They would attack in an attempt to end the siege. Before long artillery started falling, sending lethal shards of shrapnel ripping through the freezing air. Sparks was immediately taken to the nearby battalion aid station. After a month of hard fighting across Sicily, followed by the amphibious landings at Salerno and then at Anzio where the division prevented German efforts to split the Allied beachhead, the Thunderbirds were nearly worn out. Until late 1944, the division spent the war in Finland and northern Russia alongside Germany’s Finnish allies, in many ways isolated from what was happening elsewhere. Winter’s early darkness descended over the thick woods, so Sparks ordered all three companies to dig in for the night. The man behind the tree asked, “Can I come out?”. The corporal gave his assent, cautioning the soldier to be careful not to draw friendly fire and to be back within a half hour. Up the trail, Sparks stood in the hatch of the leading tank, urging its driver forward. All units would hold in place except the 179th soldiers and the 1/157. They reported they were beating back enemy attacks but the SS were still managing to infiltrate around them. Overview: Johann Voss heard each American was given a box of German chocolate as well, leaving the SS soldiers without any. Although shaken, Turk and Johnson were miraculously unharmed. This mission succeeded after a brief firefight and temporarily opened the road. [text_ad]. Running for the tank, the man got only a few yards before being gunned down. Fighting continued throughout the day. Five companies of Americans were still trapped in the hills ahead, however. Seven company commanders and 30 platoon leaders were gone. Fleming decided to send a runner to the battalion command post. They passed through part of the battle area and saw frozen bodies still on the ground. Those same men, the Army’s 157th Infantry Regiment, part of the 45th Infantry Division, had borne the war on their backs from Sicily to the heart … It was over. It was understrength; the replacement pipeline had not kept up with the needs of an army in difficult, grinding action. This is apparently the attack Voss recalled, since it was at this point several GIs were pinned down near the bridge. Voss later wrote, “There was no honor to be won by firing upon this death-defying act of comradeship.”. Sparks’s battalion was the left flank unit of the division, with Krieger’s men to its right and a battalion of the 79th Division’s 315th Infantry to its left. Some of the American survivors later reported the enemy using flamethrowers. He ordered his men into it, gaining a temporary reprieve. Headquarters company used every available man to move ammunition and food to the rifle companies. With a terrifying sound, a barrage of Nebelwerfer rockets crashed down in front of them. The morning of January 17 brought little relief for Felix Sparks and the men of the 157th. See more ideas about infantry, dachau, wwii. For the Americans, January 18 started with the loss of Lieutenant Talkington’s tank just after midnight, but the situation only got worse with the dawn. “You can imagine how glad we were to see that guy,” Melton said. Fortunately, German units were usually in no better condition. Staff photographer unknown. Voss couldn’t tell who had the upper hand in the deafening battle on the hilltop above, but he did know the enemy was determined. WWII Quarterly, the hardcover journal of the Second World War that is not available in bookstores or on newsstands, and can only be obtained and collected through a personal subscription through the mail. The Civil War in the East website gives a timeline for the involvement of 157th New York Infantry Regiment in the war. The narrow trail was partly blocked by the overturned light tank from the night before, so a recovery vehicle was brought in to drag it out of the way. Looking for reliable information or news facts about WW2? For the Germans it was “a fierce, uphill fight.” American mortars and machine guns swept them as they struggled to advance on January 16, and it didn’t seem much progress was being made. The core of the 157th, including much of its leadership, were those who managed to survive Sicily, Salerno, and Anzio before invading France. An estimated five German battalions would be committed in the 45th Division sector. With their commander out of the fight, the executive officer, Captain John L. McGinnis, took over and got the battalion moving on schedule. 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. Thanks, this is such a long shot. American casualties were heavy as well. After only 10 yards, he fell as bullets ripped through him. The rest of Company E couldn’t break through, however. The Civil War Archive section, 157th Regiment Infantry, (accessed 26 October 2012). Or are you interested in war medals and their recipients? In Voss’s recollection, an American jumped from the second tank and sprinted to the hollow where his wounded fellows lay. It changed the world more than any other single event in history. Corporal Johann Voss had watched Sparks’s entire rescue from his machine-gun nest in the rocks overlooking the bridge. The antitank platoon was recalled to form the battalion reserve. Within the wider story of that ill-fated offensive, there were many smaller stories of desperate combat; Nordwind had its own versions of St. Vith and Bastogne. Benjamin Melton and Private Walter Bruce, both from Company I. Melton reported they set out with another man who was soon killed by machine-gun fire. In fact, 3/157 had advanced farther than any of them. A quick search found a soldier who had lived in Chicago before the war and spoke fluent English. All too aware of the plight of his soldiers, Colonel O’Brien began planning an airdrop for the next morning; it seemed the only way to get anything through. Support units such as the 45th Signal Company also suffered casualties and required replacements to be reconstituted as did the combat units. For history of the Thunderbirds please visit our website at www.45thdivision.org By 20 March, the Line had been penetrated, the Germans began a withdrawal to the Rhine River, and the regiment pursued them at great speed. As the night continued, Sparks reorganized for the next day. This regiment was organized at Philadelphia October, 1862, to February, 1863. Still, the 157th had the same problems as other RCTs in the winter of 1945. Another heard that the SS unit was receiving replacements so it could resume the offensive. For the encircled GIs, the situation was getting desperate. The regiment was first constituted in 1917 during World War I from the 1st Colorado Infantry Regiment. The 157th Regiment was part of this division. The tank stopped cold and jerked off the road,” Voss wrote. A reply came back denying the request. Most of the fire came in low, below the level of the low-hanging branches, known as “grazing fire.” Several men were hit in the legs, likely the only part of them clearly visible to the enemy. Impressed by this selfless act of bravery by an officer for his men, neither Voss nor his fellow SS men fired at the American, who finished his task and left with the tanks the way he’d come. Bernard Fleming, whose men Sparks had rescued, felt the morale of the unit soar after hearing what their leader had done. Times when the very landscape appears to shift. Company G was reinforced by a platoon of men from Company E, who managed to get through to them. The Germans had no food, and everyone was hungry. He took off his web gear and gave another soldier his Thompson sub-machine gun so he could run faster. A newspaper article from 45th Division News, a publication for the U.S. Army's 45th Infantry Division of the 157th Infantry Regiment. Other rifle companies would conduct feints to distract the Germans or fire their weapons to confuse them about the main effort. Relieved that night, battalion commander Lt. Col. Lawrence Brown moved his men to Reipertswiller, where they collapsed into any space they could to sleep. © The 12th SS Mountain Regiment, part of the Nord Division, extended too far and became encircled by American troops from several regiments. After going a few hundred yards, Sparks again came under fire, but aside from tearing up the external stowage on the second tank no serious damage was done. The mood on the American side was one of disappointment and anger. The senior remaining American officer, Captain Byrd Curtis of Company K, met them. The sleeping bag absorbed much of the blast and, though in shock, he was uninjured. Bullets snapped all around him; one even went through the fabric of his pants. O’Brien agreed and sent word to the 45th Division requesting to do so. Fighting raged for over an hour before the Germans were repulsed; 50 bodies littered the ground in front of Company K. About half of them lay together in a group, killed by machine-gun fire. 157th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Casualties and attrition had drained the original membership away, so many soldiers were replacements from across the nation. No one was alive at the ambush site; the survivors had long since retreated. German troops hit the 1st and 2nd Battalions while they struggled to link up with their trapped comrades. Members of the 157th Infantry Regiment share their history and experiences through photos, scrapbooks, memorials, and personal memoirs. It was poor weather for a fight; snow was falling, wrapping the forest in its wintry embrace, muffling noise, and making it difficult to see. A few minutes later two soldiers from a different squad joined them. There are moments in military history that forever alter the flow of human events. A sergeant from Company K recalled, “It was the worst mess I ever saw. Ammunition and food were almost gone and there was little to be done for the wounded. 2 talking about this. He jumped down from the tank and ran over to his men. Looking for reliable information or news facts about WW2? Divisional information Divisional troops Attachments Assignments ... 313th Infantry Regiment, 79th Infantry Division (less 3rd Battalion) ... 157th Infantry Regiment: 44th Infantry Division: 25.11.1944-27.11.1944: 160th FA Battalion: They were trapped. Mann didn’t know it, but Sparks had grown up hunting in Arizona to help feed his family during the Depression. The officer was not one for casual conversation and often carried a shotgun pitched over his shoulder. Shock overcame him. Voss had to be treated for frostbite to his toes. That tank suddenly spun on the ice and slid sideways; an enterprising panzerfaust gunner immediately lobbed a rocket into it. A battalion of the 179th Infantry was coming up to help. Beyond sporadic machine-gun fire, the GIs had almost no contact with enemy infantry. Thunderbird Veteran research Facebook. Enemy artillery observers were well positioned. After refitting in Denmark, the unit was earmarked for the Ardennes but was instead sent farther south for Operation Nordwind where it engaged the Americans in the Vosges. Before long German infantry were taking the exhausted GIs prisoner in large numbers. The tank was still mobile, and the machine guns worked. Voss recalled the tank came from up the hill. Dead and wounded Americans were lying all over the area. He felt more comfortable with a shotgun than a carbine or rifle; he didn’t feel he could shoot either as well. Yet, those who were there remember it vividly as a desperate struggle to stave off a German attack and rescue beleaguered comrades. On April 29, 1945 elements of the 157th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division liberated the concentration camp at Dachau; this action reminded all who took part in this historic liberation the reasons for being at war with Germany and left an indelible mark on the men who witnessed the atrocities of life in a concentration camp. On January 11, the German troops renewed their offensive, hitting the Americans in several forested areas north of the border village of Reipertswiller. Sparks’s act of bravery was not the end of the battle. Voss viewed the man through his binoculars and thought he was an officer. The assault had started relatively easily, giving rise to the nickname “Champagne Campaign,” as Allied troops quickly put the Germans to flight. The 157th was typically given the 158th Field Artillery Battalion, an Oklahoma National Guard unit, as its direct support artillery. The Americans were given until 5 pm to surrender or they would be smashed. Winter clothing was hard to obtain, siphoned off by rear-echelon troops before it could reach the front lines. The encircled GIs were slowly being pushed into an ever-shrinking perimeter. When the Finns dropped out of the war in September 1944, the division was ordered to withdraw through Norway. Stricker carefully made his way down the slope. The SS officers also promised not to mistreat any prisoners. The regiment was an infantry regiment … Both Shermans made it back to the command post. The Battle of Reipertswiller was a drama of courage, misery, and struggle. Smoke poured out and Voss watched the crew bailing out and taking cover behind the second tank. Before his half hour was up, he came back with captured cigarettes, cookies, and several C-rations for the men to share. Taken in the larger context of the war, this was a small engagement easily overshadowed by events in the Ardennes. Items feature the 45th Infantry Division's well known Thunderbird patch, as well as regiment and battalion crests. If that weren’t enough, a W-shaped pattern of several dozen mines lay across the road, hidden by the snow but now visible upon closer inspection. Thunderbirds had a great time yesterday at the 45th Infantry Division Museum learning about Operation Nordwind. For more information on the history of this unit, see:] 1. Fresh bruises covered his body, and he was cut on his left knee and right hand. Company B was sent to clear those Germans out but was unable to do so. A newspaper article from 45th Division News, a publication for the U.S. Army's 45th Infantry Division of the 157th Infantry Regiment.The 45th Infantry Division was part of the Oklahoma Army National Guard, with its members fighting in World War II and the Korean War. Company E, unaware its platoon was lost, assembled clerks and cooks for an attack that failed to make headway. In the simple words of American battalion commander Felix Sparks, “The war slowed down.”. He became a clerk for the U.S. Army before going on to a career as a corporate lawyer. Operation Nordwind began on the last day of 1944; elements of two German army groups attacked the U.S. His 3rd Battalion, 157th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division, known as the “Thunderbirds,” had been fighting since coming ashore at Sicily in July 1943. Companies K and L were each assigned a hill to seize with Company I in reserve, filling the gap between the two lead companies. The combined effect of the tank’s firepower suppressed some of the Germans, enabling other American soldiers hiding along the trail to fall back. This time they ran into a company from the German 476th Infantry Regiment, 256th Division, and routed it, sending six prisoners back to the POW pens in the rear. The day’s results had been disappointing but understandable given the intense barrage, but none of the other attacking battalions had done any better. Sparks’s luck held; he and the crew were uninjured, but the main gun was out of action. They were later joined by two light tanks from the 191st. 45th Infantry │2016│ 5 Soldiers from the 157th Regiment marching towards Ponte, Italy. Possibly in the 45th museum? Other units along the front would attack as well. 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. 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