User:Dennyboy34/sandbox/258th Engineer Combat Battalion

The 258th Engineer Combat Battalion was a  combat engineer battalion of the United States Army during World War II. It served under XVI Corps of the Ninth Army in action mainly in Germany in 1945. It received campaign credit for participation in the Rhineland Campaign and in the Central Europe Campaign.

The 258th's principal combat assignments in the Alsace and Rhineland included serving as infantry to protect an important road junction near Saint-Avold, France, deployment under the command of the French First Army in clearing German troops from the Colmar Pocket during the Nazi Operation Nordwind offensive; ferrying assault troops across the Saar River near Saarbrücken Germany; escorting an ambulance corps across the Rhine at Worms near Mannheim; and ferrying troops and equipment across the Neckar River near Heidelberg.

The 258th served occupation duty in three locations in southwest Germany before beginning its return to the United States via Antwerp, Belgium in August 1945.

History


The history of the 258th Engineer Combat Battalion is as follows :
 * Designation: 258th Engineer Combat Battalion
 * Date of Organization: Activated 20 November 1943
 * Place of Organization: Camp Shelby, Mississippi
 * Sources from which personnel were obtained:
 * Original Officer Cadre from Officers Cadre Course, Fort Belvoir, VA
 * Original Enlisted Cadre from 157th Engineer Combat Battalion, Camp Maxey, TX
 * Before going overseas, additional men were obtained from the Army Specialized Training Program
 * Organization:
 * Battalion Headquarters (HQ)
 * Headquarters and Service Company (H&S Company)
 * Company A
 * Company B
 * Company C
 * Medics
 * Strength (varied during period of overseas assignment):
 * Commissioned Officers: 17 to 34
 * Warrant Officers: 1 to 3
 * Enlisted Men: 288 to 650.  On 20 March 1945 battalion strength reached 952 total personnel, 918 of which were enlisted men.  The increase in strength was due to the receipt of reinforcements, the returning of enlisted men from evacuation hospitals, and the attachment of officers and men for operations during the Rhine River Assault Crossing
 * Inactivation: 8 December 1945

Lineage


The lineage of the 258th Engineer Combat Battalion is as follows :


 * Activated under 1st Headquarters, Third Army, Special Troops, 20 November 1943 and assigned to 1101st Engineer Combat Group, Third Army
 * Assigned to 1150th Engineer Combat Group, Third Army, 12 December 1943
 * Assigned to 1150th Engineer Combat Group, IX Corps, Second Army, 28 December 1943
 * Assigned to 1155th Engineer Combat Group, IX Corps, Second Army, 15 September 1944.
 * Assigned Ninth Army, 3 October 1944
 * Attached to XVI Corps, 31 October 1944.
 * Assigned U.K. Base, 9 November 1944.
 * Assigned to Ninth Army, 21 November 1944.
 * Assigned 1150th Engineer Combat Group, 21 November 1944.
 * Assigned to Twelfth Army Group, 21 November 1944.
 * Assigned to 1146th Engineer Combat Group, Ninth Army, 4 January 1945.
 * Assigned to XVI Corps, 1 February 1945.
 * Attached to 1146th Engineer Combat Group, 2 February 1945.
 * Attached to 1153rd Engineer Combat Group, 8 February 1945.
 * Attached to 1103rd Engineer Combat Group, 30 May 1945.
 * Assigned to Chanor Base Section, 21 July 1945.
 * Assigned for Operations to 347th Engineer General Service Regiment, 21 July 1945.
 * Assigned for Operations to Engineer Operations, Group "A", 25 August 1945.
 * Organization became inactive, effective 2400, 8 December 1945.

Capabilities


As a combat engineer battalion the 258th was capable of providing a wide variety of combat support services essential to sustaining operating forces in the theater of war. These spanned such diverse activities as construction, demolition, sanitation, map production, minefield clearing, and unit intelligence.

Combat engineer battalions also fielded defensive .30 cal. and .50 cal. machine gun squads, anti-tank rocket and grenade launchers, and were required to fight as infantry when needed.

The range of services provided included but was not limited to:
 * Bridge (mobile, floating, fixed), rail, & road construction and maintenance
 * Conducting river crossings by ponton/raft, motor-powered assault boats
 * Demolition
 * Placing/de-arming munitions, including mines
 * Port & harbor maintenance and rehabilitation, including beachheads:
 * Laying roads and unloading/loading supplies, vehicles & personnel from transport and cargo ships


 * Camouflage
 * Water supply and sanitation
 * Map production
 * Vehicle maintenance
 * Establishing/maintaining supply and ammunition dumps
 * Building barracks, depots, and similar structures
 * Rescue & road patrols, bridge and road reconnaissance
 * Clearing of debris and wreckage
 * Serving as infantry when needed

Among those carried out in action by the 289th were the clearing of minefields, removal of demolition charges, and disarming of anti-personnel munitions and booby traps; deployment and operation of assault boats; and the construction of various pontoon bridges, including M1 treadways, and modular steel truss Bailey bridges.

Actions
Crossing of the Rhine River by Ninth Army at Rheinberg (March 1945)

Col. David C. Wallace, commanding the 1153rd Engineer Combat Group, assembled the river-crossing equipment and operators in the training area and organized his 1153rd Group into eight task forces. Task Force Assault, consisting of the 258th Engineer Combat Battalion, reinforced by 200 powerboat operators from the 1153rd and Ninth Army, was to furnish and operate all storm and double assault boats for the initial crossings.

The 1153rd Engineer Combat Group had made thorough arrangements for an orderly crossing of the 30th Infantry Division (United States). There were to be three beaches: Red, White, and Blue, one for each of the division’s infantry regiments, with Red on the left, or north, opposite Buederich; White in the center; and Blue on the right, or south, opposite Rheinberg. The first boats over, guided by machine guns firing tracer ammunition, were to mark the boundaries of their beaches with red, white, or blue aircraft landing lamps. Thereafter the assault elements would show the heavy boats where to land by emplacing ten-foot stakes on which were wired flashlights with a red covering, no covering (white), or a blue covering to designate the beach. Lights were arranged one above the other (two for LCVPs, three for LCMs, four for duplex-drive tanks) or in a design (three forming a triangle for Bailey rafts). The beachmaster wore a white helmet; those of the engineer guides, boat crews, and others were marked with white paint in identifying patterns.

23 men of the 82nd Engineer Combat battalion were assigned the special mission of assisting the 258th Engineers in operating boats during the river assault.

Timeline
Narrative  The 258th was activated at Camp Shelby, MS on November 20, 1943 and assigned to the 1101st Engineer Combat Group, 3rd Army. On December 12th, 1943, the battalion was assigned to the 1150th Engineer Combat Group, 3rd Army, for training. The enlisted personnel arrived at Camp Shelby in the beginning of February 1944. Shortly after Labor Day, 1944, the battalion prepared for overseas deployment. Personnel left Camp Shelby on October 6, 1944 in multiple trains with the destination of Camp Shanks, NY, arriving on October 8, 1944. On October 21, 1944, the battalion moved by ferry to Staten Island, NY where they boarded the USS Brazil. On October 22, 1944 the USS Brazil steamed out of NY Harbor as the flagship of a convoy across the Atlantic. The USS Brazil arrived at Swansea, Wales on November 2, 1944 but the battalion did not disembark until November 3, 1944 due to the number of other military units on board the ship. The battalion then traveled by train and motor vehicles to Camp Brockley in Brockley, Somerset where the battalion spent several weeks in additional training and in the assembling of all equipment needed for combat. At Brockley, training including mines, bridges, construction, and related tasks. The battalion departed Camp Brockley on December 20, 1944 for Hursley Park near Southampton which was the final marshalling area prior to movement to the continent. On December 27, 1944, the battalion traveled to Southampton in preparation for crossing the English Channel. The battalion departed Southampton aboard two ships (one for vehicles and drivers and the other for personnel) on December 28, 1944 during the night and arrived at Le Havre, France the following day. The Battalion then traveled to Rouen via truck and on the Seine River to a marshaling area near Fry, France.

On January 5, 1945 the Battalion departed France for Gulpen, Holland through Belgium, a journey of about 250 km (155 miles) which was accomplished in one day. While at Gulpen, the battalion was assigned tasks to include operation of several lumber mills and gravel pits, hauling Bailey bridges, and operation of water points. The battalion moved from Gulpen to Broeksittard on the German border on 3 February 1945. Preparations were made for crossing the Roer River. Tasks at this time included operation of water points at Sittard, Freienberg, Broeksittard, and Tuddern and Gangelt, maintenance of routes of communication, operation of gravel pits, mine clearing, painting, and erecting signs. Other Battalion tasks included mine clearing for gun positions and digging AA gun positions with bulldozers, repair of a parking lot at Corps HQ, and the continued reconnaissance of forward roads to locate convoy sites, engineering material and supplies and information about approach roads. On 23 February 1945, the Battalion made their initial crossing of the Roer River. On 2 March 1945 the Battalion C.P. was opened at Ratheim, Germany. The following day, 3 March 1945, the entire battalion moved to Swalmen, Holland in order to to construct two 80' Bailey Bridges and to clear mines from roads assigned for maintenance.

Rhine River Assault Training On 7 March 1945, the Battalion was sent to Stevensweert, Holland in order to train powerboat operators and the assault troops of the 30th Infantry Division for the planned Rhine River crossing. Water points were set up in the area and work was done on roads leading to the training site.

Rhine River Assault Crossing After the training was completed, the battalion moved on 20 March 1945 to a bivouac area in a forest two miles southwest of Alpen, Germany. The following day, 21 March 1945, the Battalion forward C.P. was moved to Wallach, Germany. The Rhine crossing operations were directed from this point. Late in the evening of 23 March 1945, the assault boats and their motors were prepared and staged for deployment behind a dike on the Rhine River that provided concealment form enemy observation. Artillery opened up at 0100 on 24 March 1945 with the British 2nd Army's shelling of Wesel.

Stations of Battalion HQ
The following are the locations where the battalion was stationed by date during WWII. Note, in Europe the individual lettered companies may have been stationed at a nearby different location than HQ.

Mississippi, USA
 * 20 November 1943 – Activated at Camp Shelby, MS
 * 6 October 1944 – Depart Camp Shelby, MS

New York, USA
 * 8 October 1944 - Arrive Camp Shanks, NY
 * 22 October 1944 - Depart NY aboard the USS Brazil

United Kingdom
 * 2 November 1944 - Arrive Swansea, Wales
 * 3 November 1944 - Arrive Camp Brockley (Brockley, Somerset)
 * 20 December 1944 - Depart Camp Brockley (Brockley, Somerset)
 * 27 December 1944 - Depart Hursley Park for Southampton
 * 28 December 1944 - English Channel crossing aboard the SS Thomas Wolfe and Sir Francis Drake

France
 * 29 December 1944 - Arrive Le Havre, France
 * 31 December 1944 to 3 January 1945 - Bivouac, 1 mile SE Fry, France
 * 4 January 1945 - Bivouac, 1/4 mile E. Cambrai, France
 * 5 January 1945 - Depart for Gulpen, Holland

Holland
 * 5 January 1945 - Arrive Gulpen, Holland
 * 3 February 1945 - Depart Gulpen for Broeksittard
 * 23 February 1945 - Roer River Initial Crossing

Germany
 * 2 March 1945 - Battalion C.P. (Command Post) opened at Ratheim, Germany

Holland
 * 3 March 1945 - Battalion moved to Swalmen, Holland
 * 7 March 1945 - Battalion moved to Stevensweert, Holland (B Company was located in Eiland).

Germany
 * 20 March 1945 - Bivouac two miles SW of Alpen, Germany
 * 21 March 1945 - Battalion C.P. opened at Wallach, Germany
 * 24 March 1945 - Rhine River Assault Crossing
 * 27 March 1945 - Battalion C.P opened at 2 miles SE Vic Friedrichsfeld, Germany
 * 28 March 1945 - Battalion C.P. moved to 1 mile S of Buhl, Germany, Germany
 * 29 March 1945 - Battalion C.P. moved to 2 miles S of Kirchellen, Germany
 * 30 March 1945 to 5 April 1945 - Battalion C.P. moved to Zweckel, Germany
 * 5 April 1945 to 15 April 1945 - Recklinghausen, Germany
 * 15 April 1945 to 26 April 1945 - Wiedenbruck, Germany
 * 26 April 1945 to 7 June 1945 - Sundern, Germany (8 May 1945 - VE Day)
 * 7 June 1945 to 12 June 1945 - Korbecke (Möhnesee), Germany

Belgium
 * 12 June 1945 - Battalion near Liège, Belgium

France
 * 13 June 1945 - Battalion arrived Cambrai, France
 * 14 June 1945 - Battalion arrived Camp Old Gold, France
 * 15 June 1945 - Battalion departed Camp Old Gold, France

Belgium
 * 15 July 1945 - Battalion moved to Ath, Belgium. Entire battalion billeted in a former Belgian army garrison in Ath.
 * 27 August 1945 - Battalion departed Ath, Belgium for Camp Phillip Morris, France

France
 * 27 August 1945 - Battalion arrived at Camp Phillip Morris, France
 * 8 December 1945 - Battalion departed Camp Phillip Morris, France. Organization became inactive, effective 2400, 8 December 1945.

After the war was over, many men with "low points" (see Adjusted Service Rating Score) were shipped to an Engineering unit in Bavaria in southeast Germany. One of their tasks was repair of the Autobahn.

Campaign Credit
The 258th Engineer Combat Battalion was involved in the following WW II campaigns :

Rhineland
 * Duration:  15 September 1944 to 21 March 1945

Central Europe
 * Duration:  22 March 1945 to 9 May 1945

Occupation Credit

 * Duration: 2 May 1945 to 19 May 1945, Germany
 * Duration: 19 September 1945 to 31 October 1945, Germany

Battles
The 258th Engineer Combat Battalion was involved in the following WW II battles :

Roer River Initial Crossing (Operation Grenade)
 * Place: Roer River, Hilfarth, Germany
 * Date: 23 February 1945
 * Campaign: Rhineland
 * Forces engaged: XVI Corps
 * Commanding Officer: Lt. Col. Adrian H. Williams
 * Mission Summary: Support attack of the 84th Infantry Division by bridge construction, anti-mine, and barge boom construction, mine clearing, and road maintenance.  Mission successfully accomplished with no battle casualties, and one non-battle casualty.
 * Specific Tasks:
 * 1) Construction of two M2 treadway bridges across the Roer River in the vicinity of Hilfarth
 * 2) Construction of a fixed treadway bridge on an approach road near Brachalen
 * 3) Erection of a large boom and mine boom across the river at Hilfarth
 * 4) Removal of enemy explosives and repair of a concrete arch bridge at Hilfarth
 * 5) Bridgehead security across the river in the vicinity of Orsbeck

Rhine River Assault Crossing (Operation Plunder and Operation Flashpoint)
 * Place: Rhine River, 1 mile of the river front, approximately 5 miles south of Wesel, Germany
 * Date: 24 March 1945
 * Campaign: Central Europe
 * Forces engaged: XVI Corps
 * Commanding Officer: Lt. Col. Adrian H. Williams
 * Mission Summary: Support the attack of the 30th Infantry Division, carry infantry troops across the Rhine in Storm and Assault boats, and to take full charge of beach operations. Mission successfully accomplished with a total of 19 battle casualties and 28 non-battle casualties.
 * Mission Details : The Battalion participated in the Rhine River Assault Crossing as Engineer Assault Troops.  262 power boat operators assigned from various units of the Ninth Army and trained with the Battalion assisted with the assault.  The assault consisted of 4 waves from 3 beaches controlled by Company Commanders as Beach Masters.  The first wave of Storm boats carried two engineers and seven infantrymen.  The second wave consisted of Storm boats and Assault boats, the third wave of LVTs and M2 (plywood) Assault boats, and the fourth wave consisted of LCVPs.  The Beachmaster controlled and coordinated movement of all traffic from the first assault wave until relieved after a beachhead was firmly established at approximately 18:00 on the following day.  It was reported that  Montgomery,  Churchill, and  Eisenhower were present on one of the 258th's beaches prior to the battle.

Difficulties encountered were:
 * It was found during training on the Maas River that the Double Assault Boat shipped enough water to swamp the boat when propelled by the 22 h.p. outboard motor. This difficulty was overcome by adding an 18" x 58" plywood prow.
 * Cold outboard motors were difficult to start and as a result the assault wave in training frequency was too irregular. To overcome this difficulty, chemically treated medical heatpads were put around the cylinders or the motors prior to the operation and motors were covered with gas protective covers.  The results were very good as the first wave of the actual assault was nearly simultaneous.
 * Another difficult encountered was the drifting of assault craft after being put in the water and before the motor was started, which resulted in bunching of assault troops on the far shore. The preheating of the outboard motors helped overcome this difficulty.  In addition the Engineer assistant operator held the double assault boat out from the shore until the motor was started.  It was not necessary to hold the storm boats.
 * To prevent succeeding waves of assault troops from landing too far from the original landing site, the first wave carried red and green inter-aircraft lights built into special boxes and placed them on the far shore as guides. Duplicate lights were carried in adjacent boats for use if necessary.  The landing boundaries used one red lamp on the left flank and one green light on the right flank in each assault area.

Ruhr Valley Encirclement (Ruhr Pocket)
 * Place: Northern Ruhr Valley, Germany
 * Date: 27 March 1945 - 10 April 1945
 * Campaign: Central Europe
 * Forces engaged: XVI Corps
 * Commanding Officer: Lt. Col. Adrian H. Williams
 * Mission Summary: Initial mission was to support the 75th Infantry Division by constructing canal and river crossings, remove road obstacles, followed by missions for mine removal and road maintenance.  All missions were successfully  accomplished.

Battalion Citations

 * Proclamation, Township of Cherry Hill, NJ, May 6, 1989
 * Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, House of Representatives, April 29, 2008
 * Hon. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, U.S. House of Representatives, April 1, 2021

Individual Citations
The following members of the 258th Engineer Combat Battalion received citations for distinguished service in action during the Rhine River Initial Crossing :


 * Corporal Jerold D. Brantley, Company B, Silver Star
 * Private Frank Buscaglia, Company B, Silver Star
 * Captain John R. Carson, Bronze Star
 * Captain Henry G. Froelich, Bronze Star
 * Private Simon Friedman, Bronze Star
 * Maj. Marvin G. Kemp, Bronze Star
 * Major Edward M. Maddock, Bronze Star
 * 1st Lt. Edward P. McDonough, Bronze Star
 * Sgt. Irving Moskowitz, Company C, Certificate of Merit
 * Captain James H. Pressler, Bronze Star
 * 1st Lt. William Spencer, Bronze Star (later awarded the Silver Star)
 * T/5 Nathan Strauss, Combat Medical Badge and Bronze Star
 * T/5 Robert T. Strayer, KIA, Bronze Star (posthumously)
 * T/3 Roy Waldorf, Combat Medical Badge and Bronze Star
 * Lt. Colonel Adrian H. Williams, Bronze Star

Note: It has also been reported that all 15 members of the medical detachment and Capt. Bertram Holdredge and Capt. Joseph Blumenthal were awarded the Combat Medical Badge and the Bronze Star (citation needed).

Battalion Casualties in WW II
Pvt. Joseph C. Sasso, died in Holland in the "Line Of Duty" of a non-battle related incident, 28 January 1945

There were 19 total battle casualties during the Rhine River Assault Crossing of which 3 were fatal :

1. Sgt. Paul J. Eberle, Jr., DOW, 25 March 1945. A bridge dedicated to Sgt. Eberle was built by Company A in Finnentrop, Germany. 2. PFC Harris A. Gould, KIA by enemy sniper fire, 24 March 1945. Interred in the Netherlands American Cemetery, Margraten. 3. [https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/77336670/robert-t_-strayer Tech. Sgt. Robert T. Strayer], KIA by bursting shell fragment, 24 March 1945.

Images
258th Engineer Picture Group

Battalion Reunions
The 258th Engineer Combat Battalion formed a Reunion Society shortly after WW II and has been continuously meeting yearly since then. Phillip J. Gallagher (d. 28 November 1979), former Master sergeant of the Battalion, was an instrumental force in originally forming the society in 1948. For three days, usually on weekends, members who can travel to the reunion site partake in renewing friendships, discussing war stories, listening to guest speakers, and enjoying a Saturday night banquet. The 1st meeting took place in Philadelphia in 1948. Over the years, many of the meetings were held in Pennsylvania since it was centrally located to where most of the members were originally from. The Diecast News was developed by Phillip Gallagher in 1950 as a newsletter to keep all members informed of reunion details as well as other items of interest. "Diecast" was the code name of the Battalion's command post (CP) near Alpen, Germany on 24 March 1945 during the Rhine River Crossing. Gallagher maintained the position of the Society's Secretary until his death in 1979. After his death, Phillip's wife, Norma, continued his work in keeping the Society active. She was granted a "Lifetime Membership" in the Society for her dedication. The 72nd Annual Reunion was held in 2019. The 73rd Annual Reunion in 2020 was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic as was the reunion planned for 2021. The 73rd Annual Reunion of the 258th Engineer Combat Battalion Society was eventually held on April 30, 2022 during which the 75th Anniversary (in 2020) of the Rhine River Assault Crossing (March 24, 1945) was commemorated with flags flown over the United States Capitol and a Congressional Commendation. Raymond E. Mosser of A Company was the only battalion veteran to attend the 73rd reunion. Mr. Mosser passed away shortly after the reunion on July 22, 2022.

Members
The following information on members of the 258th Engineer Combat Battalion is based primarily on official battalion records and from its Reunion Society records (Diecast News). It is of necessity incomplete since personnel unit assignments and attachments were frequently changed during the war. Various other sources, both official and unofficial were used.