page_title: 1139th Engineer Combat Group
section_title: The 1139th in the European Theater of Operations
hierarchical_section_title: 1139th Engineer Combat Group / The 1139th in the European Theater of Operations
caption_attribution_description: English: Sign at 1,896 foot Treadway M2 Bridge across the Rhine River, April, 1945
context_page_description: The 1139th Engineer Combat Group was a technical United States Army Headquarters Unit providing administration and supervision support to Combat Engineers on bridge building and other construction activities during World War II. The 1139th Engineer Combat Group was part of the Third Army and was attached for operations to the XX Corps in direct support of the 7th Armored Division. The 1139th Engineer Combat Group fought from northern France to Austria in World War II, supporting General George Patton's Third Army's rapid movements during the war.
  The 1139th Engineer Combat Group is credited with opening routes for the advancement of troops which included building 119 tactical bridges, of which 39 were 200 feet or longer, including the 1,896 foot "longest floating tactical bridge constructed in the European Theater of Operations." The Group was first formed in December 1943 and deactivated in December 1946.
context_section_description: On August 8, 1944, they proceeded in motor convoy across the Cherbourg Peninsula moving north to Bricquebec, France, and at that point they began to work as an operational unit taking its position in the line of advance, with the First Army on its left flank and the XII Corps on the right flank.  The 1139th Engineer Combat Group was assigned to the Third Army and attached for operations to the XX Corps in direct support of the 7th Armored Division. (When a unit is "assigned", it becomes a permanent part of the headquarters to which it is assigned. When the unit is "attached", it comes under the administrative and operational control of that unit to which it is attached.)
  It was at that point that their Executive Officer, Colonel Walton H. Walker, outlined their responsibilities; as part of General Patton's army the mission of the 1139th Engineer Combat Group was to travel directly behind the armor and remove mines, build bridges, fight as infantry and perform other engineering activities that allowed the rapid advancement of the XX Corps. (The XX Corps played a measurable role in Patton's dash across France in August and early September 1944, earning the nickname "Ghost Corps" for the speed of its advance; starting in Bricquebec, France, they traveled 600 miles in their first 30 days).   The XX Corps armored divisions typically traveled many miles ahead of the main body of the army, which resulted in many enemy positions being overrun before alarm could be given.
  The 1139th Engineer Combat Group arrived in the vicinity of Saint Jean sur Erve, France, on August 10, 1944, and was joined by their first battalions; the 135th, the 179th, and the 206th Engineer Combat Battalions.  The initial activity of the Group was to support the 80th Infantry Division in its thrust north against the enemy near Sainte-Suzanne, France.
  On August 13, 1944, while en route during this advance, the Group removed landmines from roads and shoulders, and the first of the 1139th's bridges were constructed; two 60 foot Bailey Bridges built at St. Mars and St. George, France, on the sites of two bridges that had been blown up by the enemy.   (A Bailey Bridge is a temporary pre-fabricated, truss bridge, quickly assembled from prefabricated, standardized parts, assembled on land and then launched across an opening).   Two days later they constructed two Treadway Bridges M2 across the Huisne River at La Ferté-Bernard, and at Nogent-le-Rotrou, France.  (A Treadway Bridge is a floating bridge, using pontoons to support a continuous deck for pedestrian and vehicle travel).  In his European campaign, General Eisenhower recognized that the Treadway bridge was an essential piece of equipment to the campaign, easy to transport, quickly installed, and capable of sustaining heavy military loads.
  On August 17, 1944, the 1139th meet stiff resistance as they were trying to enter Chartres, France, requiring the 1139th Engineer Combat Group to take on their infantry role. They engaged in firefight operations by cleaning out machine-gun and anti-tank gun nests in Bonville, France, suffering 6 dead and 12 wounded.  They constructed two short Treadway bridges at Luce, France, west of Chartres and removed twelve large bombs from bridges in Chartres.  By the next day they were joined by the 7th Armored Division, and the city was finally liberated.
  The Group then moved north to the vicinity of Treon, France, in support of the 7th Armored Division.  There they were tasked with clearing the roads of mines, removing booby-trapped vehicles from roads, de-booby-trapping the Railroad station at Dreux, France, and filling in road craters in the routes of the advancement.  They continued to move rapidly forward, and the Seine River was reached on August 23, 1944, where they bivouacked in an open field near Melun, France.  At Sainte Sauveur, France, the 1139th Engineer Combat Group supported the 7th Armored Division in its initial crossing of the Seine River at Tilly, France by manning assault boats, by establishing a beachhead and constructing a 504-foot Treadway Bridge while under
caption: Sign at the 1,896 foot Treadway M2 Bridge across the Rhine River, April, 1945
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