HQ COMPANY:
a WW2 Unit History
by Lt. Robert "Bud" Flynn
of the 112th Infantry Regiment,
28th Division
(from Normandy to the Ardennes--
August '44-March '45)

CHRONOLOGYCASUALTY STATISTICS
AWARDS AND CITATIONS
BIBLIOGRAPHY
LINKS


CHRONOLOGY
[combining official US Army records for the 28th Division
with place names from Lt. Flynn's unit history]
7/24 - arrives on continent
7/26 - attached to XIX Corps
8/1 - Percy captured (near Tessy); Hill 210, Maupartuia
8/2 - St. Martin
8/3 - La Chienne de la Plaine
8/4 - Le Mesnil
8/5 - St. Manvieu de Bocage
8/6 - Hill 193; SE of St. Manvieu do Bocage
8/8 - toward La Julliere
8/9 - unable to advance in Gathemo region; Hill 246, south of St. Germain de Tallevande
8/10 - overruns Gathemo; RJ 338, south of Hill 246; held up by enemy fire
8/11 - moving SE from Gathemo
8/12 - to Sourdeval on right, St. Sauveur-de-Chaulieu on left;
 cross E-W highway that comes into RJ 338
8/13 near Etan, no resistance
8/14 - goes into reserve after overrunning Ger; no active resistance
8/15 - near Beauchine
8/19 - concentrating in Montagne area
8/21 - moves up to clear Verneuil; march 4 miles east of Montagne to Bivouac
8/22 - clears Verneuil; reaches vicinity of Evreux; advance to point 2 miles north of Breteuil
8/23 - advance through Conches to point near Emanville, there to wait for Brits to catch up on left flank
8/26 - to Roudan, 40 miles east
8/27 - Versailles
8/28 - attached to V Corps; Paris
8/29 - march down Champs Elysee
8/30 - pursuing enemy northeastward; advance on foot to Survillers
8/31 - continues NE to a point near Senlis
9/1 - Compeigne
9/2 - Bethancourt
9/3 - Noyens
9/4 - back through Compeigne, Soissons, Neufchatel, to Herpy
9/5 - Neuvizy
9/6 - Thelonns
9/7 - 15 miles east of Sedan; Liney
9/8 - between Jemelle and Margut; crossed into Belgium; Haudrigney
9/9 - northeast of Chatillon
9/10  - in rapid strides overruns Bastogne, Longvilly, Wiltz, Selange, Arlon;
through Messancy, to 1 mile east of Guerlange
9/11 - through Arlon to 7 miles north, then back to city of Luxembourg, Senningen
9/12 - takes Sevenig, Junglinster
9/13 - attacks West Wall
9/14 - major attack to breach West Wall
9/15 - attached to 5th Armored Div; clears Biersdorf, moves on to Stockight to protect SE flank;
 marched to Breuch; "Gaslight"
9/17 - brings sharp reaction from enemy while attempting to advance
9/18 - assembled at Beidweiler, trucked to Wallendorf, stopping for night at Fals
9/19 - fresh battalion relieves original battalion of 112th in reduced perimeter of Wallendorf bridgehead;
 relieves 1st Battalion; through Wallendorf, outskirts of Beindorf (could be Riesdorf), Germans counterattack; evening near Crutchen
9/20 - withdrew to Wallendorf, cross river, set up CP in Riesdorf, much fighting
9/21 - withdrew to Bettendorf
9/22 - Eschweiler for two days
9/24 - back to Beidweiler
9/26 - 2 miles south of Burg-Reuland on German border
9/28 - Schnee Eifel, just east of Buchet
9/29 - to Kutzenich, then by truck back to point south of Burg-Reuland
10/7 - begins new advance on West Wall
10/8 - encounters outlying positions of German West Wall defense
10/25 - begins relief of battle-worn 9th Div. in preparation for drive on Schmidt
10/30 - Vossenack-Schmidt line established
11/2 - 2nd Battalion seizes Vossenack ridge
11/3 - cross Kall River, taking Kommerscheidt and Schmidt
11/5 - German counterattack retakes Kall bridge; steady artillery fire on Vossenack weakening defenders
11/6 - 12th Infantry begins to relieve 28th; forced from end of Vossenack ridge
11/7 - enemy counterattack retakes forces withdrawal from Kall bridgehead, Kommerscheidt
11/10 - limited progress near Huertgen
11/14 - greatly weakened 28th begins moving to XIII Corps sector
11/19 - 8th Div completes relief of 28th in Vossenack/Schmidt
12/16 - 28th falls back under enemy onslaught
12/17 - in 28th zone, Germans drive almost to Wiltz
12/18 - 28th unable to stop enemy, completely disorganized
12/19 - ordered to abandon Wiltz and make way back to Allied lines by infiltration
12/20 - 112th defending St. Vith along with 106th enemy undiminished
12/27 - RCT 112 reinforces 9th Armored Div
12/28 - RCT 112, 9th Armored Div, CCB, back up 3rd Armored Div & 75th Infantry
1/3 - 28th defends Meuse from Givet to Verdun
1/6 - 112th attacks south toward Spineux & Wanne
1/7 - RCT 112 seizes Spineux, Wanne, Wanneranval
1/16 - 28th attached to 7th Army
1/18,19 - relieves 3rd Div in 2nd Corps area
1/20 - takes command of sector from Sigolsheim southwest to Le Valtin
1/25 - along Weiss River
1/28 - from Le Valtin to Ill River, 2 miles northeast of Colmar
1/30 - takes limited objective north of Colmar


CASUALTY STATISTICS

AWARDS AND CITATIONS
Congressional Medal of Honor 1
Distinguished Service Cross18
Distinguished Service Medal1
Legion of Merit 8
Silver Star 359
Soldier's Medal 15
Bronze Star 2,627
Air Medal  101

PRESIDENTIAL UNIT CITATION
Awarded to the 112th Infantry Regimental Combat Team
Officially Presented 17 August 1947 at Indiantown Gap

The 112th Infantry Regimental Combat Team consisting of the 112th Infantry Regiment with the 229th Field Artillery Battalion, Company C, 103rd Engineering Battalion, Battery C 447th Antiaircraft Battalion and Company C 640th Tank Destroyer Battalion attached is cited for extraordinary heroism, efficiency and achievement in action against the enemy from 16 to 24 Dec 1944.

On 16 Dec 1944 the 112th Infantry Regimental Combat Team from Lutz Kampen, Germany to Lieler, Luxembourg, was holding 6-1/2 miles of the front line sector assigned to the 28th Infantry Division. During the period 16 to 18 Dec 1944, despite repeated infantry and tank attacks involving the elements of nine enemy divisions, the 112th Infantry Regimental Combat Team held its ground. In this period it inflicted estimated casualties on the enemy of 1,600, including over 200 prisoners taken and successfully evacuated. All elements of the 112th Infantry Regimental Combat Team were involved in this action. The 229th Field Artillery Battalion was engaged in direct fire on the enemy at a range of 150 yards. The Cannon Company of the 112th Regiment and Company C 630th Tank Destroyer Battalion, by direct fire, succeeded in disabling 18 enemy tanks. Company C 103rd Engineering Battalion together with the 2nd Battalion 112th Infantry Regiment, repeatedly counter-attacked enemy penetrations. The Headquarters, Headquarters Company and Service Company manned the lines and drove off by fire a number of groups of the enemy which had infiltrated into the rear areas. The Kitchens, being overrun on night of 16-17 Dec. 1944, the kitchen personnel fought with rifles to recover the positions.  All this was done under withering small-arms and artillery fire from enemy positions throughout the entire front. On the night of 17-18 Dec. 1944, under orders from higher headquarters, the 112th Infantry Regimental Combat Team was withdrawn to the high ground west of the Our River. This withdrawal was accomplished successfully in spite of strong enemy infiltration's throughout the entire sector. From 18 until 23 Dec. 1944 the 112th Infantry Regimental Combat Team was continually engaged in rear guard action covering the withdrawal of the right flank of the First American Army.

On the night of 23-24 Dec. 1944, the action of the 112th Infantry Regimental Combat Team was especially notable. Being ordered by higher headquarters to act as a covering force for units withdrawing to the American lines, it held its position under furious enemy infantry and tank attacks until the Regimental Headquarters and 1st Battalion 112th Infantry were surrounded. The 1st Battalion then fought its way clear to friendly lines, bringing with it a number of vehicles and personnel of other units. The gallantry under extremely hazardous and physically trying conditions, the stubborn defense of the sectors assigned to them, and the heroic conduct of all personnel of the 112th Regimental Combat Team, in nine days of continuous fighting, exemplify the highest traditions of the armed forces of the United States.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

On Soldiering:

Ambrose, Stephen E.  Citizen Soldier:  The U.S. Army from the Normandy Beaches  to the Bulge to the Surrender of Germany, June &, 1944-May &, 1945.  New York: Simon and Schuster, 1997.

Ambrose, Stephen E.  Band of Brothers:  E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest.  New York: Simon and Schuster, 1992.

Doubler, Michael D.  Closing with the Enemy: How GIs Fought the War in Europe, 1944-45.  Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 1994.

On the Huertgen Forest Battle:

Boesch, Paul.  Road to Huertgen: Forest in Hell.  Houston: Gulf Publishing, 1962.

Colbaugh, Jack.  The Bloody Patch: A True Story of the Daring 28th Infantry Division.  New York: Vantage Press, 1973.

Curry, Cecil B.  Follow Me and Die: The Destruction of an American Division in WWII.  Briarcliff Manor, NY: Stein and Day, 1984.

MacDonald, Charles B.  The Battle of the Huertgen Forest.  Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1963.

Miller, Edward G.  A Dark and Bloody Ground: The Hurtgen Forest and the Roer River Dams, 1944-1945.  College Station, TX: Texas A&M Press, 1995.

Whiting, Charles.  The Battle of the Huertgen Forest: The Untold Story of a Disastrous Campaign.  New York: Orion Books, 1989.

On the Battle of the Bulge:

Eisenhower, John S. D.  The Bitter Woods.  New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1969.

MacDonald, Charles B.  A Time for Trumpets: The Untold Story of the Battle of the Bulge.  New York: William Morrow and Co., 1985.

Merriam, Robert E.  Dark December: The Full Account of the Battle of the Bulge.  Chicago: Ziff-Davis Publishing, 1947.

Thompson, R. W.  The Battle for the Rhineland.  London: Hutchinson & Company, 1958.

Toland, John.  Battle: The Story of the Bulge.  New York: Random House, 1959.

Whiting, Charles.  Death of a Division.  New York: Stein and Day, 1980.

On the War in France, 1944:

Blumenson, Martin.  The Duel for France, 1944.  Boston:  Houghton Mifflin, 1963.

Keegan, John.  Six Armies in Normandy: From D-Day to the Liberation of Paris, June 6th-August 25th, 1944.  New York: Viking, 1982.

Miller, Robert A.  August 1944: The Campaign for France.  Novato, CA: Presidio, 1988.

U. S. Army Published Histories:

Blumenson, Martin.  Breakout and Pursuit.  Washington: United States Army, 1961.

Macdonald, Charles B. and Sidney T. Matthews.  Three Battles: Arnaville, Altuzzo, and Schmidt.  Washington: United States Army, 1952.

Williams, Mary H.  Chronology: 1941-45.  Washington: United States Army, 1960.

LINKS
A lengthy historical account of the Battle of the Bulge.
Internet companion to excellent episode of PBS' "The American Experience."
Excellent collection of WW2 maps.
Campaign Maps for American Wars: West Point

 GO TO:
TOP OF THIS PAGE
AUGUSTSEPTEMBEROCTOBER
NOVEMBERDECEMBERJANUARY
FEBRUARYMARCH

Honor Roll of the Fallen

ASSORTED DATA:
Chronology, Casualty Statistics,
Awards & Citations, Bibliography, Links

Last update: July 20, 2000.
This site will continue to undergo periodic refinement and improvement.
If you have any suggestions, personal reminiscences, or recommended readings, please write to me, Bob Spencer, at
bob_spencer@crosswalkmail.com
Thank you.