70^th Infantry Division

The 70th Infantry Division arrived in France in January 1945 with Task Force Herren already in the line as its advance element, fighting through the winter stalemate in Alsace-Lorraine. Relieving veteran formations along the Saar and Rhine fronts, its regiments conducted patrol operations, limited attacks, and the methodical probing of an enemy line that was resisting but beginning to weaken.

The division attacked beyond the Forbach-Saarbrücken road on March 3, 1945, supported by the 12th Armored Division. The 274th Infantry Regiment bore the main effort, capturing heavily defended Stiring-Wendel on March 5 after sustained close fighting in industrial terrain before German forces withdrew on March 13. Crossing into Germany, the division took Saarbrücken on March 20 before being withdrawn to army reserve.

Returning to active operations in April, its regiments combined continued combat with growing security and civil affairs responsibilities across the Koblenz-Pfalz region as Allied armies consolidated control of the Saar Basin. The campaign was defined less by rapid exploitation than by steady attrition against fortified industrial positions, followed by the careful management of a large occupied area. The division was in these duties when Germany surrendered on May 7, 1945.