Last updated 12 October 2004
1. This chapter is based on the records and journals (including those at battalion level) of the American units concerned. Thus far only the 6th Armored Division and the XII Corps have published unit histories covering this period-see Combat Record of the Sixth Armored Division (Aschaffenburg, 1945) and XII Corps: Spearhead of Patton's Third Army (Baton Rouge, 1947). Diaries kept by Maj. Gen. Manton Eddy, commanding general of the XII Corps, and by Capt. Stedman Seay, Assistant G-3 of CCA, 4th Armored Division, have been used. The Historical Division Combat Interviews survey much of this operation; those covering the 80th Infantry Division (collected by 1st Lt. Theron Burts and Sgt. Carlos Angulo) are particularly detailed and valuable. The enemy materials for this sector and period are very sketchy. German records at the level of the division and corps are not available. However, MS #B-412 (Einem) gives the German story from the viewpoint of the Chief of Staff, XIII SS Corps.
2. Interv with Gen Eddy, Washington, D.C., Aug 47; Hist Div
Combat Interviews (Col W. A. Bigby, CofS, 4th Armd Div); Ltr, Maj Gen Horace
McBride to Hist Div, 25 Nov 46.
3. XII Corps Rpt of Opns, 4 Sep 44.
4. 80th Div, G-2 Jnl, 4 Sep 44.
5. Hist Div Combat Interviews (Lt Col J. E. Shaw, Ex O, 80th Div Arty); XII Corps Arty Periodic Rpt, 5 Sep 44. For air missions on 5 September see XIX TAC, A Rpt on the Combat Opns of the XIX TAC, 30 May 45.
6. 317th Inf S-1 Jnl, 6 Sep 44.
7. For gallantry during the crossing attack, 1st Lt. Gottlieb Ruby, I Company, 319th Infantry, was awarded the DSC.
8. During the approach to Fort Villey-le Sec on 5 September,
2d Lt. Hershel T. Hardin destroyed two German machine guns in a singlehanded
attack. He received the DSC.
9. Colonel Cheston was awarded the DSC in this action. Chaplain
(Captain) Benedict A. Henderson, 319th Infantry, was awarded the DSC for evacuating
wounded under fire.
11. XII Corps G-3 Jnl, 7 Sep 44.
12. The bridge may have been discovered by patrols of the
2d Battalion. See 134th Inf Unit Jnl, 10 Sep 44.
13. 134th Inf Unit Jnl, 11 Sep 44. The 2d Battalion was reduced
to a total of 295 officers and men.
14. Lieutenant Marshall was awarded the DSC.
15. Records for the 80th Division crossing are good. In addition this operation is covered extensively by Historical Division combat interviewers.
16. See Army Group G KTB Nr. 2 and Anlagen for this period.
17. On the afternoon of 12 September some P-47's from XIX
TAC were attacked near Pont-à-Mousson by sixteen to twenty German planes.
The Americans destroyed five enemy aircraft and lost one during the ensuing
battle-one of the very few aerial combats ever fought above the Third Army troops.
The XII Corps commander had asked for extra air support on 12 September because
he believed that the Germans were pulling out of the 80th Division bridgehead
sector and he hoped to strike this retrograde movement. TUSA Diary, 12 Sep 44.
18. MS #B-412 (Einem).
19. 318th Inf S-2 Jnl, 13 Sep 44.
20. The Cannon Company of the 317th infantry was outflanked and very nearly cut off; but the gunners remained at their pieces and did much to check the German attack. For this and later actions in the bridgehead battle the Cannon Company received a Distinguished Unit Citation.
21. See Diary of Captain Seay, Asst G-3, 4th Armd Div, in
4th Armd Div G-3 Jnl (hereafter cited as Seay Diary).
22. A shortage of engineer bridging equipment threatened the
Third Army, and particularly the XII Corps, in the second week of September.
On 12 September the Third Army was given a special allocation of 3,554 long
tons of Bailey bridging, and this was moved by separate bridge trains directly
from Normandy to the front. TUSA AAR II, Pt. 12.
23. The American artillery was heavily engaged in fire to
repel the German counterattack. The 80th Division regulating officer could not
permit the cavalry to cross the river until the artillery had been alerted as
to the route the cavalry would follow. See Ltr, Gen McBride to Hist Div, 31
Jan 49.
24. This phase of the operations of the 4th Armored Division has been well covered in a pamphlet prepared by some of the participants: The Nancy Bridgehead (Fort Knox, 1946). See also Ltr, Gen Eddy to Hist Div, 14 Feb 49.
25. These and subsequent casualty estimates for CCA are taken
from Seay Diary.
26. In the little village of Valhey, southwest of Arracourt,
a detachment from the 37th Tank Battalion was halted by antitank fire which
knocked out the lead tank, that of Sgt. Joseph J. Sadowski. Sergeant Sadowski
was killed when, under direct machine gun fire, he attempted to get his bow
gunner out of the burning tank. For this act he posthumously received the Congressional
Medal of Honor.
27. During the advance by the 137th Infantry on 12 September,
an American rocket-launcher team drove five German tanks to cover in a patch
of woods. Sgt. Sherwood C. Lines, Company E, 137th Infantry, took a sound-powered
telephone, entered the woods, climbed a tree from which to obtain observation-within
thirty yards of a German machine gun nest-and whispered orders back to the American
batteries. They brought down such accurate fire as to destroy three of the enemy
tanks. Sergeant Lines received the DSC.
28. See situation maps of OKH, Gen. St. d. H./Operations
Abteilung. In part this gap had resulted from the withdrawal of the First
Parachute Army units which had been sent north to rejoin that army in Holland.
29. During this operation the 4th Armored Division had taken 1,269 prisoners and had destroyed or captured an estimated 50 tanks or other armored vehicles, 27 pieces of artillery, and over 400 miscellaneous vehicles. The 4th Armored Division itself had suffered 16 killed in action, 35 wounded in action, 10 missing in action; it had lost 3 armored cars, 4 M-4 tanks, 1 M-7 gun. (In addition a task force consisting of the 1st Battalion, 318th Infantry, and Company C, 35th Tank Battalion, under the command of Maj. C. L. Kimsey, had lost 3 M-4 tanks and a few men killed and wounded.) Seay Diary, 16 Sep 44.
30. The 1st Battalion, 320th Infantry, was forced to make a crossing on an improvised bridge under heavy small arms and mortar fire from the opposite bank. For gallantry in leading this assault Maj. William G. Gillis, Jr., was awarded the DSC.
31. A platoon of G Company, I 37th Infantry, was pinned down
by enemy fire on the far bank of the Meurthe River during the crossing near
Chartreuse. Sgt. Paul A. Fall crawled forward alone and destroyed one German
machine gun, then led his men in an attack that destroyed two more. He was awarded
the DSC.
32. On 16 September the 2d Battalion of the 134th Infantry
attacked in the direction of Lay-St. Christophe. Company G was stopped by machine
gun fire coming from entrenchments on its right flank. Sgt. junior J. Spurrier,
a squad leader, left the company and manned the .50-caliber machine gun on an
accompanying tank destroyer. He drove the enemy into their dugouts with fire
from this weapon, then dismounted and closed with the enemy infantry, taking
22 prisoners and killing several Germans. He was given the DSC.
33. Army Group G KTB Nr. 2, 13 Sep 44.
34. The 319th Infantry was regrouped prior to the advance
on Nancy. The 1st and 3d Battalions assembled in the Gondreville area and the
3d Battalion later marched to Nancy. The 2d Battalion was left north of the
Moselle loop to clear the Germans from the river bluffs along the bend between
Liverdun and Pompey. Here on 14 September E Company engaged in a hot fight with
the enemy dug in on the bluffs. Although this action was subsidiary to the main
battles elsewhere-and is hardly mentioned in the records of the 80th Division-it
was distinguished by several acts of personal heroism. The Congressional Medal
of Honor was awarded to 2d Lt. Edgar H. Lloyd for leading his men through a
deadly cross fire, knocking out the first German machine gunner he met with
his fist, and killing the crew with a hand grenade. In this fight Lieutenant
Lloyd personally accounted for five machine guns. Sgt. William B. Humphrey was
awarded the DSC for action that took place at the same time when he killed numerous
German machine gunners with bayonet and grenades. Pfc. Edward M. Winterbottom
distinguished himself by going forward alone when his squad was stopped by a
German machine gun. His rifle was shot out of his hand and he received a severe
wound, but he continued on until he was within fifteen yards of the enemy weapon-then
destroyed it with a hand grenade. He was awarded the DSC.
35. Army Group G KTB Nr. 2, 13 Sep 44.
36. 80th Div G-2 Jul, 15 through 17 Sep 44.
37. Company E, 317th Infantry, held the center of the ridge
for several days and repulsed a number of counterattacks. Company E received
the Distinguished Unit Citation for its fight to hold this position.
38. Pfc. Charles F. Simcox, A Company, 317th Infantry, was
given the DSC for gallantry in this engagement.
39. Pfc. Lester J. Lynch, C Company, 610th Tank Destroyer
Battalion, here rescued and evacuated two wounded tank men under heavy fire.
He received the DSC.
40. As a result of this attack, and the earlier defense of Loisy, the 1st Battalion, 319th Infantry, was given the Distinguished Unit Citation.
41. XII Corps Rpt of Opns, 16 and 17 Sep 44.
42. In this fight Sgt. Ralph F. Greeley, D Company, 134th
Infantry, covered the American withdrawal with fire from a dismounted machine
gun. He stayed at his post until killed. Sergeant Greeley was awarded the DSC
posthumously.
43. The fight for the Pain de Sucre is ably described in J.
A. Huston's Biography of a Battalion (MS, New York University, 1947).
44. On 17 September the 320th Infantry, then cast of the Forêt de Champenoux with the 4th Armored Division, sent a reconnaissance party back to the west through enemy territory. This daring patrol from Erbéviller to Champenoux was led by 1st Lt. Raymond W. Braffitt, S-2 of the 320th Infantry, who was killed during this reconnaissance. Lieutenant Braffitt was awarded the DSC posthumously.
46. The fight at Armaucourt is given detailed treatment in
the Combat Record of the Sixth Armored Division.
47. 35th Div AAR, 23 Sep 44. The total losses of the 553d
FG Division in September 1944 are listed as 319 killed in action, 1,052
wounded in action, and 2,125 missing in action. Army Group G KTB Nr. 3a (Anlagen),
Oct 44.
48. Army Group G KTB Nr. 2, 24 Sep 44.
49. During the attack near Landremont on 17 September, Sgt.
Howard O. Wagner, A Company, 317th Infantry, was cut off by the enemy while
manning a machine gun. Although wounded Sergeant Wagner refused to surrender
and fought on until he was killed. He received the DSC in a posthumous award.
50. East of the Bois de la Rumont elements of the 317th Infantry
made an advance on 19 September toward Bratte. During this engagement Cpl. James
A. Rapino, L Company, 317th Infantry, led his squad in an assault with fragmentation
grenades which destroyed four German mortars and three half-tracksunder severe
enemy fire. Corporal Rapino received the DSC.
51. Capt. Frank A. Williams, F Company, 318th Infantry-who
had already won recognition as an intrepid company commander-received the DSC
for bravery during attacks at Mount St. Jean on 23-24 September. On 24 September
Captain Williams was wounded in both arms, during hand-to-hand fighting, but
stayed with his company. He received a third wound in the shoulder but refused
to be evacuated until that night, when F Company was relieved.
52. From 12 to 16 September the 313th Field Artillery Battalion
had been the only American artillery in the bridgehead. The battalion had distinguished
itself by close support of the infantry and had fought on occasion as infantry.
The 313th Field Artillery was awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation.
53. XII Corps Rpt of Opns (Table No. 1, Sep 44. The total German losses at the hands of the 80th Division are unknown. During the month of September the 3d Panzer Grenadier Division, which led off in the fight to erase the 80th Division bridgehead, listed only 585 killed, wounded, and missing. Army Group G KTB Nr. 3a (Anlagen), Oct 44. See n. 47 for the losses of the 553d VG Division. It is probable that the losses suffered by the Germans during this period were much smaller than those sustained by the Americans.
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Last updated 12 October 2004 |