Loire Valley and Luxembourg
After
the successful operations in Brittany on August 20th, the 83rd was ordered south
to the vicinity of Nantes and Angers in the Loire Valley. Here they protected
the right flank of the Third Army's armored units drive east and north into
France, and kept a large force of 60,000 Germans bottled up at St. Nazaire. For
approximately three weeks the 83rd held the Germans in the St. Nazaire Pocket
and thwarted several attempts to break out. After successfully repelling these
attacks the division managed to relax somewhat during this time and the men got
to go out in town and mingle with the French. This was their first break since
leaving Southampton in early June.
The strangest
story of 1944
While the 331st 330th and 329th Regiments were guarding Patton’s flank, the Intelligence & Reconnaissance platoon of the 329th Infantry, under the command of First Lieutenant Samuel Magill was about to embark on a what would be later termed “The strangest story of 1944”. With the 83rd Infantry spread out over 185 miles along the Loire River. McGill’s platoon crossed the Loire River to scout around and find out what happened to the Germans that were until recently sniping and shelling the regiment. Magill while in the small village of Muides, had heard a rumor that there was a German element of unknown strength willing to surrender to the Americans, but not to the French. Magill upon hearing this drove his jeep almost 100 miles south to investigate this rumor. Magill under a white flag of truce came across a large column of German Soldiers heading back into Germany. This column was under the command of Generalmajor Erich Elster. Elster was under personal orders from Adolf Hitler to round up as many troops as he could in the south of France, from Bordeaux to Marseilles, and bring them back to Germany. Magill found Elster in the small village of Issoudun, he negotiated in earnest with the General. Elster was a bit reluctant at first to surrender his 20,000 troops to a first lieutenant of a reconnaissance platoon. But after some tactful negotiation and a “Show of Force” from the XIX TAC the General agreed. So on September 16th and 17th in a big show for the news reporters and war correspondents General Elster surrendered his troops to General Macon. This bag of prisoners increased the number of troops captured since Normandy by the 83rd division to 23,270. After the surrender the men from the 83rd prepared for their next mission – Luxembourg!
Luxembourg
After being relieved by the 376th Infantry Regiment of the 94th Division (My Great Uncle Freddie's division) the 83rd prepared for it's next mission. On September 22nd the men loaded onto a long line of trucks division confusion set in, as the men had no idea where they were going. The caravan rolled through the French towns one after the other: Angers, Tours, Blois, and Orleans. The convoy stopped for the evening near Montargis. The men quickly pitched their tents in the moonless evening. Rumors were flourishing that their destination was Paris. After looking at their maps the men noticed they were so close to the capital, so many assumed that to be where they were going. The men’s hopes were dashed early the next morning when the trucks drove right by the city of light.
The Germans launched an unsuccessful counter-attack on the boys of I company to try and retake Grieveldange. The first battalion occupied the town of Bous and advanced into the towns of Rollingen and Erpeldange then bedded down for the night. On the morning of September 27th, “I” Company was pounded by an artillery barrage that lasted for more than twelve hours. The Germans were attempting to dislodge the Americans and destroy the town of Grieveldange. The men in town sought cover and waited for the barrage to lift, while the rest of 3rd battalion pushed east to take the high ground between the town and the river. 2nd Battalion continued its advance towards the town of Remich; they knocked out several enemy pillboxes with tank support from the 774th tank battalion. The men of G Company finally captured Remich. On September 28th the weather turned foul and it rained all day. The 3rd battalion’s K Company secured the high ground around Ehnen, while Company L occupied it’s own high ground around Wormeldange. Once it was secured they sent patrols to reconnoiter the town and found them occupied with Germans. Later that day the 1st battalion was ordered to the vicinity of Canach in preparation to relieve the 3rd battalion. The GI’s walked all day in the rain and they arrived well after dark then dug in to their new positions. On the 29th the 1st battalion which had completed it’s relief of the 3rd battalion and then moved towards the famous wine town of Ehnen. The next morning at 0130 Uncle Rolland’s heavy weapons platoon opened up a mortar barrage as the remainder of B Company advanced into the town. The company occupied the town against light opposition. The remaining Germans fleeing across the river back to Germany. From the 1st through the 5th of October, the 83rd Division advanced in heavy combat towards the Siegfried line across the Sauer as the 329th fought the battle for Grevenmacher. On the 7th, the 329th took the city of Echternach on the Sauer River. After securing the rest of the towns west of the Moselle. The remainder of the months of October and November were dedicated to training of the new replacements and a well-deserved rest for the men. The training intensified the men were now training on fortified and fixed positions. The division used the old Maginot line fortifications to the rear of the Siegfried line. Each regiment took turns rotating off the line for training. The rest and training period at Luxembourg would not last, duty would call for the 83rd's next
Mission: the Huertgen Forest. The rest at Luxembourg would be brief, duty would call for the 83rd's next mission: the
Huertgen Forest.
Rolland
Despres: Homepage
They
Served with Honor: Homepage