Yves J. Bellanger
THE 5TH INFANTRY DIVISION
"RED DIAMOND"
FONTAINEBLEAU AND MONTEREAU
Fontainebleau and Montereau were two
of the short, sharp bridgehead battles on the Seine south of Paris.
While they lasted they were fiercely fought and included all types
of enemy resistance heavy and light artillery, tank and aggressive
infantry.
The 11th CT arrived at Fontainebleau, on the west bank of the
Seine, at 1600 hours on 23 August. Enemy tanks had been dispersed
at Gironville in crossing the Essones and light infantry resistance
had been swept aside at Milly as the CT moved through the dense
forest of Fontainebleau without incident, the 2nd Bn preceding
on foot to the Seine. It was then that opportunity knocked and
the battalion commander answered. He observed civilian boats tied
to the east bank of the 200 yards wide river and decided not to
waste time waiting for assault boats to be brought up so he swam
the river alone at that point, got the five boats and paddled
then back, under light small arms fire. The Bn commander was Lt.
Col. Kelley B. Lemmon, Jr. As he was swimming across, 100 yards
upstream Capt. Jack Gerrie and Technical Sergeant Dupe Willingham
paddled across in a civilian canoe. Gerrie crawled up to the top
of the bank, shot a German and was pinned down by small arms fire.
Sgt. Willingham paddled back, on orders, under fire, to bring
across two platoons of G Company. German mortars came to life
and prevented reinforcements from crossing. so Gerrie slipped
down the bank, swam back underwater and then directed the fire
of a medium tank of Company C, 735th Tank Bn, on targets he knew
intimately. This directed fire enabled the 2nd Bn to cross in
canoes and rowboats to establish a bridgehead 700 yards deep and
500 yards wide. The Germans tried their utmost to throw back the
bridgehead, but courage, effective bazooka work and close supporting
fires of the 19th, 50th, a battery of the 21st, the 284th and
XX Corps medium artillery enabled the battalion to hold the bridgehead.
The Germans had their artillery and mortars in full play and caught
one company in an assembly area and another in boats as two companies
were crossing to the aid of the 2nd Bn. The F Company Commander,
1st Lt. Nathan F. Drake, had his company dig in and called for
artillery on his front lines in order to prevent infiltration
during the night. Bazooka work by Pfc's Crafts and McDonald of
G Company knocked out two light tanks and stalled a Tiger tank.
Company C, 7th Engineers, with the 1103rd Engineer Group constructed
a treadway bridge, compelling it by 1630 hours on the 24th, under
German artillery fire. The bridgehead held and expanded. The enemy
withdrew on the 25th, after losing over 300 captured, approximately
200 estimated killed, chiefly by the terrific artillery fire.
On the morning of the 25 August, the
2nd Bn, 10th Infantry fought its way into the city of Montereau,
followed by the 1st Bn, and the the regiment less the 3rd Bn,
which moved into the Bois d'Esmans. Guns of the 46th and 21st
Field artillery, 735th tanks and 818th TD's fired on enemy personnel,
and gun emplacements on the east bank of the Seine all day in
preparation for the crossing.
The 160th Engineers furnished 70 assault boats for the crossing,
which began at 2105 hours on 25 August through light artillery
shelling on the crossing site and was completed with the 2nd Bn
on the buffs of Les Ormeaux at 2315.
Fortunately, members of the Battalion Headquarters Company were
early risers for they woke early the next morning, peered over
a garden wall and discovered two 70mm howitzers and 28 sleeping
Germans. The former were captured and the latter liquidated. The
1st Bn followed the 2nd Bn and beat off one counterattack in seizing
the heights of Mont de Rubrette. The Germans discovered the crossing
at daybreak and increased artillery, mortars, and small arms fire.
A morning fog aided the Germans in making a counterattack on the
2nd Bn at 0830 hours but the fog suddenly lifted leaving the attacking
force exposed in a wheat field to machine gun fire. Fifty to sixty
Germans were killed. Artillery fired into the woods with consequent
treebursts forced over a hundred Germans into the open where Company
D's machine gunners operated a moving target range. Company L
cleaned out the source of small arms fire on the crossing site,
the bridgehead was expanded and secured by afternoon of the 26th.
362 Germans were captured of which 275 were wounded. A like number
were estimated killed.
The bridge was completed and the 21st and the CT resume its eastward
advance.
Artillery Cub planes did excellent observation work in both Fontainebleau
and Montereau operations. As a matter of fact, they constantly
patrolled the moving columns with the eagle eyes all through France.
The 10th regiment ran into an enemy motorized battalion in vicinity
of Varennes which was attempting to organize the ground in the
vicinity of Avocourt. Prompt action by the 2nd Bn and the 46th
field artillery destroyed a number of vehicles and the Germans
withdrew. The CT continued toward Verdun, establishing the CP
on 2 Sept. in Fort de Douaumont in the Meuse river bridgehead
secured two days previously by the 11th CT.
Pages 17 and 18 of the History booklet
of the 5th Infantry Division, published at Metz, France,
in December 1944.
The story continues in Reims
Verdun page.
Reims liberated
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Created in July 2001
Updated July 18, 2001 by Yves
J. Bellanger