Battle of Kesternich facts for kids

Quick facts for kids First and Second Battles of Kesternich
Part of World War II
Date First battle: 13–16 December 1944 Second battle: 30 January-1 February 1945 Location In and around Kesternich, Germany 50°36′27″N 6°19′45″E / 50.60753°N 6.32915°E / 50.60753; 6.32915 Result German defensive victory in first battle U.S. victory in second battle
Belligerents
United States	Germany
Commanders and leaders
Major General Edwin P. Parker Jr.	Generalleutnant Eugen König
Units involved
78th Infantry Division Attached: 709th Tank Battalion (First battle) 736th Tank Battalion (Second battle) 893rd Tank Destroyer Battalion (both battles)	272. Volksgrenadier-Division Attached: I. Battalion, 753. Grenadier-Regiment, 326. Volksgrenadier-Division (First battle)
Strength
First battle: Two Infantry battalions Two platoons of M4 Shermans One platoon of M10 tank destroyers Second battle: One infantry battalion One company of M4 Shermans One platoon of M10 tank destroyers	Elements of two divisions
Casualties and losses
First battle: At least 1,500 killed, wounded, or missing Two tanks disabled Second battle: At least 225 killed, wounded, or missing	First battle: At least 150 killed At least 600 captured Second battle: Unknown

Kesternich is a small village in Germany, very close to the border with Belgium. It was the location of two important battles during World War II. These battles were part of bigger military actions. They were connected to the Siegfried Line Campaign, the Battle of the Huertgen Forest, and the famous Battle of the Bulge. The battles also helped prepare for an attack on the Roer River dams.

About Kesternich Village

Kesternich was a small village in 1944-1945. It had about 112 houses. These houses were built in a special way, with timber frames and stucco, called fachwerkhäuser. The village sat on top of a ridge, which is like a long, narrow hill. The main road through the village was mostly flat.

However, the land dropped sharply into deep valleys on both sides. To the north was the Weidenbachtal gorge. To the south was the Tiefenbachtal gorge. To the east, the land sloped down to the Roer River valley.

Around the village were many small fields. The houses were not packed together. They had small yards with sheds and other buildings. These yards and fields were often separated by tall, thick hedges. These hedges were used to block the wind. Soldiers defending the village had a great view. This allowed them to see far and shoot at enemies easily.

The First Battle for Kesternich

The First Battle for Kesternich happened from December 13 to 16, 1944. American soldiers from the 78th Infantry Division fought against German units. These German units included the 272. Volksgrenadier-Division. This attack was part of a larger plan by the American First Army. Their goal was to capture the Roer (Rur) River Dams.

The American attack surprised the Germans. It also messed up Hitler's plans for the northern part of the Battle of the Bulge. The American attack hit the German lines on December 13. This forced the Germans to change their plans.

The 78th Division had two main groups for this attack. These were the 309th and 310th Regimental Combat Teams (RCTs). They also had extra support. This included the experienced 709th Tank Battalion and the 893rd Tank Destroyer Battalion.

The plan was for different American groups to attack different areas. The 2nd Battalion of the 309th RCT, with tanks, was to capture Kesternich. The 2nd Battalion of the 310th RCT was kept in reserve.

Kesternich was seen as a very tough target. So, the 2nd Battalion of the 310th was added to the 309th. This gave the 309th four battalions for the attack. The night before the battle, 12 inches of snow fell. Temperatures were below freezing. A thick fog made it hard to see until midday.

The American attack on December 13 was a surprise. They quickly took several nearby villages. They reached the edge of Kesternich as night fell. They tried to hold their ground but had to pull back. The advance went well on the first day, and everyone was hopeful.

The 2nd Battalion, 309th Infantry Regiment, attacked Kesternich on the morning of December 14. Company E led the attack with tanks. But the tanks got stuck. Company E had to get off the tanks and move closer to the village. The attack stopped because the Germans fired heavily. They used machine guns and mortars. The battalion commander and his assistant were both killed. Another officer, Captain Douglas P. Frazier, took command.

The heavy German fire on the 309th eased a bit. This happened when the 2nd Battalion of the 310th Infantry moved towards Kesternich. But the Germans fought back very hard. This attack also stopped as darkness fell.

On December 14, the 2nd Battalion, 310th Infantry, started their attack. They aimed to help capture Kesternich. Companies E and G advanced on the left side of the road. Company F attacked a strong German bunker (called a pillbox) with tank destroyers. After that, Company F moved towards Kesternich on the right side of the road.

As Company F moved forward, they found a minefield (an area with hidden explosives). Companies E and G were stopped by fire from a large, hidden pillbox at the edge of Kesternich. The American soldiers asked for artillery support. But their requests were denied. This was because commanders thought friendly troops were already inside Kesternich. The situation was very confusing.

The 2nd Battalion, 310th Infantry, could not gain more ground on December 14. They dug in for the night about 500 yards west of Kesternich.

At 1:00 AM on December 15, a new commander was put in charge. He was Lieutenant Colonel Creighton E. Likes. He was given command of both the 2nd Battalion, 309th Infantry, and the 2nd Battalion, 310th Infantry. These groups, with tanks and tank destroyers, were to attack Kesternich together. The attack was planned for 7:00 AM on December 15.

The plan was to use tank destroyers to fire directly at the pillbox. Engineers would then destroy it. After that, artillery would shell the town. Then, Company E of the 310th Infantry would quickly move through Kesternich. Company G would follow and clear the northern part of the town. Company F would clear the southern part. Tanks were supposed to support the infantry.

The tank destroyers fired at the pillbox. This kept the German crew from bothering the engineers. The engineers used a large explosive charge. The explosion did not break the thick concrete walls. But the shock made the Germans inside surrender. The remaining tanks moved to the west edge of town. But they did not go further. They hit Teller mines (anti-tank mines). Two tanks were destroyed by German anti-tank fire. The other three tanks retreated.

The infantry attack started after the artillery fire. Companies E and G moved into the town. Company E faced sniper and automatic weapon fire. This slowed them down. But they reached their goal by midday. Company G met strong German resistance in fortified houses. There was intense house-to-house fighting. The company became disorganized. Small groups of soldiers were cut off. Many soldiers, especially leaders, were hurt. Some soldiers also left the front lines to take German prisoners to the rear. Still, Company G cleared the north part of town. They reached their goal by 2:00 PM.

Company F moved east. They found a minefield near the pillbox that was cleared earlier. They went around the minefield to the south. They entered the town and faced the same house-to-house fighting. They cleared the south part of town by 2:00 PM.

The loss of Kesternich threatened German plans for the Battle of the Bulge. German General Eugen König had started planning a counterattack the day before. Not all of his troops were ready. But he gathered soldiers and some armored vehicles. He also got extra soldiers from another German division.

The German counterattack began around 4:15 PM on December 15. It continued until early morning on December 16. At first, the Americans held their ground. But then, the Germans used a clever move. They went around the American companies inside the village. This cut off the American soldiers from their supplies. The American soldiers trapped in Kesternich faced German armored vehicles. They had no way to fight them. They were outnumbered and low on ammunition. Their situation was hopeless.

As darkness fell, the German attack grew stronger. When the American battalion commander was captured, most of the remaining Americans surrendered. Some soldiers hid in the houses.

After the battle, over 150 German soldiers were dead. American casualties were not as high. But almost all the fighting soldiers of the 2nd Battalion of the 310th Infantry became German prisoners of war (POWs). One American soldier simply said, "Kesternich was very bloody." The German troops who helped in the attack went back to their own division. They were needed for the Battle of the Bulge. The Germans knew they could not hold the ground they had gained. So, they pulled back to the east side of the village by early morning the next day. Only a small group stayed to guard a large bunker.

Late on December 15, the 3rd Battalion, 309th Infantry, tried to retake Kesternich. They also wanted to find any survivors. Small groups of Americans kept fighting through the night. But no patrols sent out to find friendly troops returned. When the 309th Infantry entered the town on the morning of December 16, an officer later said, "Very few men from the [2nd of the 310th] were found in any of the houses, none [of them] were alive."

This was a very tough first battle for the new American division. In seven days of fighting, from December 13 to 19, the 78th Infantry Division lost about 1,515 soldiers. These were killed, wounded, missing, or injured. German losses were about 770 killed or captured.

The Second Battle for Kesternich

The Second Battle for Kesternich took place from January 30 to February 1, 1945. In this battle, the American 311th Infantry Regiment fought against the German 272. Volksgrenadier-Division. This time, the attack was led by the American Ninth Army. In the weeks before, the German soldiers had moved back into the village. They had created strong defense points throughout Kesternich.

This battle was just as hard as the first one. But the Germans, even with their strong defenses, could not stop the American attack. The village of Kesternich finally fell into American hands.

The 78th Division had a big plan for this attack. All three of their main combat teams were to be involved. They also had support from the 5th Armored Division. The 2nd Battalion of the 311th was given the job of taking Kesternich.

Kesternich was on a high ridge. This meant the town could not be easily surrounded from the west. Just like the first attack, the soldiers had to go straight through the middle of the village. The Germans were ready to block this path. As the American soldiers started their attack in the dark, a light snow shower helped hide their movements. But the Germans were not surprised. When the Americans met the first German defenses, they were hit by heavy machine gun fire. They also faced panzerfaust fire (a type of rocket launcher).

Tank support was a problem again. The tanks attached to the American infantry had not been in combat before. One tank platoon was with Company E, and another with Company F. Company F also had some tank destroyers. The infantry went into battle not knowing their tank support was new to fighting. One tank leader later said that timid (scared) tank support was worse than no support at all. Squad leaders often had to stand on the back of tanks in dangerous spots. They tried to guide the tanks forward into good firing positions.

The German soldiers had plenty of time to prepare their defenses. They had machine gun positions in houses. They also hid in the rubble behind minefields and barbed wire. Each of these strong points was very hard to capture. It took brave actions, like those of squad leader Jonah Edward Kelley. He single-handedly destroyed several machine-gun positions before he was killed. His actions helped push the attack forward. By the end of the first day, the American battalion had only moved a couple of hundred yards into the ruined village.

The difficult fighting continued on the second day. There was bitter house-to-house fighting. Soldiers fought from one pile of rubble to the next. They often saw the enemy face-to-face. The Americans gained about as much ground as on the first day. But this left the German defenders with only a small hold on the eastern side of the village.

On the third day, the 2nd Battalion finally took the village from the Germans by noon. The Americans now held a very important position on the Kesternich ridge. They had captured another ridge earlier in December. Now they held two ridges on either side of the Schmidt ridge. This opened the way for other American units to push forward. Their goal was to capture the Schwammenauel Dam.

At this point, on February 2, 1945, the 78th Division was put back under the command of the First Army. The progress was not as fast as the commanders wanted. So, the 78th Division changed their attack plans. In the end, these changes made the operation even harder.

Notable Participants

• S/Sgt. Jonah Edward Kelley - He was given the Medal of Honor after he died for his bravery at Kesternich. A street in Camp Grohn is named after him.
• Lt. Col. Richard W. Keyes - He was the commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion, 311th Infantry. He earned the Distinguished Service Cross on January 30, 1945, at Kesternich.
• 1Lt. Andrew G. Nufer Jr - He was a platoon leader in Company F, 2nd Battalion, 311th Infantry. He earned the Distinguished Service Cross on January 30, 1945, at Kesternich.
• S/Sgt. Lynn Q. Ingersoll - From Company E, 2nd Battalion, 309th Infantry. He earned the Combat Infantry Badge and Purple Heart on December 13, 1944, in the First Battle of Kesternich.
• Pfc. Keith B. Fox - He received the Silver Star. A street in Camp Grohn is named after him.
• Pfc. David H. Parker - He received the Bronze Star. A street in Camp Grohn is named after him. A square in Cohasset, MA (his hometown) is also named after him.

See also

• Kesternich from the German Wikipedia
• 272nd Volksgrenadier Division (Wehrmacht)

Sources

• Astor, Gerald. The Bloody Forest: Battle for the Huertgen: September 1944-January 1945, Presidio Press, Novato, CA, 2000.
• Barner, Captain John H., “Advanced Infantry Officers Course 1949-1950, Operations of the2d Battalion, 311th Infantry (78th Infantry Division) in the Attack on Kesternich, Germany, 30 January – 1 February 1945 (Rhineland Campaign). (Personal Experience of a Company Commander, Cannon Company Which Supported This Action).”
• Currey, Cecil B. Follow Me and Die: the Destruction of an American Division in World War II, (Stein and Day, New York, NY, 1984.
• Gunkel, Otto, translation by Merle Hill, “New setup of the 272 VGD at Doberitz – Action in the Eifel.” (Unpublished memoir, December 1986)
• Kemman, Lawrence H. LTC, "Operations of the 2nd Battalion, 309th Infantry, the 2nd Battalion, 310th Infantry, 78th Infantry Division, in the Attack on Kesternich, Germany, 14-15 December 1944" (Rhineland Campaign)
• Miller, Edward G., A Dark and Bloody Ground: The Hürtgen Forest and the Roer River Dams, 1944 - 1945. (College Station, TX: Texas A & M University Press, 1995)
• Miller, Edward G., “Desperate Hours at Kesternich,” World War II, Volume II, Number 4, November 1996, Cowles Enthusiast Media, History Group, Leesburg, Va.
• Miller, Edward G., Nothing Less Than Full Victory. (Annapolis, MD: US Naval Institute Press, 2007)
• McDonald, Charles B., The Siegfried Line Campaign. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Army Center of Military History, 1984.
• Nash, Douglas E., Victory Was Beyond Their Grasp: With the 272nd Volks-Grenadier Division from the Hurtgen Forest to the Heart of the Reich. Bedford, PA: Aberjona Press, 2008)
• Reineke, Johann, “Defense in Kesternich, Autumn and Winter 1944 – Excerpts from a War Diary.” (Unpublished memoir. Bremerhaven, 1954) and Loehrer, Norbert and Petrzik, Marlis, Katharina and Schattenberg, Horst, ed., translated by Tom MacKnight, Castriniacum, Kasternich, Kesternich, “OSS HEMET”. (Kesternich, Germany, The Association for the Local History of Kesternich, 1996)
• Schmidt, Gunther, “The 272 Volksgrenadier Division In Action In The Eifel 1944/45,” translation by Ron van Rijt, The Flash, January 2000, The 78th (Lighting) Division Veterans Association, Pittsburgh, PA.
• Whiting, Charles. The Battle of Hurtgen Forest, Spellmount Ltd., Kent, England, 1989. ISBN: 1-86227-094-5.

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