I’m revisiting my great-grandfather’s time in Europe through this map of his unit’s movements. This was 70 years ago today and it was hard going for the 137th Infantry Regiment in Belgium in the last week of the Battle of the Bulge. We don’t know which company, or even which battalion he was in, so this is only a regimental overview with some movements down to the company level.
So, then, for Jan. 01:
The 137th Infantry was facing the toughest opposition it had yet met in its combat experience. Elements of K and L Companies were still cut-off in Villers-la-Bonne-Eau. The 1st Battalion was in position south of Villers, while the 2nd Battalion had Companies E and F west and southwest of the Belgian town, and Company G, on the Regiment’s right flank, in Luxembourg. German prisoners had stated that the SS Adolph Hitler Division and the 339th Nazi Infantry Regiment were on the 137th’s front.
The 137th jumped off on an attack toward Villers. A large number of enemy faced Companies E and F and a bitter fight ensued. Company F had nearly completed cleaning out the woods, and in the Surre Woods, Company G had beaten off several counterattacks. The Regiment was ordered to halt its advance at 1810. In Villers, Companies K and L were slowly being cut to pieces by tank fire and flame throwers.
This information is derived from the unit history, found here and here and from this unit overview. These markers are rough estimates and are meant only to be illustrative. Any errors are mine alone.
