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Casualties of the RCT buried at Margraten
History
The story of the 517th Parachute
Regimental Combat Team begins with the activation of the 17th Airborne
Division on March 15, 1943. The Division's parachute units were the
517th Parachute Infantry Regiment, the 460th Parachute Field Artillery
Battalion and Company C, 139th Airborne Engineer Battalion. The 517th
was at Camp Toccoa, Georgia; the 460th and C/139 were at Camp Mackall,
North Carolina.
For the next several months, all men
volunteering for parachute duty at induction stations throughout the
United States were sent to Camp Toccoa. The 517th was charged with
screening the volunteers and assigning those qualified to either
infantry, artillery or engineers. Officers of the 460th and C/139 were
placed on temporary duty at Toccoa to help with the screening, and men
assigned to those units were sent to Camp Mackall.
As units filled up, they were to be
given basic training at their home stations and then sent for parachute
qualification to Fort Benning, Georgia. After jump training, all units,
including the 517th would join the 17th Airborne at Camp Mackall.
In February, the regiment moved to
Tennessee to take part in maneuvers being conducted by Headquarters
Second Army. The "Tennessee Maneuvers" were a sort of little practice
war that went on year-round. Participation in the Tennessee Maneuvers
was supposed to be the final test before a unit could be pronounced
combat-ready.
One cold day in March when all were
shivering and knee-deep in mud, it was announced that the parachute
elements of the 17th Airborne Division were being pulled out for
overseas shipment as the 517th Regimental Combat Team. So, from the mud
of Tennessee, the 517th PRCT emerged. The parachute units were hastily
shipped back to Camp Mackall to prepare for overseas movement.
ITALY
The RCT was attached to Major General
Fred L. Walker's 36th Infantry Division, which under IV Corps was
operating on the left of Fifth Army. A long truck ride and a short foot
march on the 17th of June brought the units south of Grosseto. Colonel
Graves was handed an overlay marked with zones, Objectives and phase
lines. The regiment was to join the division's advance north from
Grosseto the next day.
On July 2nd the
Combined Chiefs of Staff issued a directive to the CINC Mediterranean to
go ahead with ANVIL (renamed DRAGOON) on 15 August. As a by-product of
this directive the 517th RCT was released from IV Corps and moved to
join the First Airborne Task Force in the Rome area.
The planners decided
early that an airborne force of division size would be needed. Since
there was none in the Mediterranean, a force of comparable size would
have to be improvised. In response, the 517th RCT, 509th and 551st
Parachute Battalions and the 550th Airborne Battalion were provided.
Other units in Italy were designated "gliderborne" to be trained by the
550th and the Airborne Training Center. By early July the concentration
of airborne forces in the Rome area was almost complete. Two additional
troop carrier wings totaling 413 aircraft were enroute from England.
H-Hour and D-Day were
tentatively set for 0800, 15 August. The 517th RCT had been allocated
180 C-47 aircraft in four serials.
DRAGOON - THE
INVASION OF SOUTHERN FRANCE THROUGH D+4
The four serials
bearing the517th RCT began drops at 0430. First to arrive was Lt. Col.
Dick Seitz' 2nd Battalion in Serial 6 flown by the 440th Group from
Ombrone. Lt. Col. Mel Zais' 3rd Battalion was due next in the 439th
Group's Serial 7 from Orbetello. The 460th Field Artillery (less Battery
C) in Serial 8 with the 437th Group from Montalto fared better than the
3rd Battalion but not as well as the 2nd.
Twenty plane loads
jumped early and were spread from Frejus to the west. Last in was Serial
9 at 0453, flown by the 435th Group from Canino with Major Boyle's 1st
Battalion and Battery C of the 460th. One platoon of the 596th had
dropped with the 509th. One platoon had dropped with the 2nd Battalion
and one with the 3rd Battalion.
All told, only about
20 percent of the 517th RCT landed within two miles of the DZ.
Regardless of where they landed the 517th troopers went to work with the
tenacity and aggressiveness that characterized parachute outfits. The
Germans were not anxious to tangle with the Allied paratroopers but
nevertheless put up a stiff fight.
Actions throughout
the next three days threw the Germans into a state of chaos. Enemy
convoys were attacked, communication lines severed and German
reinforcements were denied access to the beach landing areas. Towns and
villages were occupied as troopers fought toward their objectives. Le
Muy, Les Arcs, La Motte and Draguignan became names to remember.
The Airborne
operation was a remarkable performance, considered by many military
historians the most successful of the war. Within 18 hours 9,099 troops,
213 artillery pieces and anti-tank guns and 221 vehicles had been flown
over 200 miles across the Mediterranean and landed by parachute and
glider in enemy-held territory. Despite widely-scattered landings, all
missions assigned had been accomplished within 48 hours. Airborne task
force losses included 560 killed, wounded and missing, and 283 jump and
glider casualties. 517th PIR losses included 19 killed, 126 wounded and
137 injured through D+3.
THE CAMPAIGN IN
SOUTHERN FRANCE
As VI Corps moved
west, the Airborne Task Force reverted to Seventh Army control and was
assigned to protect the Army's eastern flank, while the main forces
moved up the Rhone Valley. The British 2nd Parachute Brigade returned to
Italy and was replaced by the First Special Force. Protection of the
Army's eastern flank meant moving as far east as practicable and then
protecting the best ground available. The initial Task Force objective
was the line Fayence-La Napoule. The 517th RCT was assigned the left,
the Special Service Force the center and the 509th/551st the right in a
narrow strip along the coast.
The 2nd and 3rd
Battalions were charged with the capture of Fayence and Callian. This
was accomplished by August 21st. Saint Cezaire fell to Companies G and
Ion the 22nd. During the attack, Company G had been pinned down. Company
I surged through heavy fire up the mountainous slope to take the
objective. For this action, it earned a commendation from Task Force
Commander Maj. Gen. Robert T. Frederick.
The remainder of
September was spent digging defensive positions in and around Peira
Cava. The 517th RCT now held a thinly manned 15-mile front, using mines
and booby-traps to take the place of troopers. Attacks on Hill 1098
ended the month with the roar of artillery duels echoing through the
Maritime Alps.
The 517th PRCT
suffered over 500 casualties and had 102 men killed in action. On July
15, 1946, the President of the Provisional Government of the French
Republic issued Decision Number 247 awarding the French Croix de Guerre
to the RCT .
ARDENNES-ALSACE
All elements of the
RCT were quartered in Soissons by December l0th. Every American airborne
unit in Europe was now part of General Matthew B. Ridgway's XVIII
Airborne Corps. This included the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions just
back from Holland and the 517th and other separate units up from the
Mediterranean. Additionally, the 17th Airborne Division was now in
England and was scheduled to come across to France in the near future.
During the night of
December 15-16 the German army launched its last great offensive of
World War II, striking with three armies against weak American positions
in the Ardennes region of Belgium and Luxembourg. The Allies were taken
totally by surprise. The Germans made their main effort with the Sixth
SS and Fifth Panzer armies, while their Seventh army on the left made a
limited holding attack.
Movement orders came
for the 517th and 1100, December 21st. One Battery of the 460th and a
platoon of the 596th were attached to each rifle battalion for movement.
Orders were received
through XVIII Airborne Corps which directed the 1st Battalion to the 3rd
Armored Division sector near Soy, Belgium. Pressure from German armor
had made the situation so fluid that it was impossible to tell exactly
where the front began. Company D was immediately attached to the 3rd
Armored's Task Force Kane. This unit held the key point on which the
front hinged. Companies A and B detrucked northeast of Soy and was
ordered to attack along the highway leading from Soy to Hotton.
The mission of the
1st Battalion was to take the commanding ground around Haid-Hits, then
remove the enemy from the high ground at Sur-Les-Hys. The object was to
facilitate a breakthrough and free surrounded elements of the 3rd
Armored in Hotton.
Company B led the
attack until forced to hold a line due to heavy tank and automatic
weapons fire. It became necessary for Company A to bypass the planned
route to Hotton. While this maneuver saved casualties, it was necessary
to fight for every foot of ground along the entire route. Fighting on
the return trip from Hotton to Soy was as heated as on the trip in. The
Soy-Hotton mission was so well executed despite fanatic resistance that
the 1st Battalion was awarded the Presidential Distinguished Unit
Citation. The cost: 150 wounded and 11 men killed.
The fall of Manhay to
the 2nd SS Panzer Division on Christmas Day sent shock waves throughout
the Allied Command. From Manhay the Germans could continue north toward
Liege or turn against the flank of the 3rd Armored and the 82nd
Airborne. Urgent directives descended upon General Ridgway demanding
that Manhay be retaken at all costs.
The directive to
recapture Manhay arrived in RCT Headquarters at 1400 on December 26th.
The 517th was to attach one battalion to the 7th Armored Division for
the mission.
Early on New Year's
Day, the RCT was attached to the 82nd Airborne and alerted to go on the
attack. On January 3rd, the RCT, acting as the left flank of the 82nd,
attacked south along the Salm River. The 551st Parachute Infantry, as an
attached unit, fought through Basse Bodeux, while the 2nd Battalion
captured Trois Ponts. The southerly attack continued to Monte Fosse
where advance elements were subjected to intense shelling.
A new attack was
launched at 0800 on January 13th, to seize a line running from Spineux,
north of Grand Halleux, to Poteaux, eight miles south of Malmedy. The
1st and 2nd Battalions moved to the south capturing Butay, Lusnie,
Henumont, Coulee, Logbierme and established blocks at Petit Thier and
Poteaux. The RCT had now reached the limits of the prescribed advance.
While most of the RCT
had been involved with the 106th and 30th Infantry Division, the 2nd
Battalion moved from Goronne to Neuville for assignment to the 7th
Armored Division. Colonel Seitz and his men were assigned to Combat
Command A at Polleux. On January 20th, Task Force Seitz attacked south
from an assembly area near Am Kreuz to capture Auf der Hardt woods and
formed defensive positions on the southern edge. On reaching the
objective, a patrol was sent to the village of Hochkreuz.
On January 22nd, the
task force led CCA through In Der Eidt Woods and closed in attack
positions a mile north-west of Hunnange. At 1700 TOT concentrations were
fired on Hunnange and the attack moved out. By dark Task Force Seitz had
overrun Neider Emmels and Hunnange and was in contact with other 7th
Armored Division forces.
Defensive positions
were taken facing south and southwest. A road block was established at
Lorentswaldchen and patrols were sent to the outskirts of Saint Vith. At
1400 on January 23rd, Combat Command B passed through Task Force Seitz
and completed the capture of Saint Vith.
On February 1st the
517th PRCT joined the 82nd near Honsfeld. Next day the 1st Battalion
took up a blocking position to protect the northern flank of the 325th
Glider Infantry while the 3rd Battalion moved into position to support
if required. All objectives of the attack plan were met, and on February
3rd, the RCT received orders attaching it to the 78th Infantry Division
at Simmerath.
The 78th was to
attack east on February 6th to seize Schmidt and the Schwammenauel Dam.
The 517th RCT was to move north to the Kleinhau-Bergstein area, relieve
elements of the 8th Infantry and attack south from Bergstein during
darkness on February 5th to seize the Schmidt-Nideggen Ridge. The
Germans had prepared the strongest defenses of the western front in this
area.
By 0600 on the
morning of February 5th, all units had closed at Kleinhau. The German
line ran from Zerkall west and South of Hill 400 to the Kall River.
After dark the 2nd and 3rd Battalions moved into attack positions. Five
to six hundred yards below Bergstein, both battalions hit minefields and
concertina wire. The troopers attempted to move forward by crawling and
probing, but all efforts proved futile. Men were blown up by Schu mines,
Tellermines and "Bouncing Bettys." In Bergstein the troopers found some
protection from small-arms fire but little else.
In mid-morning the
596th Engineers began working in relays to clear a lane through the
largest minefield encountered by the Allies in World War II while under
direct enemy observation and fire. For 36 hours the 596th continued this
genuinely heroic effort. In the 1st Battalion area, Company A sent a
patrol from Hill 400 to Zerkall.
In the early
afternoon of February 7th, Colonel Graves was informed that the 517th
was released from the 78th Division and attached to the 82nd Airborne in
place. Task Force A had been formed, consisting of the 517th and the
505th Parachute Infantry. The 517th was to continue its planned attack.
During darkness on
February 7th, the 1st and 2nd Battalions prepared to go on the attack.
At 2145 the 2nd Battalion moved down the lane through the minefields. By
0100 Company E and the remains of Company F were at the edge of the Kall
Ravine. At 0145 the 1st Battalion was 400 yards southeast of Hill 400.
North of the Kall, the 2nd Battalion troopers came under savage machine
gun and mortar fire. The 1st Battalion rearranged to Hill 400. At noon a
3rd Battalion patrol was sent west to contact the 505th at the
predesignated point on the Kall. Three efforts to reach the point were
turned back by machine gun fire.
The rifle strengths
of the 517th Battalions, now reduced to company size, would be relieved
by the 508th Parachute Infantry that night.
December and January
casualties were 653: 565 wounded and 78 killed. February casualties in
Germany were 287: 235 wounded and 52 killed. These numbers, do not
include evacuations attributable to disease and frozen extremities.
EPILOGUE
The 517th Parachute
Regimental Combat Team accumulated over 150 combat days during five
campaigns on battlefields in Italy, France, Belgium and Germany.
The battalion
casualty rate was 81.9 percent. The Team suffered 1,576 casualties and
had 247 men killed in action.
PFC Melvin E. Biddle
B/1/517th PIR was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for heroic
actions during the Soy-Hotton engagement.
On February 15, 1945,
elements of the RCT were assigned to the 13th Airborne Division. The
13th was deactivated in February of 1946.
In addition to the
one Medal of Honor, troopers of the 517th PRCT earned 131 Silver Stars,
631 Bronze Stars, 1,576 Purple Hearts, 6 Distinguished Service Crosses,
5 Legion of Merits, 4 Soldier Medals, 2 Air Medals and 17 French Croix
de Guerres.
(Source and (c):
517prct.org)
Relevant links
http://www.517prct.org
Casualties of the
517th RCT buried in Margraten.