Military History : Combat Engineers

When Allied commanders during World War II needed engineers to clear the beaches of Normandy, when the 4th Infantry Division needed airfields repaired, roads maintained, and bridges built in Vietnam, and when the 24th Infantry Division needed someone to identify and mark the main routes into Iraq during the Gulf War there was one unit that stood above all others. That unit was the 299th Combat Engineer Battalion. The 299th was activated on March 1st, 1943 at Camp White, Oregon. Since then the unit has been put on reserve and active status, deactivated and reactivated, and assigned many different higher headquarters in order to meet the Army’s mission. The 299th Combat Engineer Battalion had always been quick to act, brave under fire, and completed crucial missions in order to ensure the mobility of the main force. The 299th is a very distinctive and proud unit.

The Battle of the Bulge (16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945) was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. It was launched, in the dense forest of Ardennes Wallonia in eastern part of Belgium, northeast France, and Luxembourg. This battle was one of the largest fought by the United States Army, on the Western Front in Europe, during World War II. This fierce battle, was between the German Nazi’s, the American Army, Canadian Army, and the British Army, was one of Hitler’s last attempt to split the Allies driving them towards Germany and destroy their ability to supply themselves. Were the Germans able to stop the Americans and the British from getting their supplies? Was the weather a factor and if so, who did it assist in the battle? Was the American Army able to counter attack in a timely manner and stop the German Nazi’s invasion?

     During the War Eisenhower and his staff felt this spot was the least likely to be attacked. The thought the Germans would not try any thing through the narrow passageway. The Germans wanted the opposite of what the Americans wanted to do. As stated above the Allied troops were 'resting' and reforming; they consisted of General Simpson's 9th Army and General Hodges 1st US Army in the north and General Patton's 3rd Army to the south. The Ardennes was held by General Middleton who had the 8th US Army Corps, 106th and 26th Infantry Divisions and 4th and 9th Armored Divisions.

“The battle [is also] known by different names. The Germans [called it] ‘Operation Watch on the Rhine’, while the French [called] it ‘Battle of the Ardennes’. [American and Britain] called it the Ardennes Counteroffensive.” The main goal for the Germans for this offensive was to split the British and American forces in half and capture the port city of Antwerp. This would “cause an encirclement of four allied armies and [force] a peace negotiation” (Cirillo). The Germans almost had complete surprise when the offensive was launched on “December 16th, 1944, at 05:30” and the offensive start with “an artillery barrage of over 1,600 artillery pieces.” The assault took place across an “80 mile front [that] the 6th Panzer Army had to cover” (Quarrie 1). “The attack was led by one of the best equipped German divisions on the western front, the 1st SS Panzer Division.” This was the lead unit for the 6th Panzer Army and was the lead division for the assault. The 26th Infantry was covering the part of the front where the push started. They were caught completely by surprise. “Equipped with only 32 M4 tanks, 57 anti-tank guns and thousands of battle-weary men” (MacDonald 1). The initial assault went well for the Germans and they break through the thinly defended American lines. Just “20 hours in [from the start of the assault] German forces are just 55 miles out from their objective”. By this time the casualty rate is below from what the

In the late 1944, during the wake of the Allied forces’ successful D-Day Invasion of Normandy, it seemed as if the Second World War was over. On December sixteenth, with the onset of winter, the German army launched a counteroffensive that was intended to cut through the Allied forces in a manner that would turn the tide of the war in Hitler’s favor. The battle that ensued is known historically as the Battle of the Bulge. The courage and fortitude of the American Soldier was tested against

In March 1918, with nearly 50 additional divisions freed by the Russian surrender on the Eastern Front, the German Army launched a series of attacks on the Western Front, hoping to defeat the Allies before U.S. forces could be fully deployed. In the north, the British 5th Army was virtually destroyed by two major offensive operations, Michael and Georgette around the Somme. A third offensive launched in May against the French between Soissons and Reims, known as the Third Battle of the Aisne, saw the Germans reach the north bank of the Marne river at Château-Thierry, 95 kilometres (59 mi) from Paris, on 27 May. Two U.S. Army divisions, the 2nd and the 3rd, were thrown into the Allied effort to stop the Germans. On 31 May, the 3rd Division

The post D-Day Allied assault that swept through France was halted by Hitler’s unexpected counter-attack through the Ardennes, resulting in a confrontation named the Battle of the Bulge.

The Tennessee Army National Guard was officially recognized in 1796 when Tennessee was admitted as the 16th state (Tennessee Blue Book, n.d.). Tennessee became known as the volunteer state because of the National Guard. In 1780, Colonel John Sevier sent out a request for 100 good men to fight with him and 200 men volunteered. President James Polk sent a nationwide call for 50,000 volunteers to fight with Mexico. Tennessee only had a quota for 2600 volunteers, but 26,000 men volunteered from Tennessee.

Bodies flailing, ripped apart by machine guns. German Panzers destroying everything in their path. A blood soaked forest; the Ardennes. The Battle of the Bulge began on December 16, 1944. It was a hard fought allied victory that pitted American, British, Australian, and South African forces against the battle hardened Panzer and SS German divisions. In the heat of the battle, the American 101st division was surrounded by German forces at Bastogne. When asked to surrender, General Anthony McAuliffe only replied with one word; “Nuts!”. The 106th division was almost annihilated. This was a gallant allied victory, showing the force of the American soldiers. However, it came with great cost. Influenced by the beginning of the war and how the war turned against the Nazi’s, the Battle of the Bulge was a bloody battle, in which German defeat lead to their surrender soon after, proving to be an extremely significant event in WWII.

During the Battle of the Bulge, Adolf Hitler was caught off guard by the American forces. He was basically “sleeping” on the job. For the American forces, the general was Dwight D. Eisenhower. He is the same Dwight D. Eisenhower that led the D-Day Invasion, and a future president. George S. Patton moved his army to the “Third Army of Bastogne”, to move up. After this move, this “led to the neutralization of the German counteroffensive despite heavy casualties.” They had to change the game plan. During the Battle of the Bulge, three German armies led one of the deadliest and bloodiest attacks of the war in the west.it should be a day to be remembered. After this, the Germans drove deeper into the Ardennes allied forces.” While this fighting

The Battle of the Bulge is considered the United State Army’s greatest victory as American soldiers withstood the full force of the German War Machine. Allied Forces faced freezing temperatures, fog, threats of espionage and battle tested German units. This victory was not without shortcomings, most notably in intelligence and subpar battlefield performances.

The Germans had deployed the 352nd infantry division in a defensive doctrine on Omaha beach , Normandy. In hopes of

The specific contributions combat engineers made during this operation primarily came from within the 82nd Airborne Division. Under the leadership of Brigadier General (BG) James Gavin, his paratroopers were tasked with dropping in northeast Netherlands to secure bridges at the towns of Grave and Nijmegan. The 82nd Airborne Division’s primary target was securing the bridges at Nijmegan to facilitate the Allied Forces XXX Corps, who would be arriving through Nijmegan to a town called Arnhem. Arnhem was a town that laid on the German / Dutch border. Allied Intelligence determined that two SS Panzer Divisions of German forces occupied that town.

Leading into the Fall of 1914, tactics on both sides of the line involved the rapid mobilization, maneuver and envelopment of the opposing side.10 Pre-1914 doctrine took little into account the effects of emerging new technology and their impact on both defensive and offensive operations. This disconnect between doctrine and technology contributed to the failure of early offensive operations in the Fall of 1914 and resulted in staggering casualties.11 Both sides developed doctrine that took into effect the unique terrain and technology that had been developed prior and during World War I. However by the end of the war, a combination of flexibility, decentralized control, and counterattack at every echelon made the German defensive system the most effective.12 This “elastic defense” had three unique characteristics; dedicated counter-attack force at all levels, decentralized command and control, fluid defensive belts and integrated artillery support at the Division level. Under this new doctrine, Corps headquarters had the role sustaining subordinate units, but not directing their actions during battle.13 This defense-in-depth and the lessons learned during the Verdun battles of 1918 were so successful that British forces adopted many of the German tactics with a special emphasis on their counterattack capability.10 Utilizing the new doctrine, by August 1918, Germany had made substantial gains, however had

This mission command analysis evaluates the battle of Team Desobry at the town of Noville, Belgium. These events took place 18-19 December 1944, and later impacted the battle fought at Bastogne during World War II. It is the goal of this review to discuss and analyze three mission command principles displayed during this battle: Create shared understanding, exercise disciplined initiative, and the acceptance of prudent risk. One of the main characters that took part in this story was the 20th Armored Infantry Battalion, 10th Armored Division. The commanding officer of this element was Major William R. Desobry. During the events of World War II, the German forces were trying to gain control of the Ardennes to cut off the allies’ supply lines in order to isolate British forces from the American troops. A pivotal task for German forces to attain this goal was to gain access and take control of the Belgian town of Bastogne. However, an important strategic stepping stone to get there was Noville, which is just seven kilometers northeast of Bastogne. Two main reasons made Noville such a critical location for the Germans: First, it had a junction of roads that were important for displacement of German forces to the West. Second, it provided an alternative road to access Bastogne from the north.1