NAME:
Seventy-Sixth Infantry Division / 76th Division
NICKNAME:
"Onaway Division" and "The Liberty Bell Division"
NICKNAME HISTORY:
It gained the name "The Liberty Bell Division" because the last two digits of the historic year 1776 are the numerical designation of the division. Additionally, it is called the "Onaway Division" since “Onaway” is the alert cry of the Chippewa Indians, in whose hunting grounds the 76th trained while at Camp Mc Coy, Wisc.
From: http://www.battleofthebulge.org/fact/fact_...h_infantry.html
BATTLE HONORS:
World War I
St. Mihiel Offensive
World War II
Ardennes-Alsace
Rhineland
Central Europe
ACTIVATED:
Aug 1917
June 15, 1942
DEACTIVATED:
May 1919
Aug 31, 1945
PATCH HISTORY:
The initial unofficial divisional patch design focused upon the liberty bell as a symbol because the last two digits of the historic year 1776 are the numerical designation of the division.
The official division insignia is an escutcheon which has a red field and a blue chief, separated by an olive drab line; a three pronged white device is superimposed on the blue chief. The white device was a medieval English heraldic symbol meaning “first son.” In World War I the 76th was the first division of the National Army to be drawn from civilian ranks through the draft, hence the insignia and the description, “the first sons of the nation.” The combined colors of the field, the device, and the chief are the national colors.
From: http://www.battleofthebulge.org/fact/fact_...h_infantry.html
HISTORY:
World War I
Activated: August 1917.
Overseas: August 1918.
Commanders: Maj. Gen. H. F. Hodges (5 August 1917), Brig. Gen. William Weigel (28 November 1917), Maj. Gen. H. F. Hodges (13 February 1918).
Inactivated: May 1919.
Combat Chronicle
301st Engineers
---assigned to 4th Corps, 8/11/18
---St. Mihiel Offensive, 9/12 - 9/16/18
---Toul Sector, 9/17 - 11/11/18
---4th Corps assigned to Third Army (occupation duty), 11/17/18
301st Field Signal Battalion
---Marbache Sector, 9/25 - 11/11/18
302nd and 303rd Field Artillery Regiments
---St. Mihiel Sector, 11/2 - 11/11/18
Composition
301st, 302nd, 303rd, 304th Infantry (Inf.)
301st, 302nd, 303rd Artillery (Art.)
301st, 302nd, 303rd Machine Gun (M. G.)
301st Engineers (Eng.)
World War II
Activated: 15 June 1942.
Overseas: 10 December 1944.
Campaigns: Ardennes-Alsace, Rhineland, Central Europe
Days of combat: 107
Distinguished Unit Citations: 2
Awards: MH-2 ; DSC-11 ; DSM-1 ; SS-176; LM-5; SM19 ; BSM-1,312 ; AM-58
Commanders: Maj. Gen. Emil F. Reinhardt (June-December 1942), Maj. Gen. William R. Schmidt (December 1942-July 1945), Brig. Gen. Henry C. Evans (August 1945 to inactivation)
Inactivated: 31 August 1945 in Europe
Combat Chronicle
The 76th Infantry Division arrived in England, 20 December 1944, where it received additional training. It landed at Le Havre, France, 12 January 1945, and proceeded to the Limesy concentration area. The Division moved to Beine east of Reims and then to Champlon, Belgium, 23 January, to prepare for combat. Relieving the 87th Division in defensive positions along the Sauer and Moselle Rivers in the vicinity of Echternach, Luxembourg, 25 January, the 76th sent out patrols and crossed the Sauer, 7 February, and breached the Siegfried Line in a heavy assault. The advance continued across the Prum and Nims Rivers, 25-27 February. Katzenkopf fortress and Irrel fell on the 28th and the attack pushed on toward Trier, reaching the Moselle, 3 March. Driving across the Kyll River, the Division took Hosten, 3 March, Speicher on the 5th and Karl on the 10th; swung south and cleared the area north of the Moselle, crossing the river, 18 March, near Mulheim. Moving to the Rhine, the 76th took over defenses from Boppard to St. Goar and crossed the Rhine at Boppard, 27 March. It drove east and took Kamberg in a house-to-house struggle, 29 March. A new attack was launched 4 April and the Werra River was reached the next day. The attack continued in conjunction with the 6th Armored Division; Langensalza fell and the Gera River was crossed, 11 April. Zeitz was captured after a violent struggle, 14-15 April, and the 76th reached the Mulde River on the 16th, going into defensive positions to hold a bridgehead across the Mulde near Chemnitz until VE-day.
Assignments in the ETO
9 January 1945: 12th Army Group
14 January 1945: Fifteenth Army, 12th Army Group
19 January 1945: VIII Corps, Third Army, 12th Army Group
25 January 1945: XII Corps
3 April 1945: XX Corps
8 April 1945: VIII Corps
22 April 1945: VIII Corps, First Army, 12th Army Group
11 May 1945: VIII Corps, Ninth Army, 12th Army Group
Divisional history from:
http://freepages.military.rootsweb.com/~wo.../divisions.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_76th_Infantry_Division