Seligman Swartzman Gillis Sandman Joffe Yachad Lederman Fleishman

ID: 32927158 Branch of Service: U.S. Army Hometown: Hudson County, NJ Status: Killed In Action Name: FLEISCHMAN, SIDNEY E. Service Branch: ARMY Rank: Private First Class Conflict: WWII The 104th Infantry Division sailed for the Western Front on 27 August 1944. It landed in France on 7 September 1944. In early October, Major General Terry de la Mesa Allen, Sr. took command of the division. He had previously commanded the 1st Infantry Division, "The Big Red One", in North Africa and Sicily and would command the 104th during most of its time in combat. The division was assigned to III Corps of the Ninth United States Army, part of the Twelfth United States Army Group. The division then organized and assembled at Manche, France before heading into combat. Joining the Battle of Hürtgen Forest, the division moved into defensive positions in the vicinity of Wuustwezel, Belgium on 23 October 1944. The Timberwolves were then assigned to British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery's Anglo-Canadian 21st Army Group under the British I Corps, along with the U.S. 7th Armored Division, in order to clear out the Scheldt Estuary and open the port of Antwerp. While the U.S. 7th Armored Division was assigned static duty holding the right flank of the gains made during the failed Market Garden operation, the 104th Infantry Division was to assist the First Canadian Army in the taking of the Scheldt. The Timberwolves traveled across France by train and debarked near the Belgian-Dutch border and waited for word to attack, taking the place of the experienced British 49th Infantry Division on the left flank and the Polish 1st Armored Division on the right. The Americans were given responsibility for taking 22 miles of wet, low country from the Belgian border to the Maas River. The width of their front was approximately 8,000 yards. General Allen planned to employ all three of his regiments at the same time, shoulder to shoulder. The 104th began combat operations on 25 and 26 October, and began to attack the Germans, who offered varying levels of resistance. Along the division's front, the Germans were spread thinly and did not have continuous lines of defense. However, they did possess deadly strong points, and endeavored to make the Timberwolves' progress as time consuming and costly as possible, making heavy use of mines, booby traps, and roadblocks. Despite this, advance was steady, though paid for in the lives of the 104th Division soldiers. Conditions were rainy, chilly, wet and muddy. Moisture seemed to grip everything and everyone. Sleet beat down on the troops, who went for days soaked to the skin and slimy with mud. On 30 October, after five days of continuous operations the division had pushed about 15 miles to within sight of the Mark River and had liberated Zundert, gained control of the Breda-Roosendaal Road, and overrun the Vaart Canal defenses. Leur and Etten fell as the division advanced to the Mark River, arriving there by 31 October. A coordinated attack over the Mark River at Standdaarbuiten on 2 November established a bridgehead and the rest of the division crossed the river. With the Allies firmly on the north side of the Mark River, German resistance collapsed. For the next two days, the Timberwolves pursued enemy remnants north to the Maas River. Zevenbergen was captured and the Maas River was reached on 5 November. That same day, General Allen received orders from the U.S. First Army, releasing it from British control. While the bulk of the division moved near Aachen, Germany, elements remained to secure Moerdijk until 7 November, when they were relieved. During this time, the division was reassigned to VII Corps of the U.S. 1st Army, also part of the Twelfth Army Group. By 7 November, the fighting in the Netherlands cost the Timberwolves 1,426 casualties, including 313 killed and 103 missing. Montgomery and the Canadian commanders sent their congratulations, and General Allen disseminated copies of their letters to his regiments and wrote a personal letter of thanks to everyone in the division, concluding with his favorite motto, "Nothing in Hell must stop the Timberwolves!" As a result of the actions of the 104th and their Allied counterparts, the Scheldt Estuary was cleared. The Royal Navy took three weeks to sweep the estuary waters clear of mines, and in early December 1944, the port of Antwerp was open to Allied shipping. While under American command on 16 November 1944, the division went on another offensive, taking Stolberg and pushing on against heavy resistance. Eschweiler fell on 21 November and the enemy was cleared from the area west of the Inde River, including Inden by 2 December 1944. Lucherberg was held against enemy counterattacks on 3 December, and all strongholds west of the Roer River were captured by the 23rd. It took temporary command of the 60th Infantry Regiment of the 9th Infantry Division.[18] During the Battle of the Bulge, the 104th actively defended its sector near Duren and Merken from 15 December 1944 to 22 February 1945. During that time, it was reassigned to XIX Corps of the Ninth United States Army. It then moved across the Roer taking Huchem-Stammeln, Birkesdorf, and North Duren. On 5 March, after heavy fighting, it entered Köln. After defending the west bank of the Rhine River, the division crossed the river at Honnef on 22 March 1945, and attacked to the east of the Remagen bridgehead. During this time, some of the division's assets fell under command of the 1st Infantry Division and the 3rd Armored Division.[19] After a period of mopping up and consolidation, it participated in the trap of enemy troops in the Ruhr pocket. The 104th repulsed heavy attacks near Medebach and captured Paderborn on 1 April 1945. After regrouping, it advanced to the east and crossed the Weser River on 8 April, blocking enemy exits from the Harz Mountains. The division then crossed the Saale River and took Halle in a bitter five-day struggle from 15 to 19 April. The sector to the Mulde River was cleared by 21 April, and after vigorous patrolling, contacted the Red Army at Pretzsch on 26 April.[17] The division took temporary command of assets from the 69th Infantry Division in early May. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/104th_Infantry_Division_(United_States)