134th Infantry Regiment Crest

134th Infantry Regiment

"All Hell Can't Stop Us"

35th Infantry Division emblem

35th Infantry Division in the Battle of the Bulge

Information provided by Jay Karamales

26 December 1944 to 16 January 1945

The 35th Infantry Division was formed in December 1940 from elements of the Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska National Guards. Having fought in the slugging match in the Normandy hedgerows in the summer of 1944 and in the Lorraine battles in the fall, it was by December 1944 a veteran unit. Before the Germans launched their attack into the Ardennes on 16 December, the 35th had been assigned, with the green 87th Inf Div, the task of clearing German outposts from between the Saar River and Westwall defenses in preparation for Patton's new offensive, scheduled to begin on 19 December. Several days of bitter fighting ensued, and the Americans had to pay dearly for each yard.


On 20 December, when the scope of the German attacks into the Ardennes was finally being realized by the American high command, Patton ordered that XII Corps (of which the 35th was a part) should disengage immediately, move north to Luxembourg City, and prepare to enter the Battle of the Bulge, driving north as part of Patton's offensive to relieve the surrounded 101st Airborne Division in Bastogne. The 35th Inf Div, which had been in the line for 160 consecutive days, was to be relieved posthaste and sent to Metz for quick rehabilitation. Then it would rejoin Gen. Manton Eddy's XII Corps in the Ardennes. In the event, the division was to transfer instead to III Corps and help in the push eastward from the Bastogne pocket, which Patton's 4th Arm Div relieved on 26 December.

26 December
The division, part of III Corps of Gen. George Patton's 3rd US Army, is assigned to attack across the Sure River on 27 December. The division assembled near the town of Holtz, then moved north to the III Corps area, to take up positions in the tenuously-held gap between the 4th Arm Div at Bastogne and the 26th Inf Div to the southeast. It was hoped that the division's attack would break out to the Lutrebois-Harlange road, which fed into the Arlon-Bastogne highway, and proceed thence abreast of the 4th Arm Div. The ultimate objective of the division's attack was to secure the Longvilly-Bastogne road.

Daily Strength and Casualties:
Beginning Strength: 16,092
Replacements: 1
Returns-to-Duty: 0
Total Casualties: 7
Total Killed: 0
Total Wounded: 0
Total Captured/Missing: 0
Total Sick/Non-Battle Injuries: 7

Daily Major Inventory Levels:
Infantry Weapons
Bazookas: 336
57mm AT Guns: 54
60mm Mortars: 81
81mm Mortars: 54
Artillery
105mm Howitzers: 36
155mm Howitzers: 18
Vehicles
M-8 Armored Cars: 13
M-20 Armored Cars: 30
M-10 Tank Destroyers: 31
M4 75mm Sherman Tanks: 0
M4 76mm Sherman Tanks: 0

27 December
The division advanced 6.6 km, along a division front 10 km wide. The division had much more trouble with the terrain and the weather than with the Germans, who were dug in in defensive positions on a series of hills about 5000 yards behind the Sure. The broken terrain was very difficult, with six inches of snow on the ground. The 137th Inf (Col. William S. Murray) trucked through the positions of the 4th Arm Div, across the tanker's bridge at Tintange. The 2/137th drove German outposts of the 14th Fallschirmjäger (FJ, or Parachute) Regt, 5th Parachute Div, from the village of Surre. To the west the 3/137th, advancing northward up a draw, was stopped by fire from a German pillbox at Livarchamps. The 320th Inf (Col. Bernard A. Byrne) also crossed the Sure--one company had to wade the icy river on foot--and took Boulaide and Baschleiden without casualties. They faced the 104th Panzergrenadier Regt of the 15th PzGren Div. The 3/320th then continued to advance to the north.

Daily Strength and Casualties:
Beginning Strength: 16,162
Replacements: 3
Returns-to-Duty: 2
Total Casualties: 84
Total Killed: 0
Total Wounded: 40
Total Captured/Missing: 0
Total Sick/Non-Battle Injuries: 44

Daily Major Inventory Levels:
Infantry Weapons
Bazookas: 334
57mm AT Guns: 54
60mm Mortars: 81
81mm Mortars: 54
Artillery
105mm Howitzers: 36
155mm Howitzers: 18
Vehicles
M-8 Armored Cars: 13
M-20 Armored Cars: 30
M-10 Tank Destroyers: 31
M4 75mm Sherman Tanks: 0
M4 76mm Sherman Tanks: 0

28 December
The division advanced 3.4 km, its front 8.6 km wide. The division CP moved to Perle. It had become apparent that the German defensein front of III Corps was stiffening. The division continued to struggle across snow-covered broken ground and through thick underbrush. Bushes and scrub trees were causing percussion-fuzed artillery shells to detonate before they could land on German positions, rendering much of the division's artillery support ineffective. On the division's left, the 137th Inf took Betlange, and its forward elements reached Villers le Bonne Eau. The 3/137th, however, was still pinned down in column of companies in its little valley by the German pillbox at Livarchamps; the battalion finally worked around behind the German position and destroyed the pillbox late in the day.


According to the Army's official history, "Thus far the 35th Division, filled with untrained replacements, was attacking without its usual supporting battalion of tanks, for these had been taken away while the division was refitting in Metz."
During the night of 28-29 December the 134th Inf (Col. Butler B. Miltonberger)--the division's reserve regiment--relieved a rifle battalion of the 80th Inf Div (on loan to the 4th Arm Div) on the open right flank of the 4th, taking up attack positions east of Hompre, with orders to push away German resistance to the east (i.e., away from the Arlon-Bastogne highway, the one open artery into the Bastogne pocket). As a result, according to the official history, "insensibly the 35th Division was turning to face northeast rather than north with the 320th behind the 137th and the 137 falling into position behind the 134th. This columnar array would have considerable effect on the conduct of the ensuing battle."

Daily Strength and Casualties:
Beginning Strength: 16,086
Replacements: 4
Returns-to-Duty: 2
Total Casualties: 67
Total Killed: 1
Total Wounded: 18
Total Captured/Missing: 1
Total Sick/Non-Battle Injuries: 47

Daily Major Inventory Levels:
Infantry Weapons
Bazookas: 333
57mm AT Guns: 54
60mm Mortars: 81
81mm Mortars: 54
Artillery
105mm Howitzers: 36
155mm Howitzers: 18
Vehicles
M-8 Armored Cars: 13
M-20 Armored Cars: 30
M-10 Tank Destroyers: 30
M4 75mm Sherman Tanks: 0
M4 76mm Sherman Tanks: 0

29 December
The division advanced 5.7 km along a 15 km front. Division CP moved to Arsdorf.
During the night of the 29th, Companies K and L of the 3/137th Inf forced their way into Villers la Bonne Eau, radioing back that they needed bazooka ammunition. They couldn't completely dislodge a company of German pioneers (engineers) and ended up sharing the village with them for the rest of the night.
The 3/134th captured Lutrebois late in the evening. A map picked up there by the Americans showed the boundaries and dispositions of German forces in the area, and indicated that a German offensive was in the offing. However, either the map legend was unspecific or word of the German plan failed to reach higher authority, because the German attack the next morning came as quite a surprise.


During the night of 29 December a tank column of the 1st SS-Panzer Division "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler" moved up along the road linking Tarchamps and Lutremange. The usable road net was very sparse in this sector. Once through Lutremange, however, the German column could deploy in two armored assault forces, one moving through Villers la Bonne Eau, the other angling northwest through Lutrebois.
Advancing north up the road to Harlange, the only negotiable route of advance in the division's right wing, the 2/320th Inf was hit hard by German fire coming from a collection of farm buildings, known as the Fuhrman Farm, at a jog in the road where it ascended a ridge a thousand meters south of Harlange. That night the 320th reported it was "locked in a bitter battle" at the farmstead and in the neighboring woods. Here stood the 15th FJR, which had come through the debacle south of Bastogne in good shape and was, in the opinion of the higher command, "well in hand."

Daily Strength and Casualties:
Beginning Strength: 15,995
Replacements: 4
Returns-to-Duty: 2
Total Casualties: 137
Total Killed: 6
Total Wounded: 78
Total Captured/Missing: 4
Total Sick/Non-Battle Injuries: 48

Daily Major Inventory Levels:
Infantry Weapons
Bazookas: 329
57mm AT Guns: 54
60mm Mortars: 80
81mm Mortars: 54
Artillery
105mm Howitzers: 36
155mm Howitzers: 18
Vehicles
M-8 Armored Cars: 12
M-20 Armored Cars: 30
M-10 Tank Destroyers: 29
M4 75mm Sherman Tanks: 0
M4 76mm Sherman Tanks: 0

30 December
To quote from the US Army's official history of the Battle of the Bulge:
"The 35th Division stood directly in the path of the German attack, having gradually turned from a column of regiments to face the northeast. The northernmost regiment, the 134th Inf, had come in from reserve to capture Lutrebois at the request of...4th Arm Div, but it had only two battalions in the line. The 137th Inf was deployed near Villers la Bonne Eau... In the south the 320th Inf had become involved in a bitter fight around a farmstead outside of Harlange--the German attack would pass obliquely across its front but without impact [see below]...


"Before dawn the leading tank companies [of the 1st SS-PzDiv] rumbled toward [Villers la Bonne Eau and Lutrebois]. At Villers la Bonne Eau Companies K and L of the 3/137th Inf came under attack by seven tanks heavily supported by infantry. The panzers moved in close, blasting the stone houses and setting the village ablaze. At 0845 a radio message reached the CP of the 137th Inf asking for the artillery to lay down a barrage of smoke and high explosive, but before the gunners could get a sensing the radio went dead. Only one of the 169 men inside the village got out, Sgt. Webster Phillips, who earlier had run through the rifle fire to warn the reserve company of the battalion west of Villers. [To give an idea of the ferocity of the fighting in Villers la Bonne Eau, reflect on the fact that on this one day alone some 6,000 rounds of artillery fell on the little village, which consisted of just 15 houses.]


"The battle in and around Lutrebois was then and remains to this day jumbled and confused. There is no coherent account from the German side, and it is quite possible that he formations involved did not...co-operate as planned. [Perhaps because the SS tanks were supported in part by infantry from the 167th Volksgrenadier Div, regular army troops who had no love for the SS, and by paratroopers from the 5th FJ Div, who saw themselves as Goering's favorites and rivals of Hitler's swaggering SS.] The American troops who were drawn into the action found themselves in a melee which defied exact description and in which platoons and companies engaged enemy units without being aware that other American soldiers and weapons had taken the same German unit under fire. It is not surprising, then, that two or three units would claim to have destroyed what on later examination proves to have been the same enemy tank detachment and that a cumulative listing of these claims--some fifty-odd German tanks destroyed--probably gives more panzers put out of action than the 1st SS brought into the field.
"Lutrebois, two and a half miles east of the German objective at Assenois, had most of its houses built along a 1,000-yard stretch of road which runs more or less east and west across an open plain and is bordered at either end by an extensive wooded rise. On the morning of the 30th the 3/134th (LtCol W.C. Wood) was deployed in and around the village: Co L was inside Lutrebois; Cos I and K had dug in during the previous evening along the road east of the village; the battalion heavy machine guns covered the road west of the village. To the right [south], disposed in a thin line fronting the valley, was the 2/134th (Maj. C.F. McDannel).


"About 0445--the hour is uncertain--the enemy started his move toward Lutrebois with tanks and infantry, and at the same time more infantry crossed the valley and slipped through the lines of the 2/134th. As the first assault force crossed the opening east of Lutrebois, the American cannoneers [from the 4th Arm Div's artillery] went into action with such effect as to stop this detachment in its tracks. The next German sortie came in a hook around the north side of Lutrebois. Co L used up all its bazooka rounds, then was engulfed. The German grenadiers moved on along the western road but were checked there for at least an hour by the heavy machine guns. During this midmorning phase seven enemy tanks were spotted north of Lutrebois. A platoon of the 654th Tank Destroyer Battalion accounted for four, two were put out of action by artillery high explosive, and one was immobilized by a mine.


"News of the attack reached CCA of the 4th Arm Div at 0635, and Gen. Earnest promptly turned his command to face east in support of the 35th Division. By 1000 Gen. Dager was reshuffling CCB to take over the CCA positions. The first reinforcement dispatched by CCA was the 51st Arm Inf Bn, which hurried in its half-tracks to back up the thin line of the 2/134th. Here the combination of fog and woods resulted in a very confused fight, but the 2/134th continued to hold its position while the enemy panzergrenadiers, probably from the 2nd SS-PzGren Regt of 1st SS-PzDiv, seeped into the woods to its rear. The headquarters and heavy weapons crews of the 3/134th had meanwhile fallen back to the battalion CP in the Losange chateau southwest of Lutrebois. There the 51st Arm Inf Bn gave a hand, fighting from half-tracks and spraying the clearing around the chateau with .50cal slugs. After a little of this treatment the German infantry gave up and retired into the woods.
"During the morning the advance of the 167th Volksgrenadier Div (VGD), attacking in a column of battalions because of the constricted road net, crossed the Martelange-Bastogne road and reached the edge of the woods southeast of Assenois. Here the grenadiers encountered the 51st Arm Inf. Each German attempt to break into the open was stopped with heavy losses. Gen. Hoecker [commander of the 167th VGD] says the lead battalion was 'cut to pieces' and that the attack by the 167th was brought to nought by the Jabos [Allied fighter-bombers] and the 'tree smasher' shells crashing in from the American batteries. (Hoecker could not know that the 35th Division was trying out the new POZIT fuze and that his division was providing the target for one of the most lethal of World War II weapons.)


"The main body of the 1st SS-PzDiv kampfgruppe appeared an hour or so before noon moving along the Lutremagne-Lutrebois road; some 25 tanks were counted in all. It took two hours to bring the fighter-bombers into the fray, but they arrived just in time to cripple or destroy seven tanks and turn back the bulk of the panzers. Cos I and K were still in their foxholes along the road during the air bombing and would recall that, lacking bazookas, the green soldiers 'popped off' at the tanks with their rifles and that some of the German tanks turned aside into the woods. Later the two companies came back across the valley, on orders, and joined the defense line forming near the chateau.


"Thirteen German tanks, which may have debouched from the road before the air attack, reached the woods southeast of Lutrebois, but a 4th Arm Div artillery spotter in a cub plane spotted them and dropped a message to Co B of the 35th Tank Bn. Lt John A Kingsley, the company commander, who had six Sherman tanks and a platoon from the 701st TD Bn, formed an ambush near a slight ridge that provided his own tanks with hull defilade and waited. The leading German company (or platoon), which had six panzers, happened to see Co A of the 35th as the fog briefly lifted, and turned, with flank exposed, in that direction. The first shot from Kingsley's covert put away the German commander's tank and the other tanks milled about until all had been knocked out. Six more German tanks came along and all were destroyed or disabled. In the meantime the American tank destroyers took on some accompanying assault guns, shot up three of them, and dispersed the neighboring grenadiers.


"At the close of the day the enemy had taken Lutrebois and Viller la Bonne Eau plus the bag of three American rifle companies, but the...counterattack...had failed. Any future attempt to break through to Assenois and Hompre in this sector would face an alert and co-ordinated American defense...


"Even though the German effort to open a path through the left wing of the 35th Div at Lutrebois had failed in its intended purpose, it had acheived an important secondary effect, becoming, as it did, a true spoiling attack that put the 35th out of the running from 31 December on." The division fell back 2 km as a result of the counterattack. The two companies from the 137th Inf that had gotten into Villers la Bonne Eau the previous night were cut off in the village.The 35th Division reformed its defense line along the north-south Remonfosse-Livarchamps road. The Germans had cut a bulge into the American lines three miles deep and four miles wide, but the American lines were shored up and the Germans could penetrate no further.
The German counterattack leveled against the rest of the division did not extend to the 320th Inf south of Harlange, but did result in delaying a full-bodied American attempt to break through at Harlange until the first day of January.
Roads were icy throughout the day, and the weather was foggy, but with some clearing by afternoon.

Daily Strength and Casualties:
Beginning Strength: 16,460
Replacements: 8
Returns-to-Duty: 5
Total Casualties: 187
Total Killed: 7
Total Wounded: 105
Total Captured/Missing: 16
Total Sick/Non-Battle Injuries: 60

Daily Major Inventory Levels:
Infantry Weapons
Bazookas: 323
57mm AT Guns: 54
60mm Mortars: 79
81mm Mortars: 53
Artillery
105mm Howitzers: 36
155mm Howitzers: 18
Vehicles
M-8 Armored Cars: 11
M-20 Armored Cars: 30
M-10 Tank Destroyers: 30
M4 75mm Sherman Tanks: 0
M4 76mm Sherman Tanks: 0

31 December
The division was ordered to attack to the northeast, supported by tanks from the 4th Arm Div, to capture the two 510m-high hills northeast of Lutrebois, but no progress was made.


On the left wing the 2/134th and 3/134th watched through the morning hours while the corps artillery fired TOTs on Lutrebois, then rose from the foxhole line to renew the assault eastward. As the 2/134th tried to move out across the valley, it made a perfect target for the small arms fire sweeping in from the opposing wooded crest, took 90 casualties, and fell back. The 3/134th made a pass at Lutrebois, but the fire from the woods covering the high ground to the northeast barred entrance to the village.


The 137th Inf's effort to relieve its two companies cut off in Villers la Bonne Eau was thwarted by the German 14th FJR's defenses in the woods surrounding the village. Unknown to the division was the fact that companies K and L of the 3/137th had already surrendered to the German tanks and flamethrowers. That night Col. Murray wrote off the two companies, but in any case Villers la Bonne Eau had to be retaken before the road net to the east could be opened.
The 320th Inf held its positions south of Harlange at the Fuhrman Farm.

Daily Strength and Casualties:
Beginning Strength: 16,003
Replacements: 27
Returns-to-Duty: 14
Total Casualties: 496
Total Killed: 9
Total Wounded: 154
Total Captured/Missing: 289
Total Sick/Non-Battle Injuries: 44

Daily Major Inventory Levels:
Infantry Weapons
Bazookas: 303
57mm AT Guns: 53
60mm Mortars: 76
81mm Mortars: 52
Artillery
105mm Howitzers: 36
155mm Howitzers: 18
Vehicles
M-8 Armored Cars: 7
M-20 Armored Cars: 30
M-10 Tank Destroyers: 30
M4 75mm Sherman Tanks: 0
M4 76mm Sherman Tanks: 0

1 January
The division advanced 1.1 km along a 15.8 km front, on icy roads and in a heavy overcast with some squalls. The sun came out in midafternoon, bringing good visibility.


The entire 134th Inf joined the attack made the day before by the 2nd and 3rd battalions against Lutrebois. Now it was going up against the German 167th VGD, which had relieved the 1st SS-PzDiv and was deployed on the right wing of the LIII Korps opposite Marvie and Lutremange. On the left the 1/134th, separate by a thousand meters from the neighboring 3/134th, set out from Marvie to bring the division flank forward and neutralize the German hold on the ridges overlooking Lutrebois. The veteran 167th, however, quickly sensed the gap in the American lines and cut through to the rear of the 1/134th; nor did the 3/134th have any better luck at Lutrebois. In the afternoon the 2/134th assault had put Cos E and G across the valley and into the woods, when a sharp German riposte struck the two companies, isolating them completely by nightfall.
The 137th Inf began a 10-day attempt to retake Villers la Bonne Eau, the roughest battle ever to be fought by the regiment. The understrength German 14th FJR had recovered sufficiently from its disastrous handling by the 4th Arm Div to fight a tenacious defensive action through the woods and the deep snow in the fields.


The 320th Inf renewed its attempt to break through the German lines at the Fuhrman Farm south of Harlange. The division commander, Paul Baade, had turned the reserve battalion of the 320th over to the 137th Inf, leaving Col. Byrne of the 320th to fight his way into Harlange with only his 2nd and 3rd Battalions. Neither the 320th nor the opposing German 15th FJR had tank support; this would be an infantry battle with infantry weapons--principally the rifle and the machine gun. In the afternoon the battle flared up around the Fuhrman Farm but left the American attackers with nothing but their losses.

Daily Strength and Casualties:
Beginning Strength: 15,877
Replacements: 57
Returns-to-Duty: 32
Total Casualties: 215
Total Killed: 9
Total Wounded: 72
Total Captured/Missing: 60
Total Sick/Non-Battle Injuries: 74

Daily Major Inventory Levels:
Infantry Weapons
Bazookas: 297
57mm AT Guns: 53
60mm Mortars: 75
81mm Mortars: 52
Artillery
105mm Howitzers: 36
155mm Howitzers: 18
Vehicles
M-8 Armored Cars: 6
M-20 Armored Cars: 30
M-10 Tank Destroyers: 29
M4 75mm Sherman Tanks: 0
M4 76mm Sherman Tanks: 0

2 January
The division made virtually no forward progress. The roads were still icy.


The two companies, E and G of the 2/134th, broke loose from their encirclement and the 3/134th again attacked across the open space west of Lutrebois to seize a few buildings from which to build up the assault. Finally coming within yards of the first house, Co K was pinned down by a machine gun firing from one of the windows. A platoon leader left his men, climbed to the roof, and tossed in a hand grenade. With this building in hand the American infantry began to methodically clear Lutrebois (a two-day task as it turned out) while corps artillery put more TOT fire on the sections of the village still occupied by the enemy.
East of Marvie the 1/134th had to delay its advance in order to dig out the grenadiers who had settled themselves in the woods to the rear. Eventually the battalion started forward and, for the first time, made physical contact with the 6th Arm Div--after mistakenly starting a firefight with the armored infantrymen from that division moving forward from Wardin. The armored infantry thought the 35th's men were Germans in American uniforms, for some reason. The 1/134th suffered two men killed and a number wounded.


The 320th Inf made another series of unsuccessful attacks on the Fuhrman Farm. The regiment's commander was then promised tank support from the 4th Arm Div to help him--nine Sherman tanks. Across the lines the German corps commander, Gen. von Rothkirch, was doing his best to find a few tanks for his paratroopers as well.
By the end of the day the left wing of the 35th Div was beginning to inch forward, but the two 510m hills that were the division's goals would still prove to be days away. However, the renewal of the American 26th Div's attack on 2 January and the threat to the Bastogne-Wiltz road increased German apprehension about the precarious position of the 5th Parachute Div and the link it furnished between the 7th and 5th Armies. As a result Gen. Brandenberger (7th Army) asked permission to pull his troops back from Villers la Bonne Eau and Harlange, but Field Marshal Model refused, consigning the paratroopers to a grinding battle of attrition.

Daily Strength and Casualties:
Beginning Strength: 15,773
Replacements: 72
Returns-to-Duty: 39
Total Casualties: 215
Total Killed: 11
Total Wounded: 95
Total Captured/Missing: 17
Total Sick/Non-Battle Injuries: 92

Daily Major Inventory Levels:
Infantry Weapons
Bazookas: 292
57mm AT Guns: 53
60mm Mortars: 77
81mm Mortars: 52
Artillery
105mm Howitzers: 36
155mm Howitzers: 18
Vehicles
M-8 Armored Cars: 5
M-20 Armored Cars: 30
M-10 Tank Destroyers: 28
M4 75mm Sherman Tanks: 0
M4 76mm Sherman Tanks: 0

3 January
No significant advances made. The division's front line positions followed the trace of a wide, lopsided V, reaching from Marvie in the northeast to a point west of Villers la Bonne Eau, then back southeast to Bavigne. The Germans still held Villers la Bonne Eau, Harlange, and part of Lutrebois, but the 134th Inf finally finished clearing Lutrebois late in the day.

Daily Strength and Casualties:
Beginning Strength: 15,745
Replacements: 9
Returns-to-Duty: 26
Total Casualties: 173
Total Killed: 7
Total Wounded: 76
Total Captured/Missing: 30
Total Sick/Non-Battle Injuries: 60

Daily Major Inventory Levels:
Infantry Weapons
Bazookas: 287
57mm AT Guns: 53
60mm Mortars: 76
81mm Mortars: 52
Artillery
105mm Howitzers: 36
155mm Howitzers: 18
Vehicles
M-8 Armored Cars: 4
M-20 Armored Cars: 30
M-10 Tank Destroyers: 30
M4 75mm Sherman Tanks: 11
M4 76mm Sherman Tanks: 3

4 January
No significant advances made. The division consolidated its positions.

Daily Strength and Casualties:
Beginning Strength: 15,428
Replacements: 2
Returns-to-Duty: 1
Total Casualties: 317
Total Killed: 11
Total Wounded: 127
Total Captured/Missing: 119
Total Sick/Non-Battle Injuries: 60

Daily Major Inventory Levels:
Infantry Weapons
Bazookas: 276
57mm AT Guns: 52
60mm Mortars: 74
81mm Mortars: 51
Artillery
105mm Howitzers: 36
155mm Howitzers: 18
Vehicles
M-8 Armored Cars: 2
M-20 Armored Cars: 30
M-10 Tank Destroyers: 30
M4 75mm Sherman Tanks: 11
M4 76mm Sherman Tanks: 3

5 January
No significant combat or advances. Some shifting of positions around Lutrebois.

Daily Strength and Casualties:
Beginning Strength: 15,210
Replacements: 93
Returns-to-Duty: 1
Total Casualties: 317
Total Killed: 6
Total Wounded: 107
Total Captured/Missing: 155
Total Sick/Non-Battle Injuries: 49

Daily Major Inventory Levels:
Infantry Weapons
Bazookas: 286
57mm AT Guns: 53
60mm Mortars: 72
81mm Mortars: 52
Artillery
105mm Howitzers: 36
155mm Howitzers: 18
Vehicles
M-8 Armored Cars: 0
M-20 Armored Cars: 30
M-10 Tank Destroyers: 29
M4 75mm Sherman Tanks: 11
M4 76mm Sherman Tanks: 3

6 January
No significant combat or advances. The division consolidated its positions.

Daily Strength and Casualties:
Beginning Strength: 15,201
Replacements: 72
Returns-to-Duty: 65
Total Casualties: 146
Total Killed: 15
Total Wounded: 55
Total Captured/Missing: 29
Total Sick/Non-Battle Injuries: 47

Daily Major Inventory Levels:
Infantry Weapons
Bazookas: 282
57mm AT Guns: 53
60mm Mortars: 71
81mm Mortars: 52
Artillery
105mm Howitzers: 36
155mm Howitzers: 18
Vehicles
M-8 Armored Cars: 0
M-20 Armored Cars: 30
M-10 Tank Destroyers: 27
M4 75mm Sherman Tanks: 11
M4 76mm Sherman Tanks: 3

7 January
No significant combat or advances. The division consolidated its positions.
Some German prisoners were taken, who were identified as members of 5th Kompanie, 1st SS-Panzer Regiment, 1st SS-Panzer Division "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler."

Daily Strength and Casualties:
Beginning Strength: 14,897
Replacements: 65
Returns-to-Duty: 36
Total Casualties: 251
Total Killed: 6
Total Wounded: 43
Total Captured/Missing: 124
Total Sick/Non-Battle Injuries: 78

Daily Major Inventory Levels:
Infantry Weapons
Bazookas: 274
57mm AT Guns: 53
60mm Mortars: 70
81mm Mortars: 52
Artillery
105mm Howitzers: 36
155mm Howitzers: 18
Vehicles
M-8 Armored Cars: 5
M-20 Armored Cars: 30
M-10 Tank Destroyers: 28
M4 75mm Sherman Tanks: 11
M4 76mm Sherman Tanks: 3

8 January
No significant combat or advances. The division consolidated its positions. The division CP moved from Arsdorf to Strainchamps.

Daily Strength and Casualties:
Beginning Strength: 15,452
Replacements: 388
Returns-to-Duty: 213
Total Casualties: 46
Total Killed: 0
Total Wounded: 11
Total Captured/Missing: 3
Total Sick/Non-Battle Injuries: 32

Daily Major Inventory Levels:
Infantry Weapons
Bazookas: 274
57mm AT Guns: 53
60mm Mortars: 73
81mm Mortars: 51
Artillery
105mm Howitzers: 36
155mm Howitzers: 18
Vehicles
M-8 Armored Cars: 5
M-20 Armored Cars: 30
M-10 Tank Destroyers: 26
M4 75mm Sherman Tanks: 11
M4 76mm Sherman Tanks: 3

9 January
The division was ordered to resume attacking to the northeast. The 320th Inf, with elements of the 6th Arm Div in support, advanced 800m. The 134th Inf gained about a kilometer.

Daily Strength and Casualties:
Beginning Strength: 15,177
Replacements: 10
Returns-to-Duty: 6
Total Casualties: 294
Total Killed: 13
Total Wounded: 148
Total Captured/Missing: 28
Total Sick/Non-Battle Injuries: 105

Daily Major Inventory Levels:
Infantry Weapons
Bazookas: 266
57mm AT Guns: 52
60mm Mortars: 72
81mm Mortars: 51
Artillery
105mm Howitzers: 36
155mm Howitzers: 18
Vehicles
M-8 Armored Cars: 3
M-20 Armored Cars: 30
M-10 Tank Destroyers: 26
M4 75mm Sherman Tanks: 11
M4 76mm Sherman Tanks: 3

10 January
More slight advances as the division continued pushing to the northeast. The 320th Inf continued fighting in the woods south of Harlange. The 101st Inf Regt, on loan to the 35th from the 26th Inf Div, advanced about 200m.

Daily Strength and Casualties:
Beginning Strength: 15,115
Replacements: 34
Returns-to-Duty: 19
Total Casualties: 127
Total Killed: 4
Total Wounded: 30
Total Captured/Missing: 21
Total Sick/Non-Battle Injuries: 72

Daily Major Inventory Levels:
Infantry Weapons
Bazookas: 264
57mm AT Guns: 52
60mm Mortars: 72
81mm Mortars: 51
Artillery
105mm Howitzers: 36
155mm Howitzers: 18
Vehicles
M-8 Armored Cars: 3
M-20 Armored Cars: 30
M-10 Tank Destroyers: 27
M4 75mm Sherman Tanks: 11
M4 76mm Sherman Tanks: 3

11 January
The 137th Infantry finally cleared Villers la Bonne Eau and gained several hundred meters. Other elements of the division made no progress.

Daily Strength and Casualties:
Beginning Strength: 15,127
Replacements: 60
Returns-to-Duty: 33
Total Casualties: 68
Total Killed: 0
Total Wounded: 12
Total Captured/Missing: 4
Total Sick/Non-Battle Injuries: 52

Daily Major Inventory Levels:
Infantry Weapons
Bazookas: 286
57mm AT Guns: 52
60mm Mortars: 72
81mm Mortars: 51
Artillery
105mm Howitzers: 36
155mm Howitzers: 18
Vehicles
M-8 Armored Cars: 3
M-20 Armored Cars: 30
M-10 Tank Destroyers: 29
M4 75mm Sherman Tanks: 11
M4 76mm Sherman Tanks: 3

12 January
No advances made. Patrols were sent out all along the division front.

Daily Strength and Casualties:
Beginning Strength: 13,635
Replacements: 58
Returns-to-Duty: 32
Total Casualties: 146
Total Killed: 5
Total Wounded: 46
Total Captured/Missing: 6
Total Sick/Non-Battle Injuries: 89

Daily Major Inventory Levels:
Infantry Weapons
Bazookas: 284
57mm AT Guns: 52
60mm Mortars: 72
81mm Mortars: 51
Artillery
105mm Howitzers: 36
155mm Howitzers: 18
Vehicles
M-8 Armored Cars: 3
M-20 Armored Cars: 30
M-10 Tank Destroyers: 0
M4 75mm Sherman Tanks: 0
M4 76mm Sherman Tanks: 0

13 January
The division was pulled out of the line and sent to regrouping areas. The 320th Inf was detached to the 6th Arm Div. The 134th Inf assembled around Lutrebois, while the 137th Inf moved about 2 km behind the front line into three small assembly areas.

Daily Strength and Casualties:
Beginning Strength: 13,552
Replacements: 38
Returns-to-Duty: 21
Total Casualties: 144
Total Killed: 5
Total Wounded: 34
Total Captured/Missing: 8
Total Sick/Non-Battle Injuries: 97

Daily Major Inventory Levels:
Infantry Weapons
Bazookas: 283
57mm AT Guns: 52
60mm Mortars: 71
81mm Mortars: 51
Artillery
105mm Howitzers: 36
155mm Howitzers: 18
Vehicles
M-8 Armored Cars: 3
M-20 Armored Cars: 30
M-10 Tank Destroyers: 0
M4 75mm Sherman Tanks: 0
M4 76mm Sherman Tanks: 0

14 January
The division remained in its assembly areas. The 320th Inf remained detached to the 6th Arm Div.

Daily Strength and Casualties:
Beginning Strength: 13,478
Replacements: 38
Returns-to-Duty: 21
Total Casualties: 66
Total Killed: 1
Total Wounded: 6
Total Captured/Missing: 2
Total Sick/Non-Battle Injuries: 57

Daily Major Inventory Levels:
Infantry Weapons
Bazookas: 283
57mm AT Guns: 52
60mm Mortars: 71
81mm Mortars: 51
Artillery
105mm Howitzers: 36
155mm Howitzers: 18
Vehicles
M-8 Armored Cars: 3
M-20 Armored Cars: 30
M-10 Tank Destroyers: 0
M4 75mm Sherman Tanks: 0
M4 76mm Sherman Tanks: 0

15 January
The division remained in its assembly areas. The 320th Inf remained detached to the 6th Arm Div.

Daily Strength and Casualties:
Beginning Strength: 13,360
Replacements: 0
Returns-to-Duty: 0
Total Casualties: 117
Total Killed: 3
Total Wounded: 33
Total Captured/Missing: 10
Total Sick/Non-Battle Injuries: 71

Daily Major Inventory Levels:
Infantry Weapons
Bazookas: 281
57mm AT Guns: 52
60mm Mortars: 75
81mm Mortars: 51
Artillery
105mm Howitzers: 36
155mm Howitzers: 18
Vehicles
M-8 Armored Cars: 2
M-20 Armored Cars: 30
M-10 Tank Destroyers: 0
M4 75mm Sherman Tanks: 0
M4 76mm Sherman Tanks: 0

16 January
The division remained in its assembly areas. The 320th Inf remained detached to the 6th Arm Div.

Daily Strength and Casualties:
Beginning Strength: 13,311
Replacements: 36
Returns-to-Duty: 19
Total Casualties: 100
Total Killed: 5
Total Wounded: 36
Total Captured/Missing: 1
Total Sick/Non-Battle Injuries: 58

Daily Major Inventory Levels:
Infantry Weapons
Bazookas: 302
57mm AT Guns: 52
60mm Mortars: 74
81mm Mortars: 50
Artillery
105mm Howitzers: 36
155mm Howitzers: 18
Vehicles
M-8 Armored Cars: 4
M-20 Armored Cars: 30
M-10 Tank Destroyers: 0
M4 75mm Sherman Tanks: 0
M4 76mm Sherman Tanks: 0

On 18 January the 35th Inf Div returned to Metz for rehabilitation. In early February it moved to Maastricht, Holland, relieving the British 52nd Inf Div along the Roer River. It later participated in the attacks against Venlo, up the Weser River, along the Elbe, and against Hannover.

 

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