The Meurthe River / Oktober 1944 (Gettysburg, PA)

We were portraying the members of Nr. 5 Kompanie, Gren. Regt. 221 / 16th Infanterie Division in defense of the city of Saint Die.  Even though the German Army has been pushed back all summer, it was still considered very dangerous.

After a long and hard march up from the low lands of Southern France, the US 3rd Infantry Division crossed into the Vosges Mountains and it’s valleys in mid September. Their slow advance was courtesy of the fierce resistance made by the German 16th Division. On the Meurthe River was the key city of St. Die. This town must be taken before the Allies could continue their advance toward Germany. The German High Command knew this and was already weakening other sectors of the front and sending the reinforcements to block the advance on St. Die. In the effort to bolster the area, the 291st & 292nd Special Employment Battalions, 726th, 737th Infantry Regiments and the 202nd Mountain Battalion were rushed in the brace against the American attack. This infusion of new troops helped the badly weakened German 16th Division which could only count on the remains of the 221st, 223rd and 225th Infantry Regiments.