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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, ...
and
United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through c ...
divisions of
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 ...
. The
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
began the war with only a handful of active divisions: five infantry and one cavalry. By the end of the war, the nation had fielded nearly one hundred. The number of divisions fielded by the United States Army in relation to the population and industrial capacity of the country, in comparison to the number of divisions fielded by various other Allied and Axis countries, has been called "the 90-Division Gamble". Additionally, due to the US Army's method of employment combined with events of the war, the United States did not suffer the destruction of any of its division-size units during the conflict, except for the Philippine Division in 1942. Several divisions were "constituted" (placed on the rolls of the Army and contemplated for organization) but never actually activated, and "phantom" units were also "raised" on paper during the war to confuse the Germans.


United States Army Divisions

The 82nd Airborne Division was originally the 82nd Infantry Division of the Organized Reserve, and after being ordered into active military service on 25 March 1942, was converted to an airborne division on 15 August 1942; the 101st Infantry Division was disbanded in the Organized Reserve on 15 August 1942, and was concurrently reconstituted and activated in the Army of the United States as an airborne division on the same date. The 15th Airborne Division was constituted, but never activated. It was dropped from the mobilization program in 1943.


Airborne Divisions


Armored Divisions

The 19th Armored Division was constituted, but never activated. It was dropped from the mobilization program in 1943.


Cavalry Divisions


Infantry Divisions


1st to 25th

The 1st through 25th Infantry Divisions, excepting the 10th Mountain Division, were raised in the
Regular Army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following: * a standin ...
or the
Army of the United States The Army of the United States is one of the four major service components of the United States Army (the others being the Regular Army, the United States Army Reserve and the Army National Guard of the United States), but it has been inactive ...
prior to American involvement in World War II. Because of funding cuts, in September 1921, the 4th through 9th Infantry Divisions were mostly inactivated. Within a few years, the headquarters of the 1st and 3rd Infantry Divisions "almost ceased to exist. Only the division commander and a few staff officers remained to carry out minimal division administrative functions, and neither division exercised true command func­tions over their units." The 2nd Infantry Division remained the most functional stateside division, as it was concentrated entirely at
Fort Sam Houston Fort Sam Houston is a U.S. Army post in San Antonio, Texas. "Fort Sam Houston, TX • About Fort Sam Houston" (overview), US Army, 2007, webpageSH-Army. Known colloquially as "Fort Sam," it is named for the U.S. Senator from Texas, U.S. Represen ...
,
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
. By the mid-1920s, most of the divisions' inactive units were staffed with Organized Reserve officers as Regular Army Inactive units. The Hawaiian Division, "which was the closest thing to a full-strength division in the interwar American Army." was split on 1 October 1941 to create the 24th and 25th Infantry Divisions. The 24th Infantry Division headquarters inherited the lineage of the Hawaiian Division's headquarters, while the 25th Infantry Division was raised in the Army of the United States. The 10th Mountain Division was raised in the Army of the United States in 1943.


26th to 45th

The 26th through 45th Divisions, with the exception of the 39th and 42nd Divisions, were raised in the
National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...
during and after
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, ...
. In postwar mobilization plans, the 26th through 45th Divisions, less two, were allotted to the National Guard. The 30th, 31st, and 39th Divisions had been organized in what would become the states of the
Fourth Corps Area A Corps area was a geographically-based organizational structure (military district) of the United States Army used to accomplish administrative, training and tactical tasks from 1920 to 1942. Each corps area included divisions of the Regular Army ...
; the designations of the 30th and 39th Divisions were originally selected, with the 31st Division being deleted. In 1923, the adjutants general of the states concerned successfully requested that the
War Department War Department may refer to: * War Department (United Kingdom) * United States Department of War (1789–1947) See also * War Office, a former department of the British Government * Ministry of defence * Ministry of War * Ministry of Defence * D ...
change the designation of the 39th Division to the 31st Division and adjust allotments of units accordingly. The 42nd Division was the second division deleted from the mobilization program as it had contained units from twenty-six states and the District of Columbia, although it would be reconstituted during the war as a division in the Army of the United States.


63rd to 89th

After World War I, 33 infantry divisions (the 76th through 104th) were organized as part of the Organized Reserve. They were nominally regional organizations, drawing their officer cadre and a small, nearly insignificant, number of enlisted men from an allotted portion of a state, entire state, or multiple states, similar to National Guard units. Prior to American involvement in World War II, Organized Reserve officers were called to active duty individually and assigned to existing Regular Army and National Guard units. When the Organized Reserve units themselves were called to active duty beginning in 1942, "few of the Reserve officers originally assigned to...units were available for duty with them. Consequently, the units as activated bore small resemblance to those of peacetime." The 61st, 62nd, 67th, 68th, and 72nd-74th Infantry Divisions were constituted, but never activated. They were dropped from the mobilization program in 1943.


90th to 106th

The 105th and 107th Infantry Divisions were constituted, but never activated. They were intended as additional segregated African American divisions. They were dropped from the mobilization program in 1943.


United States Marine Corps Divisions


See also

Allies: * List of Australian divisions in World War II *
List of British divisions in World War II During the Second World War, the basic tactical formation used by the majority of combatants was the division. It was a self-contained formation that possessed all the required forces for combat, which was supplemented by its own artillery, ...
*
List of Canadian divisions in World War II This is a list of Canadian divisions in World War II: * 1st Canadian Infantry Division * 2nd Canadian Infantry Division * 3rd Canadian Infantry Division * 3rd Canadian Infantry Division (CAOF) * 4th Canadian (Armoured) Division The 4th Can ...
* List of French divisions in World War II *
List of Indian divisions in World War II This is a list of British-Indian Army divisions in World War II. Divisions by type Airborne * 9th Airborne Division * 44th Airborne Division Armoured * 31st Armoured Division * 32nd Armoured Division * 43rd Armoured Division * 44th Armoure ...
*
List of Polish divisions in World War II This is a list of Polish divisions in World War II. Polish divisions in September 1939 Campaign * 1st Legions Infantry Division of Józef Piłsudski (stationed in Wilno) - Brig. Gen. Wincenty Kowalski * 2nd Legions Infantry Division (stationed ...
*
List of Soviet divisions 1917–45 A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...
Axis: *
List of Finnish divisions in the Continuation War List of military divisions – List of Finnish divisions in the Continuation War This is a list of Finnish divisions that existed during the Continuation War, 1941–1944. * 1st Division * 2nd Division * 3rd Division * 4th Division * 5th D ...
*
List of German military units of World War II The List of World War II military units of Germany contains all military units to serve with the armed forces of Germany during World War II. Major units above corps level are listed here. For smaller units, see List of German corps in World Wa ...
*
List of Italian divisions in World War II {{Unreferenced, date=March 2010 This is a list of the World War II divisions of the Royal Italian Army of the Kingdom of Italy. Alpine Divisions * 1st Alpine Division "Taurinense" (''Turin'') * 2nd Alpine Division "Tridentina" (''Trento'') ...
* List of Japanese Infantry divisions


References


External links


The Combat Chronicles of United States Army Divisions in World War II
compiled by 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 ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of United States Army Divisions During World War Ii *