103rd Infantry Division (United States)

The 103rd Infantry Division ("Cactus Division"[1]) was a unit of the United States Army which served in the U.S. Seventh Army of the 6th Army Group during World War II.

103rd Infantry Division
103rd Infantry Division shoulder sleeve insignia.
Active1921–1945
Country United States
Branch United States Army
TypeInfantry
SizeDivision
Nickname(s)"Cactus Division" (Special Designation)[1]
EngagementsWorld War II
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Anthony McAuliffe

It was variously assigned to the VI Corps, XV Corps, and XXI Corps. By war's end it was part of VI Corps' dash across Bavaria into the Alps, reaching Innsbruck, Austria, taking the Brenner Pass, and earning the honor of linking up with the U.S. Fifth Army coming north from Vipiteno Italy, joining the Italian and Western European fronts on 4 May 1945.[2]

Interwar period

The division was constituted in the Organized Reserve on 24 June 1921 and assigned to the states of Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico. The headquarters was organized on 13 August 1921.[3]

World War II
Plaque honoring the US 103rd Infantry Division in WW II.
Plaque listing the units comprising the US 103rd Infantry Division in WW II.
Statue of soldier in combat from US Army's 103rd Division

Combat chronicle

The 103d Infantry Division was ordered into active military service on 15 November 1942 at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana. The officer and enlisted cadre came from the 85th Infantry Division at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, and the enlisted fillers from reception centers of the 4th, 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th Service Commands (Camp Grant, Illinois, 4,060; Fort Custer, Michigan, 3,845; Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, 1,307; Camp Dodge, Iowa, 1,036; Fort Snelling, Minnesota, 990; Eighth and Ninth Service Command reception centers, 921; Fort Bragg, North Carolina, 600; Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, 600; Fort McPherson, Georgia, 537; Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, 526; Fort Jackson, South Carolina, 218). After nearly two years of training, the 103rd departed the United States for Europe on 5 October 1944. The division arrived at Marseilles, France, 20 October 1944. It relieved the 3d Division at Chevry on 8 November, arrived at Docelles (Vosges) on 9 November, and attacked west of St. Dié, 16 November, in its drive through the Vosges. Meeting heavy resistance all the way, it crossed the Meurthe River, took St. Dié, 23 November and captured Diefenbach on 29 November and Selestat on 4 December.

The division crossed the Zintzel river at Griesbach, 10 December 1944. Pushing through Climbach, the 103d crossed the Lauter River into Germany, 15 December, and assaulted the outer defenses of the Siegfried Line. On 22 December, the division moved west to the Sarreguemines area where an active defense was maintained. The enemy offensive did not develop in its sector and the 103d moved to Reichshofen, 14 January 1945, to take up positions along the Sauer River. On 15 January, General Anthony "Nuts" McAuliffe was redeployed from the Battle of the Bulge and given command, which he retained until July 1945. Defensive patrols were active and a limited attack on Soufflenheim on 19 January was repulsed by the enemy. On 20 January, the division withdrew to the Moder and repulsed German advances near Muehlhausen, 23–25 January. The 103d's offensive began, 15 March 1945. Crossing the Moder and Zintzel rivers and taking Muehlhausen against sharp opposition, the division moved over the Lauter river and penetrated the defenses of the Siegfried Line.

As German resistance disintegrated, the 103d reached the Upper Rhine Valley, 23 March, and engaged in mopping up operations in the plain west of the River Rhine. In April 1945, it received occupational duties until 20 April when it resumed the offensive, pursuing a fleeing enemy through Stuttgart and taking Münsingen on 24 April. On 27 April, elements of the division entered Landsberg, where Kaufering concentration camp, a subcamp of Dachau, was liberated.[4][5] The men of the division crossed the Danube River near Ulm on 26 April. On 3 May 1945, members of its 409th Infantry Regiment captured Innsbruck, Austria with little to no fighting. The 411th Infantry Regiment continued on to take the Brenner Pass and earn the honor of linking up with the 88th Infantry Division of the Fifth Army which had been fighting its way north up the Italian peninsula. Troops met at Vipiteno, Italy, near the Austrian border on 4 May 1945, joining the Italian and Western European fronts.[2]

After Victory in Europe Day the division received occupational duties until it left for home and inactivation.

It returned to the continental U.S on 10 September 1945, and was inactivated on 22 September 1945 at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey.

Casualties
  • Total battle casualties: 4,558[6]
  • Killed in action: 720[6]
  • Wounded in action: 3,329[6]
  • Missing in action: 88[6]
  • Prisoner of war: 421[6]

Order of battle

Components of the 103rd Infantry Division included:[7]

  • Headquarters, 103rd Infantry Division
  • 409th Infantry Regiment
  • 410th Infantry Regiment
  • 411th Infantry Regiment
  • Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 103rd Infantry Division Artillery
    • 382nd Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm)
    • 383rd Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm)
    • 384th Field Artillery Battalion (155 mm)
    • 928th Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm)
  • 328th Engineer Combat Battalion
  • 328th Medical Battalion
  • 103rd Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop (Mechanized)
  • Headquarters, Special Troops, 103rd Infantry Division
    • Headquarters Company, 103rd Infantry Division
    • 803rd Ordnance Light Maintenance Company
    • 103rd Quartermaster Company
    • 103rd Signal Company
    • Military Police Platoon
    • Band
  • 103rd Counterintelligence Corps Detachment

Assignments in the European Theater of Operations
  • 1 November 1944: United States Seventh Army, 6th Army Group
  • 6 November 1944: VI Corps, Seventh Army
  • 22 December 1944: XV Corps, Seventh Army
  • 9 January 1945: XXI Corps, Seventh Army
  • 16 January 1945: VI Corps, Seventh Army
  • 29 March 1945: Seventh Army, 6th Army Group
  • 19 April 1945: VI Corps, Seventh Army

Post war

The 103rd was activated as an Organized Reserve Corps division on 7 May 1947 in Des Moines, Iowa. Its combat elements were reorganized and redesignated as the 205th Infantry Brigade and the 103rd Operational Headquarters in February 1963. The 103rd Operational Headquarters was redesignated 103rd Command Headquarters (Divisional) in June 1963. In December 1965 the unit was reorganized as the 103rd Support Brigade.

In September 1977 the unit was redesignated and reorganized as the 103rd Corps Support Command (COSCOM), the first Corps Support Command in the United States Army Reserve. On 15 September 1993 the 103rd COSCOM inactivated. The 103d COSCOM inactivation was followed by creation of two new reserve units: 19th Theater Army Area Command (CONUS) and 3d COSCOM (CONUS). On 14 February 2006 the 103rd was redesignated as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 103rd Sustainment Command. The 103rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command was activated as a reserve command effective 16 September 2006. The division shoulder patch is worn by the United States Army Reserve 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary).[8]

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References

 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".

  1. "Special Unit Designations". United States Army Center of Military History. 21 April 2010. Archived from the original on 9 July 2010. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
  2. Fifth Army History • Race to the Alps, Chapter VI : Conclusion "4 May; the Reconnaissance Troop, 349th Infantry [88th Division], met troops from [103rd Infantry Division] VI Corps of Seventh Army at 1051 at Vipiteno, 9 miles south of Brenner."
  3. Clay, Steven E. (2010). U.S. Army Order of Battle 1919–1941 Volume 1, The Arms: Major Commands and Infantry Organizations 1919–1941 (PDF). Combat Studies Institute Press.
  4. Report After Action: The Story of the 103d Infantry Division, Ralph Mueller and Jerry Turk; 1945, Wagner'sche Universitats-Buchdruckerie, Innsbruck, Tyrol, Austria; distributor, The Infantry Journal, Washington 6, D. C., Pp. 131 – 135
  5. "Excerpt on Web from Report After Action, ibid". nuspel.org. Archived from the original on 2 June 2008. Retrieved 7 June 2008.
  6. Army Battle Casualties and Nonbattle Deaths in World War II, Final Report (Statistical and Accounting Branch Office of the Adjutant General, 1 June 1953)
  7. Sources: 1. The Army Almanac: A Book of Facts Concerning the Army of the United States, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1950. 2. Order of Battle of the United States Army, World War II, European Theater of Operations, Office of the Theater Historian, Paris, France, December 1945.
  8. "103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary)". United States Army Reserve. Archived from the original on 24 September 2011. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
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