does anyone know where i can find someone in the 106th infantry division
Well, I think Wiki would be a start, then do a Google search for books.
Without checking, I think they were decimated during the Battle of the Bulge, and its members were the victims at the Malmandy Massacre. They were one of the “green,” or inexperienced, divisions that faced the German onslaught, and gave a better account of themselves than is generally recognized as they were thrown into headlong retreat, (something everyone mentions in war movies and pop histories like “Band of Brothers”) but they also destroyed a large number of Heer and SS vehicles and slowed them despite facing superior armor and some of the best equipped remaining German divisions. I’m pretty sure they were rendered combat ineffective though…
So, if you find some books on the early part of the Battle of the Bulge, you shall find some info on the unfortunate souls of the US Army’s 106th ID…
The 106th division was a green unit spread over a 21 mile front when the attack began. The 422 and 423 regiments of the 106th Division were encircled quickly but fought for 3 days before surrendering. Those 3 days were critical in holding up the German advance and allowing the Allies time to react. The 424 Regiment withdrew to positions at St Vith also delaying the Germans.
The 106th Infantry Division Association website with contact info:
http://ice.mm.com/user/jpk/
The unit caught at Malmedy, actually two kilometers south of the town, was part of a artillery observation battalion, a army level unit. Portions of its companys, a little over 100 men were in a convoy heading south from Malmedy when they ran into the head of KG Peipers column on a west bound road. Some escaped in the first minutes. Most were rounded up and shot. The survivors made their way thru the woods to the outposts of the 292 Engineer battalion which had a company posted in Malmedy.
A full sized Combat Command of the 9th Armored Div had already passed the same location that morning, its last vehicals clearing the fatal crossroads a little over 30 minutes before Piepers column arrived. Had the 9th Armored been a hour later or Pieper early the leading German company would have had its ‘T’ crossed by the US column of tanks, tank destroyers, armored artillery, and armored infantry.
The CC of the 9th Div joined the 106th Div HQ and survivng support units east of St Vith late that day.
One soldier of the 106th, a Lt Eric Parker, was seperated from his battalion very early in the battle. He rallied two or three dozen US soldiers and conducted a month long private war in the forrests east of St Vith. Eventually his small band was killed off. The Belgian civilians in the area were able to provide US Army investigators with a partial account of Parkers actions. Confirmation came from the records of the German support units that were raided by Parkers group.
thank you for your help
ive never heard this story before thats awesome.
thanks for the info
In the Intial attack the 106th had the two regiments and part of its antiaircraft battalion surrounded. Alsp one artillery battalion was overrun losing its cannon and many men. Another artillery battalion had to abandon its cannon frozen into the mud but saved most of the men.
The remaining regiment and artillery, engineers ,ect… were joined by a regiment of the 28th Divsion that had been seperated from the 28th. With those two regiments, plus a CC of the 9th Armored and another of the 7th Armored the 106th fought for another four weeks, first in the St Vith Pocket, then in a pocket just to the west, and finally in the line of the 1st Army. After the other units returned to their Divsions the remnant of the 106th remained in the line and participated in the January counter attack. It ended near its original position.
In Febuary the divsion was withdrawn to France and had the missing regiments rebuilt. In March and Arpil it was attached to HQ US Army Communications Zone and was charged with adminstrating additional PoW processing camps in France. The Divsions soldiers were dumfounded to count well over one million German soldiers entering their holding pens in just a few weeks.