94^th Infantry Division

The 94th Infantry Division landed in France in September 1944 and spent the autumn containing the German Atlantic pockets at Lorient and Saint-Nazaire before shifting to the Saar-Moselle Triangle in January 1945. There it entered some of the most methodical and costly fighting on the German frontier, attacking fortified villages and the prepared switch positions of the West Wall's outer belt.

Campaign map image

World War II Campaign Map of the 94th Infantry Division. Map courtesy of HistoryShots.

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The division fought the Battles of Nennig and Orscholz in late January — the Orscholz assault broken off after heavy losses before regrouping — while the 301st Infantry Regiment took Sinz in house-to-house fighting on February 7-8. A three-regiment assault on February 19 finally breached the switch-line defenses. The 376th Infantry Regiment crossed the Saar at the Ockfen bridgehead on February 22 as other regiments established crossings opposite Serrig, cracking the last organized belt of German frontier defenses in the sector.

Crossing the Ruwer on March 13, the division broke through to the Hermeskeil-Nonnweiler line and advanced to the Rhine, participating in the Battle for Ludwigshafen on March 22-24. Moving north to Krefeld in April, it took over responsibility for containing the western face of the Ruhr Pocket until its collapse in mid-April, then transitioned to occupation and military government duties. Its campaign moved from Atlantic containment to some of the most deliberate and demanding breakthrough fighting on the western German frontier.