He recalled the punishing American artillery, which never seemed to cease. The following is taken from New York in the War of the Rebellion, 3rd ed. in more than forty days. a withdrawal to the Rhine River, and the regiment pursued them at great speed. Before long German infantry were taking the exhausted GIs prisoner in large numbers. It would go on to cross the Siegfried Line and the Rhine River before fighting at Aschaffenburg, Nuremberg, and Munich. When the regiment came off the line in January 1944, it was moved to a rest area on their feet. Reaching the Danube River at Marxheim on 25 again was committed to the attack -- toward Nurnberg, and Munich, the birthplace With the wounded loaded, Sparks ordered the tanks back down the trail, both of them banging away with their machine guns. the island of Sicily, and suffered its first casualties Company, but the German attacks were so fierce and concentrated -- the Germans Draftees were from Pennsylvania and Maryland. Mercifully, One such involved the encirclement and destruction of an American infantry battalion during five days of combat so intense that even veterans of Anzio were shocked by its ferocity. The men came ashore after the It joined with the remnants of Company B outside the encirclement; both units had about 19 soldiers left. Sparks didn’t seem to care anyway. He became a clerk for the U.S. Army before going on to a career as a corporate lawyer. Along with Anzio and Dachau, the battle was Sparks’s worst memory of the war. The combined effect of the tank’s firepower suppressed some of the Germans, enabling other American soldiers hiding along the trail to fall back. Arriving as a new lieutenant during training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, he had spent the entire war with the 157th except for a short time while wounded. The hard-hitting Germans managed to inflict heavy casualties and take many prisoners during the first week of fighting. Fleming decided he had to do something personally. As he began pulling off Neff’s boots to look at his injuries, another soldier, Private Lawrence Mathiason, volunteered to go. The regiment was alerted to move to this area and restore Like the American units, the 6th SS had problems with the quality of its replacements and little time to properly rest and reconstitute. The division was commanded by Maj. Gen. Joseph E. Kuhn. Johann Voss, a machine gunner who had been with the SS since Finland, remembered much the same things as his American counterparts, perhaps in reverse. The narrow trail was partly blocked by the overturned light tank from the night before, so a recovery vehicle was brought in to drag it out of the way. In total, 600 American soldiers were dead, wounded, or captured. There was no mention of a muster out date. This was the last resupply the trapped Americans would receive. The 2nd Battalion, 157th, was sent to retake the hills that night. “You can imagine how glad we were to see that guy,” Melton said. By 11:45 am, Company C had managed to link up with Company L’s right flank. Enemy artillery fire was still heavy but the GIs kept moving. The next day the Regimental Commander's jeep ran When the time came, the remaining troops from the five companies dragged themselves out of the holes they had occupied for five days and began moving to their rear. With a terrifying sound, a barrage of Nebelwerfer rockets crashed down in front of them. Suddenly, another salvo of Nebelwerfer rockets screamed in as they had the night before. Two battalions of the 157th––Sparks’s 3/157 and Lt. Col. Ralph Krieger’s 1/157––were sent to carry out this mission that morning. After a few moments the SS men continued into the night. Standing in the hatch and looking around, Sparks saw several men in a hole near the trail, another hiding behind a tree. stop by and visit the Gift Shop. The unit was activated using the assets of the 5th Brigade, 87th Division.The brigade is a subordinate unit of First Army Division East. Company B was sent to clear those Germans out but was unable to do so. The morning of January 16 saw the two battalions trying to do just that. The young soldier took off at a sprint but got only 25 yards before a burst of fire hit him in the ankles, leaving him screaming for help on the icy ground. One of them told Fleming an order to withdraw had been given, but they couldn’t get away. Many Constituted 1 October 2007 in the Colorado Army National Guard as the 157th Infantry Regiment. wounded or injured and evacuated and 426 (many of whom were wounded) were captured. This decision likely saved many Norwegians but left the division on its journey to a fateful clash with the 157th. There were 25 officers among the prisoners, and they were received at the 11th Regiment headquarters with dignity. When It was again an infantry regiment of the 45th Infantry … The memorial depicts seven men; the one to the far right carrying two Mills bombs, while supporting the wounded soldier next to him. In the predawn hours of January 3, 1945, Operation Nordwind slammed into the American lines like a sledgehammer; German artillery punished unsuspecting GIs as infantry relentlessly attacked them. This regiment was organized at Philadelphia October, 1862, to February, 1863. Times when the very landscape appears to shift. The whole time, no SS men fired at him. As he lay there, Captain McGinnis was brought in, wounded by the heavy shellfire. Among the first to die in battle were four resolute machine gunners Hiding in his foxhole from relentless artillery strikes, he dozed and dreamed of becoming a farmer after the war. It also had a hard core of experienced soldiers and leaders well versed at fighting in mountainous, forested terrain like that found around Reipertswiller. Fighting raged for over an hour before the Germans were repulsed; 50 bodies littered the ground in front of Company K. About half of them lay together in a group, killed by machine-gun fire. But Oddly, at 4:52 pm, 3rd Battalion headquarters informed all its companies, “Russians now fighting on border of Germany.”. The attack continued down the Cisterna-Campoleone Shortly before the attack, Lt. Col. Sparks climbed into his jeep to join his battalion; the young commander was known as an officer who stayed up front with his troops. In 1911, he joined the 157th Infantry Regiment of the 12th Division and was based in Brzeg. at Dachau, and at the close of the day regimental units were in the outskirts and the enemy wave began to withdraw -- followed aggressively by the Americans. They saw some prints left by American shoe-pacs (winter footwear) and followed them until they saw a shelter half that appeared to cover a foxhole. On 25 November, the A sergeant from Company K recalled, “It was the worst mess I ever saw. drove right up to the foxhole line in tanks and fired the main guns directly into Slowly, he and his comrades crept on through the dark, seeking to complete their encirclement. In the coming weeks, other divisions of the Seventh Army were combed for replacements to rebuild the 157th to fighting strength. For more information on the history of this unit, see:] 1. My daddy, PFC James Newton was with company E of the 157th Regiment, 45th Thunderbird Division. A retreat lasting until November began, with Soviet troops chasing the Germans and urging the Finns to engage their former allies before they escaped the country. or "I am a defeatist.". Each time they returned from delivering supplies, they carried casualties. 157th INFANTRY REGIMENT. Company K occupied Hill 420 while Company L took Hill 410, both designated by their height in meters. near Naples for refitting and training for participation in the assault landings The very next day the Germans launched a tank-supported attack against the regiment. from light poles with signs around their necks saying, "I wanted to desert," Down by the trail the American gunners kept firing, and more of their infantry appeared. For 1/157, Companies B and C would advance with A in reserve. The men who fought there remember it. By 20 March, the Line had been penetrated, the Germans began a … To this point, 3/157 had lost 118 soldiers over the past three days; a third of the battalion’s strength was dead or wounded. Fresh bruises covered his body, and he was cut on his left knee and right hand. By then both lead companies had reached their assigned hills. A German ambush knocked it out and wounded three of the crew, who were captured. Those who remained prepared for the next day. Afterward, Company C sent patrols to link up with Company L along the same route 3rd Battalion had used to get to its objectives. was relieved by British forces and moved to the center of the Allied line, taking Sparks’s act of bravery was not the end of the battle. The regiment moved out of the rest areas on 13 March 1945 and moved to staging points for the Seventh Army offensive, which kicked off on 15 March. Movement overseas commenced on 6 July 1918 and was completed by 3 August 1918. the ruptured American line, and began moving on 11 January 1945. A battalion of the 179th Infantry, another regiment of the 45th Division, was committed to the fight but also unable to break the German deadlock around the surrounded 157th troops. ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE OF THE 157TH REGIMENT. Within the perimeter the remnants of Companies C, G, I, K, and L were almost out of ammunition and had no medical supplies to treat the wounded. At any second a burst of fire could cut Sparks down, but for some reason no one shot at him. of millions yet to be. Voss had to be treated for frostbite to his toes. Johann Voss heard each American was given a box of German chocolate as well, leaving the SS soldiers without any. The commanding general of the 256th Volksgrenadier Division, another unit engaged in Nordwind, later met with and praised each officer for the 157th’s defiant stand at Reipertswiller. Support units such as the 45th Signal Company also suffered casualties and required replacements to be reconstituted as did the combat units. Just after midday the SS sent a group to the surrounded GIs under a flag of truce. Between this regiment occupied defensive positions and rotated into a rest area while the unit Just as the regiment was withdrawing, the Germans initiated Operation For the Americans, January 18 started with the loss of Lieutenant Talkington’s tank just after midnight, but the situation only got worse with the dawn. SS units were infamous for brutal treatment or execution of prisoners. On 6 October 1943 E Company was hit Voss viewed the man through his binoculars and thought he was an officer. It was again an infantry regiment of the 45th Infantry … and bypassed by the Germans, who moved toward the ocean, threatening the whole hard by an enemy counterattack, and was reduced to 45 men. That essentially ended the efforts for January 18. The day’s results had been disappointing but understandable given the intense barrage, but none of the other attacking battalions had done any better. was virtually wiped out by German tanks. The young interpreter was lucky. Though the batteries were slowly dying in the cold, the surrounded companies still had tenuous radio contact with their headquarters. The 107th Infantry Memorial is dedicated to the men who served in the 107th New York Infantry Regiment, originally Seventh Regiment of New York, during World War I. While the German shelling continued through the night, Sparks planned for the coming day. The 2nd Battalion, 411th Infantry, 103rd Division was brought in to join in the relief effort. (Cannon Company, 157th Infantry Regiment) Visit the web site of Staff Sergeant Albert R. Panebianco (K Company, 157th Infantry Regiment) Interview and Photographs of Cliff Hobson (H Company, 157th Infantry Regiment) By 20 March, the Line had been penetrated, the Germans began Until 1963 the 157th Infantry Brigade (Mechanized) was headquartered in Chester, Pennsylvania. They would attack in an attempt to end the siege. Seven company commanders and 30 platoon leaders were gone. alongside the ship: twenty-one men were killed in this single mishap. Only a few minutes passed, but they were long ones. After terrifying moments, however, Fleming managed to make good his escape and found his platoon leader. Up the trail, Sparks stood in the hatch of the leading tank, urging its driver forward. A reply came back denying the request. Despite the murderous rain of steel, the Americans kept moving; by 4 pm Sparks’s riflemen had managed to advance about 1,200 yards. GIs began to filter back to the aid station; Sparks was already there, having his wounds tended and recovering from the shock of the mine blast. The only cover Fleming could see nearby was a large hole made by a fallen tree. By mid-January 1945, the famous Battle of the Bulge, a massive and fatal failure for the Third Reich, was virtually over. for the landing in southern France, which came on the latter date. Sherman Tanks vs. Tiger Tanks: Which Was Best at the Bulge? Voss later wrote, “There was no honor to be won by firing upon this death-defying act of comradeship.”. The airdrops were attempted in the morning, but with the heavy blizzard, no supplies reached the Americans. Winter clothing was hard to obtain, siphoned off by rear-echelon troops before it could reach the front lines. Edward G. Wilkin. Until late 1944, the division spent the war in Finland and northern Russia alongside Germany’s Finnish allies, in many ways isolated from what was happening elsewhere. This move left two hills, 343 and 388, in the hands of the enemy. After a short distance, both tanks began slipping on the icy trail. The German grip on the area seemed unbreakable. Voss could not see the American squad his fire had forced into the hollow by the bridge. The regiment's 1st Battalion was hit by enemy tanks on 13 September and was surrounded ABMC Headquarters 2300 Clarendon Blvd, Suite 500 Arlington, VA 22201 Phone: 703-584-1501 Medal of Honor was earned on 18 March while breaching the Sigfried line, by and attacked in the Belfort Gap, France. The unit was also known as the "Madison and Cortland Regiment". A battalion of the 179th Infantry was coming up to help. The rest of Company E couldn’t break through, however. A platoon of tanks was available but held back to be used where needed; minesweeping engineers would accompany the infantry. General Frederick, who once commanded the 1st Special Service Force, apparently thought a retreat would show weakness. to break out of the beachhead, battling at such places as the Tobacco Warehouse and then escorted two wounded men 1,700 yards to safety. He would later write, “It was the worst beating we ever took from terrific concentrated artillery barrages, and that includes Anzio. The regiment was first Afterward, 24 men arrived from other companies to bolster them. One soldier had a broken leg, so Sparks tied a splint to it with an ammunition belt. These tanks moved up the trail apparently past Johann Voss’s position without being engaged. Some 100 miles to the south, another German offensive was likewise failing, this one smaller, less well known, but just as furious and bloody. (I have had the honor At 4:15 pm, a company of German troops counterattacked Company K, hitting hard on its left flank. He loaded all the supplies onto the back deck of the remaining Stuart and abandoned the trailer. It was understrength; the replacement pipeline had not kept up with the needs of an army in difficult, grinding action. James Turner Newton Coy E. 157th Infantry Regiment . The deadly ambush had killed or captured all but two of the Americans. From 21 January until 13 March, the They reported they were beating back enemy attacks but the SS were still managing to infiltrate around them.