344th Engineers General Service

[Walt's Daughter]

This information was taken from:

 

The Corps of Engineers - The War Against Germany - Authors: Alfred M. Beck; Abe Bortz; Charles W. Lynch; Lidia Mayo; And Ralph F. Weld - Publisher: Department of the Army - The book describes in detail the role of the Army Corps Engineers in various campaigns, from North Africa, Italy, as well as Central and Western Europe, from 1941-1944. Includes photos, maps... -

 

============================== Here's the post from 2005:

 

I found info and will be posting it here later today!

 

Okay, I'm back. It's not much, but it's a start. The following info is in regards to the 344th General Service Engineer Regiment.

 

This is during December of 1943 in Italy. Bridge building was very difficult at this time due to enemy fire and the weather. Some of the engineering companies tried building bridges at night, while some still preferred the daylight so they could be protected as much as possible by counterbattery fire that aerial reconnaissance directed.

 

The winds and floods were causing havoc on December 30 and a company of the 344th Engineering General Service Regiment was building a Bailey bridge across the Volturno near Raviscanina. While the engineers were putting concrete caps on the stone piers of the demolished span, a high wall of water plunged down the river and quickly washed away concrete and equipment. On the 31st, high winds and subfreezing temperatures ended all the work for several days. The gale ripped own company tents and blew away, buried and destroyed personal equipment.

 

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During June and July much of the 5th Army forces departed to prepare for the invasion of southern France being planned for mid-August. The army lost VI Corps and the French Corps. That loss amounted to seven full divisions and also the loss of non-divisional engineers units that included the 540th Engineer Combat Regiment, the 48th Engineer Combat Bn and the 343rd and 344th Engineer General Service Regiments. These units would now be under 7th Army control.

 

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This takes place in southern France on October 2, 1944. The 344th repaired a 410-foot single-track structure over the DOUBS River at Dole, using thirty-foot high timber bents, with standard Bailey forming the the span. Opening the Dole route brought railheads north to Vesoul and Bescanon.

 

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Seventh Army engineers divided the responsibility for rail rehabilitation after October 30th. At various times, the work continued to involve the 40th, 94th, 343rd, 344th and the 540th Engineer Regiments and also the 1051st Engineer Port Construction and Repair Group.

 

The following info is in regards to the 334th General Service Engineer Regiment

 

This takes place in North Africa in January of 1943. The newly formed 5th Army was operating eight training schools. The 17th Armored Engineer Bn, the 334th Engineer Combat Bn, the 39th and 540th Engineer Combat Regiments, and two separate engineer battalions, the 378th and the 384th, took part in training exercises with live fire, the object being to make men battle-wise in the shortest time frame possible.