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The 1st Battalion, 397th Infantry
Regiment, is cited for outstanding accomplishment in combat during the
period 5 to 11 April 1945, in the vicinity of Heilbronn, Germany.
Crossing the Neckar River by assault boat under heavy fire, the 1st
Battalion secured a bridgehead in the face of unyielding resistance and inaugurated
its block-by-block, house-by-house, and even room-by-room conquest of the
key rail city of Heilbronn. Deadly cross-fire from automatic weapons
emplaced in rubble heaps and cellars of ruined buildings slowed the
attack; snipers in countless vantage points constantly harassed our
troops; and thickly wooded hills on three sides afforded the enemy
perfect observation for the direction of all types of artillery fire. Yet
despite fanatical resistance,the 1st Battalion continued its implacable
advance, repulsing repeated tank-infantry counterattacks and destroying
group after group of infiltrating enemy infantry. Supporting armor and
tank destroyers were sped across the river by a hastily installed pontoon
bridge, which was as quickly demolished by artillery fire; casualties
were evacuated and supplies brought forward by ferry under continuous
shelling; and on 11 April, after seven days of the most savagely
prosecuted fighting on the entire western front, the 1st Battalion, 397th
Infantry Regiment, virtually completed its capture of the city, because
of the individual bravery of its members and the esprit de corps of the
organization, reflecting the highest traditions of the military service.
(General Orders 260, Headquarters, 100th Infantry Division, 29 September
1945.)
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