| The Battle of Jebsheim, France from a French point-of-view--Page 4 |
| THE BATTLE BEGINS Beginning of January 20, 1945, any danger of the Germans retaking Strasbourg having been averted, General de Lattre de Tassigny, commanding the First French Army, is ready to go on the offensive in the middle of Alsace. Two Army Corps will be used in the battle: The 1st Army Corps commanded by General Bethouart is to attack to the south of Colmar (Cernay, Ensisheim) towards the northeast in the direction of the Rhine. The 2d Army Corps commanded by General de Monsabert, is to attack to the north of Colmar in the direction of Ostheim, Jebsheim, Durrenentzen, then Neuf-Brisach. The two army Corps must join as close to the Rhine as possible in order to cut off the retreat of German troops with their supplies on the Neuf-Brisach side and thus catch in the Colmar pocket the maximum number of prisoners and supplies. Moreover, this maneuver should keep the fighting away from Colmar. But the Germans understood this maneuver and threw their elite units between the two jaws of the pincers that were closing shut on them; they gave the elite units the mission of stopping the two Allied Army Corps for as long as possible to permit the evacuation of their troops to the other side of the Rhine. And now the offensive begins: Two Division are chosen for the first wave: The 1st DM and the 3rd DIUS. The 1st DMI of General Garbay to the left (north) is reinforced by the 1st Group of Moroccan Sharpshooters, a combat command of the 2d DA, three artillery groups from the 105th, two artillery groups from the 155th C The 3rd DIUS of General O'Daniel to the right (South) is reinforced by the 254th US Infantry Regiment , a combat command of the 5th DA, two artillery groups of the 105th. Finally the entire 5th Armored Division of General de Vernejoul (minus the combat command loaned to the 3rd DIUS) is in the central holding position back of the 1st DMI and the 3rd DIUS. It is reinforced by the 1st Regiment of Paratroopers under Lt. Colonel Faure. The 1st DMI is to force the passage of the Ill River, take Illhaeusern, then advance towards Elsenheim. The 3rd DIUS is to take Osteheim, then push forward towards Jebsheim, Houssen, Wickerschwihr, and follow the canal in the direction of Neuf-Brisach. The 5th Armored Division, as soon as the passages across the Ill River have been opened to Illhaeusern and Maison Rouge, is to bear down on the axis of Jebsheim, the Durrenentzen, the Canal from the Rhone to the Rhine, then towards Neuf-Brisach and the bridges of the Rhine, to meet the 1st Army Corps of General Bethouart, coming from the South. 23 January 1945: On 23 January, Illhaeusern is taken by the Foreign Legion, opening the route to the East to the men of the 2d Army Corps. The following day, the Legion takes the mill at Ried (Illhaeusern mill), after hard fighting by the 6th Company, while the 7th Company advances as far as the forest of Elsenheim. As for the 3d American DIUS, under General O'Daniel, it occupied Ostheim in the night of January 22 and 23, then advanced to Schoppenwihr woods (7th Regiment), while the 30th Regiment conquered the crossing of the Ill at Maison Rouge and advanced to the edges of Riedwihr and Holtzwihr. But a violent counterattack by the Germans, with 10 Tiger and Panther tanks, coming from the direction of Riedwihr and Holtzwihr, forced the 30th US Regiment to fall back on Maison Rouge and Orchbach stream. The 3rd DIUS of General O"Daniel is one of the most remarkable American infantry divisions, perhaps the most remarkable. Knowledgeable French officers, who have seen it in combat, have said, "We have never seen better infantry, better trained, with a better sense of terrain and more guts under fire than this 3rd DIUS. It's an incredible division." Behind the 1st DMI and the 3rd DIUS, the motors of the tanks of the 5th Armored Division are already turning. With its three combat commands; the 4th CC , the 5th CC and the 6th CC, this division is getting ready to strike out towards the southeast. But the weather becomes very bad. The thermometer rises and falls according to the gusting of the wind. The wind has suddenly turned southward. The "foehn" ( a hot, dry, strong wind of the region) is blasting. In one day's time the temperature goes from -20c to +3c. Gales of rain and melting snow soak the paths, the fields and the prairies. The snowy crust gives way underfoot. The infantry sinks up to its knees in cold, muddy water, tanks become stuck in the mud. On the roads, the paths, and the airstrips, water runs on a continuous layer of ice that is very slippery. Any forward movement for wheels and men requires exhausting efforts.. At every moment, the French and American units request air support, pointing out that the woods opposite are crammed with infantry, stuffed with tanks, and that the air support must bombard and machine gun them. The Allied planes respond to these appeals whenever the gales of snow and fog permit. The bombardment groups prevent practically all daytime traffic on the two banks of the Rhine. |
