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The 1st Infantry Division
The 1st Infantry Division of the United States Army is the oldest division in the United States Army.[3][4] It has seen continuous service since its organization in 1917.[3] It was officially nicknamed the The Big Red One after its shoulder patch[3] and is also nicknamed The Fighting First.[3] However, with typical soldier gallows humor, the division has also received troop monikers of The Big Dead One and The Bloody First as puns on the respective officially-sanctioned nicknames.[5] It is currently based at Fort Riley, Kansas.
WW1
The First Expeditionary Division, later designated the 1st Infantry Division, was constituted on 24 May 1917, in the Regular Army, and was organized on 8 June 1917, at Fort Jay, on Governors Island in New York harbor under the command of Brigadier General William L. Sibert, from Army units then in service on the U.S.-Mexico border and at various Army posts throughout the United States. The original Table of Organization and Equipment included two organic infantry brigades of two infantry regiments each, one engineer battalion; one signal battalion; one trench mortar battery; one field artillery brigade of three field artillery regiments; one air squadron; and a full division train. The total authorized strength of this TO&E was 18,919 officers and enlisted men. George S. Patton, who served as the first Headquarters commandant for the American Expeditionary Force oversaw much of the arrangements for the movement of the 1st Division to France, and their organization in-country.
The first units sailed from New York City and Hoboken, New Jersey on 14 June 1917.[6] Throughout the remainder of the year, the rest of the division followed, landing at St. Nazaire, France, and Liverpool, England. After a brief stay in rest camps, the troops in England proceeded to France, landing at Le Havre. The last unit arrived in St. Nazaire 22 December. Upon arrival in France, the division, less its artillery, was assembled in the First (Gondrecourt) training area, and the artillery was at Le Valdahon.
On 4 July (Independence Day in the United States), the 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry,[7] paraded through the streets of Paris to bolster the sagging French spirits. At Lafayette's tomb, one of General John J. Pershing's staff uttered the famous words, "Lafayette, we are here!" Two days later, 6 July, Headquarters, First Expeditionary Division was redesignated as Headquarters, First Division.
On 8 August 1917, the 1st Division adopted the Square Table of Organization and Equipment, which included two organic infantry brigades of two infantry regiments each; one engineer regiment; one signal battalion; one machine gun battalion; one field artillery brigade of three field artillery regiments, and a complete division train. The total authorized strength of this new TO&E was 27,120 officers and enlisted men.
On the morning of 23 October, the first American shell of the war was fired toward German lines by a First Division artillery unit. Two days later, the 2nd Battalion of the 16th Infantry suffered the first American casualties of the war.
By April 1918, the Germans had pushed to within 40 miles (64 km) of Paris. In reaction to this thrust, the Big Red One moved into the Picardy Sector to bolster the exhausted French First Army. To the division's front lay the small village of Cantigny, situated on the high ground overlooking a forested countryside. The 28th Infantry Regiment[8] attacked the town, and within 45 minutes captured it along with 250 German soldiers. It was the first American victory of the war. The 28th was thereafter named the "Black Lions of Cantigny."[8]
Soissons was taken by the First Division in July 1918. The Soissons victory was costly — 700 men were killed or wounded. (One of them, Private Francis Lupo of Cincinnati, was missing in action for 85 years, until his remains were discovered on the former battlefield in 2003).[9] The First Infantry helped to clear the St. Mihiel salient by fighting continuously from 11–13 September 1918. The last major World War I battle was fought in the Meuse-Argonne Forest. The division advanced seven kilometers and defeated, in whole or part, eight German divisions. The war was over when the Armistice was signed. The division was at Sedan, the farthest American penetration of the war, and was the first to cross the Rhine into occupied Germany.
By the end of the war, the division had suffered 22,668 casualties and boasted five Medal of Honor recipients.
The division's famous dog-mascot was a cairn terrier known as Rags. Rags was adopted by the division in 1918 and remained its mascot until his death in 1936.[10] Rags achieved notoriety and celebrity as a war dog, after saving many lives in the crucial Argonne Campaign by delivering a vital message despite being bombed and gassed.
Casualties
4,411 Killed in Action
17,201 Wounded in Action
1,056 Missing or Died of Wounds
WW2
Shortly after the beginning of World War II in Europe, the 1st Division was moved to Fort Benning, Georgia, on 19 November 1939 where it supported the Infantry School as part of American mobilization preparations. It then moved to the Sabine Parish, Louisiana area on 11 May 1940 to participate in the Louisiana Maneuvers. The division next relocated to Fort Hamilton on 5 June 1940, where it spent over six months before moving to Fort Devens, Massachusetts, on 4 February 1941. As part of its training that year, the division participated in both Carolina Maneuvers of October and November before returning to Fort Devens on 6 December 1941.
A day later, on December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and then the United States declared war. The division was ordered to Camp Blanding, Florida, as quickly as trains could be gathered and winter weather permitted, and arrived on 21 February 1942. The division was there reorganized and refurbished with new equipment, being re-designated as the 1st Infantry Division on 15 May 1942. Within a week, the division was returned to its former post at Fort Benning, from where it was expedited on 21 Jun 1942 to Indiantown Gap Military Reservation for wartime overseas deployment final preparation. The division departed New York Port of Embarkation on 1 August 1942, arrived in Beaminster in south-west England about a week later, and departed 22 October 1942 for the combat amphibious assault of North Africa.[12]
As part of II Corps, the division landed in Oran, Algeria on 8 November 1942 as part of Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of French North-Africa.[13] The 1st Division commander was Major General Terry de la Mesa Allen and Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. as deputy division commander. Elements then took part in combat at Maktar, Tebourba, Medjez el Bab, the Battle of the Kasserine Pass (where American forces were pushed back), and Gafsa. It then led the allied assault in brutal fighting at El Guettar, Béja, and Mateur. The 1st Infantry Division was in combat in the North African Campaign from 21 January 1943 – 9 May 1943, helping secure Tunisia.
In July 1943, the division took part in Operation Husky invading Sicily still under the command of Major General Allen. Lieutenant General George S. Patton, Jr. specifically requested the Big Red One as part of his forces for the invasion of Sicily. It was assigned to the II Corps. It was in Sicily that the 1st saw heavy action when making amphibious landings opposed by Italian and German tanks at the Amphibious Battle of Gela. The 1st then moved up through the center of Sicily, slogging it out through the mountains along with the 45th Infantry Division. In these mountains, the division saw some of the heaviest fighting in the entire Sicilian campaign at the Battle of Troina; some units losing more than half their strength in assaulting the mountain town. On 7 August 1943, command was assumed by Major General Clarence R. Huebner.
When that campaign was over, the division returned to England 5 November 1943[14] to prepare for the eventual Normandy invasion.[3] The First Infantry Division and one Regimental Combat Team from the 29th Infantry Division comprised the first wave of troops that assaulted German Army defenses on Omaha Beach on D-Day[3][15] ,[16] with some of the division's units suffering 30 percent casualties in the first hour of the assault,[17][18][19] and secured Formigny and Caumont in the beachhead by the end of the day. The division followed up the Saint-Lô break-through with an attack on Marigny, 27 July 1944, and then drove across France in a continuous offensive, reaching the German border at Aachen in September. The division laid siege to Aachen, taking the city after a a direct assault on 21 October 1944.[3] The First then attacked east of Aachen through the Hurtgen Forest, driving to the Rur, and was moved to a rear area 7 December 1944 for refitting and rest following 6 months of combat. When the German Wacht Am Rhein offensive (commonly called the Battle of the Bulge) was launched on 16 December 1944,[3] the division was quickly moved to the Ardennes front. Fighting continuously from 17 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, the division helped to blunt and reverse the German offensive. Thereupon, the division attacked and again breached the Siegfried Line, fought across the Ruhr, 23 February 1945, and drove on to the Rhine, crossing at the Remagen bridgehead, 15–16 March. The division broke out of the bridgehead, took part in the encirclement of the Ruhr Pocket, captured Paderborn, pushed through the Harz Mountains, and was in Czechoslovakia, fighting at Kinsperk, Sangerberg, and Mnichov when the war in Europe ended. Sixteen members of the division were awarded the Medal of Honor.
World War II – casualties
Killed in Action: 3,616
Wounded in Action: 15,208
Died of Wounds: 664
The 1st Infantry Division of the United States Army is the oldest division in the United States Army.[3][4] It has seen continuous service since its organization in 1917.[3] It was officially nicknamed the The Big Red One after its shoulder patch[3] and is also nicknamed The Fighting First.[3] However, with typical soldier gallows humor, the division has also received troop monikers of The Big Dead One and The Bloody First as puns on the respective officially-sanctioned nicknames.[5] It is currently based at Fort Riley, Kansas.
WW1
The First Expeditionary Division, later designated the 1st Infantry Division, was constituted on 24 May 1917, in the Regular Army, and was organized on 8 June 1917, at Fort Jay, on Governors Island in New York harbor under the command of Brigadier General William L. Sibert, from Army units then in service on the U.S.-Mexico border and at various Army posts throughout the United States. The original Table of Organization and Equipment included two organic infantry brigades of two infantry regiments each, one engineer battalion; one signal battalion; one trench mortar battery; one field artillery brigade of three field artillery regiments; one air squadron; and a full division train. The total authorized strength of this TO&E was 18,919 officers and enlisted men. George S. Patton, who served as the first Headquarters commandant for the American Expeditionary Force oversaw much of the arrangements for the movement of the 1st Division to France, and their organization in-country.
The first units sailed from New York City and Hoboken, New Jersey on 14 June 1917.[6] Throughout the remainder of the year, the rest of the division followed, landing at St. Nazaire, France, and Liverpool, England. After a brief stay in rest camps, the troops in England proceeded to France, landing at Le Havre. The last unit arrived in St. Nazaire 22 December. Upon arrival in France, the division, less its artillery, was assembled in the First (Gondrecourt) training area, and the artillery was at Le Valdahon.
On 4 July (Independence Day in the United States), the 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry,[7] paraded through the streets of Paris to bolster the sagging French spirits. At Lafayette's tomb, one of General John J. Pershing's staff uttered the famous words, "Lafayette, we are here!" Two days later, 6 July, Headquarters, First Expeditionary Division was redesignated as Headquarters, First Division.
On 8 August 1917, the 1st Division adopted the Square Table of Organization and Equipment, which included two organic infantry brigades of two infantry regiments each; one engineer regiment; one signal battalion; one machine gun battalion; one field artillery brigade of three field artillery regiments, and a complete division train. The total authorized strength of this new TO&E was 27,120 officers and enlisted men.
On the morning of 23 October, the first American shell of the war was fired toward German lines by a First Division artillery unit. Two days later, the 2nd Battalion of the 16th Infantry suffered the first American casualties of the war.
By April 1918, the Germans had pushed to within 40 miles (64 km) of Paris. In reaction to this thrust, the Big Red One moved into the Picardy Sector to bolster the exhausted French First Army. To the division's front lay the small village of Cantigny, situated on the high ground overlooking a forested countryside. The 28th Infantry Regiment[8] attacked the town, and within 45 minutes captured it along with 250 German soldiers. It was the first American victory of the war. The 28th was thereafter named the "Black Lions of Cantigny."[8]
Soissons was taken by the First Division in July 1918. The Soissons victory was costly — 700 men were killed or wounded. (One of them, Private Francis Lupo of Cincinnati, was missing in action for 85 years, until his remains were discovered on the former battlefield in 2003).[9] The First Infantry helped to clear the St. Mihiel salient by fighting continuously from 11–13 September 1918. The last major World War I battle was fought in the Meuse-Argonne Forest. The division advanced seven kilometers and defeated, in whole or part, eight German divisions. The war was over when the Armistice was signed. The division was at Sedan, the farthest American penetration of the war, and was the first to cross the Rhine into occupied Germany.
By the end of the war, the division had suffered 22,668 casualties and boasted five Medal of Honor recipients.
The division's famous dog-mascot was a cairn terrier known as Rags. Rags was adopted by the division in 1918 and remained its mascot until his death in 1936.[10] Rags achieved notoriety and celebrity as a war dog, after saving many lives in the crucial Argonne Campaign by delivering a vital message despite being bombed and gassed.
Casualties
4,411 Killed in Action
17,201 Wounded in Action
1,056 Missing or Died of Wounds
WW2
Shortly after the beginning of World War II in Europe, the 1st Division was moved to Fort Benning, Georgia, on 19 November 1939 where it supported the Infantry School as part of American mobilization preparations. It then moved to the Sabine Parish, Louisiana area on 11 May 1940 to participate in the Louisiana Maneuvers. The division next relocated to Fort Hamilton on 5 June 1940, where it spent over six months before moving to Fort Devens, Massachusetts, on 4 February 1941. As part of its training that year, the division participated in both Carolina Maneuvers of October and November before returning to Fort Devens on 6 December 1941.
A day later, on December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and then the United States declared war. The division was ordered to Camp Blanding, Florida, as quickly as trains could be gathered and winter weather permitted, and arrived on 21 February 1942. The division was there reorganized and refurbished with new equipment, being re-designated as the 1st Infantry Division on 15 May 1942. Within a week, the division was returned to its former post at Fort Benning, from where it was expedited on 21 Jun 1942 to Indiantown Gap Military Reservation for wartime overseas deployment final preparation. The division departed New York Port of Embarkation on 1 August 1942, arrived in Beaminster in south-west England about a week later, and departed 22 October 1942 for the combat amphibious assault of North Africa.[12]
As part of II Corps, the division landed in Oran, Algeria on 8 November 1942 as part of Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of French North-Africa.[13] The 1st Division commander was Major General Terry de la Mesa Allen and Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. as deputy division commander. Elements then took part in combat at Maktar, Tebourba, Medjez el Bab, the Battle of the Kasserine Pass (where American forces were pushed back), and Gafsa. It then led the allied assault in brutal fighting at El Guettar, Béja, and Mateur. The 1st Infantry Division was in combat in the North African Campaign from 21 January 1943 – 9 May 1943, helping secure Tunisia.
In July 1943, the division took part in Operation Husky invading Sicily still under the command of Major General Allen. Lieutenant General George S. Patton, Jr. specifically requested the Big Red One as part of his forces for the invasion of Sicily. It was assigned to the II Corps. It was in Sicily that the 1st saw heavy action when making amphibious landings opposed by Italian and German tanks at the Amphibious Battle of Gela. The 1st then moved up through the center of Sicily, slogging it out through the mountains along with the 45th Infantry Division. In these mountains, the division saw some of the heaviest fighting in the entire Sicilian campaign at the Battle of Troina; some units losing more than half their strength in assaulting the mountain town. On 7 August 1943, command was assumed by Major General Clarence R. Huebner.
When that campaign was over, the division returned to England 5 November 1943[14] to prepare for the eventual Normandy invasion.[3] The First Infantry Division and one Regimental Combat Team from the 29th Infantry Division comprised the first wave of troops that assaulted German Army defenses on Omaha Beach on D-Day[3][15] ,[16] with some of the division's units suffering 30 percent casualties in the first hour of the assault,[17][18][19] and secured Formigny and Caumont in the beachhead by the end of the day. The division followed up the Saint-Lô break-through with an attack on Marigny, 27 July 1944, and then drove across France in a continuous offensive, reaching the German border at Aachen in September. The division laid siege to Aachen, taking the city after a a direct assault on 21 October 1944.[3] The First then attacked east of Aachen through the Hurtgen Forest, driving to the Rur, and was moved to a rear area 7 December 1944 for refitting and rest following 6 months of combat. When the German Wacht Am Rhein offensive (commonly called the Battle of the Bulge) was launched on 16 December 1944,[3] the division was quickly moved to the Ardennes front. Fighting continuously from 17 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, the division helped to blunt and reverse the German offensive. Thereupon, the division attacked and again breached the Siegfried Line, fought across the Ruhr, 23 February 1945, and drove on to the Rhine, crossing at the Remagen bridgehead, 15–16 March. The division broke out of the bridgehead, took part in the encirclement of the Ruhr Pocket, captured Paderborn, pushed through the Harz Mountains, and was in Czechoslovakia, fighting at Kinsperk, Sangerberg, and Mnichov when the war in Europe ended. Sixteen members of the division were awarded the Medal of Honor.
World War II – casualties
Killed in Action: 3,616
Wounded in Action: 15,208
Died of Wounds: 664