Document Source: Staff Department, The Infantry School, Fort Benning (Georgia), Advanced Infantry Officers Course, 1945-1950. The Operations of the 26th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, in the Attack on the Hürtgen Forest, Germany, November 16, 1944, to December 5, 1944, during the Rhineland Campaign. This archive relates the Personal Experience of a Regimental Assistant S-3, Maj Maurice A. Belisle.. INTRODUCTION This archive covers the operations of the 26th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, in the attack on the Hürtgen Forest, November 16, to December 5, 1944, in the drive to the Roer River. A brief introduction of major events leading up...

Document Source: Operations of the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division during the Initial Penetration of the Siegfried Like in the Vicinity of Nutheim, Germany, September 13 to September 20, 1944, Captain Armand R. Levasseur, Battalion Operations Officer. INTRODUCTION This archive covers the operations of the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 1st United States Infantry Division, during the initial penetration of the Siegfried Line in the vicinity of Nütheim, Germany, September 13-20, 1944. This period began the Rhineland Campaign. To orient the reader, it is necessary to review briefly the events leading up to the arrival of Allied forces...

Document source: Operations of the 1st Battalion, 379th Infantry Regiment, 95th Infantry Division in Saarlautern, Germany, December 2, 1944, - December 6, 1944. during the Rhineland Campaign, Capt Albert V. Kinslow, Battalion Reconnaissance Officer, 1/379-95-ID INTRODUCTION This archive covers the operation of the 1st Battalion, 379th Infantry Regiment of the 95th US Infantry Division, in the Rhineland Campaign, in the crossing of the Saar River and capture and defense of the bridge at Saarlautern. A short history of the 1st Battalion and a brief summary of preceding events leading up to the crossing of the Saar River and capture of the...

Document Source: Operation of the Task Force Baum, 4th Armored Division, between Aschaffenburg and Hammelburg, March 27-28, 1945, Central European Campaign, Experience of Capt Shelden L. Thompson, Prisoner of War, Oflag XIII B, Hammelburg INTRODUCTION The American armies in Europe had, from the initial landings on the beaches of Normandy, fought well and heroically against a veteran enemy, an enemy who had from the desert of North Africa to the Steppes of Russia proved himself to be both able and dangerous on the field of battle. However, fighting on two fronts, against overwhelming forces in manpower on the east and against...

Document Source: Appendix C, Narrative Account of the 117th Infantry Regiment, Interview with Col Robert E. Frankland, CO 1/117th Infantry; Maj Henry R. Kaczowka, Battalion Executive; Capt David K. Easlick, Battalion S-3; Lt Stanley W. Cooper, Dog Co, Heavy Weapons; Lt William J. O’Neil, Leader Pioneer Platoon. October 12, 1944. Interview conducted by Capt Hechler, Assistant Corps Historian. The following archive is related to the operations of the 117th Infantry Regiment, 30th Infantry Division, during the Breaching of the Siegfried Line and particularly in the crossing of the Wurm River east of Scherpenseel in Germany on October 2, 1944. PILLBOXES REDUCTION (a)...

Document Source: Appendix C, Narrative Account of the 117th Infantry Regiment, Interview with Col Robert E. Frankland, CO 1/117th Infantry; Maj Henry R. Kaczowka, Battalion Executive; Capt. David K. Easlick, Battalion S-3; Lt Stanley W. Cooper, Dog Co, Heavy Weapons; Lt William J. O'Neil, Leader Pioneer Platoon. October 12, 1944. Interview conducted by Capt Hechler, Assistant Corps Historian. The mission of the 1st Battalion of the 117th Infantry Regiment (30-ID) on October 2, 1944, was to cross the Wurm River and neutralize the pillboxes in the area boarded roughly by the Palenberg - Rimburg railroad track on the west over...

Document source: Personal Copy of Maj Gen William M. Miley, XVIII Corps Airborne, Operation Varsity, March 23, 1945 - March 30, 1945. Copy N°60, Headquarters XVIII Corps Airborne, Office of the Commander. SUMARY OF GROUND FORCES PARTICIPATION IN OPERATION VARSITY April 25, 1945 GENERAL 1. On or about February 09, 1945, while still engaged in the Roer River area north of Schmidt, Germany, I received from the Supreme Commander, in person, my first instructions concerning this operation. He informed me that the XVIII Corps (Airborne) would successively command a three-airborne division operation east of the Rhine River, in support of the British 21st...

Document Source: After Action Report, 82nd Airborne Division, April 1945. Preface; Narrative; Intelligence Phases; Supply; Military Government, Annexes. SECTION I - PREFACE In late March 1945, the 82nd Airborne Division was engaged in training activities at its base in Camp Sissonne, Laon, France. Reorganization under the new Table of Organization (TOE) was underway and a schedule of intensive airborne training was being carried out. Experiments also were being conducted with new equipment, including the Recoilless 57-MM gun. Several tentative airborne missions were in the planning stage at Division Headquarters at Sissonne. Late in the afternoon of March 30, the Division Commander, Gen...

Document Source: Reprint from the December 2000 Article of the Armor Magazine, by Capt Bruce K. Ferrell. The October 1944 Siege of Germany’s West Wall (Siegfried Line), led to a MOUT (Military Operations in Urban Terrain) fighting in Charlemagne’s Historic City during the month of October 1944 as well as the birthplace of Doc Snafu on May 4, 1955. PREFACE At this year’s Armor Conference in May 2001, Fort Knox officially opened and dedicated a new, state-of-the-art Mounted Urban Combat Training Site. This is a significant milestone in the Army’s attitude towards training for Military Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT). In...

Document Source: Operations Journal, 10th Armored Division, 419th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, European Theater of Operations, 1944 – 1945. 10th Armored Division 419th Armored Field Artillery Battalion After Action Report November 1944 Nov 1: Moving to front. Nov 2: Relieved the 344-FAB E of Vionville, France. Nov 3-6: Supported the 20-AIB and the 61-AIB in the front of Metz. Mainly harassing and interdiction fires. Nov 7: Moved 80 miles on blackout to Burmerange, Luxembourg, to act as corps artillery in supporting the 90-ID who were to secure a bridgehead across the Moselle River. Nov 8: Battalion supported the attack of the 90-ID. Fired Reinforcing fires. Nov 9: Continued to...

Document Source: Operations of the 2nd Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division in Aachen, Germany, October 10 – 21 1944 Lt Col D. M. Daniel, (Personal Experience as a Battalion Commander) To understand the operations at Aachen, it is necessary to begin in the vicinity of Mons, Belgium. There, remnants of the XV German Army were, from their positions along the north coast of France, attempting to escape from the pocket caused by the rapid advances of the US 1-A and the UK 2-A. By Sept 2, at least five German divisions, under orders to pull out and beat the...

Document Source: Operational Performance of the US 28-ID (Keystone) from Sept 1944 to Dec 1944 is a thesis presented to the Faculty of the US Army Command and General Staff College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Military Art and Science by Jeffrey P. Holt, Major, USA. BS, University of South Alabama, 1982. This study analyzes the operational performance of the 28-ID during a period of high intensity combat in the European Theater of Operations. Introduction The focus is on the difficulties the division experienced within its subordinate infantry units. Infantrymen, though comprising less than 40...

Original Source Document: Victory Has Many Fathers, But Defeat is an Orphan. William C. Jandrew, American Military University, Feb 19, 2011, MILH 551 – World War II in Europe (Final Check Doc Snafu September 16, 2022) Late summer 1944, Rome had fallen, and the massive Allied invasion of Western Europe had bludgeoned Adolf Hitler’s Atlantic Wall, secured the beaches in Normandy, fought through the French hedgerows, and gained momentum in its drive toward Germany. Allied armies, fighting hard, swept northward from southern France, and the Wehrmacht, though offering stubborn resistance, was being driven back toward Germany. Confidence was high as German...

(v. 2023) Document Source: Headquarters Army Ground Force, Army War College, Washington D. C., Report Number 61. Col H. A. Miller; Col Shaffer F. Jarrel, September 22, 1944. Combat Observations. (Transcription & Illustrations Doc Snafu) In the early years of World War Two, the German Army amply demonstrated its ability to exploit victory to the fullest. After the tide had turned against the Germans, it became apparent that they also possessed the more outstanding ability to quickly recover from a defeat before their opponents could thoroughly exploit their success. Less than a month after suffering an in-apparently decisive defeat in...

Operation Report of Charlie Company, 18th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division (Big Red One), Attack on the Crucifix Hill (Hill 239 - Haarberg), Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle), Germany, Rhineland Campaign - October 8-9 1944. Personal experience of a Company Commander. Capt Bobbie E. Brown This archive covers the operations of Charlie Company, 1st Battalion (Col Henry G. Leonard), 18th Infantry Regiment (Col George A. Smith), 1st Infantry Division (Big Red One) opposed to the German 246.Volks-Grenadier-Division, during the capture of Crucifix Hill, Haarberg, Hill 239, Haaren, in the vicinity of Aachen, Germany, during the period of Oct 8 to Oct 9, 1944 (Rhineland...

✅ This post was reviewed and corrected as part of the 2025 Historical Accuracy Update.Reviewed by Doc Snafu on July 29, 2025. Source Document: Armor in the Huertgen Forest. The Kall Trail and the Battle of Kommerscheidt by Captain Mike Sullivan. The mission of Armor is to close with and destroy the enemy by means of fire, maneuver, and shock effect. (FM-17-15, Tank Platoon, April 3, 1996) Today’s armor force is based on a highly flexible, mobile, and lethal armor doctrine. Terms such as maneuver and shock effect are the keynote phrases of the modern US armor community. Steeped in tradition,...