The 71st Infantry Division was a unit of the United States Army in World War II.

World War II

*Activated: 15 July 1943 at Camp Carson, Colorado *Overseas: 26 January 1945. *Campaigns: Rhineland, Central-Europe *Days of combat: 62. *Awards: DSC-7 ; DSM-1 ; SS-180; LM-1 ; SM-8 ; BSM-695 ; AM-10. *Commanders: Brig. Gen. Robert L. Spragins (July 1943 – October 1944), Maj. Gen.

Eugene M. Landrum Major General Eugene M. Landrum (February 6, 1891 – July 24, 1967) was a senior United States Army officer. He is known primarily for defeating the Japanese in the Aleutian Islands Campaign at the start of World War II, being relieved as comma ...

(October–November 1944), Maj. Gen.

Willard G. Wyman General Willard Gordon Wyman (March 21, 1898 – March 29, 1969) was a senior United States Army officer who served as Commanding General of Continental Army Command from 1956 to 1958. Military career Wyman was born in Augusta, Maine. He en ...

(November 1944-16 August 1945), Brig. Gen. Onslow S. Rolfe (17 August 1945 – 10 October 1945), Maj. Gen.

A. Arnim White Major General Arthur Arnim White (21 October 1889 – 21 October 1981) was a United States Army officer. A West Point classmate of Dwight D. Eisenhower, White served during World War II, where he was chief of staff of both XIV Corps during the ...

(October 1945 – February 1946), Col. William Westmoreland (February–June 1946). *Returned to U.S.: 10 March 1946. *Inactivated: 12 March 1946 at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey

Order of battle

* Headquarters, 71st Infantry Division * 5th Infantry Regiment * 14th Infantry Regiment * 66th Infantry Regiment * Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 71st Infantry Division Artillery ** 564th Field Artillery Battalion (155 mm) ** 607th Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm) ** 608th Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm) ** 609th Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm) * 271st Engineer Combat Battalion * 371st Medical Battalion * 71st Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop (Mechanized) * Headquarters, Special Troops, 71st Infantry Division ** Headquarters Company, 71st Infantry Division ** 771st Ordnance Light Maintenance Company ** 251st Quartermaster Company ** 571st Signal Company ** Military Police Platoon ** Band * 71st Counterintelligence Corps Detachment

Early history

The division was first organized as the 71st Light Division (Pack, Jungle), intended for use in the mountainous jungle areas of the

Pacific theater The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

. Smaller than the standard 14,000-man infantry division, at about 9,000 personnel, its primary means of transport was hundreds of horses and

mule The mule is a domestic equine hybrid between a donkey and a horse. It is the offspring of a male donkey (a jack) and a female horse (a mare). The horse and the donkey are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes; of the two pos ...

s controlled by several quartermaster pack companies of muleteers, and for artillery several battalions of 75mm

pack howitzers Mountain guns are artillery pieces designed for use in mountain warfare and areas where usual wheeled transport is not possible. They are generally capable of being taken apart to make smaller loads for transport by horses, humans, mules, tractor ...

, instead of the standard M2A1 105 mm howitzer, which could be broken down into several loads and carried by mule train. The

5th Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a contagious rash tha ...

and 14th Infantry Regiments, Regular Army units which had been stationed in the

Panama Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone ( es, Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the Isthmus of Panama, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the terr ...

for several years prior to the war and had received extensive training in jungle operations during that time, were assigned to the division to provide the nucleus of jungle expertise. The 66th Infantry Regiment was constituted in the Regular Army on 10 July 1943, and activated and assigned to the division on 15 July 1943 as its third regiment. After training at Camp Carson, Colorado, the division was sent to Hunter Ligget Military Reservation in the mountains inland from

Big Sur Big Sur () is a rugged and mountainous section of the Central Coast of California between Carmel and San Simeon, where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from the Pacific Ocean. It is frequently praised for its dramatic scenery. Big Sur ha ...

, California, where it maneuvered against the 89th Light Division as a test of the light division concept. As a result of the test, it was decided that the light divisions had insufficient manpower and firepower to be effective, and the concept was abandoned. The 71st Division was sent to

Fort Benning Fort Benning is a United States Army post near Columbus, Georgia, adjacent to the Alabama–Georgia border. Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees and civilian employees ...

, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, where it was reorganized and retrained as a standard infantry division, although it remained unusual in having Regular Army infantry regiments assigned to a division raised in the Army of the United States.

Combat chronicle

The 71st Infantry Division arrived at Le Havre, France, 6 February 1945, and trained at Camp Old Gold with headquarters at Limésy, Limesy. The division moved east, relieved the 100th Infantry Division (United States), 100th Infantry Division at Ratzwiller, Ratswiller and saw its first action on 11 March 1945. Their ouster of the Germans from France began 15 March. The division moved through outer belts of the Siegfried Line, captured Pirmasens, 21 March, and crossed the Rhine at Oppenheim, 30 March. The 71st continued the advance, taking Coburg without resistance, cutting the Bundesautobahn 9, Munich-Berlin autobahn, 13 April, and capturing Bayreuth after fierce opposition on 16 April. Moving south, the Division destroyed Schönfeld, 18 April, took Sulzbach-Rosenberg, Rosenberg, crossed the Naab River at Kallmünz on 24 April and crossed the Danube on 26 April. Regensburg fell on the next day and Straubing on 28 April. As resistance crumbled, the division crossed the Isar on 29 April and entered Austria, 2 May. Participated in the liberation of Nazi concentration camps, concentration camps including one in Austria called Gunskirchen Lager, a subcamp of Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp, Mauthausen, on 4 May. A pamphlet was produced by the US Army after they liberated the camp, called "The Seventy-First came to Gunskirchen Lager." The book recounts in detail, and with graphic photos, the tragedy they found in the camp. The complete booklet is available for free on-line. The 71st organized and occupied defensive positions along the Enns River and contacted Red Army#Second World War ("The Great Patriotic War"), Russian forces east of Linz, 8 May, the day before hostilities ceased, having gone further east than any other U.S. Army unit. The division was assigned occupational duties until it left for home and inactivation 1 March 1946. During the last several weeks of the war, the 761st Tank Battalion (United States), 761st Tank Battalion, an African-American unit, was attached to the 71st Division and fought with it. The 71st Division is also the formation in which Lt. John Eisenhower, John D. Eisenhower, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Dwight Eisenhower's son, served. In January 1946, Colonel William Westmoreland was appointed commander, and was responsible for leading the units that had not yet been deactivated back to the United States so they could be demobilized.

Casualties

*Total battle casualties: 1,114 *Killed in action: 243 *Wounded in action: 843 *Missing in action: 9 *Prisoner of war: 19

Assignments in ETO

*21 January 1945: Fifteenth United States Army, Fifteenth Army, Twelfth United States Army Group, 12th Army Group. *2 March 1945: United States Army Europe, Seventh Army, Sixth United States Army Group, 6th Army Group. *9 March 1945: XV Corps (United States), XV Corps. *22 March 1945: XXI Corps (United States), XXI Corps. *25 March 1945: VI Corps (United States), VI Corps. *29 March 1945: 12th Army Group. *8 April 1945: United States Army Central, Third Army, 12th Army Group. *11 April 1945: XII Corps (United States), XII Corps. *20 April 1945: XX Corps (United States), XX Corps.

Alaska

In 1954 the 71st Infantry Division was reactivated in the northwest United States and Alaska as the division headquarters for several geographically separated units, to include the 53rd Infantry Regiment (United States), 53d Infantry Regiment headquartered at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson#Fort Richardson, Fort Richardson, Alaska, with additional units stationed at Fort Greely, and the 4th Infantry Regiment (United States), 4th and

Infantry regiments at Fort Lewis (Washington), Fort Lewis, Washington (state), Washington. The 747th Tank Battalion (United States), 723rd Tank Battalion was also withdrawn from the Army Reserve and activated at Fort Irwin, Camp Irwin and assigned to the 71st. In this status the division was known as a "static division" not capable of or intended for deployment. (A second "static" unit, the 23rd Infantry Division (United States), 23d Infantry Division, was activated in the Caribbean region.) Units of the reactivated 71st Infantry Division included the following:Source: Department of the Army, Office of the Adjutant General, letter dated 27 October 1954. * Headquarters * Headquarters Company * Medical Detachment, Division HQ * 71st Infantry Division Band * 71st Military Police Company * 771st Ordnance Battalion * 71st Quartermaster Company * 71st Replacement Company * 71st Signal Company * 71st Reconnaissance Company * 723d Tank Battalion (120mm Gun) * 371st Medical Battalion * 271st Engineer Battalion (Combat) * 4th Infantry Regiment (United States), 4th Infantry Regiment * 5th Infantry Regiment * 53rd Infantry Regiment (United States), 53d Infantry Regiment * Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 71st Division Artillery * Medical Detachment, 71st Division Artillery * 555th Field Artillery Battalion (105mm Howitzer, Towed) * 564th Field Artillery Battalion (155mm Howitzer, Towed) * 167th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion (AW)(SP) * 274th Armored Field Artillery Battalion (105mm Howitzer, SP) * 607th Armored Field Artillery Battalion (105mm Howitzer, SP) The division lasted in this status for less than two years, being inactivated at Fort Lewis on 15 September 1956.

General

*Nickname: The Red Circle. *Shoulder patch: A red circle with a white center bearing the Arabic numerals "71" in blue and placed diagonally.

References

''The Army Almanac: A Book of Facts Concerning the Army of the United States''
U.S. Government Printing Office, 1950. Online at the United States Army Center of Military History.
''The Seventy-First came to Gunskirchen Lager''
produced by the 71st Infantry of the US Army in May 1945. {{DEFAULTSORT:071 Infantry divisions of the United States Army, 071st Infantry Division, U.S. United States Army divisions during World War II, Infantry Division, U.S. 071st Infantry divisions of the United States Army in World War II Military units and formations established in 1943 Military units and formations disestablished in 1956