628th Tank Destroyer Battalion - Siegfried Line

Siegfried Line

On the 13th, the division began to push against the Siegfried Line fortifications around Wallendorf, aiming to push through to Bitburg. The first elements of the battalion crossed onto German soil on the 13th, with the remainder of the battalion crossing on the 15th and establishing a command post six miles inside Germany. The battalion came under a strong counter-attack on the 17th, with Lt. Rennbaum of B Company receiving the Distinguished Service Cross for his work in evacuating his platoon under heavy fire.

The 19th saw further intensification of the fighting, with artillery fire rising to the point where it was decided to withdraw all units back across the river into Luxembourg; the last element of the battalion left Germany at 5 am on the 20th. In this final day of combat, eleven German tanks were definitely destroyed by the battalion, with a further seven probably destroyed but not confirmed.

Through October and November 1944, the battalion remained in defensive positions, moving northwards to Faymonville in eastern Belgium in early October. Throughout this time, it mostly carried out indirect fire missions; Company C, attached to Combat Command B, was deployed for the attack on Aachen, but not committed to combat. The battalion moved eastwards into Germany, billeted near Kalterherberg, in late October; shortly thereafter, on 1 November, the battalion was re-equipped with new M36 Jackson tank destroyers.

In late November, Combat Command R, along with Company C, was detached from the 5th Armored to provide support to the 8th Infantry Division in the Battle of Hurtgen Forest; on 3 December, Combat Command A, with Company A, was likewise attached to the 4th Infantry, with both very heavy fighting – at one point, Company C was reduced to only one M-36 out of twelve able to operate. The battalion was strafed by ME-109s on the 3rd; two were downed by anti-aircraft fire, the first aircraft the battalion had destroyed. On the 8th, plans were made to pull the battalion out of the line to prepare for a crossing of the Roer River, with companies B and C remaining in action for the time being.