U.S. 80th Infantry Division
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{{Infobox Military Unit
|unit_name= 80th Infantry Division
|image= Image:80th Infantry Division.patch.png
|caption= Shoulder Sleeve Insignia of the 80th Infantry Division
|dates= September 1917 - May 1919
July 15, 1942 - January 5, 1946
|country= United States
|allegiance=
|branch= United States Army
|type= Division
|role= Light infantry
|size=
|command_structure=
|current_commander=
|garrison=
|ceremonial_chief=
|colonel_of_the_regiment=
|nickname= Blue Ridge Mountain Division
|patron=
|motto= "The 80th only moves forward"
|colors=
|march=
|mascot=
|battles= World War I
Northern France
Rhineland
Ardennes-Alsace
Central Europe
|notable_commanders=
|anniversaries=
}}
The 80th Infantry Division was a unit of the United States Army in World War I and World War II. Nicknamed the "Blue Ridge Division", it was initially composed of draftees from the mid-atlantic states of Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Maryland. From 1946 to 1952, the division became was redesignated the 80th Airborne Division.
Contents |
World War I
- Activated: September 1917
- Overseas: June 1918
- Major Operations: Somme offensive, Meuse-Argonne.
- Casualties: Total-6,029. (KIA-880; WIA-5,149).
- Commanders: Brig. Gen. Herman Hall (27 August 1917), Maj. Gen. Adelbert Cronkhite (9 September 1917), Brig. Gen. L. M. Brett (26 November 1917), Brig. Gen. W. P. Richardson (28 December 1917), Brig. Gen. C. S. Farnsworth (7 January 1918), Brig. Gen. L. M. Brett (14 January 1918), Maj. Gen. Adelbert Cronkhite (1 March 1918), Maj. Gen. S. D. Sturgis (22 November 1918).
- Inactivated: May 1919.
World War II
- Activated: 15 July 1942
- Overseas: 1 July 1944
- Campaigns: Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe
- Days of combat: 239
- Distinguished Unit Citations: 6
- Awards: MH-4; DSC-34; DSM-1; SS-771; LM-12; DFC-5; SM-35; BSM-3,869, AM-123.
- Commanders: Maj. Gen. Joseph D. Patch (July 1942-March 1943), Maj. Gen. Horace L. McBride (March 1943-October 1945), Maj. Gen. Walter F. Lauer (October 1945-December 1945).
- Returned to U. S.: 3 January 1946.
- Inactivated: 5 January 1946.
Combat Chronicle
The 80th Infantry Division landed on Utah Beach, 3 August 1944, assembled near St. Jores by 7 August, and on 8 August was ordered to stop the German attack at Avranches. Arriving too late to take part in smashing the German drive, it turned east to seize Evron and Ste. Suzanne, 10 August. The Division then attacked Argentan, taking it, 20 August, and creating the Falaise Pocket. After mopping up in the area, the 80th took part in the Third Army dash across France, cutting through St. Mihiel, Chalons, and Commercy in pursuit of the retreating Germans until stopped by the lack of gasoline and other supplies at the Seille River.
From 25 September to 7 November, the Division maintained an aggressive defense of positions west of the Seille, and prepared for the Third Army sweep into the industrially vital Saar Basin. The attack jumped off on 8 November, the 80th advancing through Delme Ridge, Faulquemont, and St. Avold to within 5 miles of Saarbrucken, when it was relieved by the 6th Armored Division, 7 December 1944.
After 10 days' rest, the Division returned to combat, moving southeast to take part in an attack on the Siegfried Line at Zweibrucken when the Germans launched their winter offensive in the Ardennes. The 80th was moved northward to Luxembourg and was hurled against the German salient, fighting at Luxembourg and Bastogne, driving the enemy across the Sure to Dahl and Goesdorf, 7 January 1945, and across the Clerf and Wiltz Rivers by 23 January. On 7 February 1945, the Division stormed across the Our and Sauer Rivers at Wallendorf, broke through the Siegfried Line, pursued the fleeing enemy to Kaiserlautern, 20 March, and crossed the Rhine, 27-28 March, near Mainz.
Pursuit continued in April, the Division driving rapidly to Erfurt on the 12th, and Weimar, Jena, and Gera on the 14th. Relieved, 21 April, it moved to Nürnberg for occupation duty and on 28 April, to Regensburg, then to the Enns River, when the war in Europe ended.
Assignments in the ETO
- 1 August 1944: XII Corps, Third Army, 12th Army Group.
- 7 August 1944: XX Corps.
- 8 August 1944: XV Corps.
- 10 August 1941: XX Corps.
- 17 August 1944: Third Army, 12th Army Group, but attached to the V Corps, First Army, 12th Army Group.
- 28 August 1944: Third Army, 12th Army Group.
- 26 August 1944: XII Corps.
- 19 December 1944: III Corps.
- 26 December 1944: XII Corps.
- 10 March 1945: XX Corps.
Cold War
General
- Nickname: Blue Ridge.
- Slogan: The 80th only moves forward.
- Shoulder patch: Whitebordered shield of gold upon which is superimposed three azure blue mountain peaks.
References
- The Army Almanac: A Book of Facts Concerning the Army of the United States U.S. Government Printing Office, 1950 reproduced at CMH.