137th - Page: 9 of 12

In July, 1944, the 35th Division landed in Normandy. From July 6-9th, the 35th was inserted into the line taking over sectors of the front around St. Lo from the 29th and 30th Infantry Divisions. It was on July 9th that the 137th entered the line in the area of La Meauffe north of St. Lo. It was July 11-12 that the 137th began offensive operations at La Meauffe during house to house fighting against determined German resistance in which the regimental commander, Colonel Layng, was severely wounded. On July 14, the 137th, with 3 tank platoons of the 737th Tank Battalion, moved down the east bank of the Vire pinning the German 352nd Division against the river and allowing the 134th to take Hill 122 overlooking St. Lo and enabling the division to enter St. Lo ahead of other allied units. From here, the 137th was engaged in mopping-up operations against German remnants still west of St. Lo against the Vire.
The 35th then stayed in a reserve role until August 5-6 when the division was called upon by the 7th Corps to plug the gap between Mortain and Barenton to prevent German armored spearheads from advancing on Avranches and cutting of the American forces sweeping into the interior of France. The 137th occupied Barenton while the 134th and 320th moved to the relief of the 1/120th of the 30th Division in its epic defense of Hill 317 outside Mortain. After relieving the 30th Division, the Santa Fe Division was shifted to the XII Corps (Maj. Gen Manton Eddy) of Patton’s Third Army where a task force consisting mainly of the 137th Infantry led the American advance into the city of Orleans under the command of the Assistant Division Commander, Brigadier General Edward Sebree. After Orleans, the 137th was attached to the 4th Armored Division as flank protection until August 26th when the 4th reached Troyes. The rest of the 35th having been brought up, the entire division acted as the army’s flank guard until the 3rd Army was ready to cross the Moselle.

Following the rapid race across France as a result of Operation Cobra, Patton’s Third Army found iself stalled along the Moselle River due to the lack of fuel until September 10, 1944. On that date, Patton set his army in motion against the frontier city of Nancy along with its formidable fortifications. The 35th Division, part of XII Corps, moved towards Nancy beginning on September 11 with the 137th Infantry forcing a crossing at Lorey. The 137th’s progress was reinforced by CCB of the 4th Armored Division and helped foment a double envelopment of Nancy which occurred on September 15th. Following its breakout role along the Moselle, “Santa Fe” was sent on to the next objective of Durmstadt. This new offensive stalled due to bad weather and determined opposition; the Division was then put to us in clearing the previously enveloped area around Nancy until September 22.

Between September 25th and 26th, the 35th was sent into the Gremercy Forest which dominated the main highway east of Nancy which served as the main axis of attack for the 3rd Army into Germany. Shortly after making defensive preparations, the 137th was assaulted by elements of 5 German divisions and encountered their most ferocious combat of the war. Initially overrun, the 137th reorganized and was reinforced by 1/320th, C Company of the 737th Tank Battalion, and an anti-tank platoon of the 137th and restored the line. The German attacks were finally repulsed by the night of September 28-29. The fighting was generally described as the systematic destruction of infiltrated German outposts that presaged the horrid conditions of the Hurtgen Forest to the north.

Despite the fierce attacks and the crisis they presented, the 35th Division held the forest and safeguarded the advance of the 3rd Army. The ferocity of the combat was evidenced by the fact that after the battle ended on October 1st, 1/137th had to be pulled out of the line to rest and refit as only 484 of 900 men were reported fit for action.
The 35th’s next task was participation in the operations against Metz—the “Lorraine Gateway” into Germany. In mid-November, the 137th succeeded in punching a hole in front of Malaucourt which was used by the 4th Armored to penetrate the German defenses and, in conjunction with the 26th and 35th Divisions, conduct a series of flank marches to pull the 3rd Army up to the Saar River by November 18th. From November 19-26, the 35th Division was used to fight its way through the old Maginot line defenses, now used to good effect by the German army. By November 26, “Santa Fe” was pinched out of the line by the 80th Infantry and 4th and 6th Armored Divisions and was therefore pulled out to rest and train replacements. Overall casualties through the Lorraine campaign for the 35th was put at 349 killed, 1,549 wounded, and 115 missing.
The rest of November and early December were used by the 137th in reserve. The 137th was reintroduced to combat in early December with the object of clearing the city of Sarreguemimes. 2/137 led the way into the city that led to house to house fighting with both sides taking moderate casualties. During this action, Company F received the Distinguished Unit Citation for its close quarter fight in the city’s pottery plant. This successful action in clearing the city once again secured the flank and allowed the 35th to cross the Blies River. Further offensive action by the 35th was halted when the 3/137th were repulsed after a hard fight in Bretterwald. However, this action occurred on December 15th and the 35th was turned to face a new threat to the north of the 3rd Army.

Following the penetrations of the famed “Battle of the Bulge”, Patton turned two of his corps(XII(Eddy) and III(Milliken)) to drive into the vulnerable left flank of the German forces. 2/137 marched north and reached the village of Surre while 3/137th was held up by a fortified pillbox, bad weather, and 155 new replacements. To close the gap between the 137th and the 4th Armored in its drive toward Bastogne, the 134th was inserted into the line. With this additional weight, the corps continued moving north against fierce weather and German resistance from elements of the German 7th Army. In the relief efforts of the 101st Airborne at Bastogne, the 137th found themselves assaulted by the might of the 1st SS Panzer Division at Villers. Through the support of the 4th Armored and the unrestricted use of proximity fuses, the lines were restored and the Panzers were driven off. The 35th then held its positions until January 10th when it was pinched out of the line and returned back to the vicinity of Metz on January 18th for a much needed but short rest period.
The “Santa Fe” remained in Metz until January 23 and was then transferred to the north end of the line to participate in 9th Army(Lt. General William Simpson) operations in Holland. As such, they were assigned to the new XVI Corps under Maj. General John B. Anderson on February 6th, 1945. 9th Army’s mission was to participate in Operation Plunder that would draw the 21st Army Group up to and across the Roer River. The 35th’s job was to take Hilfath with the 137th crossing into the XIII Corps area of operations to cross the river at Korrenzig and drive north to clear the east bank in anticipation of a crossing by the rest of the division.