NAME:
Twenty-Nineth Infantry Division / 29th Division
NICKNAME:
"Blue and Grey"
BATTLE HONORS:
World War I
Meuse-Argonne Offensive
World War II
Normandy
Siegfried Line
Aachen
ACTIVATED:
July 26, 1917
Feb 3, 1941
June 6, 1984
DEACTIVATED:
1919
Jan 1946
HISTORY:
“World War I
On 26 July 1917 Virginia's troops joined guardsmen from New Jersey, Maryland and the District of Columbia in the 29th Division which activated on 25 August 1917. The 29th Division adopted the nickname "Blue and Gray," which reflected the coming together of Civil War adversaries in a single organization.
The Blue and Gray finally started overseas in 1918. Its advance detachment reached Brest, France, on 8 June. In late September the 29th received orders to join the First Army's Meuse-Argonne offensive as part of the French XVII Corps. During its 21 days in combat, the 29th Division advanced seven kilometers, captured 2,148 prisoners, and knocked out over 250 machine guns or artillery pieces. It paid a high price for this success. One-third of its members became casualties-170 officers and 5,691 men.
Commanders:
Brigadier General Charles W. Barber (28 July–25 August 1917)
Major General Charles G. Morton (25 August–24 September 1917; 6 December–11 December 1917; 26 December 1917–23 March 1918; 26 March 1918 to demobilisation)
Brigadier General William C. Rafferty (24 September–6 December 1917; 11 December–26 December 1917; 23 March–26 March 1918)
World War II
The 29th Division was reactivated on 3 February 1941 and departed for the United Kingdom on 5 October 1942 where it continued training in Scotland and England from October of 1942 up to June 1944 in preparation for the invasion of France.
Teamed with the U.S. 1st Infantry Division, the 116th Infantry Regiment of the 29th Division was in the first assault wave to hit the beaches at Normandy on D-Day, 6 June 1944. The division itself landed on Omaha Beach on the same day in the face of intense enemy fire but soon secured the bluff tops and went on to occupy Isigny on 9 June. The division cut across the Elle River and advanced slowly toward St. Lo, fighting bitterly in the Normandy bocage (hedge rows).
After taking St. Lo on 18 July, the division joined in the battle for Vire, capturing that strongly held city on 7 August. Turning west, the 29th took part in the assault on Brest from 25 August to 18 September.
After a short rest, the division moved to defensive positions along the Teveren-Geilenkirchen line in Germany and maintained those positions through October. (In mid-October the 116th Infantry took part in the fighting at the Aachen Gap.) On 16 November the division began its drive to the Rur, blasting its way through Siersdorf, Setterich, Duerboslar, and Bettendorf, reaching the Rur by the end of the month.
On 8 December, heavy fighting reduced Julich Sportplatz and the Hasenfeld Gut. From 8 December 1944 to 23 February 1945, the division held defensive positions along the Rur and prepared for the offensive. The attack jumped off across the Rur on 23 February and carried the division through Julich, Broich, Immerath, and Titz to Mönchengladbach on 1 March. The division was out of combat in March, however in early April the 116th Infantry helped mop up in the Ruhr area and on 19 April the division pushed to the Elbe River and held defensive positions until 4 May. Meanwhile, the 175th Infantry Regiment cleared the Kloetze Forest. After VE Day, the division was on military government duty in the Bremen enclave.
The 29th Infantry Division had spent 242 days in combat during campaigns in Normandy, Northern France, the Rhineland and Central Europe, earning four Distinguished Unit Citations in the process. Two soldiers of the division were awarded the Medal of Honor. Also awarded were 44 DSCs, one DSM, 854 Silver Stars, 17 Legion of Merit, 24 Soldier's Medal and 6,308 Bronze Stars.
The 29th Division returned to the United States on January 4, 1946 and was demobilized two weeks later.
Commanders:
Major General Milton A. Reckord (1934-January 1942)
Major General Leonard T. Gerow (February 1942-July 1943)
Major General Charles H. Gerhardt (July 1943 to demobilization.)
Organization
115th, 116th and 175th Infantry Regiments
110th, 111th, 224th and 227th Field Artillery Battalions
121st Engineer Combat Battalion
Attached unit: 821st Tank Destroyer Battalion
Assignments in Europe
22 October 1943: V Corps, First Army
14 June 1944: XIX Corps
1 August 1944: XIX Corps, First Army, 12th Army Group
12 August 1944: V Corps
19 August 1944: First Army, 12th Army Group, but attached to the VIII Corps, Third Army, 12th Army Group
5 September 1944: VIII Corps, Ninth Army, 12th Army Group
21 September 1944: XIX Corps, First Army, 12th Army Group
22 October 1944: XIX Corps, Ninth Army, 12th Army Group
20 December 1944: XIX Corps, Ninth Army (attached to British 21st Army Group), 12th Army Group
23 December 1944: XIII Corps
4 February 1945 : XIX Corps
29 March 1945: XVI Corps
4 April 1945: XVI Corps, Ninth Army, 12th Army Group
5 April 1945: Ninth Army, 12th Army Group
12 April 1945: XVI Corps
17 April 1945: XIII Corps
4 May 1945: XVI Corps
Post World War II
In 1968 the Army retired the flag of the 29th Infantry Division due to re-organization of the National Guard divisions. For the next twenty years the various regiments of the division were organized either as separate infantry brigades or as parts of other division, most notably the 28th Infantry Division from the Pennsylvania National Guard.
Organisation of the 29th Infantry Division (Light)
On 6 June 1984, the 40th anniversary of the D-Day Normandy landings, the 29th Division was re-activated as a National Guard light infantry division. At that time it was composed (primarily) of the 116th Infantry Regiment from Virginia, 111th Field Artillery from Virginia, the 115th Infantry Regiment and 175th Infantry Regiment from Maryland, and the 110th Field Artillery from Maryland. In 1995 the 26th Infantry Division from New England was also incorporated into the 29th Division, becoming the 26th Brigade, headquartered in Massachusetts.
The 29th was the second National Guard division to provide a division headquarters for the SFOR mission in Bosnia. Following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, many elements of the 29th participated in the Global War on Terror, including Operation Noble Eagle, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.
The 29th Division started transitioning to the new structure shown below, adding brigades from North Carolina and Puerto Rico, in late 2006.
Commanders:
Major General H. Steven Blum (August 1999-August 2002)
Major General Daniel E. Long, Jr. (August 2002-November 2004)
Major General Arthur H. Wyman (November 2004-Present)
Current Composition:
Division Headquarters
30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team (NC NG)
1-120th Infantry Battalion (Combined Arms) (NC NG)
1-252nd Armor Battalion (Combined Arms) (NC NG)
1-150th Cavalry Squadron (Armed Recon) (WV NG)
1-113th Field Artillery Battalion (NC NG)
230th Support Battalion (NC NG)
30BCT Special Troops Battalion (NC NG)
58th Infantry Brigade Combat Team((MD NG)
1-175th Infantry Battalion (MD NG)
2-200th Infantry Battalion (NM NG)
1-158th Cavalry Squadron (RSTA) (MD NG)
1-110th Field Artillery Battalion (MD NG)
729th Support Battalion (MD NG)
58BCT Special Troops Battalion (MD NG)
92nd Brigade Combat Team (PR NG)
1-65th Infantry Battalion
1-296th Infantry Battalion
1-192nd Cavalry Squadron (RSTA)
2-162nd Field Artillery Battalion
192nd Support Battalion
92BCT Special Troops Battalion
116th 'Stonewall' Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Virginia ARNG
1st Battalion, 116th Infantry
3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry
1st Squadron, 183rd Cavalry
1st Battalion, 111th Field Artillery
429th Support Battalion
116BCT Special Troops Battalion
29th Aviation Brigade
1-111th General Support Aviation Battalion (FL NG)
1-130th Aviation Battalion (Attack) (NC NG)
Other combat support and combat service support units
Divisional history from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_29th_Infantry_Division
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/army/29id.htm
