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The 45th Infantry Division was a unit of the United States Army in World War II and the Korean War.
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Pre-World War II
The division was activated in 1924 as a National Guard Division in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Oklahoma.
After the rise of the NSDAP to power in Germany in the 1930's, the Division's original shoulder patch insignia, which featured a swastika, was changed. The thunderbird insignia was adopted in 1939.
World War II
- Activated: 16 September 1940
- Overseas: 8 June 1943
- Campaigns: Sicily, Naples-Foggia, Anzio, Rome-Arno, Southern France, Ardennes-Alsace, Rhineland, Central Europe
- Days of combat: 511
- Distinguished Unit Citations: 7
- Awards: MH-8 ; DSC-61 ; DSM-3 ; SS-1,848 ; LM-38; SM-59 ; BSM-5,744 ; AM-52
- Commanders:
- Maj, Gen. William S. Key (September 1940 – October 1942)
- Maj. Gen. Troy H. Middleton (October 1942 – December 1943)
- Maj. Gen. William W. Eagles (December 1943 – December 1944)
- Maj. Gen. Robert T. Frederick (December 1944 – September 1945)
- Brig. Gen. Henry J. D. Meyer (September 1945 to inactivation)
- Returned to U.S.: 14 September 1945
- Inactivated: 7 December 1945 (See National Guard)
Component Units
- 157th Infantry Regiment
- 179th Infantry Regiment
- 180th Infantry Regiment
- 158th Field Artillery Battalion
- 160th Field Artillery Battalion
- 171st Field Artillery Battalion
- 189th Field Artillery Battalion
- 120th Engineer Combat Battalion
- 45th Reconnaissance Troop
Combat Chronicle
Mediterranean Theater
The 45th Division landed in North Africa, 22 June 1943, and trained at Arzew, French Morocco. It landed in Sicily, 10 July, in its first major amphibious operation and moved inland under minor opposition. The enemy resisted fiercely at Motta Hill, 26 July, before losing the four day battle of "Bloody Ridge." On 1 August, the Division withdrew for rest and patrols. On 10 September 1943, the second landing at Salerno occurred. Against stiff resistance, the 45th pushed to the Calore River, 27 September, crossed the Volturno River, 3 November, and took Venafro. Until 9 January 1944, the Division inched forward into the mountains reaching St. Elia, north of Cassino, before moving to a rest area. The 45th landed at Anzio, 22 January 1944, and for 4 months stood its ground against violent assaults. It went over to the attack, 23 May, crossed the Tiber River, 4 June, outflanking Rome and withdrew for rest and training on the 16th.
France and Germany
The 45th participated in its fourth assault landing during Operation Dragoon, 15 August 1944, at St. Maxime, in Southern France. Against slight opposition, it spearheaded the drive for the Belfort Gap. It took the strongly defended city of Epinal, 24 September, crossed the Moselle River and entered the western foothills of the Vosges, taking Rambervillers on the 30th, and crossing the Mortagne River, 23 October.
After a brief rest, on 25 November, the 45th cracked the forts north of Mutzig (forts Kaiser Wilhelm II designed in 1893 to block access to the plain of Alsace [4]), crossed the Zintzel River and pushed through the Maginot defenses. From 2 January 1945, the division fought defensively along the German border, withdrawing to the Moder River. On 17 February, it went back for rest and training. The 45th moved north to the Sarreguemines area and smashed through the Siegfried Line, 17 March, taking Homburg on the 21st and crossing the Rhine between Worms and Hamm on the 26th. The advance continued, with Aschaffenburg falling on 3 April, and Nuremberg on the 20th. The division crossed the Danube on 27 April, took Munich on the 30th and liberated 32,000 captives in the Dachau concentration camp on April 29, 1945. The division captured Munich during the next two days, and on the eve of V-E Day, began operating Radio Station Thunderbird. During the next month, the division occupied Munich and set up collection points and camps for the massive numbers of surrendering troops of the Axis armies. The number of POWs taken by the 45th Division during its almost two years of fighting totaled 124,840.
The division returned to New York in early June, 1945, and from there went to Camp Bowie, Texas. On December 7, 1945, the division was deactivated and its members reassigned to other Army units.
During World War II, the 45th Division fought in 511 days of combat. Over 20,000 soldiers in the division were killed, wounded or missing in action.
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Bill Mauldin, the famous wartime cartoonist for "Stars and Stripes," and Irving Richtel (who was the model for Bill Mauldin's characters Willie and Joe) served in the 45th Infantry Division from 1940 until 1945.
Charles George of the division's 179th Infantry Regiment was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions on November 30, 1952 near Songnae-dong, Korea.
References
- Wintlock, Flint The Rock of Anzio, 1998 ISBN 0-8133-3399-7
- U.S. Government Printing Office. The Army Almanac: A Book of Facts Concerning the Army of the United States, ©1950, Harrisburg, Pa., LC Control Number: 59010070. Reproduced at CMH
- Bishop, Lt. Col. Leo V., Glasgow, Maj. Frank J. and Fisher, Maj. Georg A. (compiled and edited), The Fighting Forty-Fifth: the Combat Report of an Infantry Division, ©1946 by the 45th Infantry Division, printed by Army & Navy Publishing Co., 200 p. illus., Baton Rouge, LA. LC Control Number: 49051541. No ISBN.
- Buechner, Howard A., Dachau - The Hour of the Avenger, Thunderbird Press, ©1986, paperback, 159 pages, ISBN 0-913159-04-2, first published in 1986. LC Control Number: 87181873.
- US Army Centre for Military History
External links
- 45th Infantry Division Museum
- 45th Infantry Division History and Reenactments
- The 45th: The Story of the 45th Infantry Division
