The Decoy Doughboy Souvenir Edition -- Printed in Czechoslovakia May 23, 1945. -- Publishes by and for the men of the 18th Combat Team. -- First Infantry Division, U. S. Army. A Short History of Your Regiment Activation The 18th Infantry first appeared in the records of the U. S. Regular Army, of which it has always been a part, in the War of 1812. It was Later merged to form the 8th Infantry, and on May 4, 1861, by direction of President Lincoln, was reorganized to participate in the Civil War, In which it was very active. At Gickamauga the first of several battle monuments stands in tribute to its men and officers who died there. After the Civil War it was stationed in the West, ard was identified in the several Indian skirmishes leading to the conquest and settlement of the American hinterland. The 18th Infantry is mentioned in many historical novels of the Wild West, out of. which came its World War I battle-cry, "Powder River, Let 'er Buck!" In C. B. I. Long Ago In the Phillipines it marched againt the Insurrectionists, the Moro headhunters, and following the Spanish American War served tours of duty there. At Ft. Riley, Kansas, 1906, the Regiment first marched to the German strains of "Happy Heinie". It found and still retains popularity as Regimental March. World War 1 In World War I it's record is a replica of that of its "father," the U. S. First Division. It fought in every engagement in which the Division participated. It suffered heavily at Soissons, fought with distinction at Cantigny, St. Mihiel, and the Argonne. African Christmas The invasion at Arzew, Algeria, Nov. 8, 1942, and the memorable battle of St. Cloud were curtam raisers of World War II. On December 7 the Regiment moved to Tunisia., and on Christmas Day its First Battalion fought the now historic battle of Long Stop Hill, where the first toll of heavy casualties was suffered. In Medjez-el-Bab it remained in Line for 48 days; shifted immediately to Sheba to stem a German breakthrough. There followed Gafsa, and the Bjebel Berda engagement, at El Guetter, in which the Regiment defeated the tough veterans of the Afrika Corps to win its first Distinguished Service Crosses of World War II. It ended the Tunisian Campaign in line the day Tunis fell, May 7, 1943, after winning the bloody engagements of Hills 350 in the Mountains of Mateur. Sicily Another landing, beginning the Sicilian campaign was made at Gela July 10 1943. Following the mechanized German counterthrust, the Regiment fought off limited counterattacks overlooking Gels. The Second Battalion drew firat blood wath the taking of Ponte Olivo, and in an arduous advance there fell Massarino, Barralranca, Villarosa, Gangi. On Mount Pellegrino, overlooking Troina, it distinguished itself by turning the flank of the enemy and forcing his withdrawal from that fortress city. For tactical strategy and outflanking maneuvers which tested its troops endurance -- but which saved lives, the Regiment won praise. "The Beach" At 1000 hours June 6, the 2nd Battalion moved onto "Omaha" Normandy, France; by noon it had cleared Colleville sur 'Mer, 1000 yards inland. The 1st and 3rd went ashore at noon, Although beach obstacles and much small arms resistance had been cleared by the assault elements of the 16th Infantry, enemy mortar and artillery took their toll. Given an all-important mission by high command on June 7, its three battalions began. a series of attacks which in 6 days carried it 23 miles inland to the La Vacqurie-Caumont highway, the farthest inland penetration on the Allied F'ront. Normandy On the 26th of July the 18th Infantry teamed with CC "B" of the 3rd Armd Div., spearheaded the now historic St. Lo breakthrough. Marigny fell to its Third Battalion, and in quick succession St. Denis de Gas, Brecey, Juvigny Le Tetre, and Mortain. At Mortain The Regiment successfully held open the Avranche Gap through which entire American Armies rolled on to Brittany. Its positions at Mortain were turned over to an element of the 30th Division which two days later fought an epic engagement there. Within 60 days, the 18 th had been assigned two of the most difficult and momentous missions in its history: 1. the night of June 6, expansion of the beachhead to insure successto the Allied landings, 2. July 26, the breakthrough, at St. Lo, through enemy forces then containing the Allies in Normandy. Both missions were fulfilled at a dear cost in lives and suffering, but with skill and valor that won for the Regiment new acclaim. After a temporary halt on the southern perimeter of the Falaise Gap it moved 180 miles east and committed at Montmirault, 15 miles south of Paris. It crossed the Seine August 27. Near Soisson, where it incurred great losses 26 years before, its mission was accomplished without the firing of a shot. Mons From September 3rd to the 7th, in what history ijas since labeled the Battle of Mons, there was no front line for the Regiment, only slathing, whirlwind encounters. At Bavai one company the 1st Battalion in five hours fighting killed or wounded 200 and captured 460 prisoners and much equipment. At Sars la Bruyere one company of riflemen plus attachments was attacked at midnight by a whooping fanatic enemy column of regimental strength, staved off four hours of assaults, and at dawn added to its achievements the destruction of 54 enemy, nearly all from small arms, the known wounding of 160, the capture of 490 prisoners, 2 batteries of artillery, uncounted vehicles. Entry of Germany In the following week the Regiment removed small resistance in the Herve sector, encountered and destroyed units of enemy rear guard manning the outer bastions of the Siegfried line, fought its way across the old border to Germany proper. The First and Second battalions won positions in the Aachen State Forest overlooking the city: The 3rd near the boundary intersection of Belgium, Holland, Germany. For several days it had units in all three nations. Aachen On September 19 the Third Battalion moved to the Eilendorf sector and paved the way for successful drives by the 1st and second which resulted in the encirclement of Aachen. In this engagement one company knocked out 19 pillboxes, each normally manned, to seize its objective -- Crucifix Hill -- well ahead of schedule. Although enemy efforts to reopen a way to Aachen reached a new high in fury, the Regiment, though suffering minor temporary impediments, held steadfastly to its dominating position overlooking the Aachen-Cologne road. Hortgen The Regiment then moved to an assembly area in the vicinity of Vicht, Germany, and in mid-November was committed in another sector of the Siegfried line. Through that month the Regiment sustained the costliest and 'bitterest two week period in its present-war history as it took objective after objective against formidable enemy counterattacks and heavy tree-burst artillery barrages to occupy the strategic towns of Jungersdorf and Langerwhere, from which places Cologne could be sighted on a clear day. T'hese were the "Heistern" engagements from which many accounts of personal sacrifice and valor will live in history of American Arms. The "Bulge" On December 6 -- six months after D Day -- the Regiment was relieved and moved to a rest area in Belgium for what was to have been a month's rest. The Ardennes breakthrough then occurd and the Regiment had been at rest 8 days when called to take up positions in the Eupen area. There followed the bitter defensive fighting in the Burgenbach-Monschau positions. During these days the Regiment, as part of the First, was paid one of its finest compliments when a high staff officer of Supreme Headquarters told correspondents: "We're not worrying about the Northern shoulder of the gap in our lines . . . The First Division is there." Belgian Christmas Christmas, 1944, found the Regiment dug into the frozen ground of Belgium, with 4 and 5 feet of snow hinduring its patrol activities. (This history will be continued, and the rapid events of 1945 covered in detail in some future publication.)
|