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Foulke - Haas - Robbins - Worthen  Families

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"The 413th Regiment pushed twenty-five hundred yards and by midday had patrols on the outskirts of Eschweiler.  One battalion had almost reached the Rohe by evening."  S11 p 127,

- "For three days the 1st Battalion remained in position in and around Putzlohn, protecting the right flank of the 414th as it advanced on Weisweiler… After a few days rest, the 3rd Battalion returned to Putzlohn and the 1st Battalion went to Durwiss. During this comparatively slack period, much needed replacements came into the line companies and reorganization took place."

- All for the purpose of setting up the next play, the 1st Battalion moved to the outskirts of Lohn and the 3rd Battalion stayed in Putzlohn.  All hell was about to break loose."

- "… by mid-afternoon on the third day of the attack, the 2nd Battalion had reached the center of town." [Lamersdorf] "… and by 2130 advance patrols of G company had penetrated to the northern edge of town…The Jerries withdrew their remaining forces… the 2nd Battalion had secured Lamersdorf."

- "Company A, which was to follow B company by approximately 500 yards, ran into difficulty in the hills outside of town."

- By this time our barrage on Inden had lifted, but the 30th Division's barrage on Altdorf was still in progress.  Several buildings were burning in Altdorf and the church steeple stood out in the glow.  Altdorf lay to the left of Inden and A company, thinking that the church steeple was in Inden, went toward it.  A few hundred yards out of town A Company spotted some troops that they thought were B Company men and called to them.  The troops turned out to be Jerries and their answer was a hail of burp gun, machine gun, and SP fire.  After a tough skirmish, A company knocked out the machine guns, forced the SP to withdraw, and went on into what they still thought was Inden.  So A company entered Altdorf, one kilometer north of Inden, and joined elements of the 120th Infantry which were attacking the town."

- "Previous aerial bombardment had reduced Inden to rubble and had knocked out four enemy tanks.  There were, however, many more panzerwagons rumbling through the town, and C Company battled furiously all day."

- Inden was not a country village; it was a small city, which had had a pre-war population of approximately 10,000.  Most of the town was on the west side of the Inde River and it was one of the few remaining bridgeheads left the Germans.  The enemy was making preparations for a large-scale counteroffensive in the Aachen sector; Inden held a heavy concentration of enemy troops and armor and orders were to hold the town at all costs."

- "Company A remained in Altdorf all the first day.  Company B could not enter Inden and was forced to pull back and dig in on a rear-slope defense outside the town The third platoon of C Company reached the center of town and the second platoon seized the northern most bridge across the river.  The third platoon of C Company was counterattacked soon after reaching the center of town.  The counterattack consisted of Jerry infantry and three tanks; Pfc. Frank Moralez, armed only with an M1 rifle with grenade launcher, took it upon himself to [62] repulse the attack.  His self-appointed mission was accomplished, but Pfc. Moralez was killed doing it.  He was awarded the DSC posthumously for this action."

- "Under cover of darkness, A company moved south to Inden and began the relief of elements of C Company.  The first platoon of c company moved to a factory and reinforced C Company's second platoon."  [S1, p 62] -

- "Battered B Company received orders that it would be relieved by Company I and so withdrew to Lohn to reorganize.  Company I moved out to relieve B Company, thinking that it was still in Inden.  The company commander and two-thirds of the company ended up in Altdorf.  One platoon leader who had studied his maps managed to get his platoon into Inden."  [S1, p 61]

". . . the 104th Infantry Division's 413th Infantry Regiment pushed into Inden and Lamersdorf, just to the south against the grenadiers and assault guns of Denkert's 3d Panzergrenadier Division."  S11 p 178,

The attack of the 413th Infantry against Inden [Walt was wounded in this attack]   [S18, page 5]

- "To firmly secure Inden once and for all, a coordinated attack was arranged for 1500, November 30.  Two companies of the 750th Tank Battalion were to sweep into Inden from the southwest and northwest while light tanks were to carry men from B Company in from the west.  One company of medium tanks peeled off and swung south to support the 2nd Battalion's attack on Lamersdorf, but mines and direct fire forced them back to Lohn.

- Company B, riding the light tanks, got to within about 800 yards of Inden while the medium tanks reached a point about 550 yards from the town.  The [page 64] light tanks withdrew and the men of Company B rushed up to protect the medium tanks.  Many of the medium tanks were knocked out, the remainder withdrew, and Company B was once more pinned down in the fields outside Inden.  That night B Company again pulled back to reorganize.

- Preparations for the final drive on Inden were now being completed

- Company G, just out of the fight at Lamersdorf, was committed and the battered remnants of B Company also entered the town.  Lt Col Summers was placed in command of all troops in Inden.

- Inden was still no pushover...During the day an average of 50 shells per minute was falling in our part of town... Progress was exceedingly slow and fights had to be made for every house and sometimes for each room."

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- During the night..., the tide of battle changed.  Jerry withdrew most of his tanks [page 65] across the Inde and destroyed the two remaining bridges."

- "...at 0700 the final attack jumped off and, and street by street, house by house, the men started clearing the town."

- "Shortly after dark this last resistance was finished off by K and B Companies, and patrols were sent out to investigate the bridges - all of which were found to have been destroyed.  I was quite in Inden on the 3rd of December"

- "Squad strengths were down to two and three men.  There was no post-battle jubilation."  [S1, p 65]

- "The 3rd Battallion of the 414th moved into Inden and our foot troops started marching in the rain to Lohn where they were to board trucks for the trip to the rear.  [S1, p 65]

- Because of a threat of a Nazi attack on Inden "plans for rest were discarded and the regiment mobilized its tired units for defense.  The 1st Battalion along with Anti-tank company, went to Putzlohn and organized a
defensive line."  [S1, p 66]

- "Following the rugged battales of Lamersdorf and Inden, the 413th was placed in division reserve.  The 1st Battalion went to Helrath and the 2nd and 3rd Battalions went to Durwiss for a 10-day period of reorganization.  For the first time in over a month the men were able to get showers and some good [page 68] nights sleep.  [S1, p 67, 68]

- "Plans for our movement into a sector previously occupied by the Ninth and the 83rd Divisions were laid ana dafter a short stay the regiment moved up to the west bank of the Roer River, which had been cleared during our stay in division reserve.  The 1st Battalion relieved the 60th Infantry in the vicinity of Hoven and Marriaweliler-Hoven, the 3rd Battalion went to Burzehich, and the 23nd Battalion relieved elements of the 83rd Division, in Mirode and Derichsweiler.  Those units which we had relieved were loaded into 2-1/2 ton trucks and rode away to the battle for the Bulge.  We began our long vigil on the Roer."  [S1, p 68]

- "It was the holiday season when the 413th moved on to the Roer...There was also no shortage of incoming artillery and men from the 1st Battalion were wounded while waiting for Christmas dinner."

- "To the south, von Runsted's Bulge was hitting its peak...With the regimental lines so thin, and nothing back of our lines for almost 20 miles but an Engineer detachment or two, the 413^th was not exactly over-optimistic."

- “….A Goebbels radio announcement that Aachen was to be a Christmas present for Hitler scared all the Aachen civilians half to death, especially as the rumor-mongers elaborated the announcement to include a statement that all civilians who had refused to retreat with the Wehrmacht were traitors and would be shot in front of the cathedral on Christmas morning.”

- “The Battle of the Bulge reached its turning point in early January with the relief of Bastogne garrison and it was thought that the Wehrmacht might start a diversionary offensive.”

- “Early in January, a system of rotating the battalions was instated.  Two battalions were kept on the river line and one was moved back to Langerwehe for a 10-day rest, reorganization, and train [page 73] ing."

- “Men were periodically sent back to Aachen – ‘the buzz-bomb area’ – for showers and clean clothes.  Entertainment programs were started in Langerwehe, Aachen and Stolberg…USO camp Shows.”  [S1, p 73]

“After 10 days of hot, kitchen-cooked chow, the 1^st Battalion returned to its outposts in and near Hoven and again began existing on 10-in-1 rations.  The 2^nd Battalion returned to Langerwehe and reverted to
regimental reserve.”  [S1, p 74]

“Division headquarters had issued a warning order that this regiment would cross the Roer river and seize the town of Birkesdorf and the northern part of Duren….the initial plans called for a crossing in [page 75] assault boats with the 1^st Battalion on the left, the 3^rd on the right, and the 2^nd in reserve…..February 13 had been set as the tentative date for the crossing, but a few days prior to that time the Germans opened the penstocks and gates of the Schwammanuel dam, automatically raising the river to flood stage."  [S1, p 74, 75]

“Tension about the crossing mounted daily.  Several times D-Day was named oly to be cancelled late in the afternoon.”  [S1, p 77]

“Then, finally, word was received from division that the regiment would cross the Roer river before dawn on February 23 [1945].”  [S1, p 78]

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For 45 minutes the earth-shaking barrage continued while doughboys of the 1^st and 3^rd Battalions, accompanied by Engineers of the assault boat crews moved silently up to the line of departure.  At 0330 the barrage shifted to the rear of the targets and doughboys and Engineers struggled with the heavy boats down to the water’s edge under a canopy of flashing tracers and through a rain of crackling bullets and bursting shells.

Dawn found the 1^st Battalion with a strong toehold in Birkesdorf, and, using a street plan, they began systematically clearing the town.  Loss of Engineer equipment still hampered troop crossing and several concealed snipers made it rough for Engineers of B company to cross.  By 1100, all of Company A, one-third of Company C, and one platoon of Company B were across the Roer."

"…most of northern Duren and of Birkesdorf had been secured.  By the end of the day, all objectives had been seized.  The river crossing had been a real success…..The 1^st Battalion was alerted to assist the 415^th in its attack on Arnoldsweiler.  Company B employed marching fire while attacking a large brick factory east of Birkesdorf and sent one reinforced platoon still farther out to outpost the rail line which ran between Duren and Arnoldsweiler; the platoon gathered in 60 prisoners and captured an 88 after Steve Szabo and Rollie Griffith surprised the gun crew in the act of digging in and shot it out with them….Next day, enemy artillery and mortar fire was sporadic and light in both Duren and Birkesdort and mopping-up operations continued."  [S1, p 84]

"On the night of the 25^th the 1^st Battalion continued the offensive and marched through the 2^nd’s lines for a daring night attack on the town of Morschenich, about eight miles east of the Roer.  The seagulls were moving with amazing rapidity, considering that the Germans had had over two months to prepare against attack."

"Leaving Birkesforf shortly after dark, the whole 1^st Battalion marched through Arnoldsweiler in the faint glow of an overcast moon.  Enemy air activity had been heavy since the river crossing – it was the [page 89] first time that Jerry’s jet-propelled ME 262’s had harassed us – and there was a constant threat of strafing during this march but the castle was reached without incident.  After a final meeting of company commanders, A and B companies abreast headed for Morschenich which lay three miles away on the far side of a deep forest.  Company C was to sweep in from the right side of the town while the other wo companies were to make a frontal assault.  Machine guns were attached to all three line companies, the 81mm mortars were left back to deliver supporting fire, and tanks remained in the castle to be used if needed."

“….Companies A and B finally swept out of the wood across a plain over which the battered town lay.  Although stopped for a while by an extensive Schu mine field which caused several casualities in both companies, they formed a skirmish line and delivered assault fire as they entered the town.”  [S1, p 91]

“The 1^st Battalion moved up to Heppendorf behind the 2^nd while the 3^rd remained in Manheim…. For the first time since Holland, Infantrymen were beginning to meet civilians.  Towns west of Roer had all been evacuated by now each village and hamlet swarmed with subdued but rather sullen civilians who committed no hostile acts but stood, tight-lipped and with their arms folded on their chests, at the roadsides as the Infantry advanced.”

- “March 1 was chosen by division as the date to make the crossing of the Eft.  The 2^nd Battalion, with B Company attached, was picked to make the crossing with the rest of the regiment held in reserve.

"Following a 20-minute barrage by Division and Corps Artillery, the 2^nd Battalion jumped off at 0300.  The attack moved smoothly and only light small arms fire was encountered….the 2^nd Battalion continued to move quickly after crossing and by 0420 the twin city area of Quadrath-Ichendorf had been entered.”

Directly before the regiment was the Rhine River.  In any of the foxhole discussions it had generally been conceded that the Germans would fold up as soon as the Americans go up to the Rhine.  Now the 413^th was on the river and still the shells were coming in.  To the Seagulls that meant by one thing; another river crossing.  [S1, p 97]

Orders came down from each battalion to spend three days back in Efferen where it would be re-equipped and would have more training with assault boats.  Compared to the mighty Rhine, the Mark river and the Roer had been mere brooks.  [S1, p 97]

Living conditions around Cologne for most of the regiment were the fanciest that combat soldiers could dream of.  Cologne itself was just a shell, but there were many exclusive suburbs with expensive and undamaged houses.  [S1, p 97]

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"While the 414^th Infantry cleaned up Halle, Germany’s tenth largest city, our 1^st Battalion guarded the western approaches to the town…..Resistance west of the Mulde river was quickly eliminated with all three battalions on line….After buttoning up on the Mulde, the regiment found itself acting as a refugee processing unit.  The disorganized, terrified Wehrmacht streamed into our lines to avoid capture by the Russians.  The regiment took over the town of Duben on the east bank of the river and set up a footbridge over the crumpled highway span which German engineers had blown."  [S1, p 108] -

“By the end of the month the flood of prisoners and refugees had dwindled to a trickle.  On April 30, the regiment sent out reinforced platoons with two tanks each from Company B, 750^th Tank Battalion, to comb out the entire zone between the Mulde and the Elbe for enemy stragglers and holdouts.”  [S1, p 113]

With the European war over, the 413^th settled down to maintain control within its zone.  The command post was moved to the town of Delitzsh, a city with wide, tree-lined streets, fairly good homes, and  a middle class population.  Roadblocks and roving patrols checked that various towns and villages within the regimental zone to enforce curfew and travel restrictions.  [S1, p 113]

Passes to Paris and furloughs to London and the Riviera enabled Seagulls to spend some of the money they had had no use for during their combat time.  [S1, p 113]

"The Monterey was a former Matson luxury liner which had been carryng troops all over the Pacific.  This was its first Atlantic trip as a troop-carrier and its permanent staff proved to be suckers for German lodge swords, Iron Crosses thir class, and Czechoslovak pistols.  Troops on the main deck were double-loaded so most of the men quarteed there alternated their sleeping, spending one night on deck and the next night on a bunk.  The food was plentiful and uniformly excellent."  [S1, p 114]

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"Scheduled for combat in the Pacific, the 413th made plans to go on an intensive training schedule.  Besides refresher training with weapons and the old standby, night problems, the Seagulls began to burn the California hills with flame-throwers."  [S1, p 121]

"The atom bomb interrupted all these preparations.  The question was in doubt for a week or so, with the outfit still scheduled to proceed to the Pacific, but this time only for occupational duties.  Riot control classes were added to the training schedule."  [S1, p 121]

Source Citation

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"All camps in the Assembly Area and the Delta Base Staging Area have been completed to 100% beneficial occupancy.  In the Chanor Base Staging Areas they have been completed to 100% beneficial occupancy with the exception of on 11,000-man camp at Antwerp, recently added to the program, and one additional regimental area in Camp Lucky Strike at Le Havre.  Phase III construction is 68% complete in the Assembly Area, 99% complete in Delta Base Staging Area, 55% complete at Le Havre, and 31% complete at Antwerp.  35,000 accommodations at Le Havre to Phase IV standards are 75% complete." 

"Down at Camp Lucky Strike there is a concentration of negro troops awaiting shipment to the States and it might be interesting to note that they have been there for nearly three weeks and already 400 men have participation in the training courses.  We expect to step that up."