2 World War II

The 29th Division was formed 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 US 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 Roer, blasting its way through Siersdorf, Setterich, Durboslar, and Bettendorf, and reaching the Roer 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 Roer and prepared for the offensive. The attack jumped off across the Roer on 23 February, and carried the division through Julich, Broich, Immerath, and Titz, to Munchen-Gladbach on 1 March. The division was out of combat in March but in early April the 116th Infantry helped mop up in the Ruhr area and on 19 April the division pushed to the Elbe and held defensive positions until 4 May. Meanwhile, the 175th Infantry Regiment cleared the Klotze 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 Congressional 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 demobilised a fortnight later.

Commanders:

• Major General Milton A. Reckord (February 1941-January 1942)
• Major General Leonard T. Gerow (February 1942-July 1943)
• Major Geneneral Charles H. Gerhardt (July 1943 to demobilisation.)

2.1 Assignments in the European Theater of Operations

• 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

3 Post WWII

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 seperate infantry brigades or as parts of other division, most notably the 28th Infantry Division from the Pennsylvania National Guard.

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 and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Commanders:

• Major General H. Steven Blum (August 1999-August 2002)
• Major General Daniel E. Long, Jr. (August 2002-Present)

4 Heraldry

• Shoulder Patch: the blue-and-grey
• Motto: "29, Let's Go!"
• Distinctive Unit Insignia: Fleur-De-Lis above by the division motto, commemorating the division's service in France during both world wars.

5 References

• The Army Almanac: A Book of Facts Concerning the Army of the United States U.S. Government Printing Office, 1950 reproduced at Combat Chronicle: 29th Infantry Division.

6 External links

• 29 Let's Go! The Story of the 29th Infantry Division
• 29th Infantry Division Official Homepage
• 29th Infantry Division Association Homepage
• Global Security's page on the 29th ID

Infantry divisions of the United States World War II divisions of the United States

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