31st Infantry Division (United States)
31st Infantry Division | |
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Active |
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Country | United States |
Branch | United States Army |
Type | Infantry |
Size | Division |
Nickname(s) | "Dixie Division" |
Motto(s) | It shall be done |
Engagements | World War II |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Albert H. Blanding John C. Persons Clarence A. Martin |
The 31st Infantry Division ("Dixie") was an infantry division of the
Organized in 1917 during World War I from the national guardsmen of Alabama, Florida, and Georgia, the division deployed to France in September 1918, arriving weeks before the Armistice of 11 November that ended the war. In France, it was reduced to a cadre and most of its troops used to provide replacements for units already in France. It returned to the United States in December and was demobilized in January 1919.
The 31st was reorganized in 1923 with national guardsmen from Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi. It was mobilized in 1940 during
In 1946, the 31st was reactivated with Alabama and Mississippi units. Mobilized during the
World War I
Organization and training
According to the 5 May 1917 organization plan of National Guard divisions, the Alabama, Florida, and Georgia guard units were to form the 10th Division, though it was not organized at the time.
The division included the 61st and 62nd Infantry Brigades and the 56th Field Artillery Brigade by the end of the concentration period. The 61st included the 5th Georgia Infantry, separate Georgia infantry companies, and detachments of the 1st and 2nd Georgia and 1st Florida Regiments of Infantry; the 62nd included the 1st Alabama and 2nd Florida Infantry, and detachments of the 1st Florida and 1st Georgia Regiments of Infantry and of the 1st Alabama Cavalry; the 56th included detachments of the Georgia Field Artillery, the 1st Florida, 1st Georgia, and 2nd Alabama Regiments of Infantry, and of the 1st Alabama Cavalry.[2]
On 1 September, the 31st was reorganized in accordance with the tables of organization of 8 August, which called for a
The 31st transferred almost all of its infantry privates and about half of its artillery privates from November to June, including 4,300 who were sent to
Overseas deployment and demobilization
The division began its overseas movement in September, relocating via
For duty with the
The division headquarters, the 61st and 62nd Brigades, the 116th Battalion, and 106th Train Headquarters and Military Police were skeletonized early in November. Most of its personnel were transferred to the
Elements of the division remained in France for several months longer, however. The 106th Supply Train relocated to Camp de Souge on 29 November. The 106th Trench Mortar Battery and part of the 106th Sanitary Train sailed on 2 and 15 January, respectively. The 106th Field Signal Battalion departed Bordeaux on 18 April, and the last units of the division overseas, the 106th Engineers and 106th Supply Train, returned to the United States on 5 July.[8]
Interwar period
Under the
During the interwar period, the division did not train together in most years, as separate summer camps were held for the units of each state. Florida units trained at
Elements of the 31st were called up for state duty several times during the interwar period. Its Louisiana and Mississippi units were called up to provide emergency relief due to the
Blanding became Chief of the National Guard Bureau on 30 January 1936 and was temporarily replaced by Louisiana Brigadier General Louis F. Guerre during his tenure in that position, which lasted until 30 January 1940. In August 1938, the division was reunited for the Fourth Corps Area concentration of the Third Army Maneuver in the De Soto National Forest, during which it operated as part of the provisional IV Corps. Between 17 and 23 December 1939, the division staff conducted supplementary winter training at Jackson Barracks to prepare for the upcoming Louisiana Maneuvers. During the maneuvers, held in the Kisatchie National Forest during August 1940, the 31st operated as part of IV Corps against VIII Corps. On 10 November the division headquarters relocated to Birmingham; Blanding retired on 18 November and was replaced by Alabama Major General John C. Persons, who led the division for most of the next four years.[9]
World War II
- Called into federal service: 25 November 1940; Camp Blanding, Florida (National Guard Division from Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi).
- Overseas: 12 March 1944.
- Campaigns: New Guinea, Southern Philippines.
- Distinguished Unit Citations: 1.
- Awards: MH-1; DSC-7; DSM-3; SS-178; LM-11; DFC-1; SM-73; BS-948; AM-77.
- Commanders: Maj. Gen. John C. Persons (25 November 1940 – 23 September 1944), Maj. Gen. Clarence A. Martin (23 September 1944 to inactivation).
- Assistant Commanders: Brig. Gen. Joseph C. Hutchinson (21 February 1942 to inactivation)
- Returned to U.S.: 12 December 1945.
- Inactivated: 21 December 1945
Order of battle
- Headquarters, 31st Infantry Division
- 124th Infantry Regiment
- Relieved from division 15 December 1941; reactivated in New Guinea on 5 April 1944 using the assets of the 154th Infantry Regiment, and assigned to division.
- 154th Infantry Regiment
- Activated in the Army of the United States and assigned to division 20 September 1942; disbanded on New Guinea 5 April 1944 and personnel and equipment used to fill the reactivated 124th Infantry Regiment.
- 155th Infantry Regiment
- 156th Infantry Regiment
- Relieved from division 14 July 1942.
- 167th Infantry Regiment
- Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 31st Infantry Division Artillery
- 114th Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm)
- 115th Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm)
- 117th Field Artillery Battalion (155 mm)
- 149th Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm)
- 106th Engineer Combat Battalion
- 106th Medical Battalion
- 31st Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop (Mechanized)
- Headquarters, Special Troops, 31st Infantry Division
- Headquarters Company, 31st Infantry Division
- 731st Ordnance Light Maintenance Company
- 31st Quartermaster Company
- 31st Signal Company
- Military Police Platoon
- Band
- 31st Counterintelligence Corps Detachment
Mobilization and training
As a result of World War II, the division was mobilized along with the entire National Guard and inducted into Federal service on 25 November 1940 at home stations. Instead of being sent to Camp McClellan, the 31st went to Camp Blanding, arriving on 22 December to discover that it was still under construction. After being strengthened by Selective Service draftees, the division participated in the IV Corps Louisiana Maneuvers in August 1941, the GHQ maneuvers near Good Hope Church between September and October as part of IV Corps, and the First Army Carolina Maneuvers near Ruby and Chesterfield, South Carolina during October and November as part of IV Corps, before returning to Blanding.[9]
On 15 December 1941, the
The 156th Infantry Regiment of the Louisiana National Guard was separated from the 31st Division on 14 July 1942. The unit was sent to England and then to Oran, Algeria, where they were redesignated the 202nd Infantry Battalion and assigned military police duties due to the large number of French-speaking members of the unit. Portions of the unit participated in the D-Day landings, with the entire unit being reunited on 24 June 1944. The unit was later used to guard allied headquarters and supply lines in liberated territory. The unit returned to the US on 11 March 1946.
Combat chronicle
The 31st Infantry Division arrived in Oro Bay, New Guinea, 24 April 1944, and engaged in amphibious training prior to entering combat. Alerted on 25 June 1944 for movement to Aitape, New Guinea, the 124th RCT left Oro Bay and landed at Aitape 3–6 July 1944. The combat team moved up to advanced positions and took part in the general offensive launched 13 July, including the bloody Battle of Driniumor River.
Meanwhile, the remainder of the division relieved the
Other elements reverted to
The division returned to the United States and was inactivated at Camp Stoneman on 21 December.[11]
Casualties
- Total battle casualties: 1,733[12]
- Killed in action: 340[12]
- Wounded in action: 1,392[12]
- Prisoner of war: 1[12]
Postwar
The division was reorganized postwar in Alabama and Mississippi, with its Alabama part federally recognized at Birmingham on 1 November 1946, followed by the Mississippi part at Greenville on 2 December.[11]
After the
The 31st Infantry (NGUS) Division was effectively reformed with units from Alabama and Mississippi, with its headquarters moving to Mobile on 10 December 1956 and back to Birmingham on 2 May 1959.[18] It served as a National Guard division until its inactivation on 14 January 1968.[11]
The division headquarters became the headquarters of the 31st Brigade,
Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 31st Brigade, 30th Armored Division was reorganized and redesignated 1 November 1973 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 31st Armored Brigade, and relieved of assignment from the 30th Armored Division. Location changed 1 February 1979 to
Notes
- ^ Wilson 1998, p. 40.
- ^ a b c d Historical Section, Army War College 1931, p. 173.
- ^ a b c Historical Section, Army War College 1931, p. 170.
- ^ a b Historical Section, Army War College 1931, p. 171.
- ^ Historical Section, Army War College 1931, pp. 172–173.
- ^ Wilson 1998, p. 69.
- ^ Historical Section, Army War College 1931, p. 175.
- ^ a b Historical Section, Army War College 1931, pp. 174–175.
- ^ a b c d e f Clay 2010, pp. 225–226.
- ^ Wilson 1998, pp. 100–101.
- ^ a b c d e f Wilson 1999, p. 652.
- ^ a b c d Army Battle Casualties and Nonbattle Deaths (Statistical and Accounting Branch, Office of the Adjutant General, 1 June 1953)
- ^ Globalsecurity.org, 31st Armored Brigade (Separate), accessed May 2009
- ^ "Divisional Redesignations". Military Review. 34 (4): 66. July 1954.
- ^ Mississippi Secretary of State 1964, p. 268.
- ^ Alabama Department of Archives and History 1959, pp. 345–347.
- ^ "Dixie Division Finishes Effective Field Training". The Winston County Journal. 23 July 1964. Retrieved 18 March 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ History of the 31st Chemical Brigade Archived 23 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine, accessed May 2009
- ^ Isby & Kamps 1985, p. 385.
References
- Alabama Department of Archives and History (1959). Alabama Official and Statistical Register, 1959. Alexander City, Alabama: Outlook Publishing.
- The Army Almanac: A Book of Facts Concerning the Army of the United States U.S. Government Printing Office, 1950 reproduced at CMH Archived 21 March 2021 at the Wayback Machine.
- After-Action Report and G-3 Journal, 31st Infantry Division, NARA.
- Clay, Steven E. (2010). US Army Order of Battle 1919–1941 (PDF). Vol. 1: The Arms: Major Commands and Infantry Organizations. Fort Leavenworth, Kansas: Combat Studies Institute Press. ISBN 9781780399164.
- Historical Section, Army War College (1931). Order of Battle of the United States Land Forces in the World War; American Expeditionary Forces; Divisions (PDF) (Reprint, 1988 ed.). Washington: Government Printing Office.
- History of the 31st Infantry Division in training and combat, 1940–1945. Army & Navy Publishing Company. 1946.
- Isby, David C.; Kamps, Charles T. (1985). Armies of NATO's Central Front. ISBN 0-7106-0341-X.
- Mississippi Secretary of State (1964). "Mississippi Official and Statistical Register, 1960–1964". Official and Statistical Register. Jackson: State of Mississippi.
- Robert Ross Smith (1991). US Army in World War II, War in the Pacific, Triumph in the Philippines. Washington, D.C.: Center of Military History, United States Army.
- Wilson, John B. (1998). Maneuver and Firepower: The Evolution of Divisions and Separate Brigades (PDF). Washington, D.C.: ISBN 0-16-049571-7. Archived from the original(PDF) on 1 March 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
- Wilson, John B. (1999). Armies, Corps, Divisions, and Separate Brigades (PDF). Washington, D.C.: ISBN 0-16-049994-1. Archived from the original(PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
- 31st Infantry Division ROSTER - 16,376 entries[1]
Further reading
- Rein, Christopher M. (2022). Mobilizing the South: The Thirty-First Infantry Division, Race, and World War II. Tuscaloosa, AL: OCLC 1295618966.
- Triplet, William S. (2000). OCLC 43707198.