Ensemble de Bitche |
Background from the Stars and Stripes pamphlet, The Story of the Century (1945): THE famous town of Bitche, into which the 100th was to drive, nestled in a valley formed by a number of high hills. A natural strongpoint, the hills housed the four strongest forts on the entire Maginot Line—Simserhoff, Schiesseck, Otterbiel, and Grande Hohekirkel. With the exception of Simserhoff, the forts were directly in the path of the 100th. In addition, several smaller one-pillbox forts, including Freudenberg, were scattered in the "Ensemble de Bitche," filling gaps between the larger installations. This system of fortifications never before had surrendered. In 1940, the French had held out here against Germans until the armistice was signed. When 2nd Bn., 398th Inf., occupied Reyersviller Dec. 13, the last obstacle before the Maginot Line was removed. The plan called for the 398th to reduce Fort Schiesseck, then move around to the hills north of Bitche. With such protection, the 399th was to move into the town while the 397th, remaining on the division's right flank, would be poised to occupy Camp de Bitche, a military camp to the east. Schiesseck, consisting of 11 separate casemates connected by underground tunnels, was on the left flank of the 100th's sector of advance. On a hillside overlooking the basin almost devoid of woods, the fort commanded a wide field of the over every avenue of approach. In addition, one casemate, Fort Freudenberg, was to its south, directly in the path of 398th doughs trying to approach the larger fortress. Because divisions in other sectors had been meeting only token resistance, or none at all, Gen. Burress decided to drive the 398th into Freudenberg and Schiesseck as soon as the division reached the line. Should the line be undefended here, as it had been in other sectors, he did not want to delay advance with unnecessary preliminary preparations. At the same time he was cautious, knowing that the Bitche Sector was a natural strongpoint. The 398th was ordered to wait for further support if it hit strong opposition. It didn't take long for the regiment to learn that Germans were defending every inch of the Bitche area. Woods on the southern slopes of the hill ring forming the Bitche basin, which doughs had to pass to reach Schiesseck, stopped abruptly at the crest of the high ground. Leading the attack, 1st Bn., 398th, learned that a man would be pinned down by vicious fire from Freudenberg and Schiesseck as soon as he emerged from the woods. The 398th stood fast overnight as Division and Corps Artillery were brought up. Tactics were to pulverize the concrete casemates and either force out or kill the Germans. Least hoped for was to make them button up their portholes so that doughs could advance. Because of the open ground surrounding the forts, infantrymen were unable to get close enough to the emplacements to employ flame throwers and dynamite. Shortly after dawn, the artillery of Brig. Gen. John B. Murphy, Amarillo, Tex., opened up. Throughout the day, everything from 240mm and 8-incher to infantry 105 howitzer shells plastered German positions. Two captured German 88s were mustered into service. A direct hit eliminated Fort Freudenberg. Schiesseck was a different problem. Four-foot thick concrete cupolas with seven-inch steel doors and gun turrets ignored the explosives. Forward artillery observers saw some 240mm and 8-inch shells ricochet from casemates and explode in air. Fifty-four Thunderbolts went up during the shelling, dropping 27 tons of 500-pound bombs. But aerial explosives had no more effect on the fortress than ground shelling. Biggest lesson learned that day was that artillery alone could not destroy the forts; indirect artillery fire was not forcing the enemy to abandon his guns long enough to allow infantry to move in. Three of 11 casemates at Schiesseck were of the disappearing turret type, one housing twin-mounted 75mm guns. The remainder of the pillboxes had cupolas and portholes through which 80mm mortars, automatic weapons, and anti-tank guns could be fired. Moreover, all blocks had tubes through which hand grenades could be rolled on attackers. Although an 8-inch shell knocked out one of the disappearing turrets while it was up, the fortress still could spout tremendous fire on troops attempting to approach it on foot. NEXT day, tactics were changed slightly; direct artillery support was brought into play. Units of the 90mm TDs and M12 155mm "Long Toms" were moved up to the hill's crest to fire at point blank range. Heavier artillery was shifted to positions just behind the hill where it could give closer support. That turned the trick. Germans had to stop firing and withdraw to underground portions of their casemates. Their first opportunity to advance in two days, 398th's 3rd Bn. doughs, smashed at the fortress with a vengeance. Centurymen charged forward while shellfire still boomed on the forts ahead. Three hundred yards from their objective artillery lifted. Doughs now had time to reach the blocks before enemy guns resumed firing. With the engineers, they went to work. Artillery blasted adjacent blocks to keep them buttoned up. One by one, casemates fell and as grenade-tossing doughs kept Nazis from gun ports, engineers dynamited the pillboxes, ruining them for further use. Finally, after days of fierce combat, the last Schiesseck casemate was neutralized. The 398th took a deep breath as it consolidated its hard-won gains. |
Another honor befell the 100th while it was taking the city — the award of a Presidential Citation to 3rd Bn., 398th, for its work in reducing Fort Schiesseck during the December fighting. The unit was described as "fighting its way up the steep barren slope of the difficult terrain and through barbed wire entanglements." Against these defenses, and thick concrete pillboxes housing elevating artillery pieces, the order stated, the battalion reduced the fortifications after the artillery barrage preceding the attack. "The fighting aggressiveness, courage, and devotion to duty displayed by members of the Third Battalion are worthy of the highest emulation and reflect the finest traditions of the Armed Forces of the United States." |
Bitche |
Background from the Stars and Stripes pamphlet, The Story of the Century (1945): Meanwhile, the 399th had pushed its front close to Bitche so it could move into the town after the 398th captured high ground to the north. The Powderhorn men captured College de Bitche on the outskirts, occupying it as a forward position. The 397th held a position on the hills to the east overlooking Camp de Bitche. This was as far as the 100th drive went. Four days previous to the capture of Fort Schiesseck, Dec. 20, the large-scale German counter-attack in Belgium had started. On the left flank of Seventh Army, Third Army was ordered to move north to help repel the enemy drive. Since its front would have to be extended to cover the area vacated by the Third, Seventh Army was ordered to defensive positions. |
Then with operation Nordwind-- On the same flank, the 399th was faced with the serious problem of maintaining a line to the front and extending another to the right to prevent Krauts from infiltrating into regimental and division rear areas. By skillful maneuvering of troops and tenacious fighting on the part of its forward elements, Powderhorn men stretched their front into a L-shaped line which, although dangerously thin, held off repeated German stabs. The 141st Inf., 36th Div., was attached to the 100th Jan. 2 and put into position to help the 399th stem the tide at the Bitche salient. |
Rimling |
Background from the Stars and Stripes pamphlet, The Story of the Century (1945): THE week of relaxation was abruptly ended at 0015 New Year's Day when the German counter-offensive crashed the Seventh Army front with the brunt aimed directly at the 100th Div. sector. Third Bn., 397th, was the first to be hit. On the division's left flank near Rimling, the battalion repulsed the thrusts. The 100th's entire right flank was exposed when 117th Recon Sqdn., holding a portion of the front to the east, was hit by powerful German forces. Unable to hold against the onslaught, the squadron dropped back several thousand yards. On the same flank, the 399th was faced with the serious problem of maintaining a line to the front and extending another to the right to prevent Krauts from infiltrating into regimental and division rear areas. By skillful maneuvering of troops and tenacious fighting on the part of its forward elements, Powderhorn men stretched their front into a L-shaped line which, although dangerously thin, held off repeated German stabs. The 141st Inf., 36th Div., was attached to the 100th Jan. 2 and put into position to help the 399th stem the tide at the Bitche salient. Although activity on the front quieted down for several days after the Germans had established their spearhead at Bitche, the attack was not over. Germans hit 2nd Bn., 397th, at Rimling Jan. 8, and a terrific two-day struggle for the town began. The 397th position had been made precarious five days before when the 44th Inf. Div., on the left flank, withdrew because of German attacks near Gros Rederching. With the regiment's front and side exposed, 2nd and 3rd Bns., held their ground. The courageous stand of 3rd Bn.'s Co. K was indicative of the bitter fighting during this siege. Throughout six days of holding a nearly isolated hill above Rimling, defenders couldn't leave their foxholes because of intense artillery and mortars. German ground troops drove on Co. K's positions in waves but the tiny garrison clung tenaciously. When tanks appeared on the opposite ridge the second day, artillery knocked out three, dispersed the others. There were many remarkable feats. Most spectacular was the work of the heavy machine gun team of Pvt. Leon Outlaw, Jr., Mt. Olive, N.C., and Sgt. Alphonse Myers, Amsterdam, N.Y. Working on Sgt. Myers' target instructions, Outlaw squeezed off amazingly accurate automatic fire during the heavy shellings, and at ranges up to 800 yards, accounted for more than 100 dead Germans. S/Sgt. Donald L. Butcher, Zionsville, Ind., taking charge of a platoon, maintained the men in position by making periodic checks of the holes during the siege. Wiremen, chosen by Sgt. Butcher on the spot for the job, repaired frequently hit wires under the same conditions. The third platoon appropriated a machine gun from a disabled American tank to keep its foothold. Rations arrived irregularly; water, rarely. It took one man a whole day to bring two boxes of ammunition from the town to Outlaw. Until they were ordered to retire, men held their positions. A kingpin in the defense of Rimling itself was 2nd Bn., 397th. In the terrific siege during which the town was jointly occupied by Yanks and Germans, the heroism of T/Sgt. Charles F. Carey, Jr., Cheyenne, Wyo., always will be remembered by Co. F. Sgt. Carey directly accounted for 41 prisoners, 15 dead, one Mark IV tank, and directed a TD in destroying a Nazi flak wagon and two Tiger tanks. In addition, this one-man Army twice cleaned out one section of the town after the Nazis had come in. The bazooka-carrying sergeant fell before sniper fire but only after he had done more than his share of keeping the German attackers at bay. WHEN the second attack came Jan. 8, the positions were impossible to defend. Germans charged from three sides and pounded continually for two days. Finally, 2nd Bn., skillfully veiling its operation, withdrew just south of Rimling. A Nazi attack on the town, 20 minutes after the troops had pulled back, was greeted by an artillery barrage. ---------------------- Net result of the 100th's defense during the entire counter-attack was that it was the only division on the entire Seventh Army front to hold its original ground. The enemy had come from two directions, Bitche on the right and Rimling on the left—and had come with his fullest force, but the Century held its ground. When the Nazi offensive had ended, the 100th Div. sector protruded ahead of all the rest of the Army line. For his leadership in stemming the Nazi tide, Gen. Burress was awarded an oak-leaf cluster to his Bronze Star, and the division was commended by Gen. Jacob L. Devers, Sixth Army Group Commander, who wrote:
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Facts about Rimling |
I was interested that the area around Rimling was this flat plain when Bitche is so hilly. I found that this part of the Region of Bitche is limestone. It's true that the church is grey. Towns in the region that end in "ing" were developed in the time of the Franks (if I could translate the guidebook correctly). There are Gallo-Roman ruins through Bitche but for some reason, much of the area was repopulated by the Franks. So this is a very old town. (Bitche et Son Pay) |