| 79th Infantry Division | |
|---|---|
79th Infantry Division shoulder sleeve insignia |
|
| Active | 1917–1919 1942–1945 |
| Country | United States of America |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Branch | United States Army |
| Nickname | Cross of Lorraine (Special Designation)[1] |
| Engagements | World War I World War II |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Anthony C. McAuliffe |
| US infantry divisions (1939–present) | |
|---|---|
| Previous | Next |
| 78th Infantry Division | 80th Infantry Division (Inactive) |
The 79th Infantry Division ("Cross of Lorraine"[1]) was a unit of the United States Army in World War I and World War II.
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The division was first activated on August 1917 and after a year of training the division sailed overseas July 1918. The 79th Infantry Division saw extensive combat in the Meuse-Argonne area where it earned the name of "Cross of Lorraine" for their defense of France. The division was inactivated June 1919 and returned to the United States. Throughout its entire World War I campaign, the division suffered some 6,874 casualties with 1,151 killed and 5,723 wounded.
After training in the United Kingdom from 17 April 1944, the 79th Infantry Division landed on Utah Beach, Normandy, 12–14 June and entered combat 19 June 1944, with an attack on the high ground west and northwest of Valognes and high ground south of Cherbourg. The division took Fort du Roule after a heavy engagement and entered Cherbourg, 25 June. It held a defensive line at the Ollonde River until 2 July 1944 and then returned to the offensive, taking La Haye du Puits in house-to-house fighting, 8 July. On 26 July, the 79th attacked across the Ay River, took Lessay, crossed the Sarthe River and entered Le Mans, 8 August, meeting only light resistance. The advance continued across the Seine, 19 August. Heavy German counterattacks were repelled, 22–27 August, and the division reached the Therain River, 31 August. Moving swiftly to the Franco-Belgian frontier near St. Amand, the division encountered heavy resistance in taking Charmes in street fighting, 12 September. The 79th cut across the Moselle and Meurthe Rivers, 13–23 September, cleared the Foret de Parroy in a severe engagement, 28 September–9 October, and attacked to gain high ground east of Emberménil, 14–23 October, when it was relieved, 24 October.
After rest and training at Lunéville, the division returned to combat with an attack from the MignevineMontiguy area, 13 November 1944, which carried it across the Vezouse and Moder Rivers, 18 November–10 December, through Haguenau in spite of determined enemy resistance, and into the Siegfried Line, 17–20 December. The division held a defensive line along the Lauter River, at Wissembourg from 20 December 1944 until 2 January 1945, when it withdrew to Maginot Line defenses. The German attempt to establish a bridgehead west of the Rhine at Gambsheim resulted in furious fighting. The 79th beat off German attacks at Hatten and Rittershoffen in an 11-day battle before withdrawing to new defensive positions south of Haguenau on the Moder River, 19 January 1945. The division remained on the defensive along the Moder until 6 February 1945. During February and March 1945, the division mopped up German resistance, returned to offensive combat, 24 March 1945, crossed the Rhine, drove across the Rhine-Herne Canal, 7 April, secured the north bank of the Ruhr and took part in clearing the Ruhr Pocket until 13 April. The division then went on occupation duty, in the Dortmund, Sudetenland, and Bavarian areas successively, until its return to the United States and inactivation.
Throughout its 248 days of the World War II campaign, the division suffered 15,203 total casualties[2],with 10,971 wounded and 14,875 non-battle injuries. Three soldiers from this division were awarded the Medal of Honor. The division took 35,466 prisoners of war.
This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Army Center of Military History document "The Army Almanac: A Book of Facts Concerning the Army of the United States U.S. Government Printing Office, 1950".