754TH Field Artillery Battalion

Written by: Ulmont E. Robinson

While in Europe was in combat area from 26 Oct 1944 to 17 April 1945. We were 9^th Army Artillery, which meant any Division that didn’t want to risk their own artillery would call on us. Our 155 mm Howitzers fired everyday of this period of time, but once, when we were out of range. Consequently every day we received enemy artillery fire. Sometimes small arms and mortar fire. Several times before 1 Jan 1945 we had enemy strafing attacks "Buzz Bombs" always went over our heads, no enemy air bombing. Received Battle Stars for " Rhineland" and "Central Europe". Land mines were numerous. Two were killed by land mines and two by artillery. Four killed and approximately 45 injured. The German Breakthrough in the Ardennes caused the 9^th Army to be taken from General Bradleys 12^th Army and assigned to Marshal Montgomerys 21^st Army Group. We stayed under this arrangement until after the Rhine River Crossing in March 1945. Sort of disproves comments I’ve heard 50 years later that no American ever served under a Foreign General.

Leaving the States in 1942 as part of Task Force 0051 I knew full well that troops in the Pacific at this time were expendable. The Coral Sea Battle ,May 1942 saved Task Force 0051. The base on Tonga we established was important in the Guadalcanal Campaign.

NOTES ON THE HISTORY OF THE 754TH FIELD ARTILLERY BATTALION

The 754th Field Artillery Battalion-Motorized was organized August 15, 1943 as a 155 Howitzer unit, truck drawn at Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri under authority of 2d Army with Lt. Col. John W. Russey as Battalion Commander.

We 'received our Cadre from members of the 134th F. A. Bn a unit of the 37th Division an activated Ohio National Guard. The men had returned from duty in the southwest Pacific on the island of Tonga in the Friendly Island Archipelago. Most of the cadre and officer complement had been on duty at Ft. Leonard Wood by mid July of 1943 and other personnel began coming in after completing basic at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma, Camp Roberrs, California and Ft. Bragg, North Carolina.

The battalion changed to "Tractor Drawn" in March of i944. In late July of 1944 preparations were complete for our deployment overseas. The battalion had a complement of 476 Enlisted Men, 29 Officers and 2 Warrant Officers.

August 1 the battalion left by train from Ft. Leonard Wood for Camp Shanks, NY, boarded the troop ship Edmund B. Alexander and left Brooklyn Harbor on August 11, 1944. The Battalion was a work party for the Atlantic crossing. The ship merged in a very large convoy and arrived in Liverpool, England on August 23, 1944. After billeting at Scarne Cross, Launceston, Cornwall, England we began to receive our equipment and prepare for crossing the English Channel.

Left for Weymouth, Harbor on September 13, boarded LST 1458 and LST 1439 on 15th, spent the night aboard ship and left harbor on 16th. We beached on Utah Beach at 2300 hrs. When the tide went out we disembarked at 0200 on September 17, 1944. Under command of the 34th Brigade, stayed in reserve near Rennes, France until the surrender of Brest. Some men and trucks were sent to assist in the "Red Ball Express" of moving men and ammo from the 29th and 30th Divisions as they were transferred to the Eastern Front. The Battalion began to move eastward on October 12th.

Entered combat 10-26-44 at Strass, Germany--on the Holland-German border--under contro1 of the 119th Field Artillery Group. During the period Of combat we were at various times attached to the 119th and 211th F. A. Groups. Also attached to or under control of the II, XIII, XV, XVI, XIX, XX Corp and 35th and 65th Infantry Division. At various times we were in direct support of the 29th, 30th, 35th, 65th, 75th, 79Lh, 87th and 102d Infantry Divisions, 2d, 5th and 8th Armored Divisions, all the time being a part of the 9th Army, immediately south of the Second British Army.

Remained in support of the 102d Division on the Roer River front during the Battle of the Bulge. Crossed the Roer river near Orsbeck on March 3 and went 40 miles north eastward to an artillery assembly point in Hulst. This was the only night that the gun batteries were not in firing position and out of range of enemy artillery. Moved 'forward nearer the Rhine River and during the night of March 24 participated in one of the largest artillery barrages of the war in preparation for the infantry crossing of the river. The next day, March 25th, we crossed the Rhine at Ossenberg, Germany. We had various positions on the north side of the Ruhr pocket. Our final combat position was in Essen, where on the 17th of April we fired our last artillery shells at the enemy.

Had occupational duties at Hoxter and Steinheim, Germany until proceeding in motor convoy to Austria for further occupational security duties. Most of the men with high point totals left for the states. Most officers were transferred to other units. Later the remaining men of the battalion were transferred back to Laon, France to a major Motor Pool where they distributed trucks to POE for shipment to the South Pacific and prepared others for winter storage.

By mid September most of the high point men had been transferred to units that were "homeward bound". The unit was designated as a carrier unit to take men back to the states and then be de-activated. On October 2, 300 men of the 754th were transferred out to Ordnance Companies, thus leaving but a handful of 754 veterans to return to the states with the Battalion.