78th Infantry Division (United States)

78th Infantry Division
Division badge
Lineup	1917
Country	United States
Armed forces	United States Armed Forces
Armed forces	United States Army
Branch of service	infantry
Type	Infantry division
Nickname	Lightning
motto	Audaciter
Butcher	Second World War Battle of the Bulge Ruhrkessel

The 78th Infantry Division ( German  78th US Infantry Division ) is an association of the US Army . Today it operates as the 78th Training Division (Operations) .

history

First World War

The division was set up on August 23, 1917 in Fort Dix , New Jersey . In the early summer of 1918, he went to France as part of the American Expeditionary Forces . This was followed by participation in the Meuse-Argonne offensive and the Battle of St. Mihiel , in which the division acted as a reserve of the I Corps . After further fighting in Lorraine , the division was demobilized after the end of the war in June 1919. 1169 soldiers were killed in action in Europe.

Second World War

In November 1921, the division was formally reorganized. In August 1942, after the United States entered World War II , the association was reorganized as a regular combat unit in Camp Butner , North Carolina . After numerous training sessions, the division was sent to Great Britain in October 1944 . On November 22nd the soldiers landed in France and were then sent to Tongeren in Belgium . It was moved to the border area with Germany, the 311th Infantry Regiment was temporarily subordinated to the 8th Armored Division, which fought in the Hürtgenwald . As part of the V Corps , the remaining troops of the division fought at Simmerath , Witzerath and Kesternich at the beginning of December . Over Christmas the position was at the beginning of January Westwall be held, with the 78th Infantry Division times the VII. Corps and times of the 21st Army Group was subordinated. The heavily destroyed town of Kesternich was finally taken after renewed fierce fighting at the beginning of February 1945, followed by Schmidt a little later . After crossing the Röhr on February 28, the division continued to advance towards the Rhine - Ruhr area as part of Operation Lumberjack . The 78th Infantry Division belonged to the III Corps .

On March 8th, the Division's 310th Infantry Regiment marched with troops from the 9th Armored Division over the recently captured Ludendorff Bridge near Remagen . During the same period, Euskirchen , Rheinbach and Bad Neuenahr were conquered . Bad Honnef was conquered on the evening of March 10th . To the north of it, the fighting at the Ruhrkessel took place until the end of April . At the end of the war on May 8th, the division was at Marburg , which had previously been occupied by the 3rd Armored Division . During the Second World War, 1,427 soldiers of the division died. Among them was Staff Sergeant Jonah Edward Kelley, who had received the Medal of Honor for his service with the division .

post war period

Soldiers of the 78th Infantry Division at the Allied Parade in Berlin , May 8, 1946.

The 78th Infantry Division remained as an occupation force in the American zone of occupation , so it was temporarily stationed in Bad Karlshafen and Berlin . There she took part in the Allied parade on May 8, 1946. It was deactivated on May 22, 1946.

The unit was reactivated in 1946. It was used as a reserve and training unit u. a. stationed in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania , but no longer participated in military operations. The association currently consists of a brigade with four battalions, commanded by Brigadier General Michael Dillard.

organization

The 78th Infantry Division was organized as follows during World War II:

• 309th Infantry Regiment
• 310th Infantry Regiment
• 311th Infantry Regiment
• Artillery Division
  • 307th Field Artillery Battalion
  • 308th Field Artillery Battalion
  • 309th Field Artillery Battalion
  • 903rd Field Artillery Battalion
• 78th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop
• 78th CIC Detachment
• 78th Signal Company
• 78th Quartermaster Company
• 78th Military Police Platoon
• 303rd Engineer Battalion
• 303rd Medical Battalion
• 778th Ordnance Company

Division commanders

• Maj. Gen. Chase W. Kennedy, August 23-December 27, 1917
• Maj. Gen. Hugh L. Scott, December 28, 1917 - March 15, 1918
• Brigadier General James T. Dean, March 16-April 20, 1918
• Maj. Gen. James H. McRae, April 20 - November 11, 1918
• Maj. Gen. Edwin P. Parker, August 1942 - November 1945

Web links

• Lightning: The Story of the 78th Infantry Division
• The 78th Infantry Lightning Division Veterans Association

Individual evidence

1. ^ Article in the Mineral Daily News-Tribune
2. ↑ US Army in Germany
3. ↑ US Department of Defense ( Memento June 11, 2017 in the Internet Archive )