89th Infantry Division (United States)

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Not to be confused with 89th Sustainment Brigade.

89th Infantry Division
89th Division
89th Infantry Division shoulder sleeve insignia
Active1917 – 1919
1921 – 1945
1947 – 1973
Country United States
Branch United States Army
TypeInfantry
SizeDivision
Nickname(s)"The Rolling W"
EngagementsWorld War I

World War II

Commanders
Notable
commanders		Leonard Wood
William M. Wright
John C. H. Lee

The 89th Infantry Division, originally known as the "89th Division," was an infantry formation of the United States Army that was active during World War I, World War II, and the Cold War.

History

World War I

The 89th Division was officially established by the War Department on 5 August 1917, four months after the American entry into World War I, at Camp Funston, Fort Riley, Kansas. On 27 August, Major General Leonard Wood, formerly the Chief of Staff of the United States Army, assumed command. Organization of the division began during the last week of August, with a cadre of officers and men of the Regular Army, and from officers of the Officers' Reserve Corps and National Army officer graduates of the First Officers Training Camp held at Fort Riley. From September 5-10, the initial draft of 2,200 Selective Service men arrived, and from Sept 19-24, an additional 18,600 arrive. The drafted men came from Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, and South Dakota.

The 353rd Infantry was organized with men from Kansas, the 354th Infantry with men from southeastern and eastern Missouri, the 355th Infantry with men from Nebraska, and the 356th Infantry with men from northwest Missouri. The 340th Machine Gun Battalion was organized with men from South Dakota, the 341st Machine Gun Battalion principally from men living in the

Western Electric Company. Men from Nebraska comprised the 314th Ammunition Train, while the 314th Engineer, Sanitary, and Supply Trains received men from each state sent to Camp Funston.[1]

Officers of the 89th Division being decorated by General John J. Pershing in Trier, Germany, April 1919.

Systematic training began. Between January and June 1918, arrivals and departures at Camp Funston aggregated 20,000 each, and on April 30, the 89th Division numbered 16,000 men, having been reduced by transfers to the 3rd, 4th, 35th, and other divisions. In May, fresh drafts and transfers completed the division.

The division, now commanded by Major General

John C.H. Lee, and his G-4 (supply officer), Lt. Col. Brehon B. Somervell, who also received the Distinguished Service Cross for leading a three-man patrol to inspect damage to a bridge some 600 yards (550 m) in front of American lines. Lee would serve under Somervell in the Army Service Forces
from 1942 to 1945.

Order of battle

  • Headquarters, 89th Division
  • 177th Infantry Brigade
    • 353rd Infantry Regiment
    • 354th Infantry Regiment
    • 341st Machine Gun Battalion
  • 178th Infantry Brigade
    • 355th Infantry Regiment
    • 356th Infantry Regiment
    • 342nd Machine Gun Battalion
  • 164th Field Artillery Brigade
    • 340th Field Artillery Regiment (75 mm)
    • 341st Field Artillery Regiment (75 mm)
    • 342nd Field Artillery Regiment (155 mm)
    • 314th Trench Mortar Battery
  • 340th Machine Gun Battalion
  • 314th Engineer Regiment
  • 314th Field Signal Battalion
  • Headquarters Troop, 89th Division
  • 314th Train Headquarters and Military Police
    • 314th Ammunition Train
    • 314th Supply Train
    • 314th Engineer Train
    • 314th Sanitary Train
      • 353rd-356th Ambulance Companies and Field Hospitals

Between the wars

The division was reconstituted in the

Fort Riley, Kansas
. After its reorganization, the division formed rapidly and by November 1922, the “Middle West Division” was up to 95 percent strength in its complement of officers as required by its peacetime tables of organization.

The headquarters and staff usually trained with the staff of the 14th Infantry Brigade,

Citizens Military Training Camps held at Fort Crook, Fort Des Moines, and Fort Leavenworth each year. On a number of occasions, the division participated in Seventh Corps Area and Fourth Army command post exercises in conjunction with other Regular Army, National Guard, and Organized Reserve units. Unlike the Regular and Guard units, however, the 89th Division did not participate in the various Seventh Corps Area maneuvers and the Fourth Army maneuvers of 1937, 1940, and 1941 as an organized unit due to lack of enlisted personnel and equipment. Instead, the officers and a few enlisted reservists were assigned to Regular and Guard units to fill vacant slots and bring the units up to war strength for the exercises. Additionally, some officers were assigned duties as umpires or as support personnel.[2]

Men of the 89th Infantry Division cross the Rhine River in assault boats, March 1945.

Order of battle, 1939

  • Headquarters (Omaha, NE)
  • Headquarters, Special Troops (Omaha, NE)
    • Headquarters Company (Omaha, NE)
    • 89th Military Police Company (Alliance, NE)
    • 89th Signal Company (Omaha, NE)
    • 314th Ordnance Company (Medium) (Beatrice, NE)
    • 89th Tank Company (Light) (Scottsbluff, NE)
  • 177th Infantry Brigade (Wichita, KS)
    • 353rd Infantry Regiment (Wichita, KS)
    • 354th Infantry Regiment (Kansas City, KS)
  • 178th Infantry Brigade (Norfolk, NE)
    • 355th Infantry Regiment (Omaha, NE)
    • 356th Infantry Regiment (Sioux Falls, SD)
  • 164th Field Artillery Brigade (Topeka, KS)
    • 340th Field Artillery Regiment (75 mm) (Wichita, KS)
    • 341st Field Artillery Regiment (75 mm) (Omaha, NE)
    • 342nd Field Artillery Regiment (155 mm) (Lincoln, NE)
    • 314th Ammunition Train (O'Neill, NE)
  • 314th Engineer Regiment (Grand Island, NE)
  • 314th Medical Regiment (Omaha, NE)
  • 414th Quartermaster Regiment (Mitchell, SD)

World War II

The 89th Infantry Division landed in France at

Buchenwald concentration camp. The division continued to move eastward toward the Mulde River, capturing Zwickau by 17 April. The advance was halted, 23 April, and from then until VE-day, the division saw only limited action, engaging in patrolling and general security. Three towns, Lößnitz, Aue, and Stollberg
, were kept under constant pressure, but no attacks were launched.

The crossing of the Rhine between 22 and 28 March 1945.

Order of battle

  • Headquarters, 89th Infantry Division
  • 353rd Infantry Regiment
  • 354th Infantry Regiment
  • 355th Infantry Regiment
  • Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 89th Infantry Division Artillery
    • 340th Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm)
    • 341st Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm)
    • 563rd Field Artillery Battalion (155 mm)
    • 914th Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm)
  • 314th Engineer Combat Battalion
  • 314th Medical Battalion
  • 89th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop (Mechanized)
  • Headquarters, Special Troops, 89th Infantry Division
    • Headquarters Company, 89th Infantry Division
    • 789th Ordnance Light Maintenance Company
    • 89th Quartermaster Company
    • 89th Signal Company
    • Military Police Platoon
    • Band
  • 89th Counterintelligence Corps Detachment

World War II combat record

  • Ordered into active service: 5 July 1942 at Camp Carson, Colorado
  • Overseas: 10 January 1945.
  • Campaigns:
    Central Europe
  • Days of Combat: 57
  • Entered Combat: 12 March 1945
  • Killed in Action: 292[3]
  • Total Casualties: 1,029[4]
  • Awards: DSM-1 ; SS-46; LM-5; SM-1 ; BSM-135 ; AM-17.
  • Commanders:Maj. Gen. William H. Gill (July 1942-February 1943),Maj. Gen. Thomas D. Finley (February 1943 to inactivation).
  • Returned to United States: 16 December 1945.
  • Inactivated: 27 December 1945 at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey

Postwar

The 89th was reactivated as a Reserve unit in 1947 with headquarters in Wichita, Kansas and redesignated as the 89th Division (Training) in 1959. In 1973 the division colors were cased and the shoulder patch (but not the lineage and honors) was continued in use as the 89th Army Reserve Command (ARCOM); ARCOMs were not tactical commands, but were instead regional conglomerations of unrelated units. Upon mobilization, units within the ARCOMs would be assigned to active duty units with which they were aligned. The 89th ARCOM was later redesignated as the 89th Regional Support Command, and in 2003 it became the 89th Regional Readiness Command. In its 2005 BRAC recommendations, United States Department of Defense recommended realigning the Wichita U.S. Army Reserve Center by disestablishing the 89th Regional Readiness Command. This recommendation was part of a larger recommendation to reengineer and streamline the command and control structure of the Army Reserve that would create the Northwest Regional Readiness Command at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin.[5] The 89th currently exists as the 89th Sustainment Brigade in the Reserve.

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ English, George H., Jr. (1920). History of the 89th Division, U.S.A.; From its Organization in 1917, Through its Operations in the World War, the Occupation of Germany and Until Demobilization in 1919. Kansas City, Missouri: War Society of the 89th Division. p. 22-23.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ Clay, Steven E. (2010). U.S. Army Order of Battle, 1919-1941, Volume 1. The Arms: Major Commands and Infantry Organizations, 1919-41. Fort Leavenworth, KS: Combat Studies Institute Press. p. 263-264.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. ^ Army Battle Casualties and Nonbattle Deaths in World War II, Final Report (Statistical and Accounting Branch Office of the Adjutant General, 1 June 1953)
  4. ^ Army Battle Casualties and Nonbattle Deaths in World War II, Final Report (Statistical and Accounting Branch Office of the Adjutant General, 1 June 1953)
  5. ^ Pike, John. "89th Regional Readiness Command".

Bibliography

Further reading

External linksves

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