and overrun; two platoons and the commander were lost. The terrain was difficult and the weather was poor in the region. [26], Most of the division returned to New York in September 1945, and from there went to Camp Bowie, Texas. a withdrawal to the Rhine River, and the regiment pursued them at great speed. From 21 January until 13 March, the Bronze Star. By 31 May, the German defenses were shattered, and the 45th Division turned northwest, toward the Alban Hills and Rome. Allied forces in the south were ordered to cease offensive operations, You did what you had to do.". [2] Also activated from division assets were the 45th Field Artillery Group, later redesignated the 45th Fires Brigade, and the 90th Troop Command. The next day I Company was hit The following year, on 10 September 1946, the 45th Infantry Division was reconstituted as a National Guard unit. attack was stopped. By 20 March, the Line had been penetrated, the Germans began a withdrawal to the Rhine River, and the regiment pursued them at … Things were quieter from that day -- but still quite deadly -- [35] After this, the division was allocated to drive towards Messina, being ordered by the Seventh Army commander to cover the distance as quickly as possible. [39] The division had great difficulty moving across the rivers and through the mountainous terrain, and the advance was slow. Major General Roy Hoffman took command in 1931, followed by Alexander M. Tuthill, Alexander E. McPherren in 1935, and William S. Key in 1936. Although there were pockets of fierce resistance, Nurnberg fell in [48] Men of the 45th Division were the first Allied troops to reach the Vatican. This is my portrayal of a platoon sergeant of the 1st Battalion, 157th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division, March 1945 during the intense fighting in Aschaffenburg, Germany. had landed with 713 men and 38 officers, had only 162 men and 15 officers still The very next day the Germans launched a tank-supported attack against the regiment. Pritzker Military Museum & Library. [56] During the next month, the division remained in Munich and set up collection points and camps for the massive numbers of surrendering troops of the German armies. Its sister regiments, the 179th and 180th, conducted assault crossings of the Two of the division's artillery battalions, the 189th and the [33] For most of the first two weeks while the division moved slowly north, it encountered only light resistance from Italian forces fighting delaying actions. the island of Sicily, and suffered its first casualties the rapid push up the Valley of Rhone, meeting stiff resistance here and there, [39] The division was then slated to move to the Pacific theater of operations to participate in the invasion of mainland Japan on the island of Honshu, but these plans were scrubbed before the division could depart after the surrender of Japan, on V-J Day. Last week, I received from the National Archives in College Park, MD, the After Action Reports of the 157th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division, for March and April 1945. The Regiment had deployed to North Africa with its parent division, the 45th Infantry Division, where it trained for and then conducted the assault on Sicily. of Munich, which fell the next day, 30 April 1945, the last day of combat for [7] It was one of four National Guard divisions to be federalized, alongside the 30th, the 41st and 44th Infantry Divisions, originally for a one-year period. [49] From 2 January 1945, the division fought defensively along the German border, withdrawing to the Moder River. [39] The division crossed the Danube River on 27 April, and liberated 32,000 captives of the Dachau concentration camp on 29 April 1945. [92], In preparation for the deployment, the division was sent to Fort Polk, Louisiana, to begin training and to fill its ranks. E Company, driving the men into a minefield, where the commander and all but one They took part in intense fighting during the invasion of Sicily and the attack on Salerno in the 1943 Italian Campaign. It was assigned the 89th Infantry Brigade of the Colorado and Arizona National Guards, and the 90th Inf… During the period 4 June - 15 August 1944, the regiment rested and conducted training Though enemy resistance was light, twenty-seven men were drowned in the 1. On 16 February, a major German attack struck the 45th, and nearly broke through the 179th Infantry on 18 February. 157th INFANTRY REGIMENT. [14] The new insignia featured the Thunderbird, another Native American symbol, and was approved in 1939. [32] As the division advanced towards its main objective to capture the airfields at Biscari, and Comiso, German forces pushed back. Bitter time and 20 January 1945, the regiment became embroiled in a hot action near Reipertswiller, for allowing us to use this historical overview. The 45th, in turn, was under constant artillery and mortar attack. [105] The division was put under the command of Eighth Army's I Corps for most of the conflict. Some of the German troops were camp guards; the others were sick and wounded troops from a nearby hospital. [91] As a result, in February 1951, the 45th Infantry Division was alerted that it would sail for Japan. At the end of World War II, it contained 89 divisions, but by 1950, there were just 10 active divisions in the force, along with a few reserve divisions such as the 45th Infantry Division which were combat-ineffective. [55] On 17 February the division was pulled off the line for rest and training. They returned home at the end of the war. In company with the British 1st Infantry Division, they advanced north along the Anzio-Albano road and captured the Aprilia "factory", but encountered ingrained resistance from German armored units a few miles further on. [93] After its basic training was complete, the division was sent to Japan in April 1951 for advanced training and to act as a reserve force for the Eighth United States Army, then fighting in Korea. and then escorted two wounded men 1,700 yards to safety. Divisional information. [16] Still operating with outmoded equipment from World War I, the division did not perform well during these exercises. over a German mine, and Colonel Ankcorn lost a leg. Fisher personally knocked out five automatic Below are some "fast facts"; • Activated: 16 September 1940 “Big Mike Lapointe” is a companion piece to the 45th Infantry Division figure posted last year. was withdrawn to a rest area on 8 November 1944. When the regiment came off the line in January 1944, it was moved to a rest area On 6 October 1943 E Company was hit The division was formed and federally recognized as a National Guard unit on 3 August 1923 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. L Companies got involved in a bayonet fight in the woods near Housseras. (which changed hands four times on 12 September), Persamo, and the Sele River. time soldiers of the regiment were awarded 4 Medals of Honor, 20 Distinguished Additionally, only about 20 percent of its personnel had prior experience of military service from World War II. When the regiment was relieved alongside the ship: twenty-one men were killed in this single mishap. but advancing rapidly. [105], The 45th Infantry Division, along with the 7th Infantry Division, fought off repeated Chinese attacks all along the front line throughout 1952, and Chinese forces frequently attacked Old Baldy Hill into the fall of that year. American lines. [3] The Oklahoma Guard units that would later become the 179th Infantry Regiment and 180th Infantry Regiment were assigned to the 36th Infantry Division and would earn a combat participation credit during the Meuse-Argonne Campaign in France as the 142nd Infantry. 1-279 Infantry. [15] The division was assigned to VIII Corps with the 2nd Infantry Division and the 36th Infantry Division, camped near Pitkin, Louisiana. This level landings. [106] It was deployed around Chorwon and assigned to protect the key routes from that area into Seoul. Van Barfoot of Edinburg, Mississippi was a Technical Sergeant in the Thunderbirds when he was recognized with the prestigious Medal of Honor for his actions during the Italian Campaign in the city of Carano. attack against heavy resistance. [118], The division briefly patrolled the Korean Demilitarized Zone following the signing of the armistice ending the war, but most of its men returned home and reverted to National Guard status on 30 April 1954. of the 45th Division. [10] In 1937, the division's troops were once again called up, this time to help manage a locust plague affecting Colorado. Aktualności; Usługi; Specjaliści; Galeria; Kontakt; Diety; 45th infantry division [80] Instead of comprising units from several states, the post-war 45th was an all-Oklahoma organization. lieutenant platoon leader, Almond E. Fisher, who led his platoon in a pre-dawn (AP Photo/Saurabh Das) Portrait of Maj. Gen. Fred Daugherty, commanding general of the 45th Infantry Division, Oklahoma National Guard. The Texas Military Forces Museum. [11] The onset of the Great Depression in the 1930s severely curtailed its funding for training and equipment. rained down on the Germans -- 24,000 rounds in a single 2 1/2 hour period and Allied intelligence estimated that the island was defended by approximately 230,000 troops, the majority of which were drawn mostly from weak Italian formations and two German divisions which had been reconstituted after being destroyed earlier. 1st Battalion, 179th Infantry Regiment. at least one more incidence of calls for artillery fire on friendly positions. [41] Until 9 January 1944, the division, now under Major General William W. Eagles (replacing Major General Middleton who, struck down with arthritis, was sent to England to command VIII Corps in the Normandy invasion), inched forward into the mountains reaching St. Elia, north of Monte Cassino, before moving to a rest area. [21][23] By the time the 45th Division landed in North Africa on 22 June 1943, the Allies had largely secured the African theater. George Patton, the Seventh Army commanding general, asked Omar Bradley, II Corps commanding general, to get the cases dismissed to prevent bad press, but Bradley refused. The first major German counterattack came in early February, was against the British 1st Division. The German Markham. Epinal American Cemetery 385, rue de la Rondenolle . Sparks, were ordered to secure the camp. and suffered only seven men wounded. Medal of Honor was earned on 18 March while breaching the Sigfried line, by [39] During this time much of the division's artillery assets were attached to the 44th Infantry Division to provide additional support. [49] The 45th, 36th, and 3rd Infantry Divisions were pulled from the line in Italy in preparation for Operation Dragoon (formerly Anvil), the invasion of southern France. and found itself involved in close-quarters fighting against bitterly resisting L Company withdrew and 3rd Battalion headquarters withdrew as A non-commissioned officer later confessed to the crimes and was found guilty, but an officer who claimed he had only been following orders was acquitted. But The Seventh Army was being disbanded and Patton had been appointed Military Governor of Bavaria, placing the matter in his hands. These brigades would see no major deployments or events, and were inactivated five years later in 1968. [8] As a consequence of these militia roots, when the division was properly organized, many of its members were marksmen and outdoorsmen from the remote frontier regions of the Southwestern United States. four days. [114] The 245th Tank Battalion was sent to assault Chinese positions throughout late 1952, but most of the division held a stationary defensive line against the Chinese. 45th Infantry Division Museum in Oklahoma City and one of the first National Guard units to be activated for World War II, landing in France and all the way to Berlin liberating Dachau along the way. Far to the north, Nonprofit Organization. Sanus. The regiment was first long. ", This page was last edited on 10 January 2021, at 16:13. [54], After the crossing was complete, the division was relieved from V Corps and assigned to Major General Wade H. Haislip's XV Corps. [86], At the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950, the U.S. Army looked to expand its force again to prepare for major conflict. drove right up to the foxhole line in tanks and fired the main guns directly into Or are you interested in war medals and their recipients? [1], In August 1941, the 45th Infantry Division took part in the Louisiana Maneuvers, the largest peacetime exercises in U.S. military history. [13] After a long process of reviewing design submissions, a design by Woody Big Bow, a Kiowa artist from Carnegie, Oklahoma, was chosen for the new shoulder sleeve insignia. Lucas sent famed U.S. Army Ranger leader Colonel William Orlando Darby to assume command of the 157th Infantry, and the Germans were repulsed. At this point General Martin Chales de Beaulieu, commander of the German 12th Division, became aware that the 157th Infantry Regiment was under great pressure and had suffered many casualties. wounded or injured and evacuated and 426 (many of whom were wounded) were captured. at Dachau, and at the close of the day regimental units were in the outskirts The 45th in this time was regarded as one of the better-trained National Guard divisions. He became a sergeant in Company F, 2nd Battalion, 157th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division (nicknamed "Thunderbirds"). However, with the rise of the Nazi Party in Germany, with its infamous swastika symbol, the 45th Division stopped using the insignia. He was drafted into the army on June 4, 1941. [26] Nine soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor during their service with the 45th Infantry Division: Van T. Barfoot,[72] Ernest Childers,[73] Almond E. Fisher,[74] William J. Johnston,[75] Salvador J. Lara,[76] Jack C. Montgomery,[77] James D. Slaton,[73] Jack Treadwell,[78] and Edward G. [50] Against slight opposition, it spearheaded the drive for the Belfort Gap. last revision document.write(document.lastModified); Please In January 1943 it moved to Fort Pickett, Virginia, for its final training. Two regiments of the 45th (the 179th and 157th Infantry) were sent to the Aprilia sector to reinforce the British. [18] Its men immediately began basic combat training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. The 45th Division was deployed on the southeastern side of the beachhead, along the lower Mussolini Canal.[45]. Who we are Want to volunteer Schedule of events Venturing Crew. [9] The division's first commander was Major General Baird H. [102] Additionally, in an effort to reduce the burden on the National Guard,[n 2] troops from the division were often replaced by enlisted and drafted soldiers from the active duty force. The 45th Infantry Division participated in its fourth amphibious assault landing during Operation Dragoon on 15 August 1944, at St. Maxime, in Southern France. Thunderbirds - 45th Infantry Division Museum Living Historians. Sheeran claimed to have participated in numerous massacres and summary executions of German POWs, acts which violated the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 and the 1929 Geneva Convention on POWs. and bypassed by the Germans, who moved toward the ocean, threatening the whole One platoon of B Company, trapped in a ditch, (I have had the honor was virtually wiped out by German tanks. The 2nd Battalion Adjutant, [79] Soldiers of the division also received 61 Distinguished Service Crosses, three Distinguished Service Medals, 1,848 Silver Star Medals, 38 Legion of Merit medals, 59 Soldier's Medals, 5,744 Bronze Star Medals, and 52 Air Medals. to the hero, when his sword Has won the battle for the free, Thy voice Captain Felix L. Sparks, was sent forward to take command of the remnants of E [22] The division, now commanded by Major General Troy H. Middleton, a Regular Army soldier and highly distinguished World War I veteran, moved to the Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation's Camp Patrick Henry to await combat loading on the transports. On 7 December 1945, the division was inactivated from the active duty force and its members reassigned to other Army units. Park. [105] In the spring, the division launched Operation Counter, which was an effort to establish 11 patrol bases around Old Baldy Hill. [6] The division was formed and federally recognized as a National Guard unit on 3 August 1923 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The 45th Infantry Division landed its 157th and 180th regimental combat teams and captured the heights of the Chaines de Mar before meeting with the 1st Special Service Force. These small-unit actions made up the majority of the division's combat in Korea. ship in one such operation a landing craft loaded with men broke free from the [84] Regardless, by mid-1950 the division had only 8,413 troops, less than 45 percent[n 1] of its full-strength authorization. Organized 29-December 1881 With Headquarters in Denver Expanded and redesignated 22-March 1883 as the 1st Regiment Infantry 1. Calculated attempts to dehumanize and degrade German POWs. [101] By 1952, it was fully integrated. on 10 January 1944 after 72 days of continuous combat. [57], During and after the war, courts-martial were convened to investigate possible war crimes by members of the division. [85] Only 10 percent of the division's officers and five percent of its enlisted men had combat experience with the division from World War II. Consolidated with the 2nd Infantry Regiment (organized 27-may 1887) and muste… and the enemy wave began to withdraw -- followed aggressively by the Americans. [108], Initially, the division did not fare well, though it improved quickly. The 45th Infantry Division took the strongly defended city of Epinal on 24 September. The GI line held, but there were terrible casualties, Devers. Between this Fearing political ramifications, Army leaders sought to prevent large numbers of casualties from any one state, and the 45th Infantry Division was an all-Oklahoma organization at the beginning of the war. the holes -- that only Sparks and two men survived from the company. The 180th Infantry Regiment was organized as the Third Oklahoma Infantry during May, 1918, and was federally recognized as a National Guard unit on September 3, 1918. on 29 May, many of the stragglers sheltered under a large ledge, which was toppled With him were his driver, Albert Turk, a runner named Carleton Johnson, and a translator, German-born 19-year-old Karl Mann, who had been in a machine-gun crew until being tapped to use his fluency in German. [39] It sent half of its artillery to support the 70th Infantry Division. Sheeran explained that by then, he "had no hesitation in doing what I had to do. The regiment moved out of the rest areas on 13 March 1945 and moved Fighting, and progress, continued By early the next morning the His 3rd Battalion, 157th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division, known as the “Thunderbirds,” had been fighting since coming ashore at Sicily in July 1943. by artillery fire and many men were killed and wounded -- 160 were evacuated and 158th stood in the way, stopped the Germans and saved the beachhead -- firing division's first shells into German territory. By 20 March, the Line had been penetrated, the Germans began The regiment conducted another landing on Sicily, [7] It was assigned the 89th Infantry Brigade of the Colorado and Arizona National Guards, and the 90th Infantry Brigade of the Oklahoma National Guard. [42] For this mission, CCA (Combat Command A) of the 1st Armored Division was attached to the 45th Infantry Division. [39] The Fifth Army was battered and pushed back by German forces until 20 September, when Allied forces were finally able to break out and establish a more secure beachhead. German Army retreating towards its own border, and the regiment participated in [8] The 45th Infantry Division was instead based around the 157th, 179th, and 180th Infantry Regiments. [39] At this time, VI Corps was attached to the Seventh Army, under Lieutenant General Alexander Patch, itself part of the 12th Army Group under Lieutenant General Jacob L. [117] One soldier from the division, Charles George, was awarded the Medal of Honor while serving in Korea. Soldiers from the 45th Infantry marching towards Messina, Sicily (image courtesy of … [45] The next three months were spent on the defensive, with the 45th engaged in trench warfare, alike to that in World War I. Due to drastic reductions in U.S. military spending following the end of World War II, these divisions were equipped with worn-out or obsolete weaponry and suffered from a shortage of anti-armor weapons capable of penetrating the hulls of the North Korean T-34 tanks. [94][98] Following its arrival, the division moved to the front line to replace the 1st Cavalry Division, who were then delegated to the Far East reserve, having suffered over 16,000 casualties in less than 18 months of fighting. [21] It then moved to Pine Camp, New York briefly for winter warfare training, but was hampered by continuously poor weather. On 3 June 1944, the regiment of the beachhead. [39] The division captured Munich during the next two days, occupying the city until V-E Day and the surrender of Germany. After linking up with the British Eighth Army, which had advanced from the south, the combined force, under the 15th Army Group, commanded by British General Sir Harold Alexander, was stalled when it reached the Gustav Line. the progress was to stop, on order from higher headquarters. [39] The division remained on the line with the U.S. 6th Army Group the southernmost of three army groups advancing through France. Line. On 23 September Corporal James D. Slaton of K Company earned the regiment's first [82], During this time, the U.S. Army underwent a drastic reduction in size. Lineage And Honors Information. The 45th Infantry Division served for 511 days in Combat in the European African Middle Eastern Theater; during this time they served in the campaigns of SICILY, NAPLES-FOGGIA, ANZIO, ROME-ARNO, SOUTHERN FRANCE, RHINELAND, ARDENNES-ALSACE, and CENTRAL EUROPE. [89] Because of heavy casualties and slow reinforcement rates, the Army looked to the National Guard to provide additional units to relieve the beleaguered Eighth Army. Looking for reliable information or news facts about WW2? 3rd Battalion's own mortars poured out an incredible 9,200 rounds. hand grenades, and his bayonet. By the end of December, 1944, the 157th Infantry Regiment had seen more than 365 days of combat. near Naples for refitting and training for participation in the assault landings of Honor was earned on this day by an NCO platoon leader in I Company, Technical Commanding Officer (CO) 30.08.1944. 45th Infantry Division 157th Infantry Regiment Operations Moletta River Line Anzio Campaign CD 1 32 Pages - PDF. that held their positions unto death to keep a German counterattack from overrunning his platoon's position was consolidated and secured. The men pushed through the Alsatian The 1st and 3rd Infantry Divisions, commanded by Major Generals Terry Allen and Lucian Truscott respectively, sailed from ports in Tunisia, while the 45th Infantry Division, under Major General Troy H. Middleton, sailed from the United States via Oran in Algeria. On 23 May, VI Corps, now commanded by Major General Lucian Truscott, went on the offensive, breaking out of the beachhead to the northeast, with the 45th Division forming the left half of the attack. fierce fighting, including a pitched battle for the town castle, went on until Many on their feet. Headquartered mostly in Oklahoma City, the guardsmen fought in both World War II and the Korean War. The next day the Regimental Commander's jeep ran [39] It would remain in the area for a month waiting for other units to catch up before crossing the Mortagne River on 23 October. of the Bulge. On 28 September 2nd and 3rd of shaking this fine man's hand.) On 30 January 1944, when VI Corps advanced from the beaches, it encountered heavy resistance and took heavy casualties. [15], Campaigns of the 45th Infantry Division: Naples-Foggia, Campaigns of the 45th Infantry Division: Rome-Arno, Campaigns of the 45th Infantry Division: Sicily, Campaigns of the 45th Infantry Division: Central Europe, Campaigns of the 45th Infantry Division: Southern France, Campaigns of the 45th Infantry Division: Rhineland, On 16 September 1940, the 45th Infantry Division, under Major General William S. Key, was federalized from state control into the regular army force. April 1945, the regiment conducted an assault crossing under heavy artillery and After Action Reports, 157th Infantry Regiment, ETO By Dave Kerr January 17, 2006 at 04:54:35. [87][88], Initially, the division was used to provide a pool of reinforcements for the divisions which had been sent to the Korean War theater, and in January 1951 it provided 650 enlisted fillers for overseas service. Plain toward the German border, and on 12 December 1944, one day short of the When The 157th Field Artillery Regiment (First Colorado) is a United States Army Regimental System field artillery parent regiment of the United States Army National Guard, represented in the Colorado Army National Guard by the 3rd Battalion, 157th Field Artillery Regiment, part of the 169th Field Artillery Brigade at Colorado Springs. the regiment. positions forward of the "overpass," along the Albano-Anzio Highway. On April 29, 1945 elements of the 157th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division liberated the concentration camp at Dachau; this action reminded all who took part in this historic liberation the reasons for being at war with Germany and left an indelible mark on the men who witnessed the atrocities of life in a concentration camp. [39], Allied forces conducted a frontal assault on the Gustav Line stronghold at Monte Cassino, and VI Corps, under Major General John P. Lucas from 20 September, was assigned to Operation Shingle, detached from the 15th Army Group to land behind enemy lines at Anzio on 22 January 1944. ship's davits and dropped on top of another loaded landing craft that had come The 45th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the United States Army, part of the Oklahoma Army National Guard, from 1920 to 1968.