The 70th Infantry Division ("Trailblazers"
Combat chronicle
thumb|upright=0.6|left|Memorial for fallen soldiers of the 70th at [[Spicheren Heights, near Stiring-Wendel]]
The three infantry regiments of the 70th Infantry Division, the 274th, 275th and 276th, landed at Marseille, France, 10–15 December 1944, and were formed into Task Force Herren under command of deputy division commander, Thomas W. Herren, before the arrival of the remainder of the division on 18 January 1945. Task Force Herren took over defensive positions along the west bank of the Rhine, 28 December 1944, in the vicinity of Bischwiller, south of Haguenau Forest. Elements took part in the fight to stop the German Operation Nordwind, and struck at the enemy at Philippsbourg and at Wingen between Bitche and Hagenau. In mid-January 1945, the task force moved to an area directly south of Saarbrücken, where it carried out reconnaissance and combat patrols, and improved its defensive positions. Upon the arrival of the remainder of the division, Task Force Herren was dissolved.
The division continued patrolling and combat raids as it made preparations for an offensive drive in mid-February. On 17 February 1945, the division attacked just below the Saar River. The 70th drove onto high ground overlooking Saarbrücken, smashed into Forbach, took Stiring-Wendel, and continued across the Saar to take Saarbrücken, 20 March 1945. Pushing through Siegfried Line defenses along the north bank of the Saar, the division took Völklingen and other Saarland cities and towns. On 31 March it was reassigned to the Third Army. In April it took part in the reduction of the Saar Basin, and after VE-day was engaged in occupational duties, with command posts at Otterberg, Bad Kreuznach, Frankfurt, and Oranienstein in Germany.
Casualties
- Total battle casualties: 3,919
- Killed in action: 755