106th Infantry Division (United States)

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106th Infantry Division

106Infantry Division.svg

Division badge
active 1943 to 1950
Country Flag of the United States.svg United States
Armed forces United States Armed Forces
Armed forces United States Army
Branch of service infantry
Type Infantry division
Nickname Golden Lion
Butcher Second World War
Battle of the Bulge

The 106th Infantry Division ( German  106th US Infantry Division ) was a major unit of the US Army in World War II .

history

The division was formed on March 15, 1943 in Fort Jackson , South Carolina with personnel from the 80th Infantry Division . After the completion of troop training and maneuvers, the association came to France on December 6, 1944 . Subordinated to the VIII Corps, he was transferred to the front in Belgium on December 10th. On December 16, the 106th Infantry Division under the command of Major General Alan Walter Jones was involved in heavy fighting with the Wehrmacht at the beginning of the Battle of the Bulge . The still inexperienced and young unit lost numerous soldiers near Schönberg and Sankt Vith , and two complete regiments with 6,000 soldiers were taken prisoner by Germany. This was one of the largest enemy capture of American forces in the history of the United States. The division thus lost almost half of its soldiers in the early stages of the fighting. One of the division's soldiers, Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds, saved the lives of numerous Jewish US soldiers in captivity in main camp IX A by not disclosing them to the camp administration. He later received the honorary title of Righteous Among the Nations . The remaining division troops that had not been broken up or were captured were reinforced with soldiers from the 28th Infantry Division . They set up a battle line at Sankt Vith. This was successfully held against attacks by the Germans until December 21. Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Riggs, commander of the 81st Engineer Combat Battalion of the 106th Infantry Division, received Presidential Unit Citation for his unit's services in these battles with his soldiers .

Division Commander Herbert Towie Perrin

Until the end of December 1944, the soldiers of the division were also used in the fighting around Manhay and other places in East Belgium, before they came to Stavelot to relax after the turn of the year on January 18, 1945 . On February 7th, the assignment at Huningue followed . Until March, the division was mostly used in patrols on the Rhine , before it came to Saint-Quentin on March 15 to recover from the heavy losses. To replace the two completely lost regiments, the 3rd Infantry Regiment and the 159th Infantry Regiment temporarily came under the command of the 106th Infantry Division. On April 25, shortly before the end of the war, the division advanced to Germany to help guard prisoners of war and occupation duties. By the end of the war in Europe on May 8, 417 soldiers of the division had died and 1,278 had been wounded. The division was temporarily stationed in Bad Ems as an occupation force before it returned to the USA and was disbanded in New York on October 2, 1945 .

Parts of the division were reactivated in 1948 and were stationed as a reserve unit in Puerto Rico before they were demobilized in 1950.

Known members

organization

The 106th Infantry Division had this line-up during World War II:

  • 422nd Infantry Regiment
  • 423rd Infantry Regiment
  • 424th Infantry Regimes
  • Artillery Division
    • 589th Field Artillery Battalion
    • 590th Field Artillery Battalion
    • 591st Field Artillery Battalion
    • 592nd Field Artillery Battalion
  • 106th Mechanized Reconnaissance Troop
  • Military Police Platoon
  • 81st Engineer Battalion
  • 331st Medical Battalion
  • 106th CIC Detachment
  • 806th Ordnance Company
  • 106th Quartermaster Company
  • 106th Signal Company

Division commanders

  • Major General Alan W. Jones (March 15, 1943 - December 22, 1944)
  • Brigadier General Herbert T. Perrin (December 22, 1944 - February 8, 1945)
  • Major General Donald A. Stroh (February 1945 - August 1945)
  • Brigadier General Francis A. Woolfley (August - October 1945)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Article in The Times of Israel