82nd Airborne Division (United States)

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82nd Airborne Division shoulder badge

The 82nd Airborne Division ( German  82nd US Airborne Division ), called All American or America's Guard of Honor , is the first airborne division of the United States Army and with around 14,000 soldiers the largest airborne association in the world.

Since its formation in 1944 to the XVIII Airborne Corps belonging Division since 1942 in Fort Bragg , North Carolina , stationed and has to be commissioned within 18 hours after the alert anywhere in the world ready for combat.

She excelled in the Second World War, especially in the landing in Normandy , Operation Market Garden , Operation Varsity and the Battle of the Ardennes . Units of the division fought in the Vietnam War and in the Caribbean, they participated in the 1991 liberation of Kuwait , served in Kosovo and Afghanistan and in 2003 took part in the conquest of Iraq ( Operation Iraqi Freedom ).

history

Lineup, strength and equipment

The 82nd Airborne Division was established by War Department decree of August 25, 1917 and was originally set up at Camp Gordon , Atlanta , Georgia as the 82nd Infantry Division . It consisted of the division staff, two infantry brigades (163rd and 164th) and the 157th field artillery brigade, equipped with 48 75-mm cannons, 24 155-mm howitzers and 12 6-inch mortars. The division troops included the 319th machine gun battalion, the 307th engineer regiment, the 307th field intelligence battalion and the supply units. The number of staff and affiliations changed several times during the First World War. The approved maximum strength of the division was 991 officers and 27,114 NCOs and men.

The majority of the officers were from Georgia , Alabama, and Florida , and most of the soldiers from Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee . On October 10, most of the soldiers were transferred to other divisions and the workforce of the 82nd Division was replenished with newly drafted soldiers from Camps Devens, Upton, Dix, Meade and Lee. It now had soldiers from all 48 US states at the time, but mainly from the eastern states, and was therefore called the "All American Division". To this day the soldiers wear the "AA" as a badge on their uniform. Famous members of the division included Sergeant Alvin C. York and Division Commanders Matthew B. Ridgway and James M. Gavin .

First World War

In the spring of 1918 the division was set on march to France , where, after a short stopover in England , they arrived in the course of June; only the artillery landed directly in France. All units, with the exception of the artillery, engineers and telecommunications, had the Escarbotin area as their destination , where they were trained and instructed together with British units. The artillery was based in La Courtine .

After training with the British 66th Division until June 15, the division left Escarbotin on June 16 and occupied the sector of Toul , Lorraine , on the territory of the French 8th Army , which it held until August 9 stopped when she was relieved of the 89th Division. Then she took over the Marbache sector on the 19th , on both sides of the Moselle between Nancy and Pont-à-Mousson , until she was replaced by the French 69th Division on September 20th. Marbache was a quiet section of the front, except during the Saint-Mihiel offensive (September 12-15, 1918), during which the 82nd put great pressure on the German left flank through several attacks, but could not achieve any permanent gains in terrain.

The division was then transferred to the Thiaucourt area , west of Verdun , on September 24 and participated in the Meuse-Argonne offensive from October 6 with the I. Corps (Major General Dickman) in the area north of Varennes-en-Argonne . Parts of the 28th Division were detached , which held the front line south of Fléville to the east bank of the Aire . On October 7th, the 82nd Division attacked the northeastern edge of the Argonne Forest in the direction of Cornay without the 163rd Infantry Brigade and occupied the high 180 and 223. The next day parts of the right wing penetrated Cornay while the south -eastern slope on the left the hill northwest of Chatel-Chéhéry was reached. On October 9, their left flank advanced to a line south of the Rau de la Louvière. On October 10, the 1st Division was relieved and the line north of Fléville to the new corps border of the I. Corps, which led through Sommerance, was occupied. The troops attacked at Cornay, on October 11 the right wing of the division occupied Sommerance and the hill north of La Rance, while the left wing advanced on the railway line south of the Aire. The division then broke into the Hindenburg Line and reached a line north of the road from St-Georges to St-Juvin. On October 18, the division relieved parts of the 78th division at Marcq and Champigneulle and advanced three days later to the Ravin aux Pierres. On October 31, the 82nd Division was withdrawn from the front and assembled in the Argonne Forest near Champ-Mahaut. On November 2, the division concentrated near Lachalade and Les Islettes and withdrew to Vaucouleurs on November 4 . On November 10th she moved to the training camp in Bourmont, where the troops remained until the November 11th armistice.

The division left the mainland in Bordeaux by ship in April 1919 and returned to New York. Upon their return to the United States, the staff of the 82nd Infantry Division was disbanded on May 27, 1919 at Camp Upton. The 82nd Division had 7,500 dead and wounded in the war, 169 of them prisoners of war. 34 of their soldiers had been awarded the newly created Distinguished Service Cross . Since its deployment in France, the division has had the French lily ( fleur-de-lis ) in its coat of arms.

Upon their return to the United States, the headquarters of the 82nd Infantry Division was disbanded on May 27, 1919 at Camp Upton , New York. The 164th and 163rd Infantry Brigades had been disbanded on May 25 and 26, respectively, at Camp Mills , New Jersey, and the 157th Field Artillery Brigade on May 23 at Fort Upton .

Second World War

On March 25, 1942, the division in Camp Claiborne , Louisiana , under the command of Major General Omar N. Bradley was reorganized and later reclassified as the first airborne division of the US Army. On August 15, 1942, she was named 82nd Airborne Division and was relocated to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where she is stationed to this day. The previous assistant commanding officer ( Assisting Division Commander ) Major General Matthew B. Ridgway became the new commander .

From a part of the 82nd Division, the 101st Airborne Division , nicknamed Screaming Eagles , was set up on August 16, 1942 in Camp Claiborne , which was moved to Fort Bragg in October.

Operation Husky

Map of the Allied landings in Sicily in 1943, the 82nd Division outlined in green

The first combat deployment of units of the 82nd Division took place as part of the Allied landing on Sicily ( Operation Husky ). The division was subordinate to the US Provisional Corps (MG Geoffrey Keyes ), which belonged to General Patton's 7th Army. The 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR) under the command of Col. James M. Gavin and the 3rd Battalion of the 504th PIR, a total of about 3,400 men, were killed on the night of July 9-10, 1943 dropped off near the Ponte Oliveto airfield near Gela . Since strong winds had thrown some planes off course and many of the inexperienced pilots got lost in the dark because of the complicated flight plan, the regiment was widely dispersed. Only about half of the soldiers reached their assembly point - Gavin himself landed 25 miles southeast of his planned drop zone - and were therefore only able to perform their intended task of a buffer in front of the bridgehead of the 1st US Infantry Division to a limited extent. This deposition of the 505th Paratrooper Regiment in Sicily was the first combat airborne landing of regimental strength that the United States Army has ever carried out.

The remaining parts of the 504th Regiment (Col. Reuben H. Tucker ) were deployed via Gela on July 11th. They suffered heavy losses from enemy and friendly anti-aircraft fire, as the regiment's planes were mistaken for enemy planes. 23 planes were shot down and the regiment was widely dispersed. Nevertheless, the next day it was promoted to the front to reinforce the 39th US Infantry Division. After securing the intersections of Fiume delle Canno on July 18, they advanced along the coastal road and on July 23 they occupied the Marsala-Trapani area on the west coast of Sicily.

The independent 509th Parachute Battalion, which was also subordinate to the 82nd Division, remained as a division reserve in North Africa and did not take part in the fighting.

Operation Avalanche

After the unexpectedly successful occupation of Sicily, the 82nd Division took part in the attack on the Italian mainland in the Gulf of Salerno ( Operation Avalanche ), where in the night of September 13-14, 1300 paratroopers over the Allied bridgehead and the following night Jumped another 2,100 over the stretch of beach south of Salerno and thus helped to avert the precarious situation of General Clark and his 5th Army. On October 1st, the soldiers of the 82nd Division, reinforced by Darby's rangers , reached the city of Naples .

Operation Neptune / Overlord

In November 1943, most of the division was relocated to England to prepare for Operation Overlord . The 504th Parachute Regiment had previously been released and took part in the attack on Anzio on January 22, 1944 . During this operation they earned the nickname "Devils in Baggy Pants " , which goes back to the entry of a German officer in his report.

Operation Market Garden

In September 1944, the division took part in the "Market" airborne operation as part of Operation Market Garden . The 82nd Division landed near Nijmegen in the Netherlands with the aim of taking the bridges over the Maas and Waal in order to allow the XXX. Corps to Arnhem to allow. The division did not succeed in taking the Waal Bridge in Nijmegen. This contributed to the failure of Operation Market Garden. During this operation a unit of the 82nd Division crossed the border with Germany. As far as is known, this was the first crossing of the German border by Allied troops since 1940.

Occupation time

After the unconditional surrender of the German armed forces in May 1945, the division was ordered to Berlin and served there as an occupation force. General Patton was impressed with her performance as a guard of honor so that he said: "In all my years in the Army and all the honor guards I have ever seen, the 82nd's honor guard is undoubtedly, the best." (Dt .: In all my Years in the army and with all the honor guards I've seen, the 82nd honor guard is hands down the best.) Since then, the 82nd Division bears the title of "America's Guard of Honor" in addition to its nickname All American .

post war period

82nd Airborne jump from a C-141B over Honduras in 1988
Parachutists of the 82nd Airborne Division
Soldiers of the 325th Paratrooper Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division in Baghdad

The 82nd Division returned to the United States on January 3, 1946 and led a grand victory parade in New York City on January 12 . It was not dissolved again, but was appointed a regular division of the US Army on November 15, 1948.

The division did not take part in the Korean War, as both President Truman and President Eisenhower thought it better to have it available as a strategic reserve in the event of a Soviet invasion anywhere in the world.

Therefore, during the 1950s and 1960s, she conducted intensive training programs in a variety of environments and locations, including Alaska , Panama , the Far East, and the United States.

Further missions of the airborne division:

During the deployment in Iraq, some soldiers of the division were accused of having shot at unarmed civilians and damaging the image of the USA by violating the Geneva Conventions .

In 2007 the division was given the leading American role during " Operation Achilles ". This military enterprise aimed to oust the Taliban from the southern provinces of Afghanistan .

organization

Organization chart of the 82nd Airborne Division ( military symbol )

The combat brigades are divided into three different standardized and always identically equipped types, the Heavy Brigade Combat Teams (HBCT ), the Infantry Brigade Combat Teams (IBCT) and the Stryker Brigade Combat Teams (SBCT) . The combat units of the 82nd Airborne consist of three Infantry Brigade Combat Teams (IBCT) (Airborne), an Army Aviation Brigade , a Support Brigade , the division artillery and a staff battalion .

82 ABD SSI.PNG 82nd Airborne Division Units:

  • Division Staff Battalion
    • Headquarters and headquarters company
    • HHQ security company
  • 504 PIRDUI.PNG 1st Brigade "Devil Brigade"
    • Headquarters and Headquarters Company
    • 2nd Battalion - 501st Paratrooper Regiment
    • 1st Battalion - 504th Paratrooper Regiment
    • 2nd Battalion - 504th Paratrooper Regiment
    • 3rd Battalion - 73rd Cavalry Regiment
    • 3rd Battalion - 319th Airborne Artillery Regiment
    • 127th Brigade Engineer Battalion
    • 307th Brigade Support Battalion
  • 325InfRegtDUI.png2nd Brigade "Falcon Brigade"
    • Headquarters and Headquarters Company
    • 1st Battalion - 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment
    • 2nd Battalion - 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment
    • 2nd Battalion - 508th Paratrooper Regiment
    • 1st Battalion - 73rd Cavalry Regiment
    • 2nd Battalion - 319th Airborne Artillery Regiment
    • 37th Brigade Engineer Battalion
    • 407th Brigade Support Battalion
  • 505 Inf Rgt DUI.png 3rd Brigade "Panther Brigade"
    • Headquarters and Headquarters Company
    • 1st Battalion - 505th Paratrooper Regiment
    • 2nd Battalion - 505th Paratrooper Regiment
    • 1st Battalion - 508th Paratrooper Regiment
    • 5th Battalion - 73rd Cavalry Regiment
    • 1st Battalion - 319th Airborne Artillery Regiment
    • 307th Brigade Engineer Battalion
    • 82nd Brigade Support Battalion
  • 82nd Airborne Division Artillery (82nd Airborne Artillery Division)
    • Headquarters and Headquarters Company
  • 82AvnRegtDUI.jpg 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade ( Army Aviation )
    • Headquarters and Headquarters Company
    • 1st Assault and Reconnaissance Battalion - 82nd Army Aviation Regiment with AH-64D Apache Longbow
    • 2nd Assault Battalion - 82nd Army Aviation Regiment with UH-60L Black Hawk
    • 3rd Helicopter Support Battalion - 82nd Army Aviation Regiment
    • 1st Assault and Reconnaissance Group - 17th Cavalry Regiment with AH-64D Apache Longbow
    • 122nd Army Aviation Support Battalion
  • 82nd Airborne Division DUI.png 82nd Support Brigade
    • Headquarters and Headquarters Company
    • 82nd Special Troops Battalion
    • 189th Combat Support Battalion
Special Forces soldiers and a UH-60 helicopter of the 82nd Royal Aviation Regiment in the Zabul Province of Afghanistan (2010)

Commanders

  • Major General Eben Swift (August 25, 1917 - June 25, 1918)
  • Brigade General William P. Burnham (June 25 - October 10, 1918)
  • Major General Geoffrey B. Duncan (October 10-4, 1918)
  • Major General William P. Burnham (October 4 - November 7, 1918)
  • Major General Geoffrey B. Duncan (November 7-11, 1918)

Movie

References

literature

  • American Battle Monuments Commission: 82nd Division. Summary of Operations in the World War. - Washington: United States Government Printing Office , 1944
  • Information and Education Division ETOUSA: All American: The Story of the 82nd Airborne Division . - GI Stories, Stars & Stripes, Paris 1945

Web links

Commons : 82nd Airborne Division  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ History of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment ( Memento from October 15, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ↑ Military symbols at mapsymbs.com and at army.ca ( Memento of April 30, 2007 in the Internet Archive ), viewed on May 17, 2008 (English)
  3. ↑ a b 82nd Airborne Division Units ( English ) Retrieved June 27, 2010.
  4. ^ The Story of the 82nd Airborne Division - WWII GI Stories Booklet . Lone Sentry. Retrieved June 27, 2010.