29th Infantry Division (United States)
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| 29th Infantry Division | |
|---|---|
 Shoulder Sleeve Insignia of the 29th Infantry Division. |
|
| Active | 1917-1919; 1941-1968; 1984-present |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | U.S. Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Nickname | Blue and Gray |
| Motto | "29, Let's Go!" |
| Battles/wars | US Civil War {pre World War I regiments} World War I World War II |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander |
Arthur H. Wyman |
| Notable commanders |
H. Steven Blum |
The U.S. 29th Infantry Division is a United States infantry division that has existed since World War I as part of the Army National Guard.
Nicknamed "Blue and Gray", the division's motto is "29, Let's Go!" taken from General Eisenhower's inspiring speech to the troops preparing for the invasion of Normandy. The shoulder patch is a half-blue, half-gray Chinese taijitu; this patch was approved 14 December 1917 and was designed by Maj. James Ulio. The uniting of the blue and grey symbolizes the fact that the division was composed of regiments from Virginia and Maryland that had fought on both sides of the American Civil War.
Contents |
[edit] World War I
The 29th Infantry Division was formed on 25 August 1917 as a National Guard division from Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and the District of Columbia and was sent to Europe in July 1918. The division saw action in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive and sustained a total of 5,570 casualties of which 787 were killed and 4,783 were wounded. The division returned to the United States in May 1919 and was then demobilized.
Commanders:
- Brigadier General Charles W. Barber (28 July–25 August 1917)
- Major General Charles G. Morton (25 August–24 September 1917; 6 December–11 December 1917; 26 December 1917–23 March 1918; 26 March 1918 to demobilisation)
- Brigadier General William C. Rafferty (24 September–6 December 1917; 11 December–26 December 1917; 23 March–26 March 1918)
[edit] World War II
The 29th Division was reactivated on 3 February 1941 and departed for the United Kingdom on 5 October 1942 where it continued training in Scotland and England from October of 1942 up to June 1944 in preparation for the invasion of France.
Teamed with the U.S. 1st Infantry Division, the 116th Infantry Regiment of the 29th Division was in the first assault wave to hit the beaches at Normandy on D-Day, 6 June 1944. The division itself landed on Omaha Beach on the same day in the face of intense enemy fire but soon secured the bluff tops and went on to occupy Isigny on 9 June. The division cut across the Elle River and advanced slowly toward St. Lo, fighting bitterly in the Normandy bocage (hedge rows).
After taking St. Lo on 18 July, the division joined in the battle for Vire, capturing that strongly held city on 7 August. Turning west, the 29th took part in the assault on Brest from 25 August to 18 September.
After a short rest, the division moved to defensive positions along the Teveren-Geilenkirchen line in Germany and maintained those positions through October. (In mid-October the 116th Infantry took part in the fighting at the Aachen Gap.) On 16 November the division began its drive to the Rur, blasting its way through Siersdorf, Setterich, Duerboslar, and Bettendorf, reaching the Rur by the end of the month.
On 8 December, heavy fighting reduced Julich Sportplatz and the Hasenfeld Gut. From 8 December 1944 to 23 February 1945, the division held defensive positions along the Rur and prepared for the offensive. The attack jumped off across the Rur on 23 February and carried the division through Julich, Broich, Immerath, and Titz to Mönchengladbach on 1 March. The division was out of combat in March, however in early April the 116th Infantry helped mop up in the Ruhr area and on 19 April the division pushed to the Elbe River and held defensive positions until 4 May. Meanwhile, the 175th Infantry Regiment cleared the Kloetze Forest. After VE Day, the division was on military government duty in the Bremen enclave.
The 29th Infantry Division had spent 242 days in combat during campaigns in Normandy, Northern France, the Rhineland and Central Europe, earning four Distinguished Unit Citations in the process. Two soldiers of the division were awarded the Medal of Honor. Also awarded were 44 DSCs, one DSM, 854 Silver Stars, 17 Legion of Merit, 24 Soldier's Medal and 6,308 Bronze Stars.
The 29th Division returned to the United States on January 4, 1946 and was demobilized two weeks later.
Commanders:
- Major General Milton A. Reckord (1934-January 1942)
- Major General Leonard T. Gerow (February 1942-July 1943)
- Major General Charles H. Gerhardt (July 1943 to demobilization.)
[edit] Organization
- 115th, 116th and 175th Infantry Regiments
- 110th, 111th, 224th and 227th Field Artillery Battalions
- 121st Engineer Combat Battalion
- Attached unit: 821st Tank Destroyer Battalion
[edit] Assignments in Europe
- 22 October 1943: V Corps, First Army
- 14 June 1944: XIX Corps
- 1 August 1944: XIX Corps, First Army, 12th Army Group
- 12 August 1944: V Corps
- 19 August 1944: First Army, 12th Army Group, but attached to the VIII Corps, Third Army, 12th Army Group
- 5 September 1944: VIII Corps, Ninth Army, 12th Army Group
- 21 September 1944: XIX Corps, First Army, 12th Army Group
- 22 October 1944: XIX Corps, Ninth Army, 12th Army Group
- 20 December 1944: XIX Corps, Ninth Army (attached to British 21st Army Group), 12th Army Group
- 23 December 1944: XIII Corps
- 4 February 1945 : XIX Corps
- 29 March 1945: XVI Corps
- 4 April 1945: XVI Corps, Ninth Army, 12th Army Group
- 5 April 1945: Ninth Army, 12th Army Group
- 12 April 1945: XVI Corps
- 17 April 1945: XIII Corps
- 4 May 1945: XVI Corps
[edit] Post World War II
In 1968 the Army retired the flag of the 29th Infantry Division due to re-organization of the National Guard divisions. For the next twenty years the various regiments of the division were organized either as separate infantry brigades or as parts of other division, most notably the 28th Infantry Division from the Pennsylvania National Guard.
On 6 June 1984, the 40th anniversary of the D-Day Normandy landings, the 29th Division was re-activated as a National Guard light infantry division. At that time it was composed (primarily) of the 116th Infantry Regiment from Virginia, 111th Field Artillery from Virginia, the 115th Infantry Regiment and 175th Infantry Regiment from Maryland, and the 110th Field Artillery from Maryland. In 1995 the 26th Infantry Division from New England was also incorporated into the 29th Division, becoming the 26th Brigade, headquartered in Massachusetts.
The 29th was the second National Guard division to provide a division headquarters for the SFOR mission in Bosnia. Following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, many elements of the 29th participated in the Global War on Terror, including Operation Noble Eagle, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.
The 1/102nd Infantry Battalion based out of New Haven, CT deployed to Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom in April of 2006 attached to the 10th Mountain Division. The year spent on the ground was the bloodiest year in Afghanistan since the war began, but this proud battalion of the 29th who only a year earlier had returned from Iraq showed their true colors and helped neutralize the enemy wherever they appeared.
The 29th Division started transitioning to the new structure shown below, adding brigades from North Carolina and Puerto Rico, in late 2006.
Commanders:
- Major General H. Steven Blum (August 1999-August 2002)
- Major General Daniel E. Long, Jr. (August 2002-November 2004)
- Major General Arthur H. Wyman (November 2004-Present)
Current Composition:
- Division Headquarters
- 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team, (NC NG)
- 58th Infantry Brigade Combat Team((MD NG)
- 1-175th Infantry Battalion (MD NG)
- 2-200th Infantry Battalion (NM NG)
- 1-158th Cavalry Squadron (RSTA) (MD NG)
- 1-110th Field Artillery Battalion (MD NG)
- 729th Support Battalion (MD NG)
- 58BCT Special Troops Battalion (MD NG)
- 92nd Brigade Combat Team (PR NG)
- 1-65th Infantry Battalion
- 1-296th Infantry Battalion
- 1-192nd Cavalry Squadron (RSTA)
- 2-162nd Field Artillery Battalion
- 192nd Support Battalion
- 92BCT Special Troops Battalion
- 116th 'Stonewall' Infantry Brigade Combat Team, (VA NG)
- 1st Battalion, 116th Infantry
- 3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry
- 1st Squadron, 183rd Cavalry
- 1st Battalion, 111th Field Artillery
- 429th Support Battalion
- 116BCT Special Troops Battalion
- 29th Aviation Brigade
- Other combat support and combat service support units
[edit] Heraldry
- Distinctive Unit Insignia: Fleur-de-lis above by the division motto, commemorating the division's service in France during both world wars.
[edit] The 29th in Popular Culture
In the video game Call of Duty 3 the player is immersed in World War II from the point of a view of a soldier in the American 29th Division, Private Nichols. Your squad is later transferred to the 90th Infantry Division, and although the shoulder insignia changes, some of your squad members retain the 29th's insignia on their helmets.
In the 1998 film "Saving Private Ryan", the character Corporal Timothy E.Upham is portrayed as a soldier serving with the 29th Infantry division. He was drafted in to serve with a squad from the 2nd Rangers. Many of the soldiers seen in the Omaha Beach sequence are from the 29th, identified by their shoulder insignias. The 29th, along with the 1st Infantry Division, were grouped with a few companies of the 2nd Ranger Battalion to storm Omaha Beach on June 6th, 1944.
The popular US Route 29, formerly known as the Warrenton Turnpike, was renamed in honor of the 29th Infantry Division because it runs from Maryland to North Carolina.
[edit] References
- The Army Almanac: A Book of Facts Concerning the Army of the United States U.S. Government Printing Office, 1950 reproduced at Combat Chronicle: 29th Infantry Division.
- 'UNIT DESIGNATIONS IN THE ARMY MODULAR FORCE'
http://www.cascom.army.mil/odct/Documents/AUSA_Briefing_26_Sep_05.ppt
