[Webmaster Note: The following division information is reproduced
from the public domain publication, The Army Almanac: A Book of
Facts Concerning the Army of the United States, U.S. Government Printing Office,
1950. Portions of the information may be out of date. Only minor formatting changes and
typographical corrections have been made.]
World War I
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Activated: 27 August 1917.
Overseas: May 1918.
Major Operations: Meuse-Argonne, St. Mihiel.
Casualties: Total - 7,144 (KIA - 1,169; WIA - 5,975).
Commanders: Maj. Gen. C. W. Kennedy (23 August 1917),
Brig. Gen. J. S. Mallory (28 November 1917),
Brig. Gen. James T. Dean (28 December 1917),
Maj. Gen. Hugh L. Scott (2 January 1918),
Brig. Gen. James T. Dean (16 March 1918),
Maj. Gen. J. H. McRae (20 April 1918).
Inactivated: June 1919.
World War II
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Activated: 15 August 1942.
Overseas: 14 October 1944.
Campaigns: Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe.
Days of combat: 125.
Distinguished Unit Citations: 4.
Awards: MH-1; DSC-5; DSM-1; SS-491; LM-14; SM-20; BSM-5,674; AM-74.
Commanders: Maj. Gen. Edwin P. Parker, Jr. (August 1942-November 1945),
Maj. Gen. Ray W. Barker (January 1946 to inactivation).
Inactivated: 22 May 1946 in Europe.
Combat Chronicle
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The 78th Infantry Division arrived in England, 26 October 1944, and received further
training. It landed in France, 22 November, and moved to Tongres, Belgium, and to
Rotgen, Germany, to prepare for combat. The 311th Infantry Regiment was attached
to the
8th Division
in the Hurtgen Forest, 10 December. The 309th and 310th Infantry Regiments relieved
elements of
the 1st Division in
the line in the vicinity of Entenpfuhl,
1-12 December. On the 13th these regiments smashed into Simmerath, Witzerath,
and Bickerath and were fighting for Kesternich when Von Rundstedt launched his
counteroffensive in the Monschau area, 18 December. The 78th held the area it
had taken from the Siegfried Line against the violent German attacks throughout
the winter. The Division attacked, 30 January 1945, and took Kesternich,
2 February, the town of Schmidt on the 8th, and captured intact the vital
Schwammanauel Dam the next day. In the advance, the Roer River was crossed,
28 February, and the Division joined the offensive of the First and Ninth
Armies toward the Rhine. That river was crossed over the Ludendorff Bridge
at Remagen, 8 March, by the 310th Regiment, the first troops to cross in the
wake of the
9th Armored Division. That
unit, attached to the
9th Armored and
acting as a motorized unit had driven across Germany capturing Euskirchen,
Rheinbach, and Bad Neuenahr. The 78th expanded the bridgehead, taking Honnef
and cutting part of the superhighway, the Autobahn, 16 March. From 2 April
to 8 May, the Division was active in the reduction of the Ruhr Pocket and
at VE-day was stationed near Marburg.
Assignments in the ETO
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9 November 1944: Ninth Army, 12th Army Group. // 28 November 1944: XIX
Corps. // 5 December 1944: V Corps, First Army, 12th Army
Group. // 18 December 1944: VII Corps. // 20 December 1944: Attached, with
the entire First Army, to the British 21st Army Group. // 22 December 1944: XIX
Corps, Ninth Army (attached to the British 21st Army Group), 12th Army
Group. // 2 February 1945: V Corps, First Army, 12th Army
Group. // 3 February 1945: XVIII (Abn) Corps. // 12 February 1945: III
Corps. // 16 March 1945: VII Corps. // 3 April 1945: XVIII (Abn)
Corps. // 19 April 1945: First Army, 12th Army Group.
General
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Nickname: Lightning Division.
Slogan: Audaciter (Boldness).
Shoulder patch: A red semicircle with a white bolt of lightning superimposed upon it.
Publications:
Lightning; by
unit members; TI&E, ETOUSA; distributor,
secretary, 78th Division Veterans' Association. Lightning, the History
of the 78th Division; by Division Historical Association; The Infantry
Journal, Washington, D.C.; 1947. The Flash, monthly newspaper of the
78th Division Veterans' Association.
• 78th Infantry Division Links
• 78th Infantry Division Components
• 78th Infantry Division Medal of Honor Recipients
• 78th Infantry Division Commanders
• 78th Infantry Division Videos
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