[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 Portions of the information may be out of date.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: 15 April 1943.
Overseas: 14 November 1944.
Campaigns: Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe.
Days of combat: 94.
Awards: DSC-4; SS-193; LM-7; SM-30; BSM-1,321; AM-30.
Commanders: Maj. Gen. Willard S. Paul (April-August 1943),
Maj. Gen. Fay B. Prickett (August 1943-January 1945),
Maj. Gen. Ray E. Porter (January-June 1945),
Maj. Gen. Arthur A. White (June-October 1945),
Brig. Gen. Charles R. Doran (October 1945 to inactivation).
Returned to U.S.: 18 November 1945.
Inactivated: 26 November 1945.
Combat Chronicle
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The 75th Infantry Division arrived in England, 22 November 1944; headquarters having
arrived on 2 November. After a brief training program, the Division landed at Le Havre
and Rouen, 13 December, and bivouacked at Yvetot on the 14th. When the Von Rundstedt
offensive broke in the Ardennes, the 75th was rushed to the front and entered defensive
combat, 23 December, alongside the Ourthe River, advanced to the Aisne and entered
Grandmenil, 5 January 1945. The Division relieved the 82nd A/B Division along the
Salm River, 8 January, and strengthened its defensive positions until 17 January
when it attacked, taking Vielsalm and other towns in the area. Shifting to the
Seventh Army area in AlsaceLorraine, the 75th crossed the Colmar Canal, 1 February,
and took part in the liberation of Colmar and in the determined fighting between
the Rhine River and the Vosges Mountains. It crossed the Rhine Canal and reached
the Rhine, 7 February. After a brief rest at Luneville, it returned to combat,
relieving the 6th British Airborne Division on a 24-mile defensive front along
the Maas River, near Roermond, Holland, 21 February. From 13 to 23 March, the
75th patrolled a sector along the west bank of the Rhine from Wesel to Homburg
and probed enemy defenses at night. On 24 March, elements crossed the Rhine in
the wake of the
30th
and
79th Divisions. Pursuance of
the enemy continued as the
75th cleared the Haard Forest, 1 April, crossed the Dortmund-Ems Canal on the 4th,
and cleared the approaches to Dortmund, which fell to the
95th Division,
13 April. After taking Herdecke, 13 April, the Division moved
to Brambauer for rest and rehabilitation, then took over security and military
government duties in Westphalia.
Assignments in the ETO
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9 December 1944: 12th Army Group. // 9 December 1944: Ninth Army, 12th Army
Group. // 11 December 1944: XVI Corps. // 22 December 1944: VII
Corps, First Army (attached to the British 21st Army Group), 12th Army
Group. // 29 December 1944: XVIII (Abn) Corps. // 2 January 1945: VII
Corps. // 7 January 1945: XVIII (Abn) Corps. // 25 January 1945: 6th
Army Group. // 30 January 1945: XXI Corps, Seventh Army, 6th Army Group, but
attached for operations to the First French Army, 6th Army
Group. // 11 February 1945: Seventh Army, 6th Army Group. // 14 February 1945: 12th
Army Group. // 17 February 1945: Ninth Army, 12th Army Group, but attached to
the British Second Army for operations and the British VIII Corps for
administration. // 1 March 1945: XVI Corps, Ninth Army, 12th Army Group.
General
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Shoulder patch: Khaki-bordered square with diagonal fields of
blue, white, and red on which is superimposed a blue
7 and red 5.
Publications:
75th; by
unit members; TI&E, ETOUSA; distributor,
secretary, 75th Infantry Division Veterans' Association;
1945. Photographic Cavalcade; by unit members; Army & Navy
Publishing Co., Baton Rouge, La.; 1947. Pictorial Review; by unit
members; Albert Love Enterprises, Atlanta, Ga.; 1944.
• 75th Infantry Division Links
• 75th Infantry Division Components
• 75th Infantry Division Medal of Honor Recipients
• 75th Infantry Division Commanders
• 75th Infantry Division Videos
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