Army. ), It had been hoped that Nantillois would he taken before dark, but the strong resistance encountered by the front line troops during the day had so delayed the advance that the occupation of the town before night set in became impossible. Most of this page is direct quote, but in many places I have edited and paraphrased the text to make it shorter (I have not indicated where). The division then went on occupation duty, in the Dortmund, Sudetenland, and Bavarian areas successively, until its return to the United States and inactivation. Several dozen of Germans surrendered but sometimes unusual events happened. Beyond these the country rolled to the north in hills and valleys dotted with small clumps of woods and underbrush, and traversed by band after band of barbed wire entanglements. km SW of St-Joseph), Petite Motte (11 After training in the United Kingdom from 17 April 1944, the 79th Infantry Division landed on Utah Beach, Normandy, 1214 June and entered combat 19 June 1944, with an attack on the high ground west and northwest of Valognes and high ground south of Cherbourg Naval Base. The third section [which included the Third Battalion arrived the next day at 11:30 A.M. (p. 263)]. A picture of him also shows a 42nd Division Rainbow Patch. [1] Organization [ edit] 1st Brigade 313th Infantry Regiment 314th Infantry Regiment 2nd Brigade 315th Infantry Regiment 316th Infantry Regiment 79th Artillery Brigade References [ edit] The weather and the ocean were calm throughout the voyage. July 25th, 1944: The Viville Old-timers in the ranks scoffed at the idea of green troops being sent against positions such as those lying opposite the Regiment, and the majority of the Regiment was of the opinion that the initial attack, at least, would be made by some of the more tried and seasoned divisions. ), At eleven o'clock on the night of September 25th, a deep boom far behind the American lines announced the beginning of the six-hour Allied barrage. Share a testimony from a relative or a friend, veteran or civilian, resistance member, ally or German, actor or witness of History. 6. Moving swiftly to the Franco-Belgian frontier near St. Amand (east of Lille), the division was then moved to XV Corps in eastern France, where it encountered heavy resistance in taking Charmes in street fighting, 12 September. The air was filled with the whistling of passing shells, and above all rose the thunder of the guns. He said we were like brothers and then all of a sudden, we lost all contact. These forces were from the hospital but also from the neighborhood. Heavy German counterattacks were repelled, 2227 August, and the division reached the Therain River, 31 August. After a year of training the division sailed overseas in July 1918. brianna-serrano Lieutenant-Colonel McMahon - 79thUnitHistory. Towns of Hardinvast and Tollevast were taken by the 2nd and 3rd Battalions on the 25th of June 1944. Young) Prepared August 2017 ), [According to his Burial Case File, one of the 9 men killed on 27 September 1918 was Giovanni Angelillo. Subscribe to 313th Infantry Regiment, 79th Infantry Division Footer menu. 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. Mentally and physically they were fit for combat in all possible ways. The 79th Infantry Division came ashore on June 14th,1944, at 0400pm and was the fourth American Infantry Division to land on Utah Beach. During this period, great stress was laid on maneuvers, and everyone was drilled incessantly in all the whys and wherefores of his job. After training in England, it landed at Utah Beach on June 12 - 14, 1944, about a week after the initial D-Day landings. 6 February 1945: Seventh Army, 6th Army Group. How cool is that. The 315th Infantry was made up of three battalions and four special units: First Battalion: Companies A-D Second Battalion: Companies E-H Third Battalion: Companies I, K-M This is the reason why 3rd Battalion was given the mission to clean out the village of Lieusaint (D-2) of German snipers. Veteran C. Young, After 30 years and learning the computer and finding VetFriends, I went to my first reunion of the USS Navasota AO-106. Some had been with the division since its activation at Camp Pickett, Virginia, on June 15th, 1942. In 1942 a typical infantry regiment consisted of a headquarters and band, a headquarters company, a service company, an anti-tank company, a cannon company, and three infantry battalions. On 26 July, the 79th attacked across the Ay River, took Lessay, crossed the Sarthe River and entered Le Mans, 8 August, meeting only light resistance. Since 2009, it has been active as the 79th Theater Sustainment Command. His last letter was written from underneath an apple tree on June 18th. motor trucks (p. 263)]. Two once pretty Alsatian villages lost in the countryside. 312th Field Artillery Battalion (155 mm Howitzer) Roster of Company "K" After passing Malancourt, very stiff resistance was met in the form of machine gun nests and minenwerfer cannons. At 8:15 A.M., the Company advanced through a heavy smoke screen toward Haucourt, following the 314th Infantry Regiment. (p. 36), This advance guard of the Regiment, after many twistings and turnings, reached its camping ground at midnight and pitched shelter tents in a driving downpour of rain. Colonel Bernard B. McMahon, Regiments Colonel spoke German very well. WWII 315th Infantry Regiment | Normandy American Heroes provides custom World War II tours of Normandy and beyond On our blog, we write about World War II, . The major responsibilities of the fire component are to mitigate any life threatening emergency resulting from Chemical / Conventional / Biological attack, fire, hazardous condition, or sudden medical disability, Execute a . [3] It held a defensive line at the Ollonde River until 2 July 1944 and then returned to the offensive, taking La Haye du Puits in house-to-house fighting, 8 July. The 315th Infantry was made up of three battalions and four special units: First Battalion: Companies A-D Second Battalion: Companies E-H Third Battalion: Companies I, K-M Participation in World War One, Roster of Company "K" as it was on 1 September 1918, Hamburg-American liner "Amerika", renamed "America", the 79th Division's sector of the Allied line, French fortress on the Meuse River, Verdun, the Esnes-Malancourt-Montfaucon Road buried under a hopeless jam, https://www.roangelo.net/angelo/overtop.html, Special Units: Headquarters Company, Machine Gun Company, Supply Company, and Medical Detachment. 9 The 79th Division first saw action in June 1944 when it participated in the liberation of France. Here, however, the latter regiment was halted by heavy sniping and machine gun fire. On its right was the 4th Division, on its left the 313th and 316th Infantries, the 313th Infantry on the front line. 79th Infantry Division History The division was activated at the Camp Pickett, Virginia on June 15, 1942. The 79th SSC is the higher headquarters of over 20,000 U.S. Army Reserve sustainment soldiers organized into over 200 units dispersed throughout the western half of the United States. This smoke, combined with the mist which lay in the valley, made it extremely difficult for companies and platoons to keep touch with one another. The Company was scattered about in dug-outs for two days and then went forward to a position from which it was to begin its advance in the biggest drive of the war. 79th Infantry Division. (Map based on p. 50), The plan of action, as outlined in Brigade orders, was that the 315th Infantry should support the attack of the 314th Infantry at a distance of 1,000 meters, advancing with two battalions in line and one in support, the latter to serve as a Brigade reserve. (p. 35) Several times daily the soldiers responded to the "Abandon Ship Call" during which they practiced marching quickly and in an orderly way to their assigned stations. He was in the 157th Infantry Brigade, He was also in the 79th Infantry Division. (p. 62-63), Under these circumstances, the morning of the 27th found the Esnes-Malancourt-Montfaucon Road buried under a hopeless jam of ambulances, artillery, supply trucks, and vehicles of all descriptions. For the second time the Cross of Lorraine Division was on French soilbut there the comparison stopped. (ibid. "E" and "D" Companies of the 2 nd Battalion of the 749 th Tank Battalion. I called the number ans wow he was blown away when he found out who I was. Men of the 79th Infantry Division fighting in the streets of Cherbourg. First a group of French marines began the construction of large gun emplacements along the Dombasle-Montzeville Road. (p. 32). 24 August 1944: XV Corps, Third Army, 12th Army Group, but attached to First Army. The 315th and 316th Regiments together formed the 158th Infantry Brigade (p. 21). 79th Infantry Division - Operation Northwind: Hold Hatten. 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. It is the duty of the future generation. 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. The ship assigned to the 315th Infantry was the former Hamburg-American liner "Amerika", renamed "America", and at that time the third largest U.S. transport ship. 79th Infantry Division History The division was activated at the Camp Pickett, Virginia on June 15, 1942. An unattached article Withdrawal in Alsace is also included. July 31st, 1944: The Danerie The 315th Infantry (79th Division, United States Army) was a combat unit of the American Expeditionary Forces in France (p. 6). Join Your Unit Today Join VetFriends To: Reunite with Unit Buddies Browse Military Units Post Unit Messages Great Discounts & More! Soldiers of the regiment reported that many civilians came to discuss, even if there were troubles of communications, the troops knew civilians were filled with happiness. The taking of Fortress Cherbourg allowed the Allied Forces to have its first deep water harbor. During the next two days, men continued on their way to Fortress Cherbourg. The regiment continued its advance along the road Valognes Cherbourg setting up its CP in the village of Saint Joseph on the 21st of June 1944. I really hope some other people can find this service and get in touch with people like I did. [The soldiers of Company "K" left at 8 P.M. hiking to Vaux in a heavy rain with slickers fastened to their packs. 315th Infantry Regiment. with a gray border; it was adopted during World War I. `9CjAzv-"'\;q- ={5Ci{[XU;O7eB7`l-G'4Kvc g+g4,98cb;Q%h"Y6;?cC'NhZ'z_=N*wv|r944]{y6_OvG~ej=_o\n.i{_],K%+dWCZ_#C] d 3 miles South before Cherbourg, the number of prisoners of war increased, while. But that road was now nothing but a shell-pocked waste of earth and stone, the result of the explosion of thousands of French and German shells during the fighting about Verdun in 1916. (p. 55, 57), During the day, the Regiment had lost 3 officers and 9 men killed and 31 men wounded. On this day Lieutenant-General Courtney Hicks Hodges of the 1st US Army visited the CP. The trip lasted all night, with the various units arriving at Rampont early on the morning of the 13th. Company G Soldiers (315th Inf. Nevertheless, the regiment landed under German artillery fire wounding, For the second time the Cross of Lorraine Division was on French soilbut there the comparison stopped. 1917-1919 by United States. The order creating the various units of the 79th Division was issued by the War Department on 3 August 1917, and the 315th Infantry Regiment was provisionally organized on 26 August 1917, and then permanently organized on 21 September 1917 (p. 19). 3 miles South before Cherbourg, the number of prisoners of war increased, while Captain Locks (AAR Spelling) was on his way to lead the prisoners at the Prisoner of War enclosure, his column counted one hundred prisoners. (p. 39, 41), By 8 September 1918 the 315th Infantry was ready to take its place at the front, and the Regiment started on the journey that ended at the edge of No Man's Land. 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).