Panzercommander HOH
Battalion Commander
The Calm Before the Storm
After the meat grinder of the Hürtgen Forest during the drive to Rur river, the 28th Infantry Division moved to the relatively quiet Ardennes sector for rest and refit before once again taking the fight to the enemy. Of VIII Corps' 85-mile front, the 28th Infantry Division held roughly 25 miles between its three infantry regiments: the 112th at the north, the 110th in the center and the 109th to the south. Due to manpower shortages from the Hürtgen fighting (the division being down to 17,000 men from 20,000 - 25,000 normal divisional strength), the 28th had all three infantry regiments at the front insted of two regiments at the front and one in reserve per US Army doctrine.
The front line in early December 1944 was the Our river on the German-Luxembourg border with 28th's 110th infantry regiment at the center of the division's sector holding a 9-10 mile front. The 110th's first and third regiments were up at the front with the second in reserve. To shore up a precarious defensive position, a system of fortified villages was established with a rifle or weapons company in each village covering the four roads leading from the German border to the main north-south road, or "Skyline Drive" as the Americans called it. Owing to manpower shortages, patrols, outposts and observation posts were manned only during the day around the fortified villages.
Osprey Battle Orders No. 24: US Army Infantry Divisions 1944-45
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King Company
3rd Battalion
110th Infantry Regiment
28th Infantry Division
Hosingen, Luxembourg - December 15th, 1944
The commanding officer of King Company is moving from platoon to platoon around Hosingen in his Jeep. Here he checks with a second lieutenant of a weapons platoon as they shift positions on the outskirts of town. In contrast to the veteran captain, the fresh-faced second lieutenant is just out of officer candidate school and is a post-Hürtgen replacement to the division. A sergeant from one of the squads is up front directing one of the squad's two .30 caliber machine guns to a position up the road while the remainder of the squad files past to their new positions.
After the meat grinder of the Hürtgen Forest during the drive to Rur river, the 28th Infantry Division moved to the relatively quiet Ardennes sector for rest and refit before once again taking the fight to the enemy. Of VIII Corps' 85-mile front, the 28th Infantry Division held roughly 25 miles between its three infantry regiments: the 112th at the north, the 110th in the center and the 109th to the south. Due to manpower shortages from the Hürtgen fighting (the division being down to 17,000 men from 20,000 - 25,000 normal divisional strength), the 28th had all three infantry regiments at the front insted of two regiments at the front and one in reserve per US Army doctrine.
The front line in early December 1944 was the Our river on the German-Luxembourg border with 28th's 110th infantry regiment at the center of the division's sector holding a 9-10 mile front. The 110th's first and third regiments were up at the front with the second in reserve. To shore up a precarious defensive position, a system of fortified villages was established with a rifle or weapons company in each village covering the four roads leading from the German border to the main north-south road, or "Skyline Drive" as the Americans called it. Owing to manpower shortages, patrols, outposts and observation posts were manned only during the day around the fortified villages.
Osprey Battle Orders No. 24: US Army Infantry Divisions 1944-45
_________________________________________________________________
King Company
3rd Battalion
110th Infantry Regiment
28th Infantry Division
Hosingen, Luxembourg - December 15th, 1944
The commanding officer of King Company is moving from platoon to platoon around Hosingen in his Jeep. Here he checks with a second lieutenant of a weapons platoon as they shift positions on the outskirts of town. In contrast to the veteran captain, the fresh-faced second lieutenant is just out of officer candidate school and is a post-Hürtgen replacement to the division. A sergeant from one of the squads is up front directing one of the squad's two .30 caliber machine guns to a position up the road while the remainder of the squad files past to their new positions.
