A Partial History 135th Infantry Regiment 34th Infantry Division Approved for Publication Allied Force Headquarters Information News and Censorship Section THE 135TH IN THE PRESENT WAR (p. 1-33) INDUCTION INTO FEDERAL SERVICE (p. 1) The 135th Infantry Regiment assembled on 10 February 1941, the date of induction, in the various armories throughout the State of Minnesota as follows: Regimental Hq Minneapolis, Minn. Hq. Company Minneapolis, Minn. Service Company Minneapolis, Minn. Anti-tank Company Minneapolis, Minn. Medical Det. Minneapolis, Minn. Band Minneapolis, Minn. Hq. Det. 1st Bn. Minneapolis, Minn. Company A Stillwater, Minn. Company B Hutchinson, Minn. Company C Minneapolis, Minn. Company D Stillwater, Minn. Hq. Det. 2nd Bn. Owatonna, Minn. Company E Jackson, Minn. Company F Owatonna, Minn. Company G Albert Lea, Minn. Company H Austin, Minn. Hq. Det. 3rd Bn. Montevideo, Minn. Company I Madison, Minn. Company K Dawson, Minn. Company L Ortonville, Minn. Company M Appleton, Minn. The Regiment was relieved from duty in the National Guard of the United States and ordered into the active military service of the United States for a period of 12 consecutive months. At induction the Regiment was under the command of Colonel Harold S. Nelson and its strength, increased as a result of a vigorous recruiting drive, was 86 officers, one warrant officer, and 1,489 enlisted men. After a 15 day period of physical examinations, conditioning, inoculations, and final grooming, the units were ready. CAMP CLAIBORNE AND FORT DIX (pp. 1-2) The main body of the Regiment proceeded by rail from their home stations to Camp Claiborne, Louisiana, commencing on 25 February 1941. An advance detachment left 19 February by motor and a motor echelon on 21 February. It was a bitter cold day with the mercury hovering around 20 degrees below zero. Various bands preceded the troops to their respective depots to board the special trains awaiting them, and crowds of local people, parents, and friends waited in the cold for the trains to become loaded and move away. The troops arrived at Camp Claiborne, situated approximately 18 miles south of Alexandria, on 27 February and found the site ungraded and the roads a sea of mud. The men set up in pyramidal tents. The training period opened immediately and on 17 April 1941, 650 replacements arrived from Fort Snelling, Minnesota, and a second group of 500 on 20 April 1941. During this time officers of the Regiment were being sent to the Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia. On 6 August the Regiment moved out to participate in the Corps maneuvers, meeting problems of staff work, ammunition, supply, logistics, messing on the move, and traffic control. The maneuvers were concluded 30 September 1941. Upon declaration of war 8 December 1941, the Regiment was divided into three separate combat teams with a battery of the 125th Field Artillery attached, the mission of which was to protect the southern coastal frontier. The combat teams left Camp Claiborne beginning on 8 December; Regimental Headquarters and the Second Battalion being charged with the defense of New Orleans in conjunction with the permanent installations. Lt. Col. Lester A. Hancock was in command of the Regiment at this time as Col. Harold S. Nelson was on detached service at the Infantry School. Lt. Col Albert A. Svoboda had been placed in command of the 2nd Battalion. The 1st Battalion with Major Axel Jensen in command was assigned the defense at Fort Barrancas, Florida, while the 3rd Battalion commanded by Lt. Col. Barndt A. Anderson moved to Texas City, Texas, for its part of the defense of the southern coast along the Gulf of Mexico. The Regiment was relieved of its coastal defense mission on 1 January 1942, and left 8 January by train for Fort Dix, New Jersey, arriving in 11 January. The spirit was high in anticipation of the coming overseas movement. Col. Nelson was relieved of assignment and duty with the 34th Infantry Division and was assigned to duty with Headquarters V Army Corps on 19 April 1942, and Col. Charles M. Parkin was assigned and assumed command of the Regiment. On 26 April 1942, Master Sergeant Galen W. Swank, Regimental Sergeant Major of the Regiment since 1927, was transferred to the Station Complement, Fort Dix, New Jersey, and was given special commendation for his meritorious service in a Regimental special order. Sergeant Major Swank had served with the Regiment continuously since 1916, having participated in the Mexican Border activities and also the World War, and as a mark of commendation and appreciation the Regiment was reviewed by Sergeant Major Swank on 27 April. NORTHERN IRELAND AND ENGLAND (pp. 2-3) The Regiment completed boarding the Aquatania at 0230 hours 30 April 1942 at the New York Port of Embarkation and cleared New York Harbor at 0630 hours the same day. After being joined by several other ships, the convoy headed to the northeast. The ships anchored in the harbor of Halifax, Nova Scotia, on 2 May, and Major Creighton (MC) and a patient with a ruptured appendix were sent ashore there. The convoy proceeded eastward and on 8 May three merchant ships, a cruiser, and a battleship left the convoy for Iceland. The sea was comparatively smooth during the entire voyage. On 11 May, the convoy arrived in the harbor at Belfast, North Ireland, just out from Bangor, but did not unload. That evening the ship moved across the channel and into the Clyde River of Scotland, anchoring at Greenoch, Scotland. There the Regiment was transferred to three coastal steamers and was moved across the channel again under cover of darkness the night of 12 May, disembarking at Londonderry, North Ireland. The 34th Division was the first Division to arrive in the European Theater. The Battalions were given separate destinations, each Battalion proceeding by train to its assigned area. Regimental Headquarters, Headquarters Company, Band, and 3rd Battalion went to Camp Cromore on the estate of Mr. Montague where the troops had the new experience of being housed in Nissen huts. Anti-tank and Service Companies were stationed in Portstewart, and the 1st Battalion was stationed in Portrush. The 2nd Battalion was assigned at Ballycastle along the coast where some of the units were housed in a summer resort and others in billets. Both Portstewart and Portrush also were summer resort towns along the seacoast. This section of North Ireland presented a training problem inasmuch as all the terrain was divided into very small plots of fields surrounded by hedges and all under cultivation. It was difficult to become adjusted to the fact that it was still daylight at 2330 hours. The need of extra terrain for training soon became apparent and the Regiment left this pleasant section of North Ireland for the new areas on 30 May 1942. Regimental Headquarters was established this time in a castle known as Ecclesville House just on the outskirts of the town of Fintona, County of Tyrone. Headquarters Company, Service Company, Medical Detachment, and Band were housed in Nissen huts in Fintona and vicinity. The 1st and 3rd Battalions were located on the estate of Sir Basil Brooke near Brookborough. The 2nd Battalion was quartered in the city of Omagh, and Anti-tank Company at Clougher. A new change in the "age in grade" ruling called for the removal of several officers from combat troops, and it was necessary for Lt. Col. Albert A. Svoboda and Lt. Col. Jerrold A. Petraborg, Major Axel Jensen and Major William H. Williams, Captain Charles Snyder, and 1st Lieutenant William E. Musegades to leave the Regiment. These changes occurred in the early part of June 1942. Subsequently Lt. Col. Myron P. Lund remained in command of 1st Battalion; Lt. Col. Edwin P. Swenson in command of 2nd Battalion; and Lt. Col. Robert P. Miller in command of 3rd Battalion. Our training at these stations took on the flavor of the battle school. There were obstacle courses to run, bayonet and hand-to-hand fighting, and long hikes in Ireland's "soft days" were begun. The Regiment was advised by higher headquarters that there was no such thing as a rainy day schedule, and that training would go on regardless of weather. The status of training soon developed to where the troops went on the combat range, going through problems of fire and movement with supporting overhead fire from mortars and machine guns. Safety precautions in this state up to this time had not permitted this type of training. On 2 July the Regiment as part of a larger force participated in what was called the maneuver "Atlantic". The British and Americans blended their efforts for the first time since World War I with aim of getting better acquainted with each other's methods. The maneuver brought out many weaknesses, and it taxed the endurance of the Infantry, proving that still more conditioning was necessary. Col. Charles M. Parkin was relieved of duty and assignment with the 34th Infantry Division and assigned to V Army Corps (Reinf) as Provost Marshal on 22 July 1942, and Lt. Col. Lester A. Hancock was assigned and assumed command, being promoted to the rank of full colonel on 23 July. The Regiment took part in Exercise "Pelican". This was a problem in motorized patrols involving storming of various towns, reducing road blocks, and being harassed by guerrilla warfare and snipers. The part of the enemy was played by the Irish Home Guard. Many lessons were learned, especially the use of flank protection and an aggressive vehicle on the point. Feeling the need of further training and a division standard on lessons learned, the Division G-3 conducted divisional training. From 8 August to 13 September 1942, each Battalion was moved to the Division training area where for 3 weeks, they were given a series of problems. Each one was so arranged to teach a different lesson in tactics and develop battalion staff control. During the course of training one of the problems called for close overhead artillery support together with supporting fire of infantry weapons. On 18 October 1942, Companies I, K, L, and a platoon from Company M were placed on detached service to Sunnylands Camp, Carrickfergus, North Ireland, Lt. Col. Edwin T. Swenson in command, for eventual participation in the invasion of North Africa, and embarked on their mission on 21 October from Belfast, North Ireland. The balance of the Regiment continued with intensified training, small unit problems, long marches, and combat firing. Throughout the various stations, the Regimental Band was a consistent uplift to morale. Out of the Band was formed the "Ambassadors of Swing", a fourteen-piece orchestra, which gained popularity in the whole of North Ireland. In recognition of their outstanding success, they were selected to officially open the new Red Cross building in Belfast, during which they played an Allied Forces program over the British Broadcasting Corporation and also a National Broadcasting Company program directly to the United States. A secondary dance band was formed, known as "The Revilliers", to accommodate the many calls the "Ambassadors of Swing" could not oblige. The band continued with the Regiment until December 1943, when it was transferred to Headquarters Company, 34th Division. The 2nd Battalion, less Company F and with the addition of Company M, left Camp Blessingbourne in the vicinity of Fivemiletown with other Division troops in an advance party known as Group II-A under command of Col. Charles M. Parkin, embarking at Liverpool, England, and on 9 December 1942 were en routed to North Africa. The remainder of the Regiment began to move from their stations in North Ireland on 11 December 1942, spent approximately ten days in England, and embarked at Liverpool, England, with other Division troops on 23 December 1942, en route to join the 34th Division in North Africa.