October 16, 1944 – A huge and successful diversion totally fools the Germans
3) What should I do if I’m experiencing persistent fatigue or stress?
October 16, 2024
October 17, 1944 – To the shock of Dad and his men, General Truscott wass leaving them
October 17, 2024The weather was abominable. It either rained or the skies were heavily overcast, and the ground became soggy with mud. The dirt roads became almost impassable. Day by day the weather grew colder, and the daylight hours grew shorter.[1]
To the south of Bruyères, the 3rd Infantry Division feinted toward the Schlucht Pass with significant artillery activity. At the same time, the “Rock of the Marne” Division was ordered to quietly withdraw its 7th and 15th Infantry Regiments out of the line near Le Tholy and to attack through the 45th and 36th Divisions toward St. Dié.
To make the Germans think that the Schlucht Pass, and not St. Diè was the VI Corps’s objective, a complex deception plan was undertaken by the Americans.
With radio silence imposed, the 3rd Infantry Division unobtrusively withdrew its 7th and 15th Infantry Regiments from the VI Corps’s right flank near Gerardmer to assembly areas near the 36th Infantry Division’s positions around Bruyères.
Meanwhile, radio traffic from the 30th Infantry Regiment and other elements left near le Tholy, on the right flank of VI Corps zone, simulated the continued presence of 3rd Division units.
At the same time, the 36th Division’s troops “lost” helmets and other gear with 3rd Infantry Division identification markings while on patrol.
The advance elements of the 3rd Infantry Division even wore 45th Infantry Division patches on their unifors so as not to give away their presence to defending Germans.
As a result, the (German) Nineteenth Army failed to shift the 198th Infantry Division’s original axis of advance toward the Schlucht Pass.[2]
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The night of 16-17 October the 3rd Battalion was relieved by the 1st Battalion and assembled in Regimental rear, prepared to train and participate with the 7th and 15th Regiments in the initial phases of the attack toward St. Die.
The battalion remained in Regimental reserve as a counterattack force until relief ended 21-22 October.[3]
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[1] MacDonald, 68.
[2] Seventh Army, Report of Operations, 370-371. From: Bonn, When the Odds Were Even, 96.
[3] Prohme, 261.
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