Formed on 18 July 1917 and activated 22 August 1917 at Camp Edwards, MA, consisting of units from the New England area, the division's commander selected the nickname "Yankee Division" to highlight the division's geographic makeup. Sent to Europe in World War I as part of the American Expeditionary Forces, the division saw extensive combat in France. Sent to Europe once again for World War II, the division again fought through France, advancing into Germany and liberating the Gusen concentration camp before the end of the war.
Following the end of World War II, the division remained as an active command in the National Guard, gradually expanding its command to contain units from other divisions which had been consolidated. However, the division was never called up to support any major contingencies or see major combat, and was eventually deactivated in 1993, reorganized as a brigade under the 29th Infantry Division.
History
World War I
Decoration of regimental colors by General Passaga, 32nd French Army Corps.
104th Infantry Regiment (812 men from 6th Massachusetts Infantry, 812 men from 8th Massachusetts Infantry, 2nd Massachusetts Infantry, and detachments from Companies F, H, K, and M, 8th Massachusetts Infantry)
103rd Machine Gun Battalion (Squadron, Rhode Island Cavalry less Troops B and M, Separate Machine Gun Troop, New Hampshire Cavalry, 232 men from 1st Vermont Infantry)
103rd Field Artillery Regiment (155 mm) (Battery A, New Hampshire F.A., three batteries Rhode Island F.A., two batteries Connecticut F.A., Troop M, Rhode Island Squadron of Cavalry, and detachment from New England Coast Artillery)
101st Trench Mortar Battery (detachments of 1st Maine F.A.)
101st Machine Gun Battalion (Squadron, Connecticut Cavalry and 196 men from 1st Vermont Infantry)
101st Engineer Regiment (1st Massachusetts Engineers, 100 men from 1st Maine F.A., 479 men from New England Coast Artillery)
101st Field Signal Battalion (1st Massachusetts Field Signal Battalion)
101st Train Headquarters and Military Police (326 men from 6th Massachusetts Infantry)
101st Ammunition Train (713 men from 1st Vermont Infantry, 240 men from Massachusetts Coast Artillery)
101st Supply Train (Troop B, Rhode Island Cavalry, 364 men from 8th Massachusetts Infantry, and 62 men from Company M, 6th Massachusetts Infantry)
101st Engineer Train (82 men from 6th Massachusetts Infantry)
101st Sanitary Train
101st, 102nd, 103rd, and 104th Ambulance Companies and Field Hospitals (1st and 2nd Massachusetts Ambulance Companies, 1st and 2nd Massachusetts Field Hospitals, 1st Connecticut Field Hospital, 1st Rhode Island Ambulance Company, 1st New Hampshire Field Hospital)[4]
Overseas
On 21 September 1917, the division arrived at Saint-Nazaire, France.[5] It was the second division of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) to arrive on the Western Front at the time, and the first division wholly organized in the United States, joining the 1st Division, which had arrived in June. Two additional divisions completed the first wave of American troop deployment, with the 2nd Division being formed in France and the 42nd Division arriving at St. Nazaire on 29 October.[6] The 26th Division immediately moved to Neufchâteau for training, as most of the division's soldiers were raw recruits, new to military service.[6] Because of this, much of the division's force was trained by the experienced French forces.[7] It trained extensively with the other three US divisions, organized as the U.S. I Corps in January 1918,[6] before being moved into a quiet sector of the trenches in February.[8]
The 26th Infantry Division remained in a relatively quiet region of the lines along the Chemin des Dames for several months before it relieved the 1st Division near Saint-Mihiel on 3 April. The line here taken over extended from the vicinity of Apremont, on the west, in front of Xivray-Marvoisin, Seicheprey, and Bois de Remieres, as far as the Bois de Jury, on the right, where the French line joined the American line. Division Headquarters were at Boucq.
The stay of the division in this sector was marked by several serious encounters with the enemy, where considerable forces were engaged. There were furthermore almost nightly encounters between patrols or ambush parties, and the harassing fire of the artillery on both sides was very active.
On 10, 12 and 13 April, the lines held by the 104th Infantry in Bois Brule (near Apremont), and by the French to the left, were heavily attacked by the Germans. At first the enemy secured a foothold in some advanced trenches which were not strongly held, but sturdy counterattacks succeeded in driving the enemy out with serious losses, and the line was entirely re-established.
In late April, German infantry conducted a raid on positions of the 26th Division, one of the first attacks on Americans during the war. At 0400 on 20 April, German field artillery bombarded the 102nd Infantry's positions near Seicheprey before German Stormtroopers (German: Stoßtruppen) moved against the village. The artillery box barrage, continuing 36 hours, isolated American units. The Germans overwhelmed a machine gun company and two infantry companies of the 102nd and temporarily breached the trenches before elements of the division rallied and recaptured the village. The Germans withdrew before the division could counterattack but inflicted 634 casualties, including 80 killed, 424 wounded, and 130 captured, while losing over 600 men, including 150 killed of their own.[9] Similar raids struck the 101st infantry at Flirey on 27 May, and the 103rd Infantry at Xivray-et-Marvoisin on 16 June, but were repulsed. The 26th Division was relieved by the 82nd Division on 28 June, moved by train to Meaux, and entered the line again northwest of Chateau Thierry, relieving the 2nd Division on 5 July.
As the size of the AEF grew, the division was placed under command of I Corps in July.[10] When the Aisne-Marne campaign began shortly thereafter, the division, under I Corps was placed under command of the French Sixth Army protecting its east flank. When the offensive began, the division advanced up the spine of the Marne salient for several weeks, pushing through Belleau Wood, moving 10 miles from 18 to 25 July. On 12 August it was pulled from the lines near Toul to prepare for the next offensive.[11] The division was then a part of the offensive at Saint-Mihiel, during the Battle of Saint-Mihiel. The division then moved in position for the last major offensive of the war, at Meuse-Argonne. This campaign was the last of the war, as an armistice was signed shortly thereafter.[12] During World War I the 26th Division spent 210 days in combat, and suffered 1,587 killed in action and 12,077 wounded in action.[5] The division returned to the United States and was demobilized on 3 May 1919 at Camp Devens, Massachusetts.[1]
Between the wars
In accordance with the National Defense Act of 1920, the 26th Division was initially allotted as an all-Massachusetts unit and assigned to the I Corps in 1921; the newly-constituted 43rd Division, made up of units from Connecticut, Maine, Rhode Island, and Vermont, assumed control over some units that had been part of the 26th Division in World War I. The 26th Division headquarters was reorganized and federally recognized on 21 March 1923 in Boston. The physical headquarters was initially located at the Massachusetts State House, and relocated to the Commonwealth Armory in February 1931. The division's mobilization training center was originally Camp Devens, Massachusetts, and was changed to Camp Jackson (designated Fort Jackson in 1940), South Carolina, in 1939. The division conducted annual training most years at Camp Devens or the Massachusetts Military Reservation (designated Camp Edwards in 1931) at Falmouth. The division staff conducted command post exercises (CPXs) and staff training concurrent with the annual summer training camps. In some years, the division staff participated in First Corps Area or First Army CPXs such as those in 1931 and 1934, at Camp Dix, New Jersey. In 1935, 1939, and 1940, the division participated in the First Army maneuvers at Pine Camp, Plattsburg, and Canton, New York, respectively. In addition to the summer training, most of the division was called up for emergency relief duties in March 1929 when the Connecticut and Merrimac Rivers severely flooded their respective valleys. The division was called up again in September 1938 for relief duties in response to a hurricane that came ashore at Buzzards Bay and the concurrent flooding of the Merrimac and Housatonic Rivers. The division was relieved from the I Corps on 30 December 1940 and assigned to the VI Corps. It was inducted into federal service at home stations on 16 January 1941, but instead of Fort Jackson, it moved to Camp Edwards, where it arrived on 21 January 1941. After basic training, the 26th Division participated in the Carolina Maneuvers in October–November 1941.[13]
Major General Erland F. Fish (14 November 1930–16 November 1934)
Major General Daniel Needham (16 November 1934–15 November 1939)
Major General Roger W. Eckfeldt (16 November 1939–22 August 1943)
Order of battle, 1939
The subordinate batteries of the 101st Ammunition Train were reorganized and redesignated as Troops A and F, 121st Quartermaster Squadron, 21st Cavalry Division, on 1 April 1939, with the train headquarters disbanded in an inactive status on 1 July 1940. In October 1940, the 110th Cavalry Regiment of the Massachusetts National Guard was converted into the 180th Field Artillery, replacing the 172nd Field Artillery in the division.
Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 26th Division (Boston)
Headquarters, Special Troops, 26th Division (Allston)
Headquarters Detachment, Special Troops (Boston)
Medical Department Detachment, Special Troops (Boston)
The 26th Division was available to the Eastern Defense Command (EDC) from December 1941 through early 1942 for mobile defense; the 104th Infantry remained on this duty through January 1943.[14]
As a part of an army-wide reorganization, the division's two infantry brigade headquarters were disbanded in favor of a structure containing three separate regimental commands; the division was reorganized under the "triangular" structure and redesignated as the 26th Infantry Division on 12 February 1942.[15] On 14 January 1942, the 182nd Infantry Regiment was sent to New Caledonia to help form the Americal Division, while on 27 January 1942, the 181st Infantry Regiment was relieved from the 26th Division and reassigned to the Eastern Defense Command. On 27 January 1943, the 328th Infantry Regiment, a unit which had been rendered surplus by the conversion of the 82nd Infantry Division into an airborne division, was assigned to the 26th Infantry Division to replace its two lost regiments.[15][16]
Headquarters, 26th Infantry Division
101st Infantry Regiment
104th Infantry Regiment
328th Infantry Regiment
Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 26th Infantry Division Artillery
101st Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm)
102nd Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm)
180th Field Artillery Battalion (155 mm)
263rd Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm)
101st Engineer Combat Battalion
114th Medical Battalion
26th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop (Mechanized)
Headquarters, Special Troops, 26th Infantry Division
In August 1943, Major General Willard Stewart Paul took command of the division, which he would lead through the rest of the war.[18] Before deploying overseas to the European Theater of Operations (ETO), the 26th Infantry Division trained at Camp Campbell, Kentucky, and prepared to depart for the Western Front in late August 1944.
A memorial of the 26th Infantry Division in Moyenvic, France.
Rest at Metz was interrupted by the German offensive in the Ardennes, the Battle of the Bulge. The division moved north to Luxembourg from 19 to 21 December, to take part in the battle of the Ardennes break-through. It attacked at Rambrouch and Grosbous on 22 December, beat off strong German counterattacks, captured Arsdorf on Christmas Day after heavy fighting, attacked toward the Wiltz River, but was forced to withdraw in the face of determined German resistance. After regrouping on 5–8 January 1945, it attacked again, crossing the Wiltz River on 20 January.[21]
A machine gun team of the 26th Division, alerted by potential German sniper fire (3 March 1945)
The division continued its advance, taking Grummelscheid on 21 January, and crossed the Clerf River on 24 January. The division was reassigned to XX Corps.[19] The division immediately shifted to the east bank of the Saar, and maintained defensive positions in the Saarlautern area from 29 January until 6 March 1945.
Gusen concentration camp.G.I.s of the 102nd Field Artillery Battalion, 26th Infantry Division, check a wire line at a forward observation post on the outskirts of Wiltz, Luxembourg, January 6, 1945.
The division's drive to the Rhine River jumped off on 13 March 1945, and carried the division through Merzig from 17 March, to the Rhine by 21 March, and across the Rhine at Oppenheim on 25–26 March.[21]
The division was subsequently reassigned to XII Corps.[19] It took part in the house-to-house reduction of Hanau on 28 March, broke out of the Main Riverbridgehead, drove through Fulda on 1 April, and helped reduce Meiningen on 5 April. Moving southeast into Austria, the division assisted in the capture of Linz, 5 May. It had changed the direction of its advance, and was moving northeast into Czechoslovakia, across the Vltava River, when the cease-fire order was received.[21] One day later, the division overran the Gusen concentration camp in conjunction with the 11th Armored Division, liberating it from German forces. There, it discovered that the Germans had used forced labor to carve out an elaborate tunnel system with underground aircraft production facilities. SS officers at the camp allegedly planned to demolish the tunnels with the prisoners inside, but the movement of the 26th Infantry and 11th Armored Divisions prevented this.[23]
The division was reactivated on 11 April 1947 in Boston.[1] It remained as the major command of the Massachusetts Army National Guard, but its command took control of units from other states following consolidation of the Army National Guard. The division remained as an active reserve component of the Army National Guard, but it was not selected for any deployments to cold war contingencies.[12] In 1956 the division received its distinctive unit insignia.[3]
The division was reorganized in accordance with the Pentomic organization, probably in 1959. The five infantry battle groups of the division were the 1st Battle Group, 101st Infantry, 1 Btl Gp-104th Inf, 1 Btl Gp-181st Inf, 1st Battle Group, 182nd Infantry, and 1st Battle Group, 220th Infantry.[26] The 104th Infantry Regiment was reorganized on 1 May 1959 under the Combat Arms Regimental System as the 1st Battle Group, 104th Infantry.
In 1963, the division was reorganized under the Reorganization Objective Army Division plan. Its regimental commands were inactivated in favor of brigades. The 101st Infantry Regiment became the 1st Brigade, 26th Infantry Division, headquartered in Dorchester, Massachusetts. The 104th Infantry Regiment became the 3rd Brigade, 26th Infantry Division, headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts. Among the division's units in 1965 were the 1-101 infantry, 1–104, 2–104, 1–181, 1–182, 1-220 Infantry, and 1-101 FA.[27] The division was organized as a light infantry division, and at the same time, the 26th Aviation Battalion was established to provide air support. In 1967 the 43rd Infantry Division of the Connecticut Army National Guard was consolidated into the 43rd Brigade, 26th Division, and put under the command of the 26th Infantry Division.[28]
In 1987, the 26th Aviation Battalion was dissolved and the 126th Aviation Regiment arose in its place. The 126th Aviation Regiment's battalions formed the basis of the new divisional 26th Aviation Brigade. In 1988, the 3rd Brigade comprised the 1st and 2nd Battalions, 104th Infantry Regiment and the 1st Battalions of the 181st and 182nd Infantry Regiments.[29]
On 1 April 1988, the division was relocated to Camp Edwards, Massachusetts.[1] The division headquarters was consolidated with 1st Brigade, 26th Infantry Division.[30] In its place, the 86th Infantry Brigade was assigned to the division as a round-out unit.[28]
Inactivation
Back of the Yankee Division We're Back challenge coin
Prior to the end of the Cold War, the Army reactivated the 29th Infantry Division in 1985. The end of the Cold War led to the Army reorganizing its forces and further consolidating them. As a result, the Army decided to downsize the 26th Infantry Division into a brigade, and put it under the command of the 29th Infantry Division.[12] On 1 September 1993, the division was inactivated, and the 26th Infantry Brigade designated in its place, based in Springfield.[1] The 3d and 43rd brigades, 26th Infantry Division were inactivated, and the 86th Infantry Brigade was put under the command of the 42nd Infantry Division.[28] On 1 October 1995, the division was formally designated the 26th Brigade, 29th Infantry Division.[31] In 2004, the 26th Brigade transitioned into the 26th (Yankee) Brigade Combat Team. Reassigned to the 42d Infantry Division in 2005, in 2006 it was relieved from assignment to the 42d and reorganized and redesignated as the 26th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade.
Honors
The division received six campaign streamers in World War I and four campaign streamers in World War II, for a total of 10 campaign streamers in its operational lifetime.[32]
The beltway around the city of Boston, Massachusetts Route 128, is nicknamed the "Yankee Division Highway" in honor of the 26th Infantry Division.[33] For its contribution in liberating the Gusen concentration camp, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum continually flies the division's colors at its entrance and for high-profile memorial ceremonies, honoring it as one of 35 US divisions to have assisted in the liberation of German concentration camps.[34]
Notable members of the division include Walter Krueger,[35]Edward Lawrence Logan, J. Laurence Moffitt, the last surviving veteran of the Yankee Division from World War I, and Sergeant Stubby, a dog that served with the division in combat in World War I.[36] PFC Michael J. Perkins, a resident of South Boston and a member of the division was awarded the Medal of Honor in France in World War I. PFC George Dilboy of Company H, 103d Infantry was awarded the Medal of Honor for actions against a German machine-gun emplacement in which he was mortally wounded near the Bouresches railroad station on 18 July 1918.[37] Additionally, two members of the division received the Medal of Honor in World War II, Ruben Rivers, and Alfred L. Wilson.[38][39][40][41] Architecture student Victor Lundy was transferred into the 26th in 1944; he produced sketches documenting people, places and scenes that open a window into life in the division between May and November 1944. Lundy donated the surviving sketches to the Library of Congress in 2009, and the collection is accessible online.[42]
World War II Memoirs
The following World War II memoirs have been written by former soldiers that served during the Lorraine Campaign for 26th Infantry Division.[43]
Robert Kotlowitz (1923–2012) wrote his memoir "Before Their Time" in 1999, aged 76. He tells the harrowing story of the massacre of his platoon, in which he—by playing dead—was the only one to survive. Kotlowitz became a noted television producer, documentary filmmaker, writer, and former editor of Harper's magazine. He is father of writer Alex Kotlowitz.
Bernard Sandler (1922–1998) wrote his memoir in 1995, aged 73. It was adapted into a graphic novel in 2022, The English GI: World War II Graphic Memoir. His wartime story is unique as he was stranded in New York as a 17-year-old English schoolboy and ended up in the US Army. After the war, he ran a large family retail business in Northern England before becoming a theatre producer in London, his true passion.
Victor A. Lundy (1923–) did not write a memoir but gave an extensive oral interview to the Library of Congress in 2010, aged 87. This was adapted into a book by Rich O'Hara called "Drawn from the War", which includes his beautiful sketchbook. He then became an acclaimed modernist architect in Florida and Texas.
David A. Markoff (1923–2013) wrote his memoir in 2013 at the age of 89. He worked as a traffic manager for several machinery and plastic companies in New Jersey.
William W. Houle (1924-unknown) wrote his memoir in 2007 at the age of 83, with further revisions in 2018-2019. Houle was a teacher who earned a doctorate in education from the University of Toledo, Ohio.
George Kessel (1925–2019) wrote his memoir "Dear Folks" in 2006, aged 81, based on letters home to his parents. He worked for 35 years in many cities for Aetna Insurance before retiring to Naples, Florida.
Ed Koch (1924–2013), former mayor of New York, wrote Citizen Koch: An Autobiography in 1992 which included his World War II experiences in the Yankee Division's 104th Infantry Regiment.
James Haahr (1925–2020) wrote his memoir Command is Forward in 2003, aged 78. He accounts for the bloody and violent combat engagements during the Lorraine Campaign. After the war, he became a US diplomat achieving the rank of Acting Ambassador, Deputy Chief of Mission.
The following two books have also been written about the 26th Infantry during WWII.
“G Company’s War: Two Personal Accounts of the Campaigns in Europe”, by Egger, Bruce E., and Lee MacMillan Otts., edited by Paul Roley, University of Alabama Press, 1999.
“Not For Morbidity’s Sake: The World War II Yankee Division War Diary of Malcolm Fletcher”, by Fletcher, Malcolm P., and Mark D. Fletcher, edited by Michael S. Fletcher, 2017.
^Composition of National Guard Divisions and Disposition of Former National Guard Units. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1918. pp. 7–13.
^Ayres, Leonard P. (1919). The War with Germany (Second ed.). Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office. p. 26.
^
James Hallas (1999). "Seicheprey". In Anne Cipriano Venzon (ed.). The United States in the First World War: an encyclopedia. Routledge. pp. 537–540. ISBN0-8153-3353-6.
^Clay, Steven E. (2010). U.S. Army Order of Battle, 1919-1941, Volume 1. The Arms: Major Commands and Infantry Organizations, 1919-41. Fort Leavenworth: Combat Studies Institute Press. p. 219-220.
^'Massachusetts own 104th U.S. Infantry Regiment', published and distributed under the Auspices of the 104th U.S. Infantry Regiment Veterans' Association.
Conn, Stetson; Engelman, Rose C.; Fairchild, Byron (2000) [1964], Guarding the United States and its Outposts, United States Army in World War II, Washington, D.C.: Center of Military History, United States Army, archived from the original on 25 December 2007, retrieved 2 February 2018
Courtney, Richard D. (1997). Normandy to the Bulge: An American Infantry GI in Europe During World War II. Southern Illinois University Press. ISBN0-8093-2084-3.
McGrath, John J. (2004). The Brigade: A History: Its Organization and Employment in the US Army. Combat Studies Institute Press. ISBN978-1-4404-4915-4.
Stanton, Shelby L. (1991). World War II Order of Battle. Galahad Books. ISBN0-88365-775-9.
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