The rather quick march of the 71st continued into the first full weeks of December. The foothills were beginning to give way to the Low Vosges mountains and the hills and lowlands were growing in size to become ridges and valleys. Fighting was less about darting from farmstead to farmstead and more about taking ground ridge by ridge as they advanced.

December 4

The weather was continuing to change and while the 4th began pleasant it soon turned into rain and snow making for a muddy march from the area around Mackwiller into the town of Diemeringen. As this was a considerably larger town, the fighting was slow as the men mopped up remaining resistance and taking prisoners. First battalion and a portion of second were engaged in patrols to the north, skirmishing with Germans who were occupying the town of Lorentzen. Third battalion was trucked to the east to the area of Waldhambach where they secured the village through the evening and overnight hours.

December 5

Third battalion continued to hold their position in Waldhambach. First battalion had a mission that started early: take the town of Lorentzen. Attaching to elements of the 4th Armored Division, they pushed into and took the town, routing the German resistance by that afternoon. The battalion, along with the 25th Cavalry Recon patrolled the town.

Behind them, the Regimental command post relocated to Diemeringen, along with the rest of 2nd Battalion.

Also of note, Company C of the 99th Chemical Mortar Battalion was attached to the 71st, ostensibly to support taking the next objective, the town of Ratzwiller.

December 6

1st and 3rd Battalions remained in place. 2nd Battalion, along with the attached mortar company, was ordered to move up and garrison the town of Butten. From this location they could harass and soften up the defending Germans in Ratzwiller, a small town situated on a high hilltop with commanding views of the valley to the west and the forested mountains jutting up to the northeast.

December 7 – Three year anniversary of Pearl Harbor

December seventh dawned with more cold rain. Into the muck went 1st and 2nd Battalions to assault Ratzwiller and take it from the Germans. This maneuver was no doubt a difficult one as there was only one way to approach the town. Through the conditions and exposed assault, the battalions took the town by late afternoon, suffering no casualties.

Behind the assault of Ratzwiller, the Regimental command post moved up to Butten that same afternoon.

December 8

(Author’s note: The entry for this day was extremely confusing. The notations simply stated that all units “recon of conc area 072213 Dec.” Based on the movements over the last 24-48 hours, where they ended up next, and looking at the area in Google Earth I am fairly confident that this interpretation is correct.)

The morning of December 8th all units of the 71st were ordered by the 44th Infantry Division to scout the route from Ratzwiller/Butten along the road to Montbronn. This area is heavily forested, rugged, and had the potential to be a dangerous route for the 71st and other nearby units to take. This flank had to be secured, however, so the Sixth Army units to the north could continue their push through the valley to Rombach and Sarreguemines. Thankfully, no resistance was encountered and all units returned to Butten late in the afternoon. There they said a goodbye to the men of the 99th Mortar as they were being attached to the 114th Regiment.

December 9

This day brought more rain, snow, and mud to the Low Vosges. The 71st departed Butten in trucks and moved into the town of Montbronn, garrisoning it as a new assembly area for multiple units of the 44th Division. All units were in place and the Command Post was opened by the early evening. The next morning the Regiment would be taking it’s place along the new front lines.

At the beginning of December the 71st Infantry had fought their way another five miles to the north-east of Rauwiller, pushing the Germans out of the towns of Hirschland, Baerendorf and Eschwiller and establishing a front just to the northeast of the town of Berg. Since their first combat outside Embermenil, they had fought through some 30 miles of farms, forests, and towns to their current positions, with First and Third Battalions occupying defensive positions in the town of Berg, and Second about two miles behind in the town of Eywiller.

December 1, 1944

First Battalion pushed out of Berg and into the forested area to the north-east (part of that forest appears to still be intact, just to the north-west of Bettwiller). The Battalion encountered resistance in this “Bois de Todtenberg” (Todtenberg Wood), clearing it by late afternoon. Second Battalion pushed through their position, helping clear the area and setting up for an attack on Rexigen, to the northwest. As they pushed through what was at the time a forest, they encountered heavy resistance from small arms, mortar and artillery fire. Company F was able to push across the railroad tracks (abandoned today, but the corridor is still visible – dashed in orange in the image below) but the operation was halted due to the intense resistance. All companies fell back to defensive positions.

December 2, 1944

The regiment continued pushing east, beginning on the morning of the 2nd, taking the town of Rexingen and moving quickly by truck to prepare for an attack on Mackwiller, setting up defensive positions to the west of the town. Heavy resistance in the woods to the south made for tough fighting for Second Battalion but they were able to set up for the final push with Companies E and G on the high ground to the north-west and Company F set up in the woods to the south-east of town.

December 3, 1944

This morning dawned cold and cloudy with rain and poor visibility. Company F jumped off at 0715 and entered the town of Mackwiller by 0745. Companies E and G held the high ground to the north while F continued mopping up resistance. By early afternoon, the 71st had completely taken the objective and all three battalions were ordered to make reconnaissance of the new assembly area (in Mackwiller) at 1400. Mackwiller would be the jumping-off point for an attack on Diemeringen, a fairly significant city, to the northwest.