79^th Infantry Division

The 79th Infantry Division landed across Utah Beach on June 14, 1944, and drove north into the outer defenses of Cherbourg within days. The 314th Infantry Regiment captured Fort du Roule on June 26, helping secure the port. Moving south to the Cotentin's west coast, the division fought for and took La Haye-du-Puits on July 8 after repelling German counterattacks, then swept east with the breakout, crossing the Ay River in late July, passing Le Mans, and establishing a bridgehead over the Seine at Mantes-Gassicourt on August 20. The division held the bridgehead against repeated German counterattacks for a week before the advance resumed.

Campaign map image

World War II Campaign Map of the 79th Infantry Division. Map courtesy of HistoryShots.

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Racing across France into Lorraine in September, its regiments converged on the Moselle, capturing Poussey and Neufchateau while forcing the river south of Charmes. They were then drawn into the prolonged fight for the Forêt de Parroy — a heavily wooded stronghold east of Lunéville where the 315th Infantry Regiment was temporarily isolated at the main road junction, the division was forced onto the defensive, and weeks of pressure were required before the German hold was broken in early October.

Advancing through Alsace, the division reached the Lauter line in December 1944. The winter fighting proved severe: the Hatten-Rittershoffen engagement of January 1945 — one of the bitterest positional struggles of the Alsace campaign, with both towns changing hands repeatedly over days of fighting — drove the line back to the Moder River before it was stabilized and held.

Crossing the Rhine on March 24, the division advanced into the Ruhr region, cleared the Rhine-Herne and Emser Canal sectors with its regiments attacking in succession, reached the Ruhr River on April 9, and was on security duties in the Dortmund area when Germany surrendered on May 7.