70th anniv – My great-grandfather’s war

This is the 70th anniversary of my great-grandfather’s service in Europe. And this is the anniversary of the day that Hitler agreed with his staff to pull back most of his forces from the Ardennes, thus ending all offensive operations. I’m guessing it didn’t feel like that to many of the men on the ground. Tonice, a combat medic attached to the 137th Infantry Regiment, was one of them. 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 Jan. 07:

The 11th day the 137th Infantry struggled against the well-defended town of Villers. The Regiment continued to put pressure on the village as it was being ripped apart by thundering artillery. The 137th’s front was cut down to approximately half its previous width as the 6th Cavalry Group took over the right portion of the Regiment’s sector. The 137th was flanked on the left by the 134th Infantry and on the right by the 6th Cavalry Group. Within the 137th zone, the 1st Battalion, with Companies A and C on the line, held down the left flank, and the 2nd Battalion, with E and F, was on the right. Company G remained in the Surre Woods, and the 3rd Battalion was assembled south of the 2nd Battalion. The 1st Battalion had moved its Command Post from Livarchamps to Halt.

Feel free to click around in the other thumbnails to catch up or read ahead.

This information is derived from the unit history, found here and here and from this unit overview. He never talked about the war and his quiet choice means that these markers are rough estimates, meant only to be illustrative. Any errors are mine alone.

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