Posted on 11/11/2018 4:18:06 PM PST by Retain Mike
The Army deployed 65 infantry divisions for the Second World War. Each was a small town with its own equivalents for community services plus eight categories of combat arms. Units such as artillery, engineering, and heavy weapons engaged the enemy directly. Yet of all categories, the foot soldier faced the greatest hazard with the least chance of reward. Except for the Purple Heart and the coveted Combat Infantryman’s Badge, recognition often eluded them because so few came through to testify to the valor of the many. These civilians become warriors confronted the most dismal fate of all whose duty was uninterrupted by missions completed or a fixed deployment time. The infantrymen were enveloped within the most chaotic, barbaric, and brittle existence against extraordinary enemies where victory often required actions well beyond prior limits for impossibility.
Omar Bradley said, “Previous combat had taught us that casualties are lumped primarily in the rifle platoons. For here are concentrated the handful of troops who must advance under enemy fire. It is upon them that the burden of war falls with greater risk and with less likelihood of survival than any other of the combat arms. An infantry division of WW II consisted of 81 rifle platoons, each with a combat strength of approximately 40 men. Altogether those 81 assault units comprised but 3,240 men in a division of 14,000…..Prior to invasion we had estimated that the infantry would incur 70 percent of the losses of our combat forces. By August we had boosted that figure to 83 percent on the basis of our experience in the Normandy hedgerows.”
Nearly a third of the 65 divisions in the Pacific and European theaters suffered 100% or more casualties. However, their regimental staffs saw frontline units obliterated three to six times over. To deal with this problem there were never enough infantrymen coming from the states, though large numbers were transferred from Army Service Forces and Army Air Forces to Army Ground Forces. Replacement centers overseas continually reassigned artillerymen, machine gunners, cooks, and clerks to infantry duties. The situation in Europe became so severe that rear area units in France and Great Britain were tasked to supply soldiers for retraining as infantrymen. Those suffering battle fatigue came off the line for a few days for clean uniforms, bathing, hot food, and sleep. However, scarcity compelled their repeated return until crippling wounds, mental breakage, death, or victory brought final relief.
For example the 4th and 29th Infantry landed on D-Day and suffered about 500% battle casualties in their rifle platoons during the eleven months until VE-Day. Added to these numbers were half again as many non-battle human wrecks debilitated by trench foot, frost bite, pneumonia, hernia, heart disease, malaria, arthritis, etc. and most never returned to duty. In the jungles of the Pacific non-combat losses exacted an even greater price. But somehow the infantry crossed Europe and the Pacific and always remained in the forefront of attacks.
Ernie Pyle said of them, “The worst experience of all is just the accumulated blur, and the hurting vagueness of being too long in the lines, the everlasting alertness, the noise and fear, the cell-by-cell exhaustion, the thinning of the surrounding ranks as day follows nameless day. And the constant march into the eternity of one’s own small quota of chances for survival. Those are the things that hurt and destroy. But they went back to them because they were good soldiers and they had a duty they could not define.”
Partial bibliography: A Soldier’s Story by Omar N. Bradley
Brave Men by Ernie Pyle (the quote named Tommy Clayton, but was generalized here because Ernie Pyle saw him as an example of the infantrymen he loved.)
Crusade in Europe by Dwight D. Eisenhower
The U.S. Infantryman in World War II by Robert S. Rush
Foot Soldier by Roscoe C. Blunt, Jr.
Links for Listings of United States Divisions during WW II http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Army_divisions_during_World_War_II http://www.historyshots.com/usarmy/
Army Battle Casualties and Non-battle Deaths in World War II http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/ref/Casualties/index.html
3rd 'Marne' Infantry Division http://www.custermen.com/ItalyWW2/Units/Division3.htm
National 4th Infantry (IVY) Division Association http://www.4thinfantry.org/content/division-history
45th Infantry Division http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/45th_Infantry_Division_(United_States)
Remembering the Thunderbirds – Oklahoma’s 45th Infantry Division http://www.baptistmessenger.com/remembering-the-thunderbirds-oklahomas-45th-infantry-division/ Total casualties of 62,640 When Gen. George S. Patton described the 45th Infantry Division, he said it was “one of the finest, if not the finest infantry division in this history of modern warfare.”
So was my Dad, who just passed at 94 on 9/26. He was D-Day Wave 1, to blow barricades, de-activate mines, blow walls etc.
He was a Platoon Sergeant, responsible for 33 soldiers in several squads, and served with the 101st Combat Engineers, 26th Infantry Division, attached to Patton’s 3rd Army Corps in the European Theater. They built and blew bridges and buildings, built HQs, de-activated landmines, and fought in ferocious combat; basically, whatever needed to be done.
He received the Eastern European Ribbon w/ 4 Clusters for Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes, Central Europe, the Bronze Star Medal for Valor w/ Bronze Clusters for saving other US Soldiers from Nazi machine gun fire, along with the Purple Heart Medal for Nazi sniper wounds he received in The Battle of The Bulge at Bastogne, Good Conduct Medal, European Theater Service Medal and the WW II Victory Service Medal.
So he was Infantry & Combat Engineer, depending upon what Patton needed at the time. Especially to take Bastogne.
A standard Soviet rifle division was considerable smaller then a U.S. Brit or German infantry division. At strength it numbered about 9,400 men. If it was a “Guards” rifle division it’s strength was about 10,500.
Daddy’s Battalion, the 208th, was in pretty much the same places tho they were more fortunate. They were scheduled to land on D-Day but their ship had engine trouble and had to delay their crossing. They landed a few days after D-Day.
Also at St. Lo. I have several photos of St. Lo. taken by one of men in the Engineers Headquarters Platoon. They show absolutely everything turned to rubble. One shows General Burkhart (sp?), in the middle of it looking at charts with another officer. Nothing but rubble and a few armored vehicles in sight.
They were also lucky in the Bulge. They were ordered to cease their operation, cutting timber in the Ardennes, to move to block the Germans. Within 24 hours they had moved to intercept the Germans but they never came that way. They missed just about all the fighting, tho they had a Sergeant shoot down a Focke Wulf 190 which was strafing them.
They did see heavy combat in the assault crossing of the Roer River. Their first two bridges were blown up. They finally got a heavy pontoon bridge across.
Also put a really long bridge across the Rhine while under fire. Both artillery and jet fighter bombers.
They were then sent into Berlin as part of the Army of Occupation. Daddy had a huge number of photos of Berlin, Russians etc.
Daddy did not earn any medals except the ones everyone got. I do recall those campaign ribbons you mentioned. For some reason he was proud of the expert rifleman medal. He was an extraordinary shot, probably would have earned an even higher one if it were available.
Wonderful essay. Thank’s very much for writing it.
You might want to consider reading “The Bedford Boys” by Alex Kershaw.
...or anything by Alex Kershaw.
Thanks again
I salute your Dad.
At 94, he drove his Mercedes everyday to food shop, get his haircut, go to church, buy new suits at Jos A Banks clothier etc etc. He was fit as a fiddle until he fell, cracked his skull and had a brain bleed, embolism and fatal stroke, in York Hospital CCU.
I forgot to add: I miss my Dad terribly; he was my hero.
Thank you.
Still, 2,000 of those rifle divisions are a LOT more than we had.
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