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91st Division (United States)

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91st Infantry Division
91st Training Division (Operations)
91st Infantry Division insignia
Active1917–1919
1921–1945
1946–2009
2009–2010
2010–present
Country United States
Branch United States Army
TypeInfantry
Training
SizeDivision
Garrison/HQFort Hunter Liggett[1]
EngagementsWorld War I

World War II

Website91st Training Division
Insignia
Distinctive unit insignia

The 91st Infantry Division (famously nicknamed as the "Wild West Division"[2] with a "Fir Tree" as its Division insignia to symbolize its traditional home of the Far West[3]) is an infantry division of the United States Army that fought in World War I and World War II. From 1946 until 2008, it was part of the United States Army Reserve. It was briefly inactivated from 2008 until 2010 when it was elevated back to a division size element as the 91st Training Division (Operations).[1]

World War I

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Square Division example: 1940 US Infantry Division. On the far left can be seen two Brigades of two Regiments each
M1917 helmet worn by a Doughboy of the 91st Division in France in 1918

The 91st Division was constituted by the War Department on 5 August 1917, and was to be organized at Camp Lewis, near Tacoma, Washington, with draftees from California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. On 26 August, Major General Henry Alexander Greene assumed command. During September, organization of the division was begun from a cadre of officers and men of the Regular Army and from Officers' Reserve Corps and National Army officers from the First Officers Training Camps. From 5-10 September, 2,300 draftees arrived at camp, with 18,000 following from 18-24 September. Systematic training was begun.

From 3-8 October, the last drafts of 1917 furnished Camp Lewis with 18,000 men, and on 31 October, the division approximated 26,000. During November, 8,000 men were transferred to the 41st Division; between January and June 1918, over 30,000 fresh drafts and transfers arrived at Camp Lewis, but 25,000 men departed. The division received new men, but by March, transfers reduced its strength to less than 20,000. During May and June the division was increased to a strength of 23,000.

In June and July, the division departed for England. In September 1918, the division's first operation was in the St. Mihiel Offensive in France. Serving under the U.S. Army's V Corps, the division, now commanded by Major General William Johnston Jr., fought in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive and successfully helped to destroy the German First Guard Division and continued to smash through three successive enemy lines.[1][4] Twelve days before the end of World War I, the division, as part of the VII Corps of the French Sixth Army, helped drive the Germans east across the Escaut River in the Battle of the Lys and the Escaut. The division was awarded separate campaign streamers for its active role in the Lorraine, Meuse-Argonne and Ypres-Lys campaigns.[1][4]

The division was composed of the following units:[5][6][7][8][9]

Interwar period

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The 91st Division headquarters arrived at the port of Brooklyn, New York, aboard the USS Calamares on 16 April 1919 after 11 months of overseas service and was demobilized on 13 May 1919 at the Presidio of San Francisco, California. The 91st Division was reconstituted in the Organized Reserve on 24 June 1921, allotted to the Ninth Corps Area, and assigned to the XIX Corps. The division was further allotted to the state of California as its home area. The division headquarters was organized in November 1921 in Building 88 at the Presidio of San Francisco. The headquarters was later moved to Building 172 at the Presidio and remained there until activated for World War II. To maintain communications with the officers of the division, the division staff published a newsletter titled “The 91st Division Bulletin.” The newsletter informed the division’s members of such things as when and where the inactive training sessions were to be held, what the division’s summer training quotas were, where the camps were to be held, and which units would be assigned to help conduct the Citizens Military Training Camps (CMTC).

The designated mobilization and training station for the division was Del Monte, California, the location where much of the 91st Division’s training activities occurred in the interwar years. The subordinate infantry regiments of the division held their summer training with the 3rd Division's 30th Infantry Regiment at Del Monte. Other units, such as the special troops, artillery, engineers, aviation, medical, and quartermaster, trained at various posts in the Ninth Corps Area, often with the active units of the 3rd Division. For example, the division’s artillery trained at the Presidio of Monterey with the 2nd Battalion, 76th Field Artillery; the 316th Engineer Regiment trained at Fort Lewis, Washington, with the 6th Engineers; the 316th Medical Regiment trained at the Medical Corps training camp at the Presidio of San Francisco; and the 316th Observation Squadron trained with the 91st Observation Squadron at Crissy Field, California. In addition to the unit training camps, the infantry regiments of the division rotated responsibility to conduct the CMTC training held at Del Monte and the Presidio each year as well.

On a number of occasions, the division participated in Ninth Corps Area and Fourth Army command post exercises (CPXs) in conjunction with other Regular Army, National Guard, and Organized Reserve units. These training events gave division staff officers’ opportunities to practice the roles they would be expected to perform in the event the division was mobilized. Unlike the Regular and Guard units in the Ninth Corps Area, the 91st Division did not participate in the various Ninth Corps Area maneuvers and the Fourth Army maneuvers of 1937, 1940, and 1941 as an organized unit due to lack of enlisted personnel and equipment. Instead, the officers and a few enlisted reservists were assigned to Regular and Guard units to fill vacant slots and bring the units up to war strength for the exercises. Additionally, some officers were assigned duties as umpires or as support personnel.[11]

World War II

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As the early battles of World War II involving the United States were being fought, the division was reactivated at Camp White, Oregon on 15 August 1942, under the command of Major General Charles H. Gerhardt. After initial training at Camp White, the division participation in the Oregon Maneuver combat exercise in the fall of 1943.[12][13]

Order of battle

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Triangular Division example: 1942 U.S. infantry division. The brigades of the Square division have been removed, and there are three regiments directly under divisional control.

Before Organized Reserve infantry divisions were ordered into active military service, they were reorganized on paper as "triangular" divisions under the 1940 tables of organization. The headquarters companies of the two infantry brigades were consolidated into the division's cavalry reconnaissance troop, and one infantry regiment was removed by inactivation. The field artillery brigade headquarters and headquarters battery became the headquarters and headquarters battery of the division artillery. Its three field artillery regiments were reorganized into four battalions; one battalion was taken from each of the two 75 mm gun regiments to form two 105 mm howitzer battalions, the brigade's ammunition train was reorganized as the third 105 mm howitzer battalion, and the 155 mm howitzer battalion was formed from the 155 mm howitzer regiment. The engineer, medical, and quartermaster regiments were reorganized into battalions. In 1942, divisional quartermaster battalions were split into ordnance light maintenance companies and quartermaster companies, and the division's headquarters and military police company, which had previously been a combined unit, was split.[14]

  • Headquarters, 91st Infantry Division
  • 361st Infantry Regiment
  • 362nd Infantry Regiment
  • 363rd Infantry Regiment
  • Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 91st Infantry Division Artillery
    • 346th Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm)
    • 347th Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm)
    • 348th Field Artillery Battalion (155 mm)
    • 916th Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm)
  • 316th Engineer Combat Battalion
  • 316th Medical Battalion
  • 91st Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop (Mechanized)
  • Headquarters, Special Troops, 91st Infantry Division
    • Headquarters Company, 91st Infantry Division
    • 791st Ordnance Light Maintenance Company
    • 91st Quartermaster Company
    • 91st Signal Company
    • Military Police Platoon
    • Band
  • 91st Counterintelligence Corps Detachment

Combat chronicle

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Major General William G. Livesay being the commander, the division departed for the European Continent on 3 April 1944. There, on the Italian Front, the 361st Regimental Combat Team was detached to participate in the battles for Rome and the Arno River. It became the first formation of the U.S. Fifth Army to reach the river. In September 1944, the division crossed the Sieve River, outflanked the famous Gothic Line, and captured the Futa Pass. Beginning from the middle of April 1945, the division, along with its II Corps sister units, pushed forward against the units of German XIV Panzer Corps as part of Operation Grapeshot.

Men of Company C, 363rd Infantry Regiment, 91st Infantry Division, on the road just south of Pianoro, Italy, April 1945.

The division returned to the United States where it was inactivated at Camp Rucker, Alabama, in December 1945.[1][4]

Awards

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Days of combat: 271

Campaigns:

  • Rome-Arno (22 Jan 44 – 9 Sep 44)
  • North Apennines (10 Sep 44 – 4 April 45)
  • Po Valley (5 Apr 45 – 8 May 45)

Casualties[15]

  • Total battle casualties: 8,744
  • Killed in action: 1,400
  • Wounded in action: 6,748
  • Missing in action: 262
  • Prisoner of war: 334

Army Reserve

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Standard organization chart for a training division

In December 1946, the 91st was reactivated at the Presidio of San Francisco as part of the U.S. Army Reserve. In 1959, the division was reorganized and redesignated as the 91st Division (Training). In 1993, the division was again reorganized and redesignated as the 91st Division (Exercise) and again in 1999 as the 91st Division (Training Support).[1][4]

Its headquarters was at Parks Reserve Forces Training Area (PRFTA), Dublin, California,[16] when the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommended the Department of Defense relocate the 91st Division to Fort Hunter Liggett.[4]

The four brigades of the 91st Division were redesignated as separate brigades:[citation needed]

The 91st Division moved its headquarters to Fort Hunter Liggett on 1 May 2009, was reorganized and re-designated as the 91st Training Brigade (Operations) on 1 October 2009 and was then re-designated as the 91st Training Division (Operations) on 1 October 2010.[1]

Subordinate units

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As of 2017 the following units are subordinated to the 91st Training Division (Operations):

  • 1st Brigade[17]
    • 11th Battalion, 104th Regiment
    • 3rd Battalion, 290th Regiment
    • 2nd Battalion, 378th Regiment
    • 3rd Battalion, 381st Regiment
    • 1st Battalion, 417th Regiment

Notable members

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In the Media

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The soldiers in the TV show Combat! portray members of the 363rd (is 361st in S2Ep25&26 & others) Infantry Regiment.[19]

Shoulder Sleeve Insignia

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  • SSI for the 91st Infantry Division in World War 1
    SSI for the 91st Infantry Division in World War 1
  • Variation SSI for the 91st Infantry Division in World War 1
    Variation SSI for the 91st Infantry Division in World War 1
  • SSI for the 91st Infantry Division in World War 2
    SSI for the 91st Infantry Division in World War 2

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g "91st Training Division (Operations) History". United States Army. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 17 February 2011.
  2. ^ "Special Unit Designations". United States Army Center of Military History. 21 April 2010. Archived from the original on 9 July 2010. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
  3. ^ "Fort Baker". National Park Service. United States Department of the Interior. 20 July 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  4. ^ a b c d e "91st Division (Training Support)". GlobalSecurity.org. 21 August 2008. Retrieved 17 February 2011.
  5. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 March 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Nafziger collection
  6. ^ The US Army Order of Battle from 1919-1941 p267
  7. ^ The US Army Order of Battle from 1919-1941 Archived 1 April 2017 at the Wayback Machine p866
  8. ^ The US Army Order of Battle from 1919-1941 p1734
  9. ^ The US Army Order of Battle from 1919-1941 p1959, p2243
  10. ^ History of the 347th Machine Gun Battalion. Oakland, California: Horwinski Company. 1923. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  11. ^ Clay, Steven E. (2010). U.S. Army Order of Battle, 1919-1941, Volume 1. The Arms: Major Commands and Infantry Organizations, 1919-41. Fort Leavenworth, KS: Combat Studies Institute Press. p. 266-267.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  12. ^ Kramer, George, “Camp White”, The Oregon Encyclopedia, Portland State University, Portland, Oregon, 23 October 2010.
  13. ^ Brogan, Phil F., East of the Cascades (Third Edition), Binford & Mort, Portland, Oregon, 1965, pp. 272–275.
  14. ^ Wilson, John B. (1998). Maneuver and Firepower: The Evolution of Divisions and Separate Brigades. Washington, D.C.: Center of Military History, U.S. Army. p. 161, 169-70.
  15. ^ Army Battle Casualties and Nonbattle Deaths, Final Report (Statistical and Accounting Branch, Office of the Adjutant General, 1 June 1953)
  16. ^ "Camp Parks Reserve Forces Training Area (PRFTA)". GlobalSecurity.org. 21 August 2008. Retrieved 17 February 2011.
  17. ^ "U.S. Army Reserve > Commands > Functional > 84th TNG CMD". www.usar.army.mil. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  18. ^ White, G. Edward (15 July 1982). Earl Warren, a public life. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-503121-0.
  19. ^ Combat! S1E07 Escape to Nowhere – via YouTube.[dead YouTube link]
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