Combat History of Gen. Sidney Rae Hinds
On 15 July 1940, the 1st Battalion, 41st was activated as Company A, 41st Infantry
(Armored) at Fort Benning, Georgia. The 41st Infantry Regiment constituted the organic
infantry of the newly formed 2nd Armored Division. The association between the 41st
Infantry and the 2nd Armored Division lasted throughout WW II and continued through Desert
Storm. Throughout WW II, the Regiment was, in essence, a mechanized infantry regiment. The
main combat vehicle was the half-track mounting .30 and .50 caliber machine guns. Combined
arms maneuver was central to all operations. the 41st Armored Infantry always worked
closely with tanks. Its companies and battalions were habitually cross-attached within the
Division to form regimental-sized combined arms task forces that, in turn, were organized
into brigade-sized units, called Combat Commands, for specific missions.
From 1940 to 1942, the Regiment trained hard in preparation for combat as part of 2nd
Armored Division. During most of this period, the Division was commanded by MG George S.
Patton. Both the Division and the Regiment distinguished themselves in a series of
large-scale, force-on-force maneuvers in Tennessee, Louisiana, and Carolina. Battle
drills, marksmanship, and tough physical training were the hallmarks of the 41st Infantry.
On 1 January 1942 the 1st Battalion, 41st Infantry was re-designated as company A,
41st Armored Infantry. Also in 1942, Colonel Sidney R. Hinds, from Regimental S3 to
Regimental Commander. He led the Regiment through most of WW II. It was he who adapted the
motto "We stand up straight, we shoot straight, we drive straight, and attempt to
live straight. The word 'Stalwart' implies that we have the strength and stamina to
withstand punishment in combat, without loss of heart, and that we have the ability to
deal a knockout blow to any enemy on any kind of job."
In October 1942, the Regiment set sail from Newport News, Virginia as part of MG
Patton's North African Invasion Force (Operation Torch). Participating in America's first
amphibious landing of the war, the Regiment hit the beaches of Morocco, near Casablanca,
in November 1942. In concert with the rest of 2nd Armored Division, the 41st Infantry
quickly overpowered the sizable Vichy French Forces (who were loose allies with Nazi
Germany) before they could organize an effective resistance. The key was rapid movement
and massing of forces to such an extent that the Vichy French became convinced that they
were completely outmatched. Here, the 41st Infantry had taken part in perhaps the most
difficult of all military operations, an amphibious landing on hostile soil, and had
proven itself in combat.
Following a period of occupation duty in North Africa, the 41st Infantry participated
as part of 2nd Armored Division in the invasion of Sicily (9 July 1943). Under command of
LTG George Patton and his Seventh Army, US Forces bypassed the enemy strongpoints and
seized the whole western end of the island with lighting speed. The 41st Infantry was in
the forefront of this advance, playing an instrumental role in the capture of Palermo.
Following this successful campaign, the 41st Infantry arrived at Tidworth Barracks,
England in November 1943 to prepare for the D-Day Invasion. Although the barracks were a
welcome change for the unit after nearly a year of combat, the Regimental Commander knew
what was ahead and immediately instituted a demanding training program. The cold, wet
English weather did not make training pleasant, but both the soldiers and leaders knew
that rugged, demanding training saved lives in combat. Training began at the individual
and squad level. Soldiers received instruction on rifle markmanship, knowing that shooting
straight and rapidly would be essential in future battles. COL Hinds also emphasized first
aid in his training plan. He had learned from the tough fighting in North Africa and
Sicily that soldiers must have the ability to assist one another in an effort to maintain
the infantry's most important weapon, the rifleman.
At nearby Imber Range, the 41st Infantry perfected its ability to fight as a member of
a combined arms team. Working together with the 66th Armored Regiment, they learned how to
fight mounted for longer periods before dismounting their half-tracks. In Sicily, the
infantry had frequently dismounted when they first met resistance. In England, they
learned the value of keeping up with the momentum of the attack by staying with the tanks.
In mid-April all leaves and passes were canceled. Final preparation for combat began.
Ammunition, weapons, and individual equipment were inspected several times. The 41st
Infantry conducted practice landing operations. Numerous terrain board exercises and map
problems trained the leaders for the difficult missions that lay ahead for the first week
of June 1944. The 41st Infantry would cross the Omaha Beach in Normandy as part of the
greatest armada in history, Operation Overlord. Following the initial D-Day beach
landings, the 2nd Armored Division was brought ashore on June 9, 1944 to provide the punch
for a breakout from the beachhead. The Regiment's first major combat action came on July
28-29, when several enemy columns simultaneously attacked. The enemy was repelled with
heavy losses in savage hand-to-hand combat, grenade, and bayonet fighting. One enemy
column of 94 vehicles was completely destroyed. In this engagement, as in many others, the
outcome rested on the brave deeds of a few good men who rose to the occasion. Foremost
among these was Sergeant Hulon B. Whittington, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his
actions. Sergeant Whittington, a squad leader, assumed leadership of his platoon when the
platoon leader and platoon sergeant became missing in action. Sergeant Whittington,
completely disregarding intense enemy action, mounted a tank and by shouting through the
turret, directed it to fire point blank at the leading Mark V German tank. The destruction
of this vehicle blocked all movement of the remaining enemy column consisting of over 100
vehicles of a Panzer unit. It was also during this period that the 41st Infantry won its
first Presidential Unit Citation, not only for blunting the strong German counterattacks,
but for spearheading the key penetration of the enemy lines through which Patton's Third
Army rapidly pushed to encircle the opposing enemy forces. The continuity of the defense
was destroyed. This critical breakthrough set the stage for the rapid advance across
France.
The Regiment won its second Presidential Unit Citation by repelling another strong
enemy counterattack on July 20,1944, consisting of approximately 600 men and 10 tanks. One
hundred and thirty-nine enemy troops were killed during this battle that sealed off the
Germans on the Cherbourg Peninsula and continued the advance of the 2nd Armored Division.
Following the breakout from the Normandy hedgerow country, the 41st Infantry spearheaded
the advance of XIX Corps, First Army, across France and Belgium in August and September
1944. Finally, the 41st reached the German border.
Here the Germans planned to offer a more determined resistance. Along its border, the
Germans had constructed the "Westwall" popularly known as the "Siegfried
line." This was a network of mutually supporting pillboxes, trench systems,
obstacles, gun emplacements and dug in tanks arranged in a depth of about 20 Km. Its
purpose was to slow the Allied advance, wear down the attacking forces, and make the enemy
vulnerable to counterattack by highly mobile mechanized forces. 2nd Armored Division was
ordered to push through the line between the Wurm and Roer Rivers. Elements of the 41st
Infantry led the way for virtually every one of the 2nd Armored Division's task forces
during this campaign. The attack began on October 1, 1944. 2nd Armored Division attacked
on a very narrow front of 5 km. German resistance was strong, as they fighting on their
own soil. 2nd Armored Division made steady but slow progress. The Germans counterattacked
continuously. Near the village of Puffendorf, the Germans launched the largest tank
counterattack to date on the western front. It was stopped in its tracks, but losses were
high. From November 17-28, the 41st Infantry breached a 15 foot wide, 10 mile-long
antitank ditch and led the way for the final, dramatic 10-day attack to the Roer River.
Infantry maneuver and close combat were decisive factors during this attack. For its
sacrifice, bravery and contribution in this stage of the campaign, the 41st Infantry
received its third Presidential Unit Citation.
In December 1944, the German Army launched a powerful counterattack in the Ardennes
through Belgium and created a "bulge" in the American lines. 2nd Armored
Division moved rapidly to reach the area of the furthest German advance. Here, near
Celles, Belgium the 41st Infantry led the attack as 2nd Armored Division broke the nose of
the entire German offensive. No German forces advanced westward. 2nd Armored Division then
shifted to the east and attacked with the 41st leading the way. The 41st Infantry entered
Houffalize, Belgium on January 16, 1945 and linked up with elements of Patton's Third
Army. For its gallant efforts in this attack to "break the spine of the bulge,"
the 41st was awarded its fourth Presidential Unit Citation.
Soon thereafter, the war ended. On July 4, 1945, the 41st Infantry moved to occupy the
American zone in Berlin. On January 27, 1946, the 41st sailed for the U.S. from Calais,
France.
Excerpt from official Army History of Battle of the Bulge
"All through the night of 26 December the medium and heavy calibers of the 2d
Armored Division artillery blasted away at the Germans in Humain. The town had to be
retaken, for it presented a continuing point of entry into the left flank of the 2d
Armored. But as part of the larger VII Corps' scheme, Harmon had the task of carrying
forward the American front to the east-west line of the L'Homme and Lesse Rivers. For this
general advance Harmon brought up CCR (Col. Sidney R. Hinds), which had been waiting at
Hogne since Christmas Day, and attached it to Collier's CCA. Collier ordered CCR to take
on the Panthers in Humain and sent CCA to clear the large forested area and the roads
running south to Rochefort and L'Homme. CCB was thus left in the west to eradicate the
last remnants of the Celles pocket while extending patrols, in cooperation with the
British 29th Armoured Brigade-all of its troops now east of the Meuse-to the line of the
Lesse River.
To trap the Humain garrison, Colonel Hinds made his attack on the morning of the 7th
with tanks circling south, east, and west of the town, and the armored infantry moving in
from the north. The 2d Battalion (Lt. Col. Lemuel E. Pope) of the 67th Armored Regiment
had isolated Humain by 1015 but found the Panthers missing, driven out during the night by
the artillery bombardment. There remained considerable bite in the Humain defenders and
they momentarily halted the American tank column led by Pope. Pope went to the head of the
column,..."
