1111th Engineer Group In The Bulge: The Role Of Engineers As Infantry In Airland Battle

By Major Francis M. Cain III

This study examines the role of U.S. Army Engineers fighting as infantry in AirLand Battle by analyzing the actions of the 1111th Engineer Combat Group during the Battle of the Bulge in Dec. 1944. By manning hasty defensive positions at Malmedy, Stavelot, and Trois Ponts, the 291st Engineers and C Company, 51st Engineers delayed the German advance long enough for 30th Infantry and 82d Airborne Divisions to reach the area and wrestle the initiative from Sixth Panzer Army. The defense of the Ourthe River line by elements of the 51st Engineers was instrumental in delaying 116th Panzer Division long enough for 3rd Armored and 84th Infantry Divisions to reach defensive positions in front of the Meuse River.
Engineers were successful as infantry against mechanized forces for several reasons: 1) Infantry missions were limited in scope; 2) They were augmented with additional fire power; 3) They occupied good defensible terrain; 4) World War II engineer units received extensive combat training before deploying overseas.
The Battle of the Bulge displays many of the characteristics of a Soviet attack on NATO. Like the Ardennes in Dec. 1944, NATO’s Central Front is held by units which are overextended, untested in combat, and locked into a rigid forward defense with limited tactical reserves and no operational reserves. Under these circumstances, if Soviet forces do penetrate the Main Battle Area, engineer units are likely to be committed as infantry to block or contain the penetration. Like the Battle of the Bulge, we can expect a non-linear battlefield with fragmented, isolated units-a battlefield dominated by confusion and uncertainty. It is in exactly this type of situation that the actions of a few brave, determined men can make the difference between victory and defeat. By manning small, isolated defensive positions, the men of the 1111th Engineer Group provided the extra measure of combat power that tipped the scales of victory in favor of the Allies in Dec. 1944.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lucknow Books
• Release date: Aug 15, 2014
• ISBN: 9781782895992

Major Francis M. Cain III

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Text originally published in 1985 under the same title.

© Pickle Partners Publishing 2014, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means, electrical, mechanical or otherwise without the written permission of the copyright holder.

Publisher’s Note

Although in most cases we have retained the Author’s original spelling and grammar to authentically reproduce the work of the Author and the original intent of such material, some additional notes and clarifications have been added for the modern reader’s benefit.

We have also made every effort to include all maps and illustrations of the original edition the limitations of formatting do not allow of including larger maps, we will upload as many of these maps as possible.

The 1111th Engineer Group in the Bulge: The Role of Engineers as Infantry in AirLand Battle

By

Major Francis M. Cain, III Corps of Engineers

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS 4

ABSTRACT 5

SECTION I — Introduction 6

SECTION II — Operational And Tactical Setting 9

Terrain 9

Tactical Setting 10

SECTION III — Fighting Engineers: The 1111th Engineer Combat Group in the Bulge 12

Kampfgruppe Pieper 14

Confrontation at Trois Ponts 16

Engagement at Malmedy 17

Defending the Ourthe River Line 18

Contribution of 1111th Engineer Group to the Battle of the Bulge 19

SECTION IV — Doctrinal Analysis 22

SECTION V — Engineers As Infantry In AirLand Battle 26

APPENDIX A — MAPS 29

APPENDIX B — FIGURES 38

REQUEST FROM THE PUBLISHER 40

BIBLIOGRAPHY 41

Manuscripts and Interviews 41

Government Publications 41

Books 41

Periodicals 42

Unpublished Dissertations. Thesis, and Papers 42

ABSTRACT

THE 1111th ENGINEER GROUP IN THE BULGE: THE ROLE OF ENGINEERS AS INFANTRY IN AIRLAND BATTLE, BY Major Francis Marion Cain, III, USA.

This study examines the role of U.S. Army Engineers fighting as infantry in AirLand Battle by analyzing the actions of the 1111th Engineer Combat Group during the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944. The 51st and 291st Engineer Combat Battalions of the 1111th Engineer Combat Group are representative of the twenty-two engineer units committed as infantry during the Bulge to stop the German onslaught. By manning hasty defensive positions at Malmedy, Stavelot, and Trois Ponts, the 291st Engineers and C Company, 51st Engineers delayed the German advance long enough for 30th Infantry and 82d Airborne Divisions to reach the area and wrestle the initiative from Sixth Panzer Army. The defense of the Ourthe River line by elements of the 51st Engineers was instrumental in delaying 116th Panzer Division long enough for 3rd Armored and 84th Infantry Divisions to reach defensive positions in front of the Meuse River.

Engineers were successful as infantry against mechanized forces for several reasons: 1) Infantry missions were limited in scope; 2) They were augmented with additional fire power; 3) They occupied good defensible terrain; 4) World War II engineer units received extensive combat training before deploying overseas.

The Battle of the Bulge displays many of the characteristics of a Soviet attack on NATO. Like the Ardennes in December 1944, NATO’s Central Front is held by units which are overextended, untested in combat, and locked into a rigid forward defense with limited tactical reserves and no operational reserves. Under