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| Remagen
Bridge as the 4th Company of the 12th Fuselier Battalion saw it, when they were to cross the Rhine on March 10, 1945. |
May 1945,
Erfurt, Germany. On guard duty. |
THE 12TH FUSELIER BATTALION
1944 - 1945
SHORT HISTORY
The 12th Fuselier Battalion was raised at Charleroi, Belgium, on December 11, 1944.
On February 12, 1945 the battalion came under operational command of the 1st US Army.
It is on
March 10, 1945, i.e. the third day of the Remagen bridgehead,
that the 4th Company of the 12th Fuselier Battalion crosses the
Rhine as first Belgian Army unit.
The Commander of the 4th Company was Lieutenant DESCAMPE, a reserve officer.
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| Remagen
Bridge as the 4th Company of the 12th Fuselier Battalion saw it, when they were to cross the Rhine on March 10, 1945. |
May 1945,
Erfurt, Germany. On guard duty. |
On March 29 1945 the battalion reaches Erfurt, Germany.
In June 1945 the battalion returns to Valenciennes, in France, near the border with Belgium.
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| The town
of Marcinelle in Belgium presented a flag to the 12th
Fuselier Battalion. We see Major FRAEYS behind the flag, with US Major LEIB on his left side. |
After
supplementary training the battalion returns to Belgium, and is
assigned
as guard unit to the P.OW. Camp at Overijsse, Belgium.
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| Certificate given to each member of the 12th Fuselier Battalion in December 1945, when the battalion was disbanded. |
The 12th Fuselier Battalion is disbanded on December 24, 1945.
Commanding
Officers :
Major DEGAYE
Major DESCAMPE
Major FRAEYS
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| Commanding Officer Major FRAEYS |
FORMATION BADGES
A golden deer
on a blue - white shield.
The deer is the symbol of the Ardennes in Belgium, the region
from where
most of the men of the 12th Fuselier Battalion originates.
The blue - white background represents the crossing of the Rhine.
The 4th
Company of the 12th Fuselier Battalion, the first Belgian unit to
cross the Rhine, had its own formation badge.
It consists of the formation badge of the 12th Fuselier Batallion
with the inscription "4Cie",
which is the abbreviation in French for "4th Company".
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| Formation Badge of the 12th Fuselier Battalion | Formation
Badge of the 4th Company of the 12th Fuselier Battalion |
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| Lapel badge worn on civilian clothing |
