World War I and II Infantry Divisions - Term Paper Example

The 336th Infantry and the 92nd Buffalo Infantry Division Essay 2440 Words of Outline I. Introduction II.World War I and II infantry divisions III. The 92nd infantry divisions IV. The 366th infantry division V. Conclusion VI. References Introduction In every war or battle, there are various functions to which military and non-military personnel are assigned. Most important in wars or battles are those men and women trained to engage in foot battles with their opponents1. Historically, these foot soldiers have borne the most brunt of battles not only during the World Wars but also in earlier and later wars. These soldiers are referred to as infantrymen and a collection of these soldiers is known as an Infantry. In the preparation for World War I and II, Infantry Divisions had to undergo more rigorous and demanding training upon activation than the other branches of the Armed Forces2. In this perspective, a lot of emphasis was laid on the aspects of military life such as discipline, aggression, and physical strength among other facets of the disciplined forces. Although basic infantry skills and competencies are necessary for the survival of any type of soldiers, there is more to infantry training than the training offered to those soldiers trained to fight on horsebacks, using tanks, or those who deal in signals and armory duties. The main area in which Infantry Divisions become most useful is in maneuvering rough terrains that would otherwise not be accessible by tanks or armored vehicles. Although technological advances in the West have rendered infantry less important in wars, the role of Infantry Divisions in wars and battles cannot be ignored3. The increased technicality and complexity in military technology and equipment has implied that less infantry is necessary in combats. However, during the two World Wars, the Infantry Division was the most important mechanism by which states and allies would conquer their enemies in battles given that technological advances had not caught up with the military. This paper explores the history of the 366th Infantry Division and the 92nd Infantry Division of the U.S Army. Both the 92nd and the 366th Infantry Divisions were activated in 1917 and served in the two World Wars after which they were disbanded. World War I and II Infantry Divisions During World War I and World War II, each of the sides of the wars needed the military capabilities and advantages that would enable it effectively defend its national borders as well as to win the wars. To achieve these objectives, there was need for proper military organization and structuring. Generally, the military organization and structuring used during the two World Wars were hierarchical and formalized in ranks. However, executive management and control were the preserve of governments, through the relevant departments or ministries4. The main function of these war or defense/military departments was to manage the armed services or forces who commanded combats, combat units, and formations. Among the armed forces that came of age during the wars, particularly the Second World War was the United State’s Armed Forces. Although the First World War did end before the U.S Armed Forces could show their might to the world, an opportunity to do so presented itself in the Second World War. Due to its relaxed attitude towards entering the First World War, the U.S was the last major world power to commit to the War. In fact, many world political leaders outside the United States had for a long time ignored the U.S Armed Forces, particularly due to the fact that its might had not been tested as its neighboring armies never posed any threats to it5. It is during the Second World War that the U.S Armed Forces were truly appreciated, if their shipyards, arsenal, and aircrafts were anything to go by. The Nazi Germany had hitherto never approximated or worried about the volume of the arsenals and equipment produced by the U.S military6. To manage the World War II effectively, the U.S Army had to streamline its structure and operations by availing large numbers of relatively small units. These units were organized into three main Divisional organizations known as the Infantry, the Armored, and the Airborne. Among these Infantries was the 92nd Infantry Division, which was identified by a shoulder sleeve emblem or symbol and owed allegiance to the United States of America. A branch of the United States Army, the 92nd was an Infantry Division nicknamed the Buffalo Soldiers7. Besides serving in World War I, the 92 Infantry, whose motto was “Deeds not Words”, also participated in World War II under Commanders such as Major General Edward Almond who served the Infantry between 1942 and 1945. 92nd Infantry Division (1917–1945) The origin of the 92nd Infantry Division could be traced back to October 1917. The unit, formed in Kansas, at Camp Funston, was composed of African American Soldiers recruited from all over the United States. In the 19th Century, Native Americans had nicknamed African American soldiers as Buffalo Soldiers. Appropriately, Buffalo Soldiers became the nickname of the 92nd Infantry Division while the buffalo became the symbol of the Infantry Division. Although a segregated unit, the 92nd Infantry Division became the only African American unit to encounter actual combat in Europe8. Constituted in October 24, 1917, the 92nd Infantry Division was composed of the 183rd Infantry Brigade composed of the 365th and 366th Infantry Regiments. In addition, the 184th Infantry Brigade, which was made up of the 367th and 368th Infantry Regiments also constituted the 92nd Infantry Division. As stated earlier, the 92nd Infantry Division served in the two World Wars, going overseas in July 1918 to participate in World War I. Among the major operations that the Infantry Division undertook in World War I was the Meuse-Argonne less field artillery in which a total of 1,647 casualties were recorded. During the 1917-1918 periods, the Commanders of the 92nd Infantry Division were Major General Charles Ballou who served from October 29th, 1917, Major General Charles Henry Martin (November 1918), and Brigadier General James Erwin (December 1918). After Brigadier General James Erwin took over, the war soon ended and the Infantry was deactivated upon its return to the U.S in February 19199. The racial segregation continued even in the battlefields where the main British Army and American Expeditionary Force (AEF) could not agree to serve in combats alongside African American soldiers. However, the French Army accepted the African American soldiers to fight together with them. Consequently, some sections of the 92nd and the 93rd Infantry Divisions were assigned to serve with the French Forces10. Besides being purely composed of African Americans, the 92nd Infantry Division was made up majorly of black ill-trained recruits and led by inexperienced junior officers of African American decent who were just out of training11. Worse still, the Infantry Division was always under the command of unsympathetic and indifferent white officers who would not authorize them to maneuver as a Division due to their being inexperienced and untested. The poor performance of the Infantry Division in battles such as the Meuse-Argonne Offensive was never due to inexperience or incompetency: rather, low morale and poor handling by and the bad attitude from their white Commanders caused their lackluster performance in combats12. The negative reputation that resulted from these performances did more damage to the already low morale among the “Buffalo Soldiers.” To be affective in organization, structuring, and management, the 92nd Infantry Division was divided into different units with various responsibilities. Besides the 92nd Division Headquarters Troop, the other support units included the 317th Signals Battalion, 317th Engineer Regiment, 317th Trench Mortar Battery, and 349th MG Battalion. The Infantry Regiments in the Infantry Division were 365th Infantry Regiment, 366th Infantry Regiment, 367th Infantry Regiment, and 368th Infantry Regiment while the Artillery Regiments were 349th Field Artillery Regiment 350th Field Artillery Regiment, 351st Field Artillery Regiment. The other units in the 92nd Infantry Division were 350th MG Battalion, 184rd Brigade, (Infantry), 351st MG Battalion, 167th Brigade (Field Artillery), and the 183rd Brigade (Infantry). The 92nd Infantry Division was reactivated in 1942 and sent overseas in September 22, 1944 to participate in the Second World War at the North Apennines and the Po Valley13. Upon the reactivation and the subsequent training of the 92nd Infantry Division, the Infantry’s 370th Infantry Regiment was sent overseas in August 1944 to work alongside the 1st Armored Division. Later in September, the rest of the Infantry Division was sent to serve in combats in the Italian Campaign suffering about 3,200 causalities in the process14. During their time with the Italian troops, the Buffalo soldiers interacted with other segregated soldiers of different nationalities in French and British Forces. These nationalities included Arabs, Moroccans, Jewish Palestinians, and Black Africans. The Infantry returned home in November 26, 1945 and was deactivated in November 28, 1945. For its Campaigns during the two wars, the Infantry was awarded many medals and honors, some of which were awarded posthumously. An example of awards given to the Infantry posthumously includes the Medal of Honor. The other Awards given to soldiers of the 92nd Infantry Division include two Distinguished Service Crosses, six Soldier’s Medals, sixteen Legion of Merit awards, and eight Orders of the Crown of Italy awards among other honors. 366th Infantry Division Just like the 92nd Infantry Division, the 366th Infantry Division was also composed solely of African Americans. However, unlike the 92nd Infantry Division, the 366th Infantry Division had a sterling performance in the two World Wars. In World War II however, the 366th Infantry Division served in combats in Italy under the 92nd Infantry Division15. The Infantry Division also had its own African American officers and personnel. Similar to the 92nd Infantry Division, the 366th Infantry Division was activated in 1917 and served in the two wars until it was deactivated in 1945 after the Second World War ended. While the type of the unit was Infantry, it was the size of a regiment with its headquarters at Fort Devens in Massachusetts. It had the motto “Labor Conquers all” and fought in campaigns such as the Rome-Arno Campaigns and the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. Organized at Camp Dodge in Iowa, the 366th Infantry was activated on August 16, 1917 and assigned to the 92nd Infantry Division to serve in World War I. In World War I, as part of the 92nd Infantry Division, the 366th Infantry participated in the St. Die Sector battle between August 23, 1918 and September 20, 1918. The other battles the infantry took part in were, as mentioned earlier, the Meuse-Argonne Sector, September 26, 1918 – October 5, 1918, and Marbach Sector (Lorraine) of October 8, 1918 – November 1918. After serving in these battles with distinction, the unit was disbanded in March 25, 1919. After the onset of World War II, the infantry was reactivated in February 10, 1941 after which it was attached to the Eastern Defense Command in April 30, 1942. The Second World War saw the 366th Infantry being assigned to rather many posts and divisions. For instance, on 1 May 1943, the infantry was attached to the 1st Service Command and later assigned to the XIII Corps on 1 September 194316. Among the renown Commanders of the 366th Infantry was Colonel Howard Donovan Queen who headed the infantry during the time of embarkation when the unit departed Hampton Roads after serving under the XXII Corps from January 21, 1944 stationed at Camp Patrick Henry, Virginia. After World War II, the infantry was disbanded on28 March 1945. After its deactivation, the infantry’s personnel were transferred to the 224th and 226th Engineer General Service Regiments. There were particular personnel in the 366th Infantry whose unselfish contributions during the battles were awarded, some even posthumously. These outstanding servicemen include John Robert Fox and Edward William Brooke. While Edward Brooke would later become the first post-Reconstruction African American elected to the U.S Senate, John Fox would later be awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for sacrificing his life during a battle in Italy. Serving with the ‘Buffalo Soldiers’ in Italy in 1944, John Fox of the 366th Infantry made the ultimate sacrifice of his life to save those of his colleagues. Staying behind with a small observer party which, had volunteered to remain at the Sommocolonia village in the Serchio River Valley, Fox’s group was forced to retreat after the enemy overpowered them17. Seeing no chances of their survival, Fox communicated through a radio call that artillery fire and shelling be shifted towards his direction. Fox’s colleagues were sacred that he would not survive since the artillery fire and shelling would land on Fox’s position. However, Fox insisted that the firing proceed to delay the enemy’s advance for his other units to reorganize for an attack on the enemy. Fox’s heroic actions enabled the U.S. forces, who had withdrawn, to organize a counter-offensive on their enemy and recapture control of the Italian village18. After regaining control of the village, the unit found Fox’s body together with the bodies enemy soldiers. For his sacrifices during the War, Fox’s widow Arlene Marrow received his Medal of Honor from President Bill Clinton at the White House on January 13, 1997. Besides the individual honors, the 366th Infantry was also awarded honors as a unit. These honors included the two campaign streamers for the Colors; the first for Meuse-Argonne Lorraine and the second for Rome-Arno. Conclusion For a states or allies to fight well in battles and win wars, there must be established strong organizational structures with which such victories are to be attained. Therefore, manageable units must be created, properly designed, and adequately equipped for the intended purposes. In World War I and II, armies were organized into infantry divisions, regiments, and battalions among other units. These units were established according to the roles they were to play in the wars. The 92nd and the 366th Infantry Divisions are just two of the many infantries that served in the First and the Second World Wars. Both the 92nd Infantry Division and the 336th Infantry Division served under the United States Army. One outstanding feature of the 92nd and the 366th Infantry Divisions, both formed in 1917 is that they were solely composed of African American soldiers, the former being aptly nicknamed the Buffalo Soldiers. Although described to be ill trained recruits under inexperienced junior officers, the poor performance of the 92nd Infantry in combats was mainly attributed to low morale among soldiers. However, the 366th Infantry Division performed well, more so in the Italian village of Sommocolonia. In this village, one of the 366th infantry soldiers, John Fox gave the ultimate sacrifice of his life to save that of his colleagues. Both infantries were deactivated at the end of World War II ad their officers transferred to other infantry divisions. References Gibran, D. K. The 92nd infantry division and the Italian campaign in World War II. McFarland & Company, 2001. Hargrove, H. B. Buffalo soldiers in Italy: black Americans in World War II. McFarland & Company, 1985. Hephaestus Books. Military Units and Formations in Massachusetts, including: 94th Infantry Division (United States), 42nd Infantry Division (United States), 26th ... 366th Infantry Regiment (United States). Hephaestus Books, 2011. Omar H. A., and Foner, E. In the Balance of Power: Independent Black Politics and Third-Party Movements in the United States, first edition. Ohio University Press, 2008. Wilson, J. B. Armies, Corps, Divisions, and Separate Brigades. United States Army Center of Military History, 1999. 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