The Rhine
Regimental CP held a meeting 22 March with all commanders to discuss the final plans. Early evening, 23 March, the units moved forward by trucks four to five miles, then on foot the final two miles to the forward assembly areas. At 0200, 24 March, artillery fire commenced. With the rationing of ammunition not an issue anymore, the sky was lit up almost non-stop for over an hour. At 0330, the 1st and 2nd BN's were alerted for the crossing. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, along with General Simpson, and General Anderson were at Division Command Post to observe. At 1000, 2nd BN began its forge of the Rhine and reached its objective - the outskirts of Overbruch. There was a small amount of artillery fire scattered over 1st BNs position, coming from an area close to Dinslaken. 3rd BN followed 2nd's route and close up just right of the 2nd BN position.
The plan called for the 313th to push south,
315th to push north with the 314th in between in an attempt to expand
the beachhead width before moving on due east. Without TDs or tank
support, the 1st and 2nd BNs jumped off headed to Dinslaken at 1630.
Speedy progress was made as they faced minimum resistance. |
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Along the outskirts of Dinslaken, C/Co took a large factory building and had reached the railroad tracks coming in from the northeast. A and B/Companies swept the rear of town clean, and 2nd BN moved down the center of the sector seeing little and sporadic resistance.
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By dark, the Regiment was settled in for the
night with the railroad tracks serving as the outpost line. 3rd
BN had reverted to reserve at Overbruch. Overnight, the Regiment
moved 147 vehicles, including the Cannon Company guns, across the
Rhine. |
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The 25 March objective was a wooded area west of a yet to be completed autobahn five miles inland. At 0700, 1st and 2nd BNs restarted the attack to enlarge the bridgehead. Both received fire from 40-mm AA guns firing horizontally. B and C/Companies led off 1st BNs attack with B/Co moving into Heisfeld from the east, and C/Co coming up the west side. By 1200, the town was secured. E/Co led point for the 2nd BN, and F/Co attempted to advance east of the railroad tracks, but had to fall back and regroup behind E/Company's position due to 88-mm gunfire. Eickhof was finally cleared early in the morning hours of 26 March.
The 315th Regiment position was relieved by the 134th Regiment of the 35th Division on 26 March, and they proceeded northeast with the attacks. The 314th attacked with the 134th on the left flank. The 315th moved to secure part of the 2nd BN position. The 313th Regiment went into reserve. 3rd BN was still in reserve at Regimental HQ, and the position received sporadic shelling. The 1st BN objective was to seize the command ground at Zur Forst Wesel to the edge of Koter Bruch, some 3000 yards forward. The 2nd BN was to hold its position in a defensive stance, and 3rd BN was activated to move up between the 1st and 2nd BNs positions.
The 3rd BN was tasked with following the right flank of 1st BN, and defend facing south. 1st BN moved out with A/Co on point, followed by B/Co. A/Co cleared out an enemy strong point about 500 yards past the autobahn. Now reaching open space beyond the woods, A and B/Companies attacked strongly and quickly - out advancing the 134th Infantry to their left. By 1200, A/Co had secured the northern half of the battalion objective. B/Co was held up by two enemy tanks and support infantry, but reached its portion of the objective and secured it by 1400. 3rd BN companies I, K and L moved in to shore up 1st BNs position and to relieve the manned outposts. Later in the day, I/Co was ordered to push its flank into the woods to the main roadway running north-south on the line's east side tying into E/Company's position. E/Co had been delayed by resistance from the houses located in the east sector of the woods. E/Co cleaned out these strong points on their progress, while F/Co was hit hard by artillery and roughly 100 German infantry. The counter-attack was shut down by the Regiment's artillery and chemical mortars. The 315th moved over to secure this position at 2030 to allow F/Co to regroup.
At 0845, 27 March, the 1st BN was relieved by the 137th Infantry. They were moved to the assembly area at Heisfeld for Regimental reserve. The Regimental front was facing south towards the city of Sterkrade and the Rhine-Herne Canal, with the 2nd and 3rd BNs stationed on the line. The Rhine was crossed.
Sterkrade
The Regiment moved eastward to the outskirts
of Sterkrade, the night of 27-28 March. Along the way, I&R captured
17 POWs, 2nd and 3rd BNs captured six 88-mm guns amongst heavy fighting.
At 0600, 29 March, with the 3rd BN attacking from the Regiment's
left flank and 2nd BN on the right, pushed the advance forward against
little resistance. |
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By nightfall, 1st BN had moved up shadowing 2nd's line of attack, and Sterkrade was secure.
The established line advanced to the Rhine-Herne Canal, consolidated, and the Regiment held this position for the next week. The 314th's situation was so secure that a Corps team arrived with movies to entertain the troops. Sunday, 1 April, was Easter, and church services were held in a beautiful cathedral in town. A captured German food depot yielded eggs and wine. 2nd BN's elements were pulled from the line during the week for guard duty around intelligence targets in the area.
Steele
On 6 April, the 17th Airborne Division relieved the 79th Division in the Sterkrade area, and the 79th moved about five miles northeast to Bottrop. There, they went into Division reserve to rest and refit for what was to be the Division's last attack mission. The objective was the large city of Essen and its surrounding hamlets, including Steele.
Early evening, 7 April, the 1st and 3rd BN's crossed the Rhine-Herne Canal in preparation for the attack toward the town of Steele. At 0930, 8 April, the attack jumped off to virtually no resistance. 2nd BN was deployed eastward to the town of Sevingham. All three battalions were on their objectives quickly. 1st BN patrols had an excellent observation point in Steele of across the Ruhr River. Opposite the position was a strongly built German AA battery. The fire was almost constant until the 311th Field Artillery took the German position out.
The 3rd BN position was relieved by the 315th Regiment on 9 April, and moved into reserve. 10 April, 1st and 2nd BN's attacked to advance the Regiment's position all the way to the Ruhr. B and C/Companies were hit hard by another concrete surrounded AA position, and sustained heavy casualties. Tank support pushed the enemy back, and the battalions moved forward again. At sunset, led by the 3rd BN, the entire Regimental rear elements drove to the river banks, and before midnight, 10 April 1945, the entire area was secure. This completed the 314th Regiment's last attack mission.