The division was destroyed near Vitebsk during the Soviet Vitebsk-Orsha Offensive of Operation Bagration in the summer of 1944. Butler's regiment crossed the Erft Canal near the Rhine and enlarged the bridgehead, taking that town with a night attack without losing a single man. After the Gulf War, the 99th ARCOM became the 99th Regional Support Command (RSC). Any delay would jeopardize the plan to cross the Meuse River and advance on Antwerp before the skies cleared and the Allies regained their balance. [16], After Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990, 22 99th units deployed to Saudi Arabia, Europe, and other locations. [4], The 395th, entrenched along the "International Road" and Elsenborn Ridge, forced the Germans to commit and sacrifice many of their infantrymen and expose their armored formations to withering artillery fire. [15], The 395th hit the attacking Germans with such terrific small arms and machine gun fire that the Germand couldn't even remove their dead and wounded in their rapid retreat. American artillery fired at pre-registered locations along the German route of advance, and along with support from in the knick of time arriving American armor halted and turned the German advance into a retreat. 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. Under the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, Congress Sign up for our newsletter and receive the mighty updates! The thick forest was tangled with rocky gorges, little streams, and sharp hills. During the first day of the Battle of the Bulge, the 3rd Battalion took 19 prisoners and killed an estimated 200 Germans. A written commendation was received from Maj. Gen. Leonard T. Gerow, V Corps Commander: I wish to express to you and the members of your command my appreciation and commendation for the fine job you did in preventing the enemy from carrying out his plans to break through the V Corps sector and push on to the Meuse River. [7]:3, Col. Butler went ahead to look over the area they were assigned to defend. 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. provides support December 1944. 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. To make circumstances worse, just beyond the bloodied-but-not-beaten Volksgrenadiers waited the tanks of the 6th Panzer Army. Many historians have written about the famous Buffalo Soldiers of the all-Black 92nd Infantry Division, who fought with distinction during World War II. . 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. 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. General Eisenhower and his staff chose the Ardennes region, held by the First Army, as an area that could be held by as few troops as possible. The 395th's casualties were extremely light: four dead, seven wounded, and four men missing. Score: 4.8/5 (10 votes) . There was no cover. 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. [2], Because of the success of the 395th and the 99th, the Americans maintained effective freedom to maneuver across the north flank of the German's line of advance and continually limited the success of the German offensive. Mission of the 395th Infantry Regiment The enemy artillery was so intense that communications were generally out. The regiment assumed occupation duties in Hammelburg and Bad Brckenau until it was shipped home in the summer of 1945. On 2 March 1945, the division took the offensive, moving toward Cologne and crossing the Erft Canal near Glesch. 99th Infantry Division used the relatively quiet period to prepare an extensive defensive system, including redundant lines of communication, precise positioning of weapons to provide interlocking grazing fire, and aggressive patrols that kept the Germans off guard. 3/395 greeted the Volksgrenadiers with a punishing hail of bullets, mortars, and artillery. [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. 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. ABMC Headquarters 2300 Clarendon Blvd, Suite 500 Arlington, VA 22201 Phone: 703-584-1501 The 99th Infantry Division was formed in 1942 and deployed overseas in 1944. The division was chiefly manned with graduates of the ROTC programs of the Carnegie Institute of Technology, Duquesne University. Many members of the 99th Infantry Division had participated in the Army Specialized Training Program or ASTP, derisively nicknamed "all safe 'till peace;" in February 1944, the program was drawn down, and the majority of its members were assigned to later-deploying divisions such as the 99th. Sgt. ABMC Headquarters 2300 Clarendon Blvd, Suite 500 Arlington, VA 22201 Phone: 703-584-1501 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. The 395th Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment of the United States Army, part of the 99th Infantry Division during World War II. Pennsylvania State College, and the Pennsylvania Military College. The three heavy German assaults had worn down the ammunition supply, particularly that of the machine gunners, and had left the defenders mostly helpless. 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. The combination of no ammunition and heavy German armor caused the American lines to fold, like a dam bursting. The 10 geographically-based RRCs, including the 99th, were inactivated and replaced with four regional base operations commands. Ehrenfried-Oskar Bge. 945 Magazine Street, New Orleans, LA 70130 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. This article contains content in the public domain from U.S. military sources. The coat of arms was originally approved for the 395th Regiment Infantry, Organized Reserves on 15 June 1931. The inexperienced troops of the division were lodged on the northern shoulder of the Ardennes Offensive on 16 December. [11] They continued to Linz am Rhein and to the Wied River. 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. The 395th Infantry was in the woods east of the northernmost section of the 2d Division withdrawal route and would provide cover for the first stage of the tricky move parallel to and close. 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 distinctive unit insignia was originally approved for the 395th Regiment Infantry, Organized Reserves on 16 June 1931. [16], Following the 11 September 2001, terrorist attacks, the 99th mobilized large numbers of Army Reserve Soldiers. "[9]:1738 On at least six occasions they called in artillery strikes on or directly in front of their own positions. Battle of the Bulge 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. 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. During the first morning of the Battle of the Bulge, they defended a key road junction in the vicinity of the Losheim Gap. 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. Location of the 99th ID sector (red box) on a map of the Bulge. Akins, Thomas W. MAJ, "Operations of Company "E", 442nd Infantry Regiment, Attached to 92nd Division, at San Terenzo, Italy, 20-23 April 1945" (Po Valley Campaign) Albright, Barry E. CPT, "Operations of the 2nd Battalion, 508th Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, in the Invasion of Normandy, 5-13 June 1944" (Normandy Campaign. 99th Infantry Division Historical Society 99th Infantry Division Battle Babies The 99th Infantry Division, nicknamed "Battle Babies" and compromised of the 393rd, 394th, 395th Infantry Regiments and supporting units, spent approximately 151 days in combat during World War Two. Shield The 395th Infantry, Organized Reserves, was organized in 1921. They then crossed the Wied River, where they joined up with the 7th Infantry Division. [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. The buck's head was used to indicate the allocation of the organization to the mountainous section of Pennsylvania, where deer abound. [16], On 16 July 2003, the command was redesignated as the 99th Regional Readiness Command, placing additional emphasis on training, readiness, and mobilization. It was organized with the rest of the 99th on 16 November 1942 at Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi. The Germans were counting on something else, toothey knew that this sector was thinly manned by untested troops. 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. The 99th Division was constituted at Camp Wheeler, Georgia, on 23 July 1918. [20], After a short period off the line, the battalion conducted offensive operations in Germany, including the seizure of several German towns from 1 to 5 March. 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. The 99th Infantry Division Artefacts Collection. Accurate estimates of German wounded were not possible, but about 20 percent of the 326th Volksgrenadier Division were lost. The artillery barrage lasted for an hour, and shortly afterwards German infantry from the 277th Volksgrenadier Division burst through the forest and headed at the positions of the 99th Infantry Divisions 395th Infantry Regiment near the village of Rocherath. It then intersected a main eastwest road at Bullingen. 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. 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. By December 1944, Allied armies had reached the western border of Germany itself. Shield Argent, a buck's head attired of ten tynes couped Proper. The 99th Infantry Division was recognized as a liberating unit by the US Army's Center of Military History and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1992. The black background The battalion also had its own Intelligence and Reconnaissance Platoon, as well as medics and support personnel. When three hours later a third SS assault hit the defenders, it too was stopped. Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action at Elsenborn Crest. 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. represents the iron district of Pennsylvania. Butler's uncle, General Edward J. McClernand, fought in the Indian Wars and was awarded the Medal of Honor. 99th Infantry Division vehicles en route to the battle zone. The campaign in North Africa began with a daring Anglo-American commando raid code-named Operation RESERVIST. The 99th RRC continued to provide command and control for assigned units and support for the ongoing deployments. . They continued to fight even as the American press trumpeted the rapid crumbling of German resistance. [16] The accurate fire from the 12 3-inch guns of A Company, 612th Tank Destroyer Battalion, was instrumental in keeping German tanks from advancing. Not only did your command assist in effectively frustrating that particular part of the plan, but it also inflicted such heavy losses on the enemy that he was unable to carry out other contemplated missions in other sectors of the Allied front. The stiff American defense prevented the Germans from reaching the vast array of supplies near the Belgian cities of Lige and Spa and the road network west of the Elsenborn Ridge leading to the Meuse River. Peipers right flank had to be secured and the Americans in that region had to be destroyed. Originally planned as a Pennsylvania unit, the horizontal band of white and blue. So I stayed in the village overnight. From 21 December 1944 to 30 January 1945, the unit was engaged in aggressive patrolling and reequipping. Allies and former enemy Germany mark 75th anniversary of Battle of Battle of the Bulge: WWII vets travel to Belgium for 75th anniversary. 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. From Camp Maxey they took a train to Camp Myles Standish outside Boston. On 17 September 2008, the 99th Regional Support Command was activated at Fort Dix, N.J. A second road ran parallel to the division center and right wing, leaving the Hfen road at the small hamlet of Wahlerscheid, and continued south through two very small villages, the twin towns of Rocherath and Krinkelt. 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. The German 20th Infantry Division was an infantry division of Nazi Germany.HistoryThe was established in 1934 under the cover name. They engaged in division-level maneuvers in July 1944. These would later prove instrumental in defending themselves from the attacking Germans and in protecting themselves when their own artillery fired on or just in front of their own positions, which happened at least six times over the next few weeks. The division was reconstituted in the Organized Reserve on 24 June 1921 and assigned to the western half of the state of Pennsylvania. 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. On 5 March 1941, as the United States began to mobilize for the possibility of war, McClernand Butler became a second lieutenant in the Regular Army. Just south of Hfen, the lines of the 99th entered this forest, ran through a long belt of timber to the boundary between the V and VIII Corps at the Losheim Gap. An overwhelming majority of them were women and children. The Combined Bomber Offensive (CBO) in the European Theater was one of Americas bloodiest campaigns. The division insignia is a three lined checkerboard design of blue and white squares centered on a black shield. The regiment arrived at Camp Van Dorn in early December. The 99th was selected as one of these new regional support commands. Still, some German assaults penetrated American lines near the town of Hofen where they were eventually captured after retreating into houses in the town. The 395th Infantry Regimentwas an infantryregimentof the United States Army, part of the 99th Infantry Divisionduring World War II. The buck's head was used to indicate the allocation of the organization to the mountainous section of Pennsylvania, where deer abound. TO: Division Surgeon, 99th Infantry Division I. 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. The division lost about 20% of its effective strength, including 465 killed and 2,524 evacuated due to wounds, injuries, fatigue, or trench foot. Images of picturesque Ardennes landscapes before Christmas, conifers with branches drooping from heavy snowfall and beleaguered American forces doggedly defending against a last gasp attack by a defeated enemy all dot the mind when thinking of the Bulge. 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. In the pre-dawn hours of December 16th, Hitlers final major offensive began. It was redesignated with description updated, for the 395th Regiment on 7 June 1999. of William Pitt for whom the city of Pittsburgh was named. No reserves were available . The 99th RSC continued to support operations in the Balkan Republics while providing refuge to those fleeing Kosovo as they sought temporary recovery in the United States. 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. The concentration camp was one of the "forest camps" (Waldlager) tied to the Mhldorf camp complex. This northern shoulder of the American line where the 99th ID was entrenched would be the hinge on which the German assault would pivot northwest toward Antwerp. The Allied victory against the Axis was a long journeyone that actually took much longer than the war itself.
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