3rd Infantry Division (United States)

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The 3rd Infantry Division's shoulder badge
The unit badge of the 3rd Infantry Division

The 3rd Infantry Division ( German  3rd US Infantry Division ; nickname Rock of the Marne ) is part of the XVIII. US Airborne Corps and is headquartered at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah , Georgia . Since April 15, 2011, Major General Robert B. "Abe" Abrams has been in command of the approximately 17,000-strong unit .

history

First World War

Major General Joseph T. Dickman

After being deployed at Camp Greene , North Carolina in November 1917, the division intervened eight months later in the First World War in France. On July 14, 1918 around midnight, the division took part in the Aisne-Marne offensive to protect Paris as part of the US expeditionary forces . The division was on both banks of the Marne and was supposed to stay there until the end of the operation. The 3rd division was the French XXXVIII. Corps (General de Mondésir ) and held a 12 kilometer wide front from the outskirts of Château-Thierry in the west to the slopes in front of the Surmelin Valley in the east. The 4th, 7th, 30th and 38th Infantry Regiments of the 3rd Division were all aligned from west to east, the right flank covered the French 125th Division (General Antoine Diebold). On July 15 at 02:10 a.m., the first German troops fought the south bank of the Marne. Dickman's troops threw back the enemy at Mézy-Moulins and retook the southern part of Crézancy . The successful defense of the German XXIII. Reserve Corps (General von Kathen ) soon earned the division its nickname: ROCK OF THE MARNE (Rock of the Marne). From July 22nd, the troops fought bitter fighting over the wooded slopes of Le Charmel, which was taken on the evening of July 25th. On July 30, the division at Ronchères was replaced by the 32nd division after suffering a total loss of around 7,900 men. During the Battle of St. Mihiel (September 12, 1918) the 3rd Division served as a reserve for the IV Corps. From September 29, parts of the division also intervened in the Meuse-Argonne offensive , with the 4th division being replaced in mid-October .

During the First World War, the division had 3,177 dead and 12,940 wounded, a high number for a division.

Second World War

The division was part of the Allied landing in North Africa as part of Operation Torch and landed at Fedala . They then marched towards Tunisia and took part in the conquest of half of the country. It suffered heavy losses in the fighting against the Axis powers .

The division was also part of the invasion of Sicily on July 10, 1943 and paved the way for an Allied invasion of mainland Italy. As part of the 5th US Army and under the command of Division Commander Major General Lucian K. Truscott , the 3rd Infantry Division landed in the Salerno bridgehead on September 18, preparing the way to Naples for the advancing troops. The city fell on October 1st and the Allies moved towards the Volturno River . The Allied advance came to a standstill at Monte Cassino . To restart the advance, an amphibious landing was carried out at Anzio on January 23, 1944 . From that landing until the end of World War II , the division was led by Major General John W. O'Daniel .

Major General John W. O'Daniel

The division was able to repel repeated German counter-attacks. On February 29, 1944, even three German divisions were pushed back. The division broke out of the bridgehead towards Rome on May 23rd. After taking Rome on June 4, 1944, the division, now part of the 7th US Army , took part in the Allied landing in southern France on August 15, 1944 near St. Tropez . She marched up the Rhone Valley , crossed the Vosges and reached the Rhine near Strasbourg on November 27th. After the liberation of Colmar on January 26, 1945 ( Operation Cheerful ), the division encountered the Siegfried Line . She was involved in Operation Undertone (March 15 to 24), during which parts of the Saarland and the Palatinate were conquered. The 3rd US Infantry Division was able to break through the Siegfried Line at Zweibrücken and crossed the Rhine on March 26th.

The division fought its way to Nuremberg , the capture of which was celebrated in house- to- house fighting after the battle of Nuremberg on April 20, 1945 with a great victory parade on the main market. Augsburg were then taken on April 27th and Munich on April 30th. Units of the 3rd US Infantry Division first arrived in Berchtesgaden and cleared up Hitler's Berghof . The division was near Salzburg when the war ended with the German surrender . The division had 4,922 dead and 18,766 wounded soldiers to mourn; of the wounded, an additional 636 soldiers later died from the wounds they had suffered.

Korean War

Marilyn Monroe at an event for soldiers of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Division in the Korean War (1954)

The division arrived in Wonsan in 1950 . She participated in eight campaigns, with the division receiving seven Battle Stars and becoming known as the Fire Brigade . Due to its popularity, the division was used in a variety of ways and the losses amounted to 2,160 soldiers killed and a further 7,939 wounded.

Stationed in the Federal Republic of Germany during the Cold War

In 1958 the first parts of the division were relocated to West Germany to replace the 10th Infantry Division . In the same year the division had the following structure and deployment:

  • Headquarters Company (Leighton Barracks, Würzburg)
  • 2nd Battle Group, 4th Infantry Regiment (Warner Barracks, Bamberg)
  • 1st Battle Group, 7th Infantry Regiment (Aschaffenburg)
  • 1st Battle Group, 15th Infantry Regiment (Bamberg)
  • 1st Battle Group, 30th Infantry Regiment ( Schweinfurt )
  • 2nd Battle Group, 38th Infantry Regiment (Schweinfurt)
  • Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 3rd Infantry Division Artillery (Kitzingen)
  • 1st Field Artillery Battalion (RKT / HOW), 9th Artillery Regiment (Kitzingen)
  • 1st Howitzer Battalion, 10th Artillery Regiment (Schweinfurt)
  • 10th Engineer Battalion (Kitzingen)
  • 123rd Signal Battalion (Würzburg)
  • 2nd Reconnaissance Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment (Bamberg)
  • 1st Medium Tank Battalion, 68th Armor Regiment (Kitzingen)
  • Headquarters, 3rd Infantry Division Trains and Band (Würzburg)
  • 3rd Medical Battalion (Aschaffenburg)
  • 35th Transportation Battalion (Würzburg)
  • 7th Transportation Company (Aschaffenburg)
  • 15th Transportation Company (Bamberg)
  • 100th Transportation Company (Bamberg)
  • 584th Transportation Company (Schweinfurt)
  • 3rd Administration Company (Würzburg)
  • 3rd Aviation Company (Kitzingen)
  • 703rd Ordnance Battalion (Kitzingen)
  • 3rd Quartermaster Company (Würzburg)

Between 1958 and 1963, the division was subordinate to the V US Corps and then until 1992 to the VII US Corps of the 7th US Army . The accommodation in the Franconian locations was completed by 1963 . In the same year the division was composed as follows:

  • Headquarters Company (Leighton Barracks, Würzburg)
  • 10th Engineer Battalion (Larson Barracks, Kitzingen; A-Company: Conn Barracks Schweinfurt; B-Company: Daley Barracks Bad Kissingen)
  • 3rd Military Police Company (Hindenburg barracks, Würzburg)
  • 3rd Military Intelligence Detachment (Division) (Leighton Barracks, Würzburg)
  • 123rd Signal Battalion (Hindenburg Barracks, Würzburg)
  • 3rd Aviation Battalion (Harvey Barracks, Kitzingen; B-Company: Peden Barracks, Wertheim)
  • 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division (Ledward Barracks, Schweinfurt)
  • 2nd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division (Harvey Barracks, Kitzingen)
  • 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division (Fiori Barracks, Aschaffenburg)
  • 1st Mechanized Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment (Wharton Barracks, Heilbronn)
  • 1st Mechanized Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment (Fiori Barracks, Aschaffenburg)
  • 2nd Mechanized Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment (Fiori Barracks, Aschaffenburg)
  • 1st Mechanized Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment (Harvey Barracks, Kitzingen)
  • 2nd Mechanized Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment (Camp Wildflecken)
  • 1st Mechanized Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment (Ledward Barracks, Schweinfurt)
  • 2nd Mechanized Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment (Ledward Barracks, Schweinfurt)
  • 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment (Larson Barracks, Kitzingen)
  • 2nd Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment (Conn Barracks, Schweinfurt)
  • 3rd Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment (Conn Barracks, Schweinfurt)
  • 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment (Ledward Barracks, Schweinfurt)

In 1984 the division was structured as follows:

Division Troops:

  • Headquarters Company (Leighton Barracks, Würzburg)
  • 3rd Aviation Battalion (Giebelstadt Army Airfield, Giebelstadt)
  • 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment
  • 10th Engineer Battalion (Conn Barracks, Schweinfurt)
  • 3rd Battalion, 67th Air Defense Artillery Regiment (Larson Barracks, Kitzingen)
  • 103rd Military Intelligence Battalion (Leighton Barracks, Würzburg)
  • 123rd Signal Battalion (Hindenburg Barracks, Würzburg)

Division Support Command:

  • 3rd Medical Battalion (Giebelstadt Army Airfield, Giebelstadt)
  • 3rd Supply & Transportation Battalion (Emery Barracks, Würzburg)
  • 703rd Maintenance Battalion (Larson Barracks, Kitzingen)
  • 1st Forward Support Battalion (Schweinfurt)
  • 2nd Forward Support Battalion (Harvey Barracks, Kitzingen)
  • 3rd Forward Support Battalion (Graves Barracks, Aschaffenburg)
  • 3rd Finance Company (Leighton Barracks, Würzburg)
  • 3rd Military Police Company (Leighton Barracks, Würzburg)
  • 3rd Material Management Center (Kitzingen)
  • 3rd Adjutant General Company (Leighton Barracks, Würzburg)
  • 3rd Infantry Division Band (Leighton Barracks, Würzburg)

Artillery Division (Larson Barracks, Kitzingen):

  • 1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery Regiment (Ledward Barracks, Schweinfurt)
  • 2nd Battalion, 39th Field Artillery Regiment (Larson Barracks, Kitzingen)
  • 2nd Battalion, 41st Field Artillery Regiment (Daley Barracks, Bad Kissingen)
  • 1st Battalion, 76th Field Artillery Regiment (Warner Barracks, Bamberg)
  • Target Acquisition Battery, 29th Field Artillery Regiment (Peden Barracks, Wertheim)

1st Brigade (Conn Barracks, Schweinfurt):

  • 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment (Ledward Barracks, Schweinfurt)
  • 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment (Ledward Barracks, Schweinfurt)
  • 2nd Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment (Conn Barracks, Schweinfurt)
  • 3rd Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment (Conn Barracks, Schweinfurt)

2nd Brigade (Harvey Barracks, Kitzingen):

  • 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment (Harvey Barracks, Kitzingen)
  • 3rd Battalion, 63rd Armor Regiment (Harvey Barracks, Kitzingen)
  • 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment (Harvey Barracks, Kitzingen)

3rd Brigade (Ready Barracks, Aschaffenburg):

  • 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment (Fiori Barracks, Aschaffenburg)
  • 1st Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment (Graves Barracks, Aschaffenburg)
  • 3rd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment (Ready Barracks, Aschaffenburg)

Operation Desert Storm

In November 1990, the 3rd Brigade was tactically outsourced from the division and took part in the counterattack on Iraq instead of the 1st Brigade of the 1st US Armored Division as part of Operation Desert Storm, led by the VII US Corps . This war was won on February 28, 1991 and the units were soon able to return to their home bases.

1991 to 1996

After returning home from Iraq and Kuwait, the 3rd Brigade initially resumed its locations in Germany. 1991 were:

  • Headquarters and headquarters company in Würzburg
  • 1st Brigade in Schweinfurt
  • 2nd Brigade in Kitzingen
  • 3rd Brigade in Aschaffenburg
  • 4th Brigade (Army Aviation Brigade) in Giebelstadt with the Cavalry in Schweinfurt
  • DISCOM (support command) in Kitzingen
  • DIVENG (pioneers) in Kitzingen
  • DIVARTY (artillery) in Bamberg
  • MI Bn (Enlightenment) in Würzburg
  • ADA Bn (air defense) in Giebelstadt

The 3rd Brigade was used again in 1993 to maintain peace in the Gulf, the Aschaffenburg site was given up. As a result of the withdrawal or restructuring of the other combat divisions stationed in Germany in 1994, the rest of the division was stationed as follows:

  • Headquarters and headquarters company in Würzburg
  • 1st Brigade in Schweinfurt
  • 2nd Brigade in Vilseck
  • 3rd Brigade INACTIVE
  • 4th Brigade (Army Aviation Brigade) in Katterbach with the Cavalry in Schweinfurt
  • DISCOM (support command) in Kitzingen
  • DIVENG (pioneers) in Bamberg
  • DIVARTY (artillery) in Bamberg
  • MI Bn (Enlightenment) in Würzburg
  • ADA Bn (air defense) in Kitzingen

Balkans

The division only came to Bosnia-Herzegovina in mid-2000 . In 1998 she was moved to Kuwait in order to be able to react to possible aggression by Iraq, which had just expelled the UN weapons inspectors .

The division gained command of the Multinational Brigade North on October 5, 2000 as SFOR 8 . Exactly one year later, this command was transferred to the 29th US Infantry Division as SFOR 9 .

Operation Iraqi Freedom

Soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Division in Baghdad, Iraq
Soldiers from 3rd Infantry Division during Operation Iraqi Freedom

Shortly after the relocation from the Balkans, it became known that the 3rd US Infantry Division was the only division to train in Kuwait. Operation Desert Spring began in March 2002 with the relocation of the Division's 3rd Brigade to Kuwait for a rotation period of six months; it was replaced by the 2nd Brigade in September 2002. In January 2003, the entire division was alerted again to be relocated to the Middle East in response to the worsening situation in the Gulf.

Operation Iraqi Freedom finally began on March 20, 2003 with the division's invasion of Iraq . The next day, the division captured the Jalibah airfield and advanced into Iraq. The division fought its way through the desert to Najaf within 4 days and over a distance of 300 kilometers . On April 3, the 1st Brigade took Saddam International Airport and renamed it Baghdad International Airport a day later. On April 5, the 2nd Brigade made two advances into central Baghdad . These "Thunder Runs" led the 2nd Brigade into the administrative district, which was held until the end of the campaign. The 3rd Brigade brought the north-west of Baghdad under their control. After the division had brought Baghdad under its control and the 1st US Marine Expeditionary Force had broken the resistance in eastern Baghdad, fighting in the capital of Iraq was over after 21 days and the division carried out peacekeeping and social measures. In the summer of 2003, the 2nd Brigade was transferred to Fallujah to take up occupation service there. The entire division returned to Fort Stewart , Georgia and Fort Benning in August 2003 .

restructuring

After the 3rd US Infantry Division was back in the USA, it became the Army's experimental unit. The leadership planned to restructure the clumsy brigades into combat units that were easier to relocate. This former 2nd Brigade began training at the National Training Center (NTC) in Fort Irwin , California on March 26, 2004.

The restructuring to Heavy Brigade Combat Teams (HBCT) has since been completed in all four combat brigades. Thus the 3rd US Infantry Division is today, despite its traditionally different name, not an infantry division , but an armored division .

Operation Iraqi Freedom III

In January 2005 the division returned to Iraq . The division took control of the Multinational Division-Baghdad at Camp Liberty and was responsible for the greater Baghdad area . The 1st Brigade Combat Team and 3rd Brigade Combat Team supported the 42nd Infantry Division of the New York Army National Guard in northern Iraq as Multinational Division-North. The 1st Raiders Brigade Combat Team was stationed in the FOB Dagger in Tikrit and was responsible for the Salah ad Din province, the largest cities of which are Balad, Samarra, Tikrit, Ad-Dawr and Bayji. The 2nd Spartans Brigade Combat Team was stationed in the center of Baghdad in the so-called Green Zone. The 3rd Sledgehammer Brigade Combat Team took control of Diyala Province in the FOB Warhouse in Baqubah. The newly formed 4th Vanguard Brigade Combat Team was also stationed in Baghdad, along with the 3rd Falcon Army Aviation Brigade, which found a new home at Camp Taji. The Army Aviators carried out over 80,000 flight hours over the operational area to support 26,707 combat operations, which consisted of 13,455 combat and reconnaissance missions, 289 airborne missions and over 3,760 MEDEVAC missions with 4,998 patients. During the period of deployment, the election and the transfer of power to the first democratically elected government of Iraq took place. In January 2006, the entire division returned to Fort Stewart, Georgia and Fort Benning.

Operation Iraqi Freedom V.

In January 2007, the 1st "Raiders" Brigade Combat Team relocated again to support the Multinational Force Iraq-West (MNF-W) in Anbar Province under the command of the 1st US Marine Division, making it the first unit of the US Army with three missions in Iraq . The operational area this time was mainly the provincial capital Ramadi. On April 4, the division took command of the Multinational Division Center (TF Marne). She was stationed at Camp Liberty and was responsible for security and reconstruction in the area from east of the Tigris to west of the Euphrates . The 2nd "Spartans" Brigade Combat Team was transferred to Iraq in May 2007, stationed in the FOB Kalsu in Iskandariya and was responsible for the southern outskirts of Baghdad. The 3rd “Sledgehammer” Brigade Combat Team was relocated to FOB Hammer in Besmiya in March / April 2007. The 4th "Vanguard" Brigade Combat Team then moved to Babil Province in October 2007 to ensure security and promote reconstruction. All brigades were supported by the 3rd "Falcon" Army Aviation Brigade, which was stationed at Baghdad International Airport . The 1st Brigade returned in April 2008; Headquarters, the 2nd and 3rd Brigades and the Army Aviation Brigade returned to Fort Stewart, Fort Benning and Hunter Army Airfield in May – July 2008. The 4th Brigade Combat Team returned to Fort Stewart in December 2008 as the last unit. 436 members of the division were killed in operations in Iraq. For a single division, a high number and approximately 10% of the 4,486 US soldiers killed in Iraq. If one only refers to losses of the US ground forces, the US Army this rate is even higher.

Operation Enduring Freedom

Parts of the 3rd US Infantry Division are stationed in Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. The Combat Aviation Brigade was one of the first brigades to be sent to Afghanistan for a 13-month deployment, with more units to follow. In the meantime, numerous brigades of the division are stationed in Afghanistan, and the division also has many deaths in Afghanistan.

organization

3rd Infantry organization chart (tactical signs)

The army leadership announced its restructuring plans at the end of 1994. Among other things, it was planned to rename the 24th US Infantry Division to the 3rd US Infantry Division, while the 3rd US Infantry Division in Germany was to become the 1st US Infantry Division . This reorganization was intended to ensure the maintenance of some of the Army's most traditional divisions. After the transfer was completed, the association and all soldiers were back at home after 33 years in Germany and were stationed.

Subordinate units

Badge and nickname

  • The 3rd Infantry Division's shoulder badge

  • The unit badge of the 3rd Infantry Division

The three white diagonal stripes shown on the shoulder badge stand for the six campaigns (previously three major offensives) in which the division participated in World War I. The blue background stands for the soldiers' loyalty to the values ​​of the USA, freedom and democracy.

On the unit badge sits a lindworm , heraldic form of the devil, with its blue and white wing as a synonym for the nickname that the soldiers of the division received from the opposing German troops in World War II: blue and white devil ( BLUE AND WHITE DEVILS ), on a rock, which in turn represents the actual uniform nickname, the rock of the Marne . Around it is the motto NOUS RESTERONS LA, a "warning call" from the then unit commander, Major General Joseph T. Dickman , to the opposing German troops: We will stay here!

Commanders

  • Major-General Joseph T. Dickman (November 28, 1917 - February 26, 1918)
  • Brigadier General James A. Irons (February 27 - March 18, 1918)
  • Major General Joseph T. Dickman (April 12 - August 31, 1918)
  • Major General Beaumont B. Buck (August 31 - October 17, 1918)
  • Brigadier General Preston Brown (October 18 - November 19, 1918)
  • Major General Robert L. Howze (November 19, 1918)
  • Major-General Charles F. Thompson (July 1940 - August 1941)
  • Brigade General Charles P. Hall (August 1941 - September 1941)
  • Major-General John P. Lucas (September 1941 - March 1942)
  • Major-General Jonathan W. Anderson (March 1942 - March 1943)
  • Major-General Lucian K. Truscott (March 1943 - February 1944)
  • Major-General John W. O'Daniel (February 1944 - December 1945)
  • Major-General William R. Schmidt (July 1945 - August 1946)
  • Major-General Robert H. Soule (August 1950 - October 1951)
  • Major-General Thomas J. Cross (October 1951 - May 1952)
  • Major-General Robert L. Dulaney (May 1952 - October 1952)
  • Major-General George W. Smythe (October 1952 - May 1953)
  • Major-General Eugene W. Ridings (May 1953 - October 1953)
  • Major-General Charles DW Canham (November 1953 - November 1954)
  • Major-General Haydon L. Boatner (December 1954 - October 1955)
  • Major-General George E. Lynch (October 1955 - February 1957)
  • Brigade General Frederick R. Zierath (March 1957 - March 1957)
  • Major-General Roy E. Lindquist (March 1957 - August 1958)
  • Major-General John S. Upham (August 1958 - April 1960)
  • Major-General Albert Watson II (April 1960 - April 1961)
  • Major-General William W. Dick (April 1961 - April 1962)
  • Brigade General Morris O. Edwards (April 1962 - June 1962)
  • Major-General Frank T. Mildren (June 1962 - March 1964)
  • Major-General Albert O. Connor (March 1964 - February 1966)
  • Brigade General Jack S. Blocker (February 1966 - April 1966)
  • Major-General Robert H. Schellman (April 1966 - August 1967)
  • Brigade General Lawrence V. Greene (August 1967 - October 1967)
  • Major-General George P. Seneff (October 1967 - March 1969)
  • Major-General George M. Seignious (March 1969 - February 1970)

References

literature

  • Max W. Dolcater: 3d Infantry Division in Korea. 3d Infantry Division, 1953.
  • Philip St. John: History of the Third Infantry Division, 75th Anniversary Edition. Turner Publishing, 1994. ISBN 1-56311-060-1 .
  • United States Army: History of the Third Infantry Division in World War II. Infantry Journal Press, 1947.

Web links

Commons : 3rd Infantry Division (United States)  - Collection of pictures, videos, and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ List of US soldiers killed in Afghanistan
  2. ↑ Tactical signs at mapsymbs.com and at army.ca ( Memento of April 30, 2007 in the Internet Archive ), viewed on May 17, 2008 (English)