Preparing a 4.2-Inch Mortar Shell for Firing

Preparing a 4.2-Inch Mortar Shell for Firing, Ardennes counteroffensive. 

Farther to the north the 86th Chemical Battalion supported V Corps in the First Army sector. There it was touch and go. The enemy had broken through a neighboring unit and had then cut into the V Corps sector. German paratroopers landed in the corps rear area intent on the disruption of communications and the seizure of installations. 86th Battalion headquarters organized eight patrols to comb the area for these enemy troops. The patrols found no paratroopers, but they did come across a house with a cache of enemy equipment and weapons. 

During the first week of the Ardennes offensive the 86th Battalion expended 7,380 rounds of ammunition. However, the service given by the battalion could not be measured in rounds. Its value during 

Battalion commanders had long complained of insufficient men now, despite the reduction in the number of weapons, battalion strength rose from 622 to 672. What formerly had been the headquarters detachment with 63 men was changed to a headquarters company with ijj. The inclusion of nine 1 4-ton trucks in the new TOE provided a slight increase in the amount of organic transportation. 

All of the chemical mortar battalions (they previously had been designated chemical battalions, motorized ) did not convert to the new organization immediately but did so throughout the winter of 1944-45 and the following spring, as they enjoyed an infrequent relief from front-line activity. The 2d and 92d, for example, converted in December, the 91st in January, and the 87th in May. 

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