1942 - US Army Center Of Military History

[ 11 MARCH 1945 ]
toward Wesel. 15th Cav Gp is attached to 75th Div,
which is to defend corps front. 8th Armd Div, in
reserve, is given rear area security mission. 75th
Div relieves 5th Armd Div of responsibility for
Kempen–Repelen area; 5th Armd polices rear area
of corps.
12th Army Group: In U.S. First Army’s III Corps
area, RCT’s 309 and 311 revert to 78th Div and 39th
Inf ( — ) of 9th Div is attached as 78th Div becomes
responsible for N flank of Remagen bridgehead.
Attacking with 39th and 309th Regts, 78th Div
makes slow progress toward Cologne–Frankfurt Autobahn
against determined resistance. In center of
bridgehead, 9th Div continues attack with 310th,
60th, and 47th Regts, making small gains in vicinity
of Hill 448 and Hargarten. 99th Div completes move
of its RCT’s across the Rhine, takes over S flank of
bridgehead, and attacks SE and S with 3934 Inf on
left and 394th on right; 393d Inf gains a few hundred
yards, but 394th drives 3,000 yards S along E
bank of the Rhine, clearing Leubsdorf and Ariendorf.
Released by VII Corps, 14th Cav Gp assembles
in Remagen area, and 18th Sq takes over defense of
Rhine bridges from 9th Div. In V Corps area, 2d
Div improves positions, along the Rhine, 23d Inf
completing capture of Nieder Breisig and making
contact with 9th Inf, which has meanwhile cleared
Rheinbeck and Ober Breisig.
In U.S. Third Army area, VIII Corps continues
to mop up W of the Rhine. Because of change in
boundaries, V Corps relieves elements of 11th Armd
Div N of 05 horizontal grid line; 90th Div prepares
to relieve elements of 11th and 4th Armd Divs along
the Rhine to S, but change of orders immediately
transfers it to XII Corps. XII Corps continues mopping
up along the Rhine and Moselle and prepares
for assault across the Moselle. Boundary between 5th
Inf and 4th Armd Divs is altered at 2400 to give 5th
Div responsibility for former zone of CCB along
the Moselle; at the same time, RCT 11, having
effected relief of CCB, reverts to parent unit. 5th
Div finishes clearing its sector. 89th Div continues
movement into assigned zone between 5th and 76th
Divs and relieves elements of those divs within its
zone. In 76th Div sector, 42d Cav Sq reaches Hasborn
and Bausendorf; 304th Inf and 2d Cav Sq advance
rapidly toward Moselle R line on right flank
of corps, former pressing S and SE from Wittlich
and latter clearing enemy from Sweich–Piesport
sector. In XX Corps area, CCA of 10th Armd Div,
reinf by 2d Bn of 417th Inf, begins drive toward the
Moselle at Bullay, halting at Bausendorf, where Alf
R bridge is out; CCB and CCR begin concentration
in Trier area. RCT 417, less 2d Bn, reverts to 76th
Div, XII Corps, at 2400; earlier in day, 1st Bn is
forced from hill near Mertesdorf by counterattack.
316th Prov Cav Brig (3d and 16th Cav Gps) re-
[ 435 ]
groups to defend N flank of corps from the Moselle
S to 94th Div zone with 3d, 43d, 16th, and 19th
Sqs in line, from left to right; from assembly area
at Veckring (France), 16th Cav Gp moves up and
relieves 43d Sq with 16th Sq and 3d Sq with 19th
Sq. Other units of corps continue preparations for
coming offensive. 80th Div starts from XII Corps
zone toward E bank of the Saar opposite Saarlautern.
EASTERN EUROPE—Soviet forces are investing the
Baltic ports of Danzig and Gdynia. Berlin reports
slight penetrations of German positions in
Kuestrin area as Soviet forces expand Oder bridgeheads.
ITALY—15th Army Group: In Br Eighth Army
area, 10 Corps takes command of left flank elements
of Pol 2 Corps, Friuli Gp, and Ind 43d Brig,
and of sector currently held by them, placing it between
13 Corps and Pol 2 Corps. In 5 Corps area,
78th Div replaces 56th Div in line, permitting 56th
Div to prepare for offensive.
SEAC—Adm Mountbatten announces that a
regt of U.S. 5332d is to leave for China at once, the
rest of the brig on 1 April.
BURMA—In Br Fourteenth Army’s 33 Corps
area, Ind 19th Div continues battle for Mandalay,
taking hill strongpoint commanding NE part of the
city.
LUZON—U.S. Sixth Army issues basic plan
for its part in clearing Bicol Peninsula and Visayan
Passage. RCT 158, currently assisting 11th A/B
Div, XIV Corps, in clearing S Luzon, is to make
amphibious assault against Legaspi, in Bicol Peninsula,
and will assemble at staging area by 17th;
511th Para Inf of 11th A/B Div, less one bn, will
serve as army reserve for the operation. In XIV
Corps area, 43d Div begins relieving 1st Cav Div,
which is now generally on first phase line except
at Antipolo. 1st Inf, 6th Div, gets into favorable
position to exploit advance eastward. 2d Bn drives
nearly a mile E to trail junction while 3d Bn seizes
Bench Mark B. After nightfall, Japanese begin series
of abortive counterattacks, all small, against
6th Div. Efforts to penetrate positions of all 3 regts
fail. In 11th A/B Div sector of S Luzon, 2d Bn of
158th Inf clears Batangas and immediate vicinity
while rest of regt is cleaning out region to W and
NW. 1st Bn, 187th Inf, completes capture of Hill
660. 3d Bn, 511th Inf, is brought to a halt by Japanese
firmly entrenched on Mt Bijang. In I Corps
area, 33d Div consolidates and patrols toward
Galiano, about 10 miles W of Baguio. 127th Inf,
32d Div, is still held up by strong enemy defense
of Salacsac Pass positions on Villa Verde Trail. As
25th Div’s 27th and 161st Regts continue forward
astride Highway 5, 3d Bn of 35th Inf seizes Salazar,