World War II - Timeline in Combat

Feb 5	Brief stop at Southampton, England
Feb 6	Sail on to Le Havre, France, disembark at 10 pm, move into Camp Old Gold, camp duties and training for the next month.
Mar 6	Board rail cars at Yerville, France for trip to front lines
Mar 9	Unloaded at Lenning and Kerviller
Mar 10	Took position on the front lines, relieving the 100th Division
Mar 11	71st Division - first artillery round fired into enemy lines
Mar 13	71st Division HQ set up at Ratzwiller in Alsace
Mar 13	14th Infantry moved from positions at Nebing to occupy defensive positions on right flank. 14th Infantry pushed its outposts 1,000 yards and captured 14 prisoners.
Mar 16	14th Infantry's 1st battalion made first contact with the enemy, at Bitche. Continued with mopping up operations until the night of the 20th.
Mar 21	14th Infantry in Liederschiedt, France.
Mar 22	14th Infantry crosses into Germany, advancing by foot and motor, moved through the Siegfried Line against light resistance - advance impeded by road obstacles, craters, blown bridges.
Mar 23	14th Infantry occupies Vinningen, moves to assembly area near Klein-Fischlingen
Mar 24	Div elements ready for attack on Germersheim to seize bridge across Rhine
Mar 24	14th Infantry 3rd Battalion sent to clear Rhine lagoon north of Mannheim
Mar 26	14th Infantry, near Speyer, feinted a crossing of the Rhine to cover actual crossing by the XV Corps.
	71st Div covered 180 miles by foot and motor in first 20 days in action.
Mar 28	71st Div attached to General Patton's Third Army within XX Corps, went by motor to Rockenhausen, established Division command post at Heusenstamm, across the Rhine River, southeast of Frankfurt.
Mar 29	71st Div assigned to 3rd U.S. Army, moved 105 miles by motor.
Mar 30	71st Div crossed the Rhine on a treadway bridge (pontoon) at Oppenheim
Apr 1	Information received that 700 enemy troops entering Division's zone. 14th Infantry sent to intercept at Altenstadt - learn they're facing the 6th SS Mountain Division Nord.
Apr 2	14th Infantry launched coordinated attack; 2nd battalion encountered extremely strong opposition, 66th Inf called in to assist. House-to-house fighting.
Apr 3	6th SS Mountain Division Nord encircled, 2,700 taken prisoner, Division destroyed.
Apr 5	71st Div CP moves to Fulda, Division takes a two-day break.
Apr 6	71st Division begins move toward Meiningen. 14th Infantry 3rd Battalion left Breitenback and motored to Maberzell, Germany, 3 miles west of Fulda, swept the area, did a house-to-house search in the nearby towns, captured 70 POWs.
Apr 7	14th Infantry 3rd Battalion motors 25 miles to Kaltensundheim and stays for two days, patrolling.
Apr 8	71st Division occupies Meiningen.
Apr 11	Attack begins on Coburg, city surrenders.
Apr 11	14th Infantry, on south flank of Division. Division moving 10-15 miles a day. Large numbers of POWs taken.
Apr 12	71st Division ready to attack Kulmbach and Bayreuth.
Apr 14	14th Infantry launched attack on Bayreuth north of Main River, fiercely contested from strongly defended positions and smothering sniper fire from buildings. Mopping up continued for two more days.
Apr 15	Units of the Division reach Army Restraining Line (as far as they're supposed to go since it will be Russian territory)
Apr 16	Bayreuth secure, over 750 prisoners including a German Major-General.
Apr 17	14th Infantry makes contact with strong enemy outpost at Schonfeld, town destroyed, enemy captured.
Apr 18-20	Goering's castle captured by 71st Division.
Apr 21	Heading for Velden, 71st meets enemy armor and resistance
Apr 21	14th Infantry, encountering difficult terrain of swamps and lakes, engages Luftwaffe personnel along the Sulzback-Bayreuth highway, and captures fighter airplane factory and underground assembly plant. 14th Infantry meets further resistance, and continues on into Vilseck and captures town.
Apr 22	14th Infantry moves on Amberg, occupies city.
Apr 22	71st Division learns Germans plan to make determined stand on the Danube; Division accelerates its drive, bypassing small pockets of enemy, to stop this.
Apr 24	71st Division at Regenstauf, river crossing underway.
Apr 25	71st Division crosses Regen River at Regenstauf, heads south.
Apr 25	14th Infantry reaches north bank of the Danube, fights its way into Donaustauf and Walhalla, by midnight in position to begin assault.
Apr 26	14th Infantry crosses Danube between Sulzbach and Donaustauf in an attack two battalions abreast, and pushed inland. The rest of the Division crossed behind it as soon as a pontoon bridge could be assembled.
Apr 27	14th Infantry, 2nd Battalion receives major-general in charge of Regensburg, who surrenders the city. 2nd Battalion proceeds to Regensburg to effect capitulation of the city.
Apr 28	14th Infantry moves toward Isar River near Landau.
Apr 29	Isar crossing completed, occupies Zulling and Usterling; Landau is entered.
May 2	71st Division is first U.S. force to enter Austria
May 2	14th Infantry leapfrogs 18 miles against light resistance to reach positions near Walburgskirchen. Masses of Hungarian troops were encountered.
May 3	14th Infantry moves on Wels, runs into stiff opposition near Horbach. Overcomes enemy forces, moves toward Lambach. North of the city other 71st Division forces find a concentration camp with 15,000 men, women and children, mostly Hungarian Jews. Gunskirchen Lager
May 4	14th Infantry continues drive.
May 5	14th Infantry reaches the Enns River, captures two bridges in vicinity of Graben. 3rd Battalion attacked northeast to cut Wels-Kremsmuster highway, pushed east to Matzelsdors against sporadic resistance. 1st Battalion crossed the Traun at Wels, and attacked southeast towards Sipbachzell against determined enemy resistance from SS units.
May 6	14th Infantry sweeps and polices it area - captures 3,000 prisoners close to the Enns River.
May 6	71st Division captures German Army Group South Lt. Gen, and his army surrenders - 60,000 POWs.
May 7	Contact is established with Russian forces. 14th Regiment is officially notified that all hostilities against Germany would cease as of May 9th. The 14th was in the middle of the Danube plain at Droissendorf, Austria, where it remained for the rest of the month.
May 9	Hostilities cease - war in Germany is over.
Jun	14th Infantry moves to Gunzburg, Germany to take up occupational duty.

	71st Division had advanced 775 miles since being committed to action 59 days earlier, taken 107,406 prisoners. Days in combat: 14th first encountered enemy forces on March 16, so 15 days in March, 30 days in April, 9 days in May, equals 54 days in combat.