9th Engineers Battalion (US)
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9th Engineer Battalion |
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 Coat of arms of the 9th Engineer Battalion |
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| Lineup | 1917-1945 1952-1991 1996-2013 |
| Country | United States |
| Armed forces | army |
| Type | Engineer Battalion |
| Location | Schweinfurt |
| motto | "Asistiremos" |
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| DUI |
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The 9th Engineer Battalion was on 15 May 1917 as the second pioneer - Battalion of the Army of the United States at Camp Newton D. Baker, El Paso , Texas situated. In July 1917 it got its current name. The unit was initially stationed in El Paso, but deployed at Camp Stewart in Texas.
1918-1939
After the end of World War I , the battalion was demobilized, with the exception of A Company, which was stationed in Fort Riley , Kansas , to provide pioneering support to the US Army Cavalry School. From 1923 to 1936 the company was deployed in this function, first as a unit of the 2nd Cavalry Division and later as Troop A of the 9th Engineer Squadron. During this time she gained an excellent reputation as a cavalry unit . During this time, Samuel D. Sturgis, Jr. , the future Lieutenant General and Commander of the United States Army Corps of Engineers , served as platoon leader in the unit.
1940-1945
After the outbreak of World War II , the battalion was activated as the 9th Armored Engineer Battalion, part of the 9th Armored Division. In France in September they made first contact with the enemy in the Schoenfels-Wilwerdange-Bissen area. The battalion fought with C Company during the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944.
On March 7, 1945, during the Allied offensive on the Rhine, Combat Group B of the 9th Panzer Division arrived in Remagen and discovered that the Ludendorff Bridge over the Rhine was intact and they followed up the first bridgehead over the Rhine since the Napoleonic Wars longer fighting a. The unit was awarded the oak leaf for this. On October 13, 1945 the battalion was deactivated.
1952-2002
In 1952 the 9th Pioneers were reactivated as the 9th Engineer Battalion (Army). In the fall of 1956 it replaced the 35th Pioneer Battalion near Kitzingen and moved to Aschaffenburg .
In 1991 the 9th Engineer Battalion served in the Gulf War . Back in Aschaffenburg it was deactivated again and reactivated as part of the 1st Infantry Division in Schweinfurt on April 5, 1996 with the 2nd Brigade Combat Group as part of the covering force for Bosnia (Task Force Adler). The battalion was relocated to Kosovo in June 1999, with an interruption until November 2002.
2003-2013
In 2003, the 9th Engineer Battalion prepared for the invasion of Iraq , but did not take part because of the Turkish refusal to station troops. Instead, it was moved to Bosnia in August and September in support of Task Force 1-18's. In February 2004 the battalion was first relocated to Kuwait and then took part in Operation Iraqi Freedom II. It acted in Tikrit, Salah, Balad and Bayji. In March 2006, the 9th Engineer Battalion was assigned to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division. In September 2006 the battalion was relocated for the second time in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom . C Company operated around Ramadi , while the remaining parts of the battalion came to Baghdad. The 9th Engineer Battalion returned to Schweinfurt in mid-November 2007. The motto of the unit is Asisteremos (Spanish: We support).
In 2013, the battalion was subordinate to the 172nd US Infantry Brigade and was scheduled to return to the USA with this in 2012. As part of the defense budget austerity efforts, however, the infantry brigade and with it the 9th Engineer Battalion were disbanded on May 31, 2013.
See also
Web links
- Website of the former battalion ( Memento from March 15, 2008 in the Internet Archive )