Memorial plaque at Sunset View Cemetery, Appanoose County, Iowa. on the back of his parents grave stone.

© Picture ~ Copyright Michael V. Drachman 2014 ~ All rights reserved

Lester B. Forsythe

Sergeant, U.S. Army
62nd Infantry Battalion, 14th Armored Division
Entered the Service From: Iowa
Service #: 37447254

Date of Death: January 12, 1945, Battle of Hatten / Rittershoffen, France

Burial: Section D Row31 Grave 39
GPS: 49.1236222,6.7161972
Lorraine American Cemetery & Memorial
Department de la Moselle
Saint Avold, Lorraine, France

Citations and Awards:

Purple Heart

The Purple Heart is awarded to members of the Armed Forces of the United States who after 5 April 1917 have been wounded or killed in action against an enemy of the United States or an opposing armed force, while serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed conflict, as the result of acts of enemy or hostile opposing forces, as a result of terrorist attacks or attacks on peacekeeping forces since 28 March 1973, or by friendly fire in circumstance as described above.


Hatten and Rittershoffen

As the fighting in the VI Corps sector intensified, the Germans committed the 21st Panzer and the 25th Panzer Grenadier Divisions to the attack with a breakthrough to Hagenau. On 9 January, German armor was able to penetrate the center of the VI Corps sector. This caused Brooks, the Corps commander, to commit his final reserve force, the 14th Armored, in an effort to stop the German XXXIX Panzer Corps advance. Ordered to take up positions in the vicinity of Hatten and Rittershoffen, the 14th assumed command and control of units from the 242nd Infantry Regiment and the 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the 315th Infantry Regiment, 79th Infantry Division . With heavy fighting in and around the towns, success was measured in how many buildings were controlled by each side as the Americans controlled the western half of the villages and the Germans the eastern half. On 15 January, the Germans strengthenedd the forces in both villages with elements of the 20th Parachute Regiment from the 7th Parachute Division, and the 104th Infantry Regiment from the 47th Volksgrenadier Division. As the fighting raged, the 14th Armored found itself increasingly on the defensive with Combat Command A holding Rittershoffen and Combat Command Reserve defending positions in and around Hatten. Combat Command B took up defensive positions behind the Rittershoffen to Leiterswiller road.

The resupply of the division was becoming very difficult due to the constant reorganizing of forces, the evacuation of the wounded and the shrinking perimeter. Gasoline, of which almost 200,000 gallons was consumed in seven days, had to come from near Saverne 35 miles away along icy roads in blackout conditions. Mortar ammunition had run out by 15 January and the Division's G-4 notified the advanced command post that no more might be available for two weeks. Instructions were given for all abandoned German 8cm mortar ammunition to be picked up and a method was devised by the Division ammunition officer to use this in American 81mm mortars. Artillery ammunition was strictly rationed after 15 January when 6,247 rounds of ammunition were expended out of a total of nearly 40,000 rounds for the entire seven days. In order to alleviate the shortage a convoy of twenty 2 1/2 ton trucks were sent to Marseilles and returned loaded with ammunition dug out of the surf and the landing sites for the invasion of Southern France. Artillery was further handicapped by the shortage of telephone wire. Poor visibility hampered air operations on both sides for most days. On 15 January the first German jet propelled aircraft was seen in the area bombing a battery of the 499th Armored Field Artillery Battalion.

Approximately 39 American and 51 German tanks were destroyed, damaged or abandoned. Recovery of disabled vehicles was very difficult due to the complete lack of cover. Following the battle, the division's G-4 (staff officer) reported to the commanding officer that the division was still short of 62 medium tanks despite having received over 60 replacements during the month of January. The 136th Ordnance Maintenance Battalion's report for the month listed approximately 150 tanks that had been knocked out in combat, repaired and returned to the division's tank battalions. An example of this is seen in the operational reports of the 47th and 48th Tank Battalions. At the height of the fighting the 47th reported that it had a total of 17 operational tanks out of an authorized strength of 50, all were committed to holding its portion of the line. The 48th Tank Battalion report for the same period included the comment that its tank companies were now of approximately squad strength.

The Division sustained battle casualties amounting to 104 killed, 899 wounded and 112 missing. German losses were estimated at in excess of 3,100 in total. The problem of obtaining infantry and armored replacement personnel, especially combat junior officers, was critical.

The Division's 11 day stand at Hatten and Rittershoffen allowed the VI Corps and Seventh Army to withdraw to prepared defensive positions. On 21 January, after the rest of Seventh Army had withdrawn to the south bank of the Moder River, the 14th and its supporting units withdrew from Hatten and Rittershoffen and moved south to join the rest of the army.
Lieutenant-General Jacob L. Devers, commanding general, 6th Army Group later commented that the Battle of Hatten-Rittershoffen "was one of the greatest defensive battles of the war." The 14th Armored Division was nominated for four Presidential Unit Citations for its actions at Hatten-Rittershofen. Of these, two were awarded. Col. Hans von Luck, who commanded the 21st Panzer Division at Hatten-Rittershoffen wrote in his memoirs "Panzer Commander" that the battle ".... was one of the hardest and most costly battles that had ever raged on the western front." These are strong, telling words from a professional German panzer officer who had fought with Rommel's famed Afrika Korps in North Africa, served two tours of duty on the Eastern Front, and led the only armored counter-attack to be attempted against the Allied beachhead in Normandy. A veteran officer who served on the staff of Army Group G during the battle wrote after the war that the American defense of the town against overwhelming odds was "heroic."

After rest, rehabilitation and defensive missions during February and early March, the division returned to the offensive on 15 March 1945; it drove across the Moder River, cracked through the Siegfried Line and by the end of the month, had captured Germersheim on the Rhine River. On Easter Sunday, 1 April, the 14th moved across the Rhine near Worms, protecting the long left flank of the Seventh Army and advanced against moderate to heavy opposition through Lohr, Gemunden, Neustadt, and Hammelburg where, on 6 April, Combat Command B (CCB) liberated Stalag XIII-C and the more famous Oflag XIII-B.

© Picture ~ Copyright Michael V. Drachman 2014 ~ All rights reserved

Section D
GPS: 49.123363,6.716176
Lorraine American Cemetery & Memorial
Department de la Moselle
Saint Avold, Lorraine, France