95th Infantry Division (United States)
95th Infantry Division | |
---|---|
Active | 1918 1921 - 1945 1947 - present |
Country | United States |
Branch | United States Army |
Type | Infantry |
Size | Division |
Garrison/HQ | Fort Sill, Oklahoma |
Nickname(s) | "Iron Men of Metz" (special designation)[1] or "Victory Division"[2] |
Engagements |
|
Commanders | |
Current commander | Command Sergeant Major CSM Kyle Edwards[3] |
Insignia | |
Distinctive unit insignia |
The 95th Infantry Division was an
Activated too late to deploy for World War I, the division remained in the Army's reserve until World War II, when it was sent to Europe. Renowned for fighting back fierce German counterattacks, the division earned the nickname "Iron Men of Metz" for fighting to liberate and defend the town.
In April 1945, the 95th Infantry Division (United States) "Victory" division uncovered a German prison and civilian labor camp in the town of Werl. On April 7, the unit reported discovering a camp housing some 4,500 undernourished French officers and 800 enlisted men. The 95th provided the prisoners with emergency rations from the division's own supplies.
After World War II, the division spent another brief period in reserve before being activated as one of the Army's training divisions.
The 95th Infantry Division (United States) was recognized as a liberating unit by the United States Army Center of Military History and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1995.
Over the next fifty years the division would see numerous changes to its structure as its training roles changed and subordinate units shifted in and out of its command. It activated many regimental and brigade commands to fulfill various training roles. The division then began conducting
History
World War I
The 95th Division was first constituted on 4 September 1918 in the National Army. It was organized that month at
The division was commanded by:[7]
- Colonel Julien Edmund Victor Gaujot (acting), September 23 – September 25, 1918
- Colonel Edward Croft (acting), September 25, 1918 – October 24, 1918
- Brigadier General Mathew C. Smith, October 24, 1918 – December 22, 1918
Interwar period
The 95th Division was reconstituted in the
The designated mobilization and training station for the division was Fort Sill, Oklahoma, the location where much of the 95th Division's training activities occurred in the interwar years. The subordinate infantry regiments of the division held their summer training with the 3rd Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 1925–27; 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 1927–33; and the 3rd Battalion, 29th Infantry Regiment, 1933–39 at Fort Sill. Other units, such as the special troops, artillery, engineers, aviation, medical, and quartermaster, trained at various posts in the Eighth Corps Area. For example, the division’s artillery trained at Fort Sill with the 1st Field Artillery; the 320th Engineer Regiment trained at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, and Fort Logan, Colorado, with the 2nd Engineer Regiment; the 320th Medical Regiment trained at Fort Sam Houston with the 2nd Medical Regiment; and the 320th Observation Squadron trained at Brooks Field, Texas. In addition to the unit training camps, the infantry regiments of the division rotated responsibility to conduct the CMTC training held at Fort Sill each year.
On a number of occasions, the division participated in Eighth Corps Area and Third Army command post exercises in conjunction with other Regular Army, National Guard, and Organized Reserve units. These training events gave division staff officers’ opportunities to practice the roles they would be expected to perform in the event the division was mobilized. Unlike the Regular and Guard units in the Eighth Corps Area, the 95th Division did not participate in the various Eighth Corps Area maneuvers and the Third Army maneuvers of 1938, 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. But, for each maneuver, the division maximized the number of participants. For example, for the 1938 maneuver at Camp Bullis, Texas, the 95th Division provided 173 officers to the 2nd Division and 68 to the National Guard's 45th Division. Similar numbers participated in the two succeeding exercises.[8]
World War II
On 15 July 1942, the division was ordered into active military service and reorganized at Camp Swift, Texas.[4] Major General Harry L. Twaddle was assigned to command, and he remained in this position until the division was demobilized at the end of the war.[9] The 189th and 190th Infantry Brigades were disbanded as part of an army-wide elimination of brigades. Instead, the division was based around three infantry regiments, the 377th Infantry Regiment, the 378th Infantry Regiment, and the 379th Infantry Regiment.[10] The 380th Infantry Regiment remained in an inactive status, and was disbanded on 11 November 1944. The division also received a new shoulder sleeve insignia in August 1942.[11] Over the next two years, the division trained extensively in locations throughout the United States, including Camp Coxcomb in California.[6]
Order of battle
- Headquarters, 95th Infantry Division
- 377th Infantry Regiment
- 378th Infantry Regiment
- 379th Infantry Regiment
- Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 95th Infantry Division Artillery
- 358th Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm)
- 359th Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm)
- 360th Field Artillery Battalion (155 mm)
- 920th Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm)
- 320th Engineer Combat Battalion
- 320th Medical Battalion
- 95th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop (Mechanized
- Headquarters, Special Troops, 95th Infantry Division
- Headquarters Company, 95th Infantry Division
- 795th Ordnance Light Maintenance Company
- 95th Quartermaster Company
- 95th Signal Company
- Military Police Platoon
- Band
- 95th Counterintelligence Corps Detachment
Europe
The 95th Infantry Division was assigned to
The division pushed toward the
On 23 February, the division was relieved, and the 95th assembled near
Casualties
- Total battle casualties: 6,591[14]
- Killed in action: 1,205[14]
- Wounded in action: 4,945[14]
- Missing in action: 61[14]
- Prisoner of war: 380[14]
Demobilization
The division returned to the United States on 29 June 1945 where it began the process of preparing to join the invasion forces of the Japanese Island of Honshu as part of the First United States Army. With the ending of the war in Japan, the division, remaining on orders for the Pacific, staged a minor mutiny before the orders were changed. This resulted in the division being demobilized and releasing its soldiers from Army service. It was inactivated on 15 October 1945 at
Cold War
The division was reactivated on 13 May 1947 at Oklahoma City as a reserve unit. However, it was not mobilized for any combat duties following World War II.
The year 1955 saw further changes to the division and more changes of assignment for subordinate elements. On 1 January 1955, the 291st Regiment was again assigned to the 75th Infantry Division from the 95th and was subsequently inactivated on 31 January 1955.[6] On 30 January, the 377th Regiment was reassigned to the 95th from the 75th and its headquarters moved from New Orleans to Tulsa, Oklahoma. The same date saw the relocation of the 379th Regimental headquarters from Hot Springs, Arkansas where it had been since 1947, to Little Rock, Arkansas.[6]
On 1 April 1958 the 95th Infantry Division was redesignated as the 95th Division (Training) and a major reorganization of mission assignments was underway. Personnel trained for infantry combat, field artillery, military police and combat support roles were now to undergo re-training to enable them to train others.[6] The division had a new role as one of the 13 Training Divisions in the Army Reserve. The same year the division's size increased as the 291st Regiment was reassigned again from the 75th and was redesignated as 291st Regiment (Advanced Individual Training). With the reorganization of the division all of the regiments were redesignated. The 95th Divisional Artillery became the 95th Regiment (Common Specialist Training) with headquarters at Shreveport, Louisiana. The 377th became the 377th Regiment (Basic Combat Training), as did the 378th and 379th, and all were reassigned new training sites.[6] In 1966, the division received a distinctive unit insignia.[11]
In 1967, the division was reorganized according to the
The division was located in three states, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana. The 1st Brigade was headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma and had elements of the 377th and 379th in regiments in its battalions. The 2nd Brigade was headquartered in
The division experienced tremendous expansion in October 1984 with the addition of the 4073d US Army Reception Station, in Lafayette, Louisiana, with a strength of 809 personnel.[6] The 402nd Brigade was also activated under the division's administrative control. It was designated to expand the training base for the Army's Field Artillery Training Center located at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.[6] In 1989 the division's location was returned to Oklahoma City.[4]
Present day
The division continued its mission of training and operating one station unit training. In 1996, the division received three additional brigades as part of an Army consolidation of training commands. The 5th Brigade, 95th Division was activated in
In 2000, the brigade took on the additional responsibility of training
Subordinate units
As of 2017 the following units are subordinated to the 95th Training Division (Initial Entry Training):
- 1st Brigade (Initial Entry Training), Fort Sill, Oklahoma[19]
- 1st Battalion, 330th Regiment (Basic Combat Training), Fort Wayne, Indiana[20]
- 3d Battalion, 334th Regiment (Basic Combat Training), Milwaukee, Wisconsin[21]
- 2d Battalion, 354th Regiment (Basic Combat Training), Grand Prairie, Texas
- 1st Battalion, 355th Regiment (Basic Combat Training), Round Rock, Texas[22]
- 2nd Battalion, 377th Regiment (Basic Combat Training), Lincoln, Nebraska[23]
- 3d Battalion, 378th Regiment (Basic Combat Training), Norman, Oklahoma[24]
- 2d Battalion, 379th Regiment (Training Support), Fort Sill, Oklahoma
- 2d Brigade (Initial Entry Training), Vancouver, Washington
- 2d Battalion, 413th Regiment (Basic Combat Training), Riverside, California[25]
- 1st Battalion, 415th Regiment (Basic Combat Training), Phoenix, Arizona[26]
- 3d Battalion, 415th Regiment (Basic Combat Training), Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington
- 2d Battalion,
- 3d Brigade (Initial Entry Training), Beaver Dam, Wisconsin
- 1st Battalion, 320th Regiment (Military Police One Station Unit Training), Abingdon, Virginia
- 2d Battalion, 330th Regiment (Engineer One Station Unit Training), Arlington Heights, Illinois
- 1st Battalion, 334th Regiment (Training Support), Milwaukee, Wisconsin[21]
- 1st Battalion, 354th Regiment (Military Police One Station Unit Training), Tulsa, Oklahoma[27]
- 1st Battalion, 390th Regiment (Engineer One Station Unit Training), Amherst, New York[28]
Honors
Unit decorations
The division has never received a unit award from the United States Army.[4] However, in a recent ceremony in Columbus, Indiana a bridge was named "Iron Men of Metz Memorial Bridge"[29]
Campaign streamers
Conflict | Streamer | Year(s) |
---|---|---|
World War II | Northern France | 1944 |
World War II | Rhineland | 1944–1945 |
World War II | Ardennes-Alsace
|
1944–1945 |
World War II | Central Europe | 1945 |
Legacy
In the 1962 film, Hell Is for Heroes, the actors wear the 95th Division's shoulder patch on their uniforms. The division is also an element of the Legacy of the Aldenata book series.
A number of soldiers who served with the 95th Division later went on to achieve notability for various reasons. They include journalist
In the 2021 film, Dear Sirs, directed by Mark Pedri and produced by Carrie McCarthy follows the path of Sgt. Silvio Pedri. Silvio’s grandson, Mark, uncovered an archive of documents and photos detailing the horrifying journey of his grandfather as an American POW during World War II. In the winter of 2018, Mark and his fiancé will set out to retrace his footsteps across Germany on bike, piecing together a long-forgotten story in an effort to understand the man who raised him.
In November 1944, Sgt Silvio J. Pedri of the 95th Infantry was sent on a mission to cross the Moselle river near Metz, France. His objective was clear: secure the opposite bank and create a diversion so that a larger unit could build a bridge to bring in the heavy artillery and take the city of Metz from the German army. Sgt Pedri had trained for almost two years for this moment, detailing every step of the way in letters to his fiancé in Rock Springs, Wyoming. However, no amount of training could have prepared him for what happened over the course of these few days. After losing most of his closest friends in a grueling battle against the Germans and mother nature, Sgt Pedri was taken prisoner. His letters home went silent, as did his account of the War once he finally made it back to American soil. After being captured by the German Army, Silvio was transported to a POW hospital in Heppenheim where he was treated for trench foot and injuries sustained in combat during the Battle of Metz. From there he was sent to Stalag XII-A in Diez where he was forced to work in a metal scrap yard near the camp. As the allies advanced into Germany, Silvio and 800 other American POWs were put on a train and shipped north to Stalag XB near the village of Sandbostel.
The film depicting Silvio's journey has been used as a tool to bring families closer to the veterans in their lives who have served.
Notable people
Walter Bedell Smith served with the division during World War I. Silvio J Pedri served with the division during the Battle of Metz. He was a Staff Sergeant in the 377th Infantry Regiment, Company B earning a Silver Star for Gallantry in Action in the vicinity of the Immeldange, France. He was captured by the German Army and became a POW from November 14th 1944 - April 28th 1945. After liberation, Silvio returned home to Rock Springs, Wyoming, where he worked in a trona mine for the rest of his career.
References
- ^ a b "Regular Army / Army Reserve Special Designation Listing". United States Army Center of Military History. 2009. Archived from the original on 12 May 2009. Retrieved 27 April 2009.
- ^ Order of Battle, p. 351.
- ^ "95th Training Division (Initial Entry Training)". 2011. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 14 June 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Lineage and Honors Information: 95th Infantry Division". The United States Army Center of Military History. Retrieved 1 July 2009.
- ^ McGrath, p. 174.
- ^ GlobalSecurity. Archivedfrom the original on 16 July 2009. Retrieved 1 July 2009.
- ^ Order of Battle of the United States Land Forces in the World War. Vol. 3, Part 2. Washington, DC: Center of Military History, United States Army. 1988. p. 662 – via Google Books.
- ^ Clay, Steven E. (2010). U.S. Army Order of Battle, 1919-1941, Volume 1. The Arms: Major Commands and Infantry Organizations. Fort Leavenworth, Kansas: Combat Studies Institute Press. p. 269-270. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ "World War II Combat Chronicle, 95th Infantry Division". Combat Chronicles of U.S. Army Divisions in World War II. Arlington, VA: Center of Military History, United States History. 31 January 2021. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
- ^ Almanac, p. 592.
- ^ The Institute of Heraldry. Archived from the originalon 5 August 2012. Retrieved 28 February 2011.
- ^ a b c d Order of Battle, p. 356.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Almanac, p. 565.
- ^ a b c d e Army Battle Casualties and Nonbattle Deaths, Final Report (Statistical and Accounting Branch, Office of the Adjutant General, 1 June 1953)
- ^ a b Order of Battle, p. 353.
- ^ McGrath, p. 159.
- ^ a b McGrath, p. 221.
- ^ a b McGrath, p. 222.
- ^ "108th TNG CMD".
- ^ "330th Regiment | Lineage and Honors | U.S. Army Center of Military History (CMH)".
- ^ a b "U.S. Army Center of Military History - Lineage and Honors Information".
- ^ "355th Regiment".
- ^ "377th Regiment".
- ^ "378th Regiment | Lineage and Honors | U.S. Army Center of Military History (CMH)".
- ^ "413th Regiment | Lineage and Honors | U.S. Army Center of Military History (CMH)".
- ^ "415th Regiment".
- ^ "354th Regiment".
- ^ "390th Regiment | Lineage and Honors | U.S. Army Center of Military History (CMH)".
- ^ "Celebration of 'Iron Men' stretches far beyond city". Therepublic.com. 20 June 2014. Archived from the original on 25 December 2015. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
- ISSN 0042-675X. Archived from the originalon 4 October 2006. Retrieved 11 July 2006.
- ^ "Medal of Honor Recipients — Vietnam (A-L)". United States Army. Archived from the original on 14 April 2008. Retrieved 24 April 2008.
- ^ "Medal of Honor Recipients — Vietnam (M-Z)". United States Army. Archived from the original on 24 April 2008. Retrieved 24 April 2008.
Sources
- McGrath, John J. (2004). The Brigade: A History: Its Organization and Employment in the US Army. Combat Studies Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-4404-4915-4.
- Army Almanac: A Book of Facts Concerning the Army of the United States. United States Government Printing Office. 1959. ASIN B0006D8NKK.
- Order of Battle of the United States Army: World War II European Theater of Operations. Department of the Army. 1945. ISBN 978-0-16-001967-8.
External links
- Bravest of the Brave: The Story of the 95th Infantry Division, Information and Education Division, Special and Information Services ETOUSA, 1945.
- Virtual Museum of the 95th Infantry Division, original pictures, full information about the division, stories of veterans, pictures "Then & Now".
- Official site of the 95th Infantry Division Association