Roer to Rhine
Meanwhile, on February 5th, the Division was transferred to the VII Corps, First Army. The 113th Cavalry Group was detached from the Division. Beginning on the night, February 6-7, the 1st Division relieved the 8th of its positions in the Kreuzau-Bergstein sector. By February 8th, all units of the Division had been relieved and had taken up, new positions in the area formerly held by the 104th Division, opposite Neiderau and the south half of Duren. The 104th Division had regrouped in the north half of its former sector. Along the entire west bank of the Roer, from Linnich to Bergstein, infantry and armored division of the Ninth and First Armies were poised to assault the last major water barrier west of the Rhine.
The Roer continued to rise. On February 8th, engineers were moving bridging materials to forward areas, preparing soggy roads for the heavy traffic of trucks and tanks that was soon to roll over them. The 644th Tank Destroyer Battalion, 740th Tank Battalion and Companies C and D of the 87th Chemical Battalion were attached to the Division for the coming offensive. The 8th and 104th Divisions were to attack on the morning of February 10th, seize Duren and the VII Corps bridgehead, and draw the Germans off balance for the stronger assault by the Ninth Army to the north, on the following day.
On February 10th, the Roer was still rising. The attack was postponed. Units of the Division conducted training in river crossings and street fighting. The narrow front was held by the 1st Battalion of the 13th and the 3rd Battalion of the 28th Infantry.
By February 15th, the Roer had reached its highest point was beginning to fluctuate. Meanwhile, the attack was again postponed. Troops of the 13th and 28th Infantry regiments continued training in river crossings by assault boat. Engineers utilized the time to clear the approaches to the river in preparation for bridging operations.
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Engineers attached to the 8th Division rush to completion the first pontoon bridge in the vicinity of Duren, Germany, across the Roer River. This work was done under fierce fire from the enemy. |
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Reconnaissance photographs and prisoner of war reports indicated that the enemy was utilizing the time he gained by releasing the floodwaters of the Roer to refit and regroup his forces and to improve defensive positions. Much activity was noted in the Rhineland rail centers, notably in Cologne. Concentrations of tanks, self-propelled guns and vehicles were detected in Golzheim. Blatzheim, Modrath and numerous town between the Roer and Rhine rivers in front of the Division. Enemy artillery during the period was comparatively light, although numerous battery positions were spotted by aerial reconnaissance.
Patrol activity across the flooded Roer was particularly hazardous, since many of the enemy's land mines had been inundated, making it difficult to land with safety on the east bank of the river. Several engineer and infantry parties did cross the river in assault boats, although most of these operations proved more costly than practical. On the night of February 16-17, three men of the 28th Infantry were rowed across the Roer by an engineer crew. They were equipped with radio and enough food for the following day. It was planned to contact them again the next night and return them to the west bank of the river. On the following night and on two succeeding nights, attempts were made to reach the stranded patrol. They were unsuccessful, however, and it was presumed that the patrol had been captured.
Small enemy groups were observed intermittently improving their positions on the east bank of the river. Enemy air activity increased. Several formations of jet propelled planes appeared over the Division sector, bombing and strafing front lines and rear installations. The river, although receding steadily, was still far above its normal level; the current was still exceedingly rapid.
River Crossing
D-Day for the Roer crossing was again set—this time for February 23rd. Detailed plans were completed. Division assault elements were to cross the river on a front of approximately 7,000 yards. The north sector, including the south half of Duren and 1,500 yards south of the city, was assigned to the 13th Infantry. The 28th Infantry was given a sector approximately 4,000 yards wide, including the town of Niederau. Elements of the 104th Division were to cross on the left flank of the 8th, taking that part of Duren north of the Aachen-Cologne railroad. The 1st Division, on the right flank, was not to cross the river until the 28th had secured its bridgehead. Consequently, the Division south flank would be exposed.
Plans called for troops of the assault units to cross the river in boats powered by 22 and 50 horsepower motors. One foot bridge, one infantry support bridge, and one Treadway pontoon bridge were to be constructed in each regimental sector. In addition, a Bailey class 40 bridge was to be erected in the 13th Infantry sector. Division engineers were to erect the foot bridges and operate the assault boats, while VII Corps engineers constructed the remaining bridges. The Roer River had receded only slightly, was still approximately seven feet deep, and flowed at a speed of nearly ten miles an hour.
At 0245 on the morning of February 23rd, the heaviest artillery barrage ever fired by the 8th Division Artillery began to pound the enemy river defenses and communications. All batteries of the Division, reinforced by the 18th and 188th Field Artillery Battalions and the assault guns of the 644th Tank Destroyer and 740th Tank Battalions, fired continuously for 45 minutes. Along the entire Roer River front, every battery of the First and Ninth Armies joined in the barrage which preceded H-Hour of the battle of the Rhineland.
First Crossing
At 0245—45 minutes before the scheduled jump-off of all other units—Major Edward J. Regan and his 3rd Battalion of the 28th Infantry climbed into their assault boats on the extreme south flank of the Division front and pushed off for the enemy-held east bank of the Roer. Men of the 12th Engineer Combat Battalion and the 3rd Battalion (28th) Ammunition and Pioneer Platoon manned the boats. The raging 12-mile river was as hazardous a no-man's land as the men of the 3rd Battalion ever crossed. In spite of the current and the difficult east bank of the river, approximately 60 per cent of Regan's men reached the opposite shore. Companies K and L crossed in the first wave, dove quickly into a system of trenches on the river bank and came out with 23 German prisoners, apparently so dazed by the tremendous artillery concentration that they did not realize that any troops had crossed the river.
Half of the men who survived the river crossing had lost their rifles and helmets. All mortars and three of the four machine gun sections were also lost. Grenades were redistributed, and rifles were taken from the German prisoners. Major Regan led his men south of Niederau to a road fork at the edge of a patch of woods. The men of Companies K and L, preceded all the way by a rolling barrage of white phosphorus artillery, reached the edge of the woods at 0430. Here they waited for Company I to join them.
The 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 28th, attempting to cross 1,000 and 2,000 yards to the north at 0330, encountered even more serious difficulties. Six 1st Battalion assault boats were overturned in midstream. Men and equipment were carried far down the river, Heavy enemy mortar and artillery fire caused many casualties. All mortars and more than 75 per cent of the boats were destroyed in the first crossing. Only elements of Companies A, B, C and F reached the east bank of the river, north of Niederau, where they reorganized and prepared for offensive action.
Advance
Meanwhile, Company I crossed the river and joined Companies K and L at the road fork near the edge of the woods southeast of Niederau. Troops of these two companies had taken 19 more prisoners when they surprised a group of Germans, capturing them while they were still in bed and seizing a 75 mm. gun intact. An enemy wire party and a supply part were also captured as they were moving along the road from Stockheim to Niederau, completely oblivious of the presence of American troops in the area.
Troops of the 2nd Battalion, who were to clear the southern part of Niederau and then to relieve the 3rd Battalion at the road fork, had not been able to cross the river. Major Regan received instructions by radio to move his battalion forward to the eastern edge of the woods. Although virtually isolated, the battalion began moving east through the woods along the Niederau-Stockheim road. Company L, on the right, ran into an enemy strongpoint. Company I moved around to the south of L and dug the Germans out of log bunkers. The advance was resumed, although to the south were several more bunkers which had been by-passed.
The 3rd Battalion reached the eastern edge of the woods by nightfall, meeting only light resistance. Here the troops dug in. Enough German weapons had been obtained so that all the men were again armed. In on instance, when the enemy counterattacked, a machine gunner allowed the Germans to come within 20 yards of his position before mowing them down, because, as he explained, "then the men can get the Kraut's weapons without exposing themselves." Twenty-five panzerfausts (German bazookas) were taken, and classes in their operation were conducted on the spot.
The 13th Crosses
Colonel Numa Watson, 13th Infantry Commander, had divided the sector of his regiment into two zones. To the 3rd Battalion, he assigned the north 1,500 yards, which included most of the ruins of Duren south of the railroad. The 2nd Battalion, on the right, was to take the remaining 1,500 yards of the regimental zone. Troops of the assault battalions were assembled in the towns of Gurzenich and Derichsweiler. Boats had been brought up under cover of darkness and concealed behind buildings along the riverfront streets.
When the artillery barrage began, the assault troops and a detachment of the 12th Engineer Combat Battalion picked up the boats and moved to the river bank. At H-Hour, the boats were launched. Most of the motors, however, could not be started. Despite the use of trained personnel, only a small number of troops succeeded in crossing the river.
One boatload of 18 Company I men, under command of 2nd Lieutenant Louis DePhillipo, reached the east bank of the Roer shortly after the attack was underway, and moved forward into a group of residential buildings along the river. Two other boatloads of men from Company K paddled their way across the river. These men, led by 1st Lieutenant Coleman, fought their way into a factory where they took 12 prisoners. Counterattacked later by an enemy force of at least 50 men, the group lost half of its members and all of its prisoners. When rescued by members of Company F early the next morning, only Lieutenant Coleman and six of his men, all wounded, remained.
Machine gun fire and the swirling currents destroyed or capsized most of the assault boats. Observed artillery and direct fire from well-sited self propelled guns continuously harassed the troops as they attempted to cross the river. From Aachenerstrasse, directly across from the main launching site, such a torrent of high velocity fire continued to pound the troops that they renamed the street "88 Boulevard." The 1st Battalion, in reserve at Rolsdorf, suffered several casualties from artillery air bursts. Throughout the river-crossing operations, men of the 8th Military Police Platoon directed traffic, often in the most exposed positions.
Company E, one of the original assault companies, had four double assault boats with motors knocked out before they could be launched by short rounds of white phosphorous artillery from friendly batteries. Ten single assault boats were then launched in an attempt to paddle the company across the river. All of them were swamped and swept downstream by the current. Casualties from artillery and the current slashed the assault platoons of the company to 18, 22 and 26 men, and forced the company to withdraw to reorganize. Several of the men swept downstream later rejoined the company.
Across the river, the men of Company K and I, who had plunged into the enemy-held city, captured a machine gun nest on the river bank, came through several fire fights, and approached their company objectives. Three hours after the attack had begun, Company F had also succeeded in ferrying a few more men to the east bank of the river. The swift current and intense enemy artillery fire prevented construction of any foot bridges. Several attempts, both by the 12th Engineer Combat Battalion and VII Corps engineer personnel, were made under heavy fire, but had to be abandoned.
Before daylight, two flying ferries were installed by pulling ropes and then steel cables across the river. In this way, boats could be controlled as they fought the current to the east bank. Two additional platoons of Company I were enabled to cross the river through this method.
At daylight, Division artillery and chemical mortars of the 87th Chemical Battalion began placing white phosphorus smoke shells on known observation points. Enemy fire slackened somewhat, but despite continuous smoking, German mortar and artillery shelling severely hampered river crossing operations throughout the day. Cables were cut repeatedly soon after they had been installed.
Bridgehead
The men of Companies I and K, who had succeeded in crossing the river, expanded their hold on the east shore to a depth of 400 yards on a 400-yard front during the day. This area was the original bridgehead at Duren, and through it all operations against the enemy-held city were forced to move.
During the night of February 23-24, the enemy made a serious effort to knock out from the air whatever river installations the Division had been able to construct across the Roer. Jet-propelled Me 262's swooped down repeatedly, bombing and strafing the riverline. Except for one ferry which was destroyed in the 28th Infantry sector, enemy aircraft had small success. At darkness, engineers had begun work on a Bailey class 40 bridge in the 13th Infantry sector. By 0530, the bridge was opened for use of foot troops, and shortly thereafter, vehicular traffic started moving across it to the east side of the Roer.
Artillery Support
Sounds of armored movement in the Stockheim area where heard during the night from positions of the 3rd Battalion of the 28th. Shortly after dawn, the enemy hurled the first of six counterattacks during the day against Major Regan's isolated battalion. Three enemy tanks supported the attacks of a company of infantrymen. The Germans were thrown back. They came again and again, from all sides. It was obvious that the battalion was surrounded. Then, at 1355, the enemy began an all-out assault on the trapped battalion, charging in from all sides in an attempt to annihilate the American forces. Major Regan called down the massed concentration of all Division and Corps artillery, which had been planned for such a situation as this. With perfect precision, the tremendous volume of fire from every gun of every battery of six field artillery battalions crashed down on all sides of the surrounded 28th Infantry troops. Some of the men described it as "the most fearsome defensive barrage ever." Many of the enemy were killed beneath the avalanche of shrapnel which boxed in the 3rd Battalion. The counterattack was decisively broken. Only six of Major Regan's men were hit by shell fragments, although shells dropped as close as 75 yards from the battalion positions. This, on of Regan's staff officers pointed out, was an unmistakable indication of the accuracy with which a battalion commander pin-pointed his unit's position on the map. It is also a tribute to the perfection with which the Division artillerymen planned their massed fires.
Troops of the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 28th, meanwhile, had been transported across the river. The 1st Battalion fought its way through Niederau from the north, clearing the town early in the day against only moderate resistance. The 2nd Battalion advanced through the southern part of Niederau and began moving through the woods to establish contact with the 3rd Battalion. At 1905 that night, Company E, after a brisk fight, reached the weary troops of the 3rd Battalion, opening the way for supplies and ammunition to be brought up.
Fight for Duren
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A mine sweeping patrol of the 12th Combat Engineer Battalion in Duren, Germany, clears a path for the infantry. |
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Meanwhile, elements of the 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the 13th Infantry had crossed the river and were making steady progress through Duren. In the city, itself, there was moderate small arms resistance and heavy mortar and artillery fire. So completely had some sections of the city been destroyed by Allied air and artillery bombardment, that it was often impossible to interpret maps of the streets. Twisted steel and rubble was all that remained of the center section. Craters were numerous and in many of them, the enemy had placed booby traps. Streets as such had ceased to exist. Bulldozers were rushed across the Roer bridge, and paths were forced through the tangled girders and mounds of brick and debris.
By mid-afternoon, the 2nd and 3rd Battalions had advanced more than 1,500 yards east of the river. The 1st Battalion moved up behind the 2nd and worked its way south. At 1700, this unit had reached the new German barracks on the south edge of Duren. Companies A and B seized the four westernmost buildings, after overcoming intense small arms and machine gun fire. Company C, driving in from the south after a wide flanking move, joined A and B at 2300 in the final assault to clear the remaining buildings. This attack apparently took the enemy by surprise, and a number of Germans were still asleep when the buildings were overrun.
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These men of the 644th Tank Destroyer Battalion, attached to the 8th Division, first Allied armored group to enter the battered German city of Duren. |
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At 0200 the following morning, the 2nd Battalion began an attack against the old barracks, 500 yards to the north. After a ten-minute massed artillery concentration of 1,500 rounds of 105mm and 155mm shells, Companies G and E assaulted the buildings. Riding the armored vehicles and tanks of the 644th Tank Destroyer Battalions, infantrymen stormed the buildings, with the heavy guns of the tanks and tank destroyers blasting down all obstacles. When the foot troops dismounted, armored vehicles provided covering machine gun fire, while Company F supported by fire from the southwest. The buildings were cleared by 0530.
The three battalions of the 13th then moved rapidly through to the eastern outskirts of Duren. Here, before dawn, elements of the 121st Infantry passed through the regiment and continued the 8th Division advance. The 13th then withdrew to assembly areas in Duren, to await attachment to the 3rd Armored Division.
121st Goes Into Action
Before daylight on February 25th, the 121st Infantry had crossed the Roer over the Bailey bridge, now completed in the 13th Infantry sector. Passing through the 13th Infantry lines in Duren, the 1st and 3rd Battalions of the 121st continued the Division advance. The 1st Battalion drove rapidly toward the town of Binsfield, knocked out two self-propelled guns defending it, and cleared the town of all enemy resistance before 0830. The 3rd Battalion, driving on Girbelsrath, encountered much stronger resistance. Three tanks, supporting the foot troops, were destroyed by high velocity fire in the flat open country east of Duren. Enemy artillery and mortar fire continued to be heavy. After knocking out two 88mm guns with bazooka fire, 3rd Battalion infantrymen quickly overran enemy troops dug in along the open country, and drove on toward the town. Gilbelsrath was taken late that night after fierce street fighting.
Stockheim Falls
Stockheim was the primary objective of 28th Infantry troops now massed in the woods west of that town. At least six enemy self-propelled guns fired on the troops as they emerged from the woods and advanced on the town across open ground. The guns hastily withdrew, however, when the men of the 28th entered Stockheim. The 1st and 2nd Battalions converged on the strongly defended town. Street fighting continued throughout the day. The enemy had to be dug out of cellars and trenches. By midnight, the town was cleared except for a small group of buildings in the southern outskirts.
The 3rd Battalion of the 28th, meanwhile, had maneuvered to the north, relieving the 121st Infantry in Binsfeld at dusk, taking 12 additional prisoners out of the town, and then moving east to continue the attack. The towns of Binsfelderburg, Rommelsheim and Burg Rubenheim were taken during the night. Attacking in a column of companies, the battalion took the three towns in quick succession. As foot troops advanced on each town, a terrific artillery concentration was called down. When the artillery lifted, doughboys rushed the town before defending troops could come out of the cellars to man their guns. By 0500, all three towns had been taken. The prisoner count was high, 104 being captured in Burg Rubenheim alone. Two self-propelled guns, which had eluded the 3rd Battalion all night, were finally captured and destroyed in Burg Rubenheim.
Maj. General W. G. Weaver was evacuated on February 25th. Brig. General Bryant E. Moore, former assistant commander of the 104th Division, took command of the 8th Division.
On February 26th, the 8th Reconnaissance Troop took over the town of Stockheim, on the still-exposed Division right flank. A brisk skirmish took place in the southern section of the city during the night, when the enemy attempted to retake it. Before dawn, however, the enemy had been cleared from the last buildings in the town.
Advance Continues
The 121st Infantry continued its advance during the night of February 25-26, and by morning had driven east from Girbelsrath to seize the town of Eschweiller. Troops of the 121st met heavy mortar, artillery and high velocity fire, when they attempted to move across the open country toward Ollesheim. It was decided to wait until nightfall before resuming the attack. At darkness, the town was quickly captured. Roadblocks were erected, and the 2nd and 3rd Battalions drove approximately three miles farther east, crossing the Neffel River, and attacking the town of Neider Bolheim. Here, the regiment met its only determined resistance of the night, encountering several enemy assault guns and heavy small arms fire. The town was cleared before dawn, and the 3rd Battalion moved north to take over the town of Blatzheim, which had been captured by the 3rd Armored Division.
On the following day, elements of the 121st moved east of Blatzheim to mop up the remaining resistance in Bergerhausen and the high ground to the northeast. The 3rd Armored Division had driven swiftly beyond the town, and some enemy stragglers still remained to be cleared out. Meanwhile, the 28th Infantry continued to move up behind the 121st, defending the exposed south flank of the Division.
Fight for Kerpen
That night, the 3rd Battalion of the 121st and a task force of the 3rd Armored Division attacked in conjunction to seize the town of Kerpen. The 121st Infantry cleared the north half. The Germans were known to be defending the town with strong infantry elements and high velocity weapons. Two attempted counterattacks were broken before they had a chance to get underway.
Civilians, many of them foreign workers eager to flee the town, obstructed the troops in their advance, but once they were gotten under control, the attack made rapid progress. Kerpen was taken early the next morning after much street fighting and sniping. Tanks and tank destroyers of the 740th and 644th assisted the advance of infantry elements through the town, blasting enemy-held buildings with their heavy guns.
Across the Erft Canal
The 1st Battalion of the 121st, passing through the 3rd Battalion in Kerpen, attacked toward the Erft Canal, three miles to the east. Reaching the canal at 0400 the next morning, the troops attempted to cross a bridge on the main Kerpen-Modrath road. They met intense enemy automatic fire. Next, they attempted to slip through the woods and cross the canal 1,000 yards north of the road. This time, they ran directly into four German tanks. A severe counterattack cost the 1st Battalion many casualties. The unit then withdrew slightly and prepared to cross the canal under a smoke screen.
Tanks and tank destroyers were brought up during the morning, but the enemy blew the bridge before they could cross the canal. Foot troops of the 1st Battalion crossed the canal later during the day and fought their way into the westernmost section of Modrath. Experienced enemy troops, most of them wounded veterans of other fronts, fought savagely against the attackers. Companies A and B advanced slowly through the town until they were stopped at a twenty-foot railroad embankment by intense small arms fire. Here, the 1st Battalion held until the canal could be bridged and armor brought forward.
The 8th Reconnaissance Troop, with a company of tanks and a platoon of tank destroyers attached, was operating as a task force. Sent to patrol a section of high ground southeast of Kerpen, one of the attached tank destroyers came upon two haystacks. A few shots were poured into the haystacks, and they took off down the road. On numerous occasions, such haystacks in peaceful German fields, upon similar action, were found to be motorized and thickly armored.
28th Takes Up Advance
The 28th Infantry, meanwhile, had moved to Bergerhausen. The 3rd Battalion was given the mission of moving through the woods north of Kerpen during the night, and seizing a large Rhenish castle, Schloss Lorsfeld. The Battalion, in a column of companies, moved through the woods unopposed until at 0100, the castle was reached. The men of Company L surrounded the moated fortress of several centuries ago, shot a guard, and stormed through the gates. After a brief skirmish, the enemy garrison surrendered. Thirty prisoners were taken. Six men of Company L were left to guard the castle, while the remainder of the Battalion returned to Bergerhausen.
On the night of March 1st, the 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the 28th were assigned a more hazardous mission. The Battalions were to cross the Erft at Gotzenkirchen, a village in the 104th sector which was found unoccupied by a patrol the previous afternoon. They were then to advance south against Modrath on a two battalion front, attacking the town in conjunction with the 121st Infantry.
The crossing was made without mishap shortly after darkness. The troops swung across the water barrier on the girders of a blown bridge, and moved into the thick woods east of the Erft. The 2nd Battalion then moved directly south along the east bank of the canal. The 3rd Battalion moved farther east, maneuvering to take the castle and a small group of buildings at Boisdorf, from where it would then advance southward toward Modrath.
The column of companies of the 3rd Battalion had approached within 125 yards of the castle without being detected. Suddenly, several explosions broke the silence. The entire column had walked into a dense minefield. The enemy was alerted, and heavy small arms fire from the castle and the woods hit the trapped infantrymen. The commanders of Company K and L were killed. Several other officers and men were wounded, and the rest scattered.
Hand to Hand
Major Regan reorganized as large a force as possible, rushed the castle, battled with the enemy defenders in fierce hand to hand combat, took the castle. The men then settled down to occupy the castle and surrounding buildings for the remainder of the night. All communications with Company I were lost until the following day. Others of the scattered troops found their way into the buildings now occupied by the battalion. Shortly before dawn, a group of soldiers was observed approaching Boisdorf. Not knowing whether they were American or German troops, Major Regan called them to halt. They continued to advance, and the battalion commander gave the signal to open fire. Some of the enemy troops had come so close to the buildings occupied by the 3rd Battalion troops that a hand grenade dropped out of a window killed three Germans. The counterattacking forces were finally driven back until they were trapped in several buildings which they had reoccupied. At dawn, artillery was called down upon the enemy-held buildings, causing many casualties before the last 52 Germans surrendered.
121st Takes Modrath
The 2nd Battalion, supported by elements of the 644th Tank Destroyer Battalion, moved south against light opposition and entered the northern outskirts of Modrath early on the morning of March 2nd. The 1st Battalion of the 121st fired into Modrath in support of the troops of the 28th, while continuing to hold its railroad embankment positions. A tank dozer, brought up during the morning to clear the rubble blocking an underpass through the embankment, was knocked out by an enemy self-propelled gun. Another underpass was discovered further to the south. By noon, the canal had been bridged by the engineers, and tanks and tank destroyers moved across.
While the armor moved through the underpass, foot troops of the 1st Battalion, 121st Infantry, went over the embankment and began clearing the enemy from the remainder of the town. Enemy resistance was fierce when German foot troops were bolstered by self-propelled guns, but crumbled as soon as the guns were knocked out. Artillery fire was heavy. The fight continued during most of the day. Elements of the 28th, now under command of Lt. Colonel Thomas H. Beck, moved in from the north, while the 121st cleared the major part of the town. Before nightfall, Modrath was reported cleared.
28th Takes Over
Simultaneously with the battle in Modrath, another attacking force, the 1st Battalion of the 28th, was fighting for the town of Habblerath, to the northeast. After a wide flanking maneuver, during which enemy planes strafed the troops repeatedly, the battalion entered Habblerath shortly after daylight. Resistance in the town, particularly from self-propelled guns, was strong. Enemy strongpoints were marked by artillery smoke shells, and at 0900, an air bombardment mission was flown against the town. The troops then moved in quickly and cleared Habblerath by 1000. The enemy counterattacked from the southeast shortly thereafter, but it was thrown back.
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German civilians being evacuated from homes have ringside seats at the battle for Kerpen. 155-mm Howitzers of the 8th Division Artillery carry on the fight as the refugees wait for transportation to a safe area behind the lines. |
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That night, while the 2nd Battalion of the 28th relieved 121st Infantry elements in Modrath, the 1st and 3rd Battalions were to continue the attack to the south. The 3rd Battalion left Boisdorf shortly after midnight, passed through the 2nd Battalion in Modrath, and attacked toward Bottenbroich. Company I, which had rejoined the battalion during the day, led the column of companies. At the approaches to Bottenbroich, intense enemy machine gun fire pinned down the company. Company K maneuvered around I, hit the enemy pocket from the west, wiped it out. Company I then moved in to seize Bottenbroich. Company L drove beyond the town to the mines and factory southeast of it. As the company neared this area, a terrific artillery barrage was laid down. At 0455, the artillery lifted. Companies L and K stormed the factory area, quickly clearing the enemy from the above ground installations, and discovered a mine shaft leading down into the earth. One guard was killed; the other two quickly surrendered. With Major Regan leading, the men of Company L climbed down seven 15-foot ladders. At the bottom, they came upon an elaborate network of more than two miles of underground passages. Two hundred civilian families were found living in the subterranean corridors. Among them were 91 members of the German army, who were quickly rounded up.
The 1st Battalion of the 28th reached the northern edge of Grefrath at approximately 0300. Here the fire of enemy self-propelled guns became intense. As 1st Battalion troops moved in, enemy guns withdrew. The town was taken after a brisk street fight. Gains were consolidated and mopping up in the area continued during the day.
Advance on Frechen
At 1930 that night, the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 28th began an advance along a northerly route between the network of lignite mines toward the city of Frechen, two miles south of Cologne. One hour later, the 3rd Battalion began a wide enveloping movement from the southwest. Frechen, largest city in the Division zone of advance since Duren, was to be attacked from three sides. The lignite mines were a crescent-shaped chain of huge pits, approximately 50 to 100 feet deep, which honeycombed the entire area over which an advance against Frechen must move. Only routes of approach to the city were the narrow causeways between the pits which could easily be defended by the Germans. Along these causeways, the three attacking forces moved.
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Kendenich, Germany, captured by the 121st Infantry, retians some of the old world charm in this dog-drawn milk cart. 3-7-45. |
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Moving into the attack, the 1st Battalion, advancing directly toward the city from the west, immediately encountered intense mortar fire. The battalion continued to advance in spite of the enemy fire, and by 2200, Company A had reached the western edge of Benzelrath. Company C, advancing astride the main road, also entered that town, only to find that the bridge over one of the pits along the route to Frechen had been blown.
The 2nd Battalion, advancing along a much longer route, met only light resistance from enemy small arms fire, and entered Frechen shortly after midnight. The 3rd Battalion infiltrated through two-thousand yards of enemy-held territory before it ran into a strongpoint, covering a 100-foot gap in the causeway. Unable to move across to the other side of the gap without meeting intense enemy fire, the battalion spent the remainder of the night on the narrow ledge, on hundred feet from the enemy.
Frechen Falls to 28th
Company L succeeded in crossing to the other side farther to the north, shortly after daylight, and took the enemy strongpoint from the flank. Enemy machine guns were emplaced in cement bunkers and covered by a series of logged emplacements manned by 12 to 15 riflemen. Fifty prisoners were taken by the men of Company L. Many of the enemy were killed, and the remainder fled. The battalion then drove swiftly toward Frechen.
Meanwhile, the 2nd Battalion, encountering little resistance within Frechen, had cleared the entire northeastern section of the city by daybreak. Engineers had quickly constructed a bridge across the gap which was holding up the 1st Battalion at Benzelrath. The battalion then advanced through the town, closely followed by the bulk of the 644th Tank Destroyer and the 740th Tank Destroyer Battalions. Resistance was strong, particularly in the Benzelrath area. Early in the afternoon, the 1st and 3rd Battalions linked up, and by darkness, the city was completely cleared. Company B, which had been attached to the 3rd Battalion during its maneuver around the southern part of the city, seized the town of Bacheim, southeast of Frechen. During the night, Company K cleared the factory area, 1,000 yards east of Frechen.
121st Opens Drive
On the night, March 4-5, the 121st Infantry again went into the attack. Passing through the 28th Infantry, the 1st and 3rd Battalions of the 121st drove, in two columns, toward the Rhine, now only five miles away. Attacking under searchlights after heavy artillery preparations, the two battalions advanced against the towns of Horbell and Gleuel. The 3rd Battalion hit heavy opposition from enemy automatic weapons. Tanks and tank destroyers were brought up to knock out the enemy strongpoints. The battalion entered Gleuel shortly before dawn, rapidly cleared the enemy from the town, and continued the attack toward Burbach.
The 1st Battalion seized Horbell by 0630, meeting only moderate enemy resistance. One hour later, the enemy came back with a determined counterattack. Spearheaded by two tanks and four self-propelled guns, 100 enemy infantrymen moved against the 1st Battalion. The attack was quickly repulsed. Two self-propelled guns and one enemy tank were knocked out, and the foot troops fled in disorder.
Task Force Grover, a group of 121st Infantry troops of half-company strength, seized the town of Sielsdorf after a fight later that morning. Throughout the day, enemy artillery fire continued heavy. Troops of the 3rd Battalion met fierce resistance in their drive toward Burbach. Enemy self-propelled guns prevented an advance across the open terrain during daylight. It was decided to resume the attack at nightfall.
By midnight, the 3rd Battalion had cleared Burbach and had moved on toward Alstadten. The 1st Battalion seized Stolzheim after a brisk street battle. The 2nd Battalion had also joined in the attack, driving toward Hermulheim. Here the enemy resisted fiercely, fighting from house to house. Artillery fire was heavy, and it was not until 1600 on the afternoon of March 6th that the town was completely cleared. The 2nd Battalion then continued toward Kendenich, which fell after a brief fight shortly after nightfall.
28th Joins Attack
The 2nd Battalion of the 28th attacked and cleared Kalscheuren shortly after midnight, March 5th. The 3rd Battalion of the 28th then passed through the 2nd in Kalscheuren and drove forward to Konraderhof, taking that town by 0130. The 3rd Battalion then advanced toward Rondorf, along the main road. Four Mark IV tanks came rolling down the road from the town, passed the forward elements of the 3rd Battalion without being recognized. Once within the column, the tanks began firing on the troops, disorganizing the battalion. Then the tanks withdrew again into Rondorf, from where they continued to harass the attacking forces as they attempted to reorganize.
When the 3rd Battalion assaulted Rondorf, a short time later, two bazooka rounds sent the huge German tanks fleeing from the town. When foot troops entered the town, the civilians had gathered all rifles from the German soldiers. The town fell without a fight.
The 1st Battalion of the 28th, attacking also at midnight, quickly seized the towns of Berrenrath and Knapsack, in neither of which did the enemy show much will to fight. Hurth, another town in the same area, fell to the 3rd Battalion of the 121st later that morning.
Elements of the 28th Infantry continued the attack on the night of March 6-7. The 1st Battalion, advancing toward Meschenich, reached the town shortly after midnight. Resistance in the town was severe. At dawn, when the town had finally fallen, a strong counterattack, supported by three tanks, hit the battalion. Friendly artillery fire fell on the troops of the battalion, causing thirty casualties. The enemy counterattack was finally gotten under control and repulsed.
Driving on toward Immendorf, the 1st Battalion was again hit, this time by four tanks. The 3rd Battalion of the 28th was ordered to take the town. Smoke was placed on the town, and at 1500 that afternoon, the men of Company I, riding tanks of the 740th Tank Battalion, stormed Immendorf and took it within an hour at a cost of six men wounded.
28th Reaches Rhine
That night, the 3rd Battalion was ordered to take Rodenkirchen on the Rhine. Moving through the 104th Division in Cologne, the battalion hit the suburb of Rodenkirchen from the north. At the edge of the town, a machine gun nest was silenced by a grenade throwing patrol. No further resistance was encountered. Forty prisoners surrendered without a fight.
The 3rd Battalion continued driving down the west bank of the Rhine toward Weiss. That town fell at 1000 to the men of Company K on tanks while Company L closed in on the town from the west across open terrain.
Godorf, also on the Rhine, fell to the 1st Battalion of the 28th during the night of March 6-7. The next morning, the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 28th joined to clear Surth. With the mopping up of enemy stragglers (including four roving self-propelled guns) that afternoon, all organized resistance in the Division sector west of the Rhine had been destroyed. First rounds to be fired across the Rhine by troops of the Division were aimed at several barges in midstream, which were attempting to flee with two enemy tanks. Direct hits were scored. Tanks and barges disappeared in the Rhine.
13th Teamed with 3rd Armored
The exploits of the 13th Infantry during the period of its attachment to the 3rd Armored Division comprise a colorful separate phase of the Division advance to the Rhine. The regiment was attached to the Armored Division, one battalion to each combat command, at 0600 on the morning of February 26th. Each combat command was divided into two task forces, composed of a tank battalion each and a battalion of armored infantry with one, a battalion of the 13th Infantry Regiment with the other.
Tank spearheads of the 3rd Armored Division passed through Duren on the morning of February 26th, and thrust out along the main Duren-Cologne highway and across the Cologne plain toward the east and northeast. Thirteenth Infantry troops rode the tanks—as many as could climb aboard. The remainder of the foot troops followed the armor in 2 1/2 ton trucks. Combat Command A, with Lt. Colonel Morris J. Keese's 1st Battalion attached, moved out first along the road to Cologne. Quickly seizing Golzheim, which had already been entered by troops of the 104th Division, this task force drove on to Blatzheim, and secured the town before nightfall. Resistance was slight, since the enemy was apparently taken by surprise by the swiftness of the advance. An entire German mortar company was over-run. The number of prisoners taken was large, and approximately 1,200 civilians, many of them foreign workers, had remained in the town.
Combat Command B, with the 2nd Battalion of the 13th, commanded by Major Theodore Leonard, swung out behind CC"A" until Golzheim was reached. Here, CC"B" swung north on the road to Buir, an industrial town of more than 5,000 people. Foot troops cleared the town after brisk street fighting, with tanks firing in close support. The armored columns then pushed through the town and drove north to Manheim, another manufacturing town. Manheim was quickly cleared. Many prisoners were taken, among them two full companies which surrendered intact. Before nightfall, CC"B" and the 2nd Battalion had also seized Etzweiler and Giezendorf and had reached the southern outskirts of Elsdorf.
Combat Command "R", with the 3rd Battalion, 13th Infantry, attached, was committed at Manheim, and drove northeast along secondary roads to seize Heppendorf, Widdendorf and Berrendorf before halting for the night. On the following day, CC"B" drove north through Paffendorf. That town was quickly cleared by the 3rd Battalion, under command of Major Francis L. Jenkins; when then drove northeast to reach the Erft Canal. A bridge was seized intact near the town of Gleich, and troops of the 3rd Battalion crossed the canal and established the first bridgehead across this last water barrier west of Cologne.
Germans Counterattack
Violent fighting continued in the bridgehead area east of the Erft. The Germans threw five strong counterattacks, supported by tanks, against 3rd Battalion positions. All were beaten back. Meanwhile, engineers were reinforcing the captured bridge so that tanks could cross the river.
During the day, CC"B" and the 2nd Battalion of the 13th fought their way through Elsdorf against strong resistance, and then went into reserve. CC "A" and the 1st Battalion continued their advance along the main Duren-Cologne highway through Bergerhausen and Kerpen. Kerpen was cleared in a coordinated night attack with the 3rd Battalion, 121st Infantry taking the south half of the town, CC"A" and the 1st Battalion of the 13th the north half.
At this time, CC"A" swung north to join CC"R" and continue the drive toward the Rhine. One combat team of the 99th Division crossed the Erft in the CC"R" bridgehead area on March 2nd, with the mission of clearing the woods east of Paffendorf. However, when troops of the 3rd Battalion attempted to move through the supposedly cleared woods the next day, they ran into a violent fight. Major Jenkins was wounded, and Lt. Colonel Earl L. Lerette, executive officer of the 13th, was sent down to take charge of the battalion temporarily, while familiarizing Major Tarkington, regimental S-2 with the work of a battalion commander. Major Tarkington was then to remain in command of the battalion.
On March 4th, CC"R" and the 3rd Battalion seized the town of Niederhausen after brisk street fighting. CC"A", meanwhile, had passed through Oberhausen. On the following morning, CC"A" was to take Busdorf, while CC"R" moved parallel to it, swinging around Busdorf and driving toward Stommeln. The 1st Battalion, with CC"A", succeeded in entering Busdorf, and proceeded to clear the center of the town. The 3rd Battalion, moving through the outskirts of the town, was hit from the flank by a severe German attack. The enemy, caught between the two advancing spearheads, abandoned the center of the town and struck at 3rd Battalion troops before they had a chance to detruck. Two 2 1/2 ton trucks loaded with men were hit by high velocity fire. On one of them, every man was killed or wounded.
The remainder of the force continued to advance, and by 1000 that morning, had taken Ingendorf, northeast of Busdorf. This placed CC"R" two miles east of all other armored elements, and the troops were instructed to hold. Meanwhile, the enemy was defending Busdorf fiercely.
Fight for Stommeln
Later that day, orders were received for CC"R" and CC"B" to seize the key communications center of Stommeln before nightfall. The 2nd Battalion of the 13th was to move up from Paffendorf with CC"B" and hit Stommeln from the southeast, while the 3rd Battalion moved in from the southwest. The coordinated attack jumped off under a heavy smoke screen. The two attacking forces met in the center of the town and fought their way from street to street to take the town late that afternoon. That night, 3rd Battalion troops mopped up an enemy pocket south of Stommeln, ran into a stiff fight, and knocked out four German self-propelled guns before the pocket was wiped out. With that action, the mission of CC"R" and the 3rd Battalion was completed. The battalion went into reserve, with Major Tarkington in command. Lt. Colonel Lerette returned to his position as executive officer of the regiment.
CC"B" and the 2nd Battalion of the 13th continued to attack, taking Pulheim, Sinnersdorf and Fuhlingen that day. Driving on during the night, troops of the 2nd Battalion cleared Roggendorf before morning. Merkenich fell to these troops shortly after that. Later during that same morning, the men of the 2nd Battalion seized Rheincastle on the west bank of the Rhine, to become the first troops of the First Army to reach the river.
1st Battalion Enters Cologne
CC"A" and the 1st Battalion swept straight down into Cologne from the north. In quick succession, they took Longenich, Pesch and Morheim, all suburbs of Cologne. Thirteenth Infantry troops overran the vast railroad yards of Germany's third largest city. Massing the entire battalion, they stormed the city's major airport with its tremendous underground installations and huge stores of supplies and equipment. By nightfall, troops of the 1st Battalion had penetrated the inner ring of the city. Before midnight, patrols had reached the river front.
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Infantrymen of the 13th Infantry walk and ride tanks as they advance to the front near the Erft Canal at Bergheim, Germany. |
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Within the inner city, it was strictly an infantry battle. Armor remained outside the ring, while foot troops cleared out the remaining enemy from the twisted wreckage. Tanks were brought up only when they were needed to knock out an enemy strongpoint. Principal resistance inside the city was from the Nazi-regimented police. Well-armed and equipped, these old men (some of them nearly 60 years old) fought with fanatical zeal but with no concept of modern warfare. They rushed into machine gun fire headlong, only to be slaughtered in futile attempts to defend the city.
During its drive from Duren to Rhine with the 3rd Armored Division, the 13th Infantry lost 164 officers and men killed or wounded. Along its trail of conquest, the regiment captured approximately 4,400 prisoners. The 1st Battalion alone took almost 2,000 enemy troops, while the 2nd and 3rd Battalions captured approximately 1,200 each. Its current offensive mission completed, the 13th Infantry went into an assembly area in the outskirts of Cologne, still under attachment to the 3rd Armored Division.
Division in Reserve
On March 8th, the Division was placed in Corps reserve. This was the first time, except for brief periods of travel from one sector to another, that the Division was not in contact with the enemy during the eight months since first going into action on July 8, 1944. On March 5th, Lt. Colonel Joseph K. Gibson, former G-2, had succeeded Colonel Thomas B. Whitted as Division Chief of Staff.
Elements of the 104th Division relieved the 28th and 121st Infantry regiments in position. All units of the Division, except the 13th Infantry which remained attached to the 3rd Armored Division, then went into assembly areas. Training and rehabilitation programs were set up, and troops were given a respite from constant contact with the enemy. The 8th Quartermaster Company took over the public baths in the town of Hurth, recently seized by Division troops, and operated a clothing exchange and shower point for all units. It was also during this period that each infantry regiment received on platoon of colored troops, all volunteers, for frontline duty.
Holding the Rhine River Line
After six days in reserve, the Division received instructions to relieve the 1st Division, holding the Rhine River line directly south of the former 8th Division sector. By March 14th, relief had been completed, and the 28th and 121st Infantry regiments again faced the enemy across the Rhine from a point north of Wesseling to the southern edge of Bonn.
At this time, major First Army efforts were directed toward enlargement of the bridgehead east of the Rhine opposite the Remagen bridge, which had been captured intact on March 9th. Constant watchfulness along the Rhine was required to frustrate any possible enemy attempts to destroy the bridge. Except for intermittent light artillery shelling and movements of individuals and small groups east of the Rhine, this was a comparatively inactive period. Small numbers of prisoners continued to be picked up, most of them stragglers and deserters.
On March 17th, the 13th Infantry reverted to 8th Division control. Meanwhile, orders were received to be prepared to relieve the 104th Division in the adjacent sector to the north. This relief was completed by March 22nd, and the 104th joined the First Army forces in the Remagen bridgehead. The 8th Division now held the west bank of the Rhine from a point north of Cologne to the northern edge of Bonn. The 121st, 13th and 28th Infantry regiments extended in that order from north to south.
Comparative inactivity continued. Meanwhile, First Army troops had broken out of the Remagen bridgehead in multiple armored thrusts deep into the heart of Germany. Other Rhine River crossings by the Third Army to the south and the Twenty-First Army Group north of the Ruhr had cracked the German defenses in the West.
8th Crosses Rhine
At this time the 86th Infantry Division, recently arrived on the Continent, began relieving the 8th Division. On march 28th, the 13th Infantry was relieved by 86th Division elements, and began the Division move across the Rhine south of Bonn. By the night of March 29-30, the 28th and 121st Infantry regiments also had been relieved, and the entire Division went into the trans-Rhine sector, progressively relieving the 1st Division, on the right flank of the 78th Division along the south bank of the Sieg River.
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This page last updated on Thursday, May 22, 2003 at 09:46 AM
