Colmar Pocket

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Located near Alsace in Eastern France, the Colmar Pocket was the site of a ten-day battle during the Second World War that saw four divisions of the French Army and an entire Corps from the U.S. Army overwhelm German resistance.

A bridgehead forty miles long and twenty-five miles deep on the west bank of the Rhine, was surrounded by the First French Army when the Germans decided to break out to supplement the troops now faltering in the Ardennes Offensive. The U.S. 3rd Infantry Division was re-routed to help the French retain the Germans, through an attack against the forest of Bois de Riedwihr, while the French armour captured the town of Colmar.

The battle

On January 23, following the capture of the forested area, the 30th Regiment met 10 German tanks and tank destroyers as well as their accompanying infantry. Without cover and unable to dig foxholes due the frozen terrain, the unit was forced to withdraw taking heavy casualties. The 15th Regiment made the same attempt the following day, but saw 102 of their 120 men shot before reaching their assigned vantage-point, where they spent the night before being reinforced with two Tank Destroyers from the 601st Tank Destroyer Battalion

The Aftermath

After the battle, the French granted the members of the US Division the right to wear the Croix de Guerre, and the President awarded the division as an entity the Distinguished Unit Citation.

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