99th Norwegian Battalion?

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99th Norwegian Battalion? - 10/11/2001 8:44:00 AM

Redleg

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Anyone have info or source about the 99th Norwegian Battalion during the Battle of the Bulge? I know very little except that their Company B fought an engagement near Malmedy along side troops of the 120th Inf and 291st Combat Engineer Battalion. There were also some gun crews of the 825th Tank Destroyers. This was against Col. Skorzeny's 150th SS Pz "Brigade" - really about a battlion of 120 SS "commandos" and 5 Panthers, 5 Pz IV and about 5 Assault guns. So you can see I know very little. Since I want to make a scenario on this engagement, any info will be greatly appreciated. Redleg

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- 10/11/2001 10:24:00 AM

Drex

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From: Chico,california
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Norwegians in the Battle of the Bulge? Wow. I've never heard of this. Please someone enlighten me.

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quote:

Col Saito: "Don't speak to me of rules! This is war! It is not a game of cricket!"

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- 10/11/2001 12:37:00 PM

Redleg

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Bump. I have found 2 different, very brief references to this. Both specifically mentioned the 99th Norwegian battalion. Only one of the 2 references alluded to the action.. something very brief like, "The Norwegians drove them off with MG and small arms fire". Someone on this forum just has to know more about this. I searched the web every which way from Sunday without any luck. Redleg

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- 10/11/2001 2:55:00 PM

Sunray

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From: Belgium
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Found this book on-line http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/books/wwii/7-8/7-8_CONT.HTM THE ARDENNES: BATTLE OF THE BULGE by Hugh M. Cole (of the series UNITED STATES ARMY IN WORLD WAR II) page 359 On the morning of 21 December the American forces in and around Malmedy were substantial: the 120th Infantry (minus a battalion in division reserve); the "Norwegians," that is, the 99th Infantry Battalion; the 526th Armored Infantry Battalion; a company from the 291st Engineer Battalion; a tank company from the 740th; and two platoons from the 823d Tank Destroyer Battalion. [Footnote 14 : History of the 20th Infantry Regiment and H. R. Bergen, History of 99th Infantry Battalion (Oslo, n.d.); also 120th Inf AAR. The story of other detachments in the Malmedy fight is told in 12th Army Group, Special Forces, AAR, December 1944.] The American infantry line formed an arc south of the town, swinging to east and west. On the left this line touched the 1st Infantry Division outposts near Waimes; on the right it had a tenuous connection with the 117th Infantry at the junction of the road from Stavelot and the road running north to Francorchamps. In passing it must be said that the responsibilities of the two sister regiments at the vaguely defined interregimental boundary were none too explicit. All roads leading to Malmedy had been blocked by mines and barricades or were barred by outpost detachments.
and page 361
Here, on the first day of use of the new POZIT fuze, the Germans were roughly dealt with. Nearly a hundred were killed by the shellbursts and for a moment panic spread among them, some running forward into the fire shouting "Kamerad." But Skorzeny's troops were tough and tried repeatedly to break Lt. Col. Harold D. Hansen's "Norwegians," an outfit characterized in the German intelligence reports as "old men." German machine gun crews tried to set up their pieces right in front of the railroad embankment where B Company lay but were shot down or blasted by hand grenades. Several times the enemy infantry reached the foot of the embankment, but could go no farther. Finally the assault died down. And yes it was made up entirely of Norwegians, formed at Camp Ripley to undergo commando training. The 99th battalion was formed to "demonstrate to the Norwegian people all over the world the determination of the United States to restore their government to its rightful sovereignty" -- see
http://www.dma.state.mn.us/starc/poto/rtsm/RTSStud.htm This unit also fought in Sept 44 on the Meuse river - see
http://2ndarmoredhellonwheels.com/7_days_combat_reports.html
with some details about its organization Hope it helps [ October 11, 2001: Message edited by: Sunray ]

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- 10/11/2001 8:00:00 PM

RUsco

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From: Grand Rapids,MI USA
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There is mention of the Norwigen's in First across the Rhine, the story of the 291st Engineer Combat Battalion, by; Co.David Pergrin. This unit was known as the 99th Seperate Infantry Battalion made up of mostly Norwigen-Americans and Norwigens who fled from the Germans. Commanded by Lt. Col. Harold Hensen. They arrived at Malamandy on Dec17, 1944 at 2215 hrs. this was the first unit 1st army sent to Malmandy. The 291st was holding Malmandy with 180 men at the time. It was a timely arrival, for across the way, 1st SS Kamfgruppe Peiper was on the way. Quote by Col. Perrin. " by all apperances, the 99th was a crack outfit."

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- 10/11/2001 11:22:00 PM

Redleg

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Just outstanding! This information is exactly what I was searching for. What a great source of information this forum is!
Redleg

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