2nd Ranger History... Continued
11June 1944. The 2nd Ranger Battalion is placed in V Corps reserve. Replacements are recieved and training begins to bring battalion back to full strength.
25 June 1944.. The Rangers move to Foucarville where their primary mission is POW guard duty .
3 July , 1944.. Rangers begin a series of minor moves. The missions are primarily patrol and recon in nature. Training continues and many Rangers wounded at Normandy are beginning to return.
17 August 1944. Rangers are ordered to the port city of Brest on the Brittany Peninsula. Brest was a fortress city, heavily defended by approximately 50,000 troops. The capture of the deep water ports of Brest were considered a priority for landing supplies and men from the US. The 29th, 8th and 2nd Infantry Divisions, 4th and 6th Armored Divisions and 2nd and 5th Ranger battalions are given the job of laying siege to the city.
20 September 1944.. Rangers are moved to Kirbilben, France for rest and refit.
26 September.1944 Rangers are moved by railcar for a 5 day ride to Esch, Luxembourg.
01 November 1944. Col Rudder is briefed on the Rangers next assignment, they would be attached to V Corps to assist in an attack across the Roer River and ultimately push on to the Rhine. The 28th division would lead an attack against the town of Schmidt in a region the GIs referred to as the Hurtgen Forest.
03 November 1944 . 2nd Rangers board trucks and leave Esch. They are attached to 5th Armored Division for supply and administration..
14 November 1944. The Rangers are ordered to support the weakened 28th Division , which had been driven from Schmidt by a fierce German counterattack. Rudder recieves orders to move the battalion to the Vossenach/ Germeter area to relieve elements of the 112th regiment. Around noon, the battalion starts a brutal road march through ice and snow while German artillery falls all around. , By 5pm the exhausted 112th is relieved. Rangers dig in and hold the line in their place. They will spend the next few weeks living in frozen holes in the ground, under enemy artillery fire while defending their portion of the line. Constant patrolling by both sides, German infiltration through the lines, snipers, minefields, booby traps, frostbite and artillery shrapnel all conspire to wear down the unit. Casualties mount to no percieved gain.
27 November 1944. The tide begins to turn, German units begin to fall back, and the Rangers are pulled back from the front line for rest and reorganization.
01 December 1944. The understrength battalion, now attached to 8th Infantry Division is assigned as V Corps reserve and designated as a rapid reaction counterattack force.
04 December 1944 8th ID is given the job of capturing the German town of Bergstein and the surrounding high ground known as Burgberg to the Germans. This area would be called "Castle Hill" by the Americans and would be designated "Hill 400" on divisional maps. The Roer River Dams could be seen from this high ground and its possesion was critical to the control of these dams. In addition, German High Command believed that Allied possesion of this area would jeopardize the launch of the secret counteroffensive scheduled for December 16th. It is ordered held at all costs.
05 December 1944 5th Armored and 47th Armored Infantry Regiment take Bergstein after heavy losses. They wait for the expected counterattack.
06 December 1944 Three German counterattacks are launched. The end result is that each side is holding portions of the town. The American force is in desperate need of relief. The 2nd Ranger Battalion, supported by tank destroyers, are assigned to take Hill 400. Companies A,B anc C would take up positions south of town, D,E and F would take the high ground which was being used for artillery observation by the Germans. Attack is scheduled for 07 Dec at 0800 .
07 December 1944 Col Rudder is notified that he is being given command of the 109th Regiment of the 28th ID. He assigns Maj George Williams as Battalion commander of 2nd Rangers.
The Rangers assault Hill 400 on Schedule and take the crest after brutal close in fighting. They take appalling losses but hold for 56 hours against 5 german counterattacks. Approximately 450 German dead and 64 prisoners were accounted for on the Hill, against 23 Rangers killed, 90 wounded, twenty injured and 4 MIA. Among the dead was Capt Walter Block , the Battalion Surgeon, killed while organizing the evacuation of the wounded.
16 December 1944 2nd Ranger Battalion is moved to the town of Simmerath, on the northern shoulder of "The Bulge" where they dig in and hold the line against German infantry and artillery strikes.
05 February 1945 The Rangers, now attached to the 78th ID are trucked to Wollseifen Germany to begin planning and reconaissance for a new assignment to capture the Urft and Schwammenauel Dams on the Roer River. The Attack is scheduled for the 11th of February. The mission is cancelled without explanation on the 10th.
22 February 1945. The Rangers are attached to the 102nd Cavalry Group
01 March 1945 2nd Rangers and 102 Cavalry cross the Roer river and move deeper into Germany, taking a series of German towns and capturing many prisoners.
26 March 1945 The Rhine is crossed. German resistance is crumbling
08 May 1945. 2nd Rangers are headed for Pilsen Czechoslovakia, along with 1st Division and V corps HQ when the word is given. Germany has surrendered.
11 May 1945 2nd and 5th Rangers begin preparations for being transferred to the Pacific. Veterans begin calculating their "points" in an effort to go home.
15 August 1945. Japan surrenders and WWII is over.
