1.
United States Army
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The United States Armed Forces are the federal armed forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, from the time of its inception, the military played a decisive role in the history of the United States. A sense of unity and identity was forged as a result of victory in the First Barbary War. Even so, the Founders were suspicious of a permanent military force and it played an important role in the American Civil War, where leading generals on both sides were picked from members of the United States military. Not until the outbreak of World War II did a standing army become officially established. The National Security Act of 1947, adopted following World War II and during the Cold Wars onset, the U. S. military is one of the largest militaries in terms of number of personnel. It draws its personnel from a pool of paid volunteers. As of 2016, the United States spends about $580.3 billion annually to fund its military forces, put together, the United States constitutes roughly 40 percent of the worlds military expenditures. For the period 2010–14, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute found that the United States was the worlds largest exporter of major arms, the United States was also the worlds eighth largest importer of major weapons for the same period. The history of the U. S. military dates to 1775 and these forces demobilized in 1784 after the Treaty of Paris ended the War for Independence. All three services trace their origins to the founding of the Continental Army, the Continental Navy, the United States President is the U. S. militarys commander-in-chief. Rising tensions at various times with Britain and France and the ensuing Quasi-War and War of 1812 quickened the development of the U. S. Navy, the reserve branches formed a military strategic reserve during the Cold War, to be called into service in case of war. Time magazines Mark Thompson has suggested that with the War on Terror, Command over the armed forces is established in the United States Constitution. The sole power of command is vested in the President by Article II as Commander-in-Chief, the Constitution also allows for the creation of executive Departments headed principal officers whose opinion the President can require. This allowance in the Constitution formed the basis for creation of the Department of Defense in 1947 by the National Security Act, the Defense Department is headed by the Secretary of Defense, who is a civilian and member of the Cabinet. The Defense Secretary is second in the chain of command, just below the President. Together, the President and the Secretary of Defense comprise the National Command Authority, to coordinate military strategy with political affairs, the President has a National Security Council headed by the National Security Advisor. The collective body has only power to the President
2.
Fort Lewis
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Fort Lewis is a United States military facility located 9.1 miles south-southwest of Tacoma, Washington, under the jurisdiction of the United States Army Joint Base Garrison, Joint Base Lewis–McChord. It was merged with the United States Air Forces McChord Air Force Base on February 1,2010 into a Joint Base as a result of Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommendations of 2005. Joint Base Lewis-McChord is a training and mobilization center for all services and is the only Army power-projection base west of the Rocky Mountains and its geographic location provides rapid access to the deep water ports of Tacoma, Olympia and Seattle for deploying equipment. Units can be deployed from McChord Field, and individuals and small groups can use nearby Sea-Tac Airport. The strategic location of the base provides Air Force units with the ability to conduct combat, the Joint Base Garrison operates the installation on behalf of the warfighting units, families and extended military community who depend on JBLM for support. 627th Air Base Group Provides command and control and administrative oversight to the Airmen who perform installation support duties on behalf of the garrison, JBLM Soldiers receive medical care through on-base Madigan Healthcare System facilities such as Madigan Army Medical Center, the Okubo Clinic, and the Nisqually Clinic. JBLM Airmen receive medical care at the McChord Clinic as well as Madigan Army Medical Center, JBLM has more than 25,000 soldiers and civilian workers. The post supports over 120,000 military retirees and more than 29,000 family members living both on and off post, Fort Lewis proper contains 86,000 acres, the Yakima Training Center covers 324,000 acres. JBLM Main & North have abundant high-quality, close-in training areas, additional training space is available at the Yakima Training Center in eastern Washington, including maneuver areas and additional live fire ranges. In 2009, the former Fort Lewis Regional Correction Facility was remodeled and renamed the Northwest Joint Regional Correctional Facility, the facility houses minimum and medium security prisoners from all branches of the U. S. Also adjacent to the post is Camp Murray, Fort Lewis, named after Meriwether Lewis of the Lewis and Clark expedition, is one of the largest and most modern military reservations in the United States. Consisting of 87,000 acres of land cut from the glacier-flattened Nisqually Plain. A portion of the land was taken from the Nisqually tribes reservation. In 1927, Pierce County passed another bond measure to establish an airfield just north of Fort Lewis. The airfield, called Tacoma Field, opened in 1930 and was renamed McChord Field in 1940, McChord Field separated from Fort Lewis when the U. S. Air Force was created in 1947 and was subsequently renamed McChord Air Force Base. The two bases operated independently of one another for more than 60 years before merging in 2010. Fort Lewis began as Camp Lewis in 1917 when the citizens of Pierce County voted by an eight to one margin to bond themselves for $2 million to buy 68,721 acres of land and they donated the land to the federal government for military use. The only stipulation was that the tract be used as a permanent army post, Captain David L. Stone and his staff arrived at the camp site 26 May 1917, and a few days later the initial construction began
3.
World War I
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World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history and it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the worlds great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war, Italy, Japan, the trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. Within weeks, the powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, after the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, in November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, Romania joined the Allies in 1916, after a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives. By the end of the war or soon after, the German Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, national borders were redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created, and Germanys colonies were parceled out among the victors. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, the League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict. This effort failed, and economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation eventually contributed to World War II. From the time of its start until the approach of World War II, at the time, it was also sometimes called the war to end war or the war to end all wars due to its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. In Canada, Macleans magazine in October 1914 wrote, Some wars name themselves, during the interwar period, the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries. Will become the first world war in the sense of the word. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, when Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany
4.
1st Infantry Regiment (United States)
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This article deals with the history of the current 1st Infantry Regiment of the United States Army. The 1st Battalion, 1st Infantry is assigned as support to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York and to furnish the enlisted garrison for the academy and the Stewart Army Subpost. 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry is an infantry component serving with the 2nd Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, on 3 March 1791, Congress added to the Army The Second Regiment of Infantry of which todays First Infantry draws its heritage. In September of that year, elements of it and the original 1st Infantry Regiment, with sizable militia complements, St. Clair served as a major general in the Revolutionary Army and was now appointed General in Chief, superseding the first commander of the regiment, Josiah Hamar. Fighting against the Miamis, St. Clairs soldiers were untrained, ill equipped, underfed, and sickly. This resulted in a defeat, at the Battle of the Wabash. In 1792, Congress created the Legion of the United States, which was a combined force of infantry, cavalry. In the War of 1812 the 2nd Infantry Regiment as well as the 7th and 44th Infantry Regiments, the 2nd Infantry was consolidated May–October 1815 with the 3rd and 7th Infantry, and 44th Infantry to form the 1st Infantry Regiment. In the ensuing years the regiment was primarily concerned with Indian conflicts and the 1st was involved in the Black Hawk War of 1832 and the Second Seminole War from 1839 to 1842. From Monterrey the regiment was transferred to General Winfield Scotts command, following the Mexican–American War, the regiment campaigned in the Texas area against the Comanches until the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861. After escaping from rebel forces in Texas the regiment returned to the Mid-west, the regiment fought in one of the first battles of the Civil War at Wilsons Creek, Missouri, in August 1861. The 1st Infantry then campaigned with General Grant against Vicksburg in 1863, the end of the war found the regiment occupying New Orleans, Louisiana. After the Civil War the regiment was sent West to fight the Indians once again, the 1st Infantry was consolidated in April 1869 with the 43d Infantry Regiment, Veteran Reserve Corps and consolidated unit designated as the 1st Infantry Regiment. 1st Infantry Regiment campaigned against the Sioux in the 1870s and 1890s and against the Apache, led by Geronimo, from 1882 to 1886. One member of the regiment was awarded the Medal of Honor for service during this period, 1st Lt. Marion P. Maus,11 January 1886, Sierra Madre Mountains, after the end of the Indian wars the regiment was occupied with quelling labor disputes in California. War was declared with Spain in 1898 following the sinking of the USS Maine, the First was quickly sent to Florida where it embarked on ships and was sent to Cuba. While in Cuba the regiment took part in the storming of the San Juan Heights, in 1900, following occupation duty in Cuba, the regiment was preparing for shipment to China to participate in the Boxer Rebellion. Instead, the regiment was detoured to deal with the rebellion on the Philippine Islands which had also captured by the United States in the Spanish–American War
5.
44th Infantry Regiment (United States)
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The 44th Infantry Regiment was part of USAFFEs Philippine Division during World War II. The 44th Infantry Regiment was formed in 1921 and became a Philippine Scout unit, in 1922, the unit was deactivated. The Philippine Division, now redesignated the 12th Infantry Division, was reactivated in 1946, along with its component units, the 44th Infantry Regiment was reformed for occupation duty on Okinawa and inactivated in 1947. Military History of the Philippines Military History of the United States Coats of arms of U. S
6.
Cornelius Vanderbilt III
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Brigadier General Cornelius Neily Vanderbilt III was an American military officer, inventor, engineer, and yachtsman. He was a member of the Vanderbilt family and he was born in New York City on September 5,1873 to Cornelius Vanderbilt II and Alice Claypoole Gwynne. He was educated by tutors at St. Pauls School in Concord. Against his fathers wishes, in August 1896 he married Grace Graham Wilson, upon his fathers death in 1899 Neily received $500,000 in cash and the income from a $1 million trust fund. The bulk of his fathers $70 million estate went to Neilys brother, Alfred, however, as a result of his parents attitude towards his marriage, it would be 27 years after his fathers death before he finally reconciled with his aging mother. Neily and Grace remained married for the rest of their lives and had two children, Cornelius IV, who would marry seven times, and a daughter, Grace. In 1906 he was admitted as a member of the Rhode Island Society of the Cincinnati by right of his descent from Surgeon Henry Collins Flagg of the Continental Army. He was a member of the syndicate that built the yacht Reliance for the successful defense of the Americas Cup in 1903. He was commodore of the New York Yacht Club from 1906 to 1909, in 1910, he piloted his 65-foot sloop Aurora to victory in the New York Yacht Clubs race for the King Edward VII Cup in Newport, RI. The Northstar was damaged in action and was used after the war as a merchant ship trading with China, on April 29,1930, Vanderbilts yacht, the Winchester, was set ablaze following an explosion. No one was injured as the crew were all eating in the galley, up front, in 1901, he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 12th Infantry Regiment of the New York National Guard and remained a member of the National Guard for 33 years. He was promoted to first lieutenant in December 1902 and served as an aide de camp to the Governor of New York from September 1903 to December 1904. He was promoted to captain in June 1907 and served as an aide to the commander from October 1908 until being promoted to lieutenant colonel. Along with most of the National Guard, Vanderbilt was mobilized on 30 June 1916, when the United States declared war on Germany and entered World War I in April 1917. Vanderbilt was promoted to colonel on 20 July 1917 and placed in command of the 22nd Engineer Regiment of the New York National Guard. The 27th Division departed New York for a camp in Spartanburg, South Carolina in September 1917 and was shipped overseas to France in May. The government of France invested him as a Commander of the Legion of Honor and he was also entitled to the Mexican Border Service Medal and World War I Victory Medal. After the war, Vanderbilt remained active in the New York National Guard and he commanded the 77th Division of the Army Reserve when it went to Camp Dix, New Jersey for two weeks of field training in July 1931
7.
91st Division (United States)
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The 91st Infantry Division was an infantry division of the United States Army that fought in World War I and World War II. From 1946 until 2008, it was part of the United States Army Reserve and it was briefly inactivated from 2008 until 2010 when it was elevated back to a division size element as the 91st Training Division. Constituted on 5 August 1917 at Camp Lewis, Washington, near Tacoma, in September 1918, the divisions first operation was in the St. Mihiel Offensive in France. Twelve days before the end of World War I, the division, as part of the VII Corps of the French Sixth Army, the division was awarded separate campaign streamers for its active role in the Lorraine, Meuse-Argonne and Ypres-Lys campaigns. In 1919, the 91st was inactivated at the Presidio of San Francisco, after being reconstituted in 1921 as part of the Organized Reserves, the division then served as an administrative control center for the next 21 years. After initial training at Camp White, the participation in the Oregon Maneuver combat exercise in the fall of 1943. Then, the division, now under Major General William G. Livesay, there, on the Italian Front, the 361st Regimental Combat Team was detached to participate in the battles for Rome and the Arno River. It became the first formation of the U. S, fifth Army to reach the river. In September 1944, the crossed the Sieve River, outflanked the famous Gothic Line. For its part in combat, the division was awarded the North Apennines, Po Valley, the division returned to the United States where it was inactivated at Camp Rucker, Alabama, in December 1945. Two members were awarded the Medal of Honor during the war, Roy W. Harmon, awards, MH-2, DSC-2, DSM-1, SS-528, LM-33, SM-43, BSM-4,152. S. In 1959, the division was reorganized and redesignated as the 91st Division, in 1993, the division was again reorganized and redesignated as the 91st Division and again in 1999 as the 91st Division. Its previous headquarters were at Parks Reserve Forces Training Area, Dublin, in its 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommendations, the Department of Defense recommended relocating the 91st Division to Fort Hunter Liggett. The four brigades of the 91st Division were redesignated as brigades, 1st Brigade is now 5th Brigade. 2nd Brigade is now 5th Armored Brigade, 3rd Brigade is now the 402nd Field Artillery Brigade. 4th Brigade is now 191st Infantry Brigade, the 91st Division moved its headquarters to Fort Hunter Liggett on 1 May 2009. The 91st Division was reorganized and re-designated as the 91st Training Brigade on 1 October 2009, the 91st Training Brigade was re-designated as the 91st Training Division on 1 October 2010. William Borders, Army Catholic Chaplain, was awarded the Bronze Star for Valor and he later became the Archbishop of Baltimore
8.
Ernest Lister
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Ernest Lister was the eighth Governor of the state of Washington. Born in Halifax, England, Lister immigrated with his family in 1884, to be near his uncle who was mayor of Tacoma, Lister began working as an iron-molder in his brothers foundry in Tacoma. He operated a foundry and woodworking shop as well as working in real estate and he owned Lister Construction Company from 1903 to 1912, and President of Lister Manufacturing Company. He married Mary Alma Thornton on February 28,1893, and he was elected to the Tacoma City Council in 1894 as a Populist. After a successful management of Governor John Rankin Rogers campaign in 1896, Lister became the only elected Democrat in Washingtons executive branch of government when he was elected in 1912. He was sworn into the office on January 11,1913, re-elected in 1916, as governor, he supported agricultural aid, irrigation and reclamation projects, and state industrial accident insurance. He vetoed legislation that would have denied civil rights to members of the Industrial Workers of the World, and his efforts helped bring the eight-hour work day to the Pacific Northwest. He became ill during his term and relinquished his office to the Lieutenant Governor. Lister died one day before his birthday, on June 14,1919, from heart and kidney disease, in Seattle. He is interred at Tacoma Cemetery, Tacoma, Washington, list of Governors of Washington Meany, Edmond S. Governors of Washington, territorial and state
9.
Horace R. Cayton Sr.
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Horace Roscoe Cayton, Sr. was an American journalist and political activist. The son of a slave and a plantation owners daughter, Cayton went to Seattle, Washington, in the early 1890s, launching his own newspaper. The paper was the longest-lived of seven African-American published newspapers appearing Seattle between 1891 and 1901, terminating only in 1913, a second publishing venture was launched by Cayton in 1916, with the launch of the eponymous Caytons Weekly. Unlike its predecessor, this four-page tabloid was focused upon national and local news of interest to a black readership, falling into financial difficulties in 1921, Caytons Weekly briefly altered its production cycle to become Caytons Monthly before folding completely. Horace was born in 1859 on a plantation in Mississippi, after Emancipation, he and his family moved to a farm near Port Gibson, Mississippi. He graduated from Alcorn College and was attending that institution in 1872, Horace found employment at the Seattle Standard, the city’s first newspaper for African Americans, working at that paper until Its failure in 1893. The following year, Cayton launched a newspaper of his own, the paper sought to appeal to both white and black readers, achieving some limited success in this regard, although the readership of the paper was modest, never exceeding about 2,000. By 1896, Cayton married Susie Revels, a woman he had met in college. Ms. Revels was the daughter of Senator Hiram Rhodes Revels, after the couples marriage, Susie Revels Cayton would become associate editor of the Seattle Republican. The resulting controversy was a factor in escalating scandal that led Meredith to resign and to attempt to gun down another of his accusers, Considine ultimately shot Meredith in self-defense. The Republican Party attracted many people and Horace was able to win an important position in the party. In Seattle, between 1900 and 1910, the number of blacks had risen by almost 2,000 people causing white prejudice to grow, politically Horace lost power and after 1910 he never sat on the Republican State Central Committee or attended a Republican convention again. Horace became a victim of Seattle’s changing racial and political pattern, in 1917, the Seattle Republican went under after Horace published an article about a Southern lynching. He continued his career in publishing and issued Cayton’s Weekly from 1916 until 1921 and he lost his home on Capitol Hill and moved to an apartment house. Horace and his wife entered into activities of the black community. They participated in social and civic events. He continued his affiliation with the Republican Party through membership in the King County Colored Republican Club, Horace died in 1940 and was followed by Susie in 1943. Lisa S. Weitzman says on Answers, ultimately, Cayton and Drake concluded their book with a call for the government to work more aggressively to help African Americans achieve equality
10.
Division (military)
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A division is a large military unit or formation, usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. Infantry divisions during the World Wars ranged between 10,000 and 30,000 in nominal strength, in most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, in turn, several divisions typically make up a corps. In the West, the first general to think of organising an army into smaller units was Maurice de Saxe, Marshal General of France. He died at the age of 54, without having implemented his idea, victor-François de Broglie put the ideas into practice. He conducted successful practical experiments of the system in the Seven Years War. The first war in which the system was used systematically was the French Revolutionary War. It made the more flexible and easy to manoeuvre. Under Napoleon, the divisions were grouped together into corps, because of their increasing size, napoleons military success spread the divisional and corps system all over Europe, by the end of the Napoleonic Wars, all armies in Europe had adopted it. In modern times, most military forces have standardized their divisional structures, the peak use of the division as the primary combat unit occurred during World War II, when the belligerents deployed over a thousand divisions. With technological advances since then, the power of each division has increased. Divisions are often formed to organize units of a particular type together with support units to allow independent operations. In more recent times, divisions have mainly been organized as combined arms units with subordinate units representing various combat arms, in this case, the division often retains the name of a more specialized division, and may still be tasked with a primary role suited to that specialization. For the most part, large cavalry units did not remain after World War II, in general, two new types of cavalry were developed, air cavalry or airmobile, relying on helicopter mobility, and armored cavalry, based on an autonomous armored formation. The former was pioneered by the 11th Air Assault Division, formed on 1 February 1963 at Fort Benning, on 29 June 1965 the division was renamed as the 1st Cavalry Division, before its departure for the Vietnam War. After the end of the Vietnam War, the 1st Cavalry Division was reorganised and re-equipped with tanks, the development of the tank during World War I prompted some nations to experiment with forming them into division-size units. Many did this the way as they did cavalry divisions, by merely replacing cavalry with AFVs. This proved unwieldy in combat, as the units had many tanks, instead, a more balanced approach was taken by adjusting the number of tank, infantry, artillery, and support units. A panzer division was a division of the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS of Germany during World War II
11.
11th Airborne Division (United States)
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The 11th Airborne Division was a United States Army airborne formation, first activated on 25 February 1943, during World War II. Consisting of one parachute and two infantry regiments, with supporting troops, the division underwent rigorous training throughout 1943. Held in reserve in the United States for the first half of 1944, upon arrival it entered a period of intense training and acclimatization, and by November was judged combat-ready. The 11th Airborne saw its first action on the island of Leyte in the Philippines, in January 1945 the division took part in the invasion of Luzon. The two glider infantry regiments again operated as infantry, securing a beachhead before fighting their way inland. The parachute infantry regiment was held in reserve for several days before conducting the divisions first airborne operation, on 30 August 1945 the division was sent to southern Japan as part of the occupation force. Four years later it was recalled to the United States, where it became a training formation, one parachute infantry regiment was detached for service in the Korean War, but on 30 June 1958 the division was inactivated. It was briefly reactivated on 1 February 1963 as the 11th Air Assault Division to explore the theory and practicality of helicopter assault tactics, the divisions personnel and equipment were transferred to the newly raised 1st Cavalry Division. S. Infantry division of World War II, the division initially remained in the United States for training, which in common with all airborne units was extremely arduous to befit their elite status. The washout rate was high, but there was never a shortage of candidates, before training was complete a debate developed in the U. S. Army over whether the best use of airborne forces was en masse or as small, compact units. The 82nd Airborne Division had been inserted by parachute and glider and had suffered high casualties, Eisenhower reviewed the airborne role in Operation Husky and concluded that large-scale formations were too difficult to control in combat to be practical. Lieutenant General Leslie J. However, other high-ranking officers, including the Army Chief of Staff George Marshall, Marshall persuaded Eisenhower to set up a review board and to withhold judgement until the outcome of a large-scale maneuver, planned for December 1943, could be assessed. When Swing returned to the United States to resume command of the 11th Airborne in mid-September 1943, as the 11th Airborne Division was in reserve in the United States and had not yet been earmarked for combat, the Swing Board selected it as the test formation. The 11th Airborne, as the force, was assigned the objective of capturing Knollwood Army Auxiliary Airfield near Fort Bragg in North Carolina. The force defending the airfield and its environs was a team composed of elements of the 17th Airborne Division. The entire operation was observed by Army Ground Forces commander Lt. Gen. McNair, the transport aircraft were divided into four groups, two of which carried paratroopers while the other two towed gliders. Each group took off from a different airfield in the Carolinas, the four groups deployed a total of 4,800 troops in the first wave. The exercise was judged by observers to be a great success, McNair, pleased by its results, attributed this success to the great improvements in airborne training that had been implemented in the months following Operation Husky
12.
13th Airborne Division (United States)
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The 13th Airborne Division was an airborne forces formation of division-size of the United States Army that was active during World War II. The division was commanded for most of its existence by Major General Elbridge G. Chapman and it was officially activated in the United States in August 1943 at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, remaining active until February 1946, but never saw combat. After activation the division remained in the United States to complete its training and this training was completed by September 1944, but had to be extended by a further four months when the division provided replacements for the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions. The division also encountered delays in mounting large-scale training exercises due to a lack of aircraft in the United States. This shortage was caused by the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions taking priority over the 13th in terms of equipment due to the two serving in combat in Europe. As a consequence of these delays the division was not fully trained and combat-ready until January 1945, and was transferred to France, when the division arrived in France, it came under the command of the First Allied Airborne Army, which controlled all Allied airborne formations. The 13th Airborne Division was finally inactivated on 26 February 1946, when it was activated, the 13th Airborne Division was initially composed of the 515th Parachute Infantry Regiment, the 88th Glider Infantry Regiment and the 326th Glider Infantry Regiment. The divisions shoulder patch, a unicorn in orange on an ultramarine blue. A gold on black Airborne tab was worn above the insignia, during this period, the activities of the division primarily involved airborne training, as well as taking part in several training exercises. However, while training for the first four American airborne divisions was conducted during 1943. The divisional training exercise took place around Camp Mackall, North Carolina, a combination of poor visibility, and a lack of sufficient training for the pilots of the transport aircraft, resulted in the paratroopers being dispersed widely when dropped. A similar number of missed the third drop zone, although the majority were dropped in a relatively small area where they could gather. Further problems were encountered, as a plane crash killed eight paratroopers and four aircrew, overall, observers present for the exercise reported that they had been impressed with the performance of the glider-borne elements of the division. However, several noted that the training of the pilots for night formation flying. After these exercises had ended, the continued to train. These were caused when 1,652 men were removed from the division to provide reinforcements for U. S, Airborne units in the European Theater, this drastically reduced the strength of the division and forced it to extend its training period for a further four months. After completing its training in January the division was preparing to transfer to the Pacific Theatre in early 1945, however, the campaign in the Ardennes ended before the division could be transported there. The next chance for the 13th to participate in an airborne operation, the 517th had recently fought during the Ardennes campaign, and had received a Presidential Unit Citation for its actions
13.
17th Airborne Division (United States)
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The 17th Airborne Division was an airborne infantry division of the United States Army during World War II, and was commanded by Major General William M. Miley. It was officially activated as a division in April 1943 but was not immediately sent to a combat theater. However, after the end of Operation Market Garden the division was shipped to France, the 17th gained its first Medal of Honor during its time fighting in the Ardennes, and was then withdrawn to Luxembourg to prepare for an assault over the River Rhine. The division then advanced through Northern Germany until the end of World War II, there, it was officially inactivated in September 1945, although it was briefly reactivated as a training division between 1948 and 1949. The Allied governments were aware of the success of these operations and this decision would eventually lead to the creation of five American and two British airborne divisions, as well as many smaller units. The 17th Airborne Division was activated on 15 April 1943 at Camp Mackall in North Carolina, once activated, the division remained in the United States for training and exercises. As the division, like all airborne units, was intended to be an elite formation, as the division trained, a debate developed in the U. S. Army over whether the best use of airborne forces was en masse or as small compact units. On 9 July 1943, the first large-scale Allied airborne operation–the Allied invasion of Sicily –was carried out by elements of the U. S. 82nd Airborne Division and the British 1st Airborne Division. The U. S. 82nd Airborne Division had been deployed by parachute and glider and had suffered high casualties, leading to a perception that it had failed to achieve many of its objectives. General Eisenhower had reviewed the role in Operation Husky, and had concluded that large-scale formations were too difficult to control in combat to be practical. However, other high-ranking officers believed otherwise, notably the U. S. Army Chief of Staff and he persuaded Eisenhower to set up a review board and to withhold judgement on the effectiveness of divisional-sized airborne forces until a large-scale maneuver could be tried in December. When Swing returned to the United States to resume command of the 11th Airborne Division in mid-September 1943, the objective for the 11th as the attacking force was to capture Knollwood Army Auxiliary Airfield near Fort Bragg in North Carolina, after which the maneuver was named. The defending forces were to try to defend the airport and the surrounding area, the entire operation would be observed by Lieutenant General McNair. His observations and reports to the U. S, War Department, and ultimately General Eisenhower, would do much to decide the success or failure of the exercise. These airborne troops then seized the Knollwood Army Auxiliary Airfield from the troops and secured the area in which the rest of the division landed. The exercise was judged to be a success by those who observed it. Due to the success of the units of the 11th Airborne Division during the exercise, the division also participated in the Second Army maneuvers in the Tennessee Maneuver Area from 6 February 1944. It finished its training on 27 March 1944, and transferred to Camp Forrest on 24 March 1944, the division staged at Camp Myles Standish on 12 August 1944 before departing Boston Port of Embarkation on 20 August 1944
14.
80th Division (United States)
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The 80th Training Command is a formation of the United States Army Reserve. During World War I and World War II, the unit was designated the 80th Infantry Division, nicknamed the Blue Ridge Division, it was initially composed of draftees from the mid-atlantic states of Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Maryland. From 1946 to 1952, the 80th Division was redesignated the 80th Airborne Division, in May 1952, it was designated reserve infantry division and a reserve training division in March 1959. In 1994, the division was granted the designation, 80th Division, on 1 October 2008 the Division underwent a major transformation and is now the 80th Training Command. Activated, September 1917 Overseas, June 1918 Major operations, Battle of the Somme, Meuse-Argonne, because of significant common heritage in the past, residents of Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia became the structure of the 80th Division. The 80th Division was organized in August 1917 at Camp Lee, the units were made up mostly of men from the above three states. These units comprised the 159th Brigade, the insignia of the 318th was a square, the machine gun unit colored their square red and blue. The 319th Infantry included men from Allegheny County and from that area north to Erie, the 320th Infantry were mostly men from Pittsburgh, the 315th Machine Gun Battalion were men from Pittsburgh and Erie. These units combined to create the 160th Brigade, the 313th, 314th and 315th Field Artillery units were composed of men almost exclusively from the State of West Virginia, and were the 155th Field Artillery Brigade. The engineers were more often not sent out ahead. During the rest period from 14 October through the Armistice, they finally were outfitted with U. S. Springfield and they had two weeks to train before the third and final push began in the Meuse Argonne. It was also during this period that a formation was reorganized to allow for more maneuverability. Altogether, the 155th served with five different divisions, during the Meuse Argonne campaign, the 80th Division was the only one that saw action during each phase of the offensive. And they first earned their motto, The 80th Division Moves only Forward, the artillery of the division boasted more days of continuous combat firing than the batteries of any other American division. The 80th captured two Germans and one gun for every man wounded and one piece of artillery with gun crew for every 10 men wounded. Men of the 80th Division received 619 awards and decorations, previously announced, the distinctive symbols of the various units of the Division were declared official on April 30th 1918. For the four Infantry Regiments, in their order beginning with the 317th Infantry, they were a diamond, square, circle, and semi circle. The symbol of each units Headquarters Company was colored red, white and blue, that of the Supply Company red and white, the battalion symbols were colored in red, white, blue in numerical order
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82nd Airborne Division
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The 82nd Airborne Division is an airborne infantry division of the United States Army, specializing in parachute assault operations into denied areas. Based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, the 82nd Airborne Division is part of the XVIII Airborne Corps, the 82nd Airborne Division is the U. S. Armys most strategically mobile division. Some sources consider the 82nd Airborne Division the most highly trained light infantry division in the world, recently the 82nd Airborne has been conducting operations in Iraq. The 82nd Airborne has been assigned to advise and assist Iraqi Security Forces, since its initial members came from all 48 states, the unit acquired the nickname All-American, which is the basis for its famed AA shoulder patch. Famous soldiers of the division include Sergeant Alvin C, York, General James M. Colonel Chris Gibson, Brigade Commander 325 Airborne Infantry, New York Congressman. The 82nd Division was first constituted on 5 August 1917 during World War I in the National Army and it was organized and formally activated on 25 August 1917 at Camp Gordon, Georgia. The division consisted entirely of conscripted soldiers. The citizens of Atlanta held a contest to give a nickname to the new division, Major General Eben Swift, the commanding general, chose All American to reflect the unique composition of the 82nd—it had soldiers from all 48 states. The bulk of the division was two infantry brigades, each commanding two regiments, the 163rd Infantry Brigade commanded the 325th Infantry Regiment and the 326th Infantry Regiment. The 164th Infantry Brigade commanded the 327th Infantry Regiment and the 328th Infantry Regiment and it sailed to Europe to join the American Expeditionary Force, commanded by General John Pershing, on the Western Front. William P. Burnham, who had commanded the 164th Brigade, led the division during most of its training. In early April, the division embarked from the ports in Boston, New York and Brooklyn to Liverpool, England, on 16 June it moved by rail to Toul, France to take position on the front lines in the French sector. Its soldiers were issued French weapons and equipment to simplify resupply, the division was briefly assigned to I Corps before falling under the command of IV Corps until late August. It was then moved to the Woëvre front, in the Lagney sector, the division relieved the 26th Division on 25 June. Though Lagney was considered a defensive sector, the 82nd Division actively patrolled and raided in the region for several weeks, from there it moved to the Marbache sector in mid-August, where it relieved the 2nd Division under the command of the newly formed US First Army. There it trained until 12 September, when the division joined the St. Mihiel offensive, once the First Army jumped off on the offensive, the 82nd Division engaged in a holding mission to prevent German forces from attacking the right flank of the First Army. On 15 September, the 328th Infantry, in order to protect the 90th Divisions flank, resumed the advance, and reached Vandières, on 17 September, the St-Mihiel Operation stabilized, and the 90th Division relieved the 82nds troops west of the Moselle River. During this operation, the division suffered casualties from enemy artillery
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101st Airborne Division
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The 101st Airborne Division is an elite modular specialized light infantry division of the United States Army trained for air assault operations. It is the most potent and tactically mobile of the U. S. Armys divisions and these particular operations are conducted by highly mobile teams and they are quite often executed behind enemy lines. Its unique battlefield mobility and high level of training have kept the Division in the vanguard of Americas land combat forces in recent conflicts, more recently, the 101st Airborne has been performing foreign internal defense and counter-terrorism operations within Iraq and Afghanistan. The 101st Airborne Division has a nearly century-long history, during the Vietnam War, the 101st Airborne Division fought in several major campaigns and battles including the Battle of Hamburger Hill in May 1969. In mid-1968 it was reorganized and redesignated as an airmobile division and these titles reflect the divisions shift from airplanes as the primary method of delivering troops into combat, to the use of helicopters. Many current members of the 101st are graduates of the U. S. Army Air Assault School, Division headquarters is at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. In recent years, the division has served in Iraq and Afghanistan, the division is one of the most highly decorated units in the United States Army and has been featured prominently in military fiction. The 101st is currently the only air assault division, capable, in a single lift, of a 4. It is supported by more than 280 helicopters and this includes three battalions of Apache attack helicopters. At times, additional air assets are assigned to the 101st Airborne during deployment, the 101st Airborne also comprises intelligence support, maintenance and operations elements, support personnel, and artillery specialists. Assisting the 101st Airborne Division is an array of support elements, equipment. The 101st is considered a versatile, very flexible. The 101st has the capability to move long distances, the 101st can put soldiers down on top of mountains, ridge lines, and behind the enemy forces and can sling-load in artillery pieces for indirect fire. It is considered a unit of choice and it has the ability to secure sites, airfields. The 101st Division headquarters was organized 2 November 1918 at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, World War I ended 9 days later, and was demobilized on 11 December 1918. In 1921, the headquarters was reconstituted in the Organized Reserves. It was at time that the Screaming Eagle became associated with the division. As part of the reorganization of the 101st as a division in the Army of the United States
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108th Training Command (Initial Entry Training)
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The 108th Training Command is a United States Army Reserve unit headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. At its activation, the unit was designated as the 108th Airborne Division, in 1956, the division was again reorganized, this time to the designation as the 108th Division. Under the U. S. Army Reserve Transformation of 2005, the command is currently one of the largest in the Army Reserve, commanding and coordinating 9,000 soldiers. The 108th Training Command is a unit in the United States Army Reserve which is a federal reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the components of the United States Army. Over its 60-year history, the 108th Division frequently has been called upon to pilot several new missions for the Army and Army Reserve, over the years, the division has played an important role in pioneering and developing several training methods and policies still in use today. The 108th Division was activated in 1946 as the 108th Airborne Division of the United States Army Reserve and was headquartered in Atlanta, manning during this period was relatively small and funding for airborne training, equipment, and airlift support was minimal. In 1954, the division helped test a new method of rifle qualification known as trainfire, in 1956, the division was selected to serve as a prototype for an Army Training Division. This meant reorganizing again to conduct basic and advanced individual training, the 519th, reorganized as infantry, was reassigned to the 81st Infantry Division and the 485th, also reorganized as infantry, was reassigned to the 87th Infantry Division. Concurrently, the 321st and 323d Infantry Regiments were reassigned from the 81st to the 108th. Source, U. S. Army Center of Military History, Fort McNair, Washington, DC In the 1960s, in 1968, the 108th Division was restructured under its current brigade concept. During the Vietnam era, 108th Division soldiers during training were used to conduct interim training for soldiers waiting to begin basic training. In the 1980s the division developed an updated and more practical mobilization plan, during those same years the division began conducting basic training by themselves at Fort Jackson under new Mobilization Army Training Center and Provisional Training concepts. In January 1991, more than 300 108th Division soldiers were called to duty to support Operation Desert Storm. The soldiers assisted in the retraining of individual soldiers at Fort Jackson who were recalled up to military duty, in late 1993, the 108th Division accepted the mission to pilot a new concept in Army training called Future Army Schools Twenty-first Century. This not only expanded the size of the 108th Division to add the states of Georgia and Florida. Those schools were reorganized into functionally aligned school brigades. This gave the 108th Division a new mission, in 1996 the 108th Division was assigned another completely new mission to conduct Reserve Officer Training Corps training at three colleges and universities in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina
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1st Armored Division (United States)
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The 1st Armored Division—nicknamed Old Ironsides—is a combined arms division of the United States Army. The division is part of III Corps, with its base of operations in Fort Bliss in El Paso and it was the first armored division of the U. S. Army to see battle in World War II. Major General Robert P. White assumed command of the 1st Armored Division on 15 June 2016, the division command group consists of, Commanding General, Major General Robert P. White Deputy Commanding General, Brigadier general Frazer Lawrence. Deputy Commanding General, Brigadier general Jeffery Broadwater, Deputy Commanding General, Brigadier general Daniel Walrath. Chief of Staff, Colonel Charles D. Costanza, Command Sergeant Major, Command Sergeant Major Danny Day. Since relocating to Fort Bliss, Texas, the division has been reorganized under the new design, in which the deployable unit of maneuver is a brigade. The division consists of three brigade combat teams, an aviation brigade, a division artillery brigade, and a sustainment brigade. After the spring of 2015, 3rd IBCT deactivated after redeploying from Afghanistan, Magruder, after he saw a picture of the frigate USS Constitution, which is also nicknamed Old Ironsides. The large 1 at the top represents the numerical designation of the division, in January,1918, the Tank Corps of the United States Army was created with Colonel S. D. At his direction, a Lt. Wharton designed the coat of arms which was a triangle on a shield with a surrounding wreath. The triangle itself is an old heraldic element of design known as a pile. There was no shoulder patch in 1918, only this unit crest, the 7th Cavalry Brigade contributed the other part of the present day Armor shoulder patch. The brigade formed out of the 1st Cavalry Regiment at Marfa Texas, on Jan 16,1933 under General Van Voohris, the 7th Cav Bde included the 13th Cavalry. The 7th Cavalry Brigade had been organized specifically to develop the new armored force concept, Colonel George Linthwaite joined the 13th Cavalry regiment in 1933. Major General Robert W. Grow was instructed to develop a patch for the new armored force. Major Grow announced to the brigade that a contest would be held to design the new Armored force patch, a three-day pass was to be the reward for the designer of the winning entry. Private Linthwaite designed a patch which was 4” round and had a solid yellow-gold background to symbolize the Cavalry heritage, on the face of the patch he drew a stylized black tank track with drive and idler sprockets to symbolize mobility. In the center of the track at a diagonal, he placed a single cannon barrel, also in black
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2nd Armored Division (United States)
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The 2nd Armored Division was an armored division of the United States Army. The division played an important role during World War II in the invasions of North Africa and Sicily and the liberation of France, Belgium, and the Netherlands and the invasion of Germany. During the Cold War, the division was based at Fort Hood, Texas. After participation in the Persian Gulf War, the division was deactivated in 1995 and its units were later transferred to the 4th Infantry Division. The 2nd Armored Division was formed at Fort Benning, Georgia on 15 July 1940 and it was originally commanded by Major General Charles L. Scott, with Colonel George S. Patton, Jr. in charge of training. Scott was promoted to command the I Armored Corps in November of that year, the division, which in February 1942 passed over to the command of Major General Willis D. Crittenberger, served with the First, Seventh, and Ninth Armies throughout the war. The 2nd Armored was organized as an armored division, having two armored regiments of four medium tank and two light tank battalions of three companies each. Both types had a component of three mechanized battalions, although the heavy divisions maintained an armored infantry regiment organization. The 82nd Armored Reconnaissance Battalion was known as the eyes and ears of the 2nd Armored Division, the 2nd Armored Division had three artillery battalions. The division also had support units, including the 2nd Ordnance Maintenance Battalion, 2nd Supply Battalion, the 48th Armored Medical Battalion, the military police and band were tasked with headquarters defense of base operations under the banner of the 502d Adjutant General Company. Elements of the division were among the first U. S. military to engage in ground combat operations in the European and Mediterranean theater during World War II. The 2nd Armored Division, now commanded by Major General Ernest N. Harmon and they were part of the Western Task Force of Operation Torch, which landed at Casablanca in French Morocco on 8 November 1942. The remainder of Torchs American component were the 1st, 3rd, however, the 2nd Armored Division did not see much action in North Africa and instead remained in French North Africa on garrison and training duties. In April 1943 Major General Harmon relinquished command of the division to Major General Hugh Joseph Gaffey, Training in amphibious operations began in preparation for an amphibious landing at Sicily. Afterwards, the next went into action in the second landing at Licata. The 2nd Armored, operating closely with paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division, along the way the 2nd Armored Division captured thousands of Italian prisoners of war. During the campaign the division came under the command of the U. S, Seventh Army, under Lieutenant General George S. Patton, who had been a former commander of the division. Soon afterwards the 2nd Armored Division was sent to England, in preparation for the Allied invasion of Normandy, in April the division received a new commander, Major General Edward H. Brooks, a decorated veteran of World War I, replacing Major General Gaffey
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3rd Armored Division (United States)
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The 3rd Armored Division was an armored division of the United States Army. Unofficially nicknamed the Third Herd, the division was first activated in 1941, the division was stationed in West Germany for much of the Cold War, and participated in the Persian Gulf War. On 17 January 1992, in Germany, the division ceased operations, in October 1992, it was formally deactivated as part of a general drawing down of forces at the end of the Cold War. The 3rd Armored Division was organized as an armored division, as was its counterpart. Later, higher-numbered U. S. armored divisions of World War II were smaller, with a ratio of armored infantry to tanks. Each division type had a component of three mechanized infantry battalions. During World War II, these were organized operationally into task forces known as combat commands A, B and R, in addition to the core units, a number of other units of various kinds were attached to the division during various operations. In June 1941, it moved to Camp Polk Louisiana, on 9 March 1942, it came under Army Ground Forces and was assigned to the II Armored Corps. In July 1942, it was transferred to Camp Young, CA and from August to October 1942 and it left Camp Young in January 1943 and moved to the Indiantown Gap Military Reservation, Pennsylvania. The 3rd AD arrived in the European Theatre on 15 September 1943 and it remained in Somerset, England until 24 June 1944, when it departed to partake in the Normandy operations. The HQ was probably at Warminster with units in 5 Wiltshire villages and 3 villages in Somerset, There is a small memorial at Mere in Wiltshire. The first elements of the 3rd Armored in France saw combat on 29 June, with the division as a whole beginning combat operations on 9 July 1944. During this time, it was under the command of VII Corps and XVIII Airborne Corps for some time, and assigned to the First Army and the 12th Army Group for the duration of its career. The division spearheaded the US First Army through Normandy, taking part in a number of engagements, notably including the Battle of Saint Lô, where it suffered significant casualties. The engineers and maintenance crews took the large I-Beam Invasion barriers from the beaches at Normandy and they would then hit the hedgerows at high speed, bursting through them without exposing the vulnerable underbellies of the tanks. Until this happened, they could not get across the hedgerows, ordered to help close the Falaise Gap and Argentan pocket which contained the German Seventh Army, the division finished the job near Putanges by 18 August. Six days later the outfit had sped through Courville and Chartres and was located at the banks of the Seine River. On the night of 25 August 1944 the crossing of the Seine by the division started, once over, liberated in the path of the division were Meaux, Soissons, Laon, Marle, Mons, Charleroi, Namur and Liege
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4th Armored Division (United States)
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The 4th Armored Division of the United States Army was an Armored Division that earned distinction while spearheading General Pattons Third Army in the European theater of World War II. The 4th Armored Division, unlike most other U. S. armored divisions during World War II, didnt officially adopt a nickname for the division during the war. However, their unofficial nickname Name Enough came into use postwar, the 4th was named the Breakthrough division in 1954, but that name was eventually discontinued. The 4th Armored Division was activated during World War II on 15 April 1941 with 3,800 men from other units, at Pine Camp. The division was organized as a full Armored Division in May and it left Pine Camp for Camp Forrest for the Tennessee maneuvers in the Cumberland Mountains held in September and October. On 29 December, the 4th AD departed Boston to conduct training in England in preparation for the invasion of Normandy, the 4th AD then swung south to take Nantes, cutting off the Brittany Peninsula,12 August 1944. Turning east, it drove swiftly across France north of the Loire, smashed across the Moselle 11–13 September, flanked Nancy and captured Lunéville,16 September. The 4th Armored Division received the unit awards from France, Croix de Guerre with Palm, Croix de Guerre with Palm. Two days after the Germans launched their Ardennes Offensive, the 4th AD entered the fight, racing northwest into Belgium, covering 150 miles in 19 hours. The 4th AD, spearheading Pattons Third Army, attacked the Germans at Bastogne and, on 26 December, was the first unit to breakthrough at Bastogne and relieve the besieged 101st Airborne Division. Six weeks later the 4th AD jumped off from Luxembourg City in a plunge that carried it across the Moselle River at Trier, south and east to Worms. Advancing all night, the 4th AD crossed the Main River the next day, south of Hanau, lauterbach fell 29 March, Creuzburg across the Werra on 1 April, Gotha on 4 April. Where the 4th AD liberated Ohrdruf concentration camp, and by 12 April the 4TH AD was across the Saale River. Pursuit of the continued and by 6 May the division had crossed into Czechoslovakia, established a bridgehead across the Otava River at Strakonice. The 4th AD was reassigned to the XII Corps on 30 April 1945, on 1 August, General George Pattons U. S. Third Army became operational and the 4th AD became the spearhead of the Third Army, the British military armor theorist and historian, Captain Basil Henry Liddell Hart, once referred to General Wood as the Rommel of the American armored forces. Like Rommel, Wood commanded from the front, and preferred staying on the offensive, using speed, on 3 December 1944, General Wood was relieved as division commander. The division was led by Major General Hugh Gaffey through the Battle of the Bulge
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5th Armored Division (United States)
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The 5th Armored Division was an armored formation of the United States Army active from 1941 to 1945 and from 1950 to 1956. The 5th Armored Victory Division was activated on 10 October 1941, turning Argentan over to the 90th Infantry Division, the 5th Armored advanced 80 miles to capture the Eure River Line at Dreux on 16 August. Bitter fighting was encountered in clearing the Eure-Seine corridor, the second big trap in France. The 5th passed through Paris 30 August to spearhead V Corps drive through the Compiègne Forest, across the Oise, Aisne, and Somme Rivers, the division then turned east, advancing 100 miles in 8 hours, and crossed the Meuse at Charleville-Mézières,4 September. Racing past Sedan, it liberated Luxembourg City on the 10th, the reconnaissance squadron of the division sent a patrol across the German border on the afternoon of 11 September to be the first of the Allies to cross the enemy frontier. On 14 September, the 5th penetrated the Siegfried Line at Wallendorf, remaining until the 20th, in October it held defensive positions in the Monschau-Hofen sector. The division entered the Hurtgen Forest area in late November and pushed the back to the banks of the Roer River in very heavy fighting. On 22 December it was withdrawn to Verviers and placed in 12th Army Group reserve, crossing the Roer on 25 February 1945 the 5th spearheaded the XIII Corps drive to the Rhine, crossing the Rhine at Wesel,30 March. The Division reached the banks of the Elbe at Tangermunde,12 April—45 miles from Berlin, on 16 April, the 5th moved to Klotze to wipe out the Von Clausewitz Panzer Division and again drove to the Elbe, this time in the vicinity of Dannenberg. The division mopped up in the Ninth Army sector until VE-day, the division was inactivated on 11 October 1945, reactivated in 1950 at Fort Chaffee, AR, and inactivated for the final time in 1956
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6th Armored Division (United States)
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The 6th Armored Division was an armored division of the United States Army during World War II. It was formed with a cadre from the 2nd Armored Division, 6th AD was formed under the 1942 Table of Organization and Equipment. The division was activated on 15 February 1942 at Fort Knox and it moved to Camp Chaffee on 15 March 1942 to make way for other Armored units, and then completed its assembly and unit training. The division then participated in the VIII Corps Louisiana Maneuvers from 25 August 1942, the 6th AD then moved to Camp Young at the Desert Training Center on 10 October 1942, and participated in the first California Maneuvers. The 6th AD then moved to Camp Cooke to continue its training, the 6th AD then staged at Camp Shanks on 3 February 1944, departed the New York Port of Embarkation on 11 February 1944, and arrived in England on 23 February 1944. At the end of the Normandy Campaign, 6th AD assembled at Le Mesnil on 25 July 1944, 6th AD then returned to Avranches, where it relieved 4th AD and secured the area bridges. Elements of the 6th AD also participated in the Pacific Theater seeing action in engagements in that area of the war. The divisions were amphibious units, and thus used ranging variants of the LVT, the 69th Armor Regiment was composed, for the majority, of these amphibious divisions and was sent over to the Pacific. Some were also stationed in Japan during its occupation following the wars end, in mid-August in Europe, the 6th Armored Division moved down to Lorient, where it was relieved by the 94th Infantry Division in September. The 6th then turned east and cut across France, reaching the Saar in November and it crossed the Nied River on 11–12 November, against strong opposition, reaching the German border on 6 December, and established and maintained defensive positions in the vicinity of Saarbrücken. On 23 December, the division was ordered north of Metz to take part in the Battle of the Bulge, the 6th was heavily engaged in the battle for Bastogne, finally driving the enemy back across the Our River into Germany by late January 1945. After repulsing a light counterattack, it moved forward 60 miles to cross the Saale River and assisted in freeing Allied prisoners of war and the German concentration camp at Buchenwald. The division raced on, took Leipzig, crossed the Mulde River at Rochlitz on 15 April 1945, defensive positions along the Mulde River were held until the end of hostilities in Europe. The division was deactivated on 18 September 1945 at Camp Shanks, bogen and Clyde J. Burke along with Aide-de-Camp Captain Cyrus R. Shockey, compiled a Combat Record of the Sixth Armored Division in the European Theatre of Operations 18 July 1944-8 May 1945. The official history by George F. Hofmann, The Super Sixth, History of the 6th Armored Division in World War II has been called by World War II scholar Martin Blumenson, a first-rate military history. He also noted that General Patton called the 6th AD one of the two best divisions in his Third Army
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7th Armored Division (United States)
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The 7th Armored Division was an armored division of the United States Army that saw distinguished service on the Western Front, from August 1944 until May 1945, during World War II. The division was activated on 1 March 1942, reorganized on 20 September 1943, throughout most of its existence the 7th Armored Division was commanded by Major General Lindsay McDonald Silvester, an infantryman who had distinguished himself in World War I. The 7th Armored Division landed on Omaha and Utah Beaches, 13–14 August 1944, third Army, commanded by Lieutenant General George S. Patton. The division drove through Nogent-le-Rotrou in an attack on Chartres, the city fell on 18 August. From Chartres, the division advanced to liberate Dreux and then Melun, the division then pushed on to bypass Reims and liberate Château-Thierry and then Verdun,31 August. The 7th Armored halted briefly for refueling and then on 6 September drove on toward the Moselle and this crossing had to be withdrawn in the face of the heavy fortifications around Metz. The 7th Armored then made attempts to cross the Moselle northwest of Metz, elements of the division assisted the 5th Infantry Division in expanding a bridgehead east of Arnaville, south of Metz, and on 15 September, the main part of the division crossed the Moselle there. On 25 September 1944, the 7th Armored Division was transferred to the U. S, Ninth Army, under Lieutenant General William Hood Simpson, and began the march to the Netherlands where they were needed to protect the right flank of the corridor opened by Operation Market Garden. On 30 September, the 7th Armored Division launched an attack from the north on the town of Overloon, the attacks progressed slowly and finally settled into a series of counter-attacks reminiscent of trench warfare of World War I. On 8 October, the division was relieved from the attack on Overloon by the British 11th Armoured Division, here they were attached to the British Second Army, under Lieutenant General Sir Miles C. Dempsey, and ordered to make demonstration attacks to the east, in order to divert forces from the Overloon and Venlo areas. This plan succeeded, and the British were finally able to liberate Overloon, the Germans launched a two-division offensive centered on Meijel, catching the thinly stretched 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron of the 7th Armored Division by surprise. On 8 November 1944, the 7th Armored was again transferred to the Ninth Army and moved south to rest areas at, at the end of November, the division straddled the Dutch-German border with one combat command in Germany and two in the Netherlands. Elements of the division were attached to the 84th Infantry Division for operations in early December in the area of Linnich, Germany, the 7th was preparing to drive into Germany when the Ardennes offensive began on 16 December 1944. The division was transferred to the U. S, first Army, under Lieutenant General Courtney Hodges, and ordered to St. Vith, Belgium, a critical road and rail center needed by the Germans to supply their offensive. The division moved to the area of Manhay, Belgium, and they were then relieved by the 75th Infantry Division. After a brief rest in January 1945, the returned to positions near St. Vith, attacked. In February 1945, now attached to the U. S, first Armys V Corps, the division returned to Germany
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8th Armored Division (United States)
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The 8th Armored Division was an armored division of the United States Army that served in the European Theater of World War II. The successes of the German armored units in Poland and France underscored Americas need for an armored force. The tank battles of North Africa and Russia in early 1942 caused the US Army to recognize the need to increase the number of its armored units. The 8th Armored Division was activated on 1 April 1942, at Fort Knox, Kentucky, the division served as the first official military guardian of the gold vault at Fort Knox. From 1942 to 1944 it functioned as a training command stationed at Camp Polk, during this period the 8th supplied trained personnel to the 9th through 14th Armored Divisions. The light format armored division was made up of three combat commands referred to as Combat Command A, Combat Command B and a unit called Combat Command Reserve. Units could be assigned to one of the commands at need. During December 1943, the participated in the D Series of exercises in Texas. The D Series were small scale maneuver problems designed as a precursor to the full scale Sixth Louisiana Maneuver Period, the D Series included exercises to simulate contact with the enemy and included recon, movement to contact, engineering and minefield clearing problems. The 8th completed the D Series and participated in the Sixth Louisiana Maneuver Period from February through April 1944 as part of the Red Force. From the period of April through October 1944, the division conducted training, losing a number of trained personnel to other units. At the end of October the 8th received movement orders to Camp Kilmer, on 6 November 1944 the division left Camp Kilmer and boarded ships in New Jersey for the United Kingdom. The ships arrived in Southampton on 18 November and the moved to Tidworth Camp. After some additional training and acquisition of new equipment at Tidworth, England, the division assembled in the Bacqueville area of upper Normandy as part of the still secret US Fifteenth Army and was placed in reserve. A detachment of the 88th Armored Cavalry undertook the divisions first combat action – a reconnaissance of the best route to contact with the enemy, the division, finding the enemy already halted and beginning to fall back, took part in the Third Army drive against the Moselle-Saar salient. The 8th supported the 94th Infantry Divisions attack on Nennig, Berg and Sinz, Nennig and Berg were defended by elements of the German 11th Panzer Division, specifically the 110th, 111th and elements of the 774th Panzer Grenadier Regiments. German losses in action against 8th Armored units were 5 Panzer IV tanks,72 prisoners and many dead, 8th Armored losses were 3 M4A3 Sherman tanks,4 Halftracks and heavy personnel casualties. From Berg, the 8th continued their advance through Sinz and more heavy fighting, German losses were 8 tanks,1 anti-aircraft gun,1 anti-tank gun and 1 halftrack
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9th Armored Division (United States)
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The 9th Armored Division was an armored division of the United States Army during World War II. In honor of their World War II service, the 9th was officially nicknamed the Phantom Division. Outnumbered five to one, with its rifle companies surrounded for most of the time, clerks, cooks, mechanics. They were awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for their heroism, after over two years of training throughout the country the 9th Armored Division, now commanded by Major General John W. Leonard, reached the United Kingdom in September 1944. The 9th Armored Division was one of several real U. S, the 9th was assigned to a camp on the British coastline opposite of the German defenses in Pas-de-Calais, ostensibly as part of the First US Army Group under Major General John W. Leonard. Returned to U. S.10 October 1945, the 9th Armored Division landed in Normandy late in September 1944, and first went into line,23 October 1944, on patrol duty in a quiet sector along the Luxembourg-German frontier. When the Germans launched their offensive on 16 December 1944. The Division saw its severest action at St. Vith, Echternach and its stand at Bastogne held off the Germans long enough to enable the 101st Airborne Division to dig in for a defense of the city. After a rest period in January 1945, the Division prepared to drive across the Roer River, the offensive was launched on 28 February 1945 and the 9th crossed the Roer to Rheinbach, sending patrols into Remagen. On 7 March 1945, elements of the 9th Armored found that the Ludendorff Bridge was still standing, when German demolition charges failed to bring the bridge down, they crossed it, disarming and removing the remaining charges, which could have exploded at any time. The Division exploited the bridgehead, moving south and east across the Lahn River toward Limburg, the Division drove on to Frankfurt and then turned to assist in the closing of the Ruhr Pocket. In April it continued east, encircling Leipzig and securing a line along the Mulde River, the Division was shifting south to Czechoslovakia when the war in Europe ended on 9 May 1945. Combat Command B, 9th Armored Division is cited for outstanding performance of duty in action from 28 February to 9 March 1945 in Germany. At 1500 hours that day a prisoner was captured who revealed that the bridge was mined for demolition and was to be destroyed at 1600 hours, at 1535 hours, one column of Combat Company B reached the western approach to the bridge. Although the destruction of the bridge was imminent, American troops unhesitatingly rushed across the structure in the face of enemy automatic weapons fire. An explosion rocked the bridge but did not destroy it, engineers scrambled down the abutments, cutting wires leading to other demolition charges and disposing of hundreds of pounds of explosives by hurling them into the river. Bulldozer tanks, working under heavy artillery and small-arms fire, filled craters at the approach to permit vehicular passage. Upon reaching the bank, troops of Combat Command B fought gallantly
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10th Armored Division (United States)
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The 10th Armored Division was an armored division of the United States Army in World War II. In the European Theater of Operations the 10th Armored Division was part of both the Twelfth United States Army Group and Sixth United States Army Group. Originally assigned to the Third United States Army under General George S. Patton, the 10th Armored Division was inactivated on 13 October 1945 at Camp Patrick Henry, Virginia. On 25 February 1953, the division was allotted to the Regular Army, the division was activated on 15 July 1942, at Fort Benning, Georgia. The Tiger nickname of the 10th originates from a division-wide contest held while it was training in the United States, symbolizing the division clawing and mauling its way through the enemy. Leaving Teurtheville,25 October, the Division moved to Mars-la-Tour, later that month, the 10th participated in the capture of Metz. It was the first time in 1500 years that the ancient fortress at Metz fell, after fierce fighting, the 10th moved to the Siegfried Line and led the Third Army into Germany on 19 November 1944. Combat Command-B’s lead Sherman tanks, tank destroyers and half-tracks entered Bastogne 18 December 1944 and these were the first combat troops to reach the threatened city. CCB’s commander, Col. William L. Roberts, split his command to form an arc facing eastward five miles from the city. A task force commanded by Maj. William R. Desobry went north to Noville, while a group under Lt. Col. Henry T. Lt. Col. James OHara’s group shifted southeast to Bras, at the same time, German forces moved westward with increasing momentum. Bastogne, a hub from which seven main roads diverged, was essential to the movement of Rundstedt’s panzers. Before dawn of 19 December five Nazi divisions attacked CCB, bazooka-armed American soldiers and a single platoon of tank destroyers fought a column of German Panzer IV tanks on the Houffalize-Noville highway, turning them back after a furious engagement. More enemy armor followed and with the road blocked, the battle spilled into the fields and woods. For eight hours, CCB alone withstood multiple German attacks before reinforcements arrived from the 101st Airborne Division, the Germans still maintained an advantage and the outnumbered Americans withdrew closer to Bastogne. The Germans sent pincers to the north and south, the night of 21 December, the pincers met and closed west of the city. In the surrounded city, the 10th assembled a reserve force to strike in any direction. CCB endured the cold, artillery barrages and bombing while their supplies, fourth Armored Division tanks finally broke through on 26 December, but CCB continued to fight until 18 January
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11th Armored Division (United States)
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The 11th Armored Division was a division of the United States Army in World War II. It was activated on 15 August 1942 at Camp Polk, Louisiana, the division staged at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey from 16 to 29 September 1944 until departing New York Port of Embarkation on 29 September 1944, arriving in England on 11 October 1944. The 11 AD landed in France on 16 December 1944, crossed into Belgium on 29 December, the 11th Armored Division was deactivated in August 1945. The division was activated on 15 August 1942 and it arrived in England 11 October 1944 and prepared for combat with two months training on the Salisbury Plain. Launching an attack from Neufchâteau, Belgium,30 December, the 11th defended the highway to Bastogne against fierce assault and these boys were to be machine gunned and murdered. We were committing the same crimes we were now accusing the Japanese, the division acted as spearhead of a wedge into the enemy line, and its junction with the First Army at Houffalize,16 January 1945, created a huge trap. After the liquidation of the Bulge, the Siegfried Line was pierced, Lützkampen falling 7 February, Grosskampenberg on the 17th, after a brief rest, the division crossed the Prum and Kyll Rivers, taking Gerolstein and Nieder Bettingen against violent opposition. Andernach and Brohl fell 9 March, in the sweep to the Rhine, in the swing southward to clear the Saar-Moselle-Rhine pocket, the Moselle River was crossed at Bullay and the Worms Airport captured,21 March. After rest and maintenance, the division drove across the Rhine at Oppenheim, took Hanau and Fulda, the offensive raced through Bavaria, Coburg falling on the 10th, Bayreuth on the 14th. In the final drive, the crossed the Regen river,24 April, overran Grafenau and Freyung, and plunged toward the Danube, seizing Rohrbach, Neufelden. The enemy put up its last fanatical resistance along the approaches to Linz, Austria, pushing onward, elements contacted Soviet forces,8 May, the first unit of the Third Army, to meet the Soviet Red Army. On 5 May 1945, elements of the US 11th Armored Division liberated the Mauthausen concentration camp, the war in Europe officially ended 9 May, and the division was placed on occupational duty until inactivation on 31 August 1945. battleofthebulge. org Hartman, J. Ted. Tank Driver, With the 11th Armored from the Battle of the Bulge to VE Day
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12th Armored Division (United States)
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The 12th Armored Division was an armored division of the United States Army in World War II. It fought in the European Theater of Operations in France, Germany and Austria, Patton, Jr. to cross the Rhine River. The 12th Armored Division was one of only ten U. S, Divisions during World War II that had African-American combat companies integrated into the Division. The 12th Armored Division was activated on 15 September 1942, organization and initial training was at Camp Campbell, Kentucky, and continued at Camp Barkeley in Abilene, Texas. The division consisted of approximately 11,000 soldiers, and was composed of tank, field artillery, motorized infantry battalions, in early 1943 the Division adopted the nickname The Hellcats, symbolizing its toughness and readiness for combat. While at Camp Barkeley, the 44th Tank Battalion was sent to the Pacific Theater of Operations on a special mission, the 44th was replaced by the 714th Tank Battalion. The 12th was originally organized as an armored division with two armored regiments, the 43rd and 44th, and one armored infantry regiment, the 56th Armored Infantry Regiment. In 1943, it was reorganized from a division to a light division as part of a general streamlining of all armored divisions, except the 2nd Armored Division. The 714th TB was sent to Fort Jackson, SC and the 779th TB went to Fort Knox and it was replaced by the 714th TB which rejoined the 12th AD in November 1943. The 779th TB was sent to the Philippines late in the war in 1945, the 1st Battalion of the 56th AIR became the 66th AIB and the 2nd Battalion of the 56th AIR became the 17th AIB of the 12th Armored Division. The 3rd Battalion of the 56th AIR became the 56th AIB, Companies G, H and I of the 56th AIR became Companies A, B and C of the 56th AIB. After completing training the Division left Abilene and departed from Camp Shanks, New York and it landed at Liverpool, England on 2 October 1944. While awaiting replacement armor which had been borrowed by the U. S, Third Army, the 12th was sent to Tidworth Barracks in Wiltshire, UK. Advance elements met the enemy near Weisslingen in Alsace on 5 December, in its advance, Rohrbach-lès-Bitche and towns surrounding Bettviller were liberated by 12 December 1944, and Utweiler, Germany was seized on 21 December. After a short period of rehabilitation and maintenance, the 12th rolled against the Rhine bridgehead at Herrlisheim that the Germans had established as part of their Operation Nordwind offensive. In order to seal the Battle of the Bulge, units of the Seventh Army were diverted north to assist the Third Army in capturing Bastogne. Due to this, the remainder of the Seventh Army, including the 12th Armored Division, was stretched thin holding a 126 miles long front line with eight divisions. German defenders repulsed two attacks in the most violent fighting in the history of the division, during 8 to 10 January and 16 to 17 January 1945
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13th Armored Division (United States)
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The 13th Armored Division was an armored division of the United States Army in World War II. The division was activated on 15 October 1942 at Camp Beale, east of Marysville, the 13th Armored, known as the Black Cats, landed at Le Havre, France,29 January 1945. After performing occupation duties, the Division moved to Homberg near Kassel to prepare for combat under the Third Army,5 April, at Altenkirchen, it was attached to the XVIII Corps and prepared for the Ruhr Pocket operation. The attack jumped off at Honnef,10 April, after crossing the river Sieg at Siegburg, the 13th pushed north to Bergisch Gladbach, then toward Duisburg and Mettmann by 18 April. Shifting south to Eschenau, the Division prepared for Bavarian operations, starting from Parsberg,26 April, the 13th crossed the Regen river, then the Danube at Matting and secured the area near Dünzling. On the 28th, elements closed in at Plattling and crossed the Isar River, moderate to heavy resistance was met during this drive through southern Germany. The Division smashed into Braunau am Inn, Austria,2 May, a bridgehead across the Inn was established at Marktl, but the river was not crossed as orders came to reassemble north of Inn River,2 May. Preparations were made for further advances when the war in Europe ended, the 13th remained in Germany until 25 June and left Le Havre, France, for home,14 July 1945. The division moved to Camp Cook, California after returning to the United States and it was training in amphibious operations at the time of the Japanese surrender. The men were aware that it was a secret that they were likely to participate in the invasion of Japan. It was inactivated on 15 November 1945, the division was reactivated in 1947, reflagged from the 19th Armored Division, which had been placed on rolls, but not actually activated, during World War II. The 19th Armored Division was eventually activated just after the war, in 1947, the 19th Armored Division was reflagged as the 13th Armored Division at Californias request. In 1952, the division was reflagged as the 63rd Infantry Division in Los Angeles, California, and thus the 13th Armored Division was finally inactivated
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14th Armored Division (United States)
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The 14th Armored Division was an armored division of the United States Army assigned to the Seventh Army of the Sixth Army Group during World War II. It remains on the permanent roll of the Regular Army as an inactive division, the division is officially nicknamed the Liberators. The 14th Armored Division was constituted and added to the roll of the US Army on 28 August 1942, it was activated on 15 November in a ceremony at Camp Chaffee, Arkansas. It was organized initially as a division with two armored regiments and one armored infantry regiment, the 62nd Infantry Regiment. It was reorganized from a division to a light division on 20 September 1943. The reorganization saw the loss of two battalions from the Armored regiments, one battalion each. The 1st Battalion of the 47th Armor was redesignated as the 786th Tank Battalion, the division departed Camp Chaffee in November to participate in the 2nd Army maneuvers in Tennessee from 17 November 1943 until 10 January 1944. At the conclusion of the exercise, the division was assigned to Camp Campbell, the division remained at Camp Campbell until late September when it was alerted for movement to the ETO via Camp Shanks, New York where it went for final processing. Units departed Camp Campbell on 1 October and completed their arrival at Camp Shanks on the 6th of that month, after completing their processing, the division boarded four transport ships for deployment on 13 October 1944. The 14th Armored Division landed at Marseille in southern France, on 29 October 1944, within two weeks some of its elements were in combat, maintaining defensive positions along the Franco-Italian frontier. The division was assigned to US 6th Army Group on 1 November, on 10 November, the division was assigned to US Seventh Army. On 12 November the Combat Command Reserve was detached, and ordered to the Maritime Alps by 6th Army Group to relieve units in defensive positions there. Hard fighting at Gertwiller, Benfeld, and Barr helped VI Corps to crack the German defenses, the division was on the Alsatian Plain in early December. On 17 December the division attacked across the Lauter River into Germany itself, along with the units of VI Corps. The order was poorly timed as elements of the 14th Armored Division had penetrated deep into the German defenses and it was located in the rugged Vosges Mountains in the area of Bannstein in France, southeast of Saarbrücken. The balance of the division was placed in Corps Reserve to protect against a Saar Valley penetration by the Germans, additionally, it was ordered to be prepared to move to the vicinity of Phalsbourg as a counter-attacking force to stop and prevent a break-through in the XV Corps area. TF Hudelson consisted of the divisions 62nd Armored Infantry Battalion, the 94th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, TF Hudelson was further reinforced by two VI Corps units, the 117th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron and the 1st Battalion, 540th Combat Engineers. Just before midnight on New Years Eve 1944, the German Army Group G launched Operation Nordwind, the advancing German units were from the XC and LXXXIX Corps, attacking through the Low Vosges
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16th Armored Division (United States)
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The 16th Armored Division was an armored division of the United States Army in World War II. The division was activated on 15 July 1943 at Camp Chaffee in Arkansas and they performed all of their training at Camp Chaffee until they received their staging orders. They staged at Camp Shanks at Orangeburg, New York on 28 January 1945 and they sailed from the New York Port of Embarkation on 5 February 1945. The 16th Armored Division arrived in France in stages between 11 and 17 February 1945, and processed into the European Theater of Operations. They had been assigned to the Fifteenth United States Army on 29 January 1945, the division was assigned to Third United States Army on 17 April 1945, and entered Germany on 19 April 1945. It crossed the Rhine at Mainz, and relieved the 71st Infantry Division at Nürnberg on 28 April 1945, the 23rd Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron participated in combat from the Isar River to Wasserburg with the 86th Infantry Division. The division was given a security and training mission at Nürnberg, Germany, when the 23rd Cavalry Squadron arrived at Nürnberg on 4 May, it reverted to the control of the 16th Armored. The division assembled and proceeded to Waidhaus, Germany on 5 May, during the final days of battle in Europe, the final stronghold of German armed forces was a pocket in Czechoslovakia. As Soviet Red Army and American forces moved to the area and it was decided that the American forces would help the Soviets subdue the estimated 141,000 German troops before exiting the area. The task was aided by the desire of German forces to avoid imprisonment by the Soviets, with numerous German divisions arranging surrender to US forces and this did not stop fanatical German SS Troops from continuing to fight both Czechoslovakian and, as they arrived, American forces. The 16th Armored Division was assigned to V Corps on 6 May and they advanced along the Bor–Pilsen Road that same day, launching an attack on Pilsen, Czechoslovakia, designed to capture the Skoda Munitions Plant. Combat Command Reserve advanced through Pilsen to assigned high ground east of the city, the division spent May 7 and 8 in mopping up activities and patrolling. Aside from the few hours on the road to Prague, the capture of Pilsen marked the deepest point of American penetration into Czechoslovakia, three months later, the 16th AD was still located in Czechoslovakia, in Stříbro, on VJ Day. The division returned to the New York Port of Embarkation on 13 October 1945 and was inactivated at Camp Kilmer in New Jersey on 15 October 1945. Greene –15 July 1943 – September 1944 BG John L. Pierce – September 1944 –15 October 1945 Division artillery commander COL. Barksdale Hamlett KIA,4 WIA,28 Died of Wounds,1, 16th Armored Division Association 2517 Connecticut Avenue Washington, D. C. ORDER OF BATTLE, US Army in World War II, Presidio Press, Novato, there at the End, The U. S. 16th Armored Division’s Liberation of Plzen. access date =3 October 2015
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20th Armored Division (United States)
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The 20th Armored Division was an armored division of the United States Army that fought in World War II. It was activated on 15 March 1943 at Camp Campbell in Kentucky, the division has no real nickname although it did associate itself with the nickname Armoraiders while in training at Camp Campbell. Combat Command B, CCB Headquarters Battalion, 20th Tank Battalion, 65th Armored Infantry Battalion, Combat Command R, Reserve Command, 27th Tank Battalion, 70th Armored Infantry Battalion, 414th Armored Field Artillery Battalion. The 20th Armored Division departed Boston on 5 February and arrived at Le Havre, on arrival it was sent to Buchy for a months assembly, preparation, and additional training. It then moved through Belgium to Langendernbach, Germany,10 April, three days later, it was detached and reassigned to the XV Corps, Seventh Army, at Würzburg, Germany. The condition of the division when it arrived overseas was affected by a recent change in its primary mission, until October 1944, the 20th Armored Divisions mission was to train soldiers and qualify them for overseas shipment as replacements for armored units. Actual arrival of the 20th Armored Division into combat occurred 4–9 April 1945 and it was the 412th that supported the 82nd in their attack on Hitdorf that resulted in the awarding of a Distinguished Unit Citation. At the time, the assembled near Deiningen and reconnoitered for routes to the Danube River. The river was crossed on 28 April, the 20th meeting sporadic resistance, subsequently, elements of the 20th seized the bridge over the Paar River at Schrobenhausen, and secured crossings over the Ilm River. Elements of the 20th Armored Division participated in the liberation of Dachau concentration camp on 29 April 1945, Seventh Armys 42nd and 45th Infantry Divisions were also involved. Additional elements of the 20th, primarily of Combat Command B, Seventh Armys 45th Infantry Division, together operating as Task Force 20, were awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation. This victory destroyed the defenses of Munich, Germany, removing resistance to the entry of troops into the City, the 27th Tank Battalion remained attached to the 42nd Infantry Division during its attack on Munich, 29–30 April. Following V-E Day, the Division returned to the U. S. in August 1945 and was slated for the invasion of Japan. The Division is officially credited with eight days in combat Peanuts creator, Charles Schulz. While Schulzs unit was nearby, it did not actually enter Dachau, richard Nixons future Vice President, Spiro Agnew, attained the rank of 1st lieutenant while with the 20th Armored Divisions 480th Armored Infantry Regiment
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75th Infantry Division (United States)
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The 75th Infantry Division was a division of the United States Army in World War II. It was also active from 1952 to 1957 as a division of the United States Army Organized Reserves. In 1993, the division was reactivated as the 75th Division in the Army Reserve, several of the divisions units remain mobilized even to the present day. Constituted 24 December 1942, in the Army of the United States as Headquarters, activated 15 April 1943, at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Moved to Louisiana Maneuver Area on 24 January 1944, where it participated in the 4th Army #6 Louisiana maneuvers, transferred to Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky on 7 April 1944. Staged at Camp Shanks, New York, on 7 November 1944, deployed from New York Port of Embarkation on 14 November 1944. Arrived in England on 22 November 1944, some troops spent time training at Seabank Hotel in Porthcawl, Wales. Assigned 9 December 1944, to the Ninth Army, which was part of the 12th Army Group, further assigned 11 December 1944, to the XVI Corps. Landed in France on 13 December 1944, crossed over into the Netherlands on 18 December 1944. Further assigned 22 December 1944, to the VII Corps, First Army, further assigned 29 December 1944 to the XVIII Corps. Further assigned 2 January 1945 to the VII Corps, further assigned 7 January 1945 to the XVIII Corps. Further assigned 25 January 1945 to the 6th Army Group, further assigned 30 January 1945 to the XXI Corps, Seventh Army, 6th Army Group, but attached for operations to the First French Army, 6th Army Group. Further assigned 11 February 1945 to the Seventh Army, 6th Army Group, further assigned 14 February 1945 to the 12th Army Group. Further assigned 17 February 1945 to the Ninth Army, 12th Army Group, but attached to the British Second Army for operations, withdrew to the Netherlands on 18 February 1945. Finally assigned 1 March 1945 to the XVI Corps, Ninth Army, entered Germany on 10 March 1945. Was located at Werdohl, Germany, on 14 August 1945 Returned to Continental US at Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation on 14 November 1945, inactivated 14 November 1945, at Camp Patrick Henry, Virginia. Allotted 21 February 1952, to the Organized Reserve Corps, activated 1 March 1952, at Houston, Texas. Inactivated 15 February 1957, at Houston, Texas, redesignated 1 October 1993, as Headquarters, 75th Division, and activated at Houston, Texas
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25th Armored Division (United States)
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The US 25th Armored Division was a phantom division created in 1944 as part of Fortitude South II to replace the real US 5th Armored Division when that unit was deployed to Normandy. As depicted to the Germans the division was formed at Pine Camp, New York in 1941, the division was initially based around a headquarters at Wincanton, in Somerset, but moved to the vicinitiy of East Dereham in Norfolk in July 1944. In the deception invasion plan for the Pas de Calais, it would have formed with the British 58th Infantry Division the second wave of the invasion, landing on the US 17th Infantry Division beachhead. The division was disposed of by announcing that it had departed the United Kingdom via Southampton in October 1944 along with the units of the US XXXVII Corps. The Deceivers, Allied Military Deception in the Second World War
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27th Armored Division (United States)
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The 27th Armored Division was a United States Army formation. It was part of the New York Army National Guard in the 1950s and 1960s, in February,1955 a reorganization of the Army National Guard included reorganizing the 27th Infantry Division as the 27th Armored Division. This included exchanging the black and red NYD shoulder patch for the patch of the Armys armor divisions. The 27th Armored Division was called the Empire Division, after New Yorks nickname, the division headquarters was originally in Buffalo, and was later moved to Syracuse. Brock had been commander of the 27th Infantry Division and he subsequently served as commander of the New York National Guard. OHara later served as commander of the New York National Guard, when Albany County shifted to a county executive/county legislature form of government in 1975, OHara was the unsuccessful Republican nominee for Albany County Executive. MG Collin P. Williams Williams had served as commander of Combat Command B, 27th Armored Division, the 27th Armored Division was inactivated in February,1968 during another reorganization of the Army National Guard. During its existence the 27th Armored Division was not activated for federal service and it was activated for state service, including the response to the 1964 Rochester riot. The division was reorganized in 1968 as the 27th Armored Brigade, the 27th Armored Brigade was reorganized as an Infantry brigade in 1975 and aligned with the 42nd Infantry Division. In 1985 the 27th Infantry Brigade was activated as part of the New York Army National Guard, the 27th Brigade was later reorganized as the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, and reestablished use of the 27th Infantry Divisions NYD shoulder sleeve insignia. The 27th Infantry Brigade carries on the lineage and history of the 27th Infantry Division
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30th Armored Division (United States)
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The 30th Armored Division was a Tennessee-based unit of the Army National Guard from the 1950s to the 1970s. In 1968 the Mississippi Army National Guards 108th Armored Cavalry Regiment was reorganized as 1st Brigade, in addition, in 1968 units from the Florida Army National Guard and Alabama Army National Guard also became part of the 30th Armored Division. The 30th Armored Division was inactivated in December,1973, the following officers served as commander of the 30th Armored Division, MG Paul H. Jordan, 1954-1957 MG Robert E. Frankland, 1957-1959 MG Warren C. Johnson, 1962-1963 MG William R. Douglas, 1963-1966 MG Thomas G. Wells, Jr. 1966-1968 MG Hugh B. Ellison, 1969-1971 MG Carl M. Lay, 1971-1973 MG John M. Calhoun,1973 During its existence the 30th Armored Division was never deployed as an organization, several members volunteered individually to join regular Army units during the Vietnam War. The 30th Armored Divisions lineage was carried by the Tennessee Army National Guards 30th Armored Brigade until the brigades inactivation in 1996
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40th Armored Division (United States)
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The 40th Armored Division was a division of the United States Army National Guard from July 1954 until 1967. After its return from the Korean War, the 40th Infantry Division was reorganized on 1 July 1954 as the 40th Armored Division. On 1 December 1967, a reorganization of the National Guard reduced the Guard to eight combat divisions. On 29 January 1968, the Division was eliminated and the 40th Infantry Brigade, even though defunct by 1967, the character of Deputy Chief Hale from the TV show Sons of Anarchy was apparently a member of the 40th Armored Division. Maneuver and Firepower, The Evolution of Divisions and Separate Brigades, washington, DC, Center of Military History
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48th Armored Division (United States)
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The 48th Armored Division was a division of the United States Army National Guard from September 1946 until 1968. Most of its units were part of the Florida Army National Guard, from 1946 to 1955 it was an infantry division. During World War II the denotation 48th Infantry Division was a division created for Operation Quicksilver. The 48th Infantry Division was created in 1944 as an phantom division and it formed part of Operation Quicksilver and Fortitude South II to replace the real 6th Armored Division when it moved to Normandy. The division was presented to the Germans as a trained unit that had been formed at Camp Clatsop. After disembarkation, the division established its headquarters at Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire before moving to Woodbridge in Suffolk. There, as part of the U. S. XXXIII Corps of the US 14th Army it was assigned the role of following up the Pas de Calais landings. Following Fortitude South II the division was depicted as moving to Brockenhurst in Hampshire where it carried out air landing training in conjunction with the US 21st Airborne Division, the division conducted its first annual training from 18 July to 1 August 1948 at Fort Jackson. On 15 September 1946, the division was reorganized as an armored division The 124th Infantry Regiment of the Florida ARNG was assigned on 5 July 1946 to the 48th Infantry Division. It was broken up on 1 November 1955 and its elements, the 124th Armored Infantry Battalion, to prepare for challenges in Western Europe, the new troop basis authorized the conversion of four National Guard infantry divisions to armored divisions. Georgia, and Florida agreed to convert and on 1 November 1955 the 48th Division was redesignated as an armored division, when the 51st Infantry Division was inactivated in 1963, some of its units, both from Florida and South Carolina, were assigned to the 48th Armored Division. On 1 October 1957 the 48th Armored Division headquarters was transferred from Macon, Georgia to Jacksonville, when the Army National Guard experienced its next major reorganization in 1967, the 48th Armored Division was chosen for inactivation, which occurred on 1 January 1968. Soldiers and units in Florida were assigned to the 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, the number 48 was carried on by the Georgia National Guard and is today the 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. The Deceivers, Allied Military Deception in the Second World War,1999 ISBN 0-316-85172-8 Harris, Tomás & Seaman, Mark. Garbo, The Spy Who Saved D-Day, ISBN 1-873162-81-2 Chapter XIII, The Total Army. Manoeuvre and Firepower, The Evolution of Divisions and Separate Brigades, United States Army Center of Military History
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49th Armored Division (United States)
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A number of the original divisional units received federal recognition from the National Guard Bureau on February 27,1947, a date used thereafter as the formations birthday. In 1947, all four battalions of the 144th Infantry Regiment were placed into the Division as Mechanized infantry units, beginning in the northern and northeastern areas of the State, there were 111 units in 56 Texas cities by 1952. In September 1961, an executive order alerted the division for mobilization at Dallas due to the 1961 Berlin Crisis, on October 15,1961, the division entered federal service, and it subsequently deployed to Fort Polk, LA. The division was to stay there ten months, in May 1962, the division staged the large-scale Exercise Iron Dragoon, still remembered among National Guard armor exercises. Also while at Fort Polk the divisions missile unit became the first Army National Guard unit to fire the Honest John nuclear-tipped surface-to-surface missile, the 49th Armored Division reverted to Texas State control in August 1962. The 49th was deactivated in 1968 and re-organized into three brigades, the 36th, 71st and 72nd. The division was reactivated on 1 November 1973, with its headquarters at Camp Mabry, Austin, on 18 July 2004 the division was re-flagged and again designated as the 36th Infantry Division. Prior to its redesignation, the 49th was capstoned to the U. S. Army III Corps and stood as the fully functional, reserve component. Division deactivated and replaced by the 36th Inf, CSM Wilfred Martin CSM Jim Merritt CSM Mikeal Graham CSM Don Steelhammer CSM Donnie Strickland CSM Bobby Adams CSM Roger Brownlee
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50th Armored Division (United States)
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The 50th Armored Division was a division of the Army National Guard from July 1946 until 1993. Once the process of negotiation was complete, among the new formations formed, for the first time in the National Guard, were armored divisions, the 50th Armored Division replaced the 44th Infantry Division within the New Jersey Army National Guard. New Jersey, which had supported part of the 44th Division before the war, now supported the 50th Armored Division, which became nicknamed the Jersey Blues. Therefore, most of its elements inherited the history of the units of the old 44th. At this point, the division lost its Jersey Blues nickname, following efforts by Army Chief of Staff General Frederick C. Weyand to raise the readiness of the Army National Guard, the 50th Armored Division was reorganized as a division in New Jersey. At the time, individual armor battalions in NJ and VT were issued 90-mm M48A1 and M48A3 medium tanks. The bi-state organization comprised, Headquarters, 50th Armored Division 104th Engineer Battalion HQ & HQ, Co. A, Co. B, Co. C, the M48A5 had the same main gun system as on the M60A1 and M60A3s in use by active-army. During this time, many VT tank crews competed in gunnery exercises held in West Germany, training within the 50th was rigorous during the Soviet threat peak years of the late 1970s to mid 1980s. Germany was the primary AO of the 50thAD if it were to be activated, during this time, both battalions of Vermonts 172nd Armor 86th BDE began doing their annual training at Ft Hood TX, a change from their former armor deployment base of Ft Drum NY. By October 1986, Vermonts 86th Brigade left the 50th Armor Division, a few years later the 86th went to the 42nd ID and got M60A3 medium tanks. On 1 September 1993, the 50th Armored Division was inactivated, New Jerseys 50th Infantry Brigade, which took the Divisions lineage, was made part of the 42nd Infantry Division. The 36th Infantry Brigade from Texas was reabsorbed into the 49th Armored Division, due to further military consolidations, the 86th Brigade turned in its Abrams tanks in 2006 and ended its Armor designation just short of 40 years. Notes Bibliography Chapter XIII The Total Army, manoeuvre and Firepower, The Evolution of Divisions and Separate Brigades. United States Army Center of Military History
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1st Cavalry Division (United States)
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The 1st Cavalry Division is a combined arms division and is one of the most decorated combat divisions of the United States Army, as well as the other four branches of the U. S. military. It is based at Fort Hood, Texas, as of 2013, the 1st Cavalry Division is subordinate to III Corps and is commanded by Major General John C. Thomson III. The history of the 1st Cavalry Division began in 1921 after the established a permanent cavalry division table of organization. Since 1st Cavalry Division was to assemble from existing units, it was able to go active in September 1921, even though the subordinate units did not arrive completely until as late as 1922. 1st Cavalry Division was assigned to the VIII Corps Area, with its headquarters and 2d Brigade located at Fort Bliss, Texas. The 1st Cavalry Division’s assembled at Douglas, Arizona, the 1st, 7th, and 8th Cavalry Regiments had previously been assigned to the wartime 15th Cavalry Division until they were returned to the VIII Corps Area troop list on 12 May 1918. 1st Cavalry Regiment remained assigned until it was transferred to 1st Cavalry Division on 20 August 1921 and this controversy continued until 18 December 1922, when the 5th Cavalry Regiment, then on the VIII Corps Area Troop List, swapped places with the 10th Cavalry Regiment. In 1923 the 1st Cavalry Division held division maneuvers for the first time, however, financial constraints made that impossible. Only in 1927, through the generosity of a few ranchers who provided land, was the division able to conduct such exercises again. In 1928 Major General Herbert B, crosby, Chief of Cavalry, faced with personnel cuts, reorganized the cavalry regiments, which in turn reduced the size of the 1st Cavalry Division. Crosbys goal was to decrease overhead while maintaining or increasing firepower in the regiment, the cavalry brigades machine gun squadrons were inactivated, while the responsibility for training and employing machine guns fell to the regimental commanders, as in the infantry. The new structure increased the size of the troop, expanded the medical unit to a squadron. A divisional aviation section, an armored car squadron, and tank company were added, the artillery battalion was expanded to a regiment. With the arrival of the 1930s, serious work started on the testing and refining of new equipment, to facilitate this, 1st Cavalry Division traded 1st Cavalry Regiment for 12th Cavalry Regiment on 3 January 1933. Like the 1937 infantry division test, the maneuvers concentrated on the cavalry regiments around which all other units were to be organized. The latter configuration allowed the division to deploy easily in two columns, which was accepted standard cavalry tactics, one headquarters would assume responsibility for the administration and disciplinary control for these forces. The special troops remained as structured in 1928, and no observation squadron or chemical detachment found a place in the division, with the paper changes in the cavalry divisions and other minor adjustments, the strength of a wartime divisional rose to 10,680. In order to prepare for war service, 1st Cavalry Division participated in the maneuvers, Toyahvale
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2nd Cavalry Division (United States)
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The 2nd Cavalry Division was a cavalry division of the United States Army. Shoulder sleeve insignia Description, On a yellow Norman shield with a green border, blazon, Or, a chevron azure, in chief 2 mullets of eight points of the second, a bordure vert. Symbolism, The shield is yellow, the Cavalry color, the stars are taken from the coat of arms of the 2d Cavalry Regiment, which had initially been a part of the division. As organized, 2d Cavalry Division was to be an integrated division, units assigned to the 2d Cavalry Division included, 3d Cavalry Brigade,15 October 1940 Weapons Troop 2d Cavalry Regiment,15 August 1927, reorganized as 2d Cavalry Group in 1943). 14th Cavalry Regiment,1 April 1941, reorganized as 14th Cavalry Group in 1943), 4th Cavalry Brigade,21 February 1941 Weapons Troop 9th Cavalry Regiment,10 October 1940 10th Cavalry Regiment,24 March 1923. Transferred to 2d Cavalry Division on 10 October 1940, mobilized for deployment to North Africa 12 January 1944. Inactivated in Oran, Algeria on 9 March 1944, components used to create service and labor units. Returned to 2d Cavalry Division on 10 October 1940, 28th Cavalry, Activated at Fort Lockett on 25 February 1943. 5th Cavalry Brigade,25 February 1943 9th Cavalry Regiment, Assigned 10 October 1940, 9th Cavalry, Broken up and personnel reassigned to various service units on 7 March 1944. 5th Cavalry Brigade, Inactivated 12 June 1944, assets converted into the 6400th Ordnance Ammunition Battalion on 12 June 1944, 27th Cavalry Regiment, Inactivated 27 March 1944, assets converted into the 6404th Port Battalion on 31 March 1944. HHB Division Artillery, Inactivated 10 March 1944, 77th Field Artillery Battalion, Inactivated 26 February 1944. 79th Field Artillery Battalion, Inactivated 10 March 1944, 159th Field Artillery Battalion, Did not deploy to North Africa. HQ & HQ Troop, 2d Cavalry Division, Inactivated 10 May 1944, 162d Engineer Squadron,22 March 1944. 3d Medical Squadron, Inactivated 24 May 1944, 35th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, Inactivated 25 March 1944. 20th Cavalry Quartermaster Squadron, Inactivated 23 March 1944, 114th Ordnance Medium Maintenance Company, Inactivated 7 March 1944. Military Police Platoon, 2d Cavalry Division, Inactivated 1 June 1944, placed on the rolls of the Army in 1921, the 2d Cavalry Division was not activated until April 1941. As part of the Protective Mobilization Plan, the division was reserved for activation at Fort Riley, Kansas, the 2d received the appropriate number of cavalry regiments, but units providing the organic support and service troops remained unfilled. The first divisional activations came in October 1940, with the organization of the 3rd Cavalry Brigade, the 4th Cavalry Brigade activated during February 1941 with the 9th Cavalry Regiment and 10th Cavalry Regiment as its cavalry regiments
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3rd Cavalry Division (United States)
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The United States Armys 3rd Cavalry Division was created from the perceived need for additional cavalry units in the interwar period. The 3rd Cavalry Division was largely a paper formation existing from 1927 to 1940 and its units were never assembled in a single location. The 3rd Cavalry Division was located in the United States and never deployed overseas, the divisions shoulder sleeve insignia was approved on 17 February 1928
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21st Cavalry Division (United States)
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The 21st Cavalry Division was a division of the United States Army National Guard located in the north eastern United States. The division was composed of personnel from the New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, the division was created from the perceived need for additional cavalry units after the First World War. It numbered in succession of the Regular Army Divisions, which were not all active at its creation, the division was constituted in 1921 and assigned to the First Army. Not all authorized units were active during the divisions lifetime, the division did not participate in the First Army maneuvers in 1935,1939, and 1940. The 21st was inactivated on 1 October 1940 and disbanded on 1 November 1940. S, armor and Cavalry Regiments Headquarters Troop, 51st Cavalry Brigade Armory New York Army National Guard Heraldry U. S. Army Order of Battle 1919–1941, Volume 2
