1269th Engineer Combat Battalion

1269th Engineer Combat Battalion
Insignia of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Active	1943–46
Country	United States
Allegiance	United States Army
Branch	Regular Army Corps of Engineers
Type	Combat Engineer
Role	Combat Service Support
Size	Battalion of Companies A, B, C and H&S
Engagements	World War II (Rhineland Campaign, Central Europe Campaign)
Commanders
Notable commanders	Lt. Col. Willard White

The 1269th Engineer Combat Battalion was an Engineer Combat Battalion that served in the United States Army in the European Theater of Operations during World War II. It saw action in France and Germany, serving notably with the Army's T-Force intelligence assault force in the capture of German atomic weapons facilities and personnel as part of Operation Big.

The 1269th Engineer Combat Battalion was activated at Camp Chaffee, Arkansas on 30 March 1944. A senior cadre was organized under the command of Major Willard White. In April a core unit of 18-year-old ASTP volunteers and Army Air Corps trainees arrived for five months of combat engineer basic training. Many of that group were promoted to round out NCO cadre vacancies, after which replacements were brought in to fill the unit to T/O strength. The battalion moved by train to Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, arriving 18 October 1944.

The battalion departed New York POE on 27 October and crossed the Atlantic unescorted aboard the converted luxury liner SS Mariposa, docking in Marseille, France on 6 November 1944. The unit marched to a staging area near Aix-en-Provence for three weeks of advanced training, mainly in demolitions, while waiting for equipment and vehicles. While there it was attached to the U.S. Seventh Army of the U.S. Sixth Army Group in the European Theater of Operations.