1942 - US Army Center Of Military History

[ 29 MARCH 1945 ]
sponsibility for Diez–Limburg area; TF Sundt,
spearheading div attack, reaches corps boundary.
345th cuts autobahn near Niederselters and clears
that town. On 76th Div left, 385th Inf clears Kamberg
against vigorous opposition; 417th, to right,
drives through Idstein to Oberems–Kroftel–Wuestems
area. TF Fickett gets advance elements, on
left flank, to Giessen–Bad Nauheim highway in
vicinity of Grossen Linden. 354th Inf, 89th Div,
reaches Bad Schwalbach and relieves TF Johnson,
which is dissolved, then continues toward corps
boundary; 353d clears resistance in vicinity of Ober
and Nieder Gladbach and takes Hausen; 355th and
Rcn Tr clear Rhine bend W of Wiesbaden. In
XX Corps area, 6th Armd Div (with CC’s A, B,
and 86 in assault) rolls northward astride autobahn
practically unopposed, reaching objective NE
of Steinbach in region E of Giessen; attack passes
through Friedberg, Bad Neuheim, Grossen Linden,
and many smaller towns. 80th Div mops up within
Mainz bridgehead and expands it NE on right
to Koenigstein; attached 16th Cav Gp crosses the
Rhine to screen left flank and drives to line
Eltville–Neudorf–Georgenborn, W of Wiesbaden.
65th Div closes in Schwabenheim area and, during
night 29–30, begins crossing 260th and 261st Regts
over the Rhine; 261st is attached to 6th Armd Div.
5th Div completes capture of Frankfurt, which it
then polices. 3d Cav Gp crosses the Rhine and
drives NE along right flank of 6th Armd Div to Karben
area without opposition. Action of 6th
Armd Div and 3d Cav Gp opens autobahn as MSR
for corps. 71st Div is attached to corps. 94th Div is
transferred to XXII Corps, Fifteenth Army. In
XII Corps area, 4th Armd Div drives rapidly E:
CCB captures Lauterbach, its objective; CCA, moving
through Ulrichstein and Herbstein, takes Grossenlueder;
to open MSR, CCR advances to right of
CCA through Nidda to Herbstein, which it outposts;
RCT 359 (—3d Bn) of 80th Div is attached
to div, motorized, and employed as blocking force
on right. 11th Armd Div moves to the Main at
Hanau and begins drive through 26th Div’s bridgehead
toward Fulda: CCA is brought to a halt at Rothenbergen;
CCB follows CCA across the Main but
coils off road for night at Ravolzhausen. 90th Div
mops up to general line Burg Grafenrode–Kaichen–
Windecken. 26th Div clears bypassed re-sistance in
Hanau–Lieblos region and in Langen-diebach and
Rueckingen. 2d Cav Gp starts crossing 42d Sq over
the Main, night 29–30, to maintain contact between
26th Div and Seventh Army.
6th Army Group: In U.S. Seventh Army’s XV
Corps area, 45th Div runs into firm opposition for
the first time E of the Rhine as it attempts to expand
Main bridgehead. Enemy is resisting 157th Inf attacks
from house to house in Aschaffenburg and
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Schweinheim. 179th Inf attacks E in Sulzbach area.
180th crosses the Main and drives through Sulzbach.
3d Div reaches the Main at Woerth and prepares to
cross. 12th Armd Div continues eastward drive with
CCA on left and CCB on right. 44th Div moves
into Mannheim, from which German garrison has
withdrawn. XXI Corps directs 10th Armd Div to
pass through elements of 3d and 44th Divs in
preparation for drive S of the Neckar. Elements of
10th Armd Div move forward to search for crossing
sites over the Neckar. 63d Div begins relief of 44th
Div (XV Corps). 101st Cav Gp assembles E of the
Rhine. In VI Corps area, 103d Div completes relief
of 71st Div and assumes control of its sector. Div
passes to Seventh Army control. 71st Div is detached
and starts to Third Army sector. 36th Div turns
over its sector to 3d Algerian Div and passes to army
control. 102d Cav Gp is also detached from corps
and starts from corps sector.
In Fr 1st Army area, DA ALPS clears most of
Petit St Bernard Pass and breaks off attack.
EASTERN EUROPE—Troops of Third White Russian
Front mop up remnants of encircled enemy
groups SW of Koenigsberg in East Prussia. Fighting
continues in E part of Danzig. In Hungary,
troops of Third Ukrainian Front drive to Austrian
frontier, capturing Szombathely, Koeszeg, and
Kapuva.
BURMA—In Br Fourteenth Army area, Ind 7th
Div (less 33d Brig, which is assisting Ind 5th Div
of 4 Corps in Taungtha–Meiktila area) is transferred
from 4 to 33 Corps control.
LUZON—In U.S. Sixth Army’s XI Corps area,
elements of 43d Div gain positions on Hill 1200,
commanding last enemy escape route, which runs
NW from New Bosoboso. 1st Inf, 6th Div, pushes
forward to within about 300 yards of its objective.
Some 20th Inf elements consolidate on ridge near
Mt Mataba while others continue attack under intense
fire. In XIV Corps area, 8th Cav of 1st Cav
Div seizes Lipa and its airdrome and establishes
contact with 11th A/B Div near there. Highway 19
is now open for traffic from Calamba to Batangas.
7th Cav pushes to San Andres. Elements of 187th
Inf, 11th A/B Div, driving W on Mt Macolod, clear
part of Dita, on Route 417.
S PHILIPPINES—In U.S. Eighth Army area, reinf
platoon of Co F, 185th Inf, lands at Patik in Negros
Occidental Province, Negros I., and secures Bago R
bridge, which is urgently needed for drive on
Bacolod, in lively action with bridge guards. Main
body of 185th Inf goes ashore near Pulupandan unopposed;
using Bago R bridge, drives N to outskirts
of Bacolod. While 132d Inf patrols actively on Cebu,
182d battles enemy on Go Chan Hill, securing it in
costly battle. Japanese explosives blow up E spur of
Go Chan, causing heavy American casualties, par-