[Webmaster Note: The following division information is reproduced
from the public domain publication, The Army Almanac: A Book of
Facts Concerning the Army of the United States, U.S. Government Printing Office,
1950. Portions of the information may be out of date. Only minor formatting changes and
typographical corrections have been made.]
World War I
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Activated: 8 June 1917.
Overseas: Move completed 22 December 1917.
Major Operations: Aisne-Marne, St. Mihiel, Meuse-Argonne, Montidier-Noyons.
Casualties: Total - 22,320 (KIA - 3,730; WIA - 18,590).
Commanders: Maj. Gen. William L. Sibert (18 June 1917),
Maj. Gen. R. L. Bullard (14 December 1917),
Brig. Gen. Beaumond B. Buck (5 April 1918),
Maj. Gen. R. L. Bullard (13 April 1918),
Maj. Gen. C. P. Summerall, II (15 July 1918),
Brig. Gen. F. E. Bamford (12 October 1918),
Brig. Gen. Frank Parker (18 October 1918),
Maj. Gen. E. F. McGlachlin, Jr. (21 November 1918).
Returned to U.S.: September 1919.
World War II
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Overseas: 7 August 1942.
Campaigns: Algeria-French Morocco, Tunisia, Sicily, Normandy,
Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe.
Days of Combat: 443.
Distinguished Unit Citations: 20.
Awards: MH-16; DSC-130; DSM-5; SS-6,019; LM-31; SM-162; BSM-15,021; AM-76.
Commanders: Maj. Gen. Donald Cubbison (February 1941),
Maj. Gen. Terry de la Mesa Allen (2 August 1942),
Maj. Gen. Clarence R. Huebner, July 1943),
Maj. Gen. Clift Andrus (December 1944),
Maj. Gen. Frank Milburn (August 1946).
Combat Chronicle
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The 1st Infantry Division saw its first combat in World War II in North Africa, landing
at Oran and taking part in the initial fighting, 8-10 November 1942. Elements then
took part in seesaw combat at Maktar, Medjez el Bab, Kasserine Pass, Gafsa,
El Guettar, Beja, and Mateur, 21 January-9 May 1943, helping secure Tunisia. The
First was the first ashore in the invasion of Sicily, 10 July 1943; it fought a
series of short, fierce battles on the island's tortuous terrain. When that campaign
was over, the Division returned to England to prepare for the Normandy invasion. The
First Division assaulted Omaha Beach on D-Day, 6 June 1944, some units suffering
30 percent casualties in the first hour, and secured Formigny and Caumont in the
beachhead. The Division followed up the St. Lo breakthrough with an attack on
Marigny, 27 July 1944, and then drove across France in a continuous offensive,
reaching the German border at Aachen in September. The Division laid siege to
Aachen, taking the city after a direct assault, 21 October 1944. The First then
attacked east of Aachen through Hurtgen Forest, driving to the Roer, and moved
to a rest area 7 December for its first real rest in 6 months' combat, when the
von Rundstedt offensive suddenly broke loose, 16 December. The Division raced
to the Ardennes, and fighting continuously from 17 December 1944 to
28 January 1945, helped blunt and turn back the German offensive. Thereupon, the
Division attacked and again breached the Siegfried Line, fought across the
Roer, 23 February 1945, and drove on to the Rhine, crossing at the Remagen
bridgehead, 15-16 March 1945. The Division broke out of the bridgehead, took
part in the encirclement of the Ruhr Pocket, captured Paderborn, pushed through
the Harz Mountains, and was in Czechoslovakia, at Kinsperk, Sangerberg, and
Mnichov, when the war in Europe ended.
Assignments in the ETO
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1 November 1943: First Army. //
6 November 1943: VII Corps. //
2 February 1944: V Corps. //
14 July 1944: First Army. //
15 July 1944: VII Corps. //
1 August 1944: VII Corps, First Army, 12th Army Group. //
16 December 1944: V Corps. //
20 December 1944: Attached, with the entire First Army, to the British 21st Army Group. //
26 January 1945: XVIII (Abn) Corps, First Army, 12th Army Group. //
12 February 1945: III Corps. //
8 March 1945: VII Corps. //
27 April 1945: VIII Corps. //
30 April 1945: V Corps. //
6 May 1945: Third Army, 12th Army Group.
General
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Nicknames: The Red One; The Fighting First.
Slogan: No mission too difficult, no sacrifice too great, duty first.
Shoulder patch: Red Arabic numeral "1" on solid olive drab background.
Association: Society of the First Division.
Publications: First; by the Division TI&E Officer: F. Guhl & Co., Frankfurt
am Main, Germany; 1945.
First, The Story of the 1st Infantry Division; by
unit members TI&E, ETOUSA; distributor, Society of the First
Division; 1945. History of the 1st Infantry Division ("Danger
Forward"); by unit historian; Albert Love Enterprises, Atlanta, Ga.; 1948.
• 1st Infantry Division Links
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