11th Infantry

[FedoraFan112390]

Hey

I was wondering if any WWII buffs or children/grandchildren etc of WWII vets know or knew firstly anyone who was in the 11th Infantry
And also--Anyone know what the 11th Infantry did in WWII? Also, some short info on the Rhineland and Northern France campaigns?

I ask because my grandfather was in the US Army, 3rd Army, 11th Infantry, Co. F and it says he served in the Rhineland and Northern France campaigns, but I haven't found any other veterans or veterans descendants from this division, and especially not from his company. He was a Sergeant for most of his service in the war and then a Staff Sergeant from 1944 till he was shot in the leg in Luxembourg, January 1945--that ended his active duty but thankfully not his life.

It'd be cool to see if there was any other people whose family served with my grandpa, or perhaps even film--I know the Battle of the Bulge, which he was in, was heavily covered in photographs and videos.

 

[Story]

World War II

In 1939, the 11th joined the 5th Division at Fort McClellan, Alabama and by 1942 was on its way to Iceland and remained there for 15 months until the regiment moved to England. The regiment landed in Normandy on 10 July 1944 and fought its way across France as part of General Patton's famed Third Army. The 11th Infantry played a prominent role in the reduction of the fortified city of Metz in the fall of 1944. During the Battle of the Bulge, the 11th counter-attacked into the southern portion of the Bulge, engaging the Germans in bitter winter fighting. On 22 March 1945, the 1st Battalion made a night river assault across the Rhine River at Oppenheim, giving General Patton a division bridgehead over the Rhine two days ahead of Field Marshall Montgomery's famous crossing. The 11th Infantry ended the war in Czechoslovakia.

Shortly after its return from the European Theater of Operations, the regiment was retired.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/11th_Infantry_Regiment_(United_States)

See also
http://www.history.army.mil/books/wwii/lorraine/lorraine-ch09.html

 

[Davep]

There was no 11th ID, that is 11th Infantry Division. There was an 11th Armored Division. There was an 11th Infantry "regiment" which was part of the 5th ID, i.e. 5th Infantry Division.


Here is a listing of all the American units during WW2

 

[hasta5]

My uncle also served in the 3rd Army, 11th Infantry, Co F. I never knew him, but we are finding out more information. His death occurred after crossing the Saurer River at the Seigfried Line on Feb 9th, 1945. His company was sent in to rescue a Recon unit that was trapped due to heavy enemy fire and the swollen river. He was shot in the head by a German sniper about 200 yds from the river bank.
My mother has written and published a short essay for the VFW of his accounts with newly found information from eye witnesses and from his recovered letters sent to my Grandparents from that time period.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

There was no 11th ID, that is 11th Infantry Division. There was an 11th Armored Division. There was an 11th Infantry "regiment" which was part of the 5th ID, i.e. 5th Infantry Division.


Here is a listing of all the American units during WW2

And there was an 11th Airborne Division, but they were in the Pacific.

 

[Guttersnipe]

The 11th U.S. Infantry Regiment has a long, storied history by American Army standards. The 11th is one off the so-called "new regular" regiments raised during the Civil War; the "old regular" regiments were those in existence existed prior to the Civil War.

During the American Civil War, the 11th served as part of General Sykes' regular brigade (later regular division), which was had the prestigious status of being the Army of the Potomac's reserve formation. "Sykes' regulars" served very much like Napoleon's Imperial Guard formations, being saved in reserve to deliver decisive "knockout blows" or rushed into action to stave off disaster, which the regular brigade (later division) did on several occasions (mostly the latter rather than the former, given the Union Army's poor luck early in the war). As such, the 11th U.S. Infantry was present at virtually every major battle of the Eastern Theater, after mid-1862.

Here's ole General Sykes in all his bearded glory: