Rohrwiller and Drusenheim
On 6 January, at 0830, the 2nd BN, supported
by a company of 749th tanks, moved out to Rohrwiller. Foggy conditions
provided excellent cover, the objective was met and the town under
314th's control by 0100. The attack drive was ordered forward to
take Herrlisheim. |
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Word reached the 314th elements that A/Co 232nd Infantry was in trouble in Drusenheim. 2nd BN was to clear and secure the town en route to Herrlisheim. 3rd BN was called from Bischwiller to Rohrwiller as the 2nd moved out.
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At 1400, G/Co riding on its tank support, entered
the northwest side of Drusenheim. After meeting up with elements
of 232nd's A/Co, 2nd BN moved its units under small arms fire across
the Moder River bridge to clear and secure the southern part of
town. Five tanks managed to clear the bridge before it broke down.
The tanks then accompanied F/Co, on point, on the attack southwest
of Herrlisheim. At 1630, as F/Co reached the outskirts of Drusenheim,
it met light artillery fire. |
F/Co attacked the enemy's strong point - a factory building on the east bank of the Moder - capturing two officers and 51 enlisted men. The rest of the 2nd BN were in positions in or around Drusenheim.
As the 3rd BN moved up the take over positions in Rohrwiller, it fell under the heaviest artillery barrages it had faced to date. During the night of 6-7 January, the bridge in Drusenheim was repaired in the midst of constant enemy fire. I&R and Cannon were outposting Bischwiller alone, because the 1st BN was still away on the Zinswiller mission.
The 2nd BN was hit with heavy artillery at dawn, 7 January, and it continued for an hour. Enemy infantry, estimated at one battalion strength with tank support, hit F/Company's factory building position. F/Co was ready for them. The Germans were using the high embankment of the Drusenheim-Herrlisheim road for cover, and when they broke cover, F/Co and its tanks attacked. After a quick exchange of fire, the enemy broke off and moved its attack northeast to G/Companies position. E/Co was ordered to advance to Drusenheim proper, from its position in the eastern part of the Bois de Drusenheim. F/Co was ordered to move out to the G/Co position, as well. E/Co arrived at G/Companies position without a problem, but when F/Co began to execute the move, it fell under heavy fire from artillery positions on the highway embankment. F/Co was sent back wading across the Moder to the old E/Co position. As night approached, suspecting an armor attack from the Germans, G/Co was pulled back across the bridge to man the perimeter along the southwest of town. F/Co manned the eastern edge of the Bois de Drusenheim, with an outpost in the northwest section of town. E/Co remained on the southern tip of Drusenheim. These positions rarely changed for the next twelve days.
Early 8 January, the zone of attack switched to the 3rd BN sector with L/Co assigned the main objective - establish a bridgehead across the Zorm River near where the Zorm connected to the Moder, and the factory buildings beyond. K/Co was to advance in support eastward from Rohrwiller to the Moder on L/Company's left flank. As the advance stepped off, Rohrwiller was shelled hard amassing multiple casualties in K and M/Companies. L/Co escaped the more harsh shelling and waded the Zorm, establishing the bridgehead. The rubble of factory buildings provided the only cover, and L/Co held it precarious position for the next ten days.
Combat Command B, 12th Armored Division, moved through L/Companies bridgehead and made it to the northern outskirts of Herrlisheim, but the 12th Armored Division, who was to support the drive, was held up and did not follow in time, forcing a wholesale withdrawal. I and K/Companies regrouped, reached the Moder River, and spent the rest of the day thwarting the enemy's crossing. That night, engineers started repairs on the bridge at L/Company's position amidst heavy fire which culminated in an infantry attack at 0800, 9 January. L/Co, aided by tanks, broke up the attack, and the bridge was fully repaired by 1645. At 1840, L/Co faced a second attack. The enemy was strongly supported by armor, but American tank fire, along with machine gunners from M/Co, forced the attack away after a three hour fight.
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There was little activity
during the night of 9 January, into the next day, 10 January. By
nightfall, however, it became evident that an enemy attack was forming
on the 3rd BN position. |
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The only artillery available to the units was
the 8-inch shells. They were thrown at the advancing threat. To
take pressure off the 3rd BN, 2nd BN staged a live-fire demonstration,
and took heavy shelling for the effort. For once, the Germans had
more artillery at their disposal than the 314th Regiment. The enemy
barrages were heavy and frequent on both Rohrwiller and Drusenheim.
Communications took a constant hit as wiremen from both battalions
and Regimental HQ were continually on the go making repairs. |
314th Regiment HQ/Co Wiremen courtesy of J.W. Campbell's personal collection |
For the next several days, the situation remained fairly unchanged; 2nd and 3rd BNs held their positions. On January 12, I/Co captured an enemy patrol of five men which had managed to skirt the L/Co position. I/Co exchanged assignments with K/Co, sending I/Co to Rohrwiller. The F/Co outpost at the factory location was hit hard at 0300, 13 January, and they withdrew to a position at the Bois de Drusenheim. The enemy was slowly increasing its presence in front of both battalion positions. An enemy tank, firing on the factory positions, threw about 50 rounds into the church steeple in Rohrwiller. Just moment before, the steeple had been M/Companies OP. Luckily, they had evacuated just prior to the action. The remainder of M/Co got out of the area quick.
Drusenheim and Rohrwiller met heavy enemy shelling on 14-15 January, and the 232nd Infantry's A/Co was ordered to leave Drusenheim. A platoon from F/Co was sent to plug the hole left by the withdrawal from the northern sector. The 2nd BN was left alone in its defense of Drusenheim.
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At 0130, 16 January, 2nd BN threw up a diversion
to allow the 12th Armored to make its second attempt on Herrlisheim.
The enemy response was a sustained shelling that left Drusenheim
in shambles. |
At 0200, the 12th Armored went through the L/Co bridgehead over the Zorm River. It was met with 88-mm gunfire that tallied twelve tanks before retreat was issued. By 1200, the remains of the 12th Armored attack force had withdrawn through the L/Co position. L/Co took sustained fire as well.
Earlier, at 0515, the 1st BN had rejoined the Regiment at the assembly area at Oberhoffen. Immediately placed on alert, a reported attack came in on the 242nd Infantry position east of the Foret de Haguenau. The report proved false.
At 0930, 17 January, 1st BN was sent to Schirrhoffen with a platoon of tanks, and Regimental HQ was set up in Schirrhein. At 1600, A and B/Companies were released to the 3rd BN 232nd Infantry, and took up a position with K/Co 232nd along the railroad tracks between Sessenheim and Drusenheim. C/Co committed on the east edge of the Bois de Rountzenheim blocking the road between Soufflenheim and Rountzenheim. Division ordered another company be sent to the 1st BN, so I/Co was immediately transported from Rohrwiller to 1st BNs command. I/Company's position in Rohrwiller was taken over by 3rd BN HQ and M/Co. During the move, I/Co caught heavy fire and suffered nine casualties. The 232nd's K/Co lost its lines under heavy attack at the railroad tracks, on 18 January. A, B, and D/Companies also fell back under orders from the 232nd Infantry's command to the Bois de Soufflenheim. The 1st BN from the 410th Infantry attempted to restore the line, but failed due to darkness.
The 1st BN companies of the 314th remained in their positions along the woods of Soufflenheim. Meanwhile, enemy elements had slipped through into the southwest sector of Rohrwiller overnight. Small arms fire was everywhere, and the 3rd BN units were issued an order: remain stationary in position, and shoot anything that moves. In Bischwiller, the main Bischwiller-Rohrwiller road was heavily mined by a crew from the AT Company. Around midnight, the firing in Rohrwiller died down, and as the 3rd BN troops were calming somewhat, the town received a concentrated shelling. The ironic orders were to "remain alert."
After day of exchanging fire, it became obvious the major offensive mounted by the Germans on both Rohrwiller and Drusenheim was to take place on 19 January. Drusenheim was exposed on three sides with the withdrawal of the 232nd's units. Only the 314th's 2nd BN remained. All day, 2nd and 3rd BNs reported the enemy build up concentrated to the woods southwest. Regardless, the 2nd BN command placed much of the unit's firepower northwest of town. The German attack on Drusenheim began at dusk, 19 January, with heavy mortar and artillery fire. To the south, an intense barrage of machine gun fire created the diversion, while the main attack did, indeed, come from the north. Assault teams quickly gained the town limits, taking out machine gun positions and tank destroyers in H/Companies sector. Two companies of enemy infantry, along with five tanks, dispersed throughout the town. The remaining H/Co positions were quickly taken. To the south-southeast, the Germans crossed the Moder River near F/Company's position in the factory buildings. This enemy element pushed on into the Bois de Drusenheim, up the left side of K/Company's position, and forced the right flank of F/Co back to Drusenheim. F/Co was ordered to move to the northwest corner of town, leaving its original position outposted. In Drusenheim, the enemy moved freely, and dealt with any point of resistance. Battalion CP was taken almost immediately. All communication wires were cut, which left only radio transmissions. 2nd BN reported the situation to Regimental HQ at 2010, and was ordered to break out and assemble northwest to F/Company's position. An advancing enemy, poor communications and not enough time to organize properly led to the breakthrough failing.
Efforts did continue until 0300, 20 January. F/Co was ordered northwest as fast as they could go. Only five officers and 93 enlisted from F/Co made it to Bischwiller. A few more troops from E (one officer, 28 enlisted), G (no officers, 44 enlisted), H (no officers, 23 enlisted) and BN HQ and I&R (two officers, 45 enlisted) returned. A total of 241 men. The rest of 2nd BN was "missing in action."
As F/Co was in the midst of its withdrawal, K/Co redeployed to block the Rohrwiller-Drusenheim road. A and B/Companies moved to defensive positions southwest of the Bois de Soufflenheim, blockading the road between Soufflenheim and Sessenheim. A unit from the 410th Infantry Regiment was sent to close the hole left by the loss of the 2nd BN, but they failed to make contact on K/Companies left flank.