Photos, Articles, & Research on the European Theater in World War II
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This is one of a series of G.I. Stories of the Ground, Air and Service Forces
in the European Theater of Operations, to be issued by the Stars and Stripes,
a publication of the Information and Education Division, Special and Information
Services, ETOUSA... Maj. Gen. Louis A. Craig, commanding the 9th Inf. Div.,
lent his cooperation to the preparation of the pamphlet and basic material
was supplied to the editors by his personnel.
THE
patch which you are wearing on your left shoulder (and which
you probably sewed on with many a muttered curse and thereafter
thought of but seldom) is a gallant bit of color that you ought
to know more about, regardless of whether you've been with the
9th Division since it was activated, or just joined it this
afternoon. It is not merely another gadget — it's your
division insignia, and has been ever since the War Department
approved it back in 1923. Technically it is known as a red-and-blue
octofoil — a design of eight petals — with a white
center. Now, don't let it discourage you to find that a design
of eight petals is being used for the
NINTH
Division, because here's the reason: based upon the heraldic rules
of the 15th century each son of a family had his own individual
distinguishing mark, and the mark of the ninth son was this
"octofoil." And, so, this being the ninth regular Army division, the
heraldic symbolism is correct. Now, red and blue are the colors of
division flags, and the white in the center is the color of the
numerals you'll find on division flags. And the background disc
is your old friend, olive drab. Wear it with pride, as fighting
men of the 9th
INFANTRY
Division have worn it on three continents. At home, it symbolized one of
the Army's proudest show divisions. Abroad it has been hailed by
North Africans, both Arab and others, by Sicilians and French and
Belgians, as the insignia of liberating forces. The Germans, too,
have come to know it well, and fear the power that it represents. For
ever in their memory, clarion-clear, rings a prophetic roster of grim
and ominous names: Safi... Algiers... Port Lyautey... Sened...
Maknassy... El Guettar... Sedjenane... Bizerte... Randazzo...
Quinneville... Barneville... Cherbourg... Chateau Thierry...
Dinant... Monchau... Germeter... Zweifall... the 9th Division
was there. And the 9th Division is your
DIVISION
Passed by Censor For Mailing Home
To you into whose hands this little book will go, I express the
earnest hope that you will see between the lines the whole magnificent
untold tale of courage, patience, enduring toil and unending sacrifice,
which is the true and solid foundation for the story you will read,
and which more than any man or any group of men, is responsible for
the imposing history and brilliant future of our 9th Infantry Division.
The 9th Infantry Division Story
THIS IS HOW IT BEGAN
If any unit has earned the right
to be called Hitler's Nemesis it is the U.S. 9th Div. Here is an outfit that
really thrives on tough opposition. America has reason to be proud of this
superb fighting unit.
BOSTON GLOBE (Editorial)
In Aug. 1940 the British had experienced Dunkirk and were preparing for
invasion. The United States, too, faced with imminent war, began to expand its
army, and the last of the regular army divisions, the 9th Inf. Div., was
activated at Ft. Bragg, N.C., on Aug. 1, 1940.
Sent to organize the 9th was a skeleton force of regular army soldiers, to
which were added in the next few months thousands of the civilians who were
pouring into the Army through Selective Service. After a period of training
came the flaming morning of Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941 — Pearl Harbor and
the real thing. It became obvious that Allied armies would have to land on
enemy-held beaches, and so the 9th immediately was launched on an amphibious
training program.
Since that time, the 9th has met and defeated the enemy many times. The 9th
landed in the invasion of North Africa on Nov. 8, 1942, fought through the
barren country of El Guettar, across the mountains of Sedjenane and Sicily,
across and up the Cherbourg Peninsula in France, through France, Belgium and
the Siegfried Line into Germany proper.
During training and combat the 9th continuously cadred new divisions in the
ever-expanding Army and graduated such outstanding soldiers as
Lt. Gen. Jacob L. Devers, Commander of VI Army Group; Maj. Gen. M.S. Eddy,
Commander of XII Corps; Lt. Gen. Alexander M. Patch, Commander of Seventh Army;
seven major generals and four brigadier generals. The division now is commanded
by Maj. Gen. Louis A. Craig.
Now marching triumphantly toward its fifth anniversary the 9th Div. is composed
of men from all the 48 states and the District of Columbia, welded by courage,
fortitude and glory into a great fighting unit.
Born of the necessity of preserving freedom, the 9th Inf. Div. stands as a
striking symbol of the military might of a democracy. It is America at war.
The 9th Div. is well known back home, for the 9th has long been a "show division"
and staged many reviews for Allied leaders.
JACK FOISIE, THE STARS AND STRIPES
For more than 20 years the 9th had remained inactive, but at 0600 on
Aug. 1, 1940, Sgt. John J. Waldrop, the first enlisted man of the reactivated
division, arrived at Ft. Bragg, N.C. The division area was an uninhabited plot
of muddy ground, but as the cadre trickled in a "Tent City" rose in record time.
On Jan. 16, 1941, the first 500 selectees arrived from Camp Upton, N.Y. On the
following day 500 more arrived and they continued to pour in. Under the stimulus
of this new blood the "regulars" forgot the rigors of Tent City to help the raw
and bewildered "rookies."
With the approach of summer the 9th began an extensive field training program. Most
highly publicized maneuver of all was the war games near Bowling Green, Va., in June,
during which Col. Frank C. Mahin's 60th Inf., supported by the 60th and 34th F.A. Bns.,
tangled with units of the 44th Div., and came away covered with glory and mosquito
bites. Just prior to its first anniversary the division was full strength and was
rated as one of the crack outfits of our rapidly expanding Army.
On its first anniversary the 9th Div. lost Maj. Gen. Jacob L. Devers, who had
been C.G. from Nov. 4, 1940 to Aug. 1, 1941. He left for Ft. Knox, Ky., to take
command of the Army's Armored Force, where he was soon promoted to Lt. Gen. At a
farewell division review held for him, the 15th Engr. Bn. displayed a fleet of
brand new dump trucks. But the solemnity of the occasion was rudely shattered when
an inexperienced driver kicked the wrong lever, and dumped a load of very surprised
personnel smack in front of the reviewing stand.
In mid-September the 9th moved out to begin the memorable Carolina maneuvers and
operated for 10 weeks near Rock Hill, Chester, and Lancaster, S.C., and around
Rockingham, Cheraw, Hamlet and Monroe, N.C. These were the days of simulated
artillery fire, flour-sack bombs, broomstick guns and beer-can mortar shells. The
first recreation center was just getting under way, and on week-ends civilian
hostesses pleaded with soldiers to come in for a fast game of checkers or to
write a letter home.
Maneuvers ended Nov. 28, 1941; and some outfits hadn't yet reached their barracks
when Dec. 7 and real war rolled around. Shortly after the first of the year the
first hint of the division's future came when it was attached to the Amphibious
Corps, Atlantic Fleet, for training.
During the spring and summer, 1942, the 9th changed greatly. It learned a new type of
warfaresending unit after unit aboard transports in Chesapeake Bay to stage amphibious
attacks on Solomons Island. It gave freely of its experienced personnel to form nuclei
of new divisions.
On July 24, 1942 Brig. Gen. Manton S. Eddy became C.G. and on Aug. 9 he was promoted
to Maj. Gen. He was to lead the 9th to Africa, Sicily, England and France.
During the summer, soldiers raced up and down nets on mock landing-craft,
across — and often into — MacFayden's Pond on footbridges, and slashed
at one another with bayonets as they had been taught
by Marine Col. A. J. Drexel Biddle. Famed military observers visited the division
weekly, some of them well known — Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson,
Gen. George C. Marshall. Others were little known to Americans then, but since
have become world-famous — Field Marshal Sir John Dill, Admiral
Lord Louis Mountbatten, Lt. Gen. Lesley J. McNair, and Lt. Gen. Mark W. Clark.
Then it came. In early September the 39th Inf. Regt. was alerted. The 39th Combat Team,
commanded by Col. Benjamin F. Caffey, moved out on Sept. 17, 1942 to a POE. Later the
47th and 60th Combat Teams exchanged barracks for tents on Chicken Road, Ft. Bragg's
Reservation. On Oct. 14, 1942 the 60th Combat Team, commanded by Col. Frederick J. deRohan,
shipped to a POE and was followed Oct. 17 by Col. Edwin H. Randle's 47th Combat Team. On
Dec. 12 the remainder of the division sailed from New York Harbor.
After Training Comes the McCoy
THE LONG AFRICAN CAMPAIGNS
Observers who saw the 9th Div. in action in the
Mediterranean considered it probably the crack U.S. Army unit in the
North African theater.
TOM WOLF (NEA)
Following the cessation of hostilities, plans were made to regroup the division
at Port Lyautey. The 39th Combat Team remained near Algiers, and during the next
three months was strung out more than 500 miles, guarding communication lines. The
47th made a foot march of over 250 miles from Safi to Port Lyautey, while the
remainder of the division landed at Casablanca and moved to the division area. By
the first of 1943, the 9th, less the 39th Combat Team, was concentrated near
Port Lyautey.
For the next month, soldiers of the 9th in turn guarded the Spanish Moroccan
border, drank red wine, staged a review for President Roosevelt, saw Martha Raye,
slept in cork forests, and found out that the guidebooks don't tell the whole
story. On Jan. 31, 1943, the first elements began moving by train and truck
from Port Lyautey.
The route was through Elmo Grain, Sidi Slimane, Petit Jean, Fez, Taza, Guercif,
Taorit, Oujda, across the Algerian frontier, through Marnia and Turene to Tlemcen.
The stay in Tlemcen was short. At 1100 Feb.
17 orders were received to move the division artillery to the Tunisian front
where Rommel had broken through. Four and a half hours later the 34th F.A. Bn.
crossed the IP as leading unit. Snow was on the ground and rain fell as the
artillery and the cannon companies pulled out. By day and night they drove
via Sidi bel Abbes, L'Arba, Setif, Ain M'Lila, Ain Beida, to Tebessa. Brig.
Gen. S. LeRoy Irwin, artillery commander, then received orders from II Corps
to proceed to Thala, which was seriously threatened. The road out of Tebessa
was jammed with traffic, and heavy guns repeatedly slid off roads made slippery
by mud and continuous rain.
By 0400 Feb. 21 the artillery battalions were in position to fire. In three days
and twelve hours this column of 411 vehicles, 138 officers, and 2032 enlisted
men had covered 777 miles of winding, congested and slippery roads, through
rain and snow. Rommel's thrust was stopped.
Meantime, the remainder of the division left Tlemcen on Feb. 19. Heavy wet
snow fell as the convoy moved out at 0830 on a route that led — remember
the names? — through Lamtar, Detrie, Sidi bel Abbes, Boulet, Mercier Lacomba,
Ain Frass, Ain Fakin, Tizzi, St. Andre, Mascara, Ain Fares, El Bofdj, Tliouanet,
Relizane, Hamedena, St. Aime, Inkerman, Charon, Malikoff, Orleansville, Oued Fodda,
Rouina, Duperre, Lavandere, Affreville, Miliana, Marguerite, Bourkika, Ameur el Ain,
Mouiniville, Calmatie, L'Arba, Rivte Alma, Menerville, Souk el Haad, Dalestad,
Thiers, Bouiara, El Esnam, El Adjiba, Mzita, Coligny, Setif, Ain M'Lila (where
barracks bags were stored) — to arrive near Bou Chebka Feb. 27 1943.
During the move the 39th Combat Team joined the division, reuniting the 9th once
again. The division immediately went into position and began patrolling around
Sbeitla and Kasserine. In late March, the 60th Combat Team was detached to fight
the battle of Maknassy, while the remainder of the division moved to El Guettar.
Here the 1st Inf. Div. on the left and the 9th Inf. Div. on the right, as parts of
Gen. Patton's II Corps, were to attack on the Gafsa-Gabes axis to relieve the pressure
on Gen. Montgomery's British force to the south.
Detachments reduced the 9th for this operation to six — and for several days
to five — infantry battalions. Principal handicap, however, was the almost
complete lack of adequate maps. Nevertheless, the attack was launched on the morning
of March 28, and for the next 11 days a bitter battle was waged for hills 290, 369,
and 772. By April 7 the enemy had pulled back and the 9th, after occupying forward
positions, made immediate plans to begin the long, secret trek to northern Tunisia.
This meant moving an entire division from southern Tunisia to the extreme northern
flank bordering the Mediterranean. By April 13 the relief of the British division
in the sector had begun. Also, the 60th Combat Team had rejoined the division at
Bou Chebka and had begun to move northward.
Attached to the division during the next operation were four Tabours of Goums:
grim-visaged, swarthy, turbanned, "bathrobe-wearing," silent Berber tribesmen
who, as part of the Corps Franc d'Afrique, fought and died for seven months
beside their American, French and British comrades. "Goum" — a word
these tribesmen never used in referring to themselves — is an Arabic
term meaning "irregular soldier."
With the relief of the British swiftly completed, the 9th was now ready as a
unit, and on April 23 the attack was launched in the Sedjenane sector.
The division commander soon decided that a frontal attack on the Green Hill-Bald Hill
position would be too costly. He therefore decided to employ the bulk of the division
in a wide flanking movement through extremely difficult terrain north of the main
road, to outflank enemy positions and cut lines of communications north and northeast.
Such a maneuver would be hampered by an almost total lack of communications
throughout the area to be traversed. However, the Germans would never expect such a
difficult maneuver if our troops could be moved into position without detection. Secrecy
was essential to preserve the element of surprise.
In preparation for the attack a careful study was made of the terrain and dominant
observation was selected for each of the intermediate objectives to be captured by
the regiments each day. While these objectives were not always captured on the planned
dates, most of them eventually were occupied, and in every case such occupation proved
decisive in outflanking the Germans.
The extreme width of the front — 28 miles — posed a very difficult problem
for the artillery commander who had to scatter his units. As a solution light battalions
were kept in their usual role, supporting the infantry regiments, but medium and heavy
artillery were divided into two groups, one for the south and one for the north.
Supply was a great problem. The French had virtually no transportation. Three
hundred mules were obtained, and for several days the regiments were forced to
rely solely on them for supply transportation and evacuation.
In the campaign which followed, the soldiers of the 9th proved that they could take
advantage of the lessons they had learned the hard way. The first proof was a brilliant
envelopment of the Green-Bald Hill positions which the British had assaulted unsuccessfully
for months. At Djebel Dardys and Djebel Mrata the 60th Inf. massacred a German
counter-attacking force. Djebel Cheniti was a brilliant demonstration of infantry
"leaning up against" artillery preparation.
The 9th continued to drive steadily toward Bizerte, one of the principal Allied objectives. Finally
at 1515 hours May 7, the following conversation took place:
CO, 894th TD Bn.: "Have covered the entire valley of the Oued Garba. No sign
of enemy in the valley. Believe way to Bizerte wide open. Request permission to proceed
into Bizerte and occupy city."
G-3, 9th Div.: "CG instructs you proceed Bizerte and occupy it. Report
your position every half hour."
CO, 894th TD Bn.: "Will comply with pleasure."
And then, as Maj. Dean T. Vanderhoef, Ass't. G-2, played the "William Tell Overture" on
his ocarina over the radio telephone, troops rolled into Bizerte.
Mopping up continued for several days, and when all resistance ended, a brilliantly
successful operation was complete. The 9th had come of age.
Days of combat in North Africa were over. Tunisia had been a disillusioning land, devoid
of cinematic glamor; a land of overloaded burros and few houses for shelter. The battle
had featured over-extended fronts and equally extended lines of supply. Communications
were across a country once described by a doughboy as "miles and miles of miles and
miles" — a country strewn with French, German, and American mines whose
exact location no one knew. These had been the days when cold-numbed
fingers were sliced on C ration cans, when air superiority didn't always seem a
certainty, when Yank and The Stars and Stripes were things that
didn't arrive, when the only news came by way of BBC (and nobody had a radio), when
the theory became a fact that "Africa is a very cold continent where the sun is hot."
Other divisions after the end of the African campaign went back to bivouacs near
Oran or Algiers, but they sent the 9th to Magenta, 80 kilometers south of Sidi bel Abbes
in the direction of the Sahara Desert.
HAL BOYLE (AP)
Though dust, heat and flies seemed to increase almost daily, the coolness and beauty
of mornings and evenings were worth the trouble and heat of mid-day. There was always
the certainty of a night's sleep free of heat, but the mid-day sun was so intense that
a division order (never rescinded) specified a siesta for all troops from 1300 to
1500 hours each afternoon.
Sidi bel Abbes, French Foreign Legion Hq. and the nearest town of any size, was
50 miles away, and some passes were issued to division personnel each day. Truck
convoys brought the troops in and returned them to their areas each night.
Shortly after the arrival of the division in this area, changes began to take place. The
9th passed from control of II Corps to I Armored Corps. On June 1 orders were issued
transferring Brig. Gen. S. LeRoy Irwin, Div. Arty. commander, and Col. Edwin H. Randle,
47th Inf. commander, from the 9th to the United States. Both received promotions and
new commands. Irwin took command of the 5th Div. and Randle became Ass't. CO of the
77th Div. which later landed on Guam. On May 30, Col. Reese M. Howell was relieved
from the 17th F.A. Brig. to command the 9th Div. Arty. Appointed Brig. Gen. June 9,
he took command of the Div. Arty. on June 17, 1943.
Between May 26 and June 27, 1943 the 9th participated in a program of training and
rest. Emphasis was placed on rest — not forgetting reveille, formal retreat,
calisthenics, Saturday morning inspections and all the thousand-and-one formalities
which plague a GI who otherwise might have ten minutes to himself — with
movies, band-concerts and as much entertainment as could be lured to the forsaken
spot that was the division area. Units were sent to the beach at Ain el Turck near
Oran in rotation for periods of four days each. Dysentery was prevalent. The training
program featured schools, demonstrations and conditioning exercises.
Throughout the stay in the area the 9th received much cooperation from the French
Foreign Legion. In return the division trained personnel of the 2nd Spahis (French)
in reconnaissance work, and personnel of the French 9th Colonial Div. in tactics and
technics of cannon-company and heavy weapon material. Details were also trained
by the 9th Sig. Co. and the 15th Engr. Bn.
But movement was in the air again. On June 29 and 30, the 39th Combat Team (with
attachments) and the 9th Div. Arty. moved out for Bizerte, via Orleansville, L'Arba,
Setif and Souk-Ahras. Col. George Smythe took command of the 47th Inf. Another restless
week followed as the remainder of the division stayed at Magenta pursuing its training
program. And on July 8 orders were issued directing the remaining units to Ain el Turck. The
infantry regiments, with attachments, were to march.
Thus, seven weeks after having moved into the Magenta area, the division left. The
new area was near Bou Sfer, with all units within walking distance of the beach. In
this "staging area" preparations were immediately begun to move to Sicily. For two
weeks training was conducted in the morning but each afternoon units were formed and
moved to the beach at a walk-and-run, where the remainder of the afternoon was spent.
Across the Mediterranean to Sicily
BATTLES, RECOGNITION, REST
The stamina and endurance of these men (of the 9th) as well as their march and firing
line discipline is remarkable.
HAROLD DENNY, N.Y. TIMES
At approximately 0415 on Sunday Aug. 1, 1943 — the 3rd anniversary of the 9th — the
celebration began. Enemy planes raided the harbor for an hour and 45 minutes.
During the raid the 9th lost neither personnel nor equipment, but an undetermined number
of enemy planes was shot down. That morning unloading of ships began and division units
went into bivouac east of Palermo. During the next few days concentration of the division
east of Nicosia was completed.
Units that had preceded the main body of the division for the invasion of Sicily rejoined
the 9th west of Troina. By Aug. 5 all units were in a position for the attack that was
launched on the morning of Aug. 6.
The 60th lnf. was sent on a wide flanking movement north through almost impassable
terrain. Their mission was similar to what they had accomplished so brilliantly in
the Bizerte campaign. Again there were major problems of supply and evacuation
competently solved by the supply services, medics, and engineers.
While the 60th went north through Capizzi and then east, the 47th and 39th advanced
east from Troina. The enemy once again was maneuvered out of one position
after another. By Aug. 12 the 60th Inf. reached Floresta, and the 39th
occupied Randazzo, keypoint of the enemy's last line of defense before
Messina. Here the 9th Div. was "pinched out" by the 3rd Div. on the north
and the British on the south.
The 9th Div. remained in position until Aug. 20, when it was officially announced
that the island of Sicily was free of enemy. On Aug. 23, movement began toward
Cefalu on the Tyrrhenian Sea.
Here, for the first time the division received some of the credit it had so richly
earned the hard way. Because of confused censorship regulations, the 9th had been
neglected in press releases concerning the North African and Sicilian
campaigns. Recognition came in early Oct. 1943 in The Stars and Stripes,
which stated:
The 9th has the kind of leadership and spirit that make a fighting outfit. The
men showed it at Randazzo, the southern hinge of the last German defense line in
Sicily. They showed it by their brilliant envelopment of Green and Bald Hills in
the Sedjenane Valley campaign which led to the fall of Bizerte. They showed it
in one of the bitterest battles of North Africa — the fight at El Guettar;
and again when they force-marched some 900 miles to help stem the Rommel thrust
at Kasserine Pass. And they showed it when their three combat teams landed at
Safi, at Port Lyautey, and at Algiers last Nov. 8.
In this area the bubble of rotation swelled to enormous size and burst abruptly. Here
the division had a chance to see entertainers like Jack Benny, Al Jolson, and
Adolphe Menjou. Here the Donut Girls appeared, and from Sept. 5 through Oct. 30 served
more than 170,000 freshly-baked doughnuts to the 9th Div. Here on Oct. 25, 1943, 34
newly naturalized members of the division formally became citizens of the country
for which they'd been fighting for months.
These were the days of vino, marsala, and vermouth; of grapes and melons and
almonds; of gaily-painted donkey carts and swims in the blue Tyrrhenian Sea; of
visits to Palermo and Monreale and the dark catacombs; of the frequent times when
the soldiers found out that the guidebooks don't tell the whole story.
Then came Halloween and an order for the 9th to move to Mondello, near
Palermo, "the muddiest patch of ground in the world." And on the night
of Monday, Nov. 8, 1943, the 9th was boat-and-train bound for England.
England and D-Day Build-Up
WINCHESTER WAS THE PLACE
But for all its quiet, ancient beauty, Winchester was nothing more than a springboard
from which the 9th could leap into the final European phases of the world conflict. As
the mild English winter melted into spring, the luxury of passes, furloughs and
week-ends wore away to reveal more and more clearly the grim, steel framework of
ominous military preparation.
Gen. Bernard Montgomery addressed the troops on a rainy afternoon Jan. 19, 1944, at
the 60th Inf. area in Winchester Barracks. On March 24 Gen. Eisenhower,
Lt. Gen. Omar N. Bradley, Maj. Gen. J. Lawton Collins, and Prime Minister Winston Churchill
inspected the division.
By April 2, with all leaves and furloughs cleared up, the training pace was
accelerated by a field problem on Easter Sunday. On May 27 at 0630 the division
was put on a six-hour alert status. The men knew the time was at hand.
There had been GI movies, USO shows, PX supplies, the Red Cross tea wagon, signs
in English, mild-and-bitter, pubs and dances, and the not-so surprising rediscovery
that the guidebooks don't tell the whole story.
The division began moving to marshalling areas on Saturday afternoon, June 3. Men found
sleep difficult the night of June 5, under the ceaseless drone of unseen planes. By two-thirty,
when the first units were alerted, everybody knew...
Invasion of the continent began in the early morning of June 6, 1944. The 9th Inf. hit
the Normandy beach on D plus 4, as one of the two U.S. infantry divisions on the
beachhead with previous combat experience, a fact fully appreciated by higher
commanders and military observers.
Again the 9th Unleashed its Might
A CAPTURED HUN WAS CAMERA-SHY
The Ninth is good. It performed like a beautiful ma-chine in the Cherbourg campaign.
ERNIE PYLE
The attack was swift, perfectly executed. Each time the enemy dropped back, the
9th Div. hit him again. Having driven across the Douve River, and although north
and south flanks were exposed, the 47th and the 60th Inf. reached the east coast
near St. Lo, D'Ourville and Barneville early on June 17.
The Cotentin Peninsula was cut, but the enemy made a desperate attempt to break
out near St. Jacques de Nehou. Artillery and a terrific mortar concentration
massacred this force.
The 9th then turned north toward Cherbourg. The 39th went through Octeville while
the 47th seized the western half of the town and the arsenal. Meanwhile the 60th
was protecting the left flank and preparing for an attack up the cape.
During this campaign the 9th captured Lt. Gen. Karl Wilhelm von Schlieben and
Rear Admiral Hennecke, senior enemy Army and Navy commanders of the Cherbourg
area. They were immediately brought to the division CP where ensued a bit of
repartee which shortly became famous.
Bob Capa, Life magazine photographer, appeared at the division commander's tent to
take pictures of the captured officers. But the Germans definitely had other
notions. Von Schlieben was particularly difficult. "I am tired of this picture
taking," he snapped. Capa, who speaks German, sighed and lowered his camera
momentarily. "I, too, am tired, General," he pointed out, "I have to take
pictures of so many captured German generals!"
While other forces occupied Cherbourg, the 9th cleaned up the Cap de la Hague by
July 1. The 9th had accomplished the opening chapter of the invasion drama.
This had been Africa with hedgerows, calvados, snipers, totally destroyed villages, an
occasional pretty girl, and the familiar realization that the guidebooks don't tell
the whole story.
The story of how completely the 9th had done its job is told best by some of the war
correspondents who reported the facts to the world:
The Infantry of the 9th Div. rates a mass Congressional Medal.
WILLIAM H. STONEMAN
The hedgerow-to-hedgerow fighting of the 9th Div. across the Cherbourg peninsula from
sea to sea must rate as one of the most brilliant successes of United States military
history. For four days I accompanied these veterans who not only had turned the tide
in Tunisia with the capture of Bizerte, but also helped wind up the Sicilian campaign
with the seizure of Randazzo. They were brought to France to chop off the tip of the
strategic peninsula and isolate the Germans in Cherbourg... The renowned heroes of
Port Lyautey and Bizerte pushed along the flank to Barneville, encountered severe
resistance at the little town of St. Jacques de Nehou.
TOM HENRY
To the north the 9th had taken Nehou. Veterans of Bizerte and Sicily, the men of the 9th
were now fresh from England, itching for more fight. They got their chance: the 82nd was
too spent to exploit its breakthrough. So while one regiment of the 9th pushed west from
Nehou through St. Jacques, another regiment passed through the tired 82nd, pushed through
St. Saveur in a parallel thrust... the 9th had gained 12 1/2 miles in two days — the
fastest advance of the campaign... The 9th had done the job: Cherbourg was sealed off.
TIME
Omar Bradley has done it again. Slipping stronger units past the lines of their tiring
comrades, he once more smashed unexpectedly through the Germans to cut off Cherbourg,
just as be broke through to doom Bizerte a little over a year ago. And he used the
same outfit — the battle-tested 9th Div. — to strike the decisive blow... The
blow that broke the Nazi's back below Cherbourg was a clever one and aroused real
enthusiasm here (Washington, D.C.) Brig. Gen. Horace S. Sewell of the British
branded "the 9th American Division's exploit" as "a magnificent achievement."
CAPT. LOWELL M. LIMPUS
It was June 25, the nineteenth day of the Battle of Liberation. And the veterans of
the American 9th Inf. Div., who a year before had helped to corner the Germans in
Tunisia's Cap Bon Peninsula, now were conducting the first smashing Allied victory
of the invasion. For by nightfall the great port of Cherbourg was for all practical
purposes in American hands.
NEWSWEEK
The 9th Inf. Div. has been in action continuously since July 9, driving from
France through Belgium, into Germany.
THE STARS AND STRIPES (Oct. 9, '44)
The 9th beat off a series of counter-attacks in the Mortain-Cherence le Roussel sector
and later joined in the chase which closed the Falaise Gap.
On Aug. 20, 1944 Maj. Gen. Louis A. Craig took command of the 9th and began an
offensive which carried the unit over much of the same ground that he himself
had covered in the last war.
The 9th swung toward the east, across the Seine at Melun, then pushed northeast
to the historic Marne on Aug. 28 without opposition, and swept through equally
historic Chateau-Thierry the following day.
Through Belgium, into Germany
OVER MEUSE, THROUGH SIEGFRIED
The 9th continued the push through Chimay, through Couvin, toward Dinant and the
Meuse River. The crossing of the Meuse has historically been one of the most
difficult of military operations. It was not less difficult now.
Crossings were attempted at several points — some were instantly successful,
others required several thrusts. By Sept. 5, however, the 9th had pressed across
the Meuse River.
The push continued and on Sept. 13 the 9th moved into Germany south of Roetgen. The
following day the 47th Inf. staked its claim of being the first Allied unit to
completely breach the Siegfried Line, advancing through the first zone and on
through the second. The 39th and 60th meantime drove into the Hurtgen Forest.
A letter from Maj. Gen. J. Lawton Collins, C.G. of VII Corps, to Maj. Gen. Craig
gives an apt description of the division's participation in the battles of Europe:
"After the fall of Cherbourg the 9th participated in the bitter fighting in the
swamps and hedgerows of Normandy, and contributed materially to the breakthrough
of the German defenses that ended the 'hedgerow' fighting and opened the war of
maneuver. Joining in the pursuit, the division secured the left flank of the
VII Corps in its drive on Mortain, then bore a large share of the vicious attacks
of the German Seventh Army in the Mortain-Cherence le Roussel area aimed at
separating the American First and Third Armies. With these German attacks beaten
off, the 9th again participated in the pursuit that assisted in closing the
Falaise Gap from the south.
"After crossing the Seine, the Marne, and the Aisne rivers in rapid succession, the
9th again came to grips with the retreating enemy in the edge of the Ardennes Forest
east of Hirson and drove him across the Meuse. The division's successful crossing of
the Meuse in the vicinity of Dinant, in the face of strong opposition, was one of the
most difficult tasks of this war. Using assault boats and rafts, the initial crossing
was at night. Despite heavy losses the division established a secure bridgehead, which
it held against spirited German counter-attacks, then completed its crossing and routed
the enemy which fled to the east. The pursuit continued without pause until the division
had joined in the breakthrough of the West Wall.
"During these extensive operations the 9th Division advanced almost 600 miles against
enemy opposition, captured over 28,000 prisoners and participated in three
major campaigns with not more than five days out of action in a period of
over four months. This outstanding record is one of the finest in the
European Theater."
Printed by Desfosses-Neogravure, Paris.
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