The 90th Infantry Division ("Tough 'Ombres") was a unit of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

that served in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Its lineage is carried on by the 90th Sustainment Brigade.

World War I

*Activated: August 1917. *Overseas: June 1918. *Major Operations: St. Mihiel, Meuse-Argonne. *Casualties: Total-7,549 (KIA-1,091; WIA-6,458). *Commanders: Maj. Gen. Henry T. Allen (25 August 1917), Brig. Gen. Joseph A. Gaston (23 November 1917), Brig. Gen.

William Johnston Jr. Major General William Hartshorne Johnston Jr. (October 19, 1861 – February 19, 1933) was a United States Army officer who served his country with distinction for almost forty years, being involved in the Spanish–American War, the Philippine� ...

(27 December 1917), Maj. Gen. Henry T. Allen (1 March 1918), Brig. Gen.

Joseph P. O'Neil Joseph Patrick O'Neil (December 27, 1863 – July 27, 1938) was a United States Army officer in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He served in several conflicts, including World War I. Biography Joseph O'Neil was born in Brooklyn, New Yo ...

(24 November 1918), Maj. Gen. Charles H. Martin (30 December 1918). *Returned to U.S. and inactivated: June 1919.

Order of battle

* Headquarters, 90th Division * 179th Infantry Brigade ** 357th Infantry Regiment ** 358th Infantry Regiment ** 344th Machine Gun Battalion * 180th Infantry Brigade ** 359th Infantry Regiment ** 360th Infantry Regiment ** 345th Machine Gun Battalion * 165th Field Artillery Brigade ** 343rd Field Artillery Regiment (75 mm) ** 344th Field Artillery Regiment (75 mm) ** 345th Field Artillery Regiment (155 mm) ** 315th Trench Mortar Battery * 343rd Machine Gun Battalion * 315th Engineer Regiment * 315th Medical Regiment * 315th Field Signal Battalion * Headquarters Troop, 90th Division * 315th Train Headquarters and Military Police ** 315th Ammunition Train ** 315th Supply Train ** 315th Engineer Train ** 315th Sanitary Train *** 357th, 358th, 359th, and 360th Ambulance Companies and Field Hospitals

Interwar period

The division was reconstituted in the Organized Reserve on 24 June 1921 and assigned to the state of Texas. The headquarters was organized on 8 August 1921.

World War II

*Ordered into active military service: 25 March 1942 at Camp Barkley, Texas. *Overseas: 23 March 1944. *Distinguished Unit Citations: 5. *Campaigns: Normandy, Northern France, Ardennes-Alsace, Rhineland,

Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the a ...

*Awards: MH-4 ; DSC-54 ; DSM-4 ; SS-1,418 ; LM-19; DFC-4 ; SM-55 ; BSM-6,140 ; AM-121. *Commanders: Maj. Gen. Henry Terrell Jr. (March 1942 – January 1944), Brig. Gen.

Jay W. MacKelvie Brigadier General Jay W. MacKelvie (September 23, 1890 – December 5, 1985) was a career United States Army officer. He was prominent during World War II for being relieved of his command of the 90th Infantry Division shortly after the Norma ...

(5 April 1944), Maj. Gen. Eugene M. Landrum (13 June 1944), Maj. Gen. Raymond S. McLain (30 July 1944), Maj. Gen. James A. Van Fleet (15 October 1944), Maj. Gen. Lowell W. Rooks (22 January 1945), Maj. Gen. Herbert L. Earnest (2 March 1945). *Assistant Division Commanders: Brig. Gen.

Charles W. Ryder Major General Charles Wolcott Ryder CB (January 16, 1892 – August 17, 1960) was a senior United States Army officer who served with distinction in both World War I and World War II. Early life and military career Born in Topeka, Kansas in ...

(March − May 1942), Brig. Gen.

Alan W. Jones Major General Alan Walter Jones (October 6, 1894 − January 22, 1969) was a career officer in the United States Army. He is best known for his command of the 106th Infantry Division during World War II. Early life Alan Walter Jones Sr. was b ...

(1942−1943), Brig. Gen. Samuel Tankersley Williams (February 1943 − July 1944), Brig. Gen.

William G. Weaver William is a male given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norm ...

(July − November 1944), Brig. Gen.

Joseph M. Tully Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the m ...

*Artillery Commanders:

George D. Shea George D. Shea (January 11, 1894 – January 13, 1971) was a career officer in the United States Army. A veteran of World War I, World War II, and the Korean War, Shea attained the rank of major general, and was a recipient of the Army Distingu ...

(July 1942 – September 1943) *Returned to U.S.: 16 December 1945. *Inactivated: 27 December 1945 at Camp Myles Standish, Massachusetts.

Order of battle

* Headquarters, 90th Infantry Division * 357th Infantry Regiment * 358th Infantry Regiment * 359th Infantry Regiment * Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 90th Infantry Division Artillery ** 343rd Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm) ** 344th Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm) ** 345th Field Artillery Battalion (155 mm) ** 915th Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm) * 315th Engineer Combat Battalion * 315th Medical Battalion * 90th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop (Mechanized) * Headquarters, Special Troops, 90th Infantry Division ** Headquarters Company, 90th Infantry Division ** 790th Ordnance Light Maintenance Company ** 90th Quartermaster Company ** 90th Signal Company ** Military Police Platoon ** Band * 90th Counterintelligence Corps Detachment

Combat chronicle

The 90th Infantry Division landed in England, 5 April 1944, and trained from 10 April to 4 June. Polish officer 1AD Normandy P011192

First elements of the division saw action on

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

, 6 June, on

Utah Beach Utah, commonly known as Utah Beach, was the code name for one of the five sectors of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944 (D-Day), during World War II. The westernmost of the five code-named la ...

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

, the remainder entering combat 10 June, cutting across the

Merderet River The Merderet is a river in Normandy, France, which is tributary to the river Douve. It runs roughly north-south down the middle of the Cotentin peninsula from Valognes to the junction with the Douve at Beuzeville la Bastille. Hydrology The ...

to take

Pont l'Abbe Pont, meaning "bridge" in French, may refer to: Places France * Pont, Côte-d'Or, in the Côte-d'Or ''département'' * Pont-Bellanger, in the Calvados ''département'' * Pont-d'Ouilly, in the Calvados ''département'' * Pont-Farcy, in the Cal ...

in heavy fighting. After defensive action along the river

Douve The Douve () or Ouve is a river, in length, which rises in the commune of Tollevast, near Cherbourg in the department of Manche. ''Ouve'' is considered its old name (''Unva'' in ancient texts): Ouve appears to have been misspelled over the course ...

, the division attacked to clear the Foret de Mont-Castre (Hill 122), clearing it by 11 July, in spite of fierce resistance. In this action the Division suffered 5000 killed, wounded, or captured, one of the highest casualty rates suffered in WW II. An attack on the island of Saint-Germain-sur-Sèves on 23 July failed so the 90th bypassed it and took Périers on 27 July. On 12 August, the division drove across the

Sarthe River The Sarthe () is a river in western France. Together with the river Mayenne it forms the river Maine, which is a tributary to the river Loire. Its source is in the Orne department, near Moulins-la-Marche. It flows generally southwest, through t ...

, north and east of

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le ...

, and took part in the closing of the Falaise Gap, by reaching 1st Polish Armored Division in Chambois, 19 August. It then raced across France, through

Verdun Verdun (, , , ; official name before 1970 ''Verdun-sur-Meuse'') is a large city in the Meuse department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital ...

, 6 September, to participate in the siege of

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand ...

, 14 September – 19 November, capturing Maizières-lès-Metz, 30 October, and crossing the Moselle River at

Kœnigsmacker Kœnigsmacker (; Lorraine Franconian: ''Maacher''/''Kinneksmaacher''; ) is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Kœnigsmacker was the birthplace of Father Jean-Vincent Scheil (1858–1940), a French Dominic ...

, 9 November. Elements of the 90th Infantry assaulted and captured the German-held

Fort de Koenigsmacker The Fort de Koenigsmacker (Koenigsmaker, Königsmachern or Kœnigsmacker) is a fortification located to the northeast of Thionville in the Moselle department of France. It was built by Germany next to the town of the same name in the early 20th ...

9–12 November. On 6 December 1944, the division pushed across the Saar River and established a bridgehead north of Saarlautern (present-day

Saarlouis Saarlouis (; french: link=no, Sarrelouis, ; formerly Sarre-Libre and Saarlautern) is a town in Saarland, Germany, capital of the district of Saarlouis. In 2020, the town had a population of 34,409. Saarlouis, as the name implies, is located on t ...

), 6–18 December, but with the outbreak of

Gerd von Rundstedt Karl Rudolf Gerd von Rundstedt (12 December 1875 – 24 February 1953) was a German field marshal in the '' Heer'' (Army) of Nazi Germany during World War II. Born into a Prussian family with a long military tradition, Rundstedt entered th ...

's (Army Group A) drive, the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in ...

, withdrew to the west bank on 19 December, and went on the defensive until 5 January 1945, when it shifted to the scene of the

Ardennes The Ardennes (french: Ardenne ; nl, Ardennen ; german: Ardennen; wa, Årdene ; lb, Ardennen ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Be ...

struggle, having been relieved along the Saar River by the

94th Infantry Division In military terms, 94th Division or 94th Infantry Division may refer to: * 94th Division (People's Republic of China) * 94th Infantry Division (German Empire) * 94th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) * 94th Division (Imperial Japanese Army) * 94th Gu ...

. It drove across the

Our River The Our (; , ) is a river in Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany. It is a left-hand tributary of the river Sauer/Sûre. Its total length is . The source of the Our is in the High Fens in southeastern Belgium, near Manderfeld. It flows southw ...

, near

Oberhausen Oberhausen (, ) is a city on the river Emscher in the Ruhr Area, Germany, located between Duisburg and Essen ( ). The city hosts the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen and its Gasometer Oberhausen is an anchor point of the European Rout ...

, 29 January, to establish and expand a bridgehead. On 19 February, the division smashed through

Siegfried Line The Siegfried Line, known in German as the ''Westwall'', was a German defensive line built during the 1930s (started 1936) opposite the French Maginot Line. It stretched more than ; from Kleve on the border with the Netherlands, along the we ...

fortifications to the

Prüm River Prüm () is a town in the Westeifel (Rhineland-Palatinate), Germany. Formerly a district capital, today it is the administrative seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") Prüm. Geography Prüm lies on the river Prüm (a trib ...

After a short rest, the 90th continued across the Moselle River to take

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...

, 22 March, and crossed the rivers

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , source ...

, the Main, and the Werra in rapid succession. Pursuit continued to the Czech border, 18 April 1945, and into the

Sudetes The Sudetes ( ; pl, Sudety; german: Sudeten; cs, Krkonošsko-jesenická subprovincie), commonly known as the Sudeten Mountains, is a geomorphological subprovince in Central Europe, shared by Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic. They consi ...

mountain range. The division was en route to

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

when they came upon the remaining 1500 emaciated prisoners left behind by the SS at Flossenbürg concentration camp. Today, a memorial wall at the former camp honors the 90th as the liberators of Flossenbürg concentration camp.Memorial Plaque honoring the 90th Infantry Division's liberation of Flossenburg
/ref> A week later, word came that the war in Europe ended on 8 May 1945. On that same day, Erich Hartmann, the highest-scoring

fighter ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

in history, along with a squadron of the elite '' Jagdgeschwader 52'' fighter wing (the highest-scoring fighter wing in history), surrendered to the 90th.

Casualties

*Total battle casualties: 19,200Army Battle Casualties and Nonbattle Deaths, Final Report (Statistical and Accounting Branch, Office of the Adjutant General, 1 June 1953) *Killed in action: 3,342 *Wounded in action: 14,386 *Missing in action: 287 *Prisoner of war: 1,185

Assignments in ETO

*5 March 1944: Third Army. *23 March 1944: Third Army, but attached to First Army. *27 March 1944: VII Corps. *19 June 1944: VIII Corps. *30 July 1944: Third Army, but attached to First Army. *1 August 1944: XV Corps, Third Army, 12th Army Group. *17 August 1944: Third Army, 12th Army Group, but attached to V Corps, First Army. *25 August 1944: XV Corps, Third Army, 12th Army Group. *26 August 1944: XX Corps *6 January 1945: III Corps. *26 January 1945: VIII Corps. *12 March 1945: XII Corps.

General

*Nickname: Tough 'Ombres; during World War I, the division was called the Texas-Oklahoma Division, represented by the T and O on the shoulder patch. *Shoulder patch: A khaki-colored square on which is superimposed a red letter "T", the lower part of which bisects the letter "O", also in red.

Notable personnel

* Major General Terry de la Mesa Allen Sr. served with this division as a battalion commander in 1918 and later served in World War II *

James A. Baker Jr. James Addison Baker Jr. (November 3, 1892 – May 21, 1973) was an American attorney, banker, real estate developer, and United States Army officer from Houston, Texas. He was the third in a succession of men named James Addison Baker, all ...

William H. H. Morris Jr. Lieutenant General William Henry Harrison Morris Jr. (March 22, 1890 – March 30, 1971) was a senior United States Army officer who fought in both World War I and World War II. Early life and military career William Morris was born in the ...

References

*''Combat Chronicles''
"90th Infantry Division"
– ''The Army Almanac: A Book of Facts Concerning the Army of the United States''. U.S. Government Printing Office. – 1950. – pp. 510–592. Hosted at the

United States Army Center of Military History The United States Army Center of Military History (CMH) is a directorate within the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command. The Institute of Heraldry remains within the Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Ar ...

. *Wythe, George. ''A History of the 90th Division''. New York, N.Y.: 90th division Association, 1920.

External links

Tough 'Ombres! The Story of the 90th Infantry Division

Official Website of the Tough 'Ombres

Order of Battle 90Th ID
European Center of Military History
90th Infantry Division Preservation Group – Living History & Reenactment Articles

"Tough 'Ombres!", Company "B", 359th Regiment, 90th Infantry Division Living History & Reenactment
– Tough 'Ombres!
Raw Combat Footage of the 90th Infantry Division
– Combat Reels {{DEFAULTSORT:090 Infantry divisions of the United States Army Infantry Division, U.S. 090 United States Army divisions of World War I Infantry divisions of the United States Army in World War II Military units and formations established in 1917