The Vosges Mountains and Alsace

3rd BN took 20 POWs, then ran into more enemy troops south of Nitting. The Germans had blown the bridge and the troops had to wade across the river under heavy fire. That evening, the 2nd and 3rd BNs camped in the town of Nitting after it was cleared of enemy, and 1st bunked at La Neueville-les-Lorquin.

On 21 November, 2nd BN relieved the 3rd in the lead off position, and had delays crossing its tanks and armor across the river; a problem they had faced quite often along this advance.

The bulk of 22 November found the Regiment sitting tight while the I&R men moved out to make contact with the 2nd French Armored. The French Armored Division was already at the approach to Phalsbourg - the gateway to the Saverne Gap. 1st BN moved A and D/Companies to relieve the French party at Middlebron. The action was at the Belfort Gap, and that night, reports came in that the French had poked through the German defenses there. The 2nd French Armored moved in north behind the Vosges to attack the Saverne defenses from the rear, and it forced the Germans to flee Phalsbourg.

Thanksgiving Day, 23 November, 1944 found the 314th underway to an assembly area at the eastern end of the pass near Saverne. Past the Vosges, Alsace stretched eastward to the Rhine River. At midnight, orders were sent to the 79th Division to move out to Brumath to hook up with the 44th Division in the taking of Haguenau, and recon the area between Strasbourg and Gambsheim. The 314th Regiment was sent to Weyersheim.

At 1015, 24 November, the 314th moved out - 3rd BN on point, 1st, then 2nd in the rear. Weyersheim was sixteen miles away. They encountered no ground troops, but were bombed and strafed several times by a renewed Luftwaffe. Road blocks were set up at dusk, with 3rd BN in Weyersheim on the left, 2nd BN outside Hoerdt, and the 1st BN in reserve. Safe billets became more important from a security standpoint because it was rumored the Alsace-area was home to many French sympathizers to the Hitler regime.

That night, due west of 2nd BNs position - at Bois de Geudertheim - the 311th FA BN stumbled into enemy forces who had strayed from their units due to the breakthrough at the Saverne. The cannoneers held fast, and the next morning, 2nd BN policed up 130 POWs from the Bois.

Motorized patrols were sent to scout the towns southeast of the line. The day of 25 November passed in relative quiet, and that night orders were sent for the 314th to move out north to set up a defense from Weitbruch to Kurtzenhausen. The new objective needed to be established by nightfall 26 November. The 314th arrived at 1400, with the 1st BN patrolling around Weitbruch, 3rd BN had the main line of resistance around Gries, and the 2nd BN spread out: F/Co in Weyersheim tied into a 3rd BN patrol outpost at Kurtzenhausen, with the rest in reserve at Regimental HQ in Geudertheim. German artillery began again, and reports had a considerable enemy presence in the Haguenau / Bischwiller area. The Luftwaffe, back to operational strength, flew 52 sorties over the Division on 26 November. The 463rd AA BN scored four kills.

On 27 November, the Division was ordered to move out to the south bank of the Moder River. This river flowed through the northeast edge of both Haguenau and Bischwiller. The 315th was sent forward on the left, and the 314th was assigned to take the towns of Niederschaeffolsheim and Schweighausen. They were to also set up road blocks from the southwest leading to Haguenau. 1st BN, accompanied by a platoon from the 749th medium tankers, was sent to establish the road block. 2nd, with another tank platoon, was sent behind 1st BN to approach Niederschaeffolsheim from the northeast, and to be ready to drive on to Harthausen. 3rd BN, still in reserve, stood pat over its blockades in Gries and Kurtzenhausen.

H-Hour was set for noon, 28 November, but the tank platoons were late in arriving. A/Co moved out and arrived in Birckwald at 1400. A smattering of enemy small arms fire was the only resistance met. By dark, A and B/Companies were posted near Birckwald, and C/Co, along with the entire 2nd BN, were holding Weitbruch.

0730, 29 November, 2nd BN headed for Niederschaeffolsheim, and C/Co was sent to man the road blocks leading to Haguenau. The 2nd BN met the first objective, and at 1245 began a drive for Harthausen. Enemy artillery and ground fire met the 2nd en route, but they took possession of the town by the afternoon. B/Co had joined C/Co on the blockade route, now moving forward to the Haguenau-Harthausen road, when they met two German tanks and 50 or so infantry armed with machine guns. The surprise attack exacted heavy casualties on the two companies, forcing them to fall back 400 yards south to regroup. Fifty-six men were lost in C/Co alone in the two days (28-29 November). Late the night of 29 November, a change in direction was necessitated to send the 314th head on into Haguenau.

On 30 November, at 0800, the 1st BN moved out, supported by all the tank destroyers, anti-tank guns and 50-caliber machine guns that were assigned to the 1st and 2nd BNs. Progress was still slow, and by 1045, the battalion had reached its objective of the Haguenau-Niederschaeffolsheim road blockade. 3rd BNs orders changed to recommit ahead of 1st BNs position to take 1st's next objective. The 2nd BN had advanced to the road leading north to Schweighausen when it came under heavy fire. E/Co made it across, but G/Co took the brunt of the attack, and the whole left flank was rolled back. 3rd BN had almost reached the objective at the Harthausen-Niederschaeffolsheim crossroad, with K/Co on point, when German fire attacked from three sides. 3rd pulled back and called in counter artillery fire. 3rd regrouped, and K/Co crossed the junction first. By the evening of 30 November, the 314th held a line around the woods overlooking Haguenau.

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