285th Field Artillery Observation Battalion

285th Field Artillery Observation Battalion
285th Field Artillery Observation Battalion
Active	1942–1945
Country	United States
Branch	United States Army
Role	Artillery sound ranging
Engagements	World War II Ardennes-Alsace; ;

The 285th Field Artillery Observation Battalion was a United States Army unit that saw action in the Battle of the Bulge in World War II. Their main mission was to identify the location of enemy artillery using the "sound and flash" technique (sound ranging and flash spotting).^[1]

Malmedy massacre

On 17 December 1944, members of Battery B, 285th Field Artillery Observation Battalion were traveling from Aachen, Germany to the Ardennes in Belgium when 120 of them were captured by Joachim Peiper's 1st SS Panzer Division at Baugnez, lined up in a nearby field and mowed down with machine gun fire in what became known as the Malmedy massacre.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b Morelock, Jerry D. (March 2015). Generals of the Bulge: Leadership in the U.S. Army's Greatest Battle. pp. xi–xiii. ISBN 9780811711999. Retrieved 17 December 2015.

[Morelock-1] Morelock, Jerry D. (March 2015). Generals of the Bulge: Leadership in the U.S. Army's Greatest Battle. pp. xi–xiii. ISBN 9780811711999. Retrieved 17 December 2015.

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