Background to Raon l'Etape

Background from the Stars and Stripes pamphlet, The Story of the Century (1945):

Part of the division still was in Marseille when the 399th went into the line near St. Remy Nov. 1, but on successive convoys the remainder of the outfit arrived in the north. By 0600, Nov. 9, the relief of the 45th was complete. The 100th assumed full control of its portion of the VI Corps front. The Century Division may have been green when it first hit the cold, muddy, densely wooded heights of the Vosges Mountains, but it long since has become a veteran. Less than a week after the division took over its own sector, the 100th became the first American unit to crack the German winter defensive line in the area near Raon-l'Etape. In two weeks, the Century had contributed to the complete breaching of the "impregnable" Vosges Mountains. Veterans were made overnight in that fighting.

After the entire division had taken up its positions just east of Rambervillers, on a line running approximately parallel to the Meurthe River, the 397th and 399th Combat Teams were moved out of the line. Crossing the Meurthe at Baccarat, the northern tip of the sector, they took up new positions southeast of the city on the enemy-held side of the river. The 398th remained on the original front and, with the 100th Recon Troop, held the entire line.

WITH the stage set, the 100th, after only three days of combat experience, jumped off Nov. 12 as part of Seventh Army's gigantic winter offensive. The VI Corps plan called for the 397th and 399th to clear the northern side of the Meurthe River where the entire Corps had been stopped cold up to that point.

Moving abreast, the two regiments drove along the river toward Raon-l'Etape, key supply and communications center. The 397 occupied Bertrichamps the first day, then blasted through the dense woods, mud and rain to capture Clairupt two days later. Both teams struck a stone wall when they smacked the German winter defensive line in the Vosges between Neufmaisons and Raon-l'Etape. Whipping past Neufmaisons, 3rd Bn., 399th, captured Hill 409-431 after a furious battle while 1st Bn. moved against Hill 462.5.

The bitter clash for the weapon-bristling wooded height that was Hill 462.5 typified the battle for Raon-l'Etape and wrote one of the first important pages in the division's combat story. Coming only two weeks after the 399 lunged into combat, 1st Bn., commanded by Lt. Col. Elery Zehner, Washington, D.C., stepped off on a line covering a 1000 yard front in an advance across the clearing to the ominously silent hill. Even without opposition, the ascent up this rocky elevation would have been difficult for Centurymen, burdened with weapons and ammunition. As it was, they met deeply-entrenched automatic weapon emplacements before getting halfway up. Taking the steepest grade on the assumption that enemy weapons would be directed to the more gradual incline, 399th doughs crawled through brush and overhead fire toward the top.

By eliminating or temporarily silencing machine gun nests from the rear with hand grenades, Co. A reached the summit first, fanning out to fight over three knolls.Cos. B. and C followed and joined in the battle to take and hold these commanding positions. On the center knoll, an enemy counter-attack developed from below but heavy fire power maintained the hard-won foothold. Then began the strength-taxing job of evacuating wounded and bringing up ammunition. By nightfall, 1st Bn. was perched atop the peak. Resistance was broken.

With the occupation of that high ground, which was behind the enemy defensive line and allowed observation and fields of fire over the entire area, Germans were forced to withdraw. The 100th celebrated the second anniversary of its activation Nov. 15 by surging forward again. The way now was open for VI Corps to cross the Meurthe and launch its drive toward the Alsatian Plain.

During the action before Raon-l'Etape, Col. William A. Ellis, White Plains N.Y., 397th CO since activation, was killed. Lt. Col. John M. King, Baltimore, Md., 1st Bn. CO, replaced him. In January, Lt. Col. Gordon Singles, Denver, Colo., was transferred to the division and took over command of the regiment.