273^rd Infantry Regiment

The 273rd Infantry Regiment was activated at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, on May 15, 1943, and assigned to the 69th Infantry Division. After stateside training and staging at Camp Kilmer, it departed New York on November 15, 1944, reached England on November 26, and landed in France on January 24, 1945. The regiment crossed into Belgium in February and entered Germany on March 8 as the division moved from West Wall positions into its final campaign.

The 273rd fought as part of the division's March attack through Schmidtheim and Dahlem, then moved with the 69th to the Rhine and central Germany. It was attached to V Corps from March 16 to 25, a period that coincided with the shift toward the Rhine front. In April the regiment crossed the Werra at Hann Munden as the division advanced through the Fulda-Werra-Weser region. It then followed the 9th Armored Division in the drive toward Leipzig and the Mulde, fighting through the industrial belt that defended the Leipzig-Dresden area.

The regiment's most distinctive role came east of Leipzig. After the division reached the Mulde, Wurzen surrendered to the 273rd on April 24, releasing Allied prisoners and bringing in German troops who preferred American captivity. On April 25 patrols from the regiment pushed beyond the authorized limit in search of Soviet forces. Lieutenant Albert L. Kotzebue's patrol met Soviet troops near the Elbe, while Lieutenant William D. Robertson's group reached Torgau and made the contact that became the formal American-Soviet linkup. The regimental commander met the Soviet 173rd Regiment's commander there on April 26, formalizing the link at regimental level. The 273rd ended the war on occupation and security duty.