395th infantry regiment 99th infantry division
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After fighting in the Ruhr area, the unit moved southward into Bavaria, where it was located at the end of the war. The 99th RSC continued to support operations in the Balkan Republics while providing refuge to those fleeing Kosovo as they sought temporary recovery in the United States. The Germans would never take Hfen, nor most of their other ambitious objectives in the Ardennes, due in large part to the soldiers of 3/395 and the 99th ID as a whole. When three hours later a third SS assault hit the defenders, it too was stopped. A U.S. Army World War II division was configured as a Triangular division, with three regimental maneuver elements. Gallagher (1 May 1945 29 September 1945), Organized Reserves redesignated 25 March 1948 as the Organized Reserve Corps; redesignated 9 July 1952 as the Army Reserve, Relieved 29 October 1998 from assignment to the 99th Infantry Division, Redesignated 17 October 1999 as the 395th Regiment and reorganized to consist of the 1st, 2d, and 3d Battalions, elements of the. The black represents the iron from the mills of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where many of the troops were from. In early December, the front was unusually calm and the weather was bone-chilling cold. There was no cover. During the heavy fighting in the Battle of the Bulge, the unit suffered many casualties, yet tenaciously held its defensive position. Hfen remained in American handsfor now. 99th Infantry Division vehicles en route to the battle zone. Good luck with your quest. The 395th Infantry Regimentwas an infantryregimentof the United States Army, part of the 99th Infantry Divisionduring World War II. They were tasked with moving 10 miles (16km) behind the German lines and cutting the Autobahn to prevent the withdrawal of the Germans. For four successive days the battalion held this sector against combined German tank and infantry attacks, launched with fanatical determination and supported by heavy artillery. Every member of the platoon was decorated, which included four Distinguished Service Crosses, five Silver Stars and ten Bronze Stars with "V" devices signifying awards for valor in combat.[10]. Hfen, along with the nearby town of Monschau, was strategically vital because it sat on elevated terrain overlooking an important road junction. On 17 September 2008, the 99th Regional Support Command was activated at Fort Dix, N.J. The 394th Infantry Regiment was established on 23 July 1918 as the 394th Infantry and assigned to the 99th Division as a member of the National Army. In the pre-dawn hours of December 16th, Hitlers final major offensive began. As the American defenders began to assess casualties and ammunition supplies, the 12th SS hit them again. Put under the operational control of V Corps, First Army, it moved to Le Havre, France on 3 November and proceeded to Aubel, Belgium, to prepare to enter the front lines. A popular historical anecdote is the design of the famous M1 carbine by convicted murderer David Marshall Williams. At the end of the day, the veterans of the 26th Infantry still held their ground, and looked out on a battlefield strewn with destroyed German armor and scores . 504-528-1944, Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy, Black Volunteer Infantry Platoons in World War II, Kasserine Pass: German Offensive, American Victory, The Top 5 Veteran Research Questions: Where to Go and What to Know, Gallantry against Great Odds: LTC George Marshall and Operation RESERVIST, Prelude to Liberation: Genesis of American Amphibious Assault in the ETO, Black Thursday October 14, 1943: The Second Schweinfurt Bombing Raid, An Exercise in Depravity: The Establishment of the Warsaw Ghetto, Unsung Witnesses of the Battle of Stalingrad. Honor Roll - 99th Infantry Division "They shall not grow old, As we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, Nor the years condemn. [5] The 99th boarded ships bound for England on 10 October 1944 and briefly stayed at Camp Marabout, Dorchester, England. In the northern sector opposite the 99th, this included more than 4,000 deaths and the destruction of sixty tanks and big guns.[8]. After the war, the Division founded its own Association and for many years the veterans and their families got united at the many conventions that were held. The US Armys 99th Infantry Division, recently arrived in Europe and untested in combat, was assigned to the northern shoulder of the Allied front line in the Ardennes Forest. Pennsylvania State College, and the Pennsylvania Military College. The regiment was organized with three battalions, each containing three rifle companies and a weapons company armed with .30 caliber and .50 caliber machine guns. The 395th Infantry, Organized Reserves, was organized in 1921. On 22 December 1967, the 99th Army Reserve Command (ARCOM) was activated. To make circumstances worse, just beyond the bloodied-but-not-beaten Volksgrenadiers waited the tanks of the 6th Panzer Army. The 395th Regiment became an active unit as part of the 99th Infantry Division on 16 November 1942 at Camp Van Dorn, Missouri, along with its brother regiments, the 393rd and 394th. The shield is silver, the old color of Infantry. On at least six different occasions the battalion was forced to place artillery concentrations dangerously close to its own positions in order to repulse penetrations and restore its lines . The division headquarters was organized in November 1921. A second road ran parallel to the division center and right wing, leaving the Hfen road at the small hamlet of Wahlerscheid, and continued south through two very small villages, the twin towns of Rocherath and Krinkelt. Accurate estimates of German wounded were not possible, but about 20 percent of the 326th Volksgrenadier Division were lost. Lieutenant Colonel McClernand Butler, commander of 3/395. The division was reconstituted in the Organized Reserve on 24 June 1921 and assigned to the western half of the state of Pennsylvania. Crest The crest is that of the U.S. Army Reserve. 26 (Unit Commendations)", The 99th Infantry Division During World War II, "Battle Babies: The Story of the 99th Infantry Division", Office of the Chief of Military History Department of the Army, http://www.history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/cbtchron/cbtchron.html, Battle Babies: The Story of the 99th Infantry Division, Checkerboard, official publication of 99th Infantry Division Association, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=99th_Infantry_Division_(United_States)&oldid=1131083137, Infantry divisions of the United States Army, United States Army divisions during World War II, Military units and formations established in 1918, Infantry divisions of the United States Army in World War II, Military units and formations disestablished in 1945, United States Army divisions of World War I, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2015, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. The other two regiments of the 99th Division had been beaten to a pulp by the initial German assault, and for the most part had been rendered ineffective, thus leaving the 395th dangerously exposed to a flank assault. They engaged in division-level maneuvers in July 1944. It was activated on 1 December 1939. In 1975, the 99th ARCOM moved its headquarters to Oakdale, Pennsylvania. It was redesignated with description updated, for the 395th Regiment on 7 June 1999. The remainder of the battalion reached the Rhine River on that same day and crossed the Remagen Bridge which four days after being captured was still being shelled by German artillery. 394th Infantry Regiment Medical Detachment (99th Infantry Division), History, January 1945. They then crossed the Wied River, where they joined up with the 7th Infantry Division. This page was last edited on 11 March 2022, at 19:44. A captured Lt. Bemener, formerly commander of the 5th Company of the 753rd Volksgrenadier Regiment, asked his American interrogator about the unit that had defended Hfen. Butler's father had been a major in the Illinois National Guard and urged his son to become a guardsman when he was 16 years old. The 99th RSC was awarded the Army Superior Unit Award on 9 May 2016 by the US Army Human Resources Command for its role in the relief support after Hurricane Sandy, from 29 October 2012 thru 31 March 2013. The 99th then moved to Schwarzenau, on 3 April, and attacked the southeast sector of the Ruhr Pocket on the 5th. So I stayed in the village overnight. The program never fulfilled its promise, and the large number of "ASTPers" were rapidly integrated into various divisions to make up for personnel shortages in front line units during 1944. Many members of the 99th Infantry Division had participated in the Army Specialized Training Program or ASTP, derisively nicknamed "all safe 'till peace;" in February 1944, the program was drawn down, and the majority of its members were assigned to later-deploying divisions such as the 99th. Butler was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 21 March 1944, and remained in command of the 395th until 30 April 1945, when he collapsed from exhaustion. The sudden infusion of new men caused some friction with the old hands in the short term, but the long-term effects were generally positive. Sgt Harold Rutz, 395th Infantry Regiment, M Company. The largest of the ghettos where Eastern European Jews were first confined and, later, deported to extermination camps by the Nazis was set up in Warsaw, Poland. Over 83,000 Americans were casualties during the battle which lasted from December 16, 1944 until January 25, 1945, and as a result, the battle occupies a prominent place in our collective minds. [12] For their part, the German army was planning a seven-day campaign to seize Antwerp. [2] Historian John S.D. [10], Around Hfen, which the 395th defended, the ground was marked with open hills. The 99th RSC's mission was to provide command and control and full-service support for assigned units and facility management. [16], In September 2007, in preparation for the transition to Fort Dix and establishment of the new 99th RSC, the 99th RRC assumed administrative responsibility for the former regions of the 77th and 94th RRCs, which had inactivated. 394th Infantry Regiment Co. A, first platoon This is my Dad's story. Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action at the Siegfried Line. [4], Distinguished Service Cross (United States), "Lineage And Honors Information, 395th Regiment Lineage", "World War II: Interview with Lieutenant Colonel McClernand Butler", "The Operations of the 3rd Battalion, 395th Infantry (99th Infantry Division) Prior to and During the German Counter-Offensive, 10November 24 December 1944 (Ardennes Campaign) (Personal Experience of a Company Commander and Battalion Operations Officer)", "Why the Bulge Didn't Break: Green Troops Grew Up Fast to Become Heroes of Hofen", "The Battle of the Bulge Part II Holding the Line (review)", "Chapter 5: The Ardennes, the Battle of the Bulge", "Battle of the Bulge: U.S. The artillery barrage lasted for an hour, and shortly afterwards German infantry from the 277th Volksgrenadier Division burst through the forest and headed at the positions of the 99th Infantry Divisions 395th Infantry Regiment near the village of Rocherath. Although the enemy resisted fiercely, the Ruhr pocket collapsed with the fall of Iserlohn, on 16 April. [1] After defensive patrolling, the 99th probed the Siegfried Line against heavy resistance on 13 December. The ferocious assault caught the Allies off-guard and the rapid German advance famously caused a bulge on Allied maps. The 3rd Battalion, 395th Regiment had acquitted itself with valor, having held its lines despite the harsh winter weather, the enemy's numerical superiority and greater numbers of armored units. When the Germans finally broke through 3/395s lines and established a foothold in the town, the Americans recaptured the buildings by firing anti-tank guns through the walls. With ammunition supplies dwindling rapidly, the men obtained German weapons and utilized ammunition obtained from casualties to drive off the persistent foe. Organization and training began in October but were not complete by the time the war ended in November 1918, so the division was demobilized in early 1919. The breakout from Saint-L, France was accomplished far more rapidly than Allied planners had dared hope, and American units plunged through the French countryside with undreamed of rapidity, far in advance of operational plans. The 395th Infantry had mostly held their lines, and now with the battle hardened 2nd Infantry Division on the way to back them up, the lines of defense near Elsenborn appeared to be significantly harder to pierce. T. E. Piersall and Pfc. By December 1944, Allied armies had reached the western border of Germany itself. 3/395, soon to be nicknamed Butlers Blue Battlin Bastards, was one of the only US Army units that did not retreat in the opening days of the battle. At dusk on 16 December, after virtually no sleep during the preceding night and a full day of almost non-stop combat, with only a few rounds of ammunition remaining, about 50 German paratroopers finally flanked and captured the remaining 19 soldiers. Shield The 395th Infantry, Organized Reserves, was organized in 1921. Originally planned as a Pennsylvania unit, [14], The 99th as a whole, outnumbered five to one, inflicted casualties in the ratio of eighteen to one. A group of photos from his wartime, unfortenately we have not been able to. Crossing on the 23d, it pushed east on the Koln-Frankfurt highway to Giessen. The 99th battled on to the bridge at Remagen that was taken on March 7th. The stiff American defense prevented the Germans from reaching the vast array of supplies near the Belgian cities of Lige and Spa and the road network west of the Elsenborn Ridge leading to the Meuse River. Category: 395th Infantry Regiment Lt. Col. Henry B. Koon Sr. Special Troops The silver and bronze star medal of Col. Alexander John Mackenzie, Regimental Commandor of the 395th Infantry Regiment. The 38th Cavalry Squadron (led by Lt. Col. Robert E. O'Brien) was deployed to the north along the railroad track between Mutzenich and Konzen station. By 17 December, German military planners knew that their objectives along the Elsenborn Ridge would not be taken as soon as planned. The Germans were not finished with Butlers men, either. After clearing towns west of the Rhine, it crossed the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen on the 11th. On May 34, 1945, as the 99th moved deeper into Bavaria, it liberated one of a number of Dachau subcamps near the town of Mhldorf. Richard Mills were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. . From Camp Maxey they took a train to Camp Myles Standish outside Boston. The campaign in North Africa began with a daring Anglo-American commando raid code-named Operation RESERVIST. The thick forest was tangled with rocky gorges, little streams, and sharp hills. The enemy was moving through large gaps in the lines, and Americans were either being captured or killed in enormous numbers or retreating in disarray and panic. Akins, Thomas W. MAJ, "Operations of Company "E", 442nd Infantry Regiment, Attached to 92nd Division, at San Terenzo, Italy, 20-23 April 1945" (Po Valley Campaign) Albright, Barry E. CPT, "Operations of the 2nd Battalion, 508th Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, in the Invasion of Normandy, 5-13 June 1944" (Normandy Campaign. 2nd and 3rd Battalion cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action in the Ardennes. Fourteen of the 18 platoon members were wounded, while only one soldier, a member of the artillery observation team, was killed. The citation read: During the German offensive in the Ardennes, the Third Battalion in the 395th Infantry, was assigned the mission of holding the Monschau-Eupen-Liege Road. The 99th Infantry Division Artefacts Collection. . The Allied victory against the Axis was a long journeyone that actually took much longer than the war itself. [9], Because the unit's radios had been destroyed, the soldiers captured, and the rapid subsequent German advance, U.S. Army commanders did not know about the unit's success at slowing the German advance, or even if they had been captured or killed. Two months later, when the 99th Division was transferred to VII Corps under Maj. Gen. Walter E. Lauer, the commanding officer of V Corps, Maj. Gen. Clarence R. Huebner, wrote him: The 99th Infantry Division arrived in this theater without previous combat experience early in November 1944. It then intersected a main eastwest road at Bullingen. [16], On 23 Dec. 1996, the 99th RSC mobilized the first of six units for deployment to Operation Joint Endeavor in support of peacekeeping missions in Bosnia. Your organization gave ample proof of the fact that it is a good hard fighting division and one in which you and each and every member of your command can be justly proud[16], Major Butler was decorated with the Silver Star, the French Croix de Guerre, the Belgian Fourragre, the Belgian Order de la Couronne, and the Bronze Star Medal with the Oak leaf cluster. Table of Contents. Delbert followed a communication training and became enlisted radio repairman. It is believed that Delbert was transferred to the 395th Infantry Regiment at some point. [4] Lt. Col. Butler retired from the Army on 14 January 1946 and worked for the phone company for the rest of his career. There are nine white squares and nine blue ones, signifying the number 99. ABMC Headquarters 2300 Clarendon Blvd, Suite 500 Arlington, VA 22201 Phone: 703-584-1501 A member of the 395th Infantry Regiment , the photographer captured an amazing scene through the lens of this camera in these images. The statue of the Minute Man, Captain John Parker, (H.H.Kitson, sculptor), stands on the common in Lexington, Massachusetts. It had its headquarters at Franklin, Pennsylvania, and drew its personnel from Pennsylvania. The three heavy German assaults had worn down the ammunition supply, particularly that of the machine gunners, and had left the defenders mostly helpless. During the battle to come, if the Germans succeeded in taking Hfen, their ranks would be swelled rapidly, and the 99th and 2nd Infantry Divisions would be outflanked and could be attacked from the rear. Despite fatigue, constant enemy shelling, and ever-increasing enemy pressure, [they] guarded a 6,000-yard front and destroyed 75 percent of three German infantry regiments.. The program was called the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP), and it sought to give extra training and special skills to a select group of intelligent and able young men, most of whom were taken from America's colleges. Against light resistance, it crossed the Dill River and pushed on to Krofdorf-Gleiberg, taking Giessen 29 March. "[9]:79, The battalion dug in, its purpose to hold the line so that other units could attack key dams across the Roer River. The 10 geographically-based RRCs, including the 99th, were inactivated and replaced with four regional base operations commands. A written commendation was received from Maj. Gen. Leonard T. Gerow, V Corps Commander: I wish to express to you and the members of your command my appreciation and commendation for the fine job you did in preventing the enemy from carrying out his plans to break through the V Corps sector and push on to the Meuse River. It had its headquarters at Franklin, Pennsylvania, and drew its personnel from Pennsylvania. That task fell to the 277th Volksgrenadier Division and the 12th SS Panzer Division. "Blue" was the code word for the 3rd battalion under Army infantry's triangular organization. German losses were much higher. EN RU CN DE ES. The National WWII Museum Digital Collections. Plans called for the division to include the 393rd, 394th, 395th, and 396th Infantry Regiments. . Infanterie-Division) was a German division in World War II. During the Battle of the Bulge, the regimentat times virtually surrounded by Germanswas one of the few units that did not yield ground to the attacking Germans. A. Gallagher assumed command for the last few days of the war. Encountering paltry resistance at first, the Germans launched an attack on the towns and initially met with success, pushing into Rocherath with a clear path beyond. In the northern portion of the American line, heavy artillery shells crashed around the positions of the un-tested 99th Infantry Division from Lanzerath in the south to the forested areas near Monschau in the north. On the east lay a section of the Monschau Forest. The Legacy of the 99th Infantry Division: Our Artifacts Collection The 99th Infantry Division Historical Society is dedicated to preserving, Discovering the Legacy of a WW2 Soldier: Tips and Tricks Are you interested in learning more about a WW2 veteran, They shall not grow old, As we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, Nor the years, Dean F. Gilbert was a membert of 3rd Platoon, L Company,394th Infantry Regiment. There Major Butler collapsed due to exhaustion on 30 April, and Lt. Col. J. [14] The first town they were tasked with capturing was Bergheim, "the door to the Rhine." At the going down of the sun And in the morning We will remember them." 324th Engineer Combat Battalion Albertson Dale W Bass Robert D Brown Edwin C Busk The 395th Infantry Regiment was a unit of the United States 99th Infantry Division.It was organized with the rest of the 99th on 16 November 1942 at Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi. 394th Infantry Regiment Medical Detachment (99th Infantry Division), Medical History, December 1944. The 395th Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment of the United States Army, part of the 99th Infantry Division during World War II.It was organized with the rest of the 99th on 16 November 1942 at Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi. Shield Argent, a buck's head attired of ten tynes couped Proper. The concentration camp was one of the "forest camps" (Waldlager) tied to the Mhldorf camp complex. I decided to stage the night attack at Bergheim because my troops would be going across an open area about 500 yards (460m) long and 400 yards (370m) wide. Butler's regiment crossed the Erft Canal near the Rhine and enlarged the bridgehead, taking that town with a night attack without losing a single man. The 395th Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment of the United States Army, part of the 99th Infantry Division during World War II. General Eisenhower and his staff chose the Ardennes region, held by the First Army, as an area that could be held by as few troops as possible. The 395th were moved by train and truck, and finally by foot, to front line positions near the German town of Hfen a few kilometers west of the Siegfried Line and near the Belgium-German border. 18 Dec 44-7 Jan 45 Attached to 2d Infantry Division, Blandford (Longton Long, Dorset Barracks), 370th Field Artillery Battalion (105mm Howitzer), 371st Field Artillery Battalion (105mm Howitzer), 924th Field Artillery Battalion (105mm Howitzer), 372d Field Artillery Battalion (155mm Howitzer). When hostilities ceased on 7 May 1945, the regiment had during six months of fighting experienced 300 percent turnover due to casualties. . At the end of the day, the veterans of the 26th Infantry still held their groundand looked out on a battlefield strewn with destroyed German armor and scores of enemy dead. The 99th Infantry Division, nicknamed Battle Babies and compromised of the 393rd, 394th, 395th Infantry Regiments and supporting units, spent approximately 151 days in combat during World War Two. The three regiments of the 99th IDthe 393rd, 394th, & 395th Infantry Regimentswere thinly spread across this frigid but quiet portion of the front. The blue and white checkerboard in the division's insignia is taken from the coat of arms of William Pitt, for whom Pittsburgh is named. By signing up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, MIGHTY NETWORKS, 2023 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, Artificial Intelligence just flew an F-16 Fighting Falcon for the US military, WWII vet finally receives Silver Star for heroism at Battle of the Bulge, This is the massive Nazi sneak attack at the Battle of the Bulge, Rarely seen footage from the Battle of the Bulge, The first tank to break into Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge was almost lost to history. They killed Germans coming at them from the front, flanks and rear. Butler said, "The biggest difficulty in carrying out a night attack is control, and having men who can coordinate well as a team in the dark. The regiment assumed occupation duties in Hammelburg and Bad Brckenau until it was shipped home in the summer of 1945. "[16][17]:75 Another German officer who was captured said, "I have fought two years on the Russian front, but never have I engaged in such a fierce and bloody battle. While the 99th was fully involved in this large mobilization, the headquarters moved to Coraopolis, Pennsylvania. [2], Because of the success of the 395th and the 99th, the Americans maintained effective freedom to maneuver across the north flank of the German's line of advance and continually limited the success of the German offensive. Although cut up and surrounded in part, the 99th was one of the only divisions that did not yield to the German attack, and held their positions until reinforcements arrived. The Germans threw wave after wave of infantry, and a unit of panzers, at the town. They inflicted disproportionate casualties on the Germans, and were one of the only units that did not give ground during the Battle of the Bulge. The German 20th Infantry Division was an infantry division of Nazi Germany.HistoryThe was established in 1934 under the cover name. Byers, Carl F. MAJ, "Operations of Company G, 395th Infantry, 99th Division, in the Reduction of a Fortified Position of the Siegfried Line, West of Schleiden, Germany, 14-15 December 1944". 395 th Regiment Constituted 23 July 1918 in the National Army as the 395th Infantry and assigned to the 99th Division Demobilized 30 November 1918 Reconstituted 24 June 1921 in the. The German spearhead in the north, led by the 1st SS Panzer Division and Jochen Peipers Kampfgruppe plowed through jammed roads to the south of Elsenborn and the twin villages of Krinkelt and Rocherath hell bent on their ultimate destination of the Meuse River. Lineage and Honors Information as of 12 January 2018, CHARLES R. BOWERY, JR.Chief of Military History, Constituted 23 July 1918 in the National Army as the 395th Infantry and assigned to the 99th Division, Reconstituted 24 June 1921 in the Organized Reserves as the 395th Infantry and assigned to the 99th Division (later redesignated as the 99th Infantry Division), Organized in November 1921 with Headquarters at Franklin, Pennsylvania, Ordered into active military service 15 November 1942 and reorganized at Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi, Inactivated 29 September 1945 at Camp Myles Standish, Massachusetts, (Organized Reserves redesignated 25 March 1948 as the Organized Reserve Corps; redesignated 9 July 1952 as the Army Reserve), Relieved 29 October 1998 from assignment to the 99th Infantry Division, Redesignated 17 October 1999 as the 395th Regiment and reorganized to consist of the 1st, 2d, and 3d Battalions, elements of the 75th Division (Training Support); 1st, 2d, and 3d Battalions concurrently allotted to the Regular Army, Regiment reorganized 2 November 2008 as a parent regiment under the United States Army Regimental System; concurrently 1st, 2d, and 3d Battalions relieved from assignment to the 75th Division (Training Support), Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action at the Siegfried Line, Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action at Elsenborn Crest, Army Superior Unit Award, Streamer embroidered 2008-2011, Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action in the Ardennes, Presidential Unit Citation (Army), Streamer embroidered ARDENNES. The 99th Infantry Division, comprising the 393rd, 394th, and the 395th Infantry Regiments, arrived in England on 10 October 1944. The Battle of the Bulge was the largest battle ever fought by the United States Army. [11] They continued to Linz am Rhein and to the Wied River. No one had anticipated such a rapid Allied advance. This, however, was the moment that Hitlers master plan collided headfirst with American fortitude. The 393rd, 394th & 395th were the Infantry Regiments of the 99th Infantry Division. During the first morning of the Battle of the Bulge, they defended a key road junction in the vicinity of the Losheim Gap. The 99th held lines stretching from Monschau, Germany to Losheimergraben, Belgium, totaling 35 kilometres (22mi). 3/395 greeted the Volksgrenadiers with a punishing hail of bullets, mortars, and artillery. The division lost about 20% of its effective strength, including 465 killed and 2,524 evacuated due to wounds, injuries, fatigue, or trench foot; German losses were much higher. Earl Denzil Reese April 13th, 1945 - A combat engineer snapped this series of photos while riding on back of a truck during the Battle of the Ruhr Pocket. The camp was newly built, and the barracks were covered in tar paper. Seth Paridon was a staff historian at The National WWII Museumfrom2005 to 2020. The division was chiefly manned with graduates of the ROTC programs of the Carnegie Institute of Technology, Duquesne University. As the tanks neared Krinkelt, they plowed right through elements of the 2nd Infantry Division, many of whom had arrived literally moments earlier to reinforce their brothers who had earlier reinforced the 99ers. "[7]:24, Two Distinguished Service Crosses and several Silver Stars were awarded to members of the battalion for valorous actions against the enemy during this battle. It was organized with the rest of the 99th on 16 November 1942 at Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi.