[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 183 (Thursday, December 1, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2156-E2157]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            67TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BATTLE OF COLMAR POCKET

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. GEOFF DAVIS

                              of kentucky

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, December 1, 2011

  Mr. DAVIS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of 
the upcoming 67th anniversary of the Battle of Colmar Pocket.
  The Battle of the Colmar Pocket was fought between January 22 and 
February 9, 1945, to liberate the last major French city occupied by 
the German Army. The ferocious preliminary fighting which formed the 
Colmar Pocket began after the arrival of U.S. 7th Army and 1st French 
Army forces at Strasbourg, north of Colmar, on November 23rd and 
Mulhouse, south of Colmar on November 25th, 1944. These Armies, under 
command of the 6th Army Group under Lieutenant General Jacob L. Devers, 
had fought their way through the Vosges Mountains to reach these cities 
beginning in mid-September, and were the first military force in 
history to successfully do so.
  The 1st French Army, commanded by General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, 
had the mission to clear the Pocket and liberate Colmar, destroying the 
German forces in the Pocket or driving their remainder across the 
Rhine. Initially, the 36th Infantry Division, under Major General John 
Dahlquist, arrived at Selestat on December 4, 1944, fixing the northern 
shoulder of the Pocket. Under French command, the 36th Infantry 
Division fought its way south to the vicinity of Kaysersberg, Ostheim, 
Mittelwihr, and Bennwihr, in frigid winter weather, where the division 
fought off fanatical German counterattacks launched in support of the 
German Ardennes Offensive, the Battle of the Bulge. In mid-December 
this stalwart division was withdrawn from the Colmar sector to rest and 
refurbish after its long, debilitating campaign through the Vosges. For 
the fighting to collapse the Pocket, two 36th Infantry Division 
soldiers received the Medal of Honor, Sergeant Ellis R. Weicht and T/
SGT Bernard P. Bell.
  Major General Iron Mike O'Daniel's 3rd Infantry Division then under 
acting Division Commander Brigadier General Robert N. Young, which had 
also fought its way as part of 7th Army through the Vosges Mountains to 
Strasbourg, was attached to II Corps of the 1st French Army under Major 
General Aime de Goislard de Monsabert, and in mid-December continued 
the fight to collapse the northern section of the Pocket, seizing 
Kaysersberg, Sigolsheim, Mittelwihr, and Bennwihr and the dominating 
high ground of Hill 355 above Sigolsheim and Hill 216 outside Bennwihr 
in the final two weeks of December 1944. For their intrepid and gallant 
actions in the fighting between December 15 and January 21, 1945, the 
following 3td Infantry Division soldiers were awarded the Medal of 
Honor: 1LT Charles P. Murray, Jr.; 1LT Eli Whitely; LTC Keith L. Ware; 
T/SGT Gus Kefurt; and T/SGT Russell Dunham.
  As this difficult fighting was taking place, other 1st French Army 
units were pressing remaining German units in the Vosges Mountains at 
the westernmost extent of the Pocket, as well as in the south near 
Mulhouse. The tough fighting and harsh winter weather had greatly worn 
down the French, and it was determined further U.S. reinforcement was 
needed to enable our valiant allies to finally collapse the Pocket. The 
first to arrive were the soldiers of Major General Norman D. Cota's 
28th Infantry Division, which had fought hard in the Bulge. They 
arrived on January 19th, taking over the 3rd Infantry Division's sector 
in the Kaysersberg valley.
  On January 22nd, the 3rd Infantry Division, now under MG O'Daniel, 
with attached 254th Infantry Regiment of the 63rd Infantry Division and 
reinforced by a combat command of the 5th French Armored Division, 
launched the II Corps main effort to breach enemy defenses protecting 
the Colmar Canal and to isolate Colmar from the Rhine River by seizing 
the bridge at Neuf-Brisach. January 22nd found then Lieutenant Colonel 
Lloyd B. Ramsey from Somerset, Kentucky, in command of the 3rd 
Battalion, 7th Infantry. He had commanded the battalion since taking 
command in the Anzio beach head in February 1944, and had commanded it 
for Operation Dragoon, the invasion of Southern France, the Southern 
France campaign, and through the Vosges. Leading his battalion across 
the ill River, through minefields against dug-in enemy machine gun 
positions south of the village of Guemar in a night attack, Ramsey 
showed outstanding leadership and gallantry which led to the award of 
the Silver Star. Despite being wounded by enemy shell fragments, he 
ensured his battalion continued advancing in the face of stubborn 
resistance, breaking through the enemy positions and enabling the rest 
of the division to drive south.
  Ramsey would continue his sterling combat service and go on to 
achieve the rank of Major General, and commanded the AMERICAL Division 
in Vietnam from 1969 until 1970. He was severely injured in a 
helicopter crash in Vietnam and eventually was forced to retire for 
medical reasons in 1974. MG Ramsey is a proud son of Kentucky, and a 
member of the University of Kentucky Hall of Fame.
  The 3rd Infantry Division's dogged attack and imaginative scheme of 
maneuver enabled it to reach and cross the Colmar Canal the night of 
January 29-30 after a week of very heavy fighting. This combat included 
a serious incident at the bridge across 111 at the Maison Rouge where 
the failure of the bridge resulted in isolated battalions of the 30th 
and 15th Infantry Regiments defending unsupported against severe enemy 
armored counterattacks. For actions during January 22nd through the 
26th, two Medals of Honor would be awarded to 3rd Infantry Division 
soldiers, PFC Jose F. Valdez and 2LT Audie L. Murphy.
  The XXI Corps, commanded by Major General Frank W. Milburn, took 
command of the 3rd Infantry Division, the 28th Infantry Division, the 
75th Infantry Division commanded by Major General Roy E. Porter, the 
5th French Armored Division, and the 12th Armored Division commanded by 
Major General Roderick C. Allen at the end of January and continued the 
attack which succeeded in the 3rd Infantry Division's seizure of 
NeufBrisach. The 75th Infantry Division attacked and protected the 3rd 
Infantry Division's west flank. The 28th Infantry Division launched its 
attack from the Kaysersberg valley and cleared the suburbs of Colmar, 
enabling units of the French 5th Armored Division to enter the city on 
February 2nd. Immediately thereafter, the 12th Armored Division was 
committed for a drive south and

[[Page E2157]]

on February 5th, met French elements advancing north at Rouffach. 
French forces completed the cleansing of the Pocket and destruction of 
the enemy's final bridge across the Rhine at Chalampe on 9 February 
9th, 1945. For this final phase of the fight, one more Medal of Honor 
was awarded to the 3rd Infantry Division's T/5 Forrest E. Peden.
  The Battle of the Colmar Pocket, overshadowed by the Battle of the 
Bulge to the north, saw some of the bitterest fighting of the war and 
resulted in the award of the Presidential Unit Citation to the entire 
3rd Infantry Division with its attachments, as well as the award of the 
fourragere of the Croix de Guerre embroidered Colmar. The 109th 
Infantry Regiment of the 28th Infantry Division was also awarded the 
fourragere.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask the House to join me in congratulating and 
thanking the surviving veterans of the Battle of the Colmar Pocket on 
the upcoming 67th anniversary of this battle which liberated Colmar and 
cleared the Germans from southern Alsace. I especially would like to 
express my thanks and admiration to Major General Ramsey for his 
outstanding combat leadership at Colmar and throughout his illustrious 
military career.

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