395th infantry regiment 99th infantry division 395th infantry regiment 99th infantry division

Organization and training began in October but were not complete by the time the war ended in November 1918, so the division was demobilized in early 1919. The silver and bronze star medal of Col. Alexander John Mackenzie, Regimental Commandor of the 395th Infantry Regiment. The 99th Infantry Division Artefacts Collection. The division lost about 20% of its effective strength, including 465 killed and 2,524 evacuated due to wounds, injuries, fatigue, or trench foot. Although cut up and surrounded in part, the 99th was one of the only divisions that did not yield to the German attack, and held their positions until reinforcements arrived. Several photos from the private collection of, THE EARLY YEARS Joseph Richard Evans (Dick) was born on October 17, 1920 to Charles E. Evansand Wenonah (nee Muirhead/Miller)in, Source: family of Raymond J. Willaredt. On 1 February 1944, Major Butler assumed command of the 3rd Battalion, 395th Regiment. [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. There was no cover. The division headquarters was organized in November 1921. No division commander was appointed during the organization's brief existence. In January 2003, the 99th RSC started mobilizing units for projected operations in Iraq. "[9]:79, The battalion dug in, its purpose to hold the line so that other units could attack key dams across the Roer River. The 3rd Battalion received a Presidential Unit Citation for its actions around Hfen from 16 to 19 December. 395th Infantry Regiment Medical Detachment (99th Infantry . the horizontal band of white and blue squares was adopted from the coat of arms After failing to capture Monschau on the battles second day, the 326th Volksgrenadier Division turned its attention back to Hfen on December 18th. That task fell to the 277th Volksgrenadier Division and the 12th SS Panzer Division. Pennsylvania State College, and the Pennsylvania Military College. It is believed that Delbert was transferred to the 395th Infantry Regiment at some point. 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. Butler attended, but did not graduate from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. 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. . After clearing towns west of the Rhine, it crossed the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen on the 11th. For their actions the battalion was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation which read, in part: outnumbered 5 to 1, [3/395] inflicted casualties in the ratio of 18 to 1. The platoon members were not recognized for their courageous deeds for thirty-seven years. A captured Lt. Bemener, formerly commander of the 5th Company of the 753rd Volksgrenadier Regiment, asked his American interrogator about the unit that had defended Hfen. The regiment was organized with three battalions, each containing three rifle companies and a weapons company armed with .30 caliber and .50 caliber machine guns. [7]:3, Col. Butler went ahead to look over the area they were assigned to defend. 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. The last drive began on 23 April. The unit reported on May 4 that it had "liberated 3 labor camps and 1 concentration camp." During the first morning of the Battle of the Bulge, they defended a key road junction in the vicinity of the Losheim Gap. The blue and white checkerboard in the division's insignia is taken from the coat of arms of William Pitt, for whom Pittsburgh is named. 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. 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 99th Infantry Division was formed in 1942 and deployed overseas in 1944. It was credited with destroying "seventy-five percent of three German infantry regiments." [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. Table of Contents. Allied forces were fighting their way across France, and fresh units were badly needed in autumn 1944 to continue to press the offensive. A U.S. Army World War II division was configured as a Triangular division, with three regimental maneuver elements. Not so in the pre-dawn hours of December 16 in the Ardennes Forest. 449, U.S. ARMY 15 January 1945 SUBJECT: History of Medical Detachment, 395th Infantry Regiment, 1 December to 31 December 1944. No reserves were available . The 5th replaced the 4 th Infantry Division on December 23 rd, and pushed the Germans back to the Sauer River. [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. "In two cases, the enemy fell in the BAR gunners' foxholes. The inexperienced troops of the division were lodged on the northern shoulder of the Ardennes Offensive on 16 December. The 395th Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment of the United States Army, part of the 99th Infantry Division during World War II. From Camp Van Dorn they were transferred to the more established Camp Maxey in Paris, Texas for additional training. Ordered into active military service: 15 November 1942 Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi. The German armor, with SS Panzergrenadiers riding on their decks, clattered down the icy roads of Rocherath and headed for Krinkelt, only a stones throw away. 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. It was redesignated with description updated, for the 395th Regiment on 7 June 1999. The 10 geographically-based RRCs, including the 99th, were inactivated and replaced with four regional base operations commands. 394th Infantry Regiment Medical Detachment (99th Infantry Division), Medical History, December 1944. Battle of the Bulge 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. 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 battled on to the bridge at Remagen that was taken on March 7th. Hfen-Monschau was vital to the operations success because the nearby road junctions would enable rapid movement of tanks. Lieutenant Colonel McClernand Butler, commander of 3/395. The 99th Infantry Division, the "Checkerboard" division, gained its nickname from the division's insignia. When told it was 3/395, the prisoner replied, It must be one of your best formations.. The 99th held lines stretching from Monschau, Germany to Losheimergraben, Belgium, totaling 35 kilometres (22mi). The 395th's casualties were extremely light: four dead, seven wounded, and four men missing. The concentration camp was one of the "forest camps" (Waldlager) tied to the Mhldorf camp complex. 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. Although 3/395 had only 600 men to defend a large area, they had been told that the German army, or Wehrmacht, was no longer capable of major offensive operations and that their winter in the Ardennes would be a quiet one. It then intersected a main eastwest road at Bullingen. Outnumbered five to one, they inflicted casualties in the ratio of 18 to one. The statue of the Minute Man, Captain John Parker, (H.H.Kitson, sculptor), stands on the common in Lexington, Massachusetts. 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. Plans called for the division to include the 393rd, 394th, 395th, and 396th Infantry Regiments. Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action at Elsenborn Crest. [6] On more than one occasion, BAR gunners would allow Germans to get within feet of their positions before opening fire, with the objective of increasing the odds of killing the attacking Germans. Mission of the 395th Infantry Regiment Troops were fatigued by weeks of continuous combat, Allied supply lines were stretched extremely thin, and supplies were dangerously depleted. By 17 December, German military planners knew that their objectives along the Elsenborn Ridge would not be taken as soon as planned. Accurate estimates of German wounded were not possible, but about 20 percent of the 326th Volksgrenadier Division were lost. [14] If the Germans penetrated Hfen, the U.S. soldiers would have to withdraw several miles to the next defensible position.[10]. After the battalion was inactivated on 29 September 1945, its colors remained folded for more than fifty years. German losses were much higher. The Germans were counting on something else, toothey knew that this sector was thinly manned by untested troops. The camp was newly built, and the barracks were covered in tar paper. 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. The 99th was selected as one of these new regional support commands. The 395th was held in the United States until more room was available for the unit to enter Europe. Lineage and Honors Information as of 12 January 2018, CHARLES R. BOWERY, JR.Chief of Military History, Constituted 23 July 1918 in the National Army as the 395th Infantry and assigned to the 99th Division, Reconstituted 24 June 1921 in the Organized Reserves as the 395th Infantry and assigned to the 99th Division (later redesignated as the 99th Infantry Division), Organized in November 1921 with Headquarters at Franklin, Pennsylvania, Ordered into active military service 15 November 1942 and reorganized at Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi, Inactivated 29 September 1945 at Camp Myles Standish, Massachusetts, (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 75th Division (Training Support); 1st, 2d, and 3d Battalions concurrently allotted to the Regular Army, Regiment reorganized 2 November 2008 as a parent regiment under the United States Army Regimental System; concurrently 1st, 2d, and 3d Battalions relieved from assignment to the 75th Division (Training Support), Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action at the Siegfried Line, Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action at Elsenborn Crest, Army Superior Unit Award, Streamer embroidered 2008-2011, Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action in the Ardennes, Presidential Unit Citation (Army), Streamer embroidered ARDENNES. 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. Shield The 395th Infantry, Organized Reserves, was organized in 1921. : 33 On at least six occasions they called in . An overwhelming majority of them were women and children. 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 required the corps commander to draw on an infantry battalion from another division, and because of the reputation the 395th had earned at Hfen, it was transferred often to various divisions, including the 9th Infantry Division, the 3rd Armored Division, and the 7th Armored Division. It attacked toward the Monschau Forest, on 1 February, mopping up and patrolling until it was relieved for training and rehabilitation, on 13 February. Eisenhower wrote, "the action of the 2nd and 99th Divisions on the northern shoulder could be considered the most decisive of the Ardennes campaign."[3][4]. The 394th Infantry Regiment was established on 23 July 1918 as the 394th Infantry and assigned to the 99th Division as a member of the National Army. Still, some German assaults penetrated American lines near the town of Hofen where they were eventually captured after retreating into houses in the town. Butler's uncle, General Edward J. McClernand, fought in the Indian Wars and was awarded the Medal of Honor. The 395th Infantry, Organized Reserves, was organized in 1921. Seth Paridon was a staff historian at The National WWII Museumfrom2005 to 2020. It was organized with the rest of the 99th on 16 November 1942 at Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi. Forests, by nature, are eerily quiet at night. Mission of the 395th Infantry Regiment I. 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. [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. While the supply situation improved in October, the manpower situation was still critical. The lines were then moved back to form defensive positions east of Elsenborn Ridge on the 19th. The German assault caught the 99ers off guard initially, due to the heavy artillery bombardment, but the infantrymen and their supporting mortar fire were able to repel the initial assault at a murderously close range due to the proximity of the opposing tree line from where the enemy advanced. Asked why he thought so, he said, "Two reasons: one cold-bloodedness; two efficiency. The shield is silver, the old color of Infantry. 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. Although the enemy resisted fiercely, the Ruhr pocket collapsed with the fall of Iserlohn, on 16 April. 99th Infantry Division vehicles en route to the battle zone. [2] Historian John S.D. Infanterie-Division) was a German division in World War II. By December 1944, Allied armies had reached the western border of Germany itself. On May 34, 1945, as the 99th moved deeper into Bavaria, it liberated one of a number of Dachau subcamps near the town of Mhldorf. It was organized with the rest of the 99th on 16 November 1942 at Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi. The Intelligence and Reconnaissance Platoon, 394th Infantry Regiment, 99th Division was the most decorated platoon for a single action of World War II. Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action at the Siegfried Line. of William Pitt for whom the city of Pittsburgh was named. On 25 October 1981, the entire platoon was recognized with a Presidential Unit Citation. Location of the 99th ID sector (red box) on a map of the Bulge. The regiment helped to capture the Ruhr Pocket, where thousands of German troops and hundreds of German vehicles were captured. More often than not, the noises thought to have been heard arent anything at all, and the forest resumes its eerie silence. In March 1945, the 99th advanced into the Rhineland, crossing the Rhine River at Remagen on March 11. 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. 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. The real crusher to the German offensive plans in the Ardennes occurred 46 miles north east of Bastogne, in a small area consisting of a copse of small villages and a piece of high ground called Elsenborn Ridge. The regiment arrived at Camp Van Dorn in early December. [16], On 16 July 2003, the command was redesignated as the 99th Regional Readiness Command, placing additional emphasis on training, readiness, and mobilization. The town of Kuckhof cost the battalion dearly, with more than fifty casualties inflicted on one company alone (I Company). The 395th Infantry Regiment was disposed defensively from north to south with the 3rd Battalion in the Hfen area in Germany, the 2nd Battalion was in the center at Kalterherberg, and the 1st Battalion remained on the regiment's right, southeast of Kalterherberg. 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. Hfen, along with the nearby town of Monschau, was strategically vital because it sat on elevated terrain overlooking an important road junction. The combination of no ammunition and heavy German armor caused the American lines to fold, like a dam bursting. Soldiers who were in direct support of the relief efforts were also awarded the Humanitarian Service Medal as a personal award. [1] The Germans threw wave after wave of infantry, and a unit of panzers, at the town. Crest The crest is that of the U.S. Army Reserve. The Germans planned to use massed infantry assaults to punch holes in the American lines, after which the feared German tanks, or panzers, would race through these gaps while the winter weather kept Allied planes grounded. The division was reconstituted in the Organized Reserve on 24 June 1921 and assigned to the western half of the state of Pennsylvania. He began his career conducting oral histories and research for HBOs miniseries The Pacific and holds the distinction of being the first historian hired by the Museums Research Department.