9th Engineer Battalion (United States)
The 9th Engineer Battalion is a unit of the United States Army that deploys to designated contingency areas and conducts combat and/or stability operations in support of a brigade combat team. It is a divisional mechanized combat engineer unit, composed of three line companies and a headquarters company. Its mission is to provide assured mobility, counter-mobility, general engineering, and survivability support, with well trained sappers ready to deploy anywhere at any time. The unit's history spans service in 1917 in the US southwest, World War II in France and Germany, multiple deployments to the Balkans, and multiple deployments in support of the global war on terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is most famous for the capture of the Ludendorff Bridge across the Rhine River. As of 18 May 2015, the battalion exists as the 9th Brigade Engineer Battalion in Fort Stewart, GA under 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division.
Unit insignia
The crest was approved by the Department of the Army and the 9th Engineer Battalion on 27 July 1967. All the symbols reflect the battalion's initial service in the southwest United States. The wreath under the Gila monster is the Corps of Engineer wreath. The Gila monster represents service along the Gila River and the southwest desert from 1917 to 1920. The ship anchor and oars are the coat of arms from 9E's original parent unit, the 2nd Battalion Mounted Engineers. The horse head represents service as Mounted Engineers and Armored Engineers. The wavy chevron running across the shield represents service along the Rio Grande from 1917 to 1920. The lone star on the bottom represents service in Texas from 1917 to 1921. The motto "Asistiremos" was added in 1925, meaning "We Will Assist" in Spanish.History
Early history
The battalion was constituted 15 May 1917 in the Regular Army as the 2nd Battalion Mounted Engineers. They were organized 21 May 1917 at Camp Newton D. Baker, El Paso, Texas, and redesignated the 9th Engineers in July 1917. The 9th spent its first years in El Paso while serving at Camp Stewart, Texas.After World War I, the battalion was declared inactive except for A Company, which was transferred to Fort Riley, Kansas to provide engineer support to the Cavalry School. From 1923 to 1936, A Company provided vital training and infrastructure support to the Cavalry School first as a unit of the 2nd Cavalry Division and later as Troop A, 9th Engineer Squadron. The performance of Troop A during this period established a tradition of excellence for the 9th Engineer Squadron as a mounted cavalry unit. The platoon leader during a significant portion of that period was 1LT Samuel D. Sturgis III, later to become the Chief of Engineers as a lieutenant general.
World War II
Following the outbreak of World War II, the battalion was activated as the 9th Armored Engineer Battalion, part of the 9th Armored Division. Landing in France in October 1944 from their staging base in England, the 9th Armored Engineers supported the division's movement across France, making first contact with the enemy in the Schoenfels-Wilwerdange-Bissen area.Battle of the Bulge
The battalion fought in the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944. In the battle, B Company operated under Combat Command B of the 9th Armored Division and figured prominently in the Battle of St. Vith. B Company prepared three bridges for demolitions, one in Steinbruck and two in and around Galhausen. Of the 3, only one required demolition. It reinforced bridges and improved roads throughout the area and also performed counter-mobility missions such as booby trapping the woods around Galhausen and laying a minefield in the vicinity of Lierneaux. The B Company Commander was captured on 22 December 1944 when the 27th AIB CP Aid Station was overrun. The Company suffered 10 casualties during the Battle of the Bulge: five men missing in action, and five men wounded in action. The Company lost one half track, seven 2 ½ ton trucks, one ¾ ton weapons carrier, and two 2 ½ ton 4×4 trucks.C Company figuring prominently in the defense of Bastogne, for which the company was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation. They are credited with blocking six roads from the south and east of Bastogne from 20 to 27 December, losing ground only once before regaining it four hours later. Prior to Bastogne, C Company was involved heavily in the Allied fighting withdrawal in the face of the German advance, improving defensive positions and fighting as infantry until they withdrew to Bastogne at 1915 on 19 December. In the Battle of the Bulge, they suffered three KIA, three died of wounds, 11 missing in action, 12 wounded in action.
The Ludendorff Bridge
On 7 March 1945, during Operation Lumberjack, to clear the area west of the Rhine of German troops, Combat Command B of the 9th Armored Division arrived at the town of Remagen. They were surprised to discover that the Ludendorff railroad bridge over the Rhine river was intact. A three-man detachment from 2nd Platoon, B Company—Lieutenant Hugh Mott, Staff Sergeant John Reynolds, and Sergeant Eugene Dorland—accompanied the first squad of A/27th AIB to reduce the remaining explosives after the German's unsuccessful attempt to destroy the bridge. Crossing with lead elements, Dorland destroyed the main demolition switch box on the far shore. The remainder of B Company, 9th Engineers followed with the rest of A/27th AIB, finding and neutralizing more explosives on the bridge. After the crossing was initially secured, Lt. Mott led B Company in the hasty bridge repairs that allowed the first nine Sherman tanks to gingerly creep across the bridge at 2200 and begin securing the bridgehead.The next day, C Company kept the bridge open and traffic moving despite a continuous, intense artillery and aircraft attack that struck the bridge twenty-four times. C Co also created and mounted a sign on the tower alongside the western approach announcing,"CROSS THE RHINE WITH DRY FEET COURTESY OF 9TH ARMD DIV." C Co was relieved of its responsibility for the bridge at 0830 10 March 1945. When the smoke cleared, the 9th Armored Engineers had been instrumental in establishing the first bridgehead across the Rhine River since the Napoleonic Campaigns. The unit was awarded the oak leaf for their Presidential Unit Citation for their actions at Remagen.
The 9th Engineers were in the final sweep into Germany. It moved through Limburg from 26 to 28 March, Marburg 29–30 March, Warburg 31 March – 6 April, crossed the Unstrut River on 11 April, the Saale River 12 April, through Trebson 16–21 April. A Company moved through Goldorf, Czechoslovakia on 1 May. After the Nazi surrender, the battalion established an occupation headquarters in the Bavarian city of Bayreuth, with A Company at Coburg, B Company at Kulmbach, and C Company at Hof. Occupation duty ended in late 1945, so the battalion left West Germany and was inactivated on 13 October 1945.
The Cold War
In 1952, the 9th Engineers were reactivated as the 9th Engineer Combat Battalion at Fort Lewis, Washington as part of the US arms build-up for the Korean War. In autumn of 1957, the 9th Engineer Battalion moved to and replaced the 35th Engineers at Kitzingen, Germany, moving to Aschaffenburg within the year as part of the US Army's "Gyroscope" plan of rotating units overseas. In February and March, 1960 the battalion participates in the enormous Maneuver Wintershield. The battalion remained in Europe, serving as a Corps-level engineer asset as part of the 7th Engineer Brigade, VII Corps, preparing for and helping deter a Communist invasion of West Germany. For much of this time, it was in direct support to the German Army's 12th Panzer Division until its deployment in the Persian Gulf War.The Persian Gulf War
In 1991, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Richard Jemiola, the 9th Engineers were organized in direct support of the 1st Infantry Division for operations in the Persian Gulf War. The 9th Engineer Battalion, together with the 1st Engineer Battalion, led the 1st Infantry Division through the Desert Breach, and assisted in liberating Kuwait. The battalion returned to Aschaffenburg, where it was inactivated in late 1992.The Balkans
The battalion was reactivated as part of the 1st Infantry Division in Schweinfurt, Germany on 5 April 1996. In October 1996, the battalion deployed with the 2nd Brigade Combat Team as part of the covering force for Operation Joint Endeavor and Joint Guard. The battalion was split between Camp Demi and Camp Dobol. The battalion provided Engineer Support, supervising former warring factions in the clearance, proofing, and marking of minefields. The battalion conducted extensive bridge, route, and minefield reconnaissance missions, destroyed weapons caches, served as a direct peacekeeping force, and breached at least one minefield unilaterally at Dr. Pepper Bypass at Omerbegovaca. The Battalion manned Checkpoint 34A alongside Russian soldiers in January 1997. The battalion was replaced by elements of the 82nd Engineers out of Bamberg, Germany, and returned to Ledward Barracks in Schweinfurt in April 1997. For its actions in Bosnia, the battalion was awarded the Army Superior Unit Award.The 9th Engineer Battalion was deployed to the Balkans as part of Kosovo Force during Operation Joint Guardian II in June 1999 under Task Force Falcon. It was the first U.S. battalion to stand up at Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo. The Companies operated in several villages which included Gnjilane, Cernica, Uglari, Podgrađe, and Stansior. Missions conducted included route reconnaissance, unexploded ordnance reconnaissance, bunker busting, bunker building, checkpoint operations, obstacle construction, rebuilding an elementary school, and securing Pristina Airfield for President Bill Clinton's first visit to Kosovo. Reported accomplishments included six cordon & search missions, ten obstacle emplacement missions, three obstacle repair missions, 189 Explosive Ordnance Disposal incident responses, ten post blast analyses, eight vertical construction projects, over 40 kilometers of road improvement, donated over 100 boxes of toys to three sponsored schools, and over 200 escort missions. The battalion returned to Schweinfurt in December 1999, and returned for a second tour in Kosovo from May to November 2002. In August and September 2003, Alpha Company deployed to Bosnia in support of Task Force 1–18's Dynamic Response Exercise.