44th Infantry Division (United States)

The 44th Infantry Division was a division of the United States Army National Guard from October 1920 to November 1945, when it was inactivated after Federal Service during World War II. A second 44th Infantry Division existed in the Illinois Army National Guard from 1946 until October 1954, when that division was disbanded after federal service during the Korean War.

44th Infantry Division
Divisional shoulder patch.
Active1924–1945
1946–1954
Country United States
Branch United States Army
TypeInfantry
SizeDivision
Motto(s)Prepared in all things
EngagementsWorld War II
DecorationsDistinguished Unit Citation (3)
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Maj. Gen. William F. Dean

Formation

Originally named the 44th Division, it was constituted on 19 October 1920 as a National Guard Division, as a result of the National Defense Act of 1920's major expansion of the National Guard.[1][2]:374 As originally conceived, the division was to consist of National Guard units from the States of Delaware, New Jersey and New York, and was to form part of the Second Corps Area. However, units from the State of Delaware were never assigned to the division. The 57th Infantry Brigade from the New Jersey Army National Guard (NJARNG) and the 87th Infantry Brigade of the New York Army National Guard (NYARNG) were incorporated almost immediately and growth continued piecemeal, as subordinate units were organized, until 1940.[3] The shoulder sleeve insignia (unit patch) of the 44th Division was approved by the Secretary of War on 5 October 1921.[4] The division was formally organized and federally recognized on 26 March 1924.[2]:374

Interwar

The 44th Division participated in the First Army Maneuvers in Upstate New York from 7–24 August 1940,[5]:36 prior to being inducted into federal service for twelve months of training on 16 September 1940.[2]:374[3]:325[6]:131 Posted at Fort Dix, New Jersey during 1940–1941,[6]:131 the division's training culminated in the Carolina Maneuvers, September–December 1941.

Order of Battle
  • HQ 44th Division
  • 57th Infantry Brigade
  • 87th Infantry Brigade
  • 69th Field Artillery Brigade
    • 112th Field Artillery Regiment
    • 156th Field Artillery Regiment
    • 157th Field Artillery Regiment
  • 44th Military Police Company
  • 44th Signal Company
  • 119th Ordnance Company
  • 104th Engineer Regiment
  • 119th Medical Regiment
  • 119th Quartermaster Regiment

World War II

The division was en route to New Jersey on 7 December 1941, returning to Fort Dix when news was heard of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. A regimental combat team, based on the 113th Infantry, was immediately detached from the division and attached to the Eastern Defense Command to provide ground forces for the defense of the East Coast from New York to Philadelphia. Shortly afterwards, the remainder of the division moved to Camp Claiborne, LA, where the 44th Division was reorganized and redesignated, the 44th Infantry Division on 16 February 1942.[2]:374[6]:131

The division was then sent to Fort Lewis Washington, where it participated in defense of the West Coast under the Western Defense Command for the remainder of 1942. In February 1943, the 44th Infantry Division, much reduced through the loss of personnel and units entered a period of rebuilding and training. After completing the "D-Series", division-level training, the 44th was sent to participate in the multi-division Fourth Army #6 Louisiana Maneuvers, 7 February-3 April 1944.[5]:106–107 [6]:131 The division then moved to Camp Phillips, KS for its final pre-deployment preparations.[6]:131[7] The division moved by railroad to Camp Myles Standish, Massachusetts, arriving on 24–27 August 1944;[8] departing the United States via the Boston Port of Embarkation on 5 September 1944.[6]:131

Order of battle
  • Headquarters, 44th Infantry Division
  • 71st Infantry Regiment
  • 114th Infantry Regiment
  • 324th Infantry Regiment
  • Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 44th Infantry Division Artillery
    • 156th Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm)
    • 157th Field Artillery Battalion (155 mm)
    • 217th Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm)
    • 220th Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm)
  • 63rd Engineer Combat Battalion
  • 119th Medical Battalion
  • 44th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop (Mechanized)
  • Headquarters, Special Troops, 44th Infantry Division
    • Headquarters Company, 44th Infantry Division
    • 744th Ordnance Light Maintenance Company
    • 44th Quartermaster Company
    • 44th Signal Company
    • Military Police Platoon
    • Band
  • 44th Counterintelligence Corps Detachment

Combat chronicle
Soldiers of the 44th Infantry Division in Mannheim, March 1945

The 44th Infantry Division landed in France via Cherbourg, 15 September 1944, and trained for a month before entering combat, 18 October 1944, when it relieved the 79th Division in the vicinity of Foret de Parroy, east of Lunéville, France, to take part in the Seventh Army drive to secure several passes in the Vosges Mountains. Within 6 days, the division was hit by a heavy German counterattack, 25–26 October. The attack was repulsed and the 44th continued its active defense. On 13 November 1944, it jumped off in an attack northeast, forcing a passage through the Vosges Mountains east of Leintrey to Dossenheim, took Avricourt, 17 November, and pushed on to liberate Strasbourg, along with the 2d French Armored Division. After regrouping, the division returned to the attack, taking Ratzwiller and entering the Ensemble de Bitche in the Maginot Line. On 14 December, regiments of the 44th Division took part in assaulting major Maginot line fortifications.[9] The division's 71st and 324th Infantry Regiments assaulted Fort Simserhof and nearby Hottviller[9]. After six days of fighting, Simershof was captured on 20 December.[9] Displacing to defensive positions east of Sarreguemines, 21–23 December, the 44th threw back three attempted crossings by the enemy of the Blies River.

Mickey Rooney entertains soldiers of the 44th Division in Kist, Germany during a May 1945 jeep tour.

An aggressive defense of the Sarreguemines area was continued throughout February 1945 and most of March. Moving across the Rhine at Worms, 26 March, in the wake of the 3d Division, the 44th relieved the 3d, 26–27 March, and crossed the Neckar River to attack and capture Mannheim, 28–29 March. Shifting to the west bank of the Main, the division crossed that river at Gross-Auheim in early April, and engaged in a 3-week training period. Attacking 18 April, after the 10th Armored Division, the 44th took Ehingen, 23 April, crossed the Danube, and attacking southeast, took Füssen, Berg, and Wertach, in a drive on Imst, Austria. On 2 May, a group of V-2 rocket scientists that included Wernher von Braun surrendered to the 44th.[10] Pursuing the disintegrating enemy through Fern Pass[11] and into the Inn River valley, the 44th set up its CP at Imst on 4 May. After a short period of occupation duty, the division returned to the United States in July 1945 for retraining prior to redeployment, but the end of the Pacific war resulted in inactivation in November 1945 at Camp Chaffee, AR.[2]:374[6]:131[12]

Casualties
  • Total battle casualties: 5,655[13]
  • Killed in action: 1,038[13]
  • Wounded in action: 4,209[13]
  • Missing in action: 100[13]
  • Prisoner of war: 308[13]

Assignments in ETO
  • 30 August 1944: Ninth Army, 12th Army Group.
  • 5 September 1944: III Corps.
  • 10 October 1944: Ninth Army, 12th Army Group.
  • 14 October 1944: XV Corps, 6th Army Group, for supply.
  • 17 October 1944: XV Corps, Seventh Army, 6th Army Group.
  • 8 April 1945: Seventh Army, 6th Army Group.
  • 15 April 1945: XXI Corps.
  • 17 April 1945: VI Corps.

Campaigns

World War II:[14]

  • Northern France (25 July – 14 September 44)(General Order (GO) #102, War Department (WD), 9 Nov 45)
  • Rhineland (15 September 1944 – 21 March 1945 (GO #118, WD, 12 December 1945)
  • Ardennes-Alsace (16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945 (GO #63, Department of the Army, 20 September 1948)
  • Central Europe (22 March 1945 – 11 May 1945 (GO #116, WD, 11 December, 45)
  • Days of combat: 190
  • Distinguished Unit Citations: 3

Awards

Commanders
  • Maj. Gen. Clifford R. Powell (September 1940 – August 1941).
  • Maj. Gen. James I. Muir (August 1941 – August 1944).
  • Maj. Gen. Robert L. Spragins (August 1944 – December 1944).
  • Maj. Gen. William F. Dean (January 1945 – September 1945).
  • Brig. Gen. William A. Beiderlinden (1 – 14 November 1945).
  • Brig. Gen. Robert L. Dulaney (November 1945 – inactivation).
  • Returned to U.S.: 21 July 1945.
  • Inactivated: 30 November 1945.

Postwar

The 44th Infantry Division was reactivated in the Illinois Army National Guard in 1946,[15] and inducted into federal service in early 1952 during the Korean War. It was disbanded after its release from federal service on 10 October 1954.[16]

On June 15th, 2017 the 50th IBCT was reflagged as the 44th Brigade Combat Team, and carries the lineage of the 44th Infantry Division.

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See also

References
  1. Doubler, Michael D. "Civilian in Peace, Soldier in War: The Army National Guard, 1636–2000" (University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KA, 2003), p. 190.
  2. Wilson, John B., The Army Lineage Series: "Armies, Corps, Divisions and Separate Brigades" (US Army Center of Military History Washington, D.C, 1999)
  3. “Historical and Pictorial Review, National Guard of the State of New Jersey” (Baton Rouge, 1940)
  4. Memorandum for the Adjutant General of the Army from the Assistant Chief of Staff, dated 5 OCT 21, Subject: “Shoulder Sleeve Insignia for the 44th Division,” US Army Institute of Heraldry files, re: 44th Infantry Division, Fort Belvoir, VA.
  5. Moenk, “A History of Large-Scale Army Maneuvers in the United States, 1935–1964”, (Fort Monroe, VA, 1969).
  6. Stanton, Shelby L. Order of Battle: U.S. Army, World War II, Galahad Books, New York, 1991
  7. Combat History 44th Infantry Division 1944–1945, (New Orleans, 1946), p. 48.
  8. Journal, HQ 44th INF DIV Arty, Entry for 23 Aug 44, Record Group 407, Entry 427, Box 10806, File344-ART-0.7, National Archives II, College Park, MD 20740-0001.
  9. Bonn, Keith (1994). When the Odds Were Even. Novato, California: Presidio Press. pp. 169–172. ISBN 9780891416029.
  10. Archived 28 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine Capture of Werner von Braun by the 324th Regiment Anti-tank Company
  11. "44th Infantry Division: Victory". Militaria. efour4ever.com. Archived from the original on 18 May 2008. Retrieved 12 May 2008.
  12. "44TH INFANTRY DIVISION". The Army Almanac: A Book of Facts Concerning the Army of the United States. US Army. Archived from the original on 31 May 2008. Retrieved 12 May 2008.
  13. Army Battle Casualties and Nonbattle Deaths, Final Report (Statistical and Accounting Branch, Office of the Adjutant General, 1 June 1953)
  14. Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1, Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Roster, (with Changes 1–4), Headquarters, Department of the Army, Washington, DC, 1964
  15. The 44th Infantry Division, A Condensed History from Its Birth in 1923, The National Guardsman, October, 1949, pp. 22–23.
  16. OCS Form 10, Official Statement of Lineage and Battle Honors, “Headquarters Company, 44th Infantry Division, NG, Ill.,” dated 16 FEB 54 & 5 OCT 60, US Army Center for Military History files re: 44th Infantry Division, Fort McNair, VA.
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