19th Division (United States)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Prior to 1917, the 19th Division was a National Guard division consisting of Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. In 1917 it was changed to the 40th Division.

The 19th Division was an infantry division of the United States Army activated for service in Europe during the First World War. The 19th Division was still in the process of formation when the war ended. Shortly afterwards the unit was deactivated.

During the Second World War the division remained inactive. However, it saw service of a kind as a "phantom division" as part of Allied deception measures. It was assigned to SHAEF for use in Operation Fortitude South, but was never actually utilized during that endeavor.

The division's order of battle included the following fictional units:

Headquarters, 19th Infantry Division

572d Infantry Regiment

573d Infantry Regiment

578th Infantry Regiment

Divisional Troops

In July 1944 the Division was redesignated as the 109th Infantry Division.