Appendix C
PRESIDENTIAL UNIT CITATION
Unit citation awarded to battalion per Sec I, GO # 2 9 H q.,
First U.S. Army, 17 February 1945
The 51st Engineer Combat Battalion, United States
Army, is cited for outstanding performance of duty in
action against the enemy from 17 to 22 December 1944, in
When German forces had penetrated deep into
Belgium.
friendly lines on 17 December 1944, and were rolling
westward rapidly, the 51st Engineer Combat Battalion was
ordered into strongpoint defensive positions in the
vicinity of Trois-Ponts, Hotton and Marche, Belgium with
the mission of impeding and containing the enemy advance
at strategic points. Faced by numerically superior forces
constructed and stubbornly defended roadblocks, prepared
vital bridges for demolition and served as infantrymen.
By their determination and devotion to duty, regardless of
the odds, the battalion denied the enemy important avenues
of advance, thus permitting strong friendly forces to move
into counterattack positions. By skillful use of the
weapons at hand, excellent terrain appreciation and the
use of ingenious ruses, the enemy was led to believe that
strong formations confronted them and that they were
When German tanks attacked
being rapidly reinforced.
repeatedly, fierce fire from rocket launchers destroyed
them; infantry attacks, supported by intense artillery
barrages, were met by a hail of small arms fire with heavy
losses on enemy ranks; when bridges could no longer be
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