June to September 1950. Communist efforts to divide the South Koreans against themselves having failed, the North Koreans decided to attempt their subjugation by military force. At 0400, Sund
June to September 1950. Communist efforts to divide the South Koreans against themselves having failed, the North Koreans decided to attempt their subjugation by military force. At 0400, Sunday, 25 June 1950 (Korean Time), North Korean forces crossed the 38th parallel into the Republic and launched their main effort toward the South Korean capital city of Seoul, down the P'och'on-Uijongbu and Yonch'on-Uijongbu corridors. Strong attacks were also directed through Kaesong toward Munsan on the right, and toward Ch'unch'on on the left. On the west coast the Ongjin Peninsula was quickly captured. On the east coast a land column and a small seaborne detachment met near Kangnung.
By 28 June Seoul had fallen, the North Koreans had closed up along the Han River to a point about 20 miles east of Seoul, and had advanced as far as Samchok on the meat coast. By 4 July enemy forces were along the line Suwon-Wonju-Samchok. In withdrawing, the Republic of Korea ("ROK") forces had suffered such serious losses that their attempts to regroup and retain order were almost futile.
On 25 June 1950 the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution calling "for immediate cessation of hostilities" and "upon the authorities of North Korea to withdraw forthwith their armed forces to the thirty-eighth parallel." When the North Koreans failed to accede to these demands, the Security Council passed a second resolution recommending "that the Members of the United Nations furnish such assistance to the Republic of Korea as may be necessary to repel the armed attack and restore the international peace and security in the area."
President Truman announced on 27 June 1950 the t he had ordered American air and naval forces to give cover and support to the South Korean troops (UN Defensive-27 June to 15 September 1950). On the 28th he authorized the Commander in Chief Far East to use certain supporting ground units in Korea, and authorized the U.S. Air Force to conduct missions on specific targets in North Korea. On the 30th the President further authorized the C. in C. Far East to use all forces available to him to repel the invasion, and ordered a naval blockade of the entire coast of Korea.
A Security Council resolution of 7 July 1950 recommended the establishment of a unified command in Korea and requested the United States to designate a commander of these forces. On 8 July President Truman announced the appointment of General of the Army Douglas MacArthur as Commander in Chief, United Nations Command (CINCUNC). On 14 July President Rhee placed all ROK security forces under the United Nations commander, an act which consolidated the anti-Communist forces under the United Nations Commend for the purpose of repelling the Communist aggression.
The U.S. forces at MacArthur's disposal included the four divisions in Japan-the 1st Cavalry Division and the 7th, 24th, and 25th Infantry Divisions-and the 29th Regimental Combat Team in Okinawa. The divisions were lacking a third of their infantry and artillery units and almost all their armor units. Existing units were far under strength. Weapons and equipment were war-worn relics of World War II, and ammunition reserves amounted to only a 45-day supply. None of the divisions had reached full combat efficiency, since intensive training had been largely neglected because of occupation duties.
Initial U.S. strategy, dictated by the speed of the North Korean drive and the state of American unpreparedness, was one of trading space for time. On 2 July 1950 Task Force Smith, composed of two rifle companies and a few supporting units of the 24th Division, was flown from Japan to Pusan and moved by train and truck to defensive positions near Osan, 30 miles south of Seoul. Its mission was to fight a delaying action to gain time for the movement of more troops from Japan. On 5 July this small force was attacked by a North Korean division supported by 30 tanks and compelled to withdraw, after a stubborn defense, with heavy losses of men and equipment.
By this time the remaining elements of the 24th Division had reached Korea and were in defensive positions along the Kum River, north of Taejon and 60 miles south of Osan. ROK elements held positions to the east, some 50 miles above Taegu. By 15 July the 25th Division had arrived in Korea and was positioned east of the 24th Division. The 1st Cavalry Division arrived and closed in the P'chang-dong area on 18-19 July. Lt. Gen. Walton H. Walker, Commander of the U.S. Eighth Army, had been placed in command of all U.S. ground troops in Korea on 13 July, and, at the request of President Rhee, of the South Korean Army as well. As the ground troops of other U.N. members reached Korea, they also were placed under Walker's command.
North Korean forces crossed the Kum River and captured Taejon, an important communications center, on 20 July. U.S. and ROK troops continued to withdraw steadily to the southeast under constant North Korean pressure. During the withdrawal our Army's 3.5-inch rocket launcher was used (for the first time on a battlefield) with highly successful results against North Korean tanks. It was in this period that the 24th Division commander, Maj. Gen. William F. Dean, was reported missing when North Korean tanks broke through the forward unite of his division. It was learned later that he had been captured about 35 miles south of Taejon on 25 August.
The final days of July 1950 witnessed a series of hard-fought battles all along the 200-mile front of the United Nations perimeter. The northern front, a line running inland from Yongdok through Andong, Yech'on, Hamch'ong, and Hwanggan to Kumch'on, was defended at critical points by ROK troops and the U.S. 25th Division. The 1st Cavalry Division was battling on the west flank to keep the Yongdong-Kumch'on-Taegu rail line open. To block the southwestern approaches to Pusan, which the enemy was threatening, the 29th RCT advanced to Chinju, but was ambushed by a North Korean division and suffered heavy losses. Enemy pressure continued from Yosu and Chinju in the southwest to Kwan-ni on the Taejon-Taegu railroad, thence northeast through Yech'on to Yongdok on the Sea of Japan.
By the beginning of August the U.S. and ROK forces had withdrawn behind the Naktong River, a position which the U.N. Command was determined to hold. The area held in southeastern Korea resembled a rectangle, the southwestern side of which was guarded by the 24th and 25th Divisions to prevent a breakthrough to Masan. The 1st Cavalry Division was deployed on the western front to guard the Taegu railroad approaches. The northern front was defended by ROK divisions from a point south of Hamch'ang to a point just south of Yongdok on the east coast.
Early in August General Walker declared the strategy of trading space for time to be at an end, and ordered a final stand along this 140-mile perimeter around the port of Pusan, which had become a well-stocked Eighth Army supply base and the hub of a rail and road net leading to the battle front. By now the enemy's lengthened supply lines were under constant air attack, enemy naval opposition had been wiped out, and the blockade of the Korean coast had been clamped tight.
During the next month and a half, fourteen North Korean divisions dissipated their strength in piecemeal attacks against the Pusan perimeter. Walker, by rapidly shuttling his forces to meet the greatest threats, inflicted heavy casualties on the North Koreans and prevented serious penetrations. The enemy, determined to annihilate the Eighth Army and take Taegu and Pusan, massed for a two-pronged attack across the Naktong, one prong from the west and the other from the southwest. The principal actions were fought along the river from Waegwan south through Song-dong and Ch'irhyon-ni to the junction of the Naktong and Nam Rivers, and southwest toward Haman and Chinju.
While U.S. troops were fighting along the banks of the Naktong, other battles took place in the southwest. A veteran North Korean division, which had been concentrated for an assault upon Susan and Pusan, was hit by Task Force Kean. Named for the 25th Division Commander, the Task Force was composed of the 5th RCT, the 35th RCT of the 25th Division, the 1st Marine Brigade, and a ROK battalion. It opened a strong counteroffensive on 7 August 1950 to secure the left funk of the perimeter and prevent the enemy from driving on Pusan. Overcoming initial heavy resistance, it defeated the North Koreans and by 11 August commanded the high ground to the east of Chinju.
On the eastern flank of the perimeter the town of Yongdok was lost by ROK units, some of which then had to be evacuated by sea. On 12 August the port of P'chang-dong was attacked by enemy forces led by tanks which mounted screaming sirens. This force poured through a break in the R0K lines and linked up with North Korean advance agents in the port. These agents, disguised as innocent-looking refugees, carried mortars, machineguns, and other weapons in oxcarts, on A-frames and on their persons. While a force of North Koreans took P'chang-dong, the adjoining airstrip, of great importance to the U.N. forces as a base for tactical aircraft. On 13 August the danger was so pressing that all aircraft were evacuated. Within the next five days, however, ROK troops and a small U.S. task force recaptured P'chang-dong and returned it to U.N. control.
During this time a much larger force of North Koreans breached the U.N. positions at some paints in the Naktong River sector, but failed in their attempt to capture the rail junctions at Taegu. To hold a line near the river, Walker rearranged the defensive positions of the 24th and 25th Infantry Divisions, the 1st Cavalry Division, and the 1st Marine Brigade, deploying them in a manner which assigned combat zones of 15-30 miles to each division.
The enemy, continuing his efforts to crack the perimeter, massed several divisions above Waegwan to assault Taegu from the north. Despite a bombing raid in which U.N. air forces dropped 850 tons of bombs on the suspected enemy concentration area, the North Koreans launched a powerful attack which carried through the ROK positions and threatened Taegu. Stalwart defense and swift countermeasures in this area on 19 August saved Taegu from almost certain capture, parried the enemy 's three-pronged thrust at the city, and stopped the momentum of the North Korean offensive.
Shortly before midnight on 31 August enemy forces again attacked the Naktong River Line, this time in tremendous force. Disregarding very heavy casualties from U.N. air force bombing and strafing, they mounted a strong offensive against the entire Pusan beachhead from Haman in the south to P'chang-dong in the northern sector. The port of P'chang-dong was captured on 6 September, but again the Communists failed to capture the airfield. Waegwan and the "walled city" of Kasan were lost as the U.N. defenders fell back for a last ditch stand at Taegu. Between 4 and 11 September the enemy made important gains along the Naktong in some of the heaviest fighting of the war; but U.N. forces blunted the drive on Taegu and began to show slow progress of their own against very strong enemy resistance.
On the southern front the North Korean offensive, which opened with a massive artillery barrage near Haman, struck the 25th Division with tanks and waves of infantry, imperiling its forward positions. However, although the enemy had made impressive gains along the U.N. perimeter and General Walker still had to shuttle his units from one critical area to another, a strong beachhead remained in the hands of the U.N. Command.
By mid-August the offensive capability of the Eighth Army had been augmented by the arrival of the U.S. 2d Division, the 1st Marine Brigade, four battalions of medium tanks from the United States, and the 5th RCT from Hawaii. Before the month was out, five ROK divisions were restored to some semblance of order, and Great Britain committed the 27th Brigade from Hong Kong. With the arrival of these reinforcements an attempt could now be made to end the U.N. withdrawal and to begin a U.N. offensive in southeastern Korea.
The last Active Army Unit that 2nd Lt. David L. Briggs served with was the 2nd Infantry, Camp Campbell, KY., in 1946. Here is a little about the 2nd Infantry?s History. Coat of Arms Motto: Noli Me Tangere (Do Not Touch Me) Symbolism: Service in the Civil War is shown by the blue cross from the Confederate flag and the red cross pattée, the badge of the 18th Division, V Corps, in which the Regiment served during the greater part of that war. Service in the Mexican War is shown by the cactus; in the War with Spain by the five-bastioned fort, the badge of the V Corps in Cuba. The arrows and quiver show the Indian campaigns of the Regiment, and the bolo is for service in the Philippine Insurrection.
The lion in the crest represents the Canadian campaigns in the War of 1812.
Lineage 1808: Constituted 12 April as the 6th Infantry, Regular Army and organized May-July in Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey. 1815: Consolidated May-October with the 16th, 22nd, 23rd, and 32nd Infantry to form the 2nd Infantry. 1861: Constituted 3 May as the 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry, Regular Army and organized 21 August at Camp Slemmer, IL 1866: Reorganized and redesignated 21 September as 16th Infantry. 1869: Consolidated 18 April with 16th Infantry to form 2nd Infantry. 1918: Assigned 27 July to 19th Division. 1919: Relieved 14 February from assignment to 19th Division. 1923: Assigned 24 March to 6th Division. 1939: Relieved 16 October from assignment to 6th Division and reassigned to 5th Division. 1946: Inactivated 20 September at Camp Campbell, KY. (This is where 2nd Lt. David L. Briggs was assigned after Inactivation of the 137th Infantry Regiment). 1947: Reactivated 15 July at Ft. Jackson, SC. 1950: Inactivated 30 April at Ft. Jackson, SC. 1951: Reactivated 1 March at Indiantown Gap Military Reservation, PA. 1953: Inactivated 1 September at Indiantown Gap. 1954: Reactivated 25 May at Munich, Germany. 1957: Relieved 1 June from assignment to 5th Infantry Division and reorganized as a parent Regiment under Combat Arms Regimental System.
CAMPAIGN PARTICIPATION
War of 1812: Canada, Chippewa, Lundy?s Lane, and Alabama 1814. Mexican War: Vera Cruz, Cerro Gordo, Contreras, Churubusco, Molino Del Rey, and Chapultepic. Indian Wars: Miami, Seminoles, Nez Perces, Bannocks, Pine Ridge, California 1850, 1851 and 1852. Civil War: Bull Run, Peninsula, Shiloh, Manassas, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Murfreesborough, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, Wilderness, Atlanta, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Missouri 1861, Mississippi 1862, Virginia 1862, Kentucky 1862, Virginia 1863, Tennessee 1863, and Georgia 1864. War with Spain: Santiago. Philippine Insurrection: Without inscription. World War II: Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, and Central Europe.
Criteria The Bronze Star Medal may be awarded to individuals who, while serving in any capacity with the Armed Forces of the United States in a combat theater, distinguish themselves by heroism, outstanding ac... The Bronze Star Medal may be awarded to individuals who, while serving in any capacity with the Armed Forces of the United States in a combat theater, distinguish themselves by heroism, outstanding achievement, or by meritorious service not involving aerial flight. MoreHide
Best Moment
Letter: Written June 7th, 1945 Lt. David L. Briggs 137th Inf. Regt. APO. 35 Dear Mother and Roy, Things are very quiet tonight and so I thought that there would be no better time to write than now. I was down to see the boot maker and took him some very fine leather and he is going to make me a pair of riding boots that I will be able to wear after the war. They will be swell boots and all hand made. It is getting very hot now and so I have one of my sergeants take the men swimming in the afternoon and they seemed to like it very much. I wish that I could get away to go. Perhaps Sunday I well be able to make it. I was going to go fishing this evening but I am too lazy to go out and dig worms. There are lots of fish in the stream but they will not bite. One of these days the local fish-expert is going to take some of us out to the place where there is good fishing. I had a little trouble with the men last night as some of them got a little tight and went out and raised all sorts of hell and the people were complaining to me but I told them all to go to hell. One of the boys got a little out of hand when some of the men took him to the medics with a cut hand and so I had to go out and get that straightened out this morning before they put in a report to the company. He is my best sergeant and I didn?t want to see him get in trouble over it. Out side of this the man have been behaving well I have had some pictures taken today and they will be ready soon and so I will send you a print of them. I think that they will turn out good. One was taken here behind my desk. Well I will close for now as that is about all the news I have for now. Write soon and saw hello to that sister of mine. Love and kisses David
Other Memories
Company D Weapons Plt
Letter: Written June 10th, 1945 Dear Mother and Roy, There is not much to write tonight, but as there is nothing to do either I thought I would get off a short note to let you know I am thinking about you. I went to see the boot maker and he is coming along fine on the pair of boots I ordered. I think they will sure be good looking but I don?t know where or when I will were them. I held an inspection tonight to see if the men were cleaning there guns but I found that most of them looking pretty bad and so I had to do a little ?chewing? There is not much chance of getting men who have been in combat as long as these men have to clean there weapons. I sure will be glad when they realize that the war is over and they have to start being soldiers again. We have some wonderful beer here and it is as close to our beer at home as I have tasted since being over here. Most of it is week as water but this has a good kick to it. I am putting the men on beer for a while as when I took over this platoon I said they could drink as much and get as tight as they wanted but they were not to go outside. Now some of them have gotten tight and gone to town and raised all kinds of hell. I told them that I would not put up with it any more now and that any one that did it again would be punished. There is a lady in here now but I don?t have an interpreter so I can?t tell what she wants. My sergeant speaks good German and he is a big help to me. She just wanted to go see her mother who is sick and she has to get my permission. ?Such Power? Write soon and say hello to the kids for me. Your only Platoon Leader David
V-Mail Beginning of June 1945, Lt. David L. Briggs Co. D. 137th INF. Regt. APO. 35 Dear Mother and Roy, I am finally assigned back to Division and it sure is good to get here after being in replacement depots for such a long time. I am not in the company that I used to be, but am assigned to company D, which is the heavy weapons company and a pretty safe place to be in combat. I don?t know if I will stay here or not but I am hoping to be able to. They have me in the Mortar platoon which I know very little about but I am willing to learn. At the present time we are occupying and governing a section of land which is very large. My platoon has a section which is about thirty miles wide. Our company and Battalion is spread all over hell which is a good deal as they don?t keep watch of us when we are away. I am not sure if we will be able to stay here, but I sure want to as there is a nice little stream not far down the street and there are some nice little trout in it. As soon as we settle here I am going to try my luck and perhaps see if I can hang on to a couple of good ones. I?ll let you know later how I make out. The town we are staying in is a very pretty little place and fairly clean for a change. This military government sure can be a pain in your back as it is starting to prove very soon after we took over here. There are many little things that come up and get on ones mind but it won?t be so bad after we get settled here. The people are not so bad, and they seem to cooperate with the troops and this makes our work a lot easier. I think I will like this kind of work after things settle down. We have some people here that speak English and so we are using them as interpreters. One of these is a man who used to live in the States and he was kicked out for working for some Nazi people. He is now telling us who the Nazis are around here and so then we go out and pick them up. He is sort of a stool for the Americans now. Some of these people over here would turn in there own Mothers to get on the good side of the Americans. You must excuse this letter as I am writing it on a German typewriter and all of the keys are a little out of place from ours and so I miss them from time to time. I guess I will close for now and get a little work done that we have around here. Keep your fingers crossed that I will get home. I am hoping that we stay here and keep up this kind of work but that still remains to be seen. Say hello to the girls and tell them I well write as soon as I get time. Love and kisses David
V-Mail June 5th, 1945 Lt. David L. Briggs Co. D. 137th Inf. Dear Mother and Roy There is nothing doing this afternoon so I thought I would write and let you know what I am doing. I went fishing the other evening and didn?t have much luck but I am going to try again soon and see if my luck will be better. This afternoon I got a hold of a swell ring that was presented to some German soldier from the great Himmler. It has his signature in it and this makes it very valuable. I also made some contacts to get a pair riding boots made here by the local boot maker. The man who sells the leather here in town is going to a place where he can get some very good leather. Tomorrow one of the sergeants and I are going to take our interpreter and go to a place where some of the best silver and gold jewelry is made and see what we can pick up. I am going to send some little things that I have picked up and I hope that they reach you. Did you ever get the envelope that I sent that had some things in it? I hope. Well I must close for now and tend to a little work. Write soon and give my love to the girls. Love and kisses David
V-Mail: Dated June 5th, 1945 Dear Margaret and Barbara, This is a very dull evening and there is very dull and I have just been sitting here twitting my thumbs. I take it all back. When I finished the first line I was called to the C.P. and they had a meeting of all Platoon leaders and gave out with the poop. One platoon was pulled in and I thought it was going to be mine but the men have been behaving themselves and so we were left out here. It is a wonderful deal as we don?t have and training and e get up when we fell like it. We have just gotten a new radio and there is sure some good music now. This is the first time that I have had a platoon and it is a little strange to me and I just don?t know just how to act but I will make out just fine I am sure. They are a swell bunch of fellows here and they don?t give me too much trouble. Tomorrow I have to have a meeting and let them know how things stand now. We have a little work to do that won?t agree with them but they will do it though as they know a good deal when they see it. Well I guess I will close for now and go to bed as it is eleven and its past time for me to get to bed. Write soon and give David a big kiss for his uncle Dave. Love and kisses ?uncle? Dave.
Letter: Written June 14th, 1945 Dearest Barbara and Margaret, Just a few lines to let you know I am thinking of you. Today I went to a town not far from here and picked up some little things I am sending you now. This is not much but it is about all I can get here. My riding boots were finished today and they are sure wonderful. I have never seen such good work as was put into them. Every bit is hand made. Also I got my pistol holster today and it sure is nice work. These Germans are very good workers, there work is very fine and they take great pride in it. All of the work I have had done here has been perfect. Well I guess I will close for now. Some of my men just brought in a little deer. It sure is cute but I don?t know how we will keep it alive. I hope it does not die. Love and kisses David.
V-Mail: Dated June 25th, 1945 Dear Barbara and Margaret, It is very dull around the officers club this afternoon and so I thought I would write you a little note. I am here in a rest camp and Jimmies outfit has one here too, I sent him a note and perhaps he will come down. I bought you a little thing for David and I want to get one for Barbara?s baby but it was the last. I will mail it soon. This has been a nice rest and things get going good at night. We have dames here every night and plenty to drink. Write soon. Love David. Letter: Written June 14th, 1945 Dearest Barbara and Margaret, Just a couple of lines to let you know I am thinking of you this evening. We got an order from higher headquarters that there would be no more drinking by anyone in this unit. I am sure this is going to bring on some serious trouble as it is hard to keep the men from drinking if there is any around to be had and there is lots around this little village. There is a medical unit here and they are not affected by this order and so my men are not going to like it at all if they can drink and we have to stay off. I am glad it was made as it relieves a lot from my mind. Went fishing this morning and caught some nice ones. We have a fish farm here and so we just get a chair and sit there and pull them out, some sport. Some of my men got a little buck deer the other night and we had some swell steaks. There is plenty of wild life here and we are having a swell time hunting, fishing, and swimming. This is just a nice little vacation for most of these men. Last night I was out riding around in a jeep when a rabbit jumped up about fifty yards from me and so I just stuck the gun out the side and shot. He felt it I guess as he didn?t even kick. I was sure a sensational shot, well the men with me said so anyhow! I had a pretty rough night last night and today has been very dull so I think I well go to sleep early tonight. The sun does not go down until about nine thirty and it? not dark until then so I stay up tell then, it sure makes a long day and ?keerist What a Short Night? Write soon and I will be waiting for the good news to come in. it should soon arrive soon. You?re loving Bud. David
Letter: Written June 16th, 1945 Dear M. & B. Just a couple of minutes before inspection and so I thought I would drop you a line to let you know I am thinking of you and wondering what you all are doing. I?ll bet Babs looks like a lady in a side show by now. I sure wish I were around to see this little Guy or Gal as the case may be. Let?s pray it will be the latter as I wouldn?t want any body to fight over a name. I know you want to name him after me and that would be awful. I?m only kidding as I know you want a girl and so do I. what does John want? We had to see a picture show on redeployment today and by the way it looks I may get home before going to the So.P. I sure want to see you all just once more. I wrote Max and asked her to marry me as when I do get home I would like to live a normal life before going away. You know how long a love lasts in action and so I want some real living. I guess I will close now so write soon. Don?t get too alarmed at this letter as it is not as bad as it sounds. The war may get over soon!!!!!
Letter: Written June 16th, 1945 Dear Mother and Roy Before dinner is ready I will write a short letter. I have just returned from a deer hunt but we were not successful but it was a nice trip. On the way we came to an old castle which was partly in ruins but some of the original was still standing. It had a large dungeon which we explored and found nothing. In one of the large rooms someone had stored a large quantity of good leather. I am going to go back and get some day and have a leather jacket made. I have received my first mail from you in almost three weeks and it sure has been good reading your letters. You all seem to think I well get home soon. Well don?t get to excited until I am home as things are yet very uncertain as to what will be come of us over here. I do think that we will get home but it is still a long time until then. I must close for now so write soon and send some stamps. Love and kisses David
Letter: Dated June 17th, 1945 Dear B. & M., Just a couple of lines to let you know I received some mail from you for the first time in three weeks and it was sure good to here from you. The pictures of you and John were swell. I have been wanting some snaps of you. As soon as I get some film I well take some shots and send you the roll to get developed. Unless I can get it done here. I have a swell camera now and want some 120 film. Will you send me some? If you need any money for the baby well write and I will send you some as soon as possible. Please do this. I know how John spends money. He is about like me only he hasn?t grown up yet. I hope he goes through some of the things I?ve gone through and he will look upon life a lot different. Write very soon and be good girls. The hot rumor is we will be home in July, hope so. Love and kisses David.
Letter: Dated June 20th, 1945 Dear mother and Roy, The men are out drilling and doing some exercise this morning and so while things are quiet I will try and get off a short note to you and let you know what has been going on around here with me. The day before yesterday I went back to the officer?s sales store and purchased some nice clothes as some of the things that I got while I was in school have been lost now and so I had to replace them. This outfit is sure on the ball about uniforms and we have to have a different one for every occasion. I sure will be glad when I get when I get home and get to wear them where they will do some good. I now have five work uniforms and it takes that many to keep looking like I have to all the time. Most of the things that I have are regular issue to enlisted men and I got them from the supply sergeant. I am also supply officer and so I get any thing I need with out any questions asked this helps out a lot. While I was back at sales there were some of the most wonderful looking girls that I have seen in a long time. U.S.O. girls and I couldn?t keep my mind on the things that I came back for. I just stood there and looked at them. It sure is good to talk to someone that can speak English. Friday the doctor up at the medical station and I are going to take a ride up to one of the field hospitals and get a date with one of the nurses that work there and I sure will be glad to get out with one of them. Just to talk with and be with an American girl is heaven now. I guess I won?t know what to talk about but I guess I well be able to manage as you know me. Well I guess that I will close for now and get to work as I can?t just sit here all day I have to earn my pay in some way. Write soon and say hello to the girls for me. Love and kisses David
Letter: Dated July 1st, 1945 Dearest Barbara and Margaret, I have been sitting here in the office eating some cheese which Mother sent me and it sure is good. I am pretty much alone here today as some of the men have gone to a ball game in Koblenz where we have a big field. Our Regt. Is playing the 320th. Today makes a month since we got here and time sure has passed fast. Tomorrow our Regt. is having a cocktail party for the officers an General. Ik?s Yacht which is in the Rhine now. It will give me a chance to meet some of the other officers. We are getting back to prose time social amenities now and I am going to suffer I can see it. My pay wont allow me to do as much as the other officers. I am not up on seniority to get a pass or a home and I am hoping I will be able to go to England or the Rivera. I am going to save this months pay for it. Next month I am going to send home a hundred dollar allotment, as long as I have it I will spend it. I think I will send you, Babs twenty five dollars to help out as I know you don?t get it from John. You can spend what ever you need and the rest save. Also start a bank account for Ann as then I will add to it. I want her and David to have some money to spend when they are old enough to. I was going to church this morning; I can?t now as there is no other officers here at the time. So far Max has not answered my question about marriage but it should come any time. I am going to write her as soon as I finish this letter. Well darlings, all four of you. I must close for now. Write soon and be good. You?re loving Uncle David. (IK?s Yacht is Dwight David Eisenhower Allied Commander)
Letter: Dated July 3rd, 1945 Lt. David L. Briggs Co. D 137th Inf. Regt. 35th Infantry Division. Dear Mother and Roy, I am not feeling so hot today as the party that was given for the officers in our Regiment was pretty good and I guess I drank a little too much. It took place on the boat that used to belong to Hitler and it sure was some boat, some party!! Waiters all over the place and if you wanted some champagne or cognac or wine you just asked for it and there it was. We took a ride up the river but I didn?t see very much as I spent most of the time below in the bar. It was my first party as an officer, and I got to know many of the officers in the Regt. some of them were new and some of them were old. Many were enlisted men last time I saw them. All in all I had a swell time and plenty to drink. Tomorrow we are moving to a new location about forty miles from here and I sure do hate to go as we have a very good place where we are now. I am supposed to go to Brussels tomorrow morning at five but perhaps it will be canceled. I hope not I am sitting here waiting for an officer to come up and relieve me. I wish he would come so as I could get back. Well I must close for now and get my things together as we will be shoving off soon. Write very soon. Love and kisses David P.S. I am writing this with my new pen you sent me and I think it is wonderful. Thank you a million it is wonderful.
Letter: Dated July 8th, 1945 Dear Mother and Roy things are very quiet around here today and so I thought I would write now as when we start moving I won?t have much time to write. We are supposed to pull out of here tomorrow for some kind of Honor in Holland. I can?t disclose the place we are going now. After that we will join the Division at the staging area, where we will prepare for shipment home. I expect to be in the States some time in late August or early September. It sure will be wonderful to get home again. I would much rather stay over here for a while as the sooner we get home the sooner we will go to the South Pacific or China. I am not so anxious to see more action. My mail must be all messed up as I haven?t received any mail in some time from you. Yesterday I got Barbara?s announcement of the baby and they sure are nice. This is about all I have to write now so I will close. Write soon and keep your fingers crossed that I get home. Love and kisses David.
Letter: Dated July 18th, 1945 Lt. David L. Briggs Co. D. 137th Infantry Regiment 35th Infantry Division. APO. 35 Dear Mother and Barbara, Today I received the glasses you sent and I sure am glad to see them come as I needed them very badly. We are now through with our mission here and have started our processing for the trip home. I should be there by my Birthday. I wish I could be there for yours but it looks like I won?t be able to make it. We have a great deal to do before shipping out. All of the men have to be clothed and re equipped for the trip. I am supply officer which entails a great deal of work in supply. Last night I went to Brussels and had a swell time. I and three other officers had dinner ay the Canadian Officers Club and then met some girls who danced with us. There was no liquor there which made it a very cheep evening. I hope to be able to get in tonight as I have a date with this girl and I also have a bottle of White Horse Scotch which I want to drink. We have been getting some good rations of liquor. This is one good thing about being an officer. I must close for now and get ready for a school we must attend on supply. Write very soon and I will be home soon. Aug 18 Don?t write after Aug 1st. Love and kisses David.
Western Union Cable gram IOSAC INTL AMOWUR VIA WU CABLE 16 AUG 22 VLT MRS MARY STOCKBURGER 344 WEST 11 ST CLAREMONT SAILING TODAY BE HOME SEPTEMBER 18TH* BRIGGS
Criteria The Army of Occupation Medal is a military award of the United States military which was established by the United States War Department on 5 April 1946. The medal was created in the aftermath of the ... The Army of Occupation Medal is a military award of the United States military which was established by the United States War Department on 5 April 1946. The medal was created in the aftermath of the Second World War to recognize those who had performed occupation service in either Germany, Italy, Austria, or Japan. MoreHide
Criteria
The Bronze Lion is a high Royal Dutch award, intended for servicemen who have shown extreme bravery and leadership in battle favouring The Netherlands
Description Before Eisenhower ordered his troops across Germany's traditional boundary, he gave the order to clear the area west of the Rhine River (and south of the Maas and Waal rivers in the Netherlands). The Before Eisenhower ordered his troops across Germany's traditional boundary, he gave the order to clear the area west of the Rhine River (and south of the Maas and Waal rivers in the Netherlands). The armies involved were, from north to south:
Canadian First and British Second Armies, attacking the northern section west of the Arnhem-Wesel region.
American Ninth Army, attacking the area west of the Duisburg-Düsseldorf region.
American First Army, attacking Cologne-Bonn region.
American Third Army, attacking the wide central Rhine region, including the Saar Basin.
American Seventh Army, attacking the Saar Basin.
French First Army, attacking the southern area from Strasbourg to near the Austrian border.
In the extreme south of this operation, the French First Army launched their offensive against Colmar on 20 Jan 1945. Fierce German resistance and bad weather slowed the progress of the French troops. To reinforce the French, the XXI Corps under the command of Major General Frank Milburn came into the region, which included three American infantry divisions and one French armored division. The Germans surrendered Colmar on 3 Feb, and within a week all German forces in the region retreated across the Rhine. German casualties reached the count of 22,000 near Colmar.
The northern borders of German were heavily defended with the best troops that were available to Germany, including the First Paratroop Army. The dams along the Roer also provided the German forces additional advantage in that they could control of the flow of the water by opening or closing the dams based on reported Allied movements. British General Bernard Montgomery launched his Canadian troops first, under the command of General H.D.G Crerar, on 10 Feb 1945 into the muddy flooded region near the Netherlands-Germany border. Slightly to the south, the American troops that could have relieved some pressure off of the bogged-down Canadian troops were sitting in frustration as the Roer was flooded by German troops, making an American advance impossible. The opportunity finally came two weeks later, launching the offensive on 23 Feb. The American troops maneuvered through difficult terrain caused by destructive Allied bombing and shelling, often needing armored bulldozers to clear the way so that Allied armor could continue their advance. The American Ninth Army finally met up with the Canadian and British troops on 3 Mar, driving the Germans back to their defensive positions at bridges on the Rhine.
Part of the difficult terrain formed by bombing encountered by the Ninth Army was caused by Operation Clarion, an operation launched on 22 Feb 1945 with the goal of wiping out all forms of transportation still available to the German troops at this stage of the war. In 24 hours, nearly 9,000 aircraft were sent from Britain, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands in a coordinated attack over 250,000 square miles of German territory. The primary targets were roads, bridges, crossroad towns, ports, and railroads. The Luftwaffe, previously hurt and currently overwhelmed, offered little organized resistance to the Allied operation. "It was a most imaginative and successful operation and stood as one of the highlights in the long air campaign to destroy the German warmaking power", commented Dwight Eisenhower.
On the same day Lieutenant General William Simpson's Ninth Army launched their attacks in the northern sector, Omar Bradley ordered the First and Third armies to strike the central sector. The American VII Corps reached the outskirts of Cologne on 5 Mar, completely surprising the hastily trained German defenders. Cologne fell under American control two days later. The unexpected quick capture of Cologne gave Eisenhower some breathing room in that should any nearby sectors run into difficulties, the VII Corps could spare a couple of divisions as reserve or reinforcements.
The opportunity to use the reserves came almost immediately. As Major General Courtney Hodges' III and V Corps reached the Rhine near Remagen, their rapid advances completely surprised the German troops, and in this surprise they had failed to destroy the Ludendorff Bridge as the other German units had done to the other bridges on the Rhine as the Allied troops drew near. Without hesitation, the 9th Armored Division of the III Corps crossed the bridge and established a defensive perimeter. A small charge exploded under the bridge, damaging some of its understructure, but the bridge remained in tact. Knowing that he had no orders to cross the Rhine just yet, Bradley cautiously reported the situation back to Eisenhower, who recalled:
"I was at dinner in my Reims headquarters with the corps and division commanders of the American airborne forces when Bradley's call came through. When he reported that we had a permanent bridge across the Rhine I could scarcely believe my ears.... I fairly shouted into the telephone: 'How much have you got in that vicinity that you can throw across the river?'"
With Eisenhower's blessing, Bradley ordered four divisions to cross the bridge near Remagen. From the north, Eisenhower sent entire divisions from the Cologne area to Remagen. "That was one of my happy moments in the war", Eisenhower commented in 1948. Within two days the bridgehead area was expanded three miles into German territory. Even though on 17 Mar German long-range artillery fire caused the previously damaged Ludendorff Bridge to collapse (recall the small charge that caused structural damage when the bridge was initially secured), by this time a large number of American troops and equipment had already crossed the river, and enough temporary bridges were established in the region to supply these troops.
During the action on the west bank of the Rhine, a major logistical operation was underway to transport Canadian and British troops from the Mediterranean region to the 21st Army Group in western Europe. The goal, as stated by Eisenhower's headquarters, was "to build up the maximum possible strength on the Western Front to seek a decision in that theatre". The bulk of the troops transferred during Operation Goldflake landed at the port city of Marseille and travelled across France on the vast network of roads and railroads. One achievement to be noted with this operation was that the large number of troops travelled across the country of France without disrupting supply runs to the front lines. Experienced logistical staff of the Allies contributed greatly to this achievement; Eisenhower commended those who were responsible in the planning of this operation, stating that
"[t]he complicated process of moving the units to France and northward across the lines of communication of the Southern and Central Groups of Armies was carried out efficiently and smoothly, and the security precautions taken were completely successful in concealing from the Germans what was afoot."
Politically, it also appeased the Canadian leaders, who wished that at this stage all Canadian troops involved in Europe could serve under one single chain-of-command. As all Canadians serving in Europe came under the command of H.D.G. Crerar under the flag of the First Canadian Army, he emotionally announced to his troops that "now that we are all together, let us all speed to the victory in no uncertain manner".
A little to the south, the Third Army secured both banks of the Moselle River. The northern component of the Third Army reached the Rhine on 10 Mar, while the southern arm attacked the Saar Basin simultaneously with the American Seventh Army to the south. The German defense at the Saar Basin held on valiantly, but to little effectiveness. Instead of sacrificing this region and withdrawing the troops across the Rhine where natural barriers could have provided advantages in defense, Hitler ordered that the ground was to be held at all costs. And the costs were indeed high. On 15 Mar the Seventh Army attacked, and the Third Army launched a simultaneous attack from the north in the direction of Worms. This southward move by the Third Army was not expected by the German commanders, who thought they would attempt to penetrate the Rhine defenses via the breach at Remagen. Several days later, the French First Army which had secured the Colmar region earlier moved north to assist in the Saar Basin. The region was secured on 23 Mar.
On 25 Mar 1945, all significant German resistance on the western banks of the Rhine ceased.
What was impressive with the operations to secure the western bank of the Rhine was not the crushing Allied maneuvers, but rather how they were conducted. The coordination between the armies of two major powers and other nations were as seamless as it could be consider their differing philosophies and goals. Even within the American salient, the fluidity of the army components, as demonstrated by the quickness to shift manpower from the VII Corps at Cologne to the III Corps near Remagen, proved Hitler wrong of what the German dictator thought of the armies of a democracy. Hitler, as recently as the Ardennes Offensive, thought that Eisenhower was nothing more than a puppet of Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt, reporting every move back to Washington and London. Unlike Hitler's thoughts, Eisenhower at the frontlines was able to make quick decisions on the field to take advantage of even the small windows of opportunities that presented themselves during the action. "Happening to be on the spot at the moment, I authorized appropriate boundary adjustments, specifying particularly close interarmy liaison", Eisenhower recalled. "This involved also the transfer of an armored division from the Seventh to the Third Army. The insignificance of this slight change illustrates the accuracy with which staffs had calculated the probabilities."
This advance also saw the start of a new problem: prisoners. At this stage of the war, the Allied forces were encountered with over 10,000 prisoners of war each day. This problem eventually turned out to be yet another Allied achievement that attributed to the superb organization skills of the logistics officers, who processed these prisoners efficiently without disrupting the frontline combat.
Sources: Canadian Military Headquarters Historical Section Report No 181, Crusade in Europe.
Advance to the Rhine Timeline
2 Nov 1944 In accordance with Dwight Eisenhower's plan, Bernard Montgomery ordered a complete redeployment of his Army Group in Europe. First Canadian Army now assumed responsibility for the front from the sea to the Reichsward near Kleve in Germany, whilst Second British Army was ordered to clear the Germans west of the Maas River from the huge pocket between Venray and Roermond in the Netherlands, and then to take over the American front north of Geilenkirchen in Germany known as the Heinberg Salientl.
14 Jan 1945 Operation Blackcock: British forces cleared the Roer Triangle in Germany, which was known for dams that powered the German industry.
29 Jan 1945 Allied troops captured Oberhausen, Germany in the Rhine river basin.
1 Feb 1945 US First Army captured Remscheid in Germany, east of Düsseldorf. On the same day, US Seventh Army reached the Moder River and the Siegfried Line/Westwall.
2 Feb 1945 French troops captured Colmar, France.
9 Feb 1945 British and Canadian troops forced their way through a main Siegfried Line/Westwall defensive zone. Meanwhile, half of German 19.Armee was evacuated back into Germany before the final Rhine River bridge in the Colmar Pocket in France was blown.
12 Feb 1945 British and Canadian forces captured Kleve, Germany.
14 Feb 1945 British and Canadian troops reached the Rhine River northwest of Duisberg, Germany.
17 Feb 1945 US Third Army penetrated the Siegfried Line/Westwall and launched massive assault into German territory.
19 Feb 1945 Units of the US 8th Division began encircling German troops trapped within the Siegfried Line/Westwall.
20 Feb 1945 George Patton wrote to Omar Bradley, urging Bradley to convince Dwight Eisenhower to allow Bradley's army group to attack aggressively toward the Rhine River.
25 Feb 1945 Omar Bradley gave George Patton the authority to make advances toward the Rhine River.
28 Feb 1945 US Ninth Army achieved breakthrough near Erkelenz, Germany.
1 Mar 1945 US Ninth Army captured cities of München-Gladback and Rheydt in Germany. On the same day, Dwight Eisenhower approved the commencement of Operation Lumberjack.
2 Mar 1945 Elements of US Ninth Army reached the Rhine River at Neuss, Germany. To the north US Third Army captures Trier, Germany.
3 Mar 1945 Canadian troops captured Xanten, Germany while US First Army captured Krefeld, Germany.
5 Mar 1945 Patrols from US First Army reached outskirts of Köln, Germany.
6 Mar 1945 US Third Army reached the Rhine River near Koblenz, Germany, while US First Army captured Köln.
7 Mar 1945 US 9th Armored Division unexpectedly captured Rhine River bridge and formed a bridgehead on the east side of the river at Remagen, Germany.
8 Mar 1945 In Germany, US troops entered Bonn while British and Canadian troops entered Xanten.
9 Mar 1945 US Third Army captured Andernach, Germany.
10 Mar 1945 The Germans evacuated Wesel as US Third Army captured Bonn.
11 Mar 1945 US Third Army captured Kochem, Germany.
12 Mar 1945 US Third Army crossed Moselle River near Koblenz, Germany.
13 Mar 1945 Operation Undertone: US 3rd and 7th Armies advanced toward Rhine River.
15 Mar 1945 US First Army was unable to further expand the Remagen bridgehead in Germany due to enemy resistance.
17 Mar 1945 The bridge at Remagen, Germany, which had served the Allies so well, collapsed after repeated being bombed by German Ar 234 jet bombers. Twenty-eight American engineers trying to strengthen the structure were swept away to their deaths. Meanwhile, US Third Army captured Koblenz, Germany.
18 Mar 1945 US Third Army captured Boppard, Germany.
19 Mar 1945 US Seventh Army captured Worms, Germany.
20 Mar 1945 US Seventh Army captured Saarbrücken, Germany while the US Third Army reached Mainz, Germany.
21 Mar 1945 US First Army advanced toward Siegburg, Germany. ... More
Description Before Eisenhower ordered his troops across Germany's traditional boundary, he gave the order to clear the area west of the Rhine River (and south of the Maas and Waal rivers in the Netherlands). The Before Eisenhower ordered his troops across Germany's traditional boundary, he gave the order to clear the area west of the Rhine River (and south of the Maas and Waal rivers in the Netherlands). The armies involved were, from north to south:
Canadian First and British Second Armies, attacking the northern section west of the Arnhem-Wesel region.
American Ninth Army, attacking the area west of the Duisburg-Düsseldorf region.
American First Army, attacking Cologne-Bonn region.
American Third Army, attacking the wide central Rhine region, including the Saar Basin.
American Seventh Army, attacking the Saar Basin.
French First Army, attacking the southern area from Strasbourg to near the Austrian border.
In the extreme south of this operation, the French First Army launched their offensive against Colmar on 20 Jan 1945. Fierce German resistance and bad weather slowed the progress of the French troops. To reinforce the French, the XXI Corps under the command of Major General Frank Milburn came into the region, which included three American infantry divisions and one French armored division. The Germans surrendered Colmar on 3 Feb, and within a week all German forces in the region retreated across the Rhine. German casualties reached the count of 22,000 near Colmar.
The northern borders of German were heavily defended with the best troops that were available to Germany, including the First Paratroop Army. The dams along the Roer also provided the German forces additional advantage in that they could control of the flow of the water by opening or closing the dams based on reported Allied movements. British General Bernard Montgomery launched his Canadian troops first, under the command of General H.D.G Crerar, on 10 Feb 1945 into the muddy flooded region near the Netherlands-Germany border. Slightly to the south, the American troops that could have relieved some pressure off of the bogged-down Canadian troops were sitting in frustration as the Roer was flooded by German troops, making an American advance impossible. The opportunity finally came two weeks later, launching the offensive on 23 Feb. The American troops maneuvered through difficult terrain caused by destructive Allied bombing and shelling, often needing armored bulldozers to clear the way so that Allied armor could continue their advance. The American Ninth Army finally met up with the Canadian and British troops on 3 Mar, driving the Germans back to their defensive positions at bridges on the Rhine.
Part of the difficult terrain formed by bombing encountered by the Ninth Army was caused by Operation Clarion, an operation launched on 22 Feb 1945 with the goal of wiping out all forms of transportation still available to the German troops at this stage of the war. In 24 hours, nearly 9,000 aircraft were sent from Britain, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands in a coordinated attack over 250,000 square miles of German territory. The primary targets were roads, bridges, crossroad towns, ports, and railroads. The Luftwaffe, previously hurt and currently overwhelmed, offered little organized resistance to the Allied operation. "It was a most imaginative and successful operation and stood as one of the highlights in the long air campaign to destroy the German warmaking power", commented Dwight Eisenhower.
On the same day Lieutenant General William Simpson's Ninth Army launched their attacks in the northern sector, Omar Bradley ordered the First and Third armies to strike the central sector. The American VII Corps reached the outskirts of Cologne on 5 Mar, completely surprising the hastily trained German defenders. Cologne fell under American control two days later. The unexpected quick capture of Cologne gave Eisenhower some breathing room in that should any nearby sectors run into difficulties, the VII Corps could spare a couple of divisions as reserve or reinforcements.
The opportunity to use the reserves came almost immediately. As Major General Courtney Hodges' III and V Corps reached the Rhine near Remagen, their rapid advances completely surprised the German troops, and in this surprise they had failed to destroy the Ludendorff Bridge as the other German units had done to the other bridges on the Rhine as the Allied troops drew near. Without hesitation, the 9th Armored Division of the III Corps crossed the bridge and established a defensive perimeter. A small charge exploded under the bridge, damaging some of its understructure, but the bridge remained in tact. Knowing that he had no orders to cross the Rhine just yet, Bradley cautiously reported the situation back to Eisenhower, who recalled:
"I was at dinner in my Reims headquarters with the corps and division commanders of the American airborne forces when Bradley's call came through. When he reported that we had a permanent bridge across the Rhine I could scarcely believe my ears.... I fairly shouted into the telephone: 'How much have you got in that vicinity that you can throw across the river?'"
With Eisenhower's blessing, Bradley ordered four divisions to cross the bridge near Remagen. From the north, Eisenhower sent entire divisions from the Cologne area to Remagen. "That was one of my happy moments in the war", Eisenhower commented in 1948. Within two days the bridgehead area was expanded three miles into German territory. Even though on 17 Mar German long-range artillery fire caused the previously damaged Ludendorff Bridge to collapse (recall the small charge that caused structural damage when the bridge was initially secured), by this time a large number of American troops and equipment had already crossed the river, and enough temporary bridges were established in the region to supply these troops.
During the action on the west bank of the Rhine, a major logistical operation was underway to transport Canadian and British troops from the Mediterranean region to the 21st Army Group in western Europe. The goal, as stated by Eisenhower's headquarters, was "to build up the maximum possible strength on the Western Front to seek a decision in that theatre". The bulk of the troops transferred during Operation Goldflake landed at the port city of Marseille and travelled across France on the vast network of roads and railroads. One achievement to be noted with this operation was that the large number of troops travelled across the country of France without disrupting supply runs to the front lines. Experienced logistical staff of the Allies contributed greatly to this achievement; Eisenhower commended those who were responsible in the planning of this operation, stating that
"[t]he complicated process of moving the units to France and northward across the lines of communication of the Southern and Central Groups of Armies was carried out efficiently and smoothly, and the security precautions taken were completely successful in concealing from the Germans what was afoot."
Politically, it also appeased the Canadian leaders, who wished that at this stage all Canadian troops involved in Europe could serve under one single chain-of-command. As all Canadians serving in Europe came under the command of H.D.G. Crerar under the flag of the First Canadian Army, he emotionally announced to his troops that "now that we are all together, let us all speed to the victory in no uncertain manner".
A little to the south, the Third Army secured both banks of the Moselle River. The northern component of the Third Army reached the Rhine on 10 Mar, while the southern arm attacked the Saar Basin simultaneously with the American Seventh Army to the south. The German defense at the Saar Basin held on valiantly, but to little effectiveness. Instead of sacrificing this region and withdrawing the troops across the Rhine where natural barriers could have provided advantages in defense, Hitler ordered that the ground was to be held at all costs. And the costs were indeed high. On 15 Mar the Seventh Army attacked, and the Third Army launched a simultaneous attack from the north in the direction of Worms. This southward move by the Third Army was not expected by the German commanders, who thought they would attempt to penetrate the Rhine defenses via the breach at Remagen. Several days later, the French First Army which had secured the Colmar region earlier moved north to assist in the Saar Basin. The region was secured on 23 Mar.
On 25 Mar 1945, all significant German resistance on the western banks of the Rhine ceased.
What was impressive with the operations to secure the western bank of the Rhine was not the crushing Allied maneuvers, but rather how they were conducted. The coordination between the armies of two major powers and other nations were as seamless as it could be consider their differing philosophies and goals. Even within the American salient, the fluidity of the army components, as demonstrated by the quickness to shift manpower from the VII Corps at Cologne to the III Corps near Remagen, proved Hitler wrong of what the German dictator thought of the armies of a democracy. Hitler, as recently as the Ardennes Offensive, thought that Eisenhower was nothing more than a puppet of Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt, reporting every move back to Washington and London. Unlike Hitler's thoughts, Eisenhower at the frontlines was able to make quick decisions on the field to take advantage of even the small windows of opportunities that presented themselves during the action. "Happening to be on the spot at the moment, I authorized appropriate boundary adjustments, specifying particularly close interarmy liaison", Eisenhower recalled. "This involved also the transfer of an armored division from the Seventh to the Third Army. The insignificance of this slight change illustrates the accuracy with which staffs had calculated the probabilities."
This advance also saw the start of a new problem: prisoners. At this stage of the war, the Allied forces were encountered with over 10,000 prisoners of war each day. This problem eventually turned out to be yet another Allied achievement that attributed to the superb organization skills of the logistics officers, who processed these prisoners efficiently without disrupting the frontline combat.
Sources: Canadian Military Headquarters Historical Section Report No 181, Crusade in Europe.
Advance to the Rhine Timeline
2 Nov 1944 In accordance with Dwight Eisenhower's plan, Bernard Montgomery ordered a complete redeployment of his Army Group in Europe. First Canadian Army now assumed responsibility for the front from the sea to the Reichsward near Kleve in Germany, whilst Second British Army was ordered to clear the Germans west of the Maas River from the huge pocket between Venray and Roermond in the Netherlands, and then to take over the American front north of Geilenkirchen in Germany known as the Heinberg Salientl.
14 Jan 1945 Operation Blackcock: British forces cleared the Roer Triangle in Germany, which was known for dams that powered the German industry.
29 Jan 1945 Allied troops captured Oberhausen, Germany in the Rhine river basin.
1 Feb 1945 US First Army captured Remscheid in Germany, east of Düsseldorf. On the same day, US Seventh Army reached the Moder River and the Siegfried Line/Westwall.
2 Feb 1945 French troops captured Colmar, France.
9 Feb 1945 British and Canadian troops forced their way through a main Siegfried Line/Westwall defensive zone. Meanwhile, half of German 19.Armee was evacuated back into Germany before the final Rhine River bridge in the Colmar Pocket in France was blown.
12 Feb 1945 British and Canadian forces captured Kleve, Germany.
14 Feb 1945 British and Canadian troops reached the Rhine River northwest of Duisberg, Germany.
17 Feb 1945 US Third Army penetrated the Siegfried Line/Westwall and launched massive assault into German territory.
19 Feb 1945 Units of the US 8th Division began encircling German troops trapped within the Siegfried Line/Westwall.
20 Feb 1945 George Patton wrote to Omar Bradley, urging Bradley to convince Dwight Eisenhower to allow Bradley's army group to attack aggressively toward the Rhine River.
25 Feb 1945 Omar Bradley gave George Patton the authority to make advances toward the Rhine River.
28 Feb 1945 US Ninth Army achieved breakthrough near Erkelenz, Germany.
1 Mar 1945 US Ninth Army captured cities of München-Gladback and Rheydt in Germany. On the same day, Dwight Eisenhower approved the commencement of Operation Lumberjack.
2 Mar 1945 Elements of US Ninth Army reached the Rhine River at Neuss, Germany. To the north US Third Army captures Trier, Germany.
3 Mar 1945 Canadian troops captured Xanten, Germany while US First Army captured Krefeld, Germany.
5 Mar 1945 Patrols from US First Army reached outskirts of Köln, Germany.
6 Mar 1945 US Third Army reached the Rhine River near Koblenz, Germany, while US First Army captured Köln.
7 Mar 1945 US 9th Armored Division unexpectedly captured Rhine River bridge and formed a bridgehead on the east side of the river at Remagen, Germany.
8 Mar 1945 In Germany, US troops entered Bonn while British and Canadian troops entered Xanten.
9 Mar 1945 US Third Army captured Andernach, Germany.
10 Mar 1945 The Germans evacuated Wesel as US Third Army captured Bonn.
11 Mar 1945 US Third Army captured Kochem, Germany.
12 Mar 1945 US Third Army crossed Moselle River near Koblenz, Germany.
13 Mar 1945 Operation Undertone: US 3rd and 7th Armies advanced toward Rhine River.
15 Mar 1945 US First Army was unable to further expand the Remagen bridgehead in Germany due to enemy resistance.
17 Mar 1945 The bridge at Remagen, Germany, which had served the Allies so well, collapsed after repeated being bombed by German Ar 234 jet bombers. Twenty-eight American engineers trying to strengthen the structure were swept away to their deaths. Meanwhile, US Third Army captured Koblenz, Germany.
18 Mar 1945 US Third Army captured Boppard, Germany.
19 Mar 1945 US Seventh Army captured Worms, Germany.
20 Mar 1945 US Seventh Army captured Saarbrücken, Germany while the US Third Army reached Mainz, Germany.
21 Mar 1945 US First Army advanced toward Siegburg, Germany. ... More
Memories ACROSS THE RHINE
First the Roer River
Two weeks after the Germans had flooded the Roer, the river was ACROSS THE RHINE
First the Roer River
Two weeks after the Germans had flooded the Roer, the river was still dangerously swollen. Rain and the runoff of melting snows had helped keep the water level high and the current swift. From the Ninth Army?s positions west of the river, engineers had gone out daily-sometimes creeping forward under enemy fire-to take readings of water conditions. On February 17th with there calculations buttressed by aerial photographs of the reservoirs, the engineers had produced a long range forecast: by about noon on the 24th, the river would drop to safe levels-and even earlier, by midnight on the 22nd, the water would have receded enough to make a crossing possible, though hazardous in the extreme. To General Simpson, the Ninth?s Commander, the choice was clear. However risky, a crossing by dark-during the early morning hours of the 23rd ?would not only have an element of surprise but it would gain more than a day?s precious time; across the river, there were signs of a German build-up in the making. The enforced wait had begun to wear on Simpson?s forces. Of which were the 35th Infantry Division, including the 137th Infantry Regiment. Except for rehearsals of the crossings on some of the Roer?s tributary streams, there had been little for the men to do. Some had whiled away the time enjoying the spring like warmth. But there bivouacs, mostly damp cellars strewn with laundry and clouded with coal smoke from leaky stovepipes, were beginning to pall. Simpson a tall, lanky Texan had made good use of the waiting period. Eisenhower was later to say of him that ?if Simpson ever made a mistake as an Army Commander, it never came to my attention.? The preparations for the Roer crossing bore the stamp of faultless planning. Simpson proposed to send six Divisions across the river simultaneously, along a 17 mile stretch of the Roer marked by the towns of Linnich in the north and Durren on the opposite shore in the south. The crossing at the northern end would be made by four Divisions of Simpson?s Ninth Army, at the southern end by two Divisions of General Hodges? First Army. Advance patrols and leading Infantry were to cross the river in eight-man assault boats; follow-up troops were to go over on footbridges that engineers would begin installing exactly at H-hour. At least three vehicular bridges would also be erected in each Division sector. There was to be no preliminary pounding of the target area by Allied aircraft-standard practice in other operations. Simpson did not intend to give away his show any sooner than he had to. Instead, he scheduled an opening artillery barrage to last for barely 45 minutes before his men jumped off at 03:30 a.m. But this was to be a monster barrage, fired by more than 2,000 guns-one for every 10 yards of the front. Simpson?s arsenal was filled to overflowing. A total of 46,000 tones of ammunition had been accumulated, four times the amount normally stocked by a field Army. The new M24 light tank, mounting a 75mm gun, had been distributed to some of the Armored Divisions. There was no danger of running out of fuel; the depots held some three million gallons of gasoline. In the week preceding the attack, more than 6,000 boxcars, rolling up to the Ninth Army front on newly replaced rail lines, brought in 45,000 tons of general supplies, including communications equipment; signal units were able to establish additional radio circuits in the Linnich area to tie all Artillery and Armored Units together in preparation for the opening bombardment. But Simpson determined not to alert German monitors that anything was afoot, ordered that message traffic at command levels be held to normal and that total radio silence be enforced by all tactical units. SIMPSON?S INSISTENCE ON ABSOLUTE SECURITY WAS ALL ENCOMPASSING. TO PREVENT THE GERMANS FROM GUESSING THE STRENGTH AND IDENTITY OF THE NINTH ARMY?S DISPOSITIONS, HE ORDERED THAT REMOVAL OF VEHICLE MARKINGS AND UNIFORM SHOULDER PATCHES. (This is described in the Combat History of the 137th Infantry Regiment). This all took place in February of 1945.
Description At 0630 hours, 22 February 1945, the 301st and 302nd Infantry Regiments of the 94th Infantry Division conducted a hasty river crossing across the Saar River between Taben and Stadt under the cover of At 0630 hours, 22 February 1945, the 301st and 302nd Infantry Regiments of the 94th Infantry Division conducted a hasty river crossing across the Saar River between Taben and Stadt under the cover of smoke. By 24 February 1945, both regiments had crossed and secured a bridgehead one and a half miles deep, allowing for the rapid crossing of tanks, tank destroyers, and motor vehicles over a single treadway bridge in the vicinity of Taben. With the crossing, the XX (US) Corps was assured the capture of trier, a key communications center in Western Germany. This document provides a tactical analysis of the events surrounding the crossing of the Saar River. ... More
Description Beginning on the night of 23 March 1945, Operation Plunder was the crossing of the River Rhine at Rees, Wesel, and south of the Lippe River by the British 2nd Army, under Lieutenant-General Miles DempBeginning on the night of 23 March 1945, Operation Plunder was the crossing of the River Rhine at Rees, Wesel, and south of the Lippe River by the British 2nd Army, under Lieutenant-General Miles Dempsey (Operations Turnscrew, Widgeon, and Torchlight), and the U.S. Ninth Army (Operation Flashpoint), under Lieutenant General William Simpson. XVIII U.S. Airborne Corps, consisting of the British 6th Airborne Division and the U.S. 17th Airborne Division, conducted Operation Varsity, parachute landings on the east bank in support of the operation. All of these formations were part of the 21st Army Group under Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery. This was part of a coordinated set of Rhine crossings.
4,000 guns fired for four hours during the opening bombardment. British bombers contributed with attacks on Wesel during the day and night of 23 March.
Three Allied formations made the initial assault: the British XXX and XII Corps and the U.S. XVI Corps. One unit, the British 79th Armoured Division — under Major-General Percy Hobart — had been at the front of the Normandy landings and provided invaluable help in subsequent operations with specially adapted armoured vehicles (referred to as Hobart's Funnies). One "funny" was the "Buffalo" operated by the 4th Royal Tank Regiment under the command of Lt. Col (later Lt. Gen) Alan Jolly, an armed and armored amphibious tracked personnel or cargo transporter able to cross soft and flooded ground. These were the transports for the spearhead infantry.
The first part of Plunder was initiated by the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division, led by the 7th Black Watch at 21:00 on 23 March, near Rees, followed by the 7th Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. At 02:00 on 24 March, the 15th (Scottish) Division landed between Wesel and Rees. At first, there was no opposition, but later they ran into determined resistance from machine-gun nests. The British 1st Commando Brigade entered Wesel.
The U.S. 30th Division landed south of Wesel. The local resistance had been broken by artillery and air bombardment. Subsequently, the 79th Division also landed. U.S. casualties were minimal. German resistance to the Scottish landings continued with some effect, and there were armoured counter-attacks. Landings continued, however, including tanks and other heavy equipment. The U.S. forces had a bridge across by the evening of 24 March.
Operation Varsity started at 10:00 on 24 March, to disrupt enemy communications. Despite heavy resistance to the airdrops and afterward, the airborne troops made progress and repelled counterattacks. The hard lessons of Operation Market Garden were applied. In the afternoon, 15th Scottish Division linked up with both airborne divisions.
Fierce German resistance continued around Bienen, north of Rees, where the entire 9th Canadian Brigade was needed to relieve the Black Watch. The bridgehead was firmly established, however, and Allied advantages in numbers and equipment were applied. By 27 March, the bridgehead was 35 mi (56 km) wide and 20 mi (32 km) deep.... More
Memories Wesel
Late February 1945, a fundamental problem confronting the Allies was the choice of suitable c Wesel
Late February 1945, a fundamental problem confronting the Allies was the choice of suitable crossing sights on the Rhine River. For much of its length the Rhine was lined with rocky crags and steep hills; the careful technical preparations would prove of little avail if the men and the Armor were halted by difficult terrain on the far side. After studying aerial photographs and intelligence reports, the officers planning the main thrust in the northern sector settled on three sights opposite a relatively level 20-mile stretch of the east bank with the small city of Wesel as the principal focus. Aside from the topographical advantages, Wesel itself was well worth taking. The Germans had turned it into a major communications center. Moreover, it served as a conduit for the shipment of coal and steel from the Ruhr district to the rest of Germany; barges from the Ruhr traveled down the Rhine to Wesel and branched off there into the Leppe Lateral Canal before finally entering the Dortmund Ems Canal, which ran northward for 165 miles to Emden on the North Sea. Hitler now had more need of the Ruhr?s coal and steel than ever before; Upper Silesia, which was his second largest source of supply, was being overrun by the Russians. The British and Canadians would be augmented by U.S. Ninth Army forces moving up from the south after the end of the long delay in crossing the Roer River. General Schlemm of the German 1st Parachute Army very tenacious and thoroughly professional, was determined that the Allies would be made to pay for every inch of ground they took. Local construction crews were conscripted to strengthen the 1st Parachute Army?s defenses guarding the Wesel bridgehead. Three successive trench systems, about 500 yards apart, were dug along the approaches from the west and north. The open stretches between them were sown with wooden mines impervious to metal detectors. A network of knee high barbed wire entanglements was laid down to bedevil advancing Infantry. Short on heavy artillery, Schlemm made a decision that he did not bother to clear with Berlin. From a sector of the West Wall, Schlemm striped 50 high velocity 88mm guns normally reserved for antiaircraft duty to use as superbly effective antitank weapons. The countryside that Schlemm prepared to defend was a picture book landscape dotted with villages, hamlets, pastures of wood lots, and laced with streams and canals. All but a few of the rises were gentle, and the view from observation points was unimpeded. The best features of the terrain, from a defense standpoint, were two small adjoining forests, the Hochwald and Balegerwald, situated on high ground about five miles west of the Rhine and roughly parallel to it. It was here that Schlemm had concentrated his newly acquired 88s, and it was here, on the forward slopes of the high ground, that he laid out his three part trench system. This was near the town of Ossenberg around the Haus Heidelberg woods west of Ossenberg. The road from Rheinberg to Ossenberg was dubbed ?88 Alley? by the 137th Infantry Regiment?s Task force Murray. On March 2nd early in the morning Squadron A of the 4th/7th Dragoon Guards was moving through the outskirts of Gildern part of operation Blockbuster when suddenly from about 400 yards away, some tanks opened fire-American tanks. A British officer gingerly began walking toward the tanks holding up a recognition panel a large cloth sheet, brightly colored so as to be visible at about half a mile, and more often used to identify ground troops to friendly aircraft. The tanks belonged to a motorized task force of the 35th Infantry Division, U.S. Ninth Army. The 35th and a combat unit of the 8th Armored Division had driven over 30 miles north from the Roer River area to affect the long delayed link up this was group two of Task Force Murray that had met up with Task Force Byrne. The 137th was relieved on the Rhine on March 13th by the 290th Infantry Regiment of the 75th Division and sent to a rear assembly area in Germany, southeast of Venlo, Holland. At 2200 hours March 23rd combined forces of the Ninth Army, British, and Canadian troops crossed the Rhine north and south of Wesel.
Description The Ruhr Pocket was a battle of encirclement that took place in late March and early April 1945, near the end of World War II, in the Ruhr Area of Germany. It marked the end of major organized resistaThe Ruhr Pocket was a battle of encirclement that took place in late March and early April 1945, near the end of World War II, in the Ruhr Area of Germany. It marked the end of major organized resistance on Nazi Germany's Western Front, as more than 300,000 troops were taken prisoner.
Background
In March 1945, Allied Forces crossed the Rhine river. South of the Ruhr, General Omar Bradley's U.S. 12th Army Group's pursuit of the disintegrating German army resulted in the capture of the Ludendorff Bridge across the Rhine at Remagen by the U.S. First Army. Bradley and his subordinates quickly exploited the crossing made on March 7, 1945, and expanded the bridge head until the bridge collapsed 10 days later.
North of the Ruhr on March 23, 1945, Field Marshal Montgomery's British 21st Army Group launched Operation Plunder and crossed the Rhine at Rees and Wesel.
The battle
Having crossed the Rhine, both Army Groups fanned out into the German hinterland. In the south, while Third Army headed east, the First Army headed northeast and formed the southern pincer of the Ruhr envelopment. In the north, the U.S. Ninth Army, which since the Battle of the Bulge had been assigned to Montgomery's British 21st Army Group, headed southeast forming the northern pincer, while the rest of 21st Army Group went east and northeast.
Facing the Allied armies were the remnants of a shattered Wehrmacht, a few SS training units, and large numbers of Volkssturm (militia units for aging men, including some World War I veterans) and Hitlerjugend (Hitler Youth) units, composed of boys as young as 12.
Lead elements of the two Allied pincers met on April 1, 1945, near Lippstadt. By April 4, the encirclement was completed and the Ninth Army reverted to the command of Bradley's 12th Army Group. Within the Ruhr Pocket about 430,000 German soldiers of Army Group B, which comprised 21 divisions of the Wehrmacht, and millions of civilians were trapped in cities heavily damaged by numerous bombings.
While the main operations headed further toward central and northern Germany, American forces concentrated on the pocket, taking it section by section. On April 12, 1945, the U.S. 1st and 9th Armies divided the area coming from the south; the smaller, eastern part surrendered the next day. The western part continued a weak resistance until April 18 and April 21, 1945. Rather than surrender and violate his personal oath to Adolf Hitler that he would fight to the death, the commander, Field Marshal Walter Model, committed suicide in a forest south of the city of Duisburg.
German anti-Nazi resistance groups in Düsseldorf attempted to surrender the city to the Allied armies in the so-called "Aktion Rheinland" in order to spare Düsseldorf from further destruction. However, SS units were able to crush the resistance, and executed a number of those involved. Executions of foreign labourers, political prisoners, etc. by the Gestapo had already been occurring since February. The act of resistance did accomplish a cancellation of further bombings on the city by another 800 bombers, through contact with the Americans. Düsseldorf was captured by Americans on 17 April without any notable fighting.
The surviving 325,000 German soldiers from the Ruhr Pocket, and some civilians, were imprisoned in a complex of temporary prison enclosures known as Rheinwiesenlager (in English, "Rhine meadow camps").... More
Description (Central Europe Campaign 22 March to 11 May 1945) Following the Battle of the Bulge the Allies had pushed through to the Rhine. On 22 March 1945 they began their assault across the river, and by I Apr(Central Europe Campaign 22 March to 11 May 1945) Following the Battle of the Bulge the Allies had pushed through to the Rhine. On 22 March 1945 they began their assault across the river, and by I April the Ruhr was encircled. Armored columns raced across Germany and into Austria and Czechoslovakia. On 25 April, the day American and Russian forces met on the Elbe, strategic bombing operations came to an end. Germany surrendered on 7 May 1945 and operations officially came to an end the following day, although sporadic actions continued on the European front until 11 May.... More
Memories CENTRAL EUROPE
The Ninth Army drove ahead on a broad front. In the vanguard was the powerful ?Hill onCENTRAL EUROPE
The Ninth Army drove ahead on a broad front. In the vanguard was the powerful ?Hill on Wheels? 2nd Armored Division, its vehicles forming a column 72 miles long. Though the bulk of the Division averaged only two miles an hour, its reconnaissance units raced on, bypassing German resistance, disrupting communications, cutting the main supply routs between the Ruhr and Berlin moving so rapidly that they ran off there maps. Resourceful officers began using tattered old Baedekers and the escape maps that Allied pilots carried with them in case they were shot down over Germany. On April 4th the Ninth Army was returned to General Bradley?s Command, the fighting grew heavier. Troops of three Divisions were battling among the factories on the northern edge of the Ruhr. U.S. tanks made a deep penetration near Soest in the northeastern Ruhr, and a second American column thrust across the Lippe River near the rail hub of Hamm in the northwestern Ruhr. On April 18th all resistance ended. The Germans under German Field Marshal Model surrendered to the U.S. Ninth Army, the final total was 317,000 Germans more troops than had surrendered to the Russians at Stalingrad. The cost of the campaign to the Ninth Army was 341 Killed, 121 missing, and about 2,000 Wounded. Spreading eastward like an ink blot in a single day, the 35th Infantry Division of the U.S. Ninth Army moved 220 miles due east. Gutersloh, Oerlinghausen, Detmold, and Gestrof the names of the towns and villages went on and on. General Bradley ordered Simpson?s U.S. Ninth Army to ?exploit any opportunity for seizing a bridgehead over the Elbe River and be prepared to advance on Berlin or to the northeast.? General Simpson immediately announced his Army?s assignment, and when the troops heard the magic word ?Berlin? they gleefully assumed that they had been specially chosen to capture the German capital. ?My people were keyed up,? Simpson recalled. ?We?d been the first to the Rhin and now we were going to be the first to Berlin. All along we thought of just one thing capturing Berlin, going through and meeting the Russians on the other side.? Simpson?s Ninth Army made rapid progress in the advance toward Magdenburg on the Elbe River, just 79 miles short of Berlin. On April 5th the Ninth?s Spearhead, 2nd Armored Division, reached Hameln, the town made famous by the Pied Piper Legend. Hameln was a pretty little place but not fore long. It was defended by an SS unit, and the Americans were forced to flatten it. Beyond Hameln, the 2nd Armored reached open, rolling country that stretched away 100 miles to the Elbe. On April 7th a Combat Command captured Hildesheim, and by then 2nd Armor was so far ahead of the First and 3rd Army?s General Simpson called a halt to give the others time to catch up. ... More
Description Elbe Day, April 25, 1945, is the day Soviet and American troops met at the River Elbe, near Torgau in Germany, marking an important step toward the end of World War II in Europe. This contact between Elbe Day, April 25, 1945, is the day Soviet and American troops met at the River Elbe, near Torgau in Germany, marking an important step toward the end of World War II in Europe. This contact between the Soviets, advancing from the East, and the Americans, advancing from the West, meant that the two powers had effectively cut Germany in two.
Elbe Day has never been an official holiday in any country, but in the years after 1945 the memory of this friendly encounter gained new significance in the context of the Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.
History
The first contact between American and Soviet patrols occurred near Strehla, after First Lieutenant Albert Kotzebue, an American soldier, crossed the River Elbe in a boat with three men of an intelligence and reconnaissance platoon. On the east bank they met forward elements of a Soviet Guards rifle regiment of the First Ukrainian Front, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Gardiev. The same day, another patrol under Second Lieutenant William Robertson with Frank Huff, James McDonnell and Paul Staub met a Soviet patrol commanded by Lieutenant Alexander Silvashko on the destroyed Elbe bridge of Torgau.
On April 26, the commanders of the 69th Infantry Division of the First Army and the 58th Guards Rifle Division of the 5th Guards Army (Soviet Union) met at Torgau, southwest of Berlin. Arrangements were made for the formal "Handshake of Torgau" between Robertson and Silvashko in front of photographers the following day, April 27.
The Soviet, American, and British governments released simultaneous statements that evening in London, Moscow, and Washington, reaffirming the determination of the three Allied powers to complete the destruction of the Third Reich.... More
Description The plan of the Pacific subseries was determined by the geography, strategy, and the military organization of a theater largely oceanic. Two independent, coordinate commands, one in the Southwest PaciThe plan of the Pacific subseries was determined by the geography, strategy, and the military organization of a theater largely oceanic. Two independent, coordinate commands, one in the Southwest Pacific under General of the Army Douglas MacArthur and the other in the Central, South, and North Pacific (Pacific Ocean Areas) under Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, were created early in the war. Except in the South and Southwest Pacific, each conducted its own operations with its own ground, air, and naval forces in widely separated areas. These operations required at first only a relatively small number of troops whose efforts often yielded strategic gains which cannot be measured by the size of the forces involved. Indeed, the nature of the objectivesùsmall islands, coral atolls, and jungle-bound harbors and airstrips, made the employment of large ground forces impossible and highlighted the importance of air and naval operations. Thus, until 1945, the war in the Pacific progressed by a double series of amphibious operations each of which fitted into a strategic pattern developed in Washington.
21 Named Campaigns were recognized in the Asiatic Pacific Theater with Battle Streamers and Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medals.... More
Best Moment
Letter Written Sunday 15, 1944 Written to Mary and Roy Dear mother and Roy Today is Sunday and nothing doing. I thought I would write and let you know what is going on around here and what I and the rest of the Army here in France are doing; we are now making our Headquarters in a small town, which is a typical French village small and all. Most of the inhabitance have gone but it is still very much alive with G.I. traffic and soldiers milling around the fountain in the small square. At the upper end of the village square is a quaint old church in which I just went to mass. Most of this part of the country is studded with these small villages, in which the farmers live. They have there farms surrounding this village and make the trip every morning in carts to there own plot of land. All the houses are modern with electricity and a little plumbing. One thing which struck me was the beautiful furniture which decorates some of these houses. Before the war France was a very wealthy nation, evidence of its wealth is still present but the people are in a very degredated state at the present. The Germans drained most of the natural wealth and thus killing almost all business. In the large towns, things seam to be operating about the same, but it is evident that there is quite a bit of poverty. Since landing in France I have seen a good portion of the this Country and, although she may have once been a wealthy Nation, with high standard of living, she is certainly a third rate nation today, and will be fore some time. I doubt if France will recover from this war for quite some time. Even before the war, she was supposed to have a very high standard of living but such as it was, it could not compare with ours. The more I see the more I appreciate and realize how high a standard of living we have. Excuse my babbling in this way but it is about all I have to say and it is on my mind at the present time. Write soon and give my love to Margie and David. Your loving Son David
Worst Moment
Letter written Saturday 8, 1944 Written to Mary and Roy Dear Mother and Roy, Just another day over here and as usual there isn?t much to write. We are just sitting here doing nothing being most of the time in foxholes and eating ?K? rations. I would give any thing for a big piece of apple pie and about a gallon of milk. There are plenty of cows around here but it isn?t good to drink as it is contaminated. I am still doing most of my work at night and sleeping during the day. I can?t tell you the nature of the work but it is exciting as hell and plenty tough on ones nerves. Don?t get the idea that I don?t like this work as it is just up my ally. My residence is now in a very cozy little foxhole, no running water but little things like that can be easily overlooked. There are two of us occupying this little hole, which makes it a little more cozy. In the night, when I am there, we have to keep one person awake at all times. This gets quite tiresome but we have to do it. One never knows when some damn ?Krout? will come snooping around. Every once in a while one of the bastards will come around and we have to shoot him, too bad. They also smell if left around to long. Here is a little French money, the five and the ten are invasion money, the five with the picture is actual French money. I am also enclosing some German Marks, which I picked up from a dead Jerry the other day. Winter is really setting in now, much to my dislike as it makes life much more difficult, especially when we are in foxholes. Guess I will close for now. Write soon and don?t worry about me as I will be careful and soon I?ll be home for good. Tell Margie to send me a little picture of herself and one of Babs, which I can put in my wallet. Also I would like a picture of you and Roy and the baby. I miss you all and will try and come back the same as I was when I went away. I think I am a little older but just about the same. Love and kisses David
Other Memories
V-Mail. OCT 15th, 1944 Sgt. David L. Briggs Co. K. 137th INF. APO. 35 c/o Pm NY, NY. To Barbara sister Dear Barbara There isn?t much I can write now as we are just sitting around here and not doing a thing. Once in a while the Jerries will send a couple of shells in on us but we don?t mind. All we do is jump into our fox holes and wait until it is all over. My job hasn?t kept me very busy but I manage to get around quite a bit. We get a little rain once in a while. I am feeling well and happy but I sure wish my mail would catch up with me. Write soon t6o new address. Love and kisses David
Letter Post marked OCT 15, 1944 PFC. David L. Briggs Co. K. 137th INF. Regt. APO. 35 c/o Pm NY, NY. To Barbara sister Was written Friday the 13th 1944 Dear Barbara Excuse my not writing you for the past week or so but we have been pretty busy up at the front doing a little job. Things have been pretty hot but I made it out all right. I used to think that the tank destroyers had a lot of guts but now I realize that it is the Infantry who really has the intestinal fortitude and plenty of it. Since I have been over here I sure have taken on a fantastic attitude, the more I see the stronger it gets. Yesterday for example a fellow jumped off a truck and broke a leg after going through some of the toughest fighting around. Guess that is the way it goes. The weather is getting cold now but I don?t mind as I picked up a fur jacket which used to belong to a jerry, but he won?t need it any more poor boy. I put it inside my field jacket and it sure is a warm coat. I can?t think of a darn thing to write so I?ll close for now. Write soon and say hello to John for me. Tell Mom not to worry about me. Love and kisses David
Best Friends
This is the four page letter he wrote to Mary and Roy that he mentioned to Barbara I think. Dated November 30th, 1944 at 0400 Dear mother and Roy During the next two hours I am on the telephone here in Battalion Headquarters so to pass the time I am writing to you since this is the first time in quite a while that I have been able to gather my thoughts and sit down all alone in a good warm room and write. I will give you a summery of what has taken place with me since I left the States. On August 24th, 1944 our ship sailed from New York Harbor bound for Europe and most of us were pretty excited. Most of the men with me at that time were those with whom I had been with through my whole time in the Army. Our crossing was without excitement and very smooth. Upon landing in England we were put on one of those funny English trains and whipped straight across the Island to another port where a boat awaited us for shipment to the Continent. (FRANCE) These ships we were on were English and I mite say about the worst boats on the water. Though they were big the food was not good and they were very dirty. We landed at a beach in France where some time previous (He told me about three Months) the American army had landed on its D Day operations. I was very much impressed by the number of ships standing there unloading there cargos. The beach was like a large Ant hill, people all over and trucks running about. My foot landed on French soil on September 9th. Then we walked up a long hill to a replacement pool. We were loaded down with equipment a large pack and a duffel bag. Soon trucks came and picked us up and we were on our way. About two hours later we were not far from St. Lo. In a replacement Depot. Here we sat until a call was put in asking for so many men. This went on all across France. Finally we were all sent out to separate units, Two or three here and some there. I and one other boy whom you do not know were sent to K Company 137th INF. Regt. Where we would be assigned. There were a number of other replacements with me but I did not know them. We were all out in the field and the C.O. asked for some Radio Operators and since I had some experience I went. They did not have any Radio Sergeant at that time so after a couple of days I was given the job. That was when I got the promotion to? Buck sergeant?. After doing that job for a while the old Radio Sergeant came back and was given the job back. So I asked to go out on the line and got some action. I was made an Assistant Squad Leader and fought as that up until I went to the Hospital. Upon returning I found my job was taken and so I was put in another Platoon as my previous capacity. The next afternoon I was called to the C.P. (Command Post) and in to the C. O. (Commanding Officer) He said he had a good position for me if I could make the grade. I cleaned up and went down to the Battalion C. P. (Command Post) where I was to talk to a certain Captain. He asked me if I would be interested in trying for the job of S-3 Sergeant and I accepted. It is a good job and I am learning the ropes fast. If I make out good which I am sure I will. I?ll get a promotion and have a darn good job. Perhaps Roy can tell you what an S-3 Sergeant?s job is. I can?t go into detail now. This brings us up to now so I?ll close write soon and give my love to Margaret and David, I sure miss you all. Love and Kisses David P.S. No packages as yet, should be soon. Xxxxx
Best Moment
V-Mail. OCT 30th, 1944 Sgt. David L. Briggs Co. K. 137th INF. Regt. APO. 35 c/o Pm NY, NY. Letter to Barbara sister Dear Barbara Only a couple of lines to let you know what I am doing. We are still sitting around behind the lines having a good rest. It is raining outside and I got my foot wet so I put on my wooden shoes which I picked up and my boots are under the stone. I washed a couple of pair of sox and put them up to dry. Outside of that there there isn?t any other thing worth while. I have changed my job to that of squad leader, you can ask John what I do and that will save me telling you. I will get more action there is also more pay. I didn?t tell Mom as she will worry no doubt. I have picked up some souvenirs which I am going to send home. Must close be good and say hello to John. Love and kisses David
News Paper clipping dated DEC 22nd, 1944 AWARDED PROMOTION For meritorious action on a night mission into Germany recently, PFC. David Briggs has been promoted to sergeant, according to word received by his Mother, Mrs. R. R. Stockburger, and his sister, Mrs. James Peixotto. He is in the Infantry.
Letter OCT 23rd, 1944 Pfc. David L. Briggs Co. K. 137th INF. Regt. APO. 35 c/o Pm NY, NY. Letter to Barbara sister Written Friday the 20th Dearest Darling Barbara I have just been relieved as sergeant of the guard and it was good to be through with that detail. Today there was a Red Cross Club Mobile which came here to our aria and gave out doughnuts and coffee. All the men were sure glad to see it come as it was the first time in months that some of us got to see American girls. One of them came up and spoke to me and I could hardly think of anything to say. I guess I am loosing my old touch, but she was good looking. I ate doughnuts until I thought I would burst. Chow is down stairs now but I don?t feel much like eating. I haven?t been feeling so hot for the past week; I guess it?s the food The weather is getting very cold now, winter will soon be here and that will sure add to the discomfort of the whole thing. It?s bad enough over here when it?s warm but the cold makes things just twice as tough. Just ate lunch, I call it lunch as all I had was a sandwich, and soon I must go out and get my guard relined. It?s quite a little responsibility to post a guard and see that the men keep on the ball all the time. Today there was some ?Brass? around and so we had to especially be on the ball. Guess I will close for now as it is almost time to go out. Write soon and be a good girl Love and kisses David
Worst Moment
Letter: NOV 17th, Sgt. David L. Briggs Co. K. 137th INF. APO. 35 c/o Pm NY. Air Mail Letter written to Mary and Roy (Mother and Step Father) Written on Wednesday 15th, 1944 Dear Mother and Roy All around me now the ground and the trees have put on a white coat of snow and at intervals little bits will fall to help out. It is cold and very uncomfortable, I sure wish it would freeze or dry up. Many of the men are having trouble with there feet getting wet and cold. It?s going to be a tough winter, I can see it now. I am sure hoping the war will be over soon as it is tough enough when it?s warm but the cold adds to it a lot. I can?t find much to write about today so I?ll close for now and get about my work. Please write soon and say hello to all. Love and kisses David
Letter: NOV 20th, 1944 Sgt. David L. Briggs Co. K. 137th INF. APO. 35 c/o Pm NY. Air Mail/W- Stamp Letter to Barbara sister Written Saturday 15th, 1944 Dear Barbara I am now out of the hospital; I spent five days there with a cold and the dysentery. It was a good rest and I took advantage of it. I think I put on about ten pounds as all I did was sleep and eat all I could possibly hold. Now I am in a replacement pool awaiting transportation back to my unit. It really doesn?t make any difference if I stay here for a month as I am not anxious to get back to the front. I am spending my time with a swell fellow with whom I came from the hospital. We sure have a good time talking about home. Boy will I be glad when this is all over. It has been cold as hell here, yesterday morning we had a good freeze and it made the muck hard so it was really better. I wish it would either freeze all over or it would dry up. Dinner is about to be served so I will close for now. Be good and write soon. Love and kisses David He did not tell his Mother that he was in the Hospital to keep her from worrying (This is when he received his Purple Heart for shrapnel wounds he did not have a cold).
Letter: Written NOV 27th, 1944 Written to Mother and Roy I am now back in my unit and am glad to get here. My nerves are all shot from being in those replacement depots. Today when I got back there was a large stack of mail waiting for me and it was wonderful hearing from you. Margaret wrote and sent a picture of herself and the baby, he is just darling and I am sure anxious to see him. You may be interested to know that I am in the same Army as Jim but am unable to contact him. Tomorrow I am going to the Red Cross and try and get in touch with him. The going is pretty tough but I am happy and well. Write very soon and say hello to Max. I forgot to thank Margaret for the birthday present, I got it today. Love David P.S. No packages as yet but should be here soon.
Margaret is his oldest sister married to Jim Pixotto a West Point Graduate. Would end his career as a Lt. Col. United States Army the baby David, would also attend West Point and serve two tours in Viet Nam Army Engineers. Then teach for the Army at Stanford College. Max was a girl he new.
Other Memories
3rd Battalion Companys K and HQ/HQ
V-Mail. OCT 10th, 1944 Sgt. David L. Briggs Co. K. 137th INF. Regt. APO. 35 c/o Pm NY, NY. Letter to Barbra sister Dear Barbara I am now assigned to the 137th Infantry Regiment which has bin in France for about (censored Possibly 6 months) and is comprised of mostly all vets. This is a good outfit and I am glad to be in it. When I got here they were short a communications Sgt. And as I have had quite a bit of radio training they gave me the job and it is darn good. There isn?t much doing now but I have an idea that we will be moving up soon but don?t worry about me. When you write to Mom tell her that I am in a good position and very safe. Yesterday I was walking around the country and I happened across a fur jacket and is it ever warm. It made of rabbit fur and is supposed to go inside of my field jacket. Today is nice and warm but it?s getting cool very fast. Guess I will close foe now and write my girl. Be good and don?t worry about me. Love David I do not know if company F. was the 137th Infantry Regiment. His V-Mail just reads Co. F. INF. In the last letter he states a new unit Company K 137th Infantry Regiment.
Also it seams like weeks or months that mail would not move very far if any where. Letters with the same post mark date show different ranks.
Letter. NOV 6th 1944 Sgt. David Briggs Co. K. 137th INF. Regt. APO 35 c/o Pm NY. This letter was censored twice. Written to Barbara sister Dearest Barbara I have just returned from town where I took a good long shower and also got some nice clean clothes. And all in all I sure feel good. If there is one thing a dough boy likes after a (three words censored) a hot shower, some clean clothes and then a bottle of wine or cognac. All I lack having is the battle but I am sure working on that. We are behind (three words censored) but not so far as the artillery won?t bother us, and this is sure a much needed rest for me. I was doing a lot of my hard and sometimes dangerous work and I think it was beginning to show on my nerves. Don?t worry Darling as I can keep care of myself anytime, those jerries can?t give out any more than I can so I am still safe. I?ll watch it though the other day I got a commendation from some brass on my good work. (Con?t after the show). (No Show) This was a feather in my cap. I am hoping I am hoping to get my rank. I am guessing some time this month and if I do it will bust my pay to somewhere in the vicinity of 130 per month and honey that is not chicken feed. I am sending twenty five home now and also an extra thirty this month. When I get home I will have a pretty penny to start out on. Guess I will close for now be good and give my best to John for me and tell him not to try and get over here as it is just plain hell. You?re Loving Bro. David P.S. If you want to send an Xmas thing make it a cig case and a lighter or tell Mom to send it. Candy and cigs will be better two. I have to carry things everywhere.
Letter dated November 30th, 1944 1500 hrs. Written to Barbara sister Dearest Barbara While I am standing my tour on the telephone it is a good chance for me to catch up on my mail. I guess you know I was in the hospital for a while but now I?m back and feeling fine. Upon my return I found my old job filled by someone else so they gave me another squad. Shortly after taking over my new duties I was called up to Bn. Headquarters to talk with the S-3 officer about working up here. I accepted his offer of S-3 Sergeant. Which will mean a promotion if I?m satisfactory, and want to work here. It is a pretty good job, Just about like I had in the T.D.?s. I?m getting the swing of things and sure trying as the work is much safer than what I was doing. I wrote mom a four page letter tonight or this morning, and told her all about what I am doing. My mail is coming is good now, once in a while I will get a letter which dates back to September or so but most of it is coming right through. Yes honey I sure hope you are going to make me an Uncle again. I will be the proudest person on earth if there is any thing I can do, money or anything else; don?t hesitate to ask me as I sure want to help out if possible. When my promotion goes through I?ll be up in the chips. I must close for now and awaken some of the officers and men around here write real soon. Love and kisses P.S. Bob Balolock?s wife is going to have a baby isn?t that swell? Also got some pictures of ?little David? he sure is cute. Yours will be better looking I am sure.
T. D.?s are tank destroyers which he served with from 1943-1944.
Letter: Written December 2nd, 1944 Sgt. David L. Briggs No Envelope To Mary and Roy Dear mother and Roy A letter came from you yesterday and you seem to be a little confused by my new little will I wrote last night and told you about some of the details. I?ll answer some of the questions you asked me. As you wanted to know about pay, well I must wait until my new promotion goes through. You see in the job I am doing I will get more rank and more pay. If it goes through, and it should next month I will get a base pay of 96 dollars, added on to this is twenty percent overseas pay which puts me right up in the chips. I will make out a larger allotment to be sent to you and you can save it for me. As for going to the Pacific, well no one knows what we will do. There is some talk about it but nothing definite. Darling I lost the knives before I had a chance to send them but I will pick some other things just as soon as I can. There are some very pretty things over here but it is hard to send them home. When I go to town again I will try to pick up some nice linen but as you know things are very scarce here, the Germans took everything. Love and kisses David
Description (Rhineland Campaign 15 September 1944 to 21 March 1945) Attempting to outflank the Siegfried Line, the Allies tried an airborne attack on Holland on 17 September 1944. But the operation failed, and th(Rhineland Campaign 15 September 1944 to 21 March 1945) Attempting to outflank the Siegfried Line, the Allies tried an airborne attack on Holland on 17 September 1944. But the operation failed, and the enemy was able to strengthen his defensive line from Holland to Switzerland. Little progress was made on the ground, but the aerial attacks on strategic targets continued. Then, having regained the initiative after defeating a German offensive in the Ardennes in December 1944, the Allies drove through to the Rhine, establishing a bridgehead across the river at Remagen.... More
Description The Battle of the Bulge (16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945) was a major German offensive campaign launched through the densely forested Ardennes region of Wallonia in Belgium, France and Luxembourg oThe Battle of the Bulge (16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945) was a major German offensive campaign launched through the densely forested Ardennes region of Wallonia in Belgium, France and Luxembourg on the Western Front toward the end of World War II in Europe. Hitler planned the offensive with the primary goal to recapture the important harbour of Antwerp. The surprise attack caught the Allied forces completely off guard. United States forces bore the brunt of the attack and incurred the highest casualties for any operation during the war. The battle also severely depleted Germany's war-making resources.
The battle was known by different names. The Germans referred to it as Unternehmen Wacht am Rhein ("Operation Watch on the Rhine"), while the French named it the Bataille des Ardennes ("Battle of the Ardennes"). The Allies called it the Ardennes Counteroffensive. The phrase "Battle of the Bulge" was coined by contemporary press to describe the way the Allied front line bulged inward on wartime news maps and became the best known name for the battle.
The German offensive was supported by several subordinate operations known as Unternehmen Bodenplatte, Greif, and Währung. As well as stopping Allied transport over the channel to the harbor of Antwerp, Germany also hoped these operations would split the British and American Allied line in half, and then proceed to encircle and destroy four Allied armies, forcing the Western Allies to negotiate a peace treaty in the Axis Powers' favor. Once that was accomplished, Hitler could fully concentrate on the eastern theatre of war.
The offensive was planned by the German forces with the utmost secrecy, minimizing radio traffic and moving troops and equipment under cover of darkness. Despite their efforts to keep it secret, the Third U.S. Army's intelligence staff predicted a major German offensive, and Ultra indicated that a "substantial and offensive" operation was expected or "in the wind", although a precise date or point of attack could not be given. Aircraft movement from the Russian Front and transport of forces by rail, both to the Ardennes, was noticed but not acted upon, according to a report later written by Peter Calvocoressi and F. L. Lucas at the codebreaking centre Bletchley Park.
Near-complete surprise was achieved by a combination of Allied overconfidence, preoccupation with Allied offensive plans, and poor aerial reconnaissance. The Germans attacked a weakly defended section of the Allied line, taking advantage of heavily overcast weather conditions, which grounded the Allies' overwhelmingly superior air forces. Fierce resistance on the northern shoulder of the offensive around Elsenborn Ridge and in the south around Bastogne blocked German access to key roads to the northwest and west that they counted on for success; columns that were supposed to advance along parallel routes found themselves on the same roads. This and terrain that favored the defenders threw the German advance behind schedule and allowed the Allies to reinforce the thinly placed troops. Improved weather conditions permitted air attacks on German forces and supply lines, which sealed the failure of the offensive. In the wake of the defeat, many experienced German units were left severely depleted of men and equipment, as survivors retreated to the defenses of the Siegfried Line.
About 610,000 American forces were involved in the battle,[2] and 89,000 were casualties, including 19,000 killed. It was the largest and bloodiest battle fought by the United States in World War II.... More
Memories ARDENNES FOREST Battle of the Bulge
During late September and early October the 137th Infantry RegimenARDENNES FOREST Battle of the Bulge
During late September and early October the 137th Infantry Regiment along with the 35th Infantry Division was with General Patton?s 3rd Army in III Corps Control. And General Patton?s third Army was attacking the fortifications around the city of Metz. Supplies were in short demand, and being rationed by General Bradley. First Army got 5,400 tons a day, while Patton?s third Army, which was being used in a secondary role, got 3,100 tons daily. And to free the two Corps of the First Army for the attack, Bradley bolstered the central Ardennes front by moving up the small, newly organized U.S. Ninth Army (the 35th Infantry would be assigned there later in the Battle for the Rhine.) In the early Allied attacks on the West Wall, supply shortages caught up with one unit after another. Fuel for tanks and trucks was scarce. So was ammunition. Some outfits lacked the flamethrowers and explosives they needed to blast there way through the fortifications. There was no room in the truck convoys for winter clothing; with cold and snow coming on, the troops still wore the light weight outfits provided for the June landing in Normandy. Even food was in short supply, and strict rationing had to be imposed. Some units supplemented there combat rations with captured stockpiles of German food. Patton?s Third Army was to attack toward the Saar, and Devers?. On December 12th the Third Army was attacking across the Saar. It was around this time that Pfc. David L. Briggs was wounded and received the Purple Heart. General Bradley ordered Patton?s 10th Armored Division on the eve of his offensive in the Saar to proceed to the Ardennes, calling General Patton at his Headquarters in Nancy and got the response that he expected. Patton complained that the Germans were just trying to spoil his attack. But Bradley was firm, and Patton reluctantly but promptly put through the order that started the 10th Armored Division on its way to the Ardennes. On the night of December 17th a task force of the 10th Armored Division arrived from the south, and the following morning it launched a strong counter attack into Berdorf. The taskforce linked up with 1st Lt. John L. Leake and his 60 men at the Parc Hotel and also a Platoon of Armored Engineers, and together they engaged the Germans in fierce house to house fighting. On December 19th Eisenhower had a General Staff meeting to form a strategy to halt the Germans. They adopted the strategy of containment and counterattack, learned during WWI and taught there after at American Service Schools. Building strong positions on the flank of the enemy restricting the breakthrough to a narrow corridor; then they would sever the corridor and cut off the enemy troops heading for the Meuse. The counter attack, Eisenhower decided would be launched by Patton?s Third Army from the southern flank. General Patton?s Headquarters was in the city of Nancy 50 miles to the southeast. As Patton?s troops sliced northward through the German flank, they were to relieve the town of Bastogne, a vital and gravely threatened road center. Eisenhower asked Patton when he would be able to attack. ?On December 22nd, with three Divisions one of them is being the 35th Infantry, the 4th Armored, and the 26th Infantry. In the 4th Armored Division on December 26th in one of the lead units only four miles from Bastogne one of these units was the 37th Tank Battalion led by Lt. Colonel Creighton W. Abrams (who one day would be Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army). They were in Combat Command R, that night they were in Bastogne. They welcomed by the 326th Engineers of the 101st Airborne Division. Third Army Commander General George S. Patton had told his men to ?Drive like Hell,? they were resisted by the German 5th Parachute Division and several other units and many numerous anti-tank guns. They succeeded in reaching Bastogne in five days. The 137th Infantry Regiment was in Combat Command A. on December 31st Patton?s III Corps, led by the 6th Armored Division, and struck northeast toward Saint Vith. They ground painfully forward through Wardin, Neffe, And Bizory, roadways were covered with ice, tanks slipped and slid, and fighter bombers were grounded by snow flurries. And further east troops of the 26th Division attacking toward Wiltz, had to contend not only with bitter enemy resistance but also extremely difficult terrain rugged hills, ravines and icy streams. 30 December on this day four German in one of our jeeps, dressed in American uniforms, were killed, and another group of seventeen, also in American uniforms, were reported by the 35th Division as follows: ?one sentinel, reinforced, saw seventeen Germans in American uniforms. Fifteen were killed and two died suddenly.? On January 28th 1945 the Battle of the Bulge was over, at a cost of Americans 80,987 casualties, including 10,276 killed, 47,493 wounded, and 23,218 missing .casualties to the Germans were about 120,000 men. ... More
Description The American Theater was a minor area of operations during World War II. This was mainly due to both North and South America's geographical separation from the central theaters of conflict in Europe aThe American Theater was a minor area of operations during World War II. This was mainly due to both North and South America's geographical separation from the central theaters of conflict in Europe and Asia. Thus, any threat by the Axis Powers to invade the mainland United States or other areas was considered negligible, allowing for American resources to be deployed in overseas theaters.
This article includes attacks on continental territory, extending 200 miles (320 km) into the ocean, which is today under the sovereignty of the United States, Canada, Mexico, and several other smaller states, but excludes military action involving the Danish territory of Greenland, the Hawaiian Islands, and the Aleutian Islands. The most well known battles in North America during World War II were the Attack on Pearl Harbor (the first attack on US soil since the Battle of Ambos Nogales), the Aleutian Islands Campaign, the Battle of the St. Lawrence, and the attacks on Newfoundland.... More
Description The American Theater was a minor area of operations during World War II. This was mainly due to both North and South America's geographical separation from the central theaters of conflict in Europe aThe American Theater was a minor area of operations during World War II. This was mainly due to both North and South America's geographical separation from the central theaters of conflict in Europe and Asia. Thus, any threat by the Axis Powers to invade the mainland United States or other areas was considered negligible, allowing for American resources to be deployed in overseas theaters.
This article includes attacks on continental territory, extending 200 miles (320 km) into the ocean, which is today under the sovereignty of the United States, Canada, Mexico, and several other smaller states, but excludes military action involving the Danish territory of Greenland, the Hawaiian Islands, and the Aleutian Islands. The most well known battles in North America during World War II were the Attack on Pearl Harbor (the first attack on US soil since the Battle of Ambos Nogales), the Aleutian Islands Campaign, the Battle of the St. Lawrence, and the attacks on Newfoundland.... More
People You Remember MEN of the 137th INFANTRY REGIMENT
Capt. Jack L. Smith, Maj. Robert L. Stephenson, Lt. Col George T. MEN of the 137th INFANTRY REGIMENT
Capt. Jack L. Smith, Maj. Robert L. Stephenson, Lt. Col George T. O?Conner, Lt. Col. Albert M. Butler, M/Sgt. Charles V. Jackson, 1st Lt. William Beasley, Col. Laying (PH), Lt. Col. Frink, Lt. Col. Wilson 219th F.A.(PH), Col. Harry Emery (PH), Pvt. Owen J. McBride (PH), Pvt. Robert G. Reason (PH), PFC. Robert Waugh (PH), Capt. Keer 219th F.A.(PH), 1st Lt. John T. Graham Jr. (PH), Lt. Col Alexander (PH), Lt. Col. Stowers, T-SGT. Frank A. Gonzales (BFC/PH), T-SGT. Claud A. Hupp (BFC), PFC. Howard G. Nicholes (PH), T-SGT. Richard E. Blair, SSG. Volk (PH), SGT. Blankenship (PH), SGT. Earl V. Spengler, CPL. Peter Seiwert (PH), PFC. Leonard L. Coffman, PFC. Cofford S. Goza, Capt. Harry C. Simpson, Lt. Guinessy (PH), CAPT. Sidney K. Strong, T-SGT. Mitchell R. Hughbanks, SGT. Allen C. Allburty, T-SGT. Louis A. Griffith (BFC), T-SGT. Wilbur G. Hobbs (BFC), T-SGT. Victor W. Shulty (BFC), T-SGT. Elwin I. Shopteese (BFC), T-SGT. Loyd W. Belt (BFC), T-SGT. Paul L. Power Med Det. (BFC), SSG. William G. Ligon Med Det. (BFC), SSG. Walter J. Black Med Det. (BFC), SSG. Harold T. Shaw, SSG. Gerald Jones, SSG. Glenwood B. Dahlgren, SSG. Cecil D. Bruer, SSG. Harold P. Green, SSG. LeRoy D. Fagan, SSG. Bob R. Adams, COL. Robert Sears (BS), PVT. Dagenhart (2SS), Col Murrey (SS), SGT. Guffey, PVT. Jones, Lt. Giacobello, 1st SGT. Warren P. Schrader (PH), 1st Lt. Vernon W. Pickett (PH/DSC), 1st SGT Claud L. Applegate (PH), CAPT. William C. Miller (DSC), Lt. COL. Roseborough, CAPT. Rodger N. Baker, July 19th, 1944 Unit Commendation for the 35th Infantry Regiment issued by XIX Corps Commander for St. Lo operations. Lt. Constantine Mims, SSG. William L. Smith, SGT. Robert L. Deem, October 22nd, 1944 3rd Battalion receives Presidential Unit Citation at Fremestroff. December 9th, 1944 Company F received a Unit Citation in Sarreguemines. Lt. COL. Albert Frink, MAJ. Harry Parker, Lt. Sudduth, SGT. Bickley, Lt. Shoptise, 1st Lt. Fredrick L. Bach (DSC), 1st LT. Raymond W. Braffitt (DSC), SGT. Samuel C. Davis (DSC), T-SGT. Paul A. Fall, (DSC), SGT. Carl J. Frantz (DSC), T-SGT. Joseph P. Fuller (DSC), 1st Lt. Joseph S. Giacobello (DSC), SSG. Sherwood C. Lines (DSC), SSG. Harry L. Luther, T-SGT. Harold D. Snyder, 1st Lt. Odie T. Stallcup, T-SGT. Clayton W. Pearson, CAPT. Carl E. Pister (DSC), CAPT. William C. Miller (DSC). PH= Purple Heart. BFC= Battle Field Commission. SS= Silver Star. DSC= Distinguished Service Cross. BS= Bronze Star. Abernathy, Lewis J., Abrams, Clifford I., Adams, Bob R., Adams, Clifford R., Adams, Eugene E., Adams, Preston G., Adams, Walter R., Adams, William T., Addison, Morton C., Ady, Robert H., Aeby, Adrin K., Ager, Stephen C., Aiello, Daniel A., Altken, Francis E., Albright, Ortwin W., Albright, Vernon L., Aldredge, Louis W., Alexander, Connie W., Alexander, William P., Aley, James D. Jr., Allburty, Allen C., Allen, Edward M., Allen, Ernest C., Allen, Forest H., Allen, John W., Allen, Morris P., Allen, Robert E., Alletto, Rosario S., Allison, Vernon L., Allphin, Robert C., Althouser, Edward A., Altman, Luther J., Ambrosino, Bennie S., Amelio, Francis P. Amerine, Maynard T., Anmann, Melvin J., Amos, Charles R., Anderson, Alton R., Anderson, Anton, Anderson, Harold E., Anderson, Keneth F., Anderson, LeRoy E., Anderson, Milford J., Anderson, Myron C., Anderson, Oscar G., Anderson, Vernon K., Andes, Edward G., Andrews, Ralph J., Andrews, Robert T., Appel, Edward R., Archer, James E., Ardon, John H., Ardolino, Louis R., Arnett, Claud C., Arnett, James H., ... More
Countries, Cities, Towns, And Villages the Regiment 137th Infantry Regiment: 35th Infantry Division.
Countries, Cities, Towns, And Villages the Regiment were in 1944-1945.
The 137th left New York May 11, 1944 on the SS Thomas H. Barry
ENGLAND: Avonmouth May 24th 1944, Bodmin Road, and Neyquey, the Moors of Cornwall housed in the ancient barracks of the Duke of Cornwall?s Light Infantry Brigade. July 4, 1944 Plymouth and Falmouth sailed on 6th and 7th of July 1944 for France. FRANCE: Landed on Omaha Beach on 7th-8th-9th July 1944 Normandy France, Le Meauffe July 9th 1944, Vire River near St. Gilles, La Pte Ferme, and Le Carillon July 11th 1944, St. Lo-Point Hebert Road. July 14th 1944, La Marel, Highway 2, La Carrillon July 16th 1944, July 17th Les Anges, Rampan, La Capelle. 18th July Vire River, over looking St. Lo. July 26th La Luzerne. July 29th La Barbee, Torigni sur Vire. July 30th Conde sir Vire, Les Fontaines, Brectouville, La Roque. July 31st Pitiunay, le Mt. Herbert, Tessy, Tessy- Torigni Road, Highway 3, le Mesnil, Beau Costil, on August 2nd . August 3rd, la Fortier, Taburie. August 4th Beaumesnil, Vire. Causalities: From July 10th to July 19th were 145 killed, 704 wounded, 6 M.I.A. July 20th to August 4th were 31 killed, 262 wounded, and 42 M.I.A. August 6th St.Hilare in the Brittany Peninsula; into Northern France. Louvigne, Pontfarcy, Villendieu, Ponts, Brecey, St. Hilare. August 7th Louvigne, St. Symphorien, Mortan- St. Cyre, Villechien. August 8th: Barenton, Le Teilleu, St5. George de Rouelle, St. Mars de Egrenne. August 11th Barenton, Bourentier, Mortain Forest, Rancoudray. August 13th Le Mans, Ernee, Argente, Highway N. 157, Varges, Brulon, St. Denis. August 14th St. Calis, Change, Ardenay, Boulore, Bosouys, Preteval, Binas, Ouzouner, Charlsonville, Caulmiers. August 16th Ormes, Orleans, St. Jean le Blanc. August 20yh Artenay. August 21st Senes, Yonne River, Seine, Souppes, Nibelle, Boigny, Trainou, Sully la Chapelle, Ingrannes, Chene Pointu Forest, Boisocommun, St. Loup les Vignes, Juranville, Corbeilles, Chateu Landon, Egreville, Jouy, Montacher, St. Valerien, Villeroy. August 22nd Courtenay. August 23rd Lorris, St. Clement, Meillot, St. Germain. Montargis, l?Ouanne River, St. Romain. August 26th Lorris, Chateaurenard. September 3rd Briene le Chateau, Bar sur Seine, Bleise, September 9th Crepey, Louze, St. Dizier, Ancerville, Ligny, Void, Vaucoulers, Colombey. September 10th Benney Forest, Lemainville, Ville sur Mossele, Orms et Ville. September 11th Crevechamps, Neuviller sur Moselle, Ormes Forest, Domptall, Lorey, St. Mard. September 13th Grayviller, Tonnoy, Conviller, Rosires, Saffais. September 14th Moselle River, Meurthe River, Azelot, Manoncourt, St. Nicolas. September 15th Nancy, Flavigny Forest, Lupcourt, Lanauville. September 16th Chartreuse, Varangeville. September 19th Buissoncourt. September 20th Highway 74. September 22nd Champenoux Woods, Faulx Woods, Maginot Line. September 24th Brine, St. Jean fontaine Forest, Bey. September 25th Seille River, Manhoue, Gremecey Forest, Bezange la Grande Forest, Mazerulles, Moncel sur Ville, Pettencourt. September 27th Fresnes. September 30th Biocourt. October 1st Seille River, Chambrey, Merlinsole, Bois de Chambrey, October 2nd Hill 300, October 5th Attilloncourt. October 8th Fossieux, Fossieux-Ajoincourt Road, Rau d?Osson, Seille River, October 15th Han, Rhin de Bois, Aboncourt, Attilloncourt, Gremecey, October 16th Mauacourt, Manhoue, Western tip of Jallacourt Woods, Gremecey Forest, Ruisseau d?Osson, Aulnois-Ajoincourt Road, Brin, St. Max. November 8th Jallacourt, Malaucourt, Juree Woods. November 9th Oriocourt, Alunois Woods, Delme, Metz-Chateau Salins Railroad and Highway, Laneuveville, November 10th Destry, Vivers. November 11th Serres Woods, Fontney, Faxe. November 12th Naid Francais Rau, Chateau-Salins Forest, Chateau Brehain. November 13th Villers-sur-Neid, Villers, Marthille. November 14th Baronville November 15th Metz-Benestroff Railway, Grand Bois, Hill 264. November 18th La Hove, Etang de Mutche Lake, Harprich, Berig-Vintrang. November 19th Bistroff, Bening, Fremestroff, Bertring, Gros-Tenquin, Hill 315. November 20yh Freyhouse Woods, Meisenbruck Farm, Freyhouse. November 21st Hellimer Highway, Francaltroff Road Junction, Hellimer, St. Jean-Rohrbach, Diffembach. November 22nd Leyviller, November 23rd Macfweld Woods, Altrippe. November 24th Hilsprech. December 3rd Erstroff, Linstroff, Grening. December 6th Hirbach, Bittring, Helving, Himbach, Neufgrange, Foret de Sarregueimnes, South Bank Saar River. December 9th Blies River, Sarregueimnes, Neunkirch. December 11th Frauenberg, Sarregueimnes Air Field, GERMANY: Breiterwald Woods, Bannholtz, Bliesmengen, Richeling, Remering, Ballering. December 22nd Gunderweiler, Metz, France. By way of St. Avold, Boulet, Moulins. BELGIUM: December 26th Nothomb via Messancy, Arlon, Pontellang. Luxembourg, Roodtles Ell, Perle, Holtz, December 27th Surre. December 28th Surre Woods, Livarchamps, Villers-la-Bonne-Eau. January 2nd Honville. January 7th Halt. January 11th Lutremange, Hompre. FRANCE: January 17th Fort Moselle Barracks Metz, France. January 24th Alberstroff, Serre-Union, Dimeringer, Lemberg, St. Louis, Meisenthal, Souchet, Montbraun, January 29th Adamsviller, Grungwiller, Berg, Rexingen. HOLLAND: January 30th via Lorentz, Sarre-Union, Fenetrange, Vic-Sur-Selle, Nancy, Toul, Void, Commercy, St. Mihiel, Reding, Lunesville, Verdun, Sedan, Mezieres, Namur, Liege, Vice, Stenay, Bouilion, Paliseul, Massin, Tellin, Rochefort, Marche, Warlange, to Moorbeek on January 31st. Banholt, Houtem, Scheg, Herkenrade, Vise, Maastricht (Jury Blue code name) GERMANY: February 5th Heinsberg, Aphoven, Kirchoven, Lieck, Braunsrath, Locken, Bocket. Roer River. February 19th Haag, HOLLAND: February 24Th Schinveld, Pannerschoop, Neiderbusch. GERMANY: February 25th, Roer River, Korrenzig, Doveren, Houverath. February 27th Gerderath, Fonderath, Gerderhahn, Almyhl, K-1 Gladbach, Myhl. February 28th Birgeler Woods, Wildenrath, Rodge, Arsbeck, Station-Vlodrop. March 1st Leuth, Kierhenback, May, Leutherheide. March 4th Neiukirk, Rheurdt, Flruth Landwehr Bridges. March 5th Rheinberg, Lintfort, Bocket, Haus Heideberg Woods. March 7th Ossenberg, Stovay Works. March 9th Millingen, Broth, Wallach, Menzelan, Gest, Augenedshorf, Buderich, Fort Blucher. March 11th Rhine River, Bauern. March 13th Leuth. March 26th Sevelen, Horstgen, Mehrum, Gotterswickerhamm, Dinslakener-Bruch, Wesel. March 27th Staatz Forest Wesel, Waldhuck, Walsumermark, Sterkrade-Nord. March 28th Autobahn Superhighway East of Konigshardt, Koiilscher Woods, Sterkade Woods. March 29th Kol Rheinbaben, Eigen, Bittrop, Brink. March 30th ?Topeka? Objective, Bower Beckhausen, Horst, Rhine Herne Canal, Schlangenhardt, Eastern Eigen, Ellinghorst, Piesbeck, Rheinbaben, Schaten, Boy, Schuhmacher, Z. Graff Noltke, Lone, Siebeck, Buer Beckhausen, Bottrop, Krahenburg, Gladbeck, Baur Beckhausen, Buer Erie Airfield, Buer Erie, Kol Ewald Woods. April 1st Hochlarmark, General Blumenthal, Emscherlof, Rollinghausen, Sonntagshof, Herten, Wane-Eickle. April 9th Altenhofen, Vode, Bergen, Hiltrop Wanne, Hiltrop Dorf, Constantine Estate, Behringhausen, Mitterfield, Sodingherholz, Rootbruch, Dorenburg, Horst, Aschenbuch. April 11th Gruner Bauren, Harpen, Baerfeld, Laer, Querenburg, Kirchharpen, Larefeld. April 14th Everingen, Luderitz, Segell, Bellingen, Buchholz, Gr. Schwarzlosen. April 15th Elbe River, Stendal, Tangermunde, Bolsdorf, Grieberg, Hildeshiem, Dusseldorph. April 20th Lelm, Cabbel. April 21st Briest, Buch, Jerchel, Schelldorph, Bolsdorph, Grobleben, Grieben, Bittkau, Ringfurth. April 27th Gardelegen, Gifhorn, Dahrenhorst, Hannover. May 5th Meyenfeld, Springe, Altenhoven, Voldaysen, Duringer Forest, Luerdissen, Lugde, Hiddensem, Bisingfelde, Bremke, Varenholz, Lunden, Obernkirchen, Brandshol Forest, Dudingham, Meyenfeld, Hamlen, Rinteln, Munder, Winnigsen, Barsinghausen, Eimbeckhem, Obernkirchen, Bordst, Rodenberg, Nenndorf, Lindherst, J.D. Kiedel and Hahn AG Works, Mosel Kassern, Gardlegen, Bad Munder, Holtensen, Fischbeck, Eimbekhem, Hameln, Rinteln, Todenmann, Steinbergen, Weser River, and all Towns and Villages in between the Occupation of Germany had begun. The 137th then occupied a zone in the Ruhr Area from 18th-31st of May in the following area: Richlinghausen, Via Bromberg, Hon, Padeborn, Gesche, Bochum, Herne, here they occupied 400 square miles of the Ruhr. From Essen to Bettrop to Hiprichenburg to Rosefled to Wassendorf to Dulmen including over 135 Cities and Towns including Glsenkirchen, Bottrop, Ricklinghausen, Dorsten, And Haltern, Harten, Dreul Nord, Stickenbusch, Gladbeck, Kirchhellen, Buer, Marl, Glesenkirchen, Buer Erle, Berten, Waltrop, Oer-Erken-Schwick, Ricklinghausen, St. Goar, Zell, Cochem, Simmern. March 1st Rhine River 35 miles from Rhens to Bingham. The 137th 3rd Bn. had 41 miles of Moselle River and its many resort towns that ran through both. Boppard, Oberwesel, Bacharach, Rheinbollen, Simmern, Kirchberg, Castellaun, Bad Betrich, Kaisersech, Pommern, Zell, Traben, there occupation was around 1000 square miles. Including the Stolzenfels Castle in Kappelen on the Rhine. July 4th moved to Kaiserlautern area. Neustadt, Neidenthal, Ludwigshafen, Haardt, Dannstudt, Frankenthal, Nisenbert, Kirchheis Bolandem, Dumstein, Landstuhl, Hamstein, Rockenhausen, Winnweiller, Weitersweiller, Lauterecken, Grunstadt. BELGIUM: July 15th Airfield B-58, Camp B-60 Grimbergen, Presidential Honor Guard (Truman) July 30th Presentation of Awards Ceremony, Parade, and Retreat Ceremony, Brussels. FRANCE: August 8th Le Harve, Amines, Arras, Abbeville, Dieppe, St. Vallerie, Camp Lucky Strike. AMERICA: Camp Miles Standish, Camp Breckenridge, Camp Campbell. INACTIVATION. GERMAN UNITS THE 137th INFANTRY FOUGHT AGAINST WWII 1944-1945 PANZER LEHR, 17th S.S. PANZER GRENADIER?S 2nd PANZER. 352nd INFANTRY. 275th INFANTRY DIVISIONS. 879th INFANTRY REGIMENT 898th INFANTRY REGIMENT 899th INFANTRY REGIMENT KAMPT GRUPPE KENTER HITLER YOUTH 21st PANZER REGT. 10th PANZER DIVISION S.S. TROOPS 104th REGT. 15th PANZER GRENADIER DIVISION 1120th INFANTRY REGT. 553rd DIVISION 2nd PARACHUTE REGIMENT 113th PANZER BRIGADE 1125th INFANTRY, 1126th INFANTRY REGT?S. 559th DIVISION 3rd S.S. TOTENKOPH DIVISION 106th PANZER DIVISION 1127th INFANTRY, 1128th INFANTRY REGT?S. 1st ARMY GROOP POLISH, CHECH, AND AUSTRIAN CONSCRIPTS 1125th INFANTRY REGIMENT 43rd FORTRESS BATALLION 110th PANZER REGT. 11th PANZER DIVISION 36th S.S. DIVISION 38th REGT. 17th S.S. DIVISION 5th GERMAN PARATROOP DIVISION S.S. ADOLPH HITLER DIVISION 339th INFANTRY DIVISION 330th INFANTRY REGT. 183rd VG DIVISION 219th FIELD ARTILLERY REGIMENT AND MANY MORE.
ARMY?S AND CORPS 137th INFANTRY REGIMENT, 35th INFANTRY DIVISION WERE WITH 1944-1945 WW II.
10 July 1944: 1st ARMY, XIX CORPS 30 July 1944: TASK FORCE S 6 August 1944: 3rd ARMY XX CORPS 8 August 1944: Moved to VII CORPS 13 August 1944: COMBAT COMMAND A. With 4th ARMORED DIVISION in XII CORPS 21 August 1944: CCA, CCB, and CCR 15 September 1944: TASK FORCE S 19 September 1944: CCA 3rd BATTALION with 4th ARMORED DIVISION 22 September 1944: CCB with 6th ARMORED DIVISION 24 December 1944: Moved to XX CORPS 25 December 1944: Moved to 3rd ARMY, III CORPS 17 January 1945: COMBAT TEAM 137 19 January 1945: XX CORPS 23 January 1945: 7th ARMY, XV CORPS 2 February 1945: XVI CORPS 1 March 1945: 137th COMBAT TEAM with TASK FORCE BYRNE 5 March 1945: TASK FORCE MURRAY OCCUPATION of GERMANY 31 July 1945: CAMP B-60 BRUSSELS, BELGIUM 8 August 1945: CAMP LUCKY STRIKE 22 August 1945: Le Harve, FRANCE 31 August 1945: CAMP MILES STANDISH, BOSTON 15 October 1945: CAMP BRECKENRIDGE, KENTUCKY 1 November 1945: CAMP CAMPBELL, KENTUCKY BACK to the NATIONAL GUARD in KANSAS ... More
Criteria The Purple Heart may be awarded to any member of the Armed Forces of the United States who, while serving under competent authority in any capacity with one of the Armed Forces, has been wounded, kill... The Purple Heart may be awarded to any member of the Armed Forces of the United States who, while serving under competent authority in any capacity with one of the Armed Forces, has been wounded, killed, or who has died or may die of wounds received in armed combat or as a result of an act of international terrorism. MoreHide
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November 1944 Northern France Shrapnel Wound
Criteria The Presidential Unit Citation may be awarded to units of the Armed Forces of the United States and cobelligerent nations for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enemy occurring on or aft... The Presidential Unit Citation may be awarded to units of the Armed Forces of the United States and cobelligerent nations for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enemy occurring on or after December 7, 1941. MoreHide
Description
Fremstoff Germany 137th Inf Regt, 35th Inf Div 1944
Criteria The Meritorious Unit Commendation is awarded to units for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding services for at least six continuous months during a period of military operat... The Meritorious Unit Commendation is awarded to units for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding services for at least six continuous months during a period of military operations against an armed enemy on or after January 1, 1944. MoreHide
Criteria The Army Good Conduct Medal is awarded on a selective basis to enlisted members of the Army who distinguish themselves by exemplary behavior, efficiency and fidelity during a specified period of conti... The Army Good Conduct Medal is awarded on a selective basis to enlisted members of the Army who distinguish themselves by exemplary behavior, efficiency and fidelity during a specified period of continuous enlisted active service (normally three years in peacetime). MoreHide
Criteria The European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal was awarded for for qualifying service within the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations between December 7, 1941, and March 2, 1946, ... The European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal was awarded for for qualifying service within the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations between December 7, 1941, and March 2, 1946, under any of the following conditions: On permanent assignment within the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater; or, For service in a passenger status or on temporary duty status for 30 consecutive days or 60 non-consecutive days; or, For service in active combat in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations against the enemy and awarded a combat decoration or furnished a certificate by the commanding general of a corps, higher unit, or independent force that the individual actually participated in combat. MoreHide
Criteria The European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal was awarded for for qualifying service within the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations between December 7, 1941, and March 2, 1946, ... The European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal was awarded for for qualifying service within the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations between December 7, 1941, and March 2, 1946, under any of the following conditions: On permanent assignment within the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater; or, For service in a passenger status or on temporary duty status for 30 consecutive days or 60 non-consecutive days; or, For service in active combat in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations against the enemy and awarded a combat decoration or furnished a certificate by the commanding general of a corps, higher unit, or independent force that the individual actually participated in combat. MoreHide
Criteria The European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal was awarded for for qualifying service within the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations between December 7, 1941, and March 2, 1946, ... The European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal was awarded for for qualifying service within the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations between December 7, 1941, and March 2, 1946, under any of the following conditions: On permanent assignment within the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater; or, For service in a passenger status or on temporary duty status for 30 consecutive days or 60 non-consecutive days; or, For service in active combat in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations against the enemy and awarded a combat decoration or furnished a certificate by the commanding general of a corps, higher unit, or independent force that the individual actually participated in combat. MoreHide
Criteria The European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal was awarded for for qualifying service within the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations between December 7, 1941, and March 2, 1946, ... The European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal was awarded for for qualifying service within the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations between December 7, 1941, and March 2, 1946, under any of the following conditions: On permanent assignment within the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater; or, For service in a passenger status or on temporary duty status for 30 consecutive days or 60 non-consecutive days; or, For service in active combat in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations against the enemy and awarded a combat decoration or furnished a certificate by the commanding general of a corps, higher unit, or independent force that the individual actually participated in combat. MoreHide
Criteria The Croix de Guerre 1939-1945 (War Cross 1939-1945) is a French military decoration, a version of the Croix de Guerre created on September 26, 1939, to honour people who fought with the Allies against... The Croix de Guerre 1939-1945 (War Cross 1939-1945) is a French military decoration, a version of the Croix de Guerre created on September 26, 1939, to honour people who fought with the Allies against the Axis force at any time during World War II. MoreHide
Criteria The Belgian Croix de Guerre is awarded for bravery or other military virtue on the battlefield. The award was re established on 20 July 1940 by the Belgian government in exile for recognition of brave... The Belgian Croix de Guerre is awarded for bravery or other military virtue on the battlefield. The award was re established on 20 July 1940 by the Belgian government in exile for recognition of bravery and military virtue during World War II.[2] The post-1940 decoration could also be awarded to units that were cited. MoreHide
Description Operation Cobra (25–31 July 1944) was the codename for an offensive launched by the First United States Army seven weeks after the D-Day landings, during the Normandy Campaign of World War II. AmericaOperation Cobra (25–31 July 1944) was the codename for an offensive launched by the First United States Army seven weeks after the D-Day landings, during the Normandy Campaign of World War II. American Lieutenant General Omar Bradley's intention was to take advantage of the German preoccupation with British and Canadian activity around the town of Caen, and immediately punch through the German defenses that were penning in his troops while the Germans were distracted and unbalanced. Once a corridor had been created, the First Army would then be able to advance into Brittany, rolling up the German flanks and freeing itself of the constraints imposed by operating in the Norman bocage countryside. After a slow start the offensive gathered momentum, and German resistance collapsed as scattered remnants of broken units fought to escape to the Seine. Lacking the resources to cope with the situation, the German response was ineffectual, and the entire Normandy front soon collapsed. Operation Cobra, together with concurrent offensives by the Second British and First Canadian Armies, was decisive in securing an Allied victory in the Normandy Campaign.
Having been delayed several times by poor weather, Operation Cobra commenced on 25 July with a concentrated aerial bombardment from thousands of Allied aircraft. Supporting offensives had drawn the bulk of German armored reserves toward the British and Canadian sector, and coupled with the general lack of men and materiel available to the Germans, it was impossible for them to form successive lines of defense. Units of VII Corps led the initial two-division assault while other First Army corps mounted supporting attacks designed to pin German units in place. Progress was slow on the first day, but opposition started to crumble once the defensive crust had been broken. By 27 July, most organized resistance had been overcome, and VII and VIII Corps were advancing rapidly, isolating the Cotentin peninsula.... More
Description (Northern France Campaign 25 July to 14 September 1944) Bombardment along a five-mile stretch of the German line enabled the Allies to break through on 25 July. While some armored forces drove southwa(Northern France Campaign 25 July to 14 September 1944) Bombardment along a five-mile stretch of the German line enabled the Allies to break through on 25 July. While some armored forces drove southward into Brittany, others fanned out to the east and, overcoming a desperate counterattack, executed a pincers movement that trapped many Germans in a pocket at Falaise. The enemy fell back on the Siegfried Line, and by mid-September 1944 nearly all of France had been liberated. During these operations in France, while light and medium bombers and fighter-bomber aircraft of Ninth Air Force had been engaged in close support and interdictory operations, Eighth and Fifteenth Air Forces had continued their strategic bombing.... More
Memories THE SIEGFRIED LINE NOVEMBER 1944
The American Third Army, reinforced to three Corps (nine Divisions, tTHE SIEGFRIED LINE NOVEMBER 1944
The American Third Army, reinforced to three Corps (nine Divisions, three of them Armored) numbered 250,000 men. Furthermore Patton had the advantage of surprise, because, on November 8th the rain was so heavy that any important action seemed unlikely. Sure enough, that evening, XII Corps (General M.S. Eddy: 26th, 35th, and 80th Infantry, 4th and 6th Armored Divisions) threw aside the three Divisions which LXXXIX and XIII S.S. Corps (the latter under General Priess) put in its path and captured Moyenvic and Nomeny. General Eddy rapidly exploited this success: to the right along the line Chateau Salins ? Morhang ? Rohrbach (4th Armored Division, 35th Infantry Division): to the left by Han-sur-Nied ? Faulquemont _ Saint Avold (6th Armored Division, 80th Infantry Division) in spite of counter-attacks by the 17th S.S. Panzergreanadier Division ?Gotz von Berlichingen?, then by the 21st Panzer Division. Within XX Corps, the 5th Infantry Division set about out flanking Metz to the south and east of the Fortress. The 95th Infantry Division Crossed the Moselle River above Thionville during the night of November 8th and 9th, then turned south and met up with the 5th Infantry Division on November 19th on the Metz- Saarlious Road. Meanwhile, the 90th Infantry Division, which had forced a crossing of the Moselle River below Thionville and which was followed by the 10th Armored Division reached the Franco-German frontier on November 20th. ... More
Description The Falaise Pocket or Battle of the Falaise Pocket (12–21 August 1944) was the decisive engagement of the Battle of Normandy in the Second World War. A pocket was formed around Falaise, Calvados in whThe Falaise Pocket or Battle of the Falaise Pocket (12–21 August 1944) was the decisive engagement of the Battle of Normandy in the Second World War. A pocket was formed around Falaise, Calvados in which Army Group B, with the German 7th Army and the Fifth Panzer Army (formerly Panzergruppe West) were encircled by the Western Allies. The battle is also referred to as the Battle of the Falaise Gap, after the corridor which the Germans sought to maintain to allow their escape and is sometimes referred to as the Chambois Pocket, the Falaise-Chambois Pocket, the Argentan–Falaise Pocket or the Trun–Chambois Gap. The battle resulted in the destruction of most of Army Group B west of the River Seine, which opened the way to Paris and the German border for the Allied armies.
Following Operation Cobra, the American breakout from the Normandy beachhead, rapid advances were made to the south and south-east by the Third U.S. Army under the command of General George Patton. Despite lacking the resources to defeat the U.S. breakthrough and simultaneous British and Canadian offensives south of Caen, Field Marshal Günther von Kluge, the commander of Army Group B, was not permitted by Adolf Hitler to withdraw but was ordered to conduct a counter-offensive at Mortain against the U.S. breakthrough. Four depleted panzer divisions were not enough to defeat the First U.S. Army. Operation Lüttich was a disaster which drove the Germans deeper into the Allied envelopment.
On 8 August, the Allied ground forces commander, General Bernard Montgomery (Monty), ordered the Allied armies to converge on the Falaise–Chambois area, to envelop Army Group B. The First U.S. Army forming the southern arm, the British Second Army the base and the First Canadian Army the northern arm of the encirclement. The Germans began to withdraw 17 August and on 19 August, the Allies linked up in Chambois. Gaps were forced in the Allied lines by German counter-attacks, the biggest being a corridor forced past the 1st Polish Armoured Division on Hill 262, a commanding position at the mouth of the pocket. By the evening of 21 August, the pocket had been sealed, with c. 50,000 Germans trapped inside. Many Germans escaped but losses in men and equipment were huge. Two days later the Liberation of Paris occurred and on 30 August, the remnants of Army Group B retreated across the Seine; Operation Overlord was over.... More
Description Operation Lüttich was a codename given to a German counterattack during the Battle of Normandy, which took place around the American positions near Mortain from 7 August to 13 August 1944. (Lüttich isOperation Lüttich was a codename given to a German counterattack during the Battle of Normandy, which took place around the American positions near Mortain from 7 August to 13 August 1944. (Lüttich is the German name for the city of Liège in Belgium, where the Germans had won a victory in the early days of August 1914 during World War I.) The offensive is also referred to in American and British histories of the Battle of Normandy as the Mortain counter-offensive.
The assault was ordered by Adolf Hitler, to eliminate the gains made by the First United States Army during Operation Cobra and the subsequent weeks, and by reaching the coast in the region of Avranches at the base of the Cotentin peninsula, cut off the units of the Third United States Army which had advanced into Brittany.
The main German striking force was the XLVII Panzer Corps, with one and a half SS Panzer Divisions and two Wehrmacht Panzer Divisions. Although they made initial gains against the defending U.S. VII Corps, they were soon halted and Allied aircraft inflicted severe losses on the attacking troops, eventually destroying nearly half of the German tanks involved in the attack. Although fighting continued around Mortain for six days, the American forces had regained the initiative within a day of the opening of the German attack.
As the German commanders on the spot had warned Hitler in vain, there was little chance of the attack succeeding, and the concentration of their armoured reserves at the western end of the front in Normandy soon led to disaster, as they were outflanked to their south and the front to their east collapsed, resulting in many of the German troops in Normandy being trapped in the Falaise Pocket.... More
Description The Battle of Arracourt (18–29 September 1944) was a major clash between U.S. and German armored forces near the town of Arracourt, Lorraine, France, during the Second World War. As part of a counteroThe Battle of Arracourt (18–29 September 1944) was a major clash between U.S. and German armored forces near the town of Arracourt, Lorraine, France, during the Second World War. As part of a counteroffensive against recent U.S. advances in France, the German 5th Panzer Army had as its objective the recapture of Lunéville and the elimination of the U.S. XII Corps bridgehead over the Moselle River at Dieulouard. With local superiority in troops and tanks, the Germans anticipated quick defeat of the defending Combat Command A (CCA) of the U.S. 4th Armored Division. Against German expectations, due in part to poor tactics and the terrain, the 4th Armored Division's CCA, in concert with U.S. tactical air forces, defeated two Panzer brigades and elements of two Panzer divisions.... More
Description The Battle of Metz (27 September - 13 December 1944) was a three-month battle fought between the United States Army and the German Army during World War II. It took place at the city of Metz followingThe Battle of Metz (27 September - 13 December 1944) was a three-month battle fought between the United States Army and the German Army during World War II. It took place at the city of Metz following the Allied breakout after the Normandy landings. The attack on the city by the U.S. Third Army faced heavy resistance from the defending German forces, and resulted in heavy casualties for both sides. The heavily fortified city of Metz was captured by U.S. forces before the end of November 1944, and the battle ended in victory for the U.S. following the surrender of the remaining German forces.
Battle
Armoured cavalry elements of the United States XX Corps, while on a reconnaissance operation in the direction of the Moselle, made contact with elements from the 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division on 6 September 1944. On 18 September, Panzer elements made contact with U.S. reconnaissance units again. The U.S. forces had not expected the German forces to be in the area, and had to bring together their units that were spread out.[5] Several small scale attacks were made by the U.S. forces after this encounter.
The first U.S. attack was launched by the 5th Infantry Division, in which they attempted to capture a bridgehead to the north of Metz. This attack was repelled by the German forces, as was another attack on the city that followed. In another attack, the US forces captured a small bridgehead across the Moselle to the south of Metz.
Troops of 5th Infantry Division conducting a house-to-house search in Metz on 19 November 1944
By the end of September, German forces positioned to the north were relocated in the southern area of Metz. A number of troops were also withdrawn from Metz. Following this new development, the XII Corps launched another attack but was countered by the German defenders. In the following two weeks, the U.S. forces limited themselves to small scale attacks and patrolling in the Metz area. During this time, the XX Corps underwent a training program, experimenting with methods of reducing the defenses of the fortress. By this time, the U.S. command had decided to attack Metz from its rear, coming from the east.
On November 3, a new attack was launched by the U.S. forces, which resulted in the capture of the outer defenses with the aid of the tactics developed during the training process. On November 14, Generalleutnant Heinrich Kittel was appointed as the new commander of the German forces.[6] By 17 November, U.S. forces had managed to isolate most of the forts, and were attacking the city. They entered the city of Metz on November 18, and on November 21, Kittel was wounded and subsequently captured by U.S. forces. Although the city was captured by U.S. forces and hostilities formally ceased on November 22, the remaining isolated forts continued to hold out. German forces had been retreating since November 17, and U.S. forces pursued them for the following two days.
Aftermath
Direct assault was forbidden against the holdout forts in order to preserve artillery ammunition for the XX Corps' advance to the Sarre River. However, the isolated forts subsequently surrendered one by one following the surrender of Fort Verdun on November 26. By the end of November, several forts were still holding out. The last of the forts at Metz to surrender was Fort Jeanne d'Arc, which surrendered on December 13.
Although the battle resulted in defeat for the German forces, it served the intended purpose of the German command of halting the advance of the U.S. Third Army for three months, enabling retreating German forces to make an organized withdrawal to the Sarre river and to organize their defenses.... More
Best Moment
June 20, 1944 Co F. 144th Infantry Camp Van Dorn Miss. Pfc. David L. Briggs Letter dated June 19th 1944 to his sister Barbara Briggs Kocker Pl M 3/c Wave Quarters H U.S. Navy Hospital, Navy Yard Charleston, So. Carolina.
I am going home here tonight at midnight as our Furlough will start at that time. Mother just wired me that she will send any money that I may need but as I am going to be gone from here in a couple of hours there wont be time enough. I am riding to Dallas Texas with one of the boys here. Then I am going to Denver and to Los Angeles If I want to I may send for money from Denver. At the moment I don?t exactly know what to do. It is so darn hot here that my perspiration is dripping on the table and my clothes are wet. I will sure be glad to be away from here. Guess I will close for now and send Mother a telegram as to what I am doing. Love David Postage was Free.
V-Mail, No Date, Pfc. David L. Briggs Co.F. Inf. APO. 15426 c/o Pm NY, NY. Dear Mother and Roy Today we are getting paid which is the first time in over a month; it will sure seam funny to get paid in Francs instead of good old American dollars. Also today we are going to be issued extra candy rations. Nine bars this will sure be good as we don?t get candy or sweets very frequently. I am hoping to leave here soon as I want to see more of this Country. So far we haven?t had much rain here but it is too good to be true. By the way I am sure putting on the pounds here. I always go back for seconds and eat all I can get. We put up some traps to get some rabbits but so far our efforts have bin in vain, but we are still trying. Write soon and say hello to any of my friends you see. Love and Kisses David
V-Mail. Sep 15, 1944 PFC David L. Briggs Co. F. INF APO. 15425 c/o Pm NY, NY. Letter to Barbara B. Kocker Sister U.S. Navy Hospital (Staff) Charleston Navy Yard S.Carolina. Dear Barbara I?m now in France which is a surprise to me as I didn?t expect to see this place three months ago. It is very pretty pretty here and some places remind me of areas in the states. Our trip over seas was smooth and I didn?t get sick at all. There were a couple of days that I thought it would get me down but I made it. In our stay in England I didn?t get to see the place but I may later. The weather here is a lot like that in the states and I like it. There isn?t much I can write now as there hasn?t been much happening. Please write soon and when you write mother tell her to send me some money and a package of food as often as possible. Be good and I?ll be home soon an you and John and I will be up at Cal having a good time. Love David
V-Mail. SEP. 19th, 1944 PFC David L. Briggs Co. F. INF. APO. 15426 c/o Pm NY, NY. Letter to Barbra sister Dear Barbra We are now in France in one of the prettiest places I have ever been. Our Camp is located in a forest just about two miles from a small French town and there we can get some wine and have lots of fun. Last night my C.O. and I went in and had a swell time getting wine from the French. It is fun to watch those Yanks, they stand and with the French but neither one knows what is going on. Then finally they both throw up there hands and walk off neither one knows what the other one said. I will sure be glad when his is all over and I get home as I have just about seen all I want of France. Write soon and don?t forget to tell mom to send cigs and candy often. Love David
V-Mail. SEP. 24th, 1944 PFC David L. Briggs Co. F. INF. APO 15426 c/o Pm NY, NY. Letter to Barbara sister Dear Babs Guess you want to know how France is well I?ll relate what we do on our time off. Last night two of us went walking and we stopped in a quaint little road side town and bought a couple of glasses of wine. But the M.P. s ran us out of there so we moved on. We happened to run into a very pretty chateau were we found a small café. We asked for two wines and the man brought two bottles. By the time we finished this we were pretty well lit. We had a swell time. I am having a hard time to learn French but I?m learning slow. This country is sure Beautiful and I like it very much. The fields are so green and the farms so pretty, but I?ll be glad to get back. Write soon and be a good girl. Love David
V-Mail. SEP. 28th, 1944 PFC. David L. Briggs Co. F. INF. APO. 15426 c/o Postmaster NY, NY. Letter to Barbara sister Dearest Barbara Sunday: We are sitting around the area today and not doing much so I wrote a letter to mom and Roy and cleaned up my tent and some clothes. The other day three of us took off for a town about fifty miles from here and stayed all night. Our intentions were to get back early the next morning but we couldn?t get the transportation so we were late. The C.O. called us in yesterday and gave me hell, also seven days extra duty after six in the evening. I don?t mind as it is in the kitchen and there I can Eat. I haven?t received any mail from the states in weeks. I sure wish I could get some from home. We will probly move from this spot and then our mail will be even longer catching up with us. Got my week?s rations yesterday five packs of cigarettes a roll of life savers. Tell mom to send razor blades, double edge and candy & cigs often. Write very soon Love David
V-Mail. SEP. 29th, 1944 PFC. David Briggs Co. F. Infantry APO. 15426 c/o Pm NY, NY. Letter to Barbara sister Dearest Babs Just another day over here and it is getting hard to find any thing to write. But I have a little spare time today. I thought I would write a few letters and so I wrote Mom and Margaret. I have written home about every day and now it is hard to not repeat what I said in the last letter. I sure hope you can read these letters I may write to small. We may be leaving here soon which will be good as I want to see as much of this country as possible. We haven?t received any mail from home in months and I guess we won?t for some time to come if we move around much more. We were issued five bars of candy yesterday and was it good but it didn?t last very long. Guess I?ll close for now. Write soon and I?ll be thinking of the time we go back to school. Your loving brother David
V-Mail OCT 12th, 1944 PFC David L. Briggs 39287046 Co. F. INF. APO. 15426 c/o Pm NY, NY. 4-PM Letter to Barbara sister Dearest Barbara I have just finished eating lunch as it was Corned Beef and cabbage. Man I would give up my seat in haven for a good steak about two inches thick smothered with onions and potatoes. I would even settle for a hamburger at the moment. Such as our food is I am still gaining weight and am feeling very good. Today we are enjoying some soap which is the first we have had in almost a week. I took a bath in a steel helmet and you would be surprised at how clean I got. One doesn?t think he could get clean in a helmet of water but we do it just the same. I have to clean my rifle as it has bin two days sense it was even looked at. And I have an idea that there is plenty of mud and dirt on it. Be good and write often. Love and Kisses David
V-Mail. OCT 12th, 1944 PFC David L. Briggs Co. F. INF. APO. 15426 c/o Pm NY, NY. 12 PM Letter to Barbara Sister Dearest Barbara I hope you haven?t been worrying about me but I just haven?t had time to write any letters. Excuse this one but I am in pretty cramped quarters here. There isn?t much doing up here now and that is the reason I have this time. Just cleaned my gun and getting a little dry. The weather has been pretty good but it looks like rain now. Just had a battery of guns go off and I sure did jump. Liborio Garcia (Slam) left the other day and now there is no one from C.H.S. left here with me. I am sort of lonesome now. Had a glass of beer the other day and it tasted good as hell. Must close now. Don?t worry about me. Love and Kisses David (C.H.S. Claremont High School also on the list of C.H.S. Honor Roll High School News paper)
Criteria The American Campaign Medal was awarded for For thirty days service outside the Continental United States but within the American Theater of Operations between December 7, 1941, and March 2, 1946; or,... The American Campaign Medal was awarded for For thirty days service outside the Continental United States but within the American Theater of Operations between December 7, 1941, and March 2, 1946; or, an aggregate service of one year within the Continental United States during the same period under the following circumstances: On permanent assignment outside the continental limits of the United States; or, On permanent assignment as a member of a crew of a vessel sailing ocean waters for a period of 30 consecutive days or 60 non-consecutive days; or, For service outside the continental limits of the United States in a passenger status or on temporary duty for 30 consecutive days or 60 non consecutive days; or, For service in active combat against the enemy and awarded a combat decoration or furnished a certificate by the commanding general of a corps, higher unit, or independent force that the individual actually participated in combat; or, For service within the continental limits of the United States for an aggregate period of one year. MoreHide
2nd INFANTRY REGIMENT
The last Active Army Unit that 2nd Lt. David L. Briggs served with was the 2nd Infantry, Camp Campbell, KY., in 1946. Here is a little about the 2nd Infantry?s History.
Coat of Arms
Motto: Noli Me Tangere (Do Not Touch Me)
Symbolism: Service in the Civil War is shown by the blue cross from the Confederate flag and the red cross pattée, the badge of the 18th Division, V Corps, in which the Regiment served during the greater part of that war. Service in the Mexican War is shown by the cactus; in the War with Spain by the five-bastioned fort, the badge of the V Corps in Cuba. The arrows and quiver show the Indian campaigns of the Regiment, and the bolo is for service in the Philippine Insurrection.
The lion in the crest represents the Canadian campaigns in the War of 1812.
Lineage
1808: Constituted 12 April as the 6th Infantry, Regular Army and organized May-July in Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey.
1815: Consolidated May-October with the 16th, 22nd, 23rd, and 32nd Infantry to form the 2nd Infantry.
1861: Constituted 3 May as the 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry, Regular Army and organized 21 August at Camp Slemmer, IL
1866: Reorganized and redesignated 21 September as 16th Infantry.
1869: Consolidated 18 April with 16th Infantry to form 2nd Infantry.
1918: Assigned 27 July to 19th Division.
1919: Relieved 14 February from assignment to 19th Division.
1923: Assigned 24 March to 6th Division.
1939: Relieved 16 October from assignment to 6th Division and reassigned to 5th Division.
1946: Inactivated 20 September at Camp Campbell, KY. (This is where 2nd Lt. David L. Briggs was
assigned after Inactivation of the 137th Infantry Regiment).
1947: Reactivated 15 July at Ft. Jackson, SC.
1950: Inactivated 30 April at Ft. Jackson, SC.
1951: Reactivated 1 March at Indiantown Gap Military Reservation, PA.
1953: Inactivated 1 September at Indiantown Gap.
1954: Reactivated 25 May at Munich, Germany.
1957: Relieved 1 June from assignment to 5th Infantry Division and reorganized as a parent Regiment
under Combat Arms Regimental System.
CAMPAIGN PARTICIPATION
War of 1812:
Canada, Chippewa, Lundy?s Lane, and Alabama 1814.
Mexican War:
Vera Cruz, Cerro Gordo, Contreras, Churubusco, Molino Del Rey, and Chapultepic.
Indian Wars:
Miami, Seminoles, Nez Perces, Bannocks, Pine Ridge, California 1850, 1851 and 1852.
Civil War:
Bull Run, Peninsula, Shiloh, Manassas, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Murfreesborough, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, Wilderness, Atlanta, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Missouri 1861, Mississippi 1862, Virginia 1862, Kentucky 1862, Virginia 1863, Tennessee 1863, and Georgia 1864.
War with Spain:
Santiago.
Philippine Insurrection:
Without inscription.
World War II:
Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, and Central Europe.