[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 183 (Thursday, December 1, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2156-E2157]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
67TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BATTLE OF COLMAR POCKET
______
HON. GEOFF DAVIS
of kentucky
in the house of representatives
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Mr. DAVIS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of
the upcoming 67th anniversary of the Battle of Colmar Pocket.
The Battle of the Colmar Pocket was fought between January 22 and
February 9, 1945, to liberate the last major French city occupied by
the German Army. The ferocious preliminary fighting which formed the
Colmar Pocket began after the arrival of U.S. 7th Army and 1st French
Army forces at Strasbourg, north of Colmar, on November 23rd and
Mulhouse, south of Colmar on November 25th, 1944. These Armies, under
command of the 6th Army Group under Lieutenant General Jacob L. Devers,
had fought their way through the Vosges Mountains to reach these cities
beginning in mid-September, and were the first military force in
history to successfully do so.
The 1st French Army, commanded by General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny,
had the mission to clear the Pocket and liberate Colmar, destroying the
German forces in the Pocket or driving their remainder across the
Rhine. Initially, the 36th Infantry Division, under Major General John
Dahlquist, arrived at Selestat on December 4, 1944, fixing the northern
shoulder of the Pocket. Under French command, the 36th Infantry
Division fought its way south to the vicinity of Kaysersberg, Ostheim,
Mittelwihr, and Bennwihr, in frigid winter weather, where the division
fought off fanatical German counterattacks launched in support of the
German Ardennes Offensive, the Battle of the Bulge. In mid-December
this stalwart division was withdrawn from the Colmar sector to rest and
refurbish after its long, debilitating campaign through the Vosges. For
the fighting to collapse the Pocket, two 36th Infantry Division
soldiers received the Medal of Honor, Sergeant Ellis R. Weicht and T/
SGT Bernard P. Bell.
Major General Iron Mike O'Daniel's 3rd Infantry Division then under
acting Division Commander Brigadier General Robert N. Young, which had
also fought its way as part of 7th Army through the Vosges Mountains to
Strasbourg, was attached to II Corps of the 1st French Army under Major
General Aime de Goislard de Monsabert, and in mid-December continued
the fight to collapse the northern section of the Pocket, seizing
Kaysersberg, Sigolsheim, Mittelwihr, and Bennwihr and the dominating
high ground of Hill 355 above Sigolsheim and Hill 216 outside Bennwihr
in the final two weeks of December 1944. For their intrepid and gallant
actions in the fighting between December 15 and January 21, 1945, the
following 3td Infantry Division soldiers were awarded the Medal of
Honor: 1LT Charles P. Murray, Jr.; 1LT Eli Whitely; LTC Keith L. Ware;
T/SGT Gus Kefurt; and T/SGT Russell Dunham.
As this difficult fighting was taking place, other 1st French Army
units were pressing remaining German units in the Vosges Mountains at
the westernmost extent of the Pocket, as well as in the south near
Mulhouse. The tough fighting and harsh winter weather had greatly worn
down the French, and it was determined further U.S. reinforcement was
needed to enable our valiant allies to finally collapse the Pocket. The
first to arrive were the soldiers of Major General Norman D. Cota's
28th Infantry Division, which had fought hard in the Bulge. They
arrived on January 19th, taking over the 3rd Infantry Division's sector
in the Kaysersberg valley.
On January 22nd, the 3rd Infantry Division, now under MG O'Daniel,
with attached 254th Infantry Regiment of the 63rd Infantry Division and
reinforced by a combat command of the 5th French Armored Division,
launched the II Corps main effort to breach enemy defenses protecting
the Colmar Canal and to isolate Colmar from the Rhine River by seizing
the bridge at Neuf-Brisach. January 22nd found then Lieutenant Colonel
Lloyd B. Ramsey from Somerset, Kentucky, in command of the 3rd
Battalion, 7th Infantry. He had commanded the battalion since taking
command in the Anzio beach head in February 1944, and had commanded it
for Operation Dragoon, the invasion of Southern France, the Southern
France campaign, and through the Vosges. Leading his battalion across
the ill River, through minefields against dug-in enemy machine gun
positions south of the village of Guemar in a night attack, Ramsey
showed outstanding leadership and gallantry which led to the award of
the Silver Star. Despite being wounded by enemy shell fragments, he
ensured his battalion continued advancing in the face of stubborn
resistance, breaking through the enemy positions and enabling the rest
of the division to drive south.
Ramsey would continue his sterling combat service and go on to
achieve the rank of Major General, and commanded the AMERICAL Division
in Vietnam from 1969 until 1970. He was severely injured in a
helicopter crash in Vietnam and eventually was forced to retire for
medical reasons in 1974. MG Ramsey is a proud son of Kentucky, and a
member of the University of Kentucky Hall of Fame.
The 3rd Infantry Division's dogged attack and imaginative scheme of
maneuver enabled it to reach and cross the Colmar Canal the night of
January 29-30 after a week of very heavy fighting. This combat included
a serious incident at the bridge across 111 at the Maison Rouge where
the failure of the bridge resulted in isolated battalions of the 30th
and 15th Infantry Regiments defending unsupported against severe enemy
armored counterattacks. For actions during January 22nd through the
26th, two Medals of Honor would be awarded to 3rd Infantry Division
soldiers, PFC Jose F. Valdez and 2LT Audie L. Murphy.
The XXI Corps, commanded by Major General Frank W. Milburn, took
command of the 3rd Infantry Division, the 28th Infantry Division, the
75th Infantry Division commanded by Major General Roy E. Porter, the
5th French Armored Division, and the 12th Armored Division commanded by
Major General Roderick C. Allen at the end of January and continued the
attack which succeeded in the 3rd Infantry Division's seizure of
NeufBrisach. The 75th Infantry Division attacked and protected the 3rd
Infantry Division's west flank. The 28th Infantry Division launched its
attack from the Kaysersberg valley and cleared the suburbs of Colmar,
enabling units of the French 5th Armored Division to enter the city on
February 2nd. Immediately thereafter, the 12th Armored Division was
committed for a drive south and
[[Page E2157]]
on February 5th, met French elements advancing north at Rouffach.
French forces completed the cleansing of the Pocket and destruction of
the enemy's final bridge across the Rhine at Chalampe on 9 February
9th, 1945. For this final phase of the fight, one more Medal of Honor
was awarded to the 3rd Infantry Division's T/5 Forrest E. Peden.
The Battle of the Colmar Pocket, overshadowed by the Battle of the
Bulge to the north, saw some of the bitterest fighting of the war and
resulted in the award of the Presidential Unit Citation to the entire
3rd Infantry Division with its attachments, as well as the award of the
fourragere of the Croix de Guerre embroidered Colmar. The 109th
Infantry Regiment of the 28th Infantry Division was also awarded the
fourragere.
Mr. Speaker, I ask the House to join me in congratulating and
thanking the surviving veterans of the Battle of the Colmar Pocket on
the upcoming 67th anniversary of this battle which liberated Colmar and
cleared the Germans from southern Alsace. I especially would like to
express my thanks and admiration to Major General Ramsey for his
outstanding combat leadership at Colmar and throughout his illustrious
military career.
____________________