Unit History
look closely and you can see the indianhead patches on these doughboys circa 1918
"I wish all American Divisions would look to the Second Division and try to emulate them."
~ Gen. Pershing
The Beginning
Formed in Beaumont France
giving the unit the unique distinction of being the only U.S Military
unit formed on foreign soil. It's original formation consisted of one brigade of
U.S. Infantry, one brigade of U.S. Marines, an artillery brigade, and various
supporting units. Yes you read correctly a brigade of U.S. Marines!
World War
I
During "The Great War" the
division was commanded twice by Marine Corps generals; Major General C.A. Doyen
and Major General John A. Jejune. This was the only time in U.S. military
history when Marine Corps officers commanded an Army Division. The 2nd Infantry
Division drew its first blood during WWI in the nightmare landscape of
Belleau-Wood and contributed to shattering the four-year-old stalemate on the
battlefield during the Chateau-Thierry campaign that followed. The Division was
also involved in the tough fighting at Soissons and Mont Blanc, for which it was
awarded the French Fourragire in the colors of the Croix De Guerre. The
Indianhead's last battle of WWI was the Meuse-Argome offensive, which ended any
hope for German victory. On 11 November 1918 the Armistice was declared, and the
2nd Infantry Division marched into Germany where it performed occupational
duties until April of 1919.
Home
Coming
Upon returning to the United States, the Division was stationed at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. It remained there for the next 23 years, serving as an experimental unit, testing new concepts and innovations for the Amy. In 1940 the 2nd Infantry Division was the first command reorganized under the new triangular concept, which provided for three separate regiments in each Division. Indianhead soldiers pioneered concepts of air mobility and anti-tank warfare, which served the Army for the next two decades on battlefields in every corner of the globe.
2nd ID comes off
the beach D-Day +1
World War
II
As part of the build up for Operation Overlord, the Normandy invasion, the 2nd Infantry Division was transferred from Fort Sam Houston to Ireland in October, 1943. There it spent ten months undergoing extensive training. On 7 June 1944, D-Day+1, the Division stormed ashore at bloody Omaha Beach. While the determined German resistance to the west stalled other units, the Indianheads blasted through the hedgerows of Normandy. After a fierce 39-day battle, the 2nd Infantry Division, fighting in the streets and alleyways, finally liberated the vital port city of Brest on 18 September 1944
The Battle for
Brest, France. (note the camo
uniform)
Once mop-up operations were
complete in the Normandy region, the Division turned west and plunged headlong
across France. From positions around St. Vith, Belgium, the Second was ordered
on 11 December 1944 to attack and seize the Roer River dams. Having pierced the
dreaded Siegfried Line, the Division was advancing when Field Marshal Gerd Von
Rundstedt unleashed a powerful German offensive in the Ardennes. Throughout this
Battle of the Bulge, the 2nd Infantry Division held fast, preventing the enemy
from seizing key roads leading to the cities of Liege and Antwerp. Resuming the
offensive on 6 February 1945, the Division joined the race to annihilate the
fleeing Wehrmacht.
Transferred from the First Army to Patton's Third Amy,
the Indianheads spent their last days of the European War in a dash across
Czechoslovakia, finally halting in the town of Pilsen. This city became a
meeting point between invading armies from the east and from the west. It was in
Pilsen that the soldiers of the 2nd Infantry Division first met Soviets who
represented the forces of Communism that they would face so often as adversaries
in the future.