423^rd Infantry Regiment

The 423rd Infantry Regiment was activated at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, on March 15, 1943, and assigned to the 106th Infantry Division. It trained at Fort Jackson, in Tennessee, and at Camp Atterbury, staged through Camp Myles Standish and Jersey City, departed New York on October 17, 1944, and reached England on October 22. The regiment landed in France on December 5 and crossed into Belgium on December 10 as the 106th moved into the Schnee Eifel line.

The 423rd occupied the southern part of the exposed Schnee Eifel position, including the Bleialf area, with the 422nd on its flank and the 424th farther south near Winterspelt. On December 16 the German Ardennes offensive struck the division. The 423rd helped eject German forces from Bleialf during the first day, but before dawn on December 17 the German 293d Regiment renewed the attack, drove through the village, and linked with forces advancing from Schonberg. That move closed the encirclement around the 422nd and 423rd.

Inside the pocket, the 423rd drew in survivors from Bleialf and formed a perimeter around Oberlascheid and Buchet. Its 2d Battalion, after resisting near Auw and Radscheid and using antitank guns against German armor, joined the perimeter defense. The trapped regiments first expected relief from the west, then were ordered to move toward Schonberg. On December 18 the 423rd advanced through Oberlascheid and Radscheid toward the Schonberg-Bleialf road, where leading battalions fought German infantry and armor but lost momentum before the village. On December 19 the regiment attempted another attack toward Schonberg, but artillery, tank, and infantry fire broke up the movement. With tactical control gone, ammunition nearly exhausted, supporting weapons lost, and wounded accumulating, the regiment surrendered late that afternoon. Rebuilt in France in March 1945, it later trained with the 66th Infantry Division and entered Germany for occupation duty.