11th Airborne Division (United States)
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| 11th Airborne Division | |
|---|---|
 11th Airborne Division Shoulder Sleeve Insignia |
|
| Active | 25 February 1943 - 30 June 1958 1963 - 1965 |
| Country | USA |
| Allegiance | U.S. Federal Government Allies |
| Branch | Regular Army |
| Type | Airborne Infantry Air Assault |
| Nickname | The Angels |
| Motto | "1st in Manila, 1st in Tokyo" |
| Battles/wars | World War II *Pacific War **Leyte **Philippines Vietnam Iraq War |
| U.S. Infantry Units | |
|---|---|
| Previous | Next |
| 10th Mountain Division | 12th Infantry Division (Inactive) |
The 11th Airborne Division of the US Army was activated on the 25 February 1943. It was an airborne infantry division that served intermittently from its inception during the Second World War to its inactivation in 1958. From 1963 to 1965, the division was active under the designation 11th Air Assault Division (Test). Its final inactivation came in 1965 when it was redesignated the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile). This division should not be confused with the U.S. Army's 11th Infantry Division of the Mexican-American War.
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] World War II
[edit] Landing
The 11th Airborne Division arrived in New Guinea, 25 May 1944, and continued training, leaving for the Philippines 11 November 1944. The division made an amphibious landing on Leyte, 18 November 1944, between Abuyog and Tarragona (now MacArthur), 40 miles south of Tacloban. Pushing inland, the division cleared the Ormoc-Burauen supply trail, an important Japanese combat lifeline. The 11th's general mission was to seize and secure within its zone all exits from the mountains into Leyte Valley and to secure the western exits from the mountains into the west coastal corridor to assist the attack of the 7th Division toward Ormoc.
[edit] The Enemy
On 6 December 1944 the paratroopers of the 11th found themselves fighting Japanese parachutists who had landed near the San Pablo airstrip. The Japanese were wiped out in a 5-day engagement. In a continuous series of combat actions, Japanese resistance was reduced on Leyte by the end of December 1944. Heavy resistance was met at Rock Hill, which finally fell, 18 December; a sleeping enemy was caught off guard at Hacksaw Hill, 23 December, and suffered heavy losses. During January 1945 the Division rested and staged for a landing on Luzon. While other American troops were driving on Manila from the north, the 11th Airborne made an amphibious landing 60 miles south of Manila, 31 January 1945, at Nasugbu, and began to drive north.
[edit] Jumps
The first combat jump by an element of the division in the war, that of the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment on Tagaytay Ridge, 3 February 1945, met no resistance. The 511th crossed the Parañaque River 5 February, and reached Manila, meeting fierce Japanese resistance. Nichols Field was taken, 12 February, and Fort McKinley was flanked, 12-16 February, and finally taken, 17 February. A combined air and sea assault liberated more than 2,000 Allied civilians interned at Los Baños, 23 February 1945. With Manila declared secure, the Division reduced a strong ring of enemy outposts between Lake Taal and Laguna de Bay, and occupied towns along Highway No. 1, cutting off the Bicol Peninsula. In April the 11th took part in clearing out remaining enemy resistance in Batangas province, and by 1 May, all resistance in southern Luzon had ended.
[edit] Final Mission
The final operation of the Division was conducted on 23 June 1945, in conjunction with the advance of the 37th Division in northern Luzon. A Task Force was formed and jumped on Camalaniugan Airfield, south of Aparri. The force attacked and made contact with the 37th Infantry Division, 26 June 1945, between Alcala and the Paret River. In July 1945 the Division trained; in August it was transported by air to Honshū, Japan, via Okinawa, for occupation duty.
[edit] Post-war
Air Assault Division Insignia.
After occupation duty in Japan, the division returned to Camp Campbell in Kentucky in 1949. Its mission became that of a training division, during which time they helped train the Army Reserve 100th Airborne Division. In 1950, the division participated in a training exercise called "Swarmer" at Fort Bragg, North Carolina where resupply techniques were perfected, the results of which were used during the Korean Conflict. During the Korean War, the division's 187th Regimental Combat Team was sent to Korea where it conducted two combat jumps. To fill the void left by the 187th's departure, the 188th Airborne Infantry Regiment was reactivated in August 1950. Formerly a glider infantry regiment, it had made the only glider attack in the Pacific War. Additionally, the 503rd Airborne Infantry Regiment was reactivated to complete the division's strength.
The division's final overseas assignment came on March 4, 1956, when it was sent to Germany to replace the 5th Infantry Division in Augsburg, Germany during Operation Gyroscope. On 30 June 1958, the 11th Airborne Division was inactivated and its components reflagged as the 24th Infantry Division in Augsburg, Germany. Part of the 11th (1st Airborne Battle Group, 187th Infantry; 1st Airborne Battle Group, 503rd Inf; and the 11th Quartermaster Company, a parachute rigger unit) remained on jump status within the 24th Infantry Division. The 1st ABG, 187th Inf was sent to Beirut, Lebanon, as part of President Dwight D. Eisenhower's move to prevent the loss of Lebanon to the newly emerging United Arab Republic, while the 1st ABG, 503rd Inf was held in reserve in Germany. In less than a year the two battle groups departed the 24th for assignment to the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg and the 11th QM Co was assigned to the newly-formed Airborne force within the 8th Infantry Division to the northwest in Mainz. The 11th Airborne Division headquarters were officially inactivated in July of 1958 at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
The division was briefly reactivated in 1963 at Fort Benning, Georgia, as the 11th Air Assault Division (Test). The division's mission was to test the concept of helicopter assault tactics, with the helicopters of the 11th Aviation Group. Those two years would mark the division's final mission. The division was inactivated for the final time in 1965 when its headquarters transferred to the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile). Its legacy is perpetuated in the form of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), especially that division's 3rd Brigade Combat Team—of which the 1st and 3rd Battalions, 187th Infantry Regiment, are a part.
[edit] Subordinate Units
[edit] World War II
- 187th Glider Infantry Regiment
- 188th Glider Infantry Regiment (converted to PIR on 20 July 1945)
- 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment
- HHB Division Artillery
- 457th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion (75mm)
- 472nd Parachute Field Artillery Battalion (75mm) (assigned 20 July 1945)
- 674th Glider Field Artillery Battalion (75mm) (converted to PFAB 20 July 1945)
- 675th Glider Field Artillery Battalion (75mm)
- 221st Airborne Medical Company
- 127th Airborne Engineer Battalion
- 152nd Airborne Antiaircraft Battalion
- Headquarters Special Troops
- Headquarters Company, 11th Airborne Division
- Military Police Platoon
- 711th Airborne Ordnance Maintenance Company
- 511th Airborne Signal Company
- 11th Parachute Maintenance Company
- 408th Airborne Quartermaster Company
[edit] 1950-1956
- 188th Airborne Infantry Regiment
- 503rd Airborne Infantry Regiment (assigned 2 March 1952 to replace 187th AIR sent to Korea)
- 511th Airborne Infantry Regiment
- 76th Tank Battalion
- 710th Tank Battalion (no longer listed by 1955)
- 127th Airborne Engineer Battalion
- 89th Airborne Field Artillery Battalion
- 457th Airborne Field Artillery Battalion
- 544th Airborne Field Artillery Battalion
- 675th Airborne Field Artillery Battalion
- 88th Airborne Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion
- 11th Airborne Medical Battalion
- Special Troops
- Headquarters Company
- 11th Military Police Company
- 11th Parachute Maintenance Company
- 408th Quartermaster Company
- 11th Replacement Company
- Air Section
- Pathfinder Platoon
[edit] Station List as of 17 April 1957
- Command & Control Battalion
- HQ & HQ Logistics Company
- 11th Admin Company
- 11th Aviation Company
- Troop C (Recon)(Abn), 17th Cavalry
- 127th Engineer Combat Battalion
- 511th Signal Battalion
- 1st Airborne Battle Group, 187th Infantry
- 2nd Airborne Battle Group, 502nd Infantry
- 1st Airborne Battle Group, 503rd Infantry
- 2nd Airborne Battle Group, 504th Infantry
- 2nd Airborne Battle Group, 505th Infantry
- 11th Airborne Division Artillery
- HQ & HQ Battery
- Batteries A, B & C, 320th Artillery (Abn)
- Batteries D & E, 321st Artillery (Abn)
- Battery C, 377th Artillery (Abn)
- Support Group, 11th Abn Div
- HQ & HQ Logistics Company
- 11th QM Co (Parachute Support)
- 711th Maintenance Battalion
- 408th Supply & Transportation Co
- 111th Medical Company
- 76th Tank Battalion (90mm)
- 11th CIC Detachment
- 545th Ordnance Company (DS)
- 886th Medical Company (Ambulance)
- 551st Transportation Company
Most units were located in Augsburg. The 127th Engineer Combat Battalion, 1-503rd Infantry, 76th Tank Battalion, and 111th Medical Company were in Munich. Locations for last four in this list will be provided as the information becomes available.
Effective 1 July 1958 the 11th Airborne Division was inactivated and most of its components were reorganized and reflagged as units of the reactivated 24th Infantry Division. The 24th retained a partial Airborne capability with these units:
- 1st ABG, 187th Inf
- 1st ABG, 503rd Inf
- 11th QM Parachute Supply & Maintenance Co
On 7 January 1959, 1-503rd was relieved from the 24th Infantry Division and assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, NC. It was followed on 8 February 1959 by 1-187th. The 11th QM Company was relieved from the 24th on 5 February 1959 and moved to the 8th Inf Div to the northwest in Mainz to support the latter's Airborne components being formed at that time by the arrival of 1-504th and 1-505th from the 82nd Airborne Division as well as other supporting arms formed up in-theater.
[edit] 11th Air Assault Division (Test), 1963-65
- HHC, 1st Brigade
- 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry (activated 1 February 1964)
- 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry (activated 7 February 1963)
- 1st Battalion, 188th Infantry
- 1st Battalion, 511th Infantry
- Division Artillery
- 2nd Battalion, 42nd Artillery
- 6th Battalion, 81st Artillery
- 3rd Battalion (Composite), 377th Artillery
- Battery E (Aviation), 26th Artillery
- Troop B, 3rd Squadron, 17th Cavalry
- Co A, 127th Engineer Battalion
- Co A (Command Operations), 511th Signal Battalion
- Co A, 11th Medical Battalion
- 711th Maintenance Battalion
- 408th Supply & Service Company
- 11th Military Police Company
- 11th Aviation Group
- 226th Aviation Battalion (Aerial Surveillance & Attack)
- 227th Aviation Battalion (Assault Helicopter)
- 228th Aviation Battalion (Assault Support Helicopter)
- 229th Aviation Battalion (Assault Helicopter)
- 11th Aviation Company (General Support)
- 10th Air Transport Brigade
- 611th Maintenance Battalion
- 710th Transportation Battalion (AS&M)
- 37th Transportation Battalion (Air)
- 187th Aviation Company
- 188th Aviation Company
- 478th Aviation Company (Heavy Helicopter)
- 72nd Air Traffic Control Company
- Co A, 170th Transportation Battalion (Aircraft Support & Maintenance)
- redesignated elements, 2nd Infantry Division (United States)
- other formations and units
[edit] Division commanders
- MG Joseph M. Swing Feb-43 - Jan-48
- MG William M. Miley Jan-48 - Jan-50
- MG Lyman L. Lemnitzer Jan-50 - Nov-51
- MG Wayne C. Smith Nov-50 - Jan-52
- MG Ridgely Gaither Feb-52 - Apr-53
- MG Wayne C. Smith May-53 - May-55
- MG Derrill McDaniel Jun-55 - Sep-56
- MG Hugh P. Harris Oct-56 - Apr-58
- MG Ralph Cooper May-58 - Jun-58 (inactiviation)
- MG Harry W. O. Kinnard `63 - `65 (inactivation)
