AFTER ACTION REPORT 311TH INFANTRY REGIMENT
78th INFANTRY DIVISION
FOR THE PERIOD 1 JANUARY 1945 - 31 JANUARY 1945

PATCH 78th DIVISION

29 January 1945

Intensive plans and preparations for the attack continued. The 1st Battalion prepared to support the attack at 300700A, while the 2nd and 3d Battalions continued to occupy their positions and prepared to attack at 300530A. Company A, 736th Tank Battalion was attached to the 2nd Battalion and the Assault Gun Platoon, 736th Tank Battalion, was attached to the 3d Battalion. The general mission for the attack was for the 2nd and 3d Battalions to move South from Simmerath, securing a series of objectives which lead the 2nd Battalion through Kesternich and the 3d Battalion well beyond Huppenbroich. When these objectives were accomplished, the 311th Infantry, was to prepare to attack East to the Roer River on 78th Division order. The regimental commander personally contacted each battalion command post this night before the attack insuring all-around knowledge of attack plans and orders. At 2100A the Regimental Command post moved forward from Lammersdorf to Simmerath.

30 January 1945

At 0530A, the 311th Infantry, with Company A and the Assault Gun platoon, 736th Tank Battalion and Company A, 893d Tank Destroyer Battalion attached, jumped off from Simmerath in a fast and aggressive attack which, at the conclusion of the days activities, the Regiment had advanced three thousand yards into enemy territory and had taken the town of Huppenbroich (K9922) and held two-thirds of Kesternich (K0124) . Prior to the jump-off, the 1st Battalion held its defensive positions until 0815A when Combat Command "A" passed through its lines. The 1st Battalion then became attached to CC "A", a part of the 5th Armored Division, was attached to the 78th Infantry Division. The Commanding Officer of CC "A" became a casualty early in the morning's operations and Lt. Col. W.S. Riemenschneider, Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion, 311th Infantry, assumed command of the organization. The fast moving attack of this group, composed of tanks, armored infantry, and infantry, resulted in taking of Eicherscheid {K9921).

With Company A, 736th Tank Battalion attached, the 2nd Battalion, 311th Infantry, attacked at 0530A with one platoon of tanks and one platoon of Company F in the town of Kesternich. They were on the first objective, one of the enemy occupied houses, by 0545A and had secured it by 0725A. Fighting from house to house, Company G made contact with the enemy at 0600A; Company E then entered the action and all three companies engaged in fierce street, hedgerow, and house to house fighting for several hours, taking one enemy occupied house after another. The tanks were impeded by mines and well-directed enemy 75mm Antitank guns placed in Kesternich. Several other direct fire weapons were employed by the enemy both on personnel and the houses they had captured. Considerable small arms and light mortar fire made progress of the foot elements very slow.

At 1430, a coordinated attack of the three companies and the tanks accomplished all the houses that could be taken for this day and the Commanding Officer, 311th lnfantry, ordered the Commanding Officer of the 2nd Battalion to button up for the night if he felt the Battalion had advanced as far as possible. The battalion prepared its defenses and planned to continue the attack the next morning at 0830A. The 3d Battalion commenced its action for the day moving forward from the vicinity of Lammersdorf at 0300A and closed into a forward assembly area at 0511A. Then with Company L leading and the Assault Gun Platoon, 736th Tank Battalion attached, the battalion attacked at 0530A. All the objectives leading up to the final objective of the day, Huppenbroich, w ere taken in stride. Three thousand yards of enemy territory had been taken in addition to the town and at 1730A the Commanding Officer, 311th Infantry, ordered the Commanding Officer, 3rd Battalion, to button up for the night in the positions that he then held. The enemy's activities for the day had, been intense. He had resisted strongly in a series of delaying positions, with well-dug in emplacements. The infantry elements were well dug in; there were mines which hampered the activity of tanks as well as personnel; there were anti-tank guns and though the artillery fire was light, the enemy's mortar fire was extremely heavy.

One prisoner of war stated that Kesternich, was the last staunchly defended town between there and Ruhrberg (K0425) and the enemy was determined not to lose it. In the Huppenbroich area the enemy provided resistance in the form of small arms and the fire of automatic weapons. In this vicinity the enemy's mortar fire was also extremely heavy. The enemy observed bringing in reinforcements, apparently gathering in preparation for a counter attack. The total number of prisoners taken the 30th of January was two hundred and sixty-five, bringing the total number of prisoners taken by the 311th lnfantry to three hundred and twenty-five. These prisoners were all from the enemy's 980th and 981st Regiments of the 272nd Division and provided much valuable information. All objectives assigned to the Regiment by the 78th Division were in our hands at the close of the day.

31 January 1945

The attack as planned continued on the morning of the 31st. The 1st Battalion remained attached to the Combat Command "A". With Company A, 736th Tank Battalion attached, the 2nd Battalion attacked at 0830A to complete the original mission. In pushing forward, the companies of the 2nd Battalion received strong resistance from the enemy in the form of small arms and continued heavy mortar fire from direct fire guns and mortars. At 1650A Company E was working on the last two houses In Kesternich and at dark the battalion had pulled back into the town to reorganize, leaving outposts on the edge of town. Company K, 310th Infantry, was attached to the 311th Infantry, and further attached to the 2nd Battalion and relieved Company E at 1930A. The 2nd Battalion made plans to take out the small remaining resistance that was left In the town on the morning of 1 February.

The 3rd Battalion, having made contact with CC "A" on its right at 0700A, attacked at 0730A with Companies I and L. These companies received some enemy resistance but advanced on the objectives shortly thereafter. The enemy, assembled in a draw between Companies I and L, caused the battalion to consolidate its positions to cover that draw. This operation was successful and at the close of the period the battalion held Its objective with Company K in reserve.

The 311th Cannon Company reverted to regimental, control this day and moved forward to positions in Simmerath. Company A, 736th Tank Destroyer Battalion, moved five TD's into Kesternich to provide antimechanized defense from the East and Northeast; two TD's were moved into Huppenbroich and the remainder of the Company was in reserve in Simmerath. Company A, 736th Tank Battalion, having assisted in the capture of Kesternich remained attached to the 2nd Battalion. The Assault Gun platoon of the 736th Tank Battalion remained mobile in the vicinity of the Regimental Command Post in Simmerath.

On the 30th and 31st, Company C, 303d Engineer (C) Battalion, in direct support of the 311th Infantry, assisted in the infantry's advance by blowing one pillbox, sapping an anti-tank mine road block, sweeping and clearing the roads of mines and clearing the roads of snow and making them passable enabling close support and supplies to reach the forward elements. The entire operation was conducted against adverse weather elements as had all the activities of the month. The troops jumped off on the attack in snow suits and were confronted with high drifts up to eight feet in depth. Movement was difficult and the use of vehicles was at a minimum.

On 31 January the enemy had continued to impede the progress of tanks and foot elements from his well placed defensive positions early in the day, but was finally subdued by the continued aggressive action of the 2nd Battalion.

At 1745A the enemy had withdrawn from Kesternich. The enemy resistance against the 3d Battalion continued and there was some difficulty in clearing him out of Huppenbroich. The enemy placed heavy mortar fire on this town throughout the action. The Regiment took one hundred and thirty-five prisoners this day, bringing the total to four, hundred and sixty. Some of these prisoners were from the enemy's 164th lnfantry, 183d Infantry, and 162d Artillery Regiments, of the 62d Division, as well as the 272d Division which had been confronting the 311th Infantry. The prisoners were from various and sundry small units, including train bivouac personnel. The general state of morale was low.

The casualty rate for the complete operation was nine percent, and the Combat Efficiency rating for the 311th Infantry remained excellent.

The Commanding General of the 78th Division paid high compliments to the 311th Infantry and its commander, Colonel Chester M Willingham. The General presented Colonel Willingham with the Bronze Star for "Commanding an outfit doing such a fine job in the present operation". The Regimental S-3, Major James W. Sears and Major John Guthrie, S-2, were also awarded, the Bronze star for the excellent operational and intelligence plans which were resulting in a successful attack. Lt. Colonel Richard W. Keyes, Commanding Officer of the 2nd Battalion was awarded the Bronze Star for his inspiring leadership and personal direction of his battalion in the capture of Kesternich.

At the close of the period, the 311th Infantry was preparing plans for an offensive assault which would take the organization across the Roer river.

HORIZONTAL FLOURISH LINE



Source: National Archives and Records Administration

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