101st Airborne Division (United States)

Shoulder badge of the 101st Airborne Division, the Screaming Eagle

The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ( German 101st US Airborne Division ) is one of two airborne divisions of the United States Army alongside the 82nd Airborne Division . It was set up on August 15, 1942 from parts of the 82nd US Airborne Division, subordinate to the XVIII. US Airborne Corps and is headquartered in Fort Campbell , Kentucky . As heraldic animal, it carries a stylized bald eagle , which is why the association is nicknamed The Screaming Eagles (German: "the screaming eagles").

The 281 helicopters of the 101st Airborne Division facilitate operational use in the transport of some 4,000 soldiers 150 km into enemy territory into it, making it one of the fastest and most versatile deployment forces of the Army of the United States.

During the Vietnam War , the division was renamed "airmobile" (airmobile division), which denotes the main use of helicopters, and later to " air cavalry " (air assault) . Traditionally, the term airborne is included in the division name, although paratrooper operations are no longer carried out at division level.

history

Second World War

Soldiers of the 101st during Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands

On June 5, 1944, the 101st Airborne Division prepared its first mission: the air landing in Normandy . This was supposed to bring 6,700 soldiers behind the German lines by parachute landing in order to weaken the defense of the beaches sufficiently for the planned sea landing. However, due to the strong anti-aircraft fire over France , the pilots had to break out of their formation, so that the soldiers of the division were spread over the whole of Normandy after the jump. They were cut off from their units, ended up alone behind the German lines, and many were killed in the air by German defensive fire. At the end of the first day only every third soldier who had jumped had found his way back to his unit.

During the second day, the 101st Airborne Division managed to regroup. Supplies came in the form of gliders , many of which broke on landing. The operation has now been concentrated on the hinterland of the Utah landing zone . The city of Carentan , which was the key to control the peninsula, was captured after two days of heavy fighting and had to be defended by the division against a German counter-attack for another two days. After that, relief finally arrived. During the battle for Carentan, Lt. Col. Robert George Cole was particularly distinguished by a bayonet attack he personally directed on a German defensive position and was awarded the Medal of Honor as the first soldier in the division . The Normandy mission was over after a month. Every fourth soldier in the division was either dead or seriously wounded. The division received an award for its work in Operation Overlord .

The second major mission of the 101st Airborne Division was Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands in September 1944, which was carried out in cooperation with the 82nd US Airborne Division and the 1st British Airborne Corps as the 1st Allied Airborne Army. During the operation, the roads that lead north along the Rhine west of the German border were to be secured against German troops so that Allied tank units could advance into Germany. Half of the division of the 101st was dropped off near Eindhoven with 600 gliders and had to break off the mission after eight days because the German resistance was considerably greater than expected. The 101st lost 2,118 men.

Paratroopers of the 101st with a captured swastika flag after D-Day

In the Ardennes offensive in December 1944, 12,000 soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division fought in the siege of Bastogne , where they arrived shortly before the Germans and took over the city. The German units succeeded in encircling the city and from this point on to occupy it with heavy artillery fire. Since the US soldiers left for Bastogne as quickly as possible, many had to survive the harsh winter without adequate clothing. The commander of the US troops, General Anthony C. McAuliffe , rejected a German demand for surrender after five days of siege with the word "nuts" (German: crazy) . On December 26th, the 3rd Army under General George S. Patton was able to end the siege. Together they then succeeded in driving the enemy units back beyond the German state border.

In the further course of the war, in which the 101st was subordinate to the 7th Army, parts of the division advanced as far as southern Germany without encountering significant resistance. Then the division withdrew to the French Mourmelon and trained for a possible jump over Berlin . At the end of the war, troops of the 101st were able to visit Hitler's former domicile in Berchtesgaden on Obersalzberg . After returning to France, the 101st trained in August 1945 for an air landing in Japan , which was not carried out after the Japanese surrender . Parts of the 101st were also stationed in Zell am See , Austria , where they were preparing for the invasion of Japan.

After the Second World War

In June 1948 the division was assigned to the regular US Army. Two brief activations took place from July 1948 to May 1949, and from August 1950 to December 1953 in Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky. The final reactivation then took place in May 1954 in Fort Jackson, South Carolina . In April 1956 the division was relocated to Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

On September 24, 1957, US President Dwight D. Eisenhower dispatched 1,200 soldiers of the 101st Screaming Eagles to Little Rock , Arkansas , to calm the city and to escort the Little Rock Nine on their way to school. The nine black students were the first ones on the Little Rock Central High School had been adopted after three years previously racial segregation was abolished. The units could only be withdrawn again in mid-December of that year.

Vietnam War

In 1965 the 1st Brigade was sent to Vietnam along with support troops. The rest of the division followed until the end of 1967. In seven years of service in Vietnam, the 101st Airborne Division took part in more than 15 operations. For the troop transport, helicopters were now used, which represented a significantly better alternative to airplanes in the sometimes almost impenetrable jungle and in the absence of runways.

UH-1D helicopter deployed in Vietnam (1966)

One of the first major missions in Vietnam was to track down and destroy the 95th North Vietnamese Regiment suspected of being in the Tuy Hoa Valley. The operation's code name was Operation Van Buren . At the same time, the rice harvests taking place on the coast at this time should be protected. Both orders were carried out at the end of January 1966 with many enemy losses, but only minor losses of their own.

The division also took part in the Tet Offensive as well as the Tet Counteroffensive , where it came under heavy artillery and machine gun fire from the Viet Cong on Hill 937 during the Battle of Hamburger Hill . Only after ten days and with losses (70 dead and 372 wounded) could the US-Americans take the hill. The firepower used was so massive that the hill was stripped of all of its vegetation. After the fighting, 630 dead Vietnamese soldiers were found in the bunkers and tunnels of the hill, the number of wounded is unknown.

In 1972 the 101st Airborne Division was the last combat force to leave Vietnam. The losses they suffered there doubled those of the Second World War.

middle East

Rapid refueling station of the 101st in northern Saudi Arabia

Soldiers of the 101st during an attack in Samaria, Iraq on June 29, 2006 with the new HK416 at the ready

Self-propelled howitzer M109A6 101st Airborne Division near Qayyarah on October 17, 2016 in action against IS

In March 1982, parts of the 101st US Airborne Division began a mission with UN troops on the Sinai Peninsula . In December 1985, 248 division members were killed in a plane crash in Gander ( Newfoundland ) on their return.

Desert Shield / Desert Storm

After the Iraqi attack on Kuwait in August 1990, the 101st US Airborne Division took part in Operation Desert Shield / Desert Storm , with the 82nd US Airborne Division and the 24th US Infantry Division part of the XVIII. U.S. Airborne Corps .

On August 17th the first units of the division reached Saudi Arabia . On board 110 C-5 and C-141 transport aircraft were 2,700 soldiers, 117 helicopters, 487 vehicles and 125 supply pallets. The bulk of the division boarded transport ships in Jacksonville, Florida at the time , only to come ashore 46 days later in Dammam . The 101st set up their camp, called "Eagles Camp II", near King Faud Airport.

Operation Desert Storm began on January 17, 1991 at 2:38 a.m. with 8 AH-64 Apache helicopters from the 101st attack on Iraqi early warning radar stations on the left flank.

In the largest air transport operation ever flown in a wave during a military operation on February 24, 1991, more than 2,000 soldiers, 50 transport vehicles, artillery pieces, tons of fuel and ammunition were transported 80 kilometers into the interior of Iraq. The Iraqi soldiers stationed in the target region were surprised and most of them captured. In the following days, thousands of Iraqi soldiers of the 101st surrendered.

On February 27, the fighting ceased. The division lost five soldiers during the operation.

Enduring Freedom

In January 2002, the use in followed Afghanistan in support of the 26th US Marine Expeditionary Unit in their search for Al-Qaeda - terrorists and the replacement of the Taliban -Regimes. During an operation near Gardez on March 2, a soldier was killed and several wounded in a storm at a cave hiding place.

Operation Iraqi Freedom

Some parts of the 101st Airborne Division took from 20 March 2003 under the command of David H. Petraeus on the Operation Iraqi Freedom in part. From March 23, she followed the 3rd US Infantry Division on the invasion of Iraq from Kuwait , took part in the battles for Najaf and Karbala and secured both cities after they were captured . After the successful capture of Saddam International Airport on April 4, 2003 by the 3rd US Infantry Division, part of the 101st Airborne Division was moved from Najaf to the airport in Baghdad in order to serve as a reserve unit in the upcoming attack on the Iraqi capital. After the cessation of official fighting on May 1, 2003, these units remained stationed in northern Iraq with divisional headquarters in Mosul until 2004 . They were replaced by the Multinational Brigade North (MNB-N) - Task Force Olympia - to return to Iraq in 2005 and perform a second mission.

Five members of the division had to stand trial for a war crime . The men broke into a house in Mahmudija on March 12, 2006 and raped a 14-year-old girl. Steven Dale Green took the victim's six-year-old sister and parents to an adjoining room and murdered all three with his service weapon before killing the 14-year-old and setting fire to the house with his comrades to cover up the crime. Since he was released from the armed forces, Green had to answer before a civil court, where he was sentenced to life imprisonment with no prospect of early release. He died in custody in February 2014. The other four received several years' imprisonment.

Operation Inherent Resolve

In 2016, 560 soldiers from the division were sent to Iraq as part of Operation Inherent Resolve to provide support in the fight against IS . In autumn 2016, soldiers from the division took part in the Battle of Mosul .

organization

Structure of the 101st Airborne Division ( military symbol )

The army reform should be completed by 2017 at the latest .

The combat brigades are divided into three different standardized types, the Heavy Brigade Combat Teams (HBCT) , the Infantry Brigade Combat Teams (IBCT) and the Stryker Brigade Combat Teams (SBCT) .

The 101st Airborne Division currently consists of three Infantry Brigade Combat Teams (IBCT) combat brigades , two Army Aviation Brigades and its own logistics brigade .

Combat Brigades

1st Brigade Combat Group Bastogne
- 2nd Battalion, 327th No Slack Infantry Regiment
- 1st Battalion, 506th Red Currahee Infantry Regiment
- 2nd Battalion, 320th Balls of the Eagle Field Artillery Regiment

2nd Brigade Combat Group Strike

Headquarters and headquarters company

1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, First Strike

2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment Strike Force

1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment

1st Squadron, 75th Widowmakers Cavalry Regiment

1st Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Battalion, Top Guns

39th Brigade Engineer Battalion

526th Brigade Supply Battalion Best by Performance

3rd Brigade Combat Group Rakkasan

Headquarters and headquarters company

1st Battalion, Leader Rakkasan's 187th Infantry Regiment

3rd Battalion, 187th Iron Rakkasan Infantry Regiment

2nd Battalion, 506th White Currahee Infantry Regiment

1st Squadron, 33rd Cavalry Regiment, War Rakkasans

3rd Battalion, 320th Red Knight Field Artillery Regiment

21st Brigade Engineer Battalion

626th Brigade Assurgam Resupply Battalion

Soldiers of the 101st aboard a UH-60 Black Hawk en route to Advanced Operations Dagger near Tikrit, Iraq

101st Airborne Division Artillery
- Headquarters and headquarters company

101st Army Aviation Brigade Wings of Destiny

Headquarters and headquarters company

2nd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment Out Front ( OH-58 Kiowa ) Reconnaissance

1st Battalion, 101st Army Aviation Regiment Expect No Mercy ( AH-64 Apache ) attack helicopters

5th Battalion, 101st Army Aviation Regiment Eagle Assault ( UH-60 Black Hawk ) light army aviators

6th Battalion, 101st Army Aviation Regiment Shadow of the Eagle (UH-60 Black Hawk) light army aviators

96th Resupply Battalion Troubleshooters

101st Life Liners Logistics Brigade
- Headquarters and headquarters company
- 101st Special Forces Battalion
- 129th Combat Support Battalion Drive The Wedge

Other units

501st Command Support Battalion (Staff Battalion)
- 501st STB, Headquarters
- 501st STB, A Company
- 501st STB, B Company
- 101st Division Band
- 501st STB, MI DET (military police)
- 501st STB, SIG DET (telecommunication train)
- 501st STB, E Company
- 501st STB, PATH

guide

Command group

The Command Group of the Division Headquarters consists of Commander Major General James C. McConville, Deputy Colonel William B. Hickman (Operations Officer), Brigadier General Jeffrey N. Colt (Logistics Officer), a Chief of Staff with the rank of Colonel and the Command Sergeant Major of the division.

List of commanders

Surname	Beginning of the appointment	End of appointment
Brian E. Winski	February 2019	----
Andrew P. Poppas	January 2017	February 2019
Gary J. Volesky	June 2014	January 2017
James C. McConville	August 2011	June 2014
John F. Campbell	April 2009	August 2011
Jeffrey J. Schloesser	November 2006	April 2009
Thomas R. Turner II.	May 2004	November 2006
David H. Petraeus	July 2002	May 2004
Richard A. Cody	June 2000	July 2002
Robert T. Clark	February 1998	June 2000
William F. Kernan	February 1996	February 1998
John M. Keane	July 1993	February 1996
John Miller	June 1991	July 1993
JH Binford Peay III.	August 1989	June 1991
Teddy G. Allen	May 1987	August 1989
Burton D. Patrick	June 1985	May 1987
James E. Thompson	August 1983	June 1985
Charles W. Bagnal	August 1981	August 1983
Jack V. Mackmull	June 1980	August 1981
John N. Brandenburg	March 1978	June 1980
John A. Wickham, Jr.	March 1976	March 1978
John W. McEnery	August 1974	February 1976
Sidney B. Berry	August 1973	July 1974
John H. Cushman	April 1972	August 1973
Thomas M. Tarpley	February 1971	April 1972
John J. Hennessey	May 1970	February 1971
John M. Wright	May 1969	May 1970
Melvin Zais	July 1968	May 1969
Olinto M. Barsanti	July 1967	July 1968
Ben Sternberg	March 1966	July 1967
Beverly E. Powell	March 1964	March 1966
Harry H. Critz	February 1963	March 1964
CWG Rich	July 1961	February 1963
Ben Harrell	June 1960	July 1961
William C. Westmoreland	April 1958	June 1960
Thomas L. Sherburne, Jr.	May 1956	March 1958
FS Bowen	October 1955	March 1956
Riley F. Ennis	May 1954	October 1956
Paul DeWitt Adams	May 1953	December 1953
Roy E. Porter	May 1951	May 1953
Cornelius E. Ryan	August 1950	May 1951
William R. Schmidt	July 1948	May 1949
Stuart Cutler	October 1945	November 1945
Gerald St. C. Mickle	September 1945	October 1945
William N. Gilmore	August 1945	September 1945
Anthony McAuliffe (Interim)	December 5, 1944	December 26, 1944
Maxwell D. Taylor	March 1944	August 1945
Don F. Pratt	February 6, 1944	March 14, 1944
William C. Lee	August 1942	February 1944

Quote

The Air Force and armor were the thunder of Desert Storm, while the 101st was the lightning. ("The Air Force and tanks were the thunder in Desert Storm, while the 101st was the lightning.") - General Norman Schwarzkopf after Operation Desert Storm .

Media reception

documentation

Screaming Eagles in Vietnam , USA, 1965, VHS

Feature films

Screaming Eagles , USA 1956, director: Charles F. Haas , actors: Tom Tryon , Jan Merlin
The Longest Day , USA 1962, directed by Ken Annakin , actors: John Wayne , Sean Connery
The Arnhem Bridge , USA 1977, directed by Richard Attenborough
Hamburger Hill , USA 1987, directed by John Irvin
Saving Private Ryan , USA 1998, directed by Steven Spielberg ; Actors: Tom Hanks , Matt Damon

Series

Band of Brothers - We were like brothers , producers: Tom Hanks , Steven Spielberg , Great Britain / USA 2001

literature

Simon Dunstan, N. Cornish: 101st Airborne in Vietnam: The Screaming Eagles , Ian Allan Publishing, 2005, ISBN 0-7110-3063-4
Art Wiknik: Nam Sense: Vietnam - 101st Style , Casemate Publishers and Book Distributors, 2005, ISBN 1-932033-40-8
Thomas M. Rice: Trial by Combat: A Paratrooper of the 101st Airborne Division Remembers the 1944 Battle of Normandy , Authorhouse, 2004, ISBN 1-4184-9130-6
Richard Killblane, Jake McNiece: The Filthy 13: From the Dustbowl to Hitler's Eagle's Nest: The 101st Airborne's Most Legendary Squad of Combat Paratroopers , Casemate Publishers and Book Distributors, 2003, ISBN 1-932033-12-2
Mark Bando: 101st Airborne The Screaming Eagles at Normandy , Motorbooks International, 2001, ISBN 0-7603-0855-1
Christopher J. Anderson: Screaming Eagles: The 101st Airborne Division from D-Day to Desert Storm (G.I .: Illustrated History of the American Soldier, His Uniform & His Equipment) , Greenhill Books, 2000, ISBN 1-85367-425-7
Tom Taylor: Lightning in the Storm: The 101st Air Assault Division In The Gulf War , Hippocrene Books, 1994, ISBN 0-7818-0268-7
Tom Clancy: Airborne - The US Army's airborne reaction force

Web links

Commons : 101st Airborne Division - Album containing pictures, videos and audio files

Homepage of the 101st Airborne Division ( Memento from August 19, 2006 in the Internet Archive )
The 101st at globalsecurity.org (English)

Individual evidence

↑ 101st Soldiers Deploying to Bolster Fight Against ISIS in Iraq (en) . In: Military.com , August 8, 2016. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
↑ Military symbols at mapsymbs.com and at army.ca ( Memento of April 30, 2007 in the Internet Archive ), viewed on May 17, 2008 (English)
↑ Article on Army's Force Reduction. Retrieved June 1, 2014 .
^ Andrew Feickert: US Army's Modular Redesign: Issues for Congress (PDF; 118 kB) accessed on September 20, 2007; (English)
↑ Article on Inactivating 4th Brigade, 101st Airborne Division. Retrieved June 1, 2014 .
↑ Life Liners at campbell.army.mil ( memento of February 6, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) accessed on July 26, 2008
↑ The 501st Special Troops Battalion at campbell.army.mil ( July 1, 2007 memento in the Internet Archive ), viewed on July 26, 2008