Throughout the day the American outposts watched masses of foot troops and vehicles defile westward through Heinerscheid, only some two thousand yards to the south. it to call on neighboring battalions, attacking Weiler, to help outflank . The Americans had taken 186 prisoners and killed or wounded two or three times that number; the losses in the 1130th Regiment were "very high," said the enemy reports. Reconnaissance Troop reinforced the perimeter. brought in from Austria (the home station for the 2d Panzer Division was Vienna), and new-model Panther tanks, equipped for night fighting with the new infrared sighting apparatus, arrived fresh from assembly plants near Breslau. Information on the hard-pressed battalions and their companies was sketchy and secondhand. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. antitank guns supplemented the weapons organic to the conventional Volks Grenadier division. WW2 Army Unit Records Research. tanks and guns to help the engineers, bandsmen, telephone linemen, and The bulk of his two divisions, as a consequence, faced the 112th Infantry, albeit the corps zone overlapped somewhat the sectors of the 106th Infantry Division in the north and the 110th Infantry in the south. There it dug in to defend the battery which had given aid during the battle. Miscellaneous troops of the 110th Infantry had joined with units of Combat Command R of the 9th Armored Division (briefly under operational control of the 28th Infantry Division) to defend along the main road to Bastogne in the area west of Clerf. By 0630 the grenadiers were behind the command post of the 1st Battalion (Lt. Col. William H. Allen) in Harspelt; the first sign of their presence was a kitchen truck ambushed while journeying to the rear. They heard, and duly reported, heavy artillery to the south, they saw searchlights and flames lighting up the sky, but again in the south. battalion, hastily formed from the 28th Division headquarters, by setting on numerous occasions before; so it is questionable whether either of them expected the Luftwaffe to make good. by CHARLES B. MACDONALD--249--Attack on Vossenack . In sum, the way through Clerf would be none too easy for an armored division.10. Before daybreak on 18 December the survivors, now only a handful, started west. The areas selected by the two corps for their main efforts were some six to seven air-line miles apart-an indication of the weight to be thrown against the American 28th Infantry Division. To some extent, then, Kokott's decision in favor of premature assembly west of the Our had gained ground for the 26th. He personally rated four of his armored divisions as good attack formations (the 116th, 2d, Panzer Lehr, and Fuehrer Begleit), and his panzer corps commanders were of his own choosing. The regiment consisted of companies from Erie, McKean, Venango, Elk, Warren, and Crawford counties. Before noon five separate assaults had been made at Consthum, but all were beaten off by small arms, .50-caliber, and artillery fire. Two of the American tanks, destroyed during the German assault later in the day. At l825 Colonel Fuller phoned the 28th Division chief of staff that his command post was under fire and that enemy tanks occupied the town. U.S. Army photo. During the afternoon General Cota radioed Colonel Nelson to be especially watchful of his northern flank, but added that if his own position became untenable he should withdraw at dark behind the Our. a sweep along the western bank calculated to take the Ouren crossings from the rear. Formed in 1917, the division deployed to France as a part of the . to bypass Wiltz on 19 December with his entire division but now found that he could not get his regiments back in hand. good tank-going could not be expected until the Marche-Rochefort line The capitulation of the gallant garrison at Hosingen, during the morning, removed this threat to the 902d supply road. Replacements, mostly from the Navy, were whipped into shape by the "Old 26th," and first-rate equipment replaced that lost in the east. The fall of Wiltz ended the 28th Division's delaying action before Bastogne. A platoon of Negro troops came to the head of the. restored while the commander of the 1130th reported that his However, these unit designations were short-lived. The American infantry had made excellent use of the ground and had held their positions, refusing to buckle under the weight of numbers. The advance party of grenadiers had moved along the wooded draw between the two companies holding the 1st Battalion line. 517th Parachute Infantry Regiment attached 110th, 431st and 448th AAA AW Battalions 75th Infantry Division . The immediate mission of Krueger's corps, like that of the XLVII Panzer Corps on its left, was to seize crossings at the Our River. The main body of the 560th Volks Grenadier Division also had detoured around the stubborn men and difficult ground in the 112th Infantry area, extending the bridgehead which the 1128th Regiment had seized east of Heinerscheid on 17 December. Apprehensive lest the Americans be prematurely warned, Army Group B had forbidden the movement of any troops across the Our in advance of the opening barrage set for 0530 on 16 December. 115th Infantry Regiment. An unidentified crew of a 447th Antiaircraft Artillery half-track drove straight onto the mines, its .50-caliber fire searching out the enemy riflemen. the leading detachments of the 77th swung to the north, cutting This new Altoona unit converted back to an engineer company unit they were redesignated Troop C, 104th Cavalry in 1929. Then too, some welcome tank support had arrived on the scene. By this time, however, the advance infantry detachments of the 2d Panzer Division were not only involved in a battle to knock out Marnach but were pushing past the village en route to Clerf. Viewing, the ground in front of his right armored corps as especially difficult, Manteuffel would give Generaloberst Walter Krueger's LVIII Panzer Corps a fairly narrow front for the initial assault. The 5th Parachute Division commander had already experienced great difficulty in maintaining control of his units in action. Anything even remotely resembling a continuous line across the 9- to 10-mile regimental front was beyond the strength of the 1st and 3d Battalions. The first word of the approaching enemy reached the 110th Infantry headquarters at Clerf shortly after 0615. At Clerveaux, two battalions of the 110th held off four German regiments for several . The Lewistown unit was redesignated as Machine Gun Troop, 104th Cavalry, 22nd Cavalry Division. In response to their call for reinforcement and ammunition four tanks fought their way through the German infantry along the Skyline Drive, arriving in Hosingen about 2200-but with no rifle ammunition. the 156th Regiment. New York: William Morrow and Co., 1985. First, Luettwitz could not allow any slackening to an infantry pace by frontal attacks against strongly defended American positions. Through this gap the panzers moved in on the support positions held by Company D. Earlier a German infantry company in close order had been caught in the glare of its own headlights atop a hill and been massacred by Company D sections lying on the reverse slope, but at 0755 Company D was forced to send out an urgent plea for help "and damn quick." Considerable damage had been done the German assault forces. Both the 1st and 2d Battalions deployed with the rest of the 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team on 19 September 2008. Manteuffel had two armored formations in reserve, the Panzer Lehr Division and the Fuehrer Begleit Brigade.1 These he intended to throw in behind the armored corps which made the first bridgehead at the Our. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1969. of the 1st Battalion. 1st Cavalry . patrol at the stone bridge had evaporated under machine gun fire-and 29th Infantry Division 58th Inf Bde 115th 175th 88th Inf Bde 116th 176th. The Fifth Panzer commander seems to have been fairly optimistic, although he gave little ear to Hitler's promise of air support. At night the strip between the ridge and the river became a no man's land where German and American patrols stalked one another. The numerous pillboxes provided a substantial amount of cover; the 3d Battalion, for example, was not seriously endangered until the attacking tanks maneuvered close enough for direct fire. On the ridges which look down over Wiltz more Germans appeared in the early evening, apparently. Most of the tanks and assault guns were out of action, there were insufficient machine guns to cover the final protective line, radio communication between the desperate units was practically nonexistent, searchlight rays glancing from the low clouds lighted the path of the attackers, and ammunition was running very low. The lay of the ground and defenses in the area north of Ltzkampen were such that Waldenburg's right regiment had to move northwestward at an oblique to the axis of his left wing advance. A German attempt to cut the road between Consthum and Holzthum failed when Capt. A half hour before dawn on 18 December German guns and mortars opened heavy fire. German field guns, by this time west of the Clerf, opened fire on Wiltz at noon. or German bank of the Our River. These were the stakes when the Germans launched their surprise attack through Belgium on December 16, 1944. Caught off-guard, American units fought to stem . Once this barrier was passed the 26th would be responsible for covering the left flank of the corps while the armored divisions made the Meuse crossings. For example, by the end of January, 1945, the 47 th Infantry Regiment (which fought in France and Germany) had lost well over 100% of their strength to battle casualties, where men were either killed, wounded . Later Colonel Fuller was captured, with a group of stragglers he commanded, while attempting to break through to the west. Early in the month the Germans had undertaken what appeared to be a routine relief in their forward positions. Southeast of the town About 0620, however, the 1st Battalion phoned to say that shells were coming over the battalion command post. But first, they had to win the Battle of the Bulge. Original WW2 US Army 112th Infantry Regiment DUI Crest Pinback. 22 Mar - 11 May 45 Central Europe Campaign CD 2 36 Pages - PDF. In midmorning Paul ordered Company C to march north from Munshausen, leaving the cannon company there, and counterattack the Germans in the Company B area. Bofors of the protecting antiaircraft company with saving his howitzers. It had held on at Munshausen, with the 110th Cannon Company and a section of tank destroyers, all through the 17th.12 The riflemen and cannoneers made a fight of it, barricading the village streets with overturned trucks, fighting from house to house. started a march intended to bring it east of Sevenig on the left of in the bogs and swamps of southwest Holland, where the 30 British Corps Meanwhile, General Middleton, the VIII Corps commander, issued a holdfast order to all his troops. One battalion of armored infantry was given bicycles, and would move so slowly through the mud and over the hills that its function during the drive to the west was simply that of a replacement battalion, feeding into the more mobile units up ahead. The bridges at Clerf and Wilwerwiltz were in German hands (no preparations had been made to destroy them); most of the sixty tanks committed in the central sector were destroyed. But the tactical effect of this artillery preparation was considerably less than the German planners had anticipated. Eight tanks were knocked out by the enemy gunners and in the confusion three more fell prey to bazooka fire. During most of this first day of attack the German infantry had fought west of the Our without heavy weapons, although the bulk of two regiments from. For some reason the bridge was not blown. Finally the Germans took the village, only to be driven out again. It was his intention, however, to move the provisional battalion first, leaving the 3d Battalion to keep the escape exits open while the 44th Engineers acted as rear guard. Today marks the 76th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge, in order to commemorate this anniversary we are releasing our first Then and Now video focusing . 1959 is when this organization began to resemble the current organizational structure. west of the German jump-off positions on the Our River and the final Michael Tolhurst: Bastogne: Battle of the Bulge, Pen & Sword Books Limited (Battleground Europe series), 2001 . On the afternoon of the 16th the division commander had loaned Neslon the light tank company of the 707th Tank Battalion, but after a sweep through the 1st Battalion area in which not a shot was fired the tanks recrossed the river. The sector held by the 112th Infantry was approximately six miles wide. Those in the south fell back toward Wiltz, the division command post. The units of the 110th Infantry were disposed as follows to face three full German divisions. They were mustered out of federal service in December 1898. [4] During December 1944, the 112th Infantry Regimental Combat Team was holding a 6-1/2-mile long sector which the Germans attacked with nine divisions. On 22 November 1878, the battalion was organized as the 16th Regiment, Pennsylvania National Guard. the story of the 112th Infantry Regiment of the 28th Infantry Division in the battle for Schmidt, Germany. At that crucial point the infantry had to take Bastogne as quickly as possible, with or without the help of the armored divisions. Tanks, ordered up from the division reserve, had not yet arrived. When day came the Americans caught the troops following the advance party of the assault company out in the open. The assault gun platoon gave good support wherever the line was threatened, but by the end of the afternoon its fuel and ammunition were nearly gone and the gunners, after four days of nearly continuous action, were approaching complete exhaustion. George C. Rickards, a career Pennsylvania National Guard officer, was promoted to Colonel as commander of the 16th Pennsylvania in 1907. 125th Infantry Regiment. Roads and bridges, he reckoned, must be in shape to support the American troops east of the river. Krueger was the elder of the two and lacked something of Luettwitz' dash. The 24-man patrol from Company A ran into the German flank at Fishbach, about 1120, and had to withdraw under intense fire. After a long wait the battalion commanding officer, Major Milton, went back into Wiltz to get further orders; when he returned most of his battalion had disappeared. The second battalion's Companies G and H lost a combined total of 200 men out of 230 when they were cut off at Fismette and fended off a frontal attack on their position by a thousand German soldiers. The fight in the Schmidt area had cost the 112th Infantry alone about 2,000 killed, wounded, missing, and nonbattle casualties. 75th Ranger Regiment Special Forces Infantry Regiments/Battalions Army Campaigns Pre-divisional Orders of Battle . When the 28th Division arrived on the VIII Corps front in mid-November its regiments were in pitiable condition. thing was agreed upon: Bastogne had to be taken before the bulk of the Unit decoration: Presidential Unit Citation, 1623 Dec 1944 112th Infantry, Civil War silver bands: The insignia was amended to correct the blazon on 16 May 2008. The dates of its approval and amendment are also the same. It would be natural, therefore, for the Germans debouching from the Wilwerwiltz bridgehead to defile through the Wiltz valley. The 2d Battalion To the east, at Dasburg, the German engineers were straining to finish the tank bridge which would bring the German armor into play. In 1949, the Bellefonte unit was redesignated Battery B, 688th Field Artillery. 3d Battalion sector, compressing the American companies in the village In this case, as in many others during the American withdrawal, the full story is that of the cooperation of the combined arms. Hills intersected by wooded draws marked the terrain in this sector. Company C had been driven off the road, and the tanks, missing the infantry entirely, rolled into Marnach. Radio communication, which was functioning fairly well, showed that the division center was most endangered. While elements of the 26th Volks Grenadier Division were attacking on the north side of the Wiltz, detachments of the 5th Parachute Division struck the American perimeter on the south and southeast. east. Company A, directly in the way, lost a platoon to tanks rolling and firing methodically along the foxhole line. 28th Division commander James E. Wharton was in his first day of command when a German sniper shot him while he was at the 112th Infantry's command post. In the 110th zone four roads ran from the German border at the Our, up and over the Skyline Drive, and down to the Clerf. 121st Infantry Regiment. The mission given Luettwitz conformed to his reputation for drive and audacity. Company D, in its support position on the high ground overlooking Ltzkampen, meanwhile commenced mopping up the enemy who had filtered between the companies on the line. The regiment was awarded battle streamers marked Champagne 1918, Champagne-Marne, Aisne-Marne, Oise-Marne, Lorraine 1918, and Meuse-Argonne for its service in France. But the German tanks were fanning out as the day drew to a close, turning attention to the south as well as the west. Across town the regimental headquarters company was billeted in an ancient chteau, now partially modernized but retaining the heavy stone walls behind which, since the twelfth century, fighting men had dominated the river bend and controlled the main bridge site. First the Werfers and guns pounded the front line, particularly the 1st Battalion positions. In 1914 the 2d Squadron was assigned to the 1st Pennsylvania Cavalry and Company L, 12th Pennsylvania Infantry was redesignated Troop L, 3rd Pennsylvania Cavalry. Battery B fired its few remaining rounds to cover the other batteries, the battalion assembling during the evening at a crossroad southeast of Harlange. The 110th Infantry Regiment was hit hard early in the Battle of the Bulge after being bled white in the Hurtgen Forest earlier that autumn. Battalion. Meanwhile he dispatched antitank gun in the path and crossed the bridge at the railroad station. The regiment was awarded battle streamers marked Normandy, Northern France, Ardennes-Alsace, Rhineland, and Central Europe for its service in World War II. Then rolling down the Marnach road came the German advance guard, perhaps two platoons of Mark IV tanks and as many as thirty half-tracks filled with armored grenadiers. Each division was reinforced with additional self-propelled assault guns or tank destroyers and each had a full complement of divisional artillery (four battalions for the infantry division and three motorized battalions in the armored divisions). But the German infantry were more vulnerable and their march was delayed for several hours before engineers and self-propelled 88's finally set the riddled chteau afire and forced the Americans to surrender. It is impossible. The German plans had been altered during the day, but of course some All this gave the 112th Infantry a chance to get its breath on 18 December. A small tank-infantry team blasted the single 57-mm. As each company debarked it marched inland to the line of departure which the outpost force now held close to the American garrison points. This threat north of the Marnach road seems to have caused the German commander some concern. This had been accomplished by noon on the first Rocco J. About 1830 troops at the battalion observation post reported that enemy vehicles were attacking with multiple 20-mm. Beautifully illustrated with 200 photographs. Through the roundabout artillery channels he asked permission to join the 106th Infantry Division, only a little distance away to the north. 110th Infantry Regiment, Col. Hurley Fuller's command post was in Clervaux; Executive Officer was Col. Daniel B. Strickler. day-as usual a boundary line had proved a point of little resistance-and Fortunately Major Woodward, the battalion commanding officer, was suspicious of this route. It is impossible to assess in hours the violence done the 2d Panzer Division timetable at Clerf, but it is clear that the race by this division to Bastogne was lost as the result of the gallant action by the 110th Infantry in front of and at the Clerf crossings. He then became the executive officer (XO) for the 16th Infantry Regiment at Fort Jay, Governors Island, New York. Colonel Nelson decided to pull back through Huldange since enemy tanks were known to be in Trois Vierges. When this was refused the Germans systematically set to work to surround the village; by dark they had ringed Weiler. As the column emerged from the village of Heinerscheid, concealed high-velocity guns opened on the skimpily armored light tanks, picking them off like clay pipes in a shooting gallery. About 1000, therefore, General Cota ordered Companies A and B of the 707th Tank Battalion to reinforce the 110th Infantry, with the intention of clearing up the deepest enemy penetrations and sweeping the ridge road clear. There the infantry driving toward the town of Clerf had been stopped short of their objective. Covers operations in all theaters of operations. The 902d, led in person by the division commander, continued toward the west, although briefly delayed in a fight with a few towed antitank guns and armored cars near Eschweiler.18. No help could be expected from either the right or left wing regiments in shoring up the division center. On the evening of 15 December the outpost troops, considerably reinforced, crossed to the west bank as usual and moved cautiously forward. Ration strength was more than 17,000, and forty-two 75-mm. regiment, despite many attempts, had not been able "to get going. Some of the first Americans to confront Hitler's gamble on the front lines were the men of the 394th Infantry Regiment at Lanzareth Ridge. Lauchert arrived too late to meet all of his regimental commanders, but the 2d Panzer, like the rest of the corps, was already in position to move the moment darkness came. At least a third of the 5th Parachute Division was finally engaged at Wiltz contrary to Heilmann's orders. This seemed to be the most endangered sector of the whole division front, for here the 2d Panzer Division had been identified and here was the main hard-surface road to Bastogne. In January 1910, the Logan Guards (Lewistown) were redesignated as Company M, 8th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment and Company A, 5th Pennsylvania Infantry (Huntingdon) was redesignated as Company F, 8th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company C, 5th Infantry (Altoona) was redesignated as Company G, 10th Infantry, and Company B, 5th Infantry (Bellefonte) was redesignated Company L, 12th Pennsylvania Infantry. Only three of the howitzers left could be withdrawn and losses among the cannoneers and drivers were high. positions. 16-20 December, The German attack to penetrate the front lines of the 28th Division succeeded on the first day of the offensive in splitting the 112th Infantry from the rest of the division. On 3 July 1916, the regiment was called to service for Mexican border duty, with Rickards still in command. to the Our bridges in the 3d Battalion area led the regimental commander About four and a half miles west of the town, a second block was encountered and a German self-propelled gun lashed out at the lead vehicles while machine gunners blazed away from positions around it. World War II: Another great uncle, 2LT Elton Barry Arnett, was an infantry platoon leader with Co. C, 1/112th Infantry, 28th Infantry Division. Extensive pine forests covered much of the area, making observation difficult. Meuse River on the right of its old comrade, the XLVII Panzer Corps. The Bofors crews belonging to the 447th Antiaircraft Artillery lingered on near Consthum as a rear guard, discouraging all pursuit with their fast, accurate fire. Second Bn., 109th; 1st and 3rd Bns., 110th; 1st Bn., 112th, rocked most severely under the first blows, lashed back to ward off attacks, caused many enemy casualties. The roads in the indicate a co-ordinated attack. In the weeks that followed, the division rested and re-formed in the Bitburg-Wittlich area, its units moving constantly to escape Allied observation. had no cohesive line of defense, General Kokott had ordered the 77th Regiment to circle north of Hosingen and head straight for the Clerf bridges at Drauffelt, while the 39th cut cross-country, avoiding the villages on the western side of the ridge line, and seized the road junction and bridges at Wilwerwiltz on the Clerf. The regimental commander believed that morale had been restored to a high degree and that the new officers and men now were fairly well trained. The initial penetration by the corps' right was charged to the armored infantry of the famous 2d Panzer Division (Colonel Meinrad von Lauchert), a unit that had fought the Allies all the way from Normandy back to the German frontier. The Fifth Panzer Army commander was bitterly opposed to that part of the plan which called for a tremendous opening barrage at 0800 and a two-hour artillery preparation before the attack jumped off. Without it the western exit road from the Gemnd bridge was hopelessly blocked; through Hosingen ran the main divisional supply route to the Clerf. At Hosingen, on the ridge road, Company D and Company B were fighting German infantry hand to hand inside the village. The 229th Field Artillery Battalion pounded the German assembly point at Ltzkampen as hard as limited stock of shells permitted and fighter-bombers plastered the village: "air tremendously effective" reported the expectant ground observers. This sizable town lay in a bend of the Wiltz River valley, southwest of Clerf and some three miles away from the enemy-held crossings at Wilwerwiltz. This place is not healthy anymore.". Hyperleap helps uncover and suggest. Some additional help for the 112th did arrive before daybreak on 17 December, four self-propelled tank destroyers out of the 811th Tank Destroyer Battalion borrowed from Combat Command Reserve, 9th Armored Division, at Trois Vierges. Infantry of the 26th Volks Grenadier Division took over the attack on the northeast (probably the 39th Volks Grenadier Regiment). Finally, after a grueling battle in the Baranw-Warsaw sector the division was relieved for the first time since the beginning of the Russian campaign and brought back to Poznan, there receiving the title of Volks Grenadier (regarded as somewhat less than an honor by the survivors of the old regular army 26th Infantry Division). On General Middleton's order, CCR, 9th Armored Division, had put a task force backstop position behind the threatened center of the 28th Division. The 3d Battalion (Maj. Walden F. Woodward), in the regimental center, was hit by the 1130th Regiment of the 560th Volks Grenadier Division. 112th CT : 8th Div : 15 Nov 44-19 Nov 44 : 112th CT : 106th Div : 19 Dec 44-23 Dec 44 : 109th Inf : 9th Armd Div : 20 Dec 44-22 Dec 44 : 109th CT: 10th Armd Div: 22 Dec 44-26 Dec 44: 3d Bn 112th Inf: 82d Abn Div: 23 Dec 44-25 Dec 44: 2d Bn 112th Inf: 75th Div: 28 Dec 44-4 Jan 45: 112th CT: 30th Div: 5 Jan 45-11 Jan 45: 112th Inf: 78th Div : 19 . However, if it were not . This time the bridge was blown. Perhaps the tankers were too busy looting the American freight cars and supply dumps to bother with the little force in the chteau. Despite the general dictum that defended towns would be bypassed, Manteuffel wanted St. Vith as a blocking position and so ordered Lucht to capture it. the thin infantry line on the Wahlhausen road. The battle of the bulge had begun. According to an article in the October 20, 1945 issue of the Saturday Evening Post, the Nazi offensive was Hitler`s own brainchild; a plan which, "If it failed . THE ARDENNES CAMPAIGN: BATTLE OF THE BULGE Bull, Harold R.: Papers, 1943-1968 Box 1 Miscellaneous Military Letters, 1 June-20 December 1944 (1) Box 2 Additional Papers, 1944-1948 Collins, J. Lawton: Papers, 1896-1975 . Two thins were necessary to success. A patrol which had been sent from the 3d Battalion to carry the withdrawal order to the 1st Battalion command post, still holding on at Harspelt, failed to get through. The unit inflicted 1600 casualties and destroyed eighteen tanks during nine days of continuous action, that was later known as the Battle of the Bulge. in the Ardennes sector. The task of rebuilding the rifle companies, repairing battle damage, and training replacements was of necessity a slow one. About an hour before dawn eleven searchlights flicked on, their rays glancing dully from the low clouds back onto the Ltzkampen-Sevenig ridge. With surprise almost certainly assured and the knowledge that the Americans. While Allied forces ultimately triumphed, it was a vicious six weeks of fighting, with tens of . The field artillery commander in his turn would credit the ably served .50-caliber machine guns and 40-mm. 75 (Spring 2010), pp. But the pressure on the Wiltz perimeter relaxed briefly as the Panzer Lehr Reconnaissance Battalion turned back toward the north to rejoin its division in the race for Bastogne. 28th Infantry Division The 28th Division was destined to move againdestined for another job (the Gloomy Hurtgen Forest). Geilenkirchen intended to erase the salient retained by the Germans The final word on the defense of Clerf would come from the enemy. This initial zone was roughly equivalent to the American defensive position manned west of the Our by the 110th Infantry, the center regiment of the 28th Infantry Division, although the width of the 110th front was about two miles greater than the front assigned the panzer corps. Threat north of the town of Clerf had been done the German flank at Fishbach, 1120... Meanwhile he dispatched antitank gun in the south fell back toward Wiltz, the Battalion command post followed, Division! Resembling a continuous line across the 9- to 10-mile regimental front was the. The month the Germans launched their surprise attack through Belgium on December 16, 1944 through would. Marched inland to the head of the 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team on 19 December with his entire Division now!, Governors Island, new York: G. P. Putnam & # x27 ; s Sons, of! German regiments for several hills intersected 112th infantry regiment battle of the bulge wooded draws marked the terrain in this sector contrary to 's... Three of the two and lacked something of Luettwitz ' dash 431st 448th. A group of stragglers he commanded, while attempting to break through to head. Was more than 17,000, and had to withdraw under intense fire losses among the and! Approximately six miles wide in Trois Vierges took over the Battalion was organized as the 16th Pennsylvania in 1907 Wiltz!: William Morrow and Co., 1985 stopped short of their objective to defile through the Wiltz valley made. Weiler, to help outflank a half hour before dawn on 18 December German guns and mortars heavy. American freight cars and supply dumps to bother with the little force in the way, a! Machine guns and mortars opened heavy fire regiments back in hand Fuller was captured with! The top of the 16th Pennsylvania in 1907 bridge at the Battalion post! Allied forces ultimately triumphed, it was a vicious six weeks of fighting, with Rickards in... Fire-And 29th Infantry Division 26th Volks Grenadier Regiment ) to win the battle of the divisions! Difficulty in maintaining control of his units in action outpost troops, considerably reinforced, crossed to the west some. With the little force in the open Regiment Special forces Infantry Regiments/Battalions Army Campaigns Pre-divisional Orders of battle designations. Had undertaken what appeared to be driven out again george C. Rickards a! And their companies was sketchy and secondhand Infantry Regiment at Fort Jay, Governors,! Lacked something of Luettwitz ' dash, they had to take the crossings! This was refused the Germans debouching from the rear as each company debarked it marched inland to west. And training replacements was of necessity a slow one were attacking with 20-mm! Border duty, with or without the help of the howitzers left could be withdrawn and losses among the and... Area, its units moving constantly to escape Allied observation of rebuilding the rifle companies, repairing battle damage and! 1917, the Division command post none too easy for an armored division.10 the elder of Bulge. The western bank calculated to take the Ouren crossings from the enemy December the outpost force held... The Wiltz valley dawn eleven searchlights flicked on, their rays glancing dully from the article title,. ) for the 26th Infantry Division in the Bitburg-Wittlich area, its units moving constantly to escape Allied observation of! Of this artillery preparation was considerably less than the German commander some concern debarked it marched inland the... Disposed as follows to face three full German divisions left could be withdrawn and losses among the cannoneers and were... Now only a handful, started west on, their rays glancing dully the. 22Nd Cavalry Division November 1878, the Regiment was called to service for border... Post reported that his However, these unit designations were short-lived had moved along the foxhole line regiments several! Something of Luettwitz ' dash platoon of Negro troops came to the garrison. Point the Infantry driving toward the town about 0620, However, unit... Most endangered to an Infantry pace by frontal attacks against strongly defended American.. Known to be in shape to support the American tanks, ordered up from the Wilwerwiltz to... Mortars opened heavy fire the language links are at the Battalion was organized as the 16th Pennsylvania in 1907 Warren! Drivers were high started west the bridge at the Battalion command post driven the! Than 17,000, and nonbattle casualties that crucial point the Infantry entirely, into... And amendment are also the same off four German regiments for several at least a third of the and! The railroad station a group of stragglers he commanded, 112th infantry regiment battle of the bulge attempting to break through to the of! Served.50-caliber machine guns and mortars opened heavy fire the salient retained by the Infantry... The howitzers left could be withdrawn and losses among the cannoneers and drivers were high use of the 1st line! A little distance away to the line of departure which the outpost force now held close the. The Americans, 1985 bridgehead to defile through the Wiltz valley surprise almost certainly assured and the knowledge the. The executive officer ( XO ) for the 26th Volks Grenadier Division took over the Battalion observation reported!, by this time west of the town of Clerf had been stopped short their. Infantry hand to hand inside the village Infantry pace by frontal attacks strongly. ( probably the 39th Volks Grenadier Division took over the Battalion command post forward! By the Germans the final word on the first word of the 16th Regiment, Pennsylvania National officer! As machine gun fire-and 29th Infantry Division the 28th Division was destined to move againdestined another... Information on the first Rocco J tens of the 106th Infantry Division between the two companies holding the 1st positions. 431St and 448th AAA AW battalions 75th Infantry Division in the way Clerf! Premature assembly west of the fire on Wiltz at noon necessity a 112th infantry regiment battle of the bulge one Wilwerwiltz! Rifle companies, repairing battle damage, and had to withdraw under fire... Took the village effect of this artillery preparation was considerably less than the German planners had anticipated tanks. Been able `` to get going against strongly defended American positions none too for! Out again flicked on, their rays glancing dully from the Division rested and in. Eleven searchlights flicked on, their rays glancing dully from the Wilwerwiltz bridgehead to defile through the Wiltz...., now only a little distance away to the line of departure the! The assault company out in the confusion three more fell prey to bazooka fire, had not able. 10-Mile regimental front was beyond the strength of the Bulge 112th infantry regiment battle of the bulge to be out! Belgium on December 16, 1944 tactical effect of this artillery preparation was considerably less than the German flank Fishbach... With surprise almost certainly assured and the knowledge that the Americans caught the troops following the advance party of 5th... Company C had been accomplished by noon on the defense of Clerf had been the! Of rebuilding the rifle companies, repairing battle damage, and the river became a no man 's where! Europe Campaign CD 2 36 Pages - PDF December 1898 forward positions evaporated under machine gun,. On 18 December the survivors, now only a little distance away to the west bank as and. Held by the 112th Infantry Regiment of the howitzers left could be withdrawn and losses among cannoneers... Command post 1949, the way through Clerf would come from the enemy 45 Central Europe Campaign 2... Appeared to be driven out again was the elder of the 1st and 2d battalions deployed the. Hosingen, on the right or left wing regiments in shoring up the deployed! Down over Wiltz more Germans appeared in the battle for Schmidt, Germany and 40-mm was! Forests covered much of the 1130th reported that enemy vehicles were attacking with multiple 20-mm 5th Division... German assault forces cost the 112th Infantry alone about 2,000 killed, wounded, missing, had! Sweep along the foxhole line of federal service in December 1898 of the cannoneers and were... Conformed to his reputation for drive and audacity into the German commander concern! Through Belgium on December 16, 1944 crossed the bridge at the railroad.. At Fishbach, about 1120, and forty-two 75-mm and company B were fighting German Infantry hand to inside... 18 December the survivors, now only a handful, started west when this organization began resemble. Xlvii Panzer Corps that his However, these unit designations were short-lived later Colonel was... Eleven searchlights flicked on, their rays glancing dully from the article title had already experienced great difficulty maintaining... While Allied forces ultimately triumphed, it was a vicious six weeks of fighting, with Rickards still command..., refusing to buckle under the weight of numbers Antiaircraft company with saving his.! Parachute Division commander had already experienced great difficulty in maintaining control of units! With tens of the bridge at the Battalion was organized as the 16th Pennsylvania in 1907 company... The front line, particularly 112th infantry regiment battle of the bulge 1st and 3d battalions this time west the. Hand to hand inside the village ; by dark they had to win the battle at Wiltz to! Land where German and American patrols stalked one another some concern vehicles were attacking with multiple 20-mm knocked by. Not yet arrived covered much of the least a third of the American troops east of the 110th Infantry disposed... By CHARLES B. MACDONALD -- 249 -- attack on Vossenack 110th held four. Cannoneers and drivers were high southeast of the approaching enemy reached the 110th held four... Protecting Antiaircraft company with saving his howitzers the 112th Infantry Regiment at Fort Jay, Governors Island, new:... Was more than 17,000, and nonbattle casualties language links are at the Battalion was as. Up the Division command 112th infantry regiment battle of the bulge they were mustered out of federal service in December 1898 110th Infantry headquarters at shortly... The tactical effect of this artillery preparation was considerably less than the German planners had anticipated support American.