The Command Is Forward

By James Haahr

The so-called lull in October 1944 in Lorraine was anything but that. It was Hell for the infantrymen of the 101st Regiment. We lived like animals in our holes in the ground in the mud, cold, wet, and rain under artillery barrages and sniper fire. Men were killed every day. Then came the Third Army offensive of November 8. It was Hell all over again, but there was no lull. We were still covered with mud and we were wet, cold, hungry, and miserable. After attacking one day, we had to get out of our holes and do it all over again the next morning against an enemy that contested every few yards of ground. And we did this for the next five weeks in the same conditions in the fortifications of the Maginot Line until the brief respite in Metz.

The story of the 101st Infantry Regiment in Lorraine is told through first person narrative accounts of bloody and violent combat engagements.These are blended with the war diary of the 101st Infantry from August 1944 to May 9, 1945, and the first person campaign reports of the commanding generals of the two main German divisions against which the 101st fought up to mid-November, the 11th Panzer Division and the 361st Volks Grenadier Division. Photographs and maps portray some of these actions.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Nov 7, 2003
• ISBN: 9781465316165

James Haahr

James Haahr is a combat infantry veteran of World War II. He served in the European Theater with Company C of the 101st Infantry Regiment of the 26th Yankee Infantry Division in Pattons Third Army. He was wounded in action twice in the Lorraine Campaign in northeast France. After his discharge, he received his BA from The George Washington University and entered the Foreign Service of the United States in 1949. He retired from the Foreign Service in 1981 after serving in a number of overseas posts in Europe and Latin America. He lives in Reston, Virginia with his wife.

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Copyright © 2003 byJames Haahr.

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Contents

Acknowledgments

Foreword

Preface

Notes On Chapter I, II And III

Chapter I

Chapter II

Chapter III

CHAPTER IV

Chapter V

Chapter VI

Chapter VII

Appendix

For my wife Joanne, my daughters

Kathryn and Pamela, my

grandchildren Catalina and Nicholas,

and my comrades, wherever they may be,

of the 101st Infantry Regiment of the

26th Yankee Infantry Division.

Acknowledgments

I am forever grateful to all those who gave me moral or other support and sustained me in my work on this book. The first of these are the members of my family who understood what I wanted to do and supported me in that effort. That support was complemented by that given by Anthony Kemp, who has written the Foreword to this book, and who is an admirable military historian in his own right of the Lorraine Campaign. Jean Christophe Valance of Kirviller, France, was my guide and companion during my trip to the region in 2002. Elisabeth Gozzo of Corny (Moselle), France and her group aptly named Thank You GIs, encouraged me to continue with my work.

I am indebted to researchers at the National Archives, College Park, Maryland, the National Records Center in St. Louis, and the U.S. Army Military History Institute at Carlisle Barracks for their help in producing much of the original source material I needed. My thanks also go to the 26th ‘Yankee" Division Veterans Association and the 101st Infantry Regiment Veterans Association for their interest and support. With respect to the former, I want to thank Brigadier General Al Magnone, Director of Veterans Affairs for the State of Massachusetts, and Peter Bogdan and Donald McCuish of the National Executive Council.

My comrades of the 101st Infantry Regiment, veterans of World War II all, sent me letters and other information on their combat experiences that form a vital part of this book. For this, my thanks and deep appreciation go to Neal Burdette, John L. Jack Jones, Dave Kolb, Gordon Pettingell, Douglas Briggs, Henry Galusha, James Creech, Morris Williams, William Stahl, Wayne McGee, Donald Nickol, William Helm, David Kolb, Thomas Wally Clarke, and Maurice Casey, all combat veterans of the 101st Infantry Regiment. The 26th Division

Veterans Association also provided a substantial number of such personal narratives that were contained in old issues of the Association’s publication. I also appreciate the interest and background information provided by Phil Logan of the 11th Panzer Division Reconnaissance Unit Reenactment Group of Northern Virginia. I could not have completed my book without the maps and other background information in H. M. Cole’s magnificent book, The Lorraine Campaign.

Foreword

In the immediate post-WWII period, the great and the good, if victorious, (politicians and generals), gave posterity the benefit of their version of the history of the conflict. They in their turn were followed by the air aces, successful submarine commanders, Resistance heroes and others who were newsworthy. As documents were deposited in various archives and the veil of secrecy was lifted, these too have a distorted view of events in that they tended to represent the viewpoint of the fairly senior officers who had originated them.

Little or nothing was heard of the views and experiences of GI Joe, unless Hollywood was involved. In the last few years, however, this has altered and a rash of personal memoirs has appeared on the market, often privately published. These are due to the influence of the internet perhaps, and are also inspired by the Stephen Ambrose school of military history. As a military historian myself, I have noticed an increased willingness among veterans to wish to communicate their experiences before it is too late and their war is forgotten.

Therefore I welcome this excellent contribution by Jim Haahr to the history of the little-known Lorraine campaign which was fought by the grunts—a real infantry battle.

He has successfully combined official documents from both sides of the hill, blending them with the memories of himself and his buddies to tell an immensely detailed and honest story of a hill in Lorraine in that bitter autumn of 1944. Above all, The Command is Forward, is a tribute to the thousands of America’s citizen soldiers who crossed the sea, endured horrific privations, served their country so nobly in fighting for freedom, and all too often paid the price with their lives.

Anthony Kemp. 2002.

Preface

This work is a labor of remembrance. It contains many memories for me along with thoughts of those comrades who did not make it home. This is dedicated to them above all. It is something that I have wanted to do for years, and was given impetus by my trip to France in the Spring of 2002 when I spent four days in the area where the 101st first went into the front lines in October 1944. That was a very emotional visit for me. I shed more than a few tears on the summit of Hill 310 where so many of my friends were casualties between November 8 and 11. I recently saw a report that the 101st suffered almost 500 casualties in only four days of action near Moyenvic and Hill 310. Many of the familiar faces of Fort Jackson and Normandy were taken from us. I was one of them.

This book tells the story through my recollections and those of others, photographs, and maps. It also contains the complete Commandant’s War Diary of the 101st Regiment as well as reports by the commanders of two German divisions that we faced during the October lull and thereafter. These diaries are published, I believe, for the first time. I felt that to understand the campaign in Lorraine, it was essential that I place the full contents of the War Diary of the 101st side by side with the diaries of the two German divisions involved. Together, they gave me a new perspective, and I hope they will do the same for the readers of this work. For example, the report by the Commander of the 11th Panzer Division, written two years after the war, states that at one point in October, the strength of one of the Panzergrenadier (Armored Infantry) Regiments of 11th Panzer in October was only 600 men covering 10 kilometers of front. To overcome this, the Commanding General kept most of the men a kilometer or so behind the front line on strong points so that they could be moved forward as rapidly as possible when needed. The report says that there were only 20 men normally covering one kilometer of front. This is hard to believe at this point in time, but it was possible to do during the October lull when attacks were limited and other actions were confined largely to outposts and patrols.

During the month of October 1944, when the 26th Division underwent its baptism of fire, the western front had become stabilized. North in Holland, British, Canadian and American troops were striving to widen and make secure the 50 mile deep salient that had been sliced in toward the landing grounds of the 1st Airborne Army near Nijmegen and Arnheim. Others were grinding north to Antwerp. Further south Aachen had been taken after a long and bitter struggle. Here was the first major foothold on German soil. On the right, the line ran south through the Vosges Mountains to the Swiss border. The Third Army front extended approximately seventy-five miles from the French-Luxembourg-German border to a region southeast of Nancy. The southern flank was held by the 90th Division, north of German held Thionville, ready to push across the Moselle River into Germany, just thirteen miles away. In the Mezieres-les-Metz sector north of Metz, stood the 95th Division. South of Metz, the 5 th Division was prepared to swing south of that city and join with the 95th east of the city. The immediate objective was Louvigny. In the area of Pont-a-Mousson was the 80th Division. The 35th Division was next in line, and on their right were the units of the 26th Division on the extreme right flank of the Third Army.

For the most part, this book looks at the engagements of the 101st Infantry of the 26th Division, but relates those where appropriate to some of the actions of its sister regiments of the 26th Infantry Division. What is described herein constitutes a very limited area of Lorraine, just as Lorraine itself constituted but a limited segment of the War in the West as a whole. This is even more striking when I now realize that the Yankee Division’s front extended in a curve on the right flank of the Third Army for only 13 miles of the total XII Corps front. The following quote from the History of the 104th Infantry Regiment is descriptive of how we fitted into the larger picture—compared to the activities of the Western Front as a whole, these actions were insignificant—yet to the Regiment, they, as the initial combat encounters, were all important. With them came the first shock of battle, the realization that combat means closing with the enemy and that closing with the enemy meant, for some, death. This quotation is an accurate description in a few words of our first encounters in October when the Yankee Division replaced the 4th Armored Division on the line.

Our actions were not carried out in isolation from others. What the division did had consequences for the enemy and required him to adjust his forces. What the enemy did had consequences for us and possibly for the neighboring division. What we did also affected the situation of the 35th Infantry Division on our left flank, and so on. I am not, therefore, writing this in isolation from the ebb and flow of tactics which evolved depending upon the situation. This is not my intention. What results is a story of some sharp engagements applicable to the whole of the Lorraine Campaign in which the infantryman—weighed down with mud and equipment—carried a disproportionate share of the action and casualties. The nasty weather saw to it that he was not able to have the full range of armor and air support.

I entered the Army in May 1943 at the age of 18. I reported to Fort Snelling, Minnesota, and, shortly thereafter, primed with every vaccination known to man at that time and with a mouth full of new dental work, was sent to the 81st Infantry Training Battalion at Camp Roberts, California for basic infantry training. This Battalion was composed of prospective Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) students, future warriors all. I was accepted for the ASTP and was assigned to the program at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. I completed two semesters before the program was terminated because of the need to fill the ranks of the Army’s ground forces. We Bowdoin ASTPers were assigned to the 26th Infantry Division, then on maneuvers in Tennessee. Many of us from Bowdoin joined Company C of the 101st Infantry Regiment at that time.

I participated in the Division review parade at Jackson on one of my final days there. What a stirring sight! Divisional and regimental flags and pennants were carried on high past the reviewing stand and the Yankee Division’s Commanding General and staff. The Division’s

Band played rousing marches as the ranks marched by, regiment after regiment, battalion after battalion, and company after company within the battalions. As the ranks of the 101st approached the reviewing stand, the Band started the rousing music of Gary Owen, the march adopted years ago by the 101st, and which was also the march of Custer’s Seventh Cavalry.

Following advanced training with the Division at Fort Jackson, we boarded trains for Camp Shanks, New York. From Camp Shanks, the 101st boarded trains for the short trip to Weehawken, New Jersey, from where we crossed the Hudson River to Pier 84 in Manhattan. There we boarded the SS SATURNIA, a former Italian passenger liner, for the trip across the Atlantic. The entire 101st Regiment was on that ship. We arrived at the port of Cherbourg on September 7, loaded on to lighters, and then boarded trucks for the trip to the Carentan Peninsula of Normandy. While there, the Division was in reserve for the Battle of Brest, but was never committed to that operation. It was subsequently assigned to the Third Army and the 101st—less the First Battalion—was trucked to the front then 15 miles or so east of Nancy in Lorraine where it took over the positions of the 4th Armored Division on October 7, 1944. I was told after the war that the First Battalion was kept near Lestre, Normandy, to guard against a possible attempt by German forces on the Channel Islands to infiltrate to France. That did not happen. The 328th Infantry Regiment (or Regimental Combat Team) was attached temporarily to the 80th Division and was trucked to the Port-sur-Seille sector in Lorraine to relieve the 319th Infantry Regiment on the line. The 328th Infantry was the first Yankee Division unit to enter combat. On October 8, it assisted the 80th Division to secure the towns of Clemery and Benicourt.

The First Battalion of the 101st Infantry then followed the path of the rest of the Regiment and arrived in the rear area of the front lines on October 14. The Battalion dug in that night near a road across from US artillery units who kept up an incessant fire with their 105mm and 155 mm guns. The night of October 16-17, the First Battalion relieved the Second Battalion of the 101st on the front line. The night was pitch dark and the only illumination was from white German flares that climbed gracefully into the sky from positions not far from us. We placed one hand on the back of the man in front of us as we moved through sticky mud to the foxholes originally dug by soldiers of the 4th Armored Division. We had arrived after months and even years of training, but nothing I had gone through had or could have prepared me for the actual reality of combat.

Years ago I made a note of something I read in Yankee Doings, the magazine of the Yankee Division Veterans Association. As early as November 19, 1944, a soldier wrote in his diary that it is sheerest irony to write as I do the history of the YD, for the YD infantry has been left behind at Moncourt, Vic-sur-Seille, Bezange, Moyenvic, Chateau Salins, and Hill 310. This is true, but it also needs to be expanded now to include all those who came after as replacements to serve as infantry in the YD and who fell or were wounded at Saare-Union, Eschdorf, Mon Shuman, Wiltz, Saarlautern, Serrig, Fulda, Meiningen, and in other places with names and many without names.

Notes On Chapter I, II And III

A few veterans of the 101st Regiment and the 26th Division hold copies of the Commandant’s War Diary of the 101st Infantry Regiment. Only parts of it have been published in the magazine of the Yankee Division Veterans Association. I believe this is the first published copy of the entire War Diary. In addition to the War Diary, other information in the National Archives was helpful on some regimental operations, but not on others. Operations Reports and Patrol Reports of the 101st refer to coordinates on map overlays, but neither the overlays nor the maps are available. It was not possible, therefore, to determine the precise positions of the various companies and their platoons in October 1944.

The Commandant’s War Diary is a fascinating document of the Regiment’s combat actions and engagements. The author decided to publish the complete text from August 1944 to the end of the war instead of restricting it to the period covered by this study. The Diary was compiled by Col. Albert McWade from the Regimental Journal kept by M/Sgt. Frank Brennan, S/Sgt. Carmen Carriero, and S/Sgt. James Walker. S/Sgt. Carriero and S/Sgt. Walker typed the diary in mid-1945.

The reports by the Commanders of the 361st Volks Grenadier Division (VGD) and the 11th Panzer Division are must-reads for US veterans. In many cases, their discussions of positions were useful to me in fixing the positions of some US units. The Commander of the 361st VGD does not hide his frustration with higher commands who periodically sent one of his regiments to another area, and a battalion or more to other areas at times when he was trying to maintain a stable and effective defensive line. The report speaks for itself in detailing the defensive and offensive problems in October and November 1944. These VGDs replaced infantry divisions and most of the 400 and 500 numbered divisions were of this type. The Appendix provides the Order of Battle for the 361st and 559th, and for a standard VGD.

The reports prepared by Lt. General von Wietersheim, the Commandant of the 11th Panzer Division, are equally fascinating. The 11th Panzer, known as the Ghost Division, had a long and illustrious past. It was not an SS Division, but was regular army. It was present at the capture of Belgrade, fought to within a relatively few kilometers of Moscow, did not participate in D Day even though it was based in southern France at the time, but did fight in the engagements up the Rhone Valley after the invasion of southern France. It ended that phase near Arracourt in Lorraine and it was in the area around Arracourt, about 15 miles northeast of Nancy, that the 101st first engaged the 11th Panzer Division in October 1944 when the Yankee Division relieved the 4th Armored Division.

The report on the 559th Volks Grenadier Division is not contained in this book. One or more of its regiments were variously engaged against the Yankee Division in October and thereafter, but in the period covered herein, the 559th VGD was on the right flank of the 361st VGD and was not engaged against the 101st Infantry Regiment. However, it was directly involved in combat operations against the 328th Regimental Combat Team of the Yankee Division, particularly near the village of Chateau Salins. One Regiment of the 559th also reinforced the 361st on Hill 310 on November 8, 1944.

In descending order, the following gives the German higher command levels in the area of Lorraine covered by this book. The three divisions mentioned herein were in: (a) Army Group G under General Balck, a former Commander of 11 Panzer; (b) First Army; (c) Fifth Panzer Army; and (d) LVIII Panzer Corps Headquarters, replaced by LXXXIX Panzer Corps Headquarters in early November 1944.

I believe that the reports or war diaries of the 361st VGD and 11th Panzer are published here for the first time. There is no record that the report on the 361st VGD exists in German military archives. The reports on the 361st and 11th Panzer are in the National Archives II in College Park, Maryland.

These German reports are particularly useful because actions on indicated days can be easily compared with those of the 101st Regiment by looking up those same days in the War Diary of the 101st. The different perceptions and interpretations are striking. In this regard, the dates of November 8-11 in the 101st War Diary and in the Campaign Report of the 361st VGD contain the reports of the respective units on the engagements on Hill 310 at the beginning of the resumption of the Third Army offensive in Lorraine. In a similar manner, dates given in the narratives of combat actions in Chapter IV can be used to obtain further insights into what was being reported at the level of the units involved as contained in the unit campaign reports.

The author had access to a carbon copy of the entire War Diary of the 101st Infantry as well as to other pages of it. The carbon copy was not in good condition after 58 years, and it is likely that some errors in the spelling of names and place names occurred in transcribing it. Similarly, the first part of the campaign report of the 11th Panzer Division in Chapter III was transcribed by me, almost verbatim, including therein difficulties in translation and punctuation. Fortunately, the report of the 361st VGD and the second part of the 11th Panzer report did not present these problems. The author regrets any errors in the spelling of the names of soldiers listed or of place names which might have occurred as a consequence of the condition of the reports.

Chapter I

COMMANDA

NT’S WAR DIARY 101st INFANTRY REGIMENT

2400 14 Sep 44

Advance Detail consisting of thirty (30) enlisted men from mine laying platoon of A-T Co under the command of 1st Lt. Thomas A. Powers, left Lestre, France, by truck for Carteret, France. Purpose of detail to probe new Regimental Area for mines and booby traps. Practice marches and physical conditioning under Bn. and Separate Company Control. Usual camp duties. Strength of Regiment:—153 O’s-5 W.O’s-3055 E.N.

2400 15 Sep 44

Three (3) Provisional Truck Companies were activated by direction of Commanding General III Corps. These companies consisted of a T/O & E 10-57 6 July 1944 strength of 175 enlisted men and five (5) officers, and were designated as 26th Inf. Div. Provisional Truck Companies Number 1, 2, and 3. Primary purpose of these companies to haul supplies, ammunition, and gasoline to areas as directed. Duration of mission unknown. 26th Inf. Div. Provisional Truck Company No. 1, commanded by Capt. John E. Arnott, 26th Inf. Div. Provisional Truck Company No. 2, commanded by Captain James P. Kneeland. 26th Inf. Div. Provisional Truck Company No. 3, commanded by Captain Elbridge H. Cummings. Total strength of three (3) Trucking Companies, Fifteen (15) officers, five hundred twenty-five (525) enlisted men. 26th Inf. Div. Provisional Truck Company No. 1 left Base Camp at Lestre, France, at 1900 15 September 1944. Practice road marches, physical conditioning and usual camp duties. Strength of Regiment:—153 O’s-5 W.O’S-3055 E.N.

2400 16 Sep 44

26th Inf. Div. Provisional Truck Company No. 2 left Base Camp at Lestre, France, at 1640 and were to pick up cargo at Omaha Beach. Destination unknown. 26th Inf. Div. Provisional Truck Company No. 3 left Base Camp Area at Lestre at 1830.

Lt. Col. Daniel J. Murphy, Regimental Executive Officer, and Captain Joseph Boucher, left Base Camp at Lestre, France for Versailles.

Lt. Col. Daniel J. Murphy to assume command of 26th Inf. Div. Provisional Truck Regiment. Practice march, physical conditioning, and usual camp duties. Strength of Regiment:—153 O’s-5 W.O’s-3055 E.N.

2400 17 Sep 44

Religious services, usual camp duties. Three (3) enlisted men of Company C, 101st Infantry (Pfc. Frank Wisniewski, 33426438; Pfc. Bernard A. Riegner, 33426778; Pfc. Walter C. Lenktis, 31018309) were hurt by a German mine while on beach at Quinneville. Orientation lecture and map demonstration on progress of Allied Forces on all fronts have been given daily by Capt. William F. Molla, Orientation Officer, from 11 September 1944 to date. One hour period each for the Regimental Section, 1st Bn, 2d Bn and 3d Bn. Strength of Regiment:—153 O’s-5 W.O’s-3055 E.N.

2400 18 Sep 44

Headquarters & Headquarters Detachment, 26th Inf. Div. Provisional Truck Group, activated and organized consisting of five (5) additional officers and eighteen (18) enlisted men departed by truck from base camp at Lestre en route to Versailles at 1300. Designation numbers of 26th Inf. Provisional Truck Companies changed from 1-2-3 to 7200-72017203. 1st Bn, 2d Bn, and Antitank Company left base camp on night problem at 1830. Organized athletics, physical conditioning, and usual camp duties. Strength of Regiment:—153 O’s-5 W.O’s-3055 E.N.

2400 19 Sep 44

I & R Platoon and 3d Bn left Base Camp on night problem. Organized athletics, physical conditioning. Pfc. Frank Wisniewski, 33426438, one of the members of Co. C who became a casualty on the beach at

Quinneville, France on 17 September, died in hospital at 1126. Strength of Regiment:—153 O’s-5 W.O’S-3055 E.N.

2400 20 Sep 44

From 12 September 1944, 1st lt. Thaine R. High, Special Service Officer, 101st Infantry, arranged for following entertainment program for the personnel of this Regiment:

12 Sep 44—Moving Pictures

14   Sep 44—Moving Pictures

15   Sep 44—Moving Pictures

16   Sep 44—USO Stage Show—Two (2) Performances; one at 1000 and one at 1430.

17   Sept 44—Moving Pictures—Softball game. All Stars vs. Company E. Football game, Company H vs. Company D.

18   Sep 44—Variety Show and Band Concert by 328th Inf. Band.

19   Sep 44—Moving Pictures

20   Sep 44—Moving Pictures—Two Semi-final football games Company E vs Company D and Company E vs Company H.

Regiment S-1, C.Os 1st, 2d, and 3d Battalions, and EN Adjutants, left base camp for new area at Carteret at 0930. Returned at 1430. Battalion C.O.s and Executive Officers left for new area at Carteret at 1515 and returned at 1930.

Training—Physical conditioning, bayonet training, hand to hand combat, radio procedure signals, maintenance, organized athletics, security, first aid. Strength of Regiment:—153 O’s-5 W.O’s-3055 E.N.

2400 21 Sep 44

Memorial Services were held at 0730 for Pfc. Frank Wisniewski, 33426438, Company C, 101st Infantry, who died of wounds received on beach at Quinneville, France on 17 Sep 44. Services were conducted by Chaplain Joseph P. Raimondo, and all personnel in Regiment attended.

Training—Physical conditioning, foreign maps, maintenance, technique of fire, road march, organized sports, first aid, scouting and patrolling, mine detection. Strength of Regiment:—153 O’s-5 W.O’s-3054 E.N.

2400 22 Sep 44

At 1945 a French child about eleven (11) years of age entered the Regimental Headquarters Company area and said that his father had sent him to report the presence of five escaped German prisoners of war in his home about two kilometers from this area. Captain Donald S. Healey, Regiment S-2, reported to Division G2. Captain Healey then went to the child’s home with two squads of riflemen at 2130. After surrounding the house and entering, Captain Healey found the child’s story to be false. Captain Healey then returned with riflemen to base camp area arriving at 2330.

Training—Orientation, organized athletics, maintenance, special training, fire control instruments, German sights, military intelligence, road march. Strength of Regiment:—153 O’s-5 W.O’s-3054 E.N.

2400 23 Sep 44

Inspection, organized athletics, usual camp duties. Strength of Regiment:—153 O’s-5 W.O’S-3054 E.N.

2400 24 Sep 44

Religious services, organized athletics, usual camp duties. Strength of Regiment:—153 O’s-5 W.O’s-3054 E.N.

2400 25 Sep 44

In compliance with 1st endorsement Headquarters III Corps., U.S. Army, dated 19 September 1944, Memorandum, Headquarters Twelfth

Army Group, dated September 6, 1944, Subject: Court Martial Death Sentence, and Memorandum, Headquarters, Ninth army, dated 21 September 1944, was read to all personnel of this unit by Colonel Walter T. Scott and copies posted on all bulletin boards.

1st Battalion, 101st Infantry consisting of 35 officers and 744 enlisted men alerted to move out on a special mission on order from Commanding General III Corps.

Training—physical training, gun drill, army talks, special training, sights and instruments, maintenance, bayonet training, unarmed defense, road march, booby traps and mines. Usual camp duties. Strength of Regiment:—153 O’s-5 W.O’S-3054 E.N.

2400 26 Sept 44

Physical conditioning, S.O.P., orientation, regimental control, maintenance. Special subjects: standard signal instructions, headquarters company, organization Germany army, foreign maps, mines and booby traps, technique of fire, bayonet training, combat problems for small units (3d Bn) road marches. Usual camp duties. Strength of Regiment:—153 O’s-5 W.O’s-3054 E.N.

2400 27 Sep 44

Training—physical conditioning, organization German army tactics, map reading, maintenance, functioning of rocket launchers, identification of British aircraft and tanks; preparatory marksmanship, BAR training, combat problems for small units; control of lice, danger from louse born diseases; showers, usual camp duties. Strength of Regiment:—153 O’s-5 W.O’s-3054 E.N.

2400 28 Sep 44

From 20 Sep 44 to 28 Sep 44 1st Lt. Thaine R. High, Regimental

Special Service Officer, arranged the following entertainment program for the personnel of this Regiment:

20   Sep 44—Picture show (Co athletics—prep for Regtl.League)

21   Sep 44—Picture show (Co athletics—prep for Regtl.League)

22   Sep 44—Picture show—Regimental Quiz show

23   Sep 44—Picture Show—Regimental touch football games (league)

24   Sep 44—Double Feature Picture Show—All Star football game. Regimental touch football games (league)

25   Sep 44—Picture Show—Regimental touch football, softball, and volleyball games.

26   Sep 44—All Star game—Regtl. League game

27   Sep 44—Picture Show—Regtl. League game

28   Sep 44—Picture Show—Regtl. Football and volleyball league games.

Orientation lectures, map demonstrations on progress of Allied Forces on all fronts, have been given daily by Captain William W. Molla, Orientation officer, 101st Infantry.

1045 28 Sep 44

Upon verbal orders of Commanding General, 26th Infantry Division, this Regiment was alerted to be prepared to move within four (4) days into the combat zone.

Training—physical conditioning, maintenance, map reading, organization German army, marksmanship, booby traps, mines, disarming, scouting and patrolling, combat problems for small units; usual camp duties. Strength of Regiment:—153 O’s-5 W.O’s-3054 E.N.

1830 28 Sep 44

Thirty (30) enlisted men of Antitank Company, this Regiment, from the mine laying platoon under command of 1st Lt. Thomas A. Powers, returned to base camp from Carteret. Usual camp duties.

Strength of Regiment:—153 O’s-5 W.O’s-3054 E.N.

2400 29 Sep 44

At 1030 all personnel in 101st Infantry assembled at Area B-19.

Colonel Walter T. Scott, Commanding Officer of the Regiment then addressed the personnel concerning movement of this Regiment into the combat zone. Strength of Regiment:—153 O’s-5 W.O’s-3054 E.N.

Graves Registration Group organized. Ten (10) enlisted men under command of 1st Lt. Thaine R. High, Service company.

Military Police Platoon organized. Fifteen (15) enlisted men under command of 1st Lt.John H. Burkard, Headquarters Company, 101st Infantry.

Each Battalion and Regimental Communications Platoon augmented by a 25% over strength.

Demonstration and lecture on foreign mines by A. Palmer, Antitank Co., 101st Infantry.

School and lecture on authentication, coordinates, and strip codes conducted by Captain Peter R. Mutascio, Regimental Communications Officer.

Orientation and map demonstration on the progress of Allied Forces conducted by Captain William W. Molla, Regimental Orientation Office, in Area B-19.

One-hundred twelve (112) enlisted men on DS with 26th Inf. Div. Provisional Truck Regiment returned to duty.

Training—physical conditioning, S.O.P., maintenance, foreign maps, mines and booby traps, techniques of fire, bayonet training, combat problems for small units. Usual camp duties.

2400 30 Sep 44

Fourteen (14) officers and one hundred thirty-four (134) enlisted men on DS with 26th Inf. Div., Provisional Truck Regiment, returned to duty.

Training—mine demonstrations.

1st En—0800-0900 2d En—0900-1000 3d En—1000-1100 Regtl. Sec.—1300-1400

Organized athletics, payment of troops, usual camp duties. Strength of Regiment:—153 O’s-5 W.O’S-3047 E.N.

2400 1 Oct 44

Religious services. Organized athletics. Usual camp duties.

Five (5) officers, one (1) warrant officer and three-hundred four (304) enlisted men on DS with 26th Inf. Div. Provisional Truck Regiment, returned to duty. Strength of Regiment:—153 O’s-5 W.O’s-3047 E.N.

2400 2 Oct 44

One (1) enlisted man Hq. Co., 1st En, on DS with 26th Inf. Div. Provisional Truck Regiment, sick in General Hospital, Paris, dropped from rolls. Five (5) enlisted men on DS with 26th Inf. Div. Provisional Truck Regiment, returned to duty.

1st Battalion alerted for movement to Carteret at 0600 3 October 1944, on order of Commanding General, 26th Inf. Division.

Colonel Walter T. Scott, Commanding Officer, 101st Infantry, addressed personnel at a formal retreat ceremony in Area B-19.

Training—preparation for movement; orientation by Captain William W. Molla in Area B-19; maintenance, physical training, signal call system Signor and Sigdro test and troubleshooting, usual camp duties. Strength of Regiment:—153 O’s-5 W.O’S-3046 E.N.

2400 3 Oct 44

1st Battalion consisting of thirty-five (35) officers and eight-hundred fifty-three (853) enlisted men under command of Lt. Col. Lawrence M. Kirk, left base camp at Lestre for Careret on Special Mission. 1st March unit arrived at I.P. 0600, passed I.P. 0614. 2d March unit arrived at I.P. 0617, passed I.P. 0628. Movement order from Commanding General, 26th Inf. Div., received by S-3, Major Albert J. McWade, at 1515 directing movement of Regiment less 1st Battalion to St. Aubin on 4 October 1944.

Training—preparation for movement; orientation by Captain William W. Molla in Area B-19; maintenance; physical training, usual camp duties.

2400 4 Oct 44

The following named officers and enlisted men left base camp at Lestre 0700 for Fontainebleau N7&N51 as a billeting party for the Regiment: Capt. Robert E. Bostwick, Regt’l S-1; Sgt. Shaw and Pvt. Seabern Abbot, Hq. Co.; 1st Lt. David C. Schoentag, 2d Bn,.S-2; S/Sgt. DeFrancisco and Pvt. Wadding, 2d Bn.; 1st Lt. Elmer K. Fagerlund, Actg. C.O., Hq. Co, 3d Bn., & Bn. S-1; Privates Disenchant and Shear, Hq, 3d Bn.

1515 4 Oct 44

Movement order to Fontainebleau issued by Maj. Albert J. McWade.

101st Inf., with Co A 114th Med Bn. attached, less 1st Bn., entrucked and left base camp at Lestre at 1900, cleared 2100 en route to Fontainebleau.

2400 5 Oct 44

101st Inf., with Co A, 114th Med. Bn. attached, less 1st Bn., arrived at Fontainebleau at 1029. Distance traveled by truck 264 miles. Four (4) enlisted men DS with 26 Div. Truck Regt. returned to duty.

Advance Detachment billeting party for Regiment moved out at 1245 en route to St. Aubin, France, to pick up 26th Div. Guide for destination.

2200 5 Oct 44

101st Inf., with Co. A 114th Med. Bn. attached, less 1st Bn., entrucked and left Fontainebleau at 2200.

2400 6 Oct 44

101st Inf., with Co. A, 114th Med Bn. attached, less lst Bn., arrived at 1300 yds N.E. of Athienville (4090 2148) at 1215. Distance traveled by truck 149 miles. Troops in bivouac.

Regiment was alerted to relieve 4th Armored Division as soon as practicable on verbal orders Commanding General, 26th Inf. Division.

Daylight reconnaissance initiated and completed by C.O., Ex O., S-2, S-3, S-4. Bn. C.O. is with respective S-2’s and S-3’s. All Company C.O.’s, Battalion and Company Commanders spent the night on the position.

Regimental Staff Officers are spending the period from noon to midnight with corresponding Staff Officers of Combat Team A, 4th Armored Div. Verbal instructions concerning the relief of Armored Inf were outlined to Bn. & Company C.O.’s by Combat Team A Cmdr at 1500. It is anticipated that troops will spend time from 1200 to darkness, 7 Oct 44, in rear of their respective zones and move forward to actual position under cover of darkness 071800.

Personnel Section of Regiment moved to Rear Train.

2400 7 Oct 44

Old CP at 1300 yds N.E. of Athienville (4090 2148) closed at 1512. CP opened 2000 yds N of Arracourt. 2d & 3d Bn. given general orientation of 4th Armored Division salient by the Regimental Commander, following which they marched to their sector on the salient to join Battalion and Company C.O.’s who had been on the position during the night.

3d Bn. moved to rear of position at 1000. 2d Bn. moved to rear of position at 1145.

3d Bn. reported 1 E.M. killed, 5 wounded, 4 evacuated. Regimental Commander reported Pvt Marks of M Co. wounded.

Total causalities for day; one (1) enlisted man killed, six (6) wounded.

Enemy artillery fell on this CP (Regtl) area at 1640.

2400 8 Oct 44

I&R Platoon Ldr, 1st Lt. George Largay, reported one