[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 Portions of the information may be out of date.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
-
Activated: 15 September 1942.
Overseas: 12 September 1944.
Campaigns: Rhineland, Central Europe.
Days of combat: 173.
Distinguished Unit Citations: 4.
Awards: DSC-8; DSM-1; SS-686; LM-15; SM-39; BSM-5,498; AM-91.
Commanders: Maj. Gen. John B. Anderson (September 1942-4 January 1944),
Maj. Gen. Frank A. Keating (8 January 1944-February 1946),
Brig. Gen. Charles M. Busbee (February 1946 to inactivation).
Returned to U.S.: 11 March 1946.
Inactivated: 23 March 1946.
Combat Chronicle
-
The 102nd Infantry Division arrived at Cherbourg, France, 23 September 1944, and,
after a short period of training near Valognes, moved to the German-Netherlands
border. On 26 October, elements attached to other divisions entered combat and
on 3 November the Division assumed responsibility for the sector from the Wurm
River to Waurichen. A realinement of sectors and the return of elements placed
the 102nd in full control of its units for the first time, 24 November 1944, as
it prepared for an attack to the Roer. The attack jumped off, 29 November, and
carried the Division to the river through Welz, Flossdorf, and Linnich. After
a period of aggressive patrolling along the Roer, 4-19 December, the Division
took over the XIII Corps sector from the Wurm River, north of the village of
Wurm, to Barmen on the south, and trained for river crossing. On
23 February 1945, the 102nd attacked across the Roer, advanced
toward Lovenich, bypassed Munchen-Gladbach, took Krefeld, 3 March, and
reached the Rhine. During March the Division was on the defensive along
the Rhine, its sector extending from Homburg south to Dusseldorf. Crossing
the river in April, the Division attacked in the Wesergebirge, meeting stiff
opposition. Wilsede and Hessisch-Oldendorf fell, 12 April 1945, and the 102nd
pushed on to the Elbe, meeting little resistance. Breitenfeld fell, 15 April,
and the Division outposted the Elbe River, 48 miles from Berlin, its advance
halted on orders. It patrolled and maintained defensive positions until the
end of hostilities in Europe, then moved to Gotha for occupational duty.
Assignments in the ETO
-
28 August 1944: Ninth Army, 12th Army Group. // 5 September 1944: III Corps. //
10 October 1944: XVI Corps. // 3 November 1944: XIX Corps. //
7 November 1944: XIII Corps. // 20 December 1944: XIII Corps, Ninth
Army (attached to the British 21st Army Group), 12th Army Group. //
1 April 1945: XIII Corps (for administration), Ninth Army, but
attached for operations to the Fifteenth Army. // 4 April 1945: XIII
Corps, Ninth Army, 12th Army Group.
General
-
Nickname: Ozark Division.
Slogan: Distinction, valor, marksmanship.
Shoulder patch: A golden "O", "Z" and an arc on a circular blue background.
Publications: History of the 102nd Infantry Division; by unit
members; The Infantry Journal, Washington, D.C.; 1947. Pictorial
Review; by unit members; Albert Love Enterprises, Atlanta, Ga.;
1944. Historical Journal Special Troops, 102nd Infantry Division; by
unit members; The Steck Co., Austin, Tex.; 1946.
• 102nd Infantry Division Links
• 102nd Infantry Division Components
• 102nd Infantry Division Medal of Honor Recipients
• 102nd Infantry Division Commanders
• 102nd Infantry Division Videos
|
|
|
|