NAME:
Forty-Fifth Infantry Division / 45th Division
NICKNAME:
"Thunderbirds"
BATTLE HONORS:
World War II
Sicily
Naples-Foggia
Anzio
Rome-Arno
Southern France
Ardennes-Alsace
Rhineland
Central Europe
ACTIVATED:
Sept 16, 1940
DEACTIVATED:
Dec 7, 1945
HISTORY:
Pre-World War II
Activated: In 1924 as a National Guard Division in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Oklahoma.
During this time, the 45th Division used a red square with a yellow swastika, which was an an American Indian symbol.
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.)
Combat Chronicle
----Mediterranean Theatre
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 fourday 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 (Fort Kaiser Wilhelm II designed in 1893 to block access to the plain of Alsace [1]), 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 at the Siegfried Line, 17 March, taking Homburg on the 21st and crossing the Rhine between Worms and Hamm on the 26th. The advance continued, Aschaffenburg falling, 3 April, and Nuremberg on the 20th. The Division crossed the Danube, 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.
Division Involvement in War Crimes
During the invasion of Sicily in 1943, the U.S. 45th (Thunderbird) members of the division executed 76 German and Italian Prisoners of War in the Biscari Massacre. One officer and one NCO were court-martialled.
Members of the Division executed a number of guards after the liberation of the Dachau Concentration Camp in the so-called Dachau Massacre.
Divisional history from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_45th_Infantry_Division
