This web page gathers the records of 23AIB (unit records and Individual Deceased Personnel Files) to see what information they can provide about the Bridgehead specifics of which units were where and when, for the purpose of finding and identifying the remains of still unaccounted men lost in the Bridgehead. Many 23AIB men lost in the Dornot Bridgehead remain unaccounted.

In their US Amry Center of Military History book "Three Battles: Arnaville, Altuzzo, and Schmidt", author Charles B. MacDonald (who wrote the Arnaville text) wrote that when B/23 and C/23 crossed the river in the assault at the same time as the lead companies (F and G) of 2nd Battalion, 11th Infantry Regiment, 5th Infantry Division, their "combined strength now totaled only forty-eight men, including Colonel [Leslie] Allison, the battalion commander, and his forward command group". Since Col. Allison was killed in the bridgehead, the post-war interviews for the book were almost entirely of 5th Infantry Division personnel and a very few officers of 7th Armored Division. The result is that the narrative of the events is necessarily more complete for the 5th Infantry Division troops than for the 23rd Armored Infantry Battalion troops in the Dornot Bridgehead.

• Units with men definitely in the Dornot Bridgehead
  • Companies "B" and "C" of the 23rd Armored Infantry Battalion, both already under-strength due to earlier losses without replacements, made the crossing with the 11th Infantry Regiment of 5th Infantry Division to establish the Dornot Bridgehead.
  • The 23 AIB Medical Detachment had members in the Dornot Bridgehead and evacuated many casualties.
  • While Battalion Headquarters may have remained on the west bank, members of the Headquarters were in the Dornot Bridgehead, including 23 AIB Commaning Officer Lt. Col. Leslie Allison who was mortally wounded.
  • Some Headquarters Company elements were in the Bridgehead, with men killed. The Assault Gun Platoon certainly did NOT make the crossing.
• Units with no known men in the Dornot Bridgehead but may have had men in the Bridgehead
  • I do not know if any Service Company elements were in the Bridgehead. The headquarters for the company remained 10 miles west of the Moselle River. They would have made runs to provide supplies to the 23 AIB elements in combat, but it seems unlikely that they would have crossed the Moselle and more likely that they would have delivered the supplies to the elements on the west side of the River for transport across the river by other troops.
• Units definitely NOT in the Dornot Bridgehead
  • Company "A" did not make the crossing. A/23 held the north flank on the west side of the Moselle at Ars-sur-Moselle.

After Action Report

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Morning Reports

The following are the locations and Record of Events entries for all elements of 23 AIB from 7 Sep 1944 (the day before the crossing) until the Dornot Bridgehead had been completely withdrawn (11 Sep). Many of the casualties were reported retroactively on the Morning Reports of 14 Sep 1944.

The following chart shows the strength count of Enlisted Men Present for Duty, as recorded on the Morning Reports each day.

• Headquarters Company
  • Recon Platoon
    • Pfc. John F. Harty (761 Scout - 11 Sep)
      • The Missing Report (PDF 26) shows that his mission was liaison between 7th Armored Division and 5th Infantry Division. Sgt. Tucker last saw Pfc. Harty about 2400 on 10 Sep 1944 on the east bank of the Moselle River, about 50 yards from the river, awaiting an assault boat to take him across the river to the west bank.
      • The Report of Burial (PDF 48, 61) says "Face showed signs of having had a fairly heavy beard." This could have been due to inability to shave during the days in the Dornot Bridgehead.
      • Since he was found only wearing trousers, it appears that he decided to try to swim across the Moselle River, discarding all but his trousers. This is further supported by the fact that he was still wearing his government-issued wrist watch. If he had been killed by German troops and thrown into the river, they probably would have taken his watch.
      • The burial report says "apparently died of headwounds; face smashed in". It is not clear whether his smashed-in face was posthumous or it was what killed him. Since his remains were in the Moselle River from 11 Sep until 22 Dec 1944 and displayed clear damage (e.g. "Scalp gone skin off fingers") from the water and the elements, it is not clear if he first drowned or was first wounded and then drowned or died in some other way.
      • Men of 90th Infantry Division recovered his remains 22 Dec 1944 at the Thionville Bridge, about 25 miles from Dornot.