80th Infantry Division (United States)

80th 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	Blue Ridge
motto	Only moves forward
Butcher	Meuse-Argonne offensive Battle of the Bulge

The 80th Infantry Division ( German  80th US Infantry Division ) is a large unit of the US Army . It exists today as the 80th Training Command .

history

Adelbert Cronkhite

The 80th Inantry Division was formed in September 1917 during the First World War . Most of the soldiers came from Pennsylvania , Virginia, and West Virginia . In June 1918 the division landed in France, where it was deployed against the Germans with the American Expeditionary Forces on the Somme in late August and early September . The soldiers of the 80th Division then served as reserves during the Battle of St. Mihiel . Under the leadership of Major General Adelbert Cronkhite , he participated in the Meuse-Argonne offensive . During the whole time of the offensive (September 26 to November 11, 1918) the 80th Division was part of the III. Corps involved. The III. Corps was to conquer the heights northwest of Cunel , the neighboring 4th Division (Major-General John L. Hines ) was to reach the Brieulles- Cunel road . On November 1, the right wing of the 80th Division, which used the break-in of the 2nd Division in the German defense, was able to take Imécourt and advance to Fontaine des Parades. On November 2, the neighboring I. Corps stormed forward over 9 kilometers, to the right of which the 80th Division was able to occupy Buzancy . During the final phase of the war, the 80th Division crossed the Beaumont - Stonne road and reached the Ferme La Harnoterie with the advance guard. In the First World War, the 80th Division had 880 dead and 5149 wounded. During this time, the division also received its shoulder badge and its motto Only Moves Forward , which is said to come from the battles of the Meuse-Argonne offensive. After the end of the war in November, the 80th Division marched into Germany and remained in the Koblenz area as an occupation force before it was deactivated in May 1919.

Second World War

Division General Horace L. McBride

Vehicles and soldiers of the 80th Infantry Division crossing the Rhine near Mainz in spring 1945.

On July 15, 1942, the division was officially reactivated. On August 5, 1944, she came to northern France as part of the 3rd US Army . The division initially fought at Saint-Mihiel , Châlons and Commercy . After that, in autumn, they built a line of defense on the west bank of the Seille , which was successfully defended against German attacks. At the beginning of November the 6th Armored Division was able to advance towards Saarbrücken before the Americans were thrown back by the Ardennes offensive of the Wehrmacht. After ten days of refreshment, the division fought in Luxembourg and eastern Belgium.

On Christmas 1944, the 80th Infantry Division broke through with the 4th Armored Division near Bastogne to the 101st Airborne Division , which had been encircled there. The division had to fight against strong German resistance and the harsh winter. At the beginning of 1945 the division was able to advance across the German border and capture Wallendorf on February 7th . During Operation Undertone , the 80th Infantry Division occupied Kaiserslautern on March 20 . A few days later the Rhine was crossed near Mainz . In the further advance to the northeast, the division was involved in the fighting for Kassel . On April 11th the division reached Jena , which was bombarded with artillery and captured on April 13th. Also on April 11th, they joined the 6th Armored Division in Weimar . From April 12th, soldiers of the division helped to take care of the liberated prisoners of the Buchenwald concentration camp , which the 6th Armored Division had found the day before. On April 12th, Erfurt was also taken after numerous fighting in the surrounding area. On April 13, the western urban area of Gera was reached, where resistance was still met. With the support of low-level planes and artillery, this was also broken and Gera was finally occupied on April 14th. On April 21, the division reached Nuremberg , which had just been captured , to help with the occupation there, and on April 27, Regensburg . Other parts of the division advanced to the border of Czechoslovakia and Upper Austria , where the Ebensee concentration camp was liberated on May 6th . The US soldiers found around 16,000 prisoners. Two days later, on May 8, the war ended.

In the Second World War 3,038 soldiers of the division died and 12,484 were wounded. Four members of the 80th Infantry Division received the Medal of Honor , numerous others were awarded high medals. In January 1946 the division was deactivated.

post war period

The division was reactivated as early as December 1946 and transformed into an airborne division as the 80th Airborne Division . However, it was not used and was converted back into a regular infantry division in 1952. In March 1959, the division became the 80th Division (Training) . 1990 to 1991, the division took part in Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm . From 1992 the division was then exclusively active as a reserve and training unit. From 2004 the unit served in Afghanistan to support reconstruction work. The soldiers were also involved in fighting. The division has been the 80th Training Command since 2008 .

Division commanders

• Brigade General Herman Hall, August 27 - September 8, 1917
• Major General Adelbert Cronkhite, September 9 - November 25, 1917
• Brigade General LM Brett, November 26 - December 27, 1917
• Brigade General WP Richardson, December 28, 1917 - January 6, 1918
• Brigade General Charles S. Farnsworth , January 7, 1918 - January 14, 1918
• Major General Adelbert Cronkhite , March 1 - November 22, 1918
• Major General Joseph D. Patch, July 1942-March 1943
• Major General Horace L. McBride , March 1943-October 1945
• Major General Walter F. Lauer, October 1945- December 1945

Web links

• 80th Infantry Division
• The 80th Division in World War Two
• 80th Infantry Division at the USHMM