This is the 70th anniversary of my great-grandfather’s service in Europe, so we’re moving through this map I made of Tonice’s time as a combat medic. Feel free to click around in the other thumbnails to catch up or read ahead.
Tonice was attached to the 137th Infantry Regiment, which fought in the famed 35th Division. We don’t know which company, or even which battalion, so this is only a regimental overview with some movements down to the company level.
So, then, for Dec. 21:
The 137th Infantry received orders that it would be relieved and was to assemble temporarily in the vicinity of Frauenberg, Habkirchen, and Neunkirch until ordered to move to an assembly area.
In the morning the 1st Battalion continued its defense of the Regimental sector. With a heavy artillery barrage, the enemy launched a heavy counterattack on the 1st Battalion positions. This attack was repulsed with heavy enemy losses.
The 2nd Battalion delivered harassing fire on all known and observed enemy targets.
The 3rd Battalion moved to its new assembly area in Richeling. The Regimental CP moved from Neunkirch to Remering. The Special Units cleared into Ballering at 1500.
The Battle of the Bulge was a hard, demanding, scary environment for most everyone. But there would be some rest coming up for these particular men in the next few days. Be sure to stick around for that.
This information is derived from the unit history, found here and here and from this unit overview. His quiet choice means that these markers are rough estimates and are meant only to be illustrative. Any errors are mine alone.
