76th INFANTRY DIVISION - Liberty Bell

Activated 15 Jun 1942  •  Entered Combat 19 Jan 1945 Ardennes  •  Days of Combat 107  •  Casualties 2,395

Campaign Route Map

DIVISION CHRONICLE

The 76th Infantry Division arrived in England, 20 December 1944, where it received additional training. It landed at Le Havre, France, 12 January 1945, and proceeded to the Limesy concentration area. The Division moved to Beine east of Reims and then to Champlon, Belgium, 23 January, to prepare for combat. Relieving the 87th Division in defensive positions along the Sauer and Moselle Rivers in the vicinity of Echternach, Luxembourg, 25 January, the 76th sent out patrols and crossed the Sauer, 7 February, and breached the Siegfried Line in a heavy assault. The advance continued across the Prum and Nims Rivers, 25-27 February. Katzenkopf fortress and Irrel fell on the 28th and the attack pushed on toward Trier, reaching the Moselle, 3 March. Driving across the Kyll River, the Division took Hosten, 3 March, Speicher on the 5th and Karl on the 10th; swung south and cleared the area north of the Moselle, crossing the river, 18 March, near Mulheim. Moving to the Rhine, the 76th took over defenses from Boppard to St. Goar and crossed the Rhine at Boppard, 27 March. It drove east and took Kamberg in a houseto-house struggle, 29 March. A new attack was launched 4 April and the Werra River was reached the next day. The attack continued in conjunction with the 6th Armored Division; Langensalza fell and the Gera River was crossed, 11 April. Zeitz was captured after a violent struggle, 14-15 April, and the 76th reached the Mulde River on the 16th, going into defensive positions to hold a bridgehead across the Mulde near Chemnitz until VE-day.