75th Infantry Division (United States)

The 75th Infantry Division was a division of the United States Army in World War II. It was also active from 1952 to 1957 as a combat division of the United States Army Organized Reserves.

In 1993, the division was reactivated as the 75th Division (Training Support) in the Army Reserve, and remains active. In January 2003, numerous units of the 75th Division (Training Support) were mobilized to train other Army Reserve and National Guard units deploying overseas in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF). Several of the division's units remain mobilized even to the present day.

Lineage

 * Constituted 24 December 1942, in the Army of the United States as Headquarters, 75th Infantry Division.
 * Activated 15 April 1943, at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.
 * Moved to Louisiana Maneuver Area on 24 January 1944, where it participated in the 4th Army # 6 Louisiana maneuvers.
 * Transferred to Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky on 7 April 1944.
 * Staged at Camp Shanks, New York, on 7 November 1944.
 * Deployed from New York Port of Embarkation on 14 November 1944.
 * Arrived in England on 22 November 1944. Some troops spent time training at Seabank Hotel in Porthcawl, Wales.
 * Assigned 9 December 1944, to the Ninth Army, which was part of the 12th Army Group.
 * Further assigned 11 December 1944, to the XVI Corps.
 * Landed in France on 13 December 1944.
 * Crossed over into the Netherlands on 18 December 1944.
 * Further assigned 22 December 1944, to the VII Corps, First Army (attached to the British 21st Army Group), 12th Army Group.
 * Further assigned 29 December 1944 to the XVIII (Abn) Corps.
 * Further assigned 2 January 1945 to the VII Corps.
 * Further assigned 7 January 1945 to the XVIII (Abn) Corps.
 * Further assigned 25 January 1945 to the 6th Army Group.
 * Further assigned 30 January 1945 to the XXI Corps, Seventh Army, 6th Army Group, but attached for operations to the First French Army, 6th Army Group.
 * Further assigned 11 February 1945 to the Seventh Army, 6th Army Group.
 * Further assigned 14 February 1945 to the 12th Army Group.
 * Further assigned 17 February 1945 to the Ninth Army, 12th Army Group, but attached to the British Second Army for operations and the British VIII Corps for administration. Entered Belgium.
 * Withdrew to the Netherlands on 18 February 1945.
 * Finally assigned 1 March 1945 to the XVI Corps, Ninth Army, 12th Army Group.
 * Entered Germany on 10 March 1945.
 * Was located at Werdohl, Germany, on 14 August 1945
 * Returned to Continental US at Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation on 14 November 1945, and proceeded to Camp Patrick Henry, Virginia.
 * Inactivated 14 November 1945, at Camp Patrick Henry, Virginia.
 * Allotted 21 February 1952, to the Organized Reserve Corps.
 * Activated 1 March 1952, at Houston, Texas.
 * (Organized Reserve Corps redesignated 9 July 1952, as the Army Reserve).
 * Inactivated 15 February 1957, at Houston, Texas.
 * Redesignated 1 October 1993, as Headquarters, 75th Division (Exercise), and activated at Houston, Texas.
 * Reorganized and redesignated 17 October 1999 as Headquarters, 75th Division (Training Support).

World War II Units

 * Headquarters Company, 75th Infantry Division
 * 289th Infantry Regiment
 * 290th Infantry Regiment
 * 291st Infantry Regiment
 * 75th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop (Mechanized)
 * HHB, Division Artillery
 * 730th Field Artillery Battalion (155mm)
 * 897th Field Artillery Battalion (105mm)
 * 898th Field Artillery Battalion (105mm)
 * 899th Field Artillery Battalion (105mm)
 * Headquarters Special Troops
 * 275th Engineer Battalion (Combat)
 * 375th Medical Battalion
 * 75th Quartermaster Company
 * 575th Signal Company
 * 775th Ordnance Company(Light Maintenance)
 * 75th CIC Detachment
 * 75th Military Police Platoon

Combat chronicle
Note that these combat chronicles, current as of October 1948, are reproduced from The Army Almanac: A Book of Facts Concerning the Army of the United States.


 * The 75th Infantry Division arrived in Britain, 22 November 1944; headquarters having arrived on 2 November 1944.


 * After a brief training program, the Division landed at Le Havre and Rouen, 13 December, and bivouacked at Yvetot on the 14th.


 * When the Von Rundstedt offensive broke in the Ardennes, the 75th was rushed to the front and entered defensive combat, 23 December 1944, alongside the Ourthe River, advanced to the Aisne River, and entered Grandmenil, 5 January 1945.


 * The Division relieved the 82d Airborne Division along the Salm River, 8 January, and strengthened its defensive positions until 17 January when it attacked, taking Vielsalm and other towns in the area.


 * Shifting to the Seventh Army area in Alsace—Lorraine, the 75th crossed the Colmar Canal, 1 February, and took part in the liberation of Colmar and in the determined fighting between the Rhine River and the Vosges Mountains. It crossed the Marne-Rhine Canal and reached the Rhine, 7 February.


 * After a brief rest at Lunéville, it returned to combat, relieving the 6th British Airborne Division on a 24 mi defensive front along the Maas River, near Roermond, in the Netherlands, on 21 February. From 13 to 23 March, the 75th patrolled a sector along the west bank of the Rhine from Wesel to Homburg, and probed enemy defenses at night.


 * On 24 March, elements crossed the Rhine in the wake of the 30th and 79th Divisions. Pursuance of the enemy continued as the 75th cleared the Haard Forest, 1 April, crossed the Dortmund-Ems Canal on the 4th, and cleared the approaches to Dortmund, which fell to the 95th Division, 13 April. After taking Herdecke, 13 April, the Division moved to Braumbauer for rest and rehabilitation, then took over security and military government duties in Westphalia.

Casualties

 * Days in Combat: 94.
 * Killed In Action: 817.
 * Wounded In Action: 3,314.
 * Died of Wounds: 111.


 * Missing: 96
 * Non-Battle Casualties: 4,062
 * Total Casualties: 8,016
 * Percent of T/O Strength: 56.9

Campaign participation credit

 * World War II:
 * 1) Rhineland;
 * 2) Ardennes-Alsace;
 * 3) Central Europe

Unit awards

 * Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army) for EUROPEAN THEATER

Individual awards

 * Distinguished Service Cross-4 ;
 * Silver Star-193;
 * Legion of Merit-7;
 * Soldier's Medal-30 ;
 * Bronze Star Medal-1,321 ;
 * Air Medal-30.

Commanders

 * 1) MG Willard S. Paul (April – August 1943),
 * 2) MG Fay B. Prickett (August 1943 – January 1945),
 * 3) MG Ray E. Porter (January – June 1945),
 * 4) MG Arthur A. White (June – October 1945),
 * 5) BG Charles R. Doran (October 1945 to inactivation),
 * 6) MG Eldon P. Regua  (August 2008 to July 2011),
 * 7) MG Jimmie Jaye Wells (July 2011 to present).

Current units
The 75th Training Division (Mission Command) is currently separated into an HHC and five (5) training brigades (MCTBs), each of which is separated into three training groups (MCTGs). The 75th Training Division (MC) is a force and training multiplier. The 75th Training Division (MC) and its subordinate Brigades are the only entities that have the mission and capability to train RC forces in the full spectrum of the Mission Command Staff Training (MCST) continuum. The MCTD executes MCST in all phases of the ARFORGEN culminating in the preparation of battalions, brigades and higher-level headquarters (HQs) for deployment in the Available phase of the ARFORGEN rotational strategy. The MCTD structure provides a unique capability to the USAR and the Army.

75th MCTD Vision Statement: To be the premier provider of realistic and relevant battle-focused command and staff training in a digital (ABCS) contemporary operating environment, making the total force ready for any worldwide mission.

MCTD Headquarters – 	Houston, Texas MCTD HHC – Houston, Texas
 * 1st Brigade – 	Houston, Texas
 * HHC – Houston, Texas
 * 1st MCTG – Houston, Texas
 * 2nd MCTG – Houston, Texas
 * 3rd MCTG – Fort Sill, Oklahoma
 * Battle Command Training Center (BCTC) – Houston, Texas
 * 2nd Brigade – located at 5520 Nashville Street, Fort Dix, New Jersey
 * HHC – Fort Dix, New Jersey
 * 1st MCTG – Bldg 5522 Nashville Street, Fort Dix, New Jersey
 * 2nd MCTG – Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island
 * 3rd MCTG – Bldg 5522 Nashville Street, Fort Dix, New Jersey
 * BCTC – Fort Dix, New Jersey


 * 3rd Brigade – located at Fort Sheridan, Illinois
 * HHC – Fort Sheridan, Illinois
 * 1st MCTG – Arlington Heights, Illinois
 * 2nd MCTG – Fort Sheridan, Illinois
 * 3rd MCTG – Fort Sheridan, Illinois
 * BCTC – Arlington Heights, Illinois


 * 4th Brigade – located in Birmingham, Alabama
 * HHC – Birmingham, AL
 * 1st MCTG – Fort Jackson, SC
 * 2nd MCTG – Birmingham, AL
 * 3rd MCTG – Birmingham, AL
 * BCTC – Birmingham, AL


 * 5th Brigade – located at Parks Reserve Forces Training Area (PRFTA), Dublin, California
 * HHC – Dublin, California
 * 1st MCTG – Costa Mesa, California
 * 2nd MCTG – Denver, Colorado
 * 3rd MCTG – Dublin, California
 * BCTC – Dublin, California

General

 * Shoulder patch: Khaki-bordered square with diagonal fields of blue, white, and red on which is superimposed a blue 7 and red 5.