167th Engineer Combat Battalion

PREFACE

This document gives a month by month account of the activities and missions of the 167th Engineer Combat Battalion, U. S. Army, from the day it was activated on May 15,1943 until the day it was deactivated on June 15,1945.

The unit had the distinction of serving in the Third, Seventh and Ninth Armies in the European Theater of Operations during WWII.

The following dates, events and activities were taken from the "History of the 167th Engineer Combat Battalion" compiled by Col Robert Tykol shortly after the end of WWII. This information was obtained from the official operational records (morning reports) which were prepared during the time the Battalion was serving stateside and while overseas.

Prepared By:

Jesse L. Hicks,

Secretary / Treasurer, 167th Engineer Battalion Association
(Former Member, H&S Company)





CONSOLIDATED HISTORY OF THE
167th COMBAT ENGINEER BATTALION DURING WW II

MAY 1943

The 167th Engineer Combat Battalion was activated on 15 May 1943 at Camp McCain Mississippi and was immediately attached to the XXI Detachment, Special Troops, 2nd Army for Administration and Supply. Captain Hugh E. Templeton was in Command.

From 11 May 1943 to 7 July 1943 the ranks began to fill out and it soon became a recognizable Battalion.. Most of the enlisted men came primarily from the reception centers of Illinois and Michigan.

SEPTEMBER 1943

The Battalion completed its Initial Training Period on September 25,1943 which consisted of building bridges, laying and removing mine fields, rigging and demolitions. Major Templeton was in command of the Battalion.

OCTOBER 1943

The Battalion started the second stage of its training on October 4, the Unit Training Period. Camp McCain was left behind in November and the new training area was the Louisiana Maneuver Area.

NOVEMBER, DECEMBER 1943

During the Louisiana Maneuvers, the Battalion, working as Corps Troops, was assigned the duty of keeping lines of communications open and repairing bridges for tactical units. Tents were pitched in mud and rain and men were continuously cold, wet, hungry and dirty.

JANUARY, FEBRUARY 1944

After four long months of hard work and Louisiana mud, the Battalion motored back to Camp McCain. Major Manion took command of the Battalion and it was assigned to the Fourth Army.

MARCH, APRIL 1944

The Intensive Training Period started on March 3, 1944. Each man in the Battalion was to complete all of the overseas "musts" and had to be especially qualified in Preparation for Overseas Movement (POM).

MAY 1944

On 15 May, the Battalion had its first anniversary. There was a parade and a review. On May 27, a demonstration of Combat Engineer Training was given for Secretary of War Patterson. The demonstration included construction of Bailey and timber bridges, laying of mine fields and rigging.

JUNE 1944

On June 15 and 16, the Battalion said good bye to Camp McCain en route to the staging area at Camp Myles Standish, Massachusetts.

On 26 June, 1944 the Battalion proceeded by rail to the Boston Port of Embarkation and boarded the British ship H.M.S, Mauretania, destination UNKNOWN.

JULY 1944

On 6 July 1944, the battalion disembarked at Liverpool, England and proceeded by rail to Stuart Commons, England. Upon arrival the attached to the 1117 Engineer Combat Group and assigned to Third Army.


AUGUST 1944

On 3 August, the Battalion departed for the Marshalling Area at CampG-3 England and embarked on LST 402 at Southampton, England on 4August 1944.

On August 5, 1944, the Battalion disembarked at Utah Beach at 1530hours and bivouacked one mile SW of St. Germaine de Varreville, France.

During the first days of August the Battalion got its first glimpse of the war-torn countryside of France, Everywhere we looked, the destruction and desolation of war could be seen.

During the last days of August, the Battalion, as units of the Third Army, moved through Velleloup, Sommesous, Resson, Bar-le-Duc, Commercy and Toul.

On August 12, while out on reconnaissance in enemy held territory, Lt Ziegler, T/4 Newlin, T/5 Baker and T/5 Nicholson were ambushed. The patrol ran into a German road block one kilometer SE of Vallaine. T/5 Baker was killed, Lt. Ziegler was seriously wounded. Ziegler was detained as a POW until the end of the War. Newlin and Nicholson later returned safely to the Unit after being released. They reported that the enemy had no transportation to evacuate them.

On August 21, the 1st Platoon, Company A under the Command of Lt. Tucker, while out on reconnaissance in the vicinity of Bellegarde, came under heavy fire from enemy ambush. The Platoon withdrew, leaving Pvt. Kalat and a squad as rear guard. Pvt. Kalat remained on the vehicle and opened fire with his machine gun, killing and wounding several of the enemy. His fire was so effective that it enabled the squad to remount the vehicle and effect their escape. Pvt. Kalat was awarded the Silver Star Medal.

SEPTEMBER 1944

On September 4, the Battalion moved SE of Bourcq. At this location the Battalion was given the mission of building bridges across the Moselle River and Canal, to assist the 8001 Division in making the crossing.

During the period September 9 to September 24, the Officers and men of Company A, Company B, Company C, and H&S Company distinguished themselves in the performance of combat engineering missions in support of the crossings of the Moselle River by XII Corps at Dieuouard, France.

During the crossing of the Moselle River, a provisional platoon made up of mechanics, clerks, truck drivers, and other specialists from H&S Company performed outstanding service as combat engineers and infantrymen. The platoon was commanded by Captain James J. Donnelly.

On September 12, the provisional platoon assisted B Company in the construction and maintenance of a vehicle ford across the Moselle River at Dieulouard, France. They were under intermittent artillery fire during most of the day. On the 13th, they assisted Company A in the replacement of assault boat pontoons of an Infantry Support Bridge damaged by shrapnel. During this work, they were under constant fire from artillery. In several instances, the men narrowly escaped death or injury by diving into the water to avoid shell fragments. Throughout the night they were under constant artillery fire and in the face of an imminent counter-attack by German Infantry.

A commendation for the work done by the Battalion at the Moselle River Crossing was presented by Major General M. S. Eddy, commander of XII Corps.

On September 26, the mission of the unit was to construct barbed wire entanglements, lay mine fields, and to put up defensive positions along the front lines on the East side of the Moselle River.

OCTOBER 1944

On October 5, Major Manion was relieved of his command and Major Leonard W. Peterson, who was S-3 of the 1117 Engineer Combat Group, assumed command of the Battalion. The Battalion moved to Pont-a-Mousson, France and for the remainder of October was given the mission to maintain front line barriers and mine fields.

On October 14, a Battalion formation was held for General Eddy, who presented the men of the Battalion with Silver and Bronze Star Medals.

NOVEMBER 1944

On November 1, the Battalion moved to the vicinity of Liverdun to attend the XI1 Corp's Floating Bridge School. On November 4 the unit moved back to Pont-a-Mousson where preparations were made to cross the Seille River near Port sur Seille. The companies of the battalion supported the4th Armored Division and the 42nd Cavalry in the river crossings.

DECEMBER 1944

December 1 ^ found the Battalion at Camp Teting Camp, France which was an abandoned French Army Post along the Maginot Line. Here the units of the Battalion helped to remove time bombs from the 80th Division Headquarters at Ste. Avoid.

On December 22, the Battalion was in support of the 44th Division.

Christmas was spent in Herbitzheim, France, an island-like town on the Saare River. Except for the turkey dinner and Christmas packages from home, Christmas Day was just another working day for the men of the Battalion.

On 31 December the Battalion moved to another French Camp outside of Sarralbe, France.

During this period, the Battalion was transferred from the Third Army to the Seventh Army, under the command of General Jacob Devers. Major units of General Patton's Third Army were moved North to help contain the German's counterattack in the Battle of the Bulge.

JANUARY 1945

During the month of February, the battalion laid mine fields, constructed road blocks and dug defensive positions in support of the 44thInfantry Division. Five bridges were constructed in the Sarreguemines and Remelfing areas.

FEBRUARY 1945

By February 1945, the German counter-offensive, known as the Battle of the Bulge, had been contained and the Allied troops were on the move again.

During the month of February, the Battalion laid mines, set up defensive wire, and constructed individual infantry positions in the Achen, Oermingen area. The Battalion figured strongly in the defensive preparations made in the Sarreguemines area of Southern Alsace.

On 23 February the Battalion left Alsace for the 9th Army area, arriving at Nuth, Holland on the 24th. While in Nuth, the Battalion performed general maintenance tasks and road work.

MARCH 1945

By March 1945, the German front in the west was in a state of collapse. The Luftwaffe was gone, and the Wehrmacht was never again serious threat after the Battle of the Bulge.

From the Rhineland bridgehead at Remagen, the Allies captured the great industrial Ruhr Valley where so much of the German arsenal had been produced. By March 23, the Sarr with its important industries had been captured also.

During the month of March, the engineer work of the Battalion consisted of combined mine sweeping and road maintenance in the area east of Maastricht, Holland. Companies A and B constructed a 273 foot long, Class 70 bridge over the Roer River in the vicinity of Orsbeck, Germany

The battalion then moved to Vise, Belgium to attend a floating Bailey Bridge School in preparation for the major operation of crossing the Rhine River.

Company C gets the job of de-mining the City of Roermond. Lt. Post, Sgt. Knight and Pvt Garnaas were killed by a mine. Several others were wounded by mines. The Battalion then moved to Kempen, Germany and there began preparation for bridging the Rhine River at Wessel,

Layout of the bridge over the Rhine begin on 25 March and actual construction started on March 26 at 0600 hours. The bridge was to be a1,415 foot long Class 40, floating Bailey bridge. The bridge was completed and opened for traffic at 1900 hours on March 27. It took only about 37hours to construct. This was a tremendous accomplishment by the men and Officers of the Battalion. During the night while the bridge was under construction, the skies were continuously lit up by anti-aircraft fire.

APRIL 1945

The Battalion activities in April consisted of general maintenance of roads and bridges to expedite the movement of supplies to the front lines. Company A constructed a 140 foot long Bailey Bridge at Friedrichsfeld over the Lippe Canal and cleared streets in Munster, Germany. The Battalion then moved to Bad Nenndorf on 13 April 1945.

On April 24, 1945, Col. Howard McCord took over the command of the Battalion.

On 17 April 1945, the Battalion was bivouacked near Sandkamp. During the month of April, the S-2 Section took 175 prisoners of war to enclosures.

Hitler committed suicide on the night of April 30, and his successor, Admiral Karl Doniz, immediately moved to open negotiations for ending the War. The German collapse came at the end of April and beginning of May1945. German units in the field began to lay down their arms independently.

MAY 1945

In May the activities of the 167 Engineer Battalion centered chiefly on bridge construction and maintenance of the Autobahn Highway in the vicinity of Braunschweig, Helmstedt and Fallersleben, Germany.

A familiar sight in April and May was highways and roads crowded with German convoys moving back to Allied Prisoner of War Camps unescorted. Dirty, ragged, and war weary, the German prisoners of war seemed to be as glad as we were that the War in Europe was ending.

On May 7th, General Alfred Jodl signed the unconditional surrender document for Germany. President Truman and Prime Minister Churchill declared May 8th to be V-E Day, for Victory in Europe.

On May 13, the Battalion celebrated it’s 2nd Anniversary and V-E Day. Church services were held in honor of the men in the Battalion who were killed in action.

On May 23, Company C moved to Bremen to construct a 273 foot fixed bridge at Huntebruck, Germany

JUNE 1945

On June 5, the Battalion moved to Mengeringhausen, Germany and on June 13 moved to Epernay, France (Camp Lucky Strike). A letter was sent to higher headquarters requesting that the Battalion be kept intact as a unit for re-deployment.

The request was denied.

On June 15 the Battalion was deactivated. Three line Companies became Forestry Companies -the 2789th, 2790th and 2840th Forestry Companies—and were sent back to Germany. Lumber and construction materials were badly needed by the German people to rebuild their Country. The men from the 167th that went into the Forestry Companies again performed an outstanding service in helping to supply this need.



(EDITOR'S NOTE)

(When the Battalion was deactivated, I was transferred to the 1143rdEngineer Pipeline Company as a Personnel NCO. This unit was to deploy to the States, re-train and then go to the Pacific Theater for the invasion of Japan. However, half-way back across the ocean on the way home, we got news that the Atomic Bombs were dropped on Japan and that the War was over ! THANK GOD ! ! I was discharged from the Army in November 1945and entered College at the University of Tennessee under the GI Bill and earned a Degree in Civil Engineering. I took ROTC, earned a commission and stayed in the Army Reserve and National Guard for a total of 24 years. I have never forgotten my military training and friendship with the men and Officers of the 167th Engineer Combat Battalion.)

And thus on June 15, 1945, the record of the 167Engineer Combat Battalion came to an end. Those of us that served in the unit can certainly take pride in what we accomplished. It was a good outfit with a great bunch of guys. Those of us who were so fortunate as to survive are humble. We realize that many died that we might live and be free. And, as someone has said, "It is for us that live to make certain that they who died have not given their lives in vain."

(Compiled and edited by Jesse L. Hicks, H&S Company)