100th Division (United States)

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name= 100th Division


caption= 100th Division shoulder sleeve insignia
dates= June 1918 - November 1919 June 1921 - present
country= United States of America
allegiance= United States of America
branch= Army Reserve
type= Division
role= Training
size=
command_structure=
current_commander=
garrison=Fort Knox
ceremonial_chief=
colonel_of_the_regiment=
nickname= Century Division
patron=
motto= "Success in Battle"
colors=
march=
mascot=
battles= Ardennes-Alsace Rhineland Central Europe
notable_commanders= Withers A. Burress
anniversaries=US Infantry
previous=99th Infantry Division
next= 101st Airborne DivisionThe 100th Division was a formation of the United States Army. Throughout its long history, the division has been known by various names. In World War I and World War II, the division was constituted the 100th Infantry Division. From 1946 to 1952, the division was a part of the United States Army Reserve as the 100th Airborne Division. In 1952, the division was once more redesignated the 100th Infantry Division, but was changed again only three years later, in 1955, as 100th Division (Replacement Training). In 1959, it was once more reorganized and redesignated, this time to its current designation as 100th Division (Institutional Training). Today the division is headquartered at Fort Knox, Kentucky, with eight reservist brigades—including an ROTC brigade—spread across four states—Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama.

Lineage

HHC, 100th Division

*Constituted 1918-07-12 in the National Army as Headquarters, 100th Division
*Organized in October 1918 at Camp Bowie, Texas
*Demobilized 1918-11-30 at Camp Bowie, Texas
*Reconstituted 1921-06-24 in the Organized Reserves as Headquarters, 100th Division
*Organized 1921-09-27 at Charleston, West Virginia
*Location changed 1924-02-29 to Huntington, West Virginia
*Location changed 1937-08-06 to Charleston, West Virginia
*Redesignated 1942-02-23 as Division Headquarters, 100th Division
*Ordered into active military service 1942-11-15 and reorganized from a Square Division to a Triangular Division at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, as Headquarters, 100th Infantry Division
*Inactivated 1946-01-10 at Camp Patrick Henry, Virginia
*Redesignated 1946-10-15 as Headquarters, 100th Airborne Division
*Activated 1946-10-23 at Louisville, Kentucky
*Organized Reserves redesignated 1948-03-25 as the Organized Reserve Corps;
*Reorganized and redesignated 1952-05-12 as Headquarters, 100th Infantry Division
*Organized Reserve Corps redesignated 1952-07-09 as the Army Reserve
*Reorganized and redesignated 1959-04-17 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 100th Division (Training)
*Ordered into active military service 1961-09-05 at Louisville, Kentucky;
*Released 1962-08-15 from active military service and reverted to reserve status

HHC, 1st Brigade

*Constituted 1921-06-24 in the Organized Reserves as Headquarters Company, 100th Division
*Organized in August 1922 at Charleston, West Virginia
*Location changed 1924-02-24 to Huntington, West Virginia
*Redesignated 1942-02-23 as Headquarters and Military Police Company (less Military Police Platoon), 100th Division (Military Police Platoon--hereafter separate lineage)
*Ordered into active military service 1942-11-15 and reorganized at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, as Headquarters Company, 100th Infantry Division
*Inactivated 1946-01-10 at Camp Patrick Henry, Virginia
*Redesignated 1946-10-15 as Headquarters Company, 100th Airborne Division
*Activated 1946-11-25 at Louisville, Kentucky
*Organized Reserves redesignated 1948-03-25 as the Organized Reserve Corps;
*Reorganized and redesignated 1952-05-12 as Headquarters Company, 100th Infantry Division
*Organized Reserve Corps redesignated 9 July 1952-07-09 as the Army Reserve
*Disbanded 1959-04-17 at Louisville, Kentucky
*Reconstituted 1967-11-24 in the Army Reserve as Headquarters, 1st Brigade, 100th Division (Training)
*Activated 1968-01-26 at Lexington, Kentucky
*Ordered into active military service 1991-01-22 at Lexington, Kentucky;
*Released 21 March 1991-03-21 from active military service and reverted to reserve status
*Inactivated 1995-01-13 at Lexington, Kentucky
*Activated 1996-10-16 at Lexington, Kentucky

HHC, 2nd Brigade

*Constituted 1921-06-24 in the Organized Reserves as the 325th Ammunition Train and assigned to the 100th Division
*Organized in December 1921 with Headquarters at Charleston, West Virginia
*Location of Headquarters changed 1922-10-13 to Shepherdstown, West Virginia;
*Location of 1924-02-29 to Charleston, West Virginia;
*Location of Headquarters changed 1929-09-04 to Huntington, West Virginia;
*Location of Headquarters changed 1931-07-09 to Parkersburg, West Virginia
*Converted and redesignated 23 February 1942-02-23 as the 925th Field Artillery Battalion and remained assigned to the 100th Division (later redesignated as the 100th Infantry Division)
*Ordered into active military service 15 November 1942-11-15 and reorganized at Fort Jackson, South Carolina
*Inactivated 1946-01-11 at Camp Patrick Henry, Virginia
*Redesignated 1946-10-15 as the 925th Glider Field Artillery Battalion, an element of the 100th Airborne Division
*Activated 20 December 1946-12-20 with Headquarters at Lexington, Kentucky
*Organized Reserves redesignated 1948-03-25 as the Organized Reserve Corps;
*Reorganized and redesignated 1950-08-31 as the 925th Airborne Field Artillery Battalion
*Reorganized and redesignated 1952-05-12 as the 925th Field Artillery Battalion, an element of the 100th Infantry Division
*Organized Reserve Corps redesignated 1952-07-09 as the Army Reserve.
*Disbanded 1959-04-17 at Lexington, Kentucky
*Headquarters, 925th Field Artillery Battalion, reconstituted 1967-11-24 in the Army Reserve as Headquarters, 2d Brigade, 100th Division (Training)
*Activated 1968-01-26 at Owensboro, Kentucky

HHC, 3rd Brigade

*Constituted 1921-06-24 in the Organized Reserves as the 325th Engineer Regiment and assigned to the 100th Division (later redesignated as the 100th Infantry Division)
*Organized in December 1921 with Headquarters at Huntington, West Virginia
*Location of Headquarters changed 1931-10-27 to Charleston, West Virginia
*Redesignated (less 2d Battalion) 1942-02-23 as the 325th Engineer Combat Battalion (2d Battalion--hereafter separate lineage)
*Ordered into active military service 1942-11-15 and reorganized at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, as the 325th Engineer Combat Battalion, an element of the 100th Infantry Division
*Inactivated 1946-01-14 at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey
*Redesignated 1946—10-15 as the 325th Airborne Engineer Battalion, an element of the 100th Airborne Division
*Activated 1946-12-20 with Headquarters at Williamson, West Virginia
*Location of Headquarters changed 1947-12-05 to Huntington, West Virginia
*Organized Reserves redesignated 1948-03-25 as the Organized Reserve Corps;
*Location of Headquarters changed 1949-05-12 to Charleston, West Virginia;
*Location of Headquarters changed 1950-04-28 to Wheeling, West Virginia
*Reorganized and redesignated 1952-05-12 as the 325th Engineer Combat Battalion, an element of the 100th Infantry Division
*Organized Reserve Corps redesignated 1952-07-09 as the Army Reserve.
*Reorganized and redesignated 1953-07-17 as the 325th Engineer Battalion
*Location of Headquarters changed 23 April 1954-04-23 to Fairmont, West Virginia
*Disbanded (less Companies A and B) 1959-04-17 at Fairmont, West Virginia (Companies A and B--hereafter separate lineages)
*Headquarters, 325th Engineer Battalion, reconstituted 1967-11-24 as Headquarters, 3d Brigade, 100th Division (Training)
*Activated 26 January 1968-01-26 at Lexington, Kentucky
*Inactivated 16 October 1996-10-16 at Lexington, Kentucky
*Activated 16 November 1996-11-16 at Huntsville, Alabama

HHC, 4th Brigade

*Constituted 24 June 1921-06-24 in the Organized Reserves as the 100th Division Train, Quartermaster Corps
*Organized in December 1921 with Headquarters at Huntington, West Virginia
*Redesignated 1925-03-23 as the 100th Division Quartermaster Train
*Location of Headquarters changed 1929-09-09 to Wheeling, West Virginia
*Location of Headquarters changed 1931-10-27 to Huntington, West Virginia
*Redesignated 1936-07-01 as the 425th Quartermaster Regiment and remained assigned to the 100th Division
*Redesignated 1942-02-23 as the 425th Quartermaster Battalion
*Ordnance Maintenance Platoon, Headquarters Company, 425th Quartermaster Battalion, redesignated 1942-09-27 as the 800th Ordnance Light Maintenance Company, an element of the 100th Division (later redesignated as the 100th Infantry Division) (remainder of battalion--hereafter separate lineage)
*Ordered into active military service 1942-10-08 and reorganized at Fort Jackson, South Carolina
*Inactivated 1946-01-11 at Camp Patrick Henry, Virginia
*Redesignated 1946-10-15 as the 800th Airborne Ordnance Maintenance Company, an element of the 100th Airborne Division
*Activated 1946-12-12 at Buckhannon, West Virginia
*Location changed 1947-10-30 to Elkins, West Virginia
*Organized Reserves redesignated 1948-03-25 as the Organized Reserve Corps
*Location changed 1949-05-12 to Morgantown, West Virginia
*Reorganized and redesignated 1952-05-12 as the 800th Ordnance Maintenance Company, an element of the 100th Infantry Division
*Organized Reserve Corps redesignated 1952-07-09 as the Army Reserve)
*Reorganized and redesignated 1953-11-15 as Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 800th Ordnance Battalion (organic elements concurrently constituted and activated)
*Location of Headquarters changed 1956-12-12 to Louisville, Kentucky)
*Battalion disbanded 1959-04-17 at Louisville, Kentucky
*Headquarters, 800th Ordnance Battalion, reconstituted 1967-11-24 in the Army Reserve as Headquarters, 4th Brigade, 100th Division (Training)
*Activated 1968-01-26 at Louisville, Kentucky
*Inactivated 1973-08-01 at Louisville, Kentucky
*Activated 1996-11-16 at Montgomery, Alabama

HHC, 5th Brigade

*Constituted 1996-11-16 in the Army Reserve as Headquarters, 5th Brigade, 100th Division (Training), and activated at Memphis, Tennessee
*Location changed 1997-03-01 to Millington, Tennessee

HHC, 6th Brigade

*Constituted 16 November 1996-11-16 in the Army Reserve as Headquarters, 6th Brigade, 100th Division (Training), and activated at Louisville, Kentucky.

Honors

Campaign Participation Credit

*World War II:
#Rhineland(*);
#Ardennes-Alsace(*);
#Central Europe(*)
*(*) Headquarters and 1st to 4th Brigades only.

Decorations

*None

History

World War I and the Interwar Years

The 100th Infantry Division was constituted and activated at Camp Bowie, Texas, in June of 1918 in preparation for deployment to Europe. Before the division could deploy, though, the war had ended, and on 11 November 1918, Armistice Day, the formation was inactivated. It would remain on the U.S. Army's roll until November 1919, when it was completely demobilized. Only two years later, in June of 1921, the division was reconstituted with its headquarters in Wheeling, West Virginia.

World War II

*Campaigns: Ardennes-Alsace, Rhineland, Central Europe.
*Days of combat: 163.
*Distinguished Unit Citations: 7
*Awards: Medal of Honor-3; Distinguished Service Cross (United States)-9; Distinguished Service Medal (United States)-1; Silver Star-560; LM-24; DFC-1; SM-23; BSM-5,208; AM-90.
*Commanders: MG Withers A. Burress (November 1942-September 1945), BG Andrew C. Tychsen (September 1945-January 1946).
*Returned to U. S.: 10 January 1946.

Preparations for Combat

The 100th Infantry Division was reactivated on 15 November 1942 at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. Enlisted personnel were primarily original members of the unit, fleshed out by fillers from the 76th Infantry Division. The Officers were mostly members of the unit, again fleshed out with fillers from the Organized Reserve Corps. The commander of the 100th was Major General Withers A. Burress, one of only eleven generals who commanded their divisions for the entire war.

From late 1943 to early 1944, the division trained in the mountains of Tennessee and was subsequently sent to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, for further training. While at Bragg, Technical Sergeant Walter L. Bull [399th Infantry Regiment] earned the first Expert Infantryman's Badge.

The division was made part of the Seventh United States Army's VI Corps and deployed to France in the fall of 1944.

Combat Chronicle

The 100th Infantry Division landed at Marseille, France, 20 October 1944. It was initially assigned to the US VI Corps, and sent its first elements into combat at St. Remy in the Vosges Mountains on 1 November 1944. The division as a whole began the relief of the 45th at Baccarat on 5 November, and assumed control of the sector on 9 November. The attack jumped off on 12 November, and the division drove against the German Winter Line in the Vosges Mountains. The 100th took Bertrichamps and Clairupt, pierced the German line, and seized Raon-l'Étape and Saint-Blaise—16-26 November. Later in November, elements assisted in holding the Saverne Gap bridgehead while the bulk of the division went into reserve. The unit was relieved from assignment to US VI Corps and transferred to the US XV Corps on 1944-11-27.

In December, the division went on the offensive in the vicinity of Bitche, Wingen and Lemberg were occupied in fierce fighting from 6-10 December, and Reyersweiler fell from 11-13 December. Fort Schiesseck capitulated after a heavy assault—20 December. With the outbreak of the Von Rundstedt offensive, the division was ordered to halt the attack and to hold defensive positions south of Bitche as part of the Seventh Army's mission during the Battle of the Bulge. The German counterattacks of 1 and 8-10 January 1945 were repulsed; thereafter the sector was generally quiet and the division prepared to resume the offensive.

On 15 March 1945, the attack jumped off and on 16 March, Bitche fell to the 100th. The unit was then relieved from assignment to the US XV Corps, and transferred to the US XXI Corps on 22 March 1945. Taking Neustadt and Ludwigshafen, the division reached the Rhine on 24 March. On 25 March 1945 1945-03-25, the unit was returned from XXI Corps (United States) back to the US VI Corps. On 31 March 1945, the Century Division crossed the Rhine and moved south in the wake of the 10th Armored Division (United States) and then east across the Neckar River, establishing and enlarging a bridgehead—4-11 April. Heilbronn fell in house-to-house fighting on 12 April and the division resumed its rapid pursuit of the enemy, reaching Stuttgart by 21 April. The 100th was mopping up along the Neckar, southeast of Stuttgart on 23 April when it was pinched out of VI Corps (United States), was assigned to Seventh United States Army as an Echelon Above Corps Asset, and confined its action to patrolling the sector east of Stuttgart. Shifting to Göppingen on 30 April, the Division engaged in occupational duties as the war in Europe came to an end. 100th Infantry Division returned to the United States via the Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation on 10 January 1946, and was released from active duty at Camp Patrick Henry, Virginia that day.

Assignments in the European Theater of Operations

*1 November 1944: VI Corps, Seventh United States Army, Sixth United States Army Group
*27 November 1944: XV Corps
*22 March 1945: XXI Corps
*25 March 1945: VI Corps
*25 April 1945: Seventh Army, 6th Army Group

Cold War to the present

Upon its return from Europe, the division was inactivated from active duty in January of 1946 at Fort Patrick Henry, Virginia, and reactivated that fall within the U.S. Army Reserve as the 100th Airborne Division . It's distinction as one of the few airborne divisions within the Army was short-lived as in 1952 the division was once more redesignated the 100th Infantry Division. It would change names again in 1955, this time to 100th Division (Replacement Training). It would once again be reorganized only four years later to its present designation as 100th Division (Institutional Training). Its mission became to teach basic, advanced, and common training skills to soldiers from the Army's active, reserve, and National Guard components.

In 1961, some 1,500 soldiers from the 100th were activated and sent to Fort Chaffee, Arkansas, in order to provide support during the Berlin Crisis. During their time on active duty, the 100th successfully trained some 32,000 soldiers after thoroughly rebuilding and fixing the old Army base. The unit was returned to reserve status again in August 1962. In 1978, the 100th became the first Army Reserve formation to be equipped with its own squadrons of M1 Abrams tanks. With the arrival of the M3 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, the division's mission profile changed from individual combat training to armor and armor reconnaissance training. By 1986, it was the reserve unit within the state of Kentucky, commanding fifty-eight percent of instate reservists.

At the outreak of Operation Desert Storm, the 100th was assigned to armor training at Fort Knox, Kentucky. In 1996, the 100th took responsibility of local United States Army Reserve Forces Schools. During 1997, the division was tasked with partial responsibility for Operation Future Challenge at Fort Knox, a six-week ROTC Basic Camp during each summer. By 2000, the 100th has assumed full responsibility for running the camp. Later that same year, the 100th began deactivating many of its M1A1 Abrams tanks as part of a reduction in military expenditures. By 2006, the division had moved its headquarters from Louisville to Fort Knox, easing distance strains in administration and training.

General

*Nicknames: Century Division, and for taking Bitche: "Sons of Bitche"
*Slogan: Success in Battle.
*Shoulder patch: Blue shield on which are superimposed the Arabic numerals "100", the upper half of the number in white and the lower half in gold.

ubordinate Units during World War II

*397th Infantry Regiment
*398th Infantry Regiment
*399th Infantry Regiment
*Divisional Artillery
**374th Artillery Battalion (105mm)
**375th Artillery Battalion (105mm)
**925th Artillery Battalion (105mm)
**373rd Artillery Battalion (155mm)
*325th Engineer Battalion
*325th Medical Battalion
*100th MP Company
*100th QM Company
*800th Ordinance Company
*100th Recon cavalry Troop (Mecz)
*100th Signals Company

Current Subordinate Units

*Headquarters, 100th Division
*100th Division Band
*1st Brigade (Military Police)
*2nd Brigade (Initial Entry)
*3rd Brigade (Combat Support)
*4th Brigade (Combat Service Support)
*5th Brigade (Health Services)
*6th Brigade (Professional Development)
*7th Brigade (Training Support)
*8th Brigade (Senior ROTC)

External links and references

*"The Army Almanac: A Book of Facts Concerning the Army of the United States" U.S. Government Printing Office, 1950 reproduced at [http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/lineage/cc/cc.htm http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/lineage/cc/cc.htm] .
* [http://www.lonesentry.com/gi_stories_booklets/100thinfantry/index.html The Story of the Century: The Story of the 100th Infantry Division]
* [http://www.100thww2.org/ The 100th Infantry Division Association]
* [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/army/100d.htm GlobalSecurity: 100th Division]
* [http://www.marshallfoundation.org/100thsplash.htm Memoirs archived at the George C. Marshall Foundation]