a select group of intelligent and able young men, most of whom were taken from America's colleges. [7]:3, Col. Butler went ahead to look over the area they were assigned to defend. Those Germans who made it into the town itself were quickly mopped up. [18], As the battle ensued, small units, company and less in size, often acting independently, conducted fierce local counterattacks and mounted stubborn defenses, frustrating the German's plans for a rapid advance, and badly upsetting their timetable. On 25 October 1981, the entire platoon was recognized with a Presidential Unit Citation. When three hours later a third SS assault hit the defenders, it too was stopped. No division commander was appointed during the organization's brief existence. I never dreamed that we would have a defensive position of this size without any backup or help from our division or regiment. A few miles to the east lay the Siegfried Line, the enemys final defensive line guarding the German heartland. [13], German prisoners captured during the Battle of the Bulge volunteered praise of the 99th's effective defense of Hfen. 394th Infantry Regiment Medical Detachment (99th Infantry Division), Medical History, December 1944. 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 395th Infantry Regimentwas an infantryregimentof the United States Army, part of the 99th Infantry Divisionduring World War II. The 393rd, 394th & 395th were the Infantry Regiments of the 99th Infantry Division. 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. 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. The 3rd Battalion received a Presidential Unit Citation for its actions around Hfen from 16 to 19 December. The blue and white are taken from the coat of arms for William Pitt for whom Pittsburgh was named. 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. To make circumstances worse, just beyond the bloodied-but-not-beaten Volksgrenadiers waited the tanks of the 6th Panzer Army. [16], In 2005, the Army Reserve began its latest transformation under the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) directive and lessons learned from eight years of deployments in support of the Global War on Terrorism. [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. German Panzer tanks en route to the Ardennes. Cemeteries & Memorials; Burial Search; About Us; Education; Facebook; Twitter; YouTube; Instagram; ABMC Headquarters 2300 Clarendon Blvd, Suite 500 Arlington, VA 22201 Phone: 703-584-1501. 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 3rd Battalion, 395th Regiment had acquitted itself with valor, having held its lines despite the harsh winter weather, the enemy's numerical superiority and greater numbers of armored units. It was credited with destroying "seventy-five percent of three German infantry regiments." represents the iron district of Pennsylvania. 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.
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