The Moder River and Schweighausen
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On 20 January, L/Co still held the bridgehead
on the Zorm River, and 3rd BN was sent to a new defensive line along
the Moder near Bischwiller. The 8-inch artillery was fired at enemy
positions spotted by K/Co patrols in the Bois de Drusenheim. No
counter-attack came, so the bridges were blown across the Moder
and Zorm, allowing the withdrawal to go ahead. A, B and I/Companies joined
the rest of the Regiment later that day. The 314th Regiment was
solidly established at the new line position along the Moder near
Bischwiller and Kaltenhaus on 21 January. |
1st BN was on the left, with 3rd on the right with the remnants of F/Co attached. I/Co went to Regimental reserve. On 22 January, word came that the 313th Regiment would be relieving the 314th position, sending them to reserve near Niederschaeffolsheim. (The relief unit ended up being the 315th at the Moder River position.)
Before the reserve orders came through, reports of clear indicators of an enemy buildup forming northeast of Bischwiller. Roughly 200 troops had been spotted in the Bois d'Oberhoffen across the Moder. The 813th TD Regiment and the 25th Tank Regiment sent armor to the 314th for a defensive show of force. Now that the artillery was more plentiful since Bastogne had been secured, Corps artillery threw TOTs (time-on-target) rounds to dissuade any enemy attack. At dusk, 3rd BNs position came under sporadic fire. At 2200, 1st BN reported seeing five tanks near Camp d'Oberhoffen. Enemy infantry was also settling along the outskirts of town.
At 0220, 23 January, B/Co reported trucks and tracked vehicles unloading enemy troops to their front. At 0530, a German patrol hit C/Co, and B/Co forced another patrol back shortly after the first attack. The outposts were withdrawn, and a TOT round fired. Hitler's new jet-propelled plane flew over the 314th's position and dropped several bombs. A/Company's CP was hit.
Retaliation came in the form of two Allied
bombing runs over Camp d'Oberhoffen. The plans to move the 314th
to reserve were called off as more enemy vehicle movement was reported
near Oberhoffen. To make matters worse, some of the vehicles spotted
were the 314th's own that had been captured earlier. |
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At 1800, 24 January, relief finally began of the 314th by the 315th. 1st BN was to move to Winterhausen, and the 3rd BN to the remnants of Niederschaeffolsheim. Relief of the line was completed undercover of a huge snow storm.
At 0130, 1st BN was sent in knee-deep snow 2000 yards north of Winterhausen to Ohlungen. The task force (consisting of elements from the 42nd Rainbow/222nd Infantry and the 314th) assignment was to force the Germans back across the river. The enemy force had broken through the 222nd's line in an effort to take Haguenau. Units moved to Schweighausen and eastward on to Neubourg at 0530, accompanied by two medium tanks.
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Schweighausen was being cleared by the 1st
BN 222nd, while the 1st BN 314th sent out a recon patrol to establish
a CP and install communications. The Command Post was billeted in
a house with a solid cellar. The battalions tanks began down the
Schweighausen road and were lost to the unit when one was hit, and
the other crashed. Both crews escaped. |
The ground troops advanced forward about 500 yards to a brewery building occupied by the enemy. After a short firefight, the building was cleared and the column advanced to the outskirts of Schweighausen. They observed the forward CP in trouble. They were taken prisoner, and ended up with the 2nd BN POWs. B/Co was deployed to the left of town in a wooded area, and was immediately pinned down. Combat Command B of the 14th Armored Division cleared the woods due west of Schweighausen, and by 1830, the 1st BN held the town. With five light tanks, 3rd BN was sent on foot toward Neubourg to help restore the 3rd BN 222nd's line. At 1100, the unit was advancing and attacking east through the Bois d'Ohlungen. I/Co faced heavy resistance, and was pushed back 400 yards. They managed to regroup, counter-attack, and gain back most of the lost ground. The battalion dug in for the night tied in with the ranks of the 222nd.
Reports reached the exhausted task force on 26 January of a considerable enemy force moving across the river. A company of 155's were dispatched to shore up the force from VI Corps. Early in the morning, 1st BN had tied in with the 222nd's 2nd BN in Schweighausen. The attack began at 0730, sending the 3rd BN east through the woods, Combat Command B 14th Armored west, and 1st BN with units from the 222nd hitting north. They discovered the enemy had withdrawn in full. By 1100, 26 January, a Moder River defense was re-established.
On 27 January, elements from the 101st Airborne Division had arrived - signaling once and for all the Battle of the Bulge was over - to relieve the 314th Regiment's position. The battalions assembled for replacements, and moved out again to the banks of the Moder taking over the area held by the 242nd Infantry. This section of the line, from the southern edge of Haguenau to just south of Kaltenhaus, was the area the Germans broke through on 24 January. Relief finally began, and despite a snow storm and some enemy activity in A/Company's sector, by 2200, 28 January, the 314th was back in Haguenau.
The next three days were spent patrolling,
and the only incident of record happened when C/Co attempted to
capture a three-man enemy scout force early the morning of 31 January.
C/Company's position was hit by a heavy mortar barrage. The church
steeple was hit by enemy artillery in Kaltenhaus, as well. |
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On 1 February, a newly trained and outfitted 2nd BN arrived to make up the Regimental reserve. The 79th Division was holding VI Corps front, the 314th's sector assignment was southwest of Haguenau, including Bischwiller. All of the units were depleted and exhausted - the veterans needing rest, and more training for the replacements. Division orders were sent of an "identification of the enemy force" which opposed the 314th presently. The objective was Taubenhof Farm, one-half mile west of Camp d'Oberhoffen - right across the river from Kaltenhaus.
Warmer temperatures was melting the snow, causing the Moder River to rise fast, so small boats had to be used to cross the 1st BN patrols. At 0130, 2 February, the returning patrols reported enemy located at and around the Farm location. An attack patrol had almost captured two Germans soldiers, but in the firefight they evaded, and the enemy was alerted to the patrol's presence. They retreated without identifying the enemy element, and further patrols were stalled due to daybreak.
Patrol actions took place over the next several days, and the enemy was finally determined by papers found on a dead German soldier.
All in all, the forces faced by the 79th Division in the battles taking place in the Alsace included: the 25th Panzer Division, the 25th Panzergrenadier, 21st Panzer Division, 553rd, 4th, and 405th Infantry Divisions, the 7th Parachute Division, and the 10th S.S. Division - plus the 256th and 361st Volksgrenadier Divisions.
Orders arrived for relief of the 314th from the line on 5 February. It was also alerted for a move to Pont-a-Mousson, France, but before the move across the Rhine to spearhead the 9th Army's movement - and after 87 days of combat - the unit was due a rest and training period.
Pont-a-Mousson, France
They cleared the Haguenau area, and moved out on 7 February to towns along the Moselle River - Regimental CP at Jezainviller, 1st BN at Pompey, 2nd BN at Belleville, and 3rd located at Dieulouard. The units trained, rested - complete with passes to Paris, and USO shows - until 14 February, 1945.