The 157th Regiment was part of this division. The entire group threw themselves flat into the frigid snow as the rockets struck the earth a scant 30 meters in front of them. German troops hit the 1st and 2nd Battalions while they struggled to link up with their trapped comrades. After a short distance, both tanks began slipping on the icy trail. Sparks was immediately taken to the nearby battalion aid station. As he began pulling off Neff’s boots to look at his injuries, another soldier, Private Lawrence Mathiason, volunteered to go. 157th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Hiding in his foxhole from relentless artillery strikes, he dozed and dreamed of becoming a farmer after the war. The Civil War Archive section, 157th Regiment Infantry, (accessed 26 October 2012). Like many officers, the traits that made him a good combat leader also made him difficult with superiors, particularly those of whom he thought little. 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. By January 1945, he was a 27-year-old lieutenant colonel, having risen on merit to command the regiment’s 3rd Battalion. Fortunately, German units were usually in no better condition. It was thought a small number of Germans were still behind the battalion somewhere on the right, but Company B was assigned to finish them off in the morning; nothing further was done at the time. Just over an hour later, as Company G was attacking to reach Company K’s left flank, a general German attack began along the entire local front line. 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. It was a resupply party, led by Company C’s supply sergeant the day before. 2 talking about this. The German grip on the area seemed unbreakable. O’Brien chose to let the matter pass and allowed Sparks to continue. See more ideas about infantry, dachau, wwii. It was over. “You guys stay here. While the German shelling continued through the night, Sparks planned for the coming day. A quick search found a soldier who had lived in Chicago before the war and spoke fluent English. Fresh bruises covered his body, and he was cut on his left knee and right hand. Thunderbird Veteran research Facebook. With those units in such exposed positions it was harrowing work, but they kept on through the night. That regiment was more or less typical of many late-war American fighting formations. This was the last resupply the trapped Americans would receive. The sergeant dashed to Neff and dragged him back to the hole. Nearby were groups spanning the state, from Fruita to Burlington, Brush to Craig. For more information on the history of this unit, see:] 1. The first round missed, but the next two hit the American antitank guns, destroying them. The Americans were given until 5 pm to surrender or they would be smashed. 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. When he told the lieutenant about the trapped men, “He told me to tell Colonel Sparks, who then took a tank and went to get the wounded out.”. The 45th Division was bolstered with four attached infantry regiments to withstand the assault. By mid-January 1945, the famous Battle of the Bulge, a massive and fatal failure for the Third Reich, was virtually over. Corporal John L. O'Malley 157th Infantry Regiment 01/16/1946 Private Frederick P. Omodio 157th Infantry Regiment 07/10/1943 Private First Class Walter E. Papick 157th Infantry Regiment 05/09/1944 Private Richard W. Park 157th Infantry Regiment 02/16/1944 Sergeant Ray A. Peck 157th Infantry Regiment 08/16/1943 It quickly fell apart. Only two soldiers made it back to the 157th’s lines: Pfc. After terrifying moments, however, Fleming managed to make good his escape and found his platoon leader. It also had a hard core of experienced soldiers and leaders well versed at fighting in mountainous, forested terrain like that found around Reipertswiller. Voss realized the trail was the enemy supply route. At 4:15 pm, a company of German troops counterattacked Company K, hitting hard on its left flank. Special thanks to PFC Cooper and Pvt Meador for … Cooks and clerks from the battalion headquarters company joined with Company E to attack near Hill 420, but this action failed as well. Sparks’s act of bravery was not the end of the battle.

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