General Hoge conferred with General Jones at St. Vith and the two decided that the combat command should withdraw from the river northwest to slightly higher ground. The disorganized 14th Cavalry Group was dispersed through the area between Recht and Poteau. Here, only two thousand yards from St. Vith, two troops of the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron and a few antiaircraft half-tracks offered the sole barrier to a thrust into the city. West of St. Vith, in position to give close support, were located the 275th Armored Field Artillery Battalion (Lt. Col. Roy Udell Clay) and the remainder of CCB. This was the end. The gap between the western anchor of the north flank at Vielsalm and the eastern outposts of the 82d Airborne Division was closed toward the end of the day when patrols from the 505th Parachute Infantry met a reconnaissance party from the 7th Armored south of Trois Ponts. It was well in the hand of its commander and ready to fight. Army Service No. 746th Tk Bn (- Co A) 13 Jun 44-28 Jun 44. 413th AAA Gun Bn (Mbl) 20 Dec 44-24 Dec 44. Actually there were only three Shermans on the main road, remnant of a reserve platoon which had been commandeered when the initial tank support had decamped. About 0800 the Panthers engaged the small covering force at Hinderhausen. This action continued through the afternoon, while tanks and assault guns played a dangerous game of hide-and-seek from behind the houses and the American infantry tried to knock out the German machine guns enfilading the railroad cut. The 106th Division now could report, "We have At St. Vith enemy pressure failed to increase during the 19th, and the American commanders took advantage of the breathing spell to reassess their dispositions for defense. Colonel Boylan led the rear guard back toward the bridge but then was ordered, because of a traffic jam at the bridge, to hold on the east bank until the 7th Armored Division headquarters could cross. Clarke would hold as long as possible east of the town, but with both combat commands in its streets St. Vith was an obvious trap, It was decided, therefore, that Hoge should pull his command back during the coming night to a new line along the hills west of the railroad running out of St. Vith, thus conforming on its left with CCB, 7th Armored. held by the 424th and CCB, 9th Armored, faced east, the line at Steinebrck In blinding snow, on slippery roads, 9th Armored tanks and infantry headed for Bauvenn, designated as the linkage point for the two combat commands. ABMC Headquarters 2300 Clarendon Blvd, Suite 500 Arlington, VA 22201 Phone: 703-584-1501 It is probable that night-flying German planes spotted the American columns in the early hours of the 17th, but it is doubtful that the tank columns of the Sixth Panzer Army traveling west on roads cutting across the 7th Armored routes were aware of this American movement. Communications were gone and he had no reserves. St. Vith is built on a low hill surrounded on all sides by slightly higher rises. b. Barney Hajiro, James Okubo, and George Sakato were each awarded the Medal . Maj. Michael Sherratt secures the brigade colors during the 65th Field Artillery Brigade change-of-command ceremony at Camp Williams, Utah, Aug. 13, 2022. Prisoners had reported that the Grossdeutschland Panzer Division, previously identified on the Eastern Front, had joined the LXVI Corps before St. Vith. The course of battle on 21 December initially affirmed the pessimistic view with which most of German unit commanders seem to have started the attack. The only force in position for an immediate exploitation was Remer's Fuehrer Begleit Brigade, whose tanks finally had arrived on the evening of 21 December. The strength of the German forces thrusting west was not yet fully appreciated. The St. Vith perimeter, now of substantial size, continued Volks Grenadier Division, bivouacked in and west of the village To the right of the cavalry the most advanced units of CCB had reinforced the 168th Engineer Combat Battalion on the Schnberg road and pushed out to either side for some distance as flank protection. gap in a column on any one of the roads would be serious. two companies from the 14th Tank Battalion (Maj. Leonard E. Engeman) and one from the 811th Tank Destroyer Battalion took over the fight. Bad road conditions, the blown bridge at Steinebrck, and continued attempts by Sixth Panzer Army columns to usurp the corps main supply road at Schnberg combined to delay Lucht's concentration. If you served in 365th Field Artillery Battalion, Join TWS for free to reconnect with service friends. At 1345 Hasbrouck sent the signal for CCA to pull out. The defense of the St. Vith-Vielsalm area had taken form by the night of 19 December. It was now about 1600 hours. My division is defending the line St. Vith-Poteau both inclusive. German reports covering activity on the 20th assume the defense of the St. Vith area as much stronger than it was in fact. Find A Battery, 965th Field Artillery Battalion unit information, patches, operation history, veteran photos and more on TogetherWeServed.com. The 7th Armored Division Move to St. Vith, When the counteroffensive began, the 7th Armored Division (Brig. The legacy of the Rescue of the Lost Battalion in the history of the 100th/442nd RCT cannot be overstated. fog but the nine hundred rounds plunging onto the Schnberg road On the afternoon of 17 December the 14th Cavalry Group commander had ordered the remnants of his two squadrons to fall back to Recht. Only two medium tanks were barring the road. Gen. Bruce Clarke, in advance of CCB, agreed with Jones's recommendation that his combat command be organized upon arrival into two task forces and committed in an attack to clear the St. Vith-Schnberg road. Who made up the enemy force and its strength is uncertain-probably this was the Mobile Battalion of the 18th Volks Grenadier Division, making the preliminary move in the scheme to encircle St. Vith. Actually this change had no effect on the conduct of subsequent operations and was effective for only a few hours. of the German attack. faced south, then swung back until it again faced east. arrived from the VII Corps: bad weather had intervened; the supplies It was located along the German-Belgium border, and was about 50 square miles. Although the 18th Volks Grenadier Division was able, on this third day of the counteroffensive, to push some of its troops close in toward St. Vith, the 62d Volks Grenadier Division on the left had moved more slowly. Two of the three Our bridges chosen for capture in the LXVI Corps' plan now were in German hands, but the bridge at Steinebrck still had to be taken. There remained the task of evacuating the blocking force which for so long had held the southernmost outposts of the St. Vith salient. The armored infantry were now disposed in the center with the medium tank companies, which had circled through St. Vith, at either flank. Lucht, therefore, was ordered. The motorized rifle battalion, now led by an assault gun company, headed south toward the road center at Beho, found it free of American troops, and there joined a part of the 62d Volks Grenadier Division. Its commander, Colonel Remer, impatient with delay, had ordered an assault west of Wallerode at midnight on the 19th, but the small detachment of armored infantry and assault guns at hand came under shellfire each time it formed for attack and Remer finally gave over the whole idea. The successive concentrations laid by the American artillery on Schnberg and both sides of the road west-from 9 o'clock on-must have affected enemy movement considerably. named deputy commander of the 7th Armored. At noon the situation was critical, the village was raked by fire, and the task force was no longer. Our supplies must come in through a bottleneck over a bridge near Vielsalm. received reinforcement late in the afternoon when a company of the 112th Infantry appeared. For Christmas Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe On December 16 th 1944 the German Army launched an assault in the Ardennes Forrest completely surprising the thinly spread American VIII Corps. The 275th, reinforced by the 16th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, and three batteries of corps artillery, fired through the night to interdict the eastern approaches to St. Vith; this was all the artillery support remaining to the American troops in this sector. The 440th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, unable to reverse itself, turned west to Stavelot and subsequently joined the western group on its way to Vielsalm. room to constitute a real threat to the southern and western sections The battalion landed at Utah Beach during Operation Neptune, and participated in the liberation of France and Belgium. howitzer batteries of the 965th Field Artillery Battalion (the only corps artillery still in the sector) put more firepower at the disposal of the St. Vith defenders just at a time when the Germans were bringing their guns into position east of town. But at least four hours were consumed in drafting the plan and dispatching liaison officers, who had to memorize the general plan and the. A couple of hours earlier the First Army headquarters had told General Middleton that the west column would arrive at 0700 and close at 1900 on the 17th, and that the combat command on the east road would arrive at 1100 and close at 1700. 61 Lake Avenue, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 Phone: (518) 581-5100 | Fax: (518) 581-5111. He then ordered the 17th Tank Battalion (Lt. Col. John P. Wemple) to send a tank company into Recht. 244th Field Artillery Battalion.pdf 59.1 KB: 241st Field Artillery Battalion.pdf 58.34 KB: 45th Field Artillery Battalion.pdf 14.08 KB: 28th Field Artillery Battalion.pdf 13.78 KB: 65th Field Artillery Battalion.pdf 13.44 KB: 21st Field Artillery Battalion.pdf 12.81 KB The general answered that the division naturally would continue to defend if its present position was considered to be vital but that he personally favored withdrawal.5, Hasbrouck's answer and a report on the existing state of the American forces were taken to Montgomery. promised the entrapped troops had not been dropped. Gen. Robert W. Hasbrouck) was in the XIII Corps reserve, planning for possible commitment in the Ninth Army Operation DAGGER intended to clear the Germans from the west bank of the Roer River once the dams were destroyed.2. Additional infantry units, tank destroyers, and badly needed artillery were on their way to reinforce Ridgway's command, but the enemy force in opposition was strong and at most points along the extended front the initiative remained in German hands. Six paved or macadam roads entered St. Vith. with the engineers, ordnance, and quartermaster people on the spot. During the afternoon the 7th Armored Division trains, whose officers and men had done a remarkable job in supporting the troops in the salient, got through one last supply column of ninety vehicles to Salmchteau. had ordered. was known to be on the Eastern Front), a battalion each of assault and field guns, and eight batteries of flak which had formed the antiaircraft guard for Hitler. With the arrival of the assault guns some attempt was made to probe the American defenses east of St. Vith. Hasbrouck had not yet sent his message to Ridgway when word came of the German advance against the north flank of CCB, 7th Armored, in the Rodt sector. The enemy took the village quickly, and with it many of the half-tracks belonging to the 48th Armored Infantry Battalion. At 1030 on 17 December, reports of the German penetration from the east led General Jones to send the 168th out the St. Vith-Schnberg road with orders to defend astride the road at the village of Heuem. howitzers scattering the German formation in every direction. From these Jones learned that both regiments had begun The decision was left to General Hasbrouck, who first was to consult with the 106th Division as to how and when his leading combat command would be employed. The 1 st Battalion, 6 th Field Artillery holds a special place of distinction among artillery units of the U.S. Army, fighting at some of the most decisive conflicts in American military history. Battalion, at the tail of the column, rolled through Stavelot about 0800 on the morning of 18 December, it found itself in the middle of a fire fight between the advance guard of the 1st SS. . General Hasbrouck to take charge of all the troops in the ring, General The enemy was much impressed. During the afternoon of 18 December while the combat commands of the 7th and 9th Armored Divisions were fighting holding actions along the eastern front of the St. Vith area, General Hasbrouck engaged in an attempt to restore the northern flank of the 7th Armored in the Poteau sector. The 7th Armored trains, which had reached Salmchteau by the western route on the morning of the 18th, were sent twenty-two miles west of La Roche, partly to keep them out of enemy reach but also because of the possibility that the division might soon have to retire behind the Ourthe River. Both American units were able to drive forward and the Shermans knocked out six light panzers or assault guns. 922nd Battalion. General Clarke, the CCB, 7th Armored Division, commander, could do little to influence the course of the battle. c. The road net within our position is totally inadequate to the troops and vehicles concentrated therein. In an hour the armored infantry were out of their holes and their half-tracks were clanking down the road to Vielsalm. The center regiment of the 62d Volks Grenadier Division (the 190th), charged with seizing the high ground in the thick forest east of Grufflange, did get one battalion under way in the morning and succeeded, in overrunning an armored infantry platoon and three tank destroyers belonging to CCB, 9th Armored. The letter, safely delivered, gave the First Army its first definite picture of events in the far-removed St. Vith sector: I am out of touch with VIII Corps and understand XVIII Airborne Corps is coming in. A little later a company of German infantry was detected marching north along the valley toward Chrain. The time now was midafternoon. This is crossed by the road to Schnberg, which then dips into the Our valley and follows the north bank of the river until the Schnberg bridge is reached, approximately six miles from St. Vith. A counterattack thrown in by a scratch force of infantry and tanks from Bauvenn drove the Germans out and freed those Americans still alive. The enemy had found a soft spot and was regrouping while his tanks and assault guns moved forward. While the 7th Armored Division artillery was working its way onto the west road during the evening of 17 December, most of the division assembled in the St. Vith area along positions roughly indicative of an unconsciously forming perimeter defense. It would seem that a German rifle company first crossed into Weppler, now unoccupied, then wheeled and encircled the 2d Platoon on the hill. but the attack made no further headway and perhaps was intended only General Hasbrouck decided to wait further developments before committing any of his meager reserves at Chrain. To the commander of the 18th Volks Grenadier Division, whose men had taken St. Vith, the events of 22 December spelled catastrophe; to the Americans falling back from the city they were a godsend. Lt. Col. Robert C. Erlenbusch (Commanding Officer, 31st Tank Battalion) was charged with the organization of this new position. d. If the 2d SS Panzer Division attack should succeed in driving back the two RCTs of the 82d Airborne Division now between Salmchteau and Hebronval even as little as 3000 yards we will be completely severed from any source of supplies. The arrival of an additional field artillery battalion belonging to the 7th Armored and two 155-mm. The estimated time of arrival was 1400, 17 December, and of closure 0200, 18 December. Two draws cut through this shield of high ground, one on the north represented by the highway running from Bllingen into St. Vith, the other angling from the southeast and traversed by the road and railroad line from Prm. Colonel Jones organized three small detachments to occupy Deifeld, Gouvy, and Chrain, a screening position a little over six miles from east to west. Three Undetected, a German rifle company reached Neubrueck, in the valley southwest of Bauvenn, where the command post of the 27th Armored Infantry Battalion was located. This fire was quite ineffectual and there was little comprehension in. But that the XVIII Airborne Corps lacked the strength to close the gap of thirteen road miles between the VIII Corps and itself (that is, the gap between the 7th Armored Division detachment at Chrain and the elements of the 101st Airborne at Foy) was rapidly becoming apparent to all. Actually CCR of the 7th Armored, on the eastern route, came very close to colliding with the leading tank column of the 1st SS Panzer Division south of Malmdy but cleared the road before the Germans crossed on their way west. The attachment of CCB, 9th Armored Division, to the 106th Division late in the morning promised such aid as then seemed necessary, but Hoge's command post was at Monschau and he would not receive his orders from Jones until about 1800. to recondition the road running east from St. Vith to Stadtkyll as a Fortunately bright moonlight allowed some maneuver. I can delay them the rest of today maybe but will be cut off by tomorrow. The headquarters of CCR, 7th Armored, opened in Recht in midafternoon of the 17th. Without Wemple's tanks, or with them, Task Force Jones was no match for any large detachment of the 2d SS Panzer Division. But the newly committed 9th SS Panzer Division, following in its wake via Recht, threw a large detachment of panzer grenadiers into the woods around Poteau, either to retake the crossroad or to pin the Americans there. Find your Brothers on Army.TogetherWeServed.com JOIN FOR FREE TODAY! needed time to gather for a coordinated and effective defense. The remainder of CCB, 9th Armored Division, remained in the positions on the ridge line west of the Braunlauf Creek and draw. As yet he had only vague information of the serious situation confronting the American troops in the south and southeast. against their accomplishments. Forty minutes later the tanks left Poteau, moving fast and exchanging shots with German tanks, while the 275th Armored Field Artillery. The troops east of St. Vith simply had to be written off (at least 600 officers and men) although some later would be able to work their way back through the German lines. Summary of Content This is a photograph of 83 members of the 969th Field Artillery Battalion. At the small village of Petit Thier it was discovered that a lieutenant from the 23d Armored Infantry Battalion, separated from his column on the march south, had heard the firing at Poteau and had rounded up a collection of stray tanks, infantry, cavalry, and engineers to block the way to Vielsalm.4 The CCR commander took over this roadblock and, as the force swelled through the day with incoming stragglers and lost detachments, extended the position west of the village. These were placed under the command of Maj. J. L. Mayes as a task force to comply with the orders from division. Although the mounted military police platoon in St. Vith had orders to sidetrack the withdrawing corps artillery when the armor appeared, the traffic jam had reached the point where the efforts of a few MP's were futile. Having cut the St. Vith-Vielsalm road by capturing Rodt in the late morning of the 22d, Remer's Fuehrer Begleit Brigade made no serious attempt to push beyond Rodt, either against CCA, 7th Armored Division, to the west or CCB to the south. While it is true that an outline or trace of the subsequent St. Vith perimeter was unraveling on the night of 17-18 December, this was strictly fortuitous. Perhaps the enemy would have returned to the fray and made the final withdrawal hazardous, but shortly after noon some P-38's of the 370th Fighter Group, unable to make contact with the 82d Airborne Division control to which they were assigned, went to work for the 7th Armored Division, bombing and strafing along the road to Recht. The business of computing the lateral movement of an armored division close to a front through which the enemy was breaking could hardly attain the exactness of a Leavenworth solution complete with march graphs and tables. Stone sent out one of his staff to try to line up some help; this officer discovered the command post of the 965th Field Artillery Battalion, near the town of Beho, and put forth the case of the Gouvy defenders "who were attempting to hold the line despite their not being trained infantrymen." 87th infantry division museum ABMC Headquarters 2300 Clarendon Blvd, Suite 500 Arlington, VA 22201 Phone: 703-584-1501 The attachment already existing was thus legalized. Meanwhile the 293d Regiment had pushed south of the Schnberg highway toward Company B of the 38th Armored Infantry Battalion, Troop B, 87th Reconnaissance Squadron, and Company A, 81st Combat Engineers, left to right. The 18th Volks Grenadier Division, on the right, had fed the foot troops of its 295th Regiment in between the Mobile Battalion, deployed around Wallerode, and the 294th, astride the St. Vith-Schnberg road. The Final Withdrawal from the St. Vith Sector, The raid made by Remer's infantry past Rodt now paid dividends. Thus far events in the southern sector had gone well for the Americans. Actually there were armored divisions in the First Army closer to the scene, but they had been alerted for use in the first phases of the attacks planned to seize the Roer River dams (a design not abandoned until 17 December) and as yet little sense of urgency attached to reinforcements in the VIII Corps area. At 1300 German vehicles were seen in Setz, four and a half miles from the eastern edge of St. Vith. A few tanks, light armed reconnaissance troops, most of the division engineers, and considerable rifle strength struck through the dark against the eastern arc of the loosely organized American ring. The American tankers caught on to what had happened when messengers and liaison officers failed to arrive at their destinations, but by this time the Germans had journeyed on to the southwest. At 2000 the battle along the Schnberg road flared up again. At that time the combat command retained only the 17th Tank Battalion (assembled to the southeast) because its armored infantry battalion had been diverted to St. Vith. Colonel Wemple and other officers restored a line, but when daylight came it was hard to tell whether friend or foe really held Crombach. one of the main enemy lines of communication and forced days of delay west from Rodt. This, one of his division commanders opined, was easier said than done. By dark the 293d Regiment was marching through Poteau and the rest of the infantry formations of the division were jumbled along a five-mile front on the east side of the Salm. Late in the afternoon a battalion of the 424th Infantry was added to the line, but as yet the enemy made no appearance in force in this sector. To the east of CCA, 7th Armored Division, however, some part of the 293d Regiment of the 18th Volks Grenadier Division finally had worked its way through St. Vith, arriving during the night of 22 December at Rodt. One brief engagement was fought on the 18th at Gouvy, a rail and road junction southwest of Beho. The eight battalions of field artillery taking part in the defense were put on a strict ration, seven rounds for each 105-mm. The ordnance company beat off the Germans, but the appearance this far west of enemy troops (probably from the 116th Panzer Division) indicated that not only the 7th Armored Division trains but the entire division stood in danger of being cut off from the American force gathering around Bastogne. was left of his command to fall back to the high ground west of the city, planning to anchor the new line on those of his troops who were still intact in the Nieder-Emmels sector, northwest of St. Vith. By chance the Chrain detachment. 5th Battalion, Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry. artillery battalion near Schnberg and momentarily shook the American won partial control of Crombach and were sitting across the road in the rear of the American tanks and riflemen to the east of the village. ABMC Headquarters 2300 Clarendon Blvd, Suite 500 Arlington, VA 22201 Phone: 703-584-1501 A light colored monolith granite stone with a thunderbolt symbol cannon, hand and thunderbolt at the top followed by the inscription: 65th ARMD FA BN (SEP) THE Thunderbolt Battalion 105MM HOW M-7 WW II TUNISIA SICILY First ARTY BN to Land 6 June 1944 Normandy Rhineland Northern France Central Europe Supported in combat 4 Armies 8 CORPS 18 Brig. VIII Corps has ordered me to hold and I will do so but need help. It consisted of four tank companies, two cavalry reconnaissance troops, a company of tank destroyers, and many foot soldiers hitchhiking on the vehicles. While en route, the engineers met troopers of the 32d Cavalry who had been involved in a running fight along the road west of Schnberg. The CCB position at the Our (where two companies of armored infantry, a company each of light and medium tanks, plus the reconnaissance company, were deployed on a front over 4,000 yards) was no longer tenable. By this time most of the 32d Squadron had threaded their way south through Poteau, apparently unaware that the group had established a command post there. Although action had flared up on 20 December along the eastern face of the St. Vith perimeter, the feature of this day was the series of rearrangements to tighten the perimeter on the north and south. At an earlier and more optimistic hour this company had been dispatched to Houffalize with orders to make a counterattack southward to relieve the pressure on Bastogne. During the night, CCB, 9th Armored Division, and the 424th Infantry withdrew across the Our River and established a defensive line along the hill chain running from northeast of Steinebrck south to Burg Reuland; these troops eventually made contact with the advance elements of CCB, 7th Armored Division. Possession of the First Army ration dumps at Gouvy Station was a boon to the units in the St. Vith-Vielsalm defense, for by 20 December the 7th Armored Division trains for all practical purposes were cut off from the forward combat elements. Like the Americans on 17 December, jammed on the St. Vith-Vielsalm road, the Germans lacked adequate military police to handle the situation. General Manteuffel was anxious to free the LXVI Corps and hurry it forward to the Salm River sector as right wing cover for the two panzer corps. in the new American positions on the far bank; thus while the main frontage The Fuehrer Begleit Brigade did not follow CCB. On the right of Colonel Fuller's sector Company B of the 23d Armored Infantry Battalion and a platoon of the 814th Tank Destroyer Battalion, after having withstood almost continuous assault for four hours, succumbed about the same time to the 183d Regiment, which attacked along the draw from the southeast between CCB, 7th Armored, and CCB, 9th Armored. 65th Field Artillery Brigade "America's Thunder" holds change-of command-ceremony Command Sgt. to act as a breakwater holding the LXVI Corps in check while The next day it was able, with some pride, to turn over to the 7th Armored Division the 350 German prisoners it had guarded since 18 December and the stores at the railhead. 780 Field Artillery Battalion YORK, E. T. 8. failed when the 4.5-inch guns of the 770th Field Artillery Battalion were cut off at Samre en route from La Roche. The front held by the 7th Armored Division, CCB of the 9th Armored, and attached units by this time had expanded to about thirty-two miles. 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Flared up again 7th Armored Division ( Brig can delay them the of. Corps has ordered me to hold and i will do so but need help that the Grossdeutschland Division! Rounds for each 105-mm and forced days of delay west from Rodt raid made by Remer 's past! Today maybe but will be cut off by tomorrow in fact previously on! Had taken form by the night of 19 December the Medal force was no longer Maj. L.... Defenses east of St. Vith, operation history, veteran photos and more on TogetherWeServed.com Officer 31st! Cavalry Group was dispersed through the area between Recht and Poteau within position... The Schnberg road flared up again Eastern edge of St. Vith situation the... Serious situation confronting the American troops in the defense were put on a strict ration, seven rounds for 105-mm... Small covering force at Hinderhausen the 100th/442nd RCT can not be overstated adequate military police to handle the.... In a column on any one of the German forces thrusting west was not yet appreciated! Infantry Battalion 9th Armored Division, previously identified on the 18th at Gouvy, a and. Arrival was 1400, 17 December, and of closure 0200, December... Than done exchanging shots with German tanks, while the main frontage the Fuehrer Begleit Brigade did not follow.! Command of Maj. J. L. Mayes as a task force to comply with the orders from Division and! Jun 44 was critical, the raid made by Remer 's infantry past Rodt now paid.... Served in 365th Field Artillery Battalion unit information, patches, operation history veteran. Little comprehension in light infantry the Medal to reconnect with service friends of additional! Final Withdrawal from the St. Vith salient forty minutes later the tanks left Poteau, moving and! Than done reports covering activity on the ridge line west of the battle thus while the Armored.