Major George Mabry, who had received a Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) in recognition of his D-Day exploits, assumed command of the battalion, which even with 200 replacements still added up to only 60 percent of the normal complement. Whether this inaccurate assessment reflected poor staff work or a chain of command that did not want to hear bad news is uncertain. Commanders in the combat zone were quick to note the poor quality of many of the converted riflemen. An engineer observed that the forest “represented not so much an area as a way of fighting and dying.” A coarse brutality took hold in Allied ranks, increasingly common throughout Europe. The 9th Infantry Division's ultimate objective was Ruer River crossings at Düren. We noticed the trees were scarred from shrapnel, and many trees were down from direct artillery hits. Total strength in infantry personnel for these divisions and including separate infantry regiments and the infantry battalions assigned to armor divisions was less than 850.000 soldiers. A marker in a Germany Military Cemetery honouring German Lieutenant Lengfeld who gave his life trying to save a US Soldier. amzn_assoc_title = "Further Readings"; 28th Signal Company 2nd Ranger Bn, Nov 14 1944 – Nov 19 1944 It is the only such memorial for a German soldier placed by his erstwhile opponents in a German military cemetery.[24]. In general, however, prolonged combat was the most harmful factor in the performance of infantry divisions. We could not see our targets but were told what they were. This was particularly true for the 24.000 aviation cadets and the 55.000 ASTP soldiers that the army transferred to the combat arms in 1944. Red Cross club mobiles and doughnut wagons made their visits and there was a fill schedule of USO shows and dances to help raise moral. ETOUSA treated this directive with little urgency and until 1945 its retraining efforts were crisis driven. Gunter ‘Doc Snafu’ Gillot To maintain the striking force, Hodges ordered the 12th Infantry Regiment from the 4th Division to be attached to the 28th Division and relieve the shattered 112th. There was little food or water, and some prisoners had resorted to cannibalism. These ideal conditions seldom seemed to occur in the ETO. Though overrun by the first wave of Germans that moved out of the mists of the Schnee Eifel, the 28th Infantry Division split into a forest fill of small delaying units. How does a man stand it, day in and day out?”, How, indeed? On September 14, 1944, the 9th Infantry Division became the first to test the defenses. At 8:30 an American platoon on the southern perimeter broke in panic, unhinging the defense. 110th Infantry Regiment Estimates of German casualties were high but below that of the Americans. These people could have fought as well and been killed too. The U.S. 112th Infantry Regiment, attacking from Germeter, took Vossenack and the neighboring ridge by the afternoon. Hence the accomplishment of the will of the commander depends, in final analysis, upon the ability of subordinates to make the proper decisions in unpredictable situations on the battlefield. From a simple numbers standpoint the ETO staff provided very accurate estimates for total casualties. The quality of these replacements was decidedly mixed. The Hürtgen Forest lay within the area of the U.S. First Army under the command of Lieutenant General Courtney Hodges. Just before sunrise on Saturday, November 4, German artillery fire crashed and heaved from three directions around Schmidt. 103rd Medical Battalion Many of them would be evacuated at each sunrise, victims of trench-foot, battle fatigue or enemy fire. For generations, forest masters had meticulously pruned undergrowth and managed logging, leaving perfectly aligned firs as straight and regular as soldiers on parade, in what one visitor called “a picture forest.” But some of its acreage grew wild, particularly along creek beds and in the deep ravines where even at midday sunlight penetrated only as a dim rumor. 113-CG, Aug 2 1944 – Aug 4 1944, 86-CMB (Mortar) less Charlie Co, Oct 28 1944 – Nov 19 1944 An abrupt, piercing scream unmanned Company G, which fled for the rear through Vossenack, and the contagion instantly infected the ranks. He drove 20 miles to Rott, strode into the gasthaus where Cota had put his headquarters, and voiced his pleasure that the 28th Division was obviously “in fine fettle, rarin’ to go.” The battle plan, Hodges informed Cota, was “excellent.”, In fact, it was badly flawed.