1942 - US Army Center Of Military History

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sition. 511th Para Inf, less 3d Bn, is being held in
reserve for Legaspi operation. RCT 158 concentrates
in Lemery for the same operation and passes
to army control.
S PHILIPPINES—In U.S. Eighth Army area, 40th
Div is alerted for Negros Occidental operation.
Covering Group (cruiser-DD force under Rear
Adm R. S. Berkey) for Cebu operation leaves Subic
Bay for target. On Mindanao, 162d Inf of 41st Div,
reinf by 1st Bn of 186th, attacks Mt Capisan and
secures it. Entire Sinonog R area is now cleared of
organized resistance. For the next few days 162d
Inf consolidates and mops up.
IWO JIMA—RCT 28, 5th Mar Div, takes responsibility
for completing reduction of final resistance
on Iwo; enemy pocket is confined to area 50 yards
square on coast. Gen Kuribayashi is reported to be
alive and holding out in a cave, but his hiding place
is never discovered.
RYUKYU Is.—Mine sweeping begins under cover
of naval and aerial bombardment.
25 March
WESTERN EUROPE—21 Army Group: In Br Second
Army’s 30 Corps area, 51st Div clears Rees except
for small pocket. 43d Div takes over left flank
of corps front E of the Rhine. In 12 Corps area,
15th Div overruns Bislich. In U.S. XVIII Corps
(A/B) area, Br 1st Cdo Brig, as it is completing
reduction of Wesel, is transferred to corps from Br
12 Corps and attached to U.S. 17th A/B Div. Corps
consolidates positions, straightens lines, and eliminates
enemy pocketed between Br 6th A/B and
U.S. 17th A/B Divs. Jumping off at 1500 with
194th Gli Inf on N and 507th Para Inf on S, 17th
A/B Div crosses Issel Canal and drives to Phase
Line LONDON, some 3,000 yards E of Wesel.
In U.S. Ninth Army’s XVI Corps area, 30th
Div, continuing assault E of the Rhine during night
24–25 and on 25th, gains about 4 miles all along
its front; on the N clears Hunxe and makes contact
with Br 1st Cdo Brig. 79th Div pushes about 2
miles eastward. 134th Inf, 35th Div, reinf as a TF
and attached to 79th Div, crosses the Rhine E of
Rheinberg, night 25–26. 15th Sq, 15th Cav Gp,
crosses the Rhine to relieve 30th Div on island S of
Wesel between Lippe R and Lippe Canal. Resistance
is gradually stiffening.
12th Army Group: In U.S. First Army area, VII
Corps opens co-ordinated assault to break out of
bridgehead at 0400, as 3d Armd Div, reinf by 414th
Inf of 104th Div, passes through 1st and 104th
Divs to spearhead drive on Altenkirchen, initial
objective. Attacking with two CC’s abreast, CC
Boudinot on left and CC Hickey on right, 3d Armd
Div gets about half way to Altenkirchen in 6–9
[ 25 MARCH 1945 ]
mile advance. On left, TF Welborn of CC Boudinot,
pushing through Uckerath and Kircheib,
reaches positions near Hasselbach; TF Lovelady advances
through Griesenbach to Fiersbach. On right,
CC Hickey’s TF Kane thrusts past Limbach, Sessenheim,
and Kescheid to Ahl Creek while TF Doan
drives to Flammersfeld area via Asbach and Schoneberg.
83d Armd Rcn Bn protects left flank and CC
Howze follows the two assault commands, prepared
to assist either. 1st and 104th Divs mop up in wake
of armor. 1st Div mops up S of the Sieg within its
zone, overrunning a number of villages and terrain
features. 104th Div ( — ) follows armor closely, gaining
up to 5 miles. 78th Div begins relief of 1st Div
along the Sieg and, in limited attack by elements of
309th Inf, clears strongpoint S of the river near Hennef.
4th Cav Gp ( — ) is relieved of defensive position
in Bonn area by corps security elements;
4th Sq, upon relief along the Sieg by 78th Div,
reverts to gp control. III Corps joins in First Army’s
large-scale offensive, making rapid progress eastward.
On 9th Div left, 39th and 47th Regts clear
div zone between Pfeffer and Mehr Rivers, 47th
pinching out 39th; E of Wied, 60th Inf thrusts past
Ober Steinbach, Krunkel, and Epgert. Speeding
about 3 miles E with 395th and 393d Regts, 99th
Div cuts autobahn near Willroth and takes a number
of towns and villages to right; 394th Inf crosses
the Wied. 7th Armd Div completes assembly E
of the Rhine to spearhead corps breakout attack. In
V Corps area, RCT 38, after adjusting positions to
protect N flank of 2d Div and being passed through
by 23d Inf, is attached to 9th Armd Div; 23d Inf
drives E about 6 kilometers and is itself passed
through by 9th, which continues E to Grenzhausen.
CCA, 9th Armd Div, continues SE along the Rhine,
taking Bendorf and Vallendar. 102d Cav Rcn Sq
moves up to Neuwied.
In U.S. Third Army area, VIII Corps begins
attack across the Rhine. 87th Div crosses, starting
at midnight 24–25, in Braubach–Boppard region
and establishes bridgehead against firm opposition,
particularly on left where determined counterattack
develops and is contained. 347th Inf ( — 2d Bn), on
div left, starts clearing Braubach and reaches outskirts
of Ober Lahnstein; since 2d Bn is unable to
cross, 2d Bn of 346th is attached to 347th and
crosses river to assist in clearing Braubach. To S,
345th Inf thrusts to edge of Lykershausen. In XII
Corps area, 16th Cav Gp, transferred to XII Corps
from XX Corps, relieves 2d Cav Gp of defensive mission
along the Rhine from Bingen to Mainz; 2d
Cav Gp is detached from 26th Div. 6th Armd Div
begins drive toward the Main at Frankfurt, crossing
the Rhine at Oppenheim and passing through 5th
Div. CCB crosses first and advances NE to vicinity
of Walldorf and Langen; CCA reaches the Main