The 222nd Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment of the United States Army, AUS. It served in the 42nd Infantry Division for the duration of the Second World War, and was then deactivated. The regiment distinguished itself in battle against the Wehrmacht and earned the Presidential Unit Citation for courageous action.
History
When the 42nd Infantry Division was activated on 14 July 1943, three new infantry regiments were created to fill the division up because all of the regiments that had formed the division during World War I were serving elsewhere. The 222nd Infantry Regiment, 232nd Infantry Regiment, and the 242nd Infantry Regiment were activated and included recruits from all 48 states. The 222nd Infantry Regiment underwent intense combat training at Camp Gruber, Oklahoma and arrived in Marseille, France, in November 1944. After a brief period of training and reconsolidation, the regiment was attached to "Task Force Linden" under the command of General Henning Linden in early December to prepare for combat. On 24 December 1944, the Task Force (TF) entered combat in the vicinity of Strasbourg, relieving the 36th Infantry Division of the Texas Army National Guard and became engaged in minor skirmishing with the Germans until the advent of major battle.
Operation Nordwind
On 31 December, the Germans launched a major offensive in north-eastern France, called Operation Nordwind, and managed to gain ground against the Seventh United States Army, and the First French Army. In order to cut off the American held town of Haguenau, the Wehrmacht needed to encircle the position in a pincer move. However, their offensive would grind to a halt once they reached the positions of the 42nd Infantry Division. On the night of 24 January 1945, the second to last day of the German counterattack, the 222nd Infantry Regiment would see its first major combat in the face of a determined and experienced enemy. The G.I.'s were dug in in fighting positions in the Ohlugen Forest looking towards the Forest of Haguenau, where thick foliage and a dense low-lying fog both concealed their positions and obscured the Germans' movements. Facing the green Americans of the 222nd Infantry were elements of the 25th Panzergrenadier Division, the 47th Volksgrenadier Division, and the 7th Fallschirmjäger Division.
Colonel Luongo, the commander of the 222nd, spread out his soldiers across five major defensive positions from west to east; a series of hills to the west, in Neubourg, Mill d'Uhrbruck, the Ohlungen Forest, and the town of Schweighausen to the east. The arrival of the Germans was heralded by loud taunts and oaths sent across the line to intimidate the waiting Americans, and the assault began at 1800 with an artillery barrage first on Schweighausen, then eventually the whole regimental line. The barrage included artillery guns and Nebelwerfer rockets, and was very effective despite the darkness of the night. During the first hour of the barrage, nearly all the 222nd's phone lines were knocked out and their radios proved to be ineffective in the woodland. Supporting American artillery was ineffective, and the Battalion HQ for the 1st (1-222) and 2nd (2-222) Battalions had to be moved after receiving accurate fire. E Company 2-222, made first contact with enemy ground troops at 2015, when the Germans charged across the firebreak that separated their two positions. Heavy machine-gun and mortar fire from the US positions halted the attackers, and the commanding officer of E Company (Lieutenant George Carroll) counterattacked and drove the Germans back.