Memorial 249th US Engineer Combat Battalion

At the end of January 1945, the Battle of the Bulge that started on December 16, 1944, came slowly tot he end with the German forces being pushed back tot he Germany-Luxembourg border. The Americans, especially General George S. Patton’s 3rd Army, were preparing tot enter Germany that was however heavily defended by bunkers and pillboxes along its border. This was the so-called "Westwall" or "Siegfried Line".

As all the bridges over the Our, Sauer and Moselle rivers were destroyed, the American engineer units had to built new ones. After crossing into Germany near Tintesmühle (L) on February 6, 1945, the US 6th Armored Division managed to make its way south and east and could enlarge its bridgehead into Germany. The town of Dasburg (D) was under American control by 5 p.m. on February 21, 1945. The same evening, the 25th Armored Engineer Battalion of the 6th Armored Division started building a footbridge over the Our River, which connected Luxembourg to Germany again. As this bridge could not hold any heavy loads, it was replaced by a Bailey Bridge on February 28, 1945 by C Company of the 249th Engineer Combat Battalion.

This unit hd also been involved in the Battle of the Bulge, when its commander, Captain Arnold J. Cissna, was killed in action in Bilsdorf (L) on December 24, 1944. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal posthumously.
On March 22, 1945, the 249th ECB made a successful assault crossing over the Rhine River at Oppenheim (D).
After the war, they became a specialized unit for humanitarian services, such as restoring electrical power to disaster areas.

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Source

• Text: Informatiepanel
• Photos: Hans Tasma