271^st Infantry Regiment

The 271st Infantry Regiment was activated at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, on May 15, 1943, with the 69th Infantry Division. After training in the United States, it staged at Camp Kilmer, sailed from New York on November 15, 1944, reached England on November 26, and landed in France on January 24, 1945. The regiment moved into Belgium in February as the division relieved the 99th Infantry Division, then held West Wall positions before joining the March attack into Germany.

The 271st first received a distinct regimental role in the Hellenthal-Hollerath sector. During the limited attack east of the Prether River, the division secured the heights between Honningen and Rescheid by March 3, with the 271st taking the last high ground. When the 69th attacked three regiments abreast on March 6, the regiment joined the drive through Schmidtheim and Dahlem and entered Germany on March 8. It later crossed the Rhine with the division, moved through the Lahn region and central Germany, and followed the 9th Armored Division in the V Corps advance toward Saxony.

In April the 271st fought through Weissenfels, clearing a determined garrison and crossing the Saale in assault boats during April 13-14. It then helped close on Leipzig from the south and southeast as the division advanced through the flak-defended industrial belt. After Leipzig fell, the regiment moved to the Mulde. On April 22 it was still fighting to clear Eilenburg and repulsed a strong counterattack after dark while refugees and surrendering Germans crowded the river crossings. The 271st held the Mulde line during the final days before the German surrender, ending a brief but concentrated combat record in the closing weeks of the war in Germany.