The then commander of the 99th Division has written the official division history; see Major General Walter E. Lauer, Battle Babies: The Story of the 99th Infantry Division in World War II (Baton Rouge: Military Press of Louisiana, Inc., 1951). 42nd Infantry Division Soldiers were in desperate combat in January 1945 at "other Battle of the Bulge" The division is now part of the New York Army National Guard, headquartered in … The 42nd Infantry Division had been made up of National Guard troops during World War I and nicknamed “the Rainbow Division” because it contained elements from 26 states. Frostbite was rampant. So we were quickly repulsed. Good job — on this and other posts on your dad. First Blood, An Account of the Action of the 41st Tank Battalion in the Battle of the Bulge Tank-Armored Infantry Coordination in Attack, (42nd Tank Battalion and 63rd Armored Infantry Battalion), by Lt Col George B. Pickett, Jr. U.S. Army Soldiers of the 42nd Infantry Division’s Task Force Linden prepare a defensive position at their log and dirt bunker near Kauffenheim, France, Jan. 8, 1945.2. Some entries list wartime battle field casualties rather than post … After four hours of chipping away at the frozen ground, we were told that this position would not be defended, so we moved to another frozen spot about 10 miles away and started digging again.”. For example, when the German attack began … ... 35th Infantry Division, 70th Infantry Division (7th Army), 42nd Infantry Division (6th Army), 65th Infantry Division (3rd Army), 76th Infantry Division (1st Army), 117th Cav Sq, 66th Infantry Division. December 16, 1944 - May 9, 1945 . Gen. Henning Linden. Welcome to Wesley Johnston's (somewhat reluctant) Battle of the Bulge (Ardennes Offensive) web page, part of the 7th Armored Division web site.For now, this is primarily a link page, a focal point for Battle of the Bulge (Ardennes Offensive) information on the web. Formation of the “Rainbow” division was authorized on August 1, 1917, less than two months after creation of the AEF’s first operational division, the 1st US Infantry Division, “the Big Red One.” That unit had been formed by the amalgamation of regular army units. On November 17, 1917, the same year that America entered World War I, the 4th Division was formed at Camp Greene, North Carolina to begin its long tradition of service to our country. For his actions, he was awarded the Medal of Honor. The 106th Infantry Division - History Research Remembrance - History of the 106th - Website about the U.S. 106th Infantry Division. German paratroops and panzer forces with tanks and self-propelled guns crossed the Rhine River 12 miles north of Strasbourg and clashed with the thinly stretched Rainbow Division infantry at Gambsheim on Jan. 5. There was some glimmer of hope on December 17 as the 42nd Field Artillery and the 12th Regiment’s own Cannon Company ... while the 10th Regiment from General Irwin’s battle-hardened 5th Infantry Division … December 16, 1944 - May 9, 1945 . They al… Sol Feingold ot the 42nd Infantry Division concerning what he refers to as the -other battle of the Bulge." The 4th Infantry Division held its ground during the Battle of the Bulge; crossed the Rhine, then the Danube, and finally ceased its advance at the Isar River in southern Germany. According to War Department General Order 114, December 7, 1945 there were approximately 2,000 units that received the Ardennes Credit, (The Battle of the Bulge). Three regiments of 42nd Infantry Division Soldiers, who had been hurried to France without the rest of their divisional support units, had arrived in Strasbourg, France just before Christmas 1944. Corson commanded Company A in the 1st Battalion, 242nd Infantry. Major Douglas MacArthur, who worked for Secretary Baker, suggested amalgamating elements … Private Robert Lee Mochel 35th Infantry Division,137th Infantry Regiment, D Co. After Aachen, the 30th Division came off the line and moved back to Holland for a much-needed rest. In World War II the division was reactivated but filled with draftee Soldiers. 75th Infantry Division Post WWII Deceased Roster: Some names may be duplications - the information collected here is only as reliable as the source from which it was taken. The bad weather had weakened the American supply lines. Soldiers of Task Force Linden (Company I, 242nd Regiment, 42nd Infantry Division) prepare for action at their log-and-dirt bunker near Kauffenheim, France, January 8, 1945. ”Is your Division a part of Roosevelt’s SS?”. American troops in the Battle of the Bulge. By the end of January, the Allied forces had recaptured all ground taken by the German forces in this area. Corson was wounded and captured with dozens of his soldiers. The German Wacht am Rhein “Watch on the Rhine” offensive had begun a week before my father arrived. Many other Divisions participated, including the famed 101st Airborne Division, popularized by “Easy Company” in the HBO TV series Band of Brothers. The French had begun evacuating it in 1939 when war was declared upon Germany by France and England following the German attack on Poland. Battle of the Bulge: U.S. Army 28th Infantry Division’s 110th Regimental Combat Team Upset the German Timetable August 1944 was a disastrous month for the Third Reich. ... 5th Infantry Division. CHIÈVRES, Belgium -- People from around the world will gather in Bastogne, Belgium, Dec. 13 to 16 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge.The 42nd … 42nd "Rainbow" Infantry Division: a combat history of World War II. © 2021 Community Media Group, LLC - 341 Delaware Ave. Delmar, NY 12054. As soon as the Allies had broken out of the Normandy Beachhead, they pushed the Germans back rapidly until they had reached the … The 232nd Regiment was brought up from reserve to help in the defense. And it was a loser.”. Battle of the Bulge 17 December 1944 to 5 January 1945 1st Army: ... 42nd Field Artillery Battalion . The attack came as a shock to the newly arrived infantrymen, explained Capt. The regiment earned a Presidential Unit Citation for its actions. On the northern portion of the bulge the 30th Infantry Division stopped the German advance blocking a critical path to Liege and Antwerp. They expected to spend time in a quiet sector to learn the ropes of combat. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Battle of the Bulge. On that day, three US Army divisions converged on the camp: the 42nd Infantry, the 45th Infantry, and the 20th Armored. The four-day battle which had pitted the 2d Infantry Division and the 99th Infantry Division against the spearheads of the Sixth Panzer Army had cost both sides heavily in men and materiel. In a failed Jan. 5 to Jan. 7 counterattack at Gambsheim, units from all three regiments were combined in a patchwork force that was ultimately repulsed. By Christmas Eve, the American troops at the Battle of the Bulge had taken heavy casualties, and reinforcements were very much needed. Battle of the Bulge - End of the War. You can contact us at 518.439.4949. The division is currently headquartered at the Glenmore Road Armory in Troy, New York. Eight days earlier, the Battle of the Bulge had begun, and the 42nd Division, along with others, supplied much-needed reinforcements to the biggest and bloodiest battle of World War II involving American forces. But the German officer signaled for other Germans to come to their aid. “The green, inexperienced troops would occupy a small town named Hatten since the Germans had nothing more than small patrols in the area. History of New Year’s Resolutions: Where Did They Begin? And we were thrown back immediately,” he said of the Jan. 6 battle. On Christmas Eve, 1944, my father, Staff Sergeant John Petro, had arrived in Strasbourg with the 42nd “Rainbow” Infantry Division. The 42nd Infantry ( Rainbow) Division's history as a unit began with America's entry into World War I. Amidst the rush by America to mobilize, individual states competed with each other for the honor to be the first to send their National Guard units to fight in the trenches of Europe. Secretary of War Baker asked that the new unit have the best trained men possible and that it represent all parts of the country. … The Germans launched their final assault just seven miles from the fight at Hatten on Jan. 24, looking to cut American supply lines back to Strasbourg in the town of Haguenau. By mid-February 1945 the rest of the 42nd Infantry Division arrived in France and the infantry regiments were rebuilt. And it … Entered the Service From: January 18, 1945. Bertoldo, who was attached from Corson’s Company A to the battalion headquarters, volunteered to hold off the Germans while other Soldiers retreated. Battle of the Bulge - End of the War. Third Platoon had to fight its way into its own company kitchen area. The 1st Battalion, 242nd Infantry paid a heavy price for its defense of Hatten. The regiment had two battalions in the defense, covering a frontage of 7,500 yards, three times the normal frontage for a regiment in defense, according to the “42nd “Rainbow” Infantry Division Combat History of WWII.”. “We were badly mauled and it was very demoralizing. The defense had held as reinforcements from the divisions which had been fighting in the Battle of the Bulge arrived to push the Germans back. At the beginning of the battle there were 33 officers and 748 enlisted men in the battalion. The 42nd Division, MacArthur explained, had soldiers from all over the country and would “stretch across America like a Rainbow.” The nickname stuck and troops at Camp Mills, near Garden City, Long Island, soon began to make their own versions of the Rainbow as a unit insignia. It involved many divisions across a wide front. The back and forth fighting continued through the rest of the night as the 222nd fought to contain the German breakthrough towards Haguenau. These units vary in size from a small number of people up to and including an Army Group. US soldiers from the 42nd Infantry Division were hurried to France in the final days of 1944, expecting to head to a quiet sector. "Situation on December 16, 1944 was as follows: HQs + attached Medical Battalions of the 134th Medical Group were located at Malmedy, those of the 64th Medical Group at Trois-Ponts, Platoons of the 42nd Field Hospital were spread across the front i.e. But they began 1945 in a … By mid-February 1945 the rest of the 42nd Infantry Division arrived in France and the infantry regiments were rebuilt. The division is currently headquartered at the Glenmore Armory in Troy, New York with the New York National Guard.. Find great deals for RAY LUHN 42ND INFANTRY DIVISION BATTLE OF THE BULGE VETERAN RARE SIGNED PHOTO. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Bulge_order_of_battle The winter of 1944 was one of the coldest in recorded history; temperatures averaged 20 degrees. By mid-February 1945, the rest of the 42nd Infantry Division arrived in France. Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian www.billpetro.com. Three Germans moved on the vehicle, killing one American Soldier, but were then killed in turn by Woelfer. See our page on the Annual Flag of Friendship Ceremony at St. Vith. Vito Bertoldo decided to stay. The American and French armies fought desperately to halt the attack and hold onto the city of Strasbourg, the capital of Alsace. Capt. He died on december 31, 1944 in a hospital in France of wounds suffered during the Battle of the Bulge near Bastogne. Though the Rainbow division only fought for 106 days, German soldiers came to respect the Rainbow Division and fear its patrols and raids. In the West, American, British and Canadian armies had driven the Wehrmacht out of France and back to the Siegfried Line. Shop with confidence on eBay! He and his squad had camped at night in the snow. December 16, 1944. This battle is known today as The Battle of the Bulge and the Ardennes Offensive. The 1st Battalion, commanded by Lt. Col. John C. Hightower, was ordered by General Lauer to move to Hünningen, several miles northwest of Losheimergraben on the main road to Büllingen. ← History of the Santa Tracker: How a Typo began Christmas tracking at NORAD, History of Christmas Eve: Polish Christmas Wafer →, Famous Sayings #189 — ‘New Year’s Resolution’ – Shmaltz and Menudo. 4 th Infantry Division - Our Proud Heritage. Three days prior to the German Offensive they were attacking towards the Ruhr Dams in Germany. They were called Task Force Linden, under the command of Brigadier General Henning Linden, and they marched from the coast up to the German-held French region of Alsace as part of the 7th Army. This represented a tenth of all American casualties in World War II. ... 35th Infantry Division, 70th Infantry Division (7th Army), 42nd Infantry Division (6th Army), 65th Infantry Division (3rd Army), 76th Infantry Division (1st Army), 117th Cav Sq, 66th Infantry Division. By mid-February 1945 the rest of the 42nd Infantry Division arrived in France and the infantry regiments were rebuilt. he earned 3 bronze stars during his service in the two wars. But by the turn of the New Year, the Allied front became stable, supply lines firmed up, and reinforcements swelled the US troops to 600,000 with 400,000 supporting them. The Reinforced Tank Battalion (42nd with 63rd AIB) In … History of the 42nd Infantry Division - History of the 21st Panzer Division - Pa. History of the 14th Armored Division - S. History of the 21st Panzer Division - Ma. When the three units arrived at Dachau, they discovered more than 30,000 prisoners in the … 44th Field Artillery Battalion 4th Engineer Combat Battalion 70th Tank Battalion ... 9th Infantry Division (less detachments) Major General L.A.Craig 47th Infantry Regiment The original version of the patch symbolized a half arc rainbow and contained thin bands in multiple colors. But one soldier from the 242nd Infantry, Master Sgt. In World War II the division was reactivated but filled with draftee soldiers. The Nazis made progress for almost three weeks. The town of Strasbourg, located on the French-German border, had just been liberated from Nazi control by the French 2nd Armored Division forces only a month previously. The officer and another prisoner were put on an M8 Greyhound armored car for transport to the rear. The division … History, Research, Commemoration and Guided Tours. "Situation on December 16, 1944 was as follows: HQs + attached Medical Battalions of the 134th Medical Group were located at Malmedy, those of the 64th Medical Group at Trois-Ponts, Platoons of the 42nd Field Hospital were spread across the front i.e. A few of these soldiers may have been lost outside the massive theater of the Battle of the Bulge but still buried or memorialized at these three cemeteries, ... 42nd Field Artillery Battalion, 4th Infantry Division. To all whom participated in this battle, I thank you for your courage and devotion. The forest was crawling with enemy soldiers. American combat interviews are another useful source. With a desperate need for infantry troops in Europe the Soldiers of the 222nd, 232nd, and 242nd Infantry Regiments had been pulled out of training in the U.S. and shipped to southern France. Making sure we can live in freedom. One conflict that stood out was the six-week Battle of the Bulge, which took place in Europe and began 76 years ago this month, in December 1944. Return to Table of Contents "Rainbow Division" In 1917 men were selected from various units of the national Guard of 26 states and the District of Columbia to form a truly representative division with a view towards "bringing the war home" to the people. Dan Bearse, a rifleman with the 242nd Infantry in the counterattack, recounted the events in an oral history. The defense had held as reinforcements from the divisions which had been fighting in the Battle of the Bulge arrived to push the Germans back. The majority of its defenders from the 232nd Infantry Regiment were captured or killed. On November 17, 1917, the same year that America entered World War I, the 4th Division was formed at Camp Greene, North Carolina to begin its long tradition of service to our country. They were committed to battle without the artillery, armor, engineers and logistics support the rest of the division would normally provide. Bill Petro is a technology sales enablement executive with extensive experience in Cloud Computing, Automation, Data Center, Information Storage, Big Data/Analytics, Mobile, and Social technologies. At Gambsheim the odds were too great for the American infantry. The 232nd Regiment was brought up from reserve to help in the defense. 42nd Infantry Division Soldiers were in desperate combat in January 1945 at "other Battle of the Bulge" The division is now part of the New York Army National Guard, headquartered in Troy, N.Y. Their attack launched from the borders of Belgium and Germany, but at the time they had no idea of the German plan. Welcome to Wesley Johnston's (somewhat reluctant) Battle of the Bulge (Ardennes Offensive) web page, part of the 7th Armored Division web site.For now, this is primarily a link page, a focal point for Battle of the Bulge (Ardennes Offensive) information on the web. “One morning my company moved to a barren, frozen hillside with orders to dig defensive positions covering an area about three times larger than we were capable of adequately defending. Lost lots of people, killed, wounded and captured. He fired on approaching German tanks and panzer grenadiers, repeatedly defeating the German attacks and killing 40 of the enemy. The 42nd Division had landed at the French port of Marseilles on December 8 or 9 from America. Rock County. While most of Cota's division managed to hold its position, the early fighting had decimated it and left it shaken. “Officers knew little more than the GI,” Corson said. The 2 nd Infantry Division tenaciously held its position during the Battle of the Bulge, preventing further German attempts to reconquer Belgium. the 42nd was formerly the old 41st Armored Regiment and fought with both the CCA and CCB in WW 2 It was with CCB during the vicious … At Hatten, on Jan. 10, 1945 the 242nd Infantry Regiment and a battalion from the 79th Division tried to stop the German tanks and paratroopers again. Perusing the web on this date of some serious Gambsheim action, Jan 6th, Steve, If you enjoyed this article, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the. Operation Nordwind, sometimes called “the other Battle of the Bulge” kicked off on New Year’s Eve 1944 in the Alsace region of France. 78th Infantry Division: Major General E.P.Parker 309th Infantry Regiment 310th Infantry Regiment ... 42nd Field Artillery Battalion . It had been occupied and transformed into a German town for four years, from 1940-1944. Trail of the Rainbow Division: Marseilles to Austria. 518.439.4949, SPOTTED: Colonie boys beat Shaker; earn town bragging rights, Matthew McCabe, store owner, musician and former city commish, dies from COVID, Jail under lockdown, 173 new cases and four deaths in Albany County, Sheriff: Two men forget drug stash in rental car, arrested when they go back for it, POLL: 75 percent plan to get vaccinated; nearly half say Sen. Schumer will have a positive impact as majority leader, Albany County vaccinates 375 at TU center. Troops of the 222nd Infantry were dug in inside the nearby Ohlugen Forest, with thick foliage and dense fog concealing both American and German positions. Plot A Row 2 Grave 26. One of these new officers was Major George B. Pickett, Jr., who had formerly served as Executive Officer of 42nd Tank Battalion, 11th Armored Division during the Battle of the Bulge. -- Army -- Infantry Division, 42nd, World War, 1939-1945, World War, 1939-1945 -- Regimental histories -- United States, World War II, United States. U.S. Army Soldiers of the 42nd Infantry Division’s Task Force Linden prepare a defensive position at their log and dirt bunker near Kauffenheim, France, Jan. 8, 1945.2. “On the close approach of enemy soldiers, he left the protection of the building he defended and set up his gun in the street,” his Medal of Honor citation states, “There to remain for almost 12 hours driving back attacks while in full view of his adversaries and completely exposed to 88-millimeter, machine gun and small arms fire.”, “All I did was try to protect some other American Soldiers from being killed,” Bertoldo would tell newspapers back home after the war. During the fighting, 1st Lt. Carlyle Woelfer, commanding Company K in the 3rd Battalion, 222nd Infantry, captured a German officer with maps detailing the German attack. Two decades passed before the Division would again see combat. 42nd Armored Infantry Battalion: The 42nd Armored Infantry Battalion was formed in July 1951 at Ft. Division combat casualties totaled 6,184, a figure that exceeded the sum strength of any rifle company inside the division. He was exposed to enemy machine gun, small arms and even tank fire. The three regiments were named Task Force Linden, because they were commanded by the division’s deputy commander Brig. “At no time did I have in mind that I was trying to win something.”. 42nd Infantry Division in Iraq 2004-05 By combattales on July 3, 2015 in Army , Guard-Reserves , Iraq (2002-2011) , Video Soldiers of the 42nd Infantry Division, New York National Guard, pay respects to a fallen comrade at a memorial service in Iraq. History of Christmas Music: More than just Carols. By mid-February 1945 the rest of the 42nd Infantry Division arrived in France and the infantry regiments were rebuilt. 42nd Infantry Division Soldiers were in desperate combat in January 1945 at "other Battle of the Bulge" The division is now part of the New … The division then went on the attack against German units that had been severely ground down by the Nordwind attack. On April 29, 1945, the 42nd Infantry Division entered the Dachau concentration camp, the earliest and longest-functioning SS-controlled camp in Nazi Germany. Between Saareguemines and Wissem, then, the Americans had nine infantry and elements of two armored divisions in place and on the alert by the end of December. The 42nd Infantry Division (42ID) ("Rainbow") is a division of the United States Army National Guard. It might have worked. The fighting began 16 December 1944 and became the last offensive by Nazi Germany in World War II. Order of Battle - WWII - ETO; 29th INFANTRY DIVISION; Return to Table of Contents "Blue and Gray Division" The division insignia, as suggested by Major J. That was our baptism of fire. Early on the afternoon of December 16, the 2nd Division’s 23rd Infantry Regiment minus one battalion was attached to the 99th Infantry Division. They vastly outnumbered the Allies, with over 400,000 of Germany’s best troops committed. (U.S. Army Photo), Submitted by the New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs. They exchanged machine-gun fire with the Germans on Christmas Day. But the battle was much bigger than that. For the Rainbow Division, their attack would lead into Germany and capture the cities of Wurzburg, Schweinfurt, Furth, Nuremberg, Dachau and Munich before the war ended in May of 1945. On Christmas Eve, 1944, my father, Staff Sergeant John Petro, had arrived in Strasbourg with the 42nd “Rainbow” Infantry Division. History of Auld Lang Syne: What Does It Mean? 1st Platoon was at Wiltz (serving the 28th Infantry Division) while 3rd Platoon was in St. Vith served the 106th Infantry Division… Of all the uniformed American troops in the world at that time, 1/8th participated in the Battle of the Bulge. The Germans tried to send a boat across the river but were turned back by automatic weapons fire. Our local offices are located at 341 Delaware Ave, Delmar, NY 12054. Hood, TX. Hitler believed that it would take two weeks for the Americans to coordinate a response with the British. Historical source for stories, items and militaria of the Golden Lion Division. Publication date 1946 Usage Public Domain Mark 1.0 Topics WWII, United States. he later helped liberate a concentration camp& also saw combat in the korean war. William Corson in a letter to a 42nd Division reunion gathering in 1995. 4 th Infantry Division - Our Proud Heritage. Adolf Hitler‘s offensive intended to smash through Allied lines in the Belgian Ardennes Forest and race to the Atlantic coast, almost three hundred miles away. If you are interested in ordering Viagra or its FDA-approved generic alternatives online with maximum convenience, cost-effectiveness, and discretion, we invite you to visit drug shop.com. by Daly, Hugh C. cre. HISTORY OF CHRISTMAS EVE AND THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE: 76 YEARS AGO. Bertoldo drove back repeated German attacks for 48 hours. i also have available for sale a number of photos that mr luhn signed. The defense had held as reinforcements from the divisions which had been fighting in the Battle of the Bulge arrived to push the Germans back. The 42nd Infantry Division has served in World War I, World War II and the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT). Filled with draftees, the Fourth Division, whose insignia had been adopted by its first commanding general, Major General George H. 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