[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 Portions of the information may be out of date.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 II
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Activated: 16 August 1943.
Overseas: 10 January 1945.
Campaigns: Rhineland, Central Europe.
Days of combat: 55.
Awards: MH-1; DSM-1; SS-77; LM-14; SM-4; BSM-686; AM-19.
Commanders: Maj. Gen. Stanley E. Reinhart (August 1943-1 August 1945),
Brig. Gen. John E. Copeland (1 August 1945 to inactivation).
Inactivated: 31 August 1945 in Germany.
Combat Chronicle
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The 65th Infantry Division landed at Le Havre, France, 21 January 1945, and
proceeded to Camp Lucky Strike, where training continued until 1 March, when
the Division moved forward to relieve the 26th Infantry Division. First elements
entered the line, 5 March 1945, and the Division as a whole took over aggressive
defense of the sector along the Saar, from Orscholz to Wadgassen, on
8 March 1945. On 17 March, the Division attacked across the Saar, crossing
the river at Dillingen and captured Saarlautern, 19 March, as Siegfried Line
defenses cracked. Capturing Neunkirchen, 21 March 1945, the Division raced
to the Rhine, crossed the river at Oppenheim, 30 March, and ran into heavy
Germany resistance and counterattacks. Langensalza fell on 5 April, Struth
on the 7th, and Neumarkt on the 22nd. Continuing its advance against crumbling
Nazi opposition, the Division crossed the Danube 4 miles below Regensburg,
26 April, took the city, 27 April, seized Passau, cross the Inn River,
4 May, and occupied Linz, Austria, on the 5th. Germans surrendered en
masse. On 9 May, as hostilities officially ended in Europe, the troops
of the 65th made contact with the Russians at Erlauf.
Assignments in the ETO
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25 January 1945: Fifteenth Army, 12th Army Group. // 1 March 1945: XX Corps,
Third Army, 12th Army Group. // 4 April 1945: VIII Corps. // 17 April 1945: XX Corps.
General
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Nickname: Battle-axe.
Shoulder patch: A white halberd on a blue shield.
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