7 September 1944: XV Corps, Third Army, 12th Army Group. To honor the Veterans of the 315th Infantry Regiment (79th Infantry Div.) Mentally and physically they were fit for combat in all possible ways. They had arrived in England well before D-Day. The first units of the regiment went to their assembly area near Sainte-Marie-du-Mont waiting there until June 16th, 1944 for their band of brothers. 315th Infantry Publication date 1920 Topics World War, 1914-1918 Publisher [Philadelphia] Collection (p. 45), [On 12 September 12 at 6 P.M. Company "K" had marched the short distance from Haironville to the Bar-le-Duc road where a large fleet of motor trucks was waiting. These words perfectly define Rittershoffen and Hatten, no one lives . 3/331, 79th Artillery Division km S of La-Haye-du-Puits), Chanteloup (vic; 1 km W of Sille-le-Philippe), 310th Field Artillery Battalion (105mm Howitzer), 311th Field Artillery Battalion (105mm Howitzer), 904th Field Artillery Battalion (105mm Howitzer), 312th Field Artillery Battalion (155mm Howitzer). Close at hand was the sharp, staccato of the French 75-millimeter [3-inch] guns, farther back the roar of the six- and nine-inch howitzers, while, in the distant rear, hills and valleys reverberated to the deep boom of the huge naval guns along the Dombasle road. 7 April 1945: XVI Corps, Ninth Army, 12th Army Group. find my friend. These soldiers had behind them a wealth of pre-combat experience, plus the last word in equipment. 11 talking about this. (p. 54-55), By three o'clock in the afternoon, the Third Battalion, despite the continuous fire of snipers from the front and flanks, had "mopped up" Malancourt and had advanced a half kilometer beyond. The German attempt to establish a bridgehead west of the Rhine at Gambsheim resulted in furious fighting. The VII Corps tried to take Cherbourg while sparing lives. PFC Glenn W. Halvorson. 61 German soldiers had been captured. I had a great time and intend to go again next year. June 12th, 1944: Audouville-la-Hubert The 79th SSC was officially activated on 1 December 2009 with the mission of providing trained, ready, cohesive, well-led sustainment units for worldwide deployment to meet the U.S. Army's rotational and contingency mission requirements in support of the National Military Strategy. Since 2009, it has been active as the 79th Theater Sustainment Command. Uploaded by Posted by Opposite Montfaucon, in the sector occupied by the 315th Infantry, the artillery was literally lined up hub to hub. All rights reserved. (ibid. In May 1918 units of the American Army had landed in France and in June 1918 had begun to participate in the offensive. 79th Infantry Division. The division was reconstituted in the Organized Reserve on 24 June 1921 and assigned to the eastern half of the state of Pennsylvania. After training in England, it landed at Utah Beach on June 12 - 14, 1944, about a week after the initial D-Day landings. First a group of French marines began the construction of large gun emplacements along the Dombasle-Montzeville Road. U.S. The insignia of the 79th Division is a gray Lorraine cross on a blue shield 17 February 1945: Seventh Army, 6th Army Group, but attached to the XVI Corps. Subscribe to 313th Infantry Regiment, 79th Infantry Division Footer menu. The first groups left at 2 P.M. [The Third Battalion left at 4 P.M. and there were thousands of cheering or tearful people at the station to see the soldiers off (p. 262)], and by 5 o'clock that afternoon the entire Regiment was on its way to Hoboken, New Jersey. Army and Navy Publishing Co., 1946. (ibid. On Jan 8th, 1945 the 79th met a German counterattack as the Germans were attempting to establish a bridgehead west of the Rhine at Gambsheim. United States Army Center of Military History. Constituted 5 August 1917 in the National Army as the 315th Infantry and assigned to the 79th Division. Two months were necessary to fix all port facilities. Thank you for signing up for the VetFriends Newsletter! Towns of Hardinvast and Tollevast were taken by the 2, The regiments final drive was to take place at Le Bosquet. The next day, June 17th, 1944 the regiment moved to the vicinity of Sainte-Mre-glise, where they relieved elements of the 90th Infantry Division. Three days and nights were spent on the trains, during which time the Regiment passed through the cities of Rennes, St. Brieue, Laval, Le Mans, Tours, Bourges, Nevers, Dijon and Is-sur-Tille. ), At three o'clock, the advance of both the First and Third Battalions had been halted by the overwhelming fire from the German trenches ahead. The first step was a move of approximately 60 miles passing through the village of Le Mle-sur-Sarthe, in which 2nd French Armored Division was already in. This photograph was taken when the company was returning to America, in April 1919, long after the fighting at Montfaucon (Sector "304") of 16-30 September 1918. We talked on the phone several times in the last few years, and finally we were able to meet in El Paso, TX for a short visit. 30 June 1944: Third Army, but attached to First Army. This fire fell in the area occupied by the right half of the Regimental front line and caused the Third Battalion to change its position to a system of trenches just north of the Septsarges-Montfaucon Road. Thank you so much again for helping me But toward the beginning of summer 1918, the higher commanders began to believe that, after all, the war would be decided by the tactics of open warfare, and therefore detailed attention was given to this method of training. ], September 26th, shortly after midnight, the artillery began to prepare the way for us, making the earth tremble. Hedgerows! tqt/9y_UxBS` endstream endobj 395 0 obj <>stream Wood These forces were from the hospital but also from the neighborhood. The 79th Division consisted of the 313th, 314th, 315th, and 316th Infantry Regiments. "E" and "D" Companies of the 2 nd Battalion of the 749 th Tank Battalion. Do you have 315TH INFANTRY REGIMENT, 79TH INFANTRY DIVISION Reunion information you'd like to share Relive & share the memories of your service time with your brothers & sisters in arms today. Subscribe to 314th Infantry Regiment, 79th Infantry Division Footer menu. with a gray border; it was adopted during World War I. 463rd AAA AW Bn (Mbl), from July 1st, 1944 to July 9, 1945, Armored D-Day and Battle of Normandy Encyclopedia, Chief General: Major General Ira T. Wyche The 315th and 316th Regiments together formed the 158th Infantry Brigade (p. 21). brianna-serrano The Cross of Lorraine: A Combat History of the 79th Infantry Division, June 1942-December 1945. Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 79th Infantry Division Artillery, 79th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop (Mechanized), Headquarters, Special Troops, 79th Infantry Division, Headquarters Company, 79th Infantry Division. The division arrived in Liverpool on 17 April and began training in amphibious operations. The captain of the America ordered that life-boats be lowered and succeeded in rescuing eleven of the forty-two crew members of the Indestructo. We reached the main line of German trenches about 6:00 P.M. and remained in them overnight. 26 August 1944: XV Corps, First Army, 12th Army Group. The 315th Infantry (79th Division, United States Army) was a combat unit of the American Expeditionary Forces in France. Finally at 7:00 P. M., the order directing the forward movement arrived, and, preceded by the light tanks, the Regiment advanced toward its next objective -- Nantillois. 315th Infantry Regiment: Colonel Porter B. Wiggins, replaced on June 23, 1944 by Colonel Bernard B. McMahon and Colonel Robert H. York from July 13, 1944, then replaced by Lieutenant-Colonel John A. McAleer on July 29, 1944 - 1/331 - 2/331: Lieutenant-Colonel James F. Faber (killed on July 9, 1944) - 3/331 79th Reconnaissance Troop (mechanized) After a year of training the division sailed overseas in July 1918. 749th Tank Battalion, from July 1st to 24, 1944 Fortunately he had also become a member and responded to my email. This sector was about 15 kilometers [9 miles] northwest of the great French fortress on the Meuse River, Verdun, which during the spring and summer of 1916 had been the site of the bloodiest struggles of the war, when the German Army had tried to smash the French line. Until just before sailing for France, the men assigned to the 315th Infantry had come from Philadelphia (p. 11), but on 14 June 1918 fifty-seven men from Camp Upton, New York, were assigned to the Third Battalion's Company "K" (p. 261). Visible Participation in World War One]. At 7 P.M. a lone lighter [scow: flat-bottomed barge (p. 262)] appeared, and the First and Third Battalions, some 2,000 men, crowded aboard and were ferried to the docks along the harbor front. He was killed in action on 27 September 1918, the second day of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, and is buried in the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery in Romagne (Meuse), Lorraine, France. h263W0Pw/+Q0L)667)@Hc0i (p. 19), Up until April 1918, most of the training the soldiers had been given was toward the methods of trench warfare, because that sort of action seemed to predominate in France. Also: I have ended the story with the death of my great-uncle, which occurred a month and a half before the Armistice that ended World War One. ABMC Headquarters 2300 Clarendon Blvd, Suite 500 Arlington, VA 22201 Phone: 703-584-1501 Despite a good progress in Normandy, the landscape of the Cotentin Peninsula was a nightmare for the American troops, Germans were disappearing with a snap of a finger when they saw the enemy. km NE of Fierville), Le Haut de Gris (vic; 2 km E of Le Mesnil-St-Martin), La Vieville (vic; 21 Owing to the strong resistance encountered by both the 313th and 314th Infantry, the front line of the Division at the end of the first day was considerably behind the line established by the 4th Division on the right and the 37th Division on the left. At that time, word was sent to the troops to dig in. There were still human skulls and bones lying around during the night of 13 September 1918 when the 315th Regiment took up it positions. a symbol of triumph since the 15th Century, as its insignia. Men of the 79th Infantry Division fighting in the streets of Cherbourg. I was doing some casual research on my wife's grandfather, who served with 315th Infantry, 79th Division during the first World War. The cantonment was called "Camp Meade" [now Fort Meade, Maryland], in honor of the U.S. Civil War's General George Meade. But how ? It is the duty of the future generation. June 28th, 1944: Petite Motte Cherbourg was the largest port in Normandy and a primary strategic objective because of its location near the Cotentin Peninsula. (ibid. Towns of Hardinvast and Tollevast were taken by the 2nd and 3rd Battalions on the 25th of June 1944. . Beyond all, far back on the northern horizon, rose the dominating heights of Montfaucon [altitude: 280 meters = 900 feet], which the German High Command had said would never be taken by the Allies. A picture of him also shows a 42nd Division Rainbow Patch. Major General William D. Frink, Jr. (1 December 2009 8 February 2013), Major General Megan P. Tatu (9 February 2013 4 December 2015), Major General Mark Palzer (5 December 2015 8 December 2018), Major General Eugene J. Leboeuf (8 December 2018 Present), 363d Support Battalion (PETRL PL & TML OP), in, 319th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, in, 373d Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, in, 372d Quartermaster Battalion (Petroleum Support) in, 383d Support Battalion (PETRL PL & TML), in, 155th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, in, 371st Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, in, 420th Support Battalion (MVT CTL) (EAC), in, 314th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, in, 469th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, in, 336th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, in, 418th Quartermaster Battalion (Petroleum Support) in, 419th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, in, 329th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, in, 620th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, in, 394th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, in. Regimental Headquarters was established in the Bois de Tuilerie, east of Montfaucon. Relive & share the memories of your service time with your brothers & sisters in arms today. But when reconnaissance of the front line positions showed that an advance on the right of the road would not be so seriously held up as reported, the Second and Third Battalions were at once ordered to reform on the right of the road and to push forward until contact was regained with the rear elements of the 314th Infantry. He was in the 157th Infantry Brigade, He was also in the 79th Infantry Division. The 315th Infantry Regiment landed on June 14th, 1944, the first men's thought was the excellent work done by the Engineers, indeed the soldiers were surprised to be able to land out of a boat directly onto a deck without getting one's feet wet! Lieutenant-Colonel McMahon - 79thUnitHistory. Two once pretty Alsatian villages lost in the countryside. 3/314, 315th Infantry Regiment: Colonel Porter B. Wiggins, replaced on June 23, 1944 by Colonel Bernard B. McMahon and Colonel Robert H. York from July 13, 1944, then replaced by Lieutenant-Colonel John A. McAleer on July 29, 1944 Some had been with the division since its activation at Camp Pickett, Virginia, on June 15th, 1942.
