When the New York Division was organized in 1908,
New York became the second state, after
Pennsylvania, to structure its National Guard at such a high tactical level in peacetime. The New York Division was called to active duty during the Mexican
border crisis of 1916. While on federal duty, it was redesignated as the 6th Division in June 1916. It was released from active duty in December 1916, only to be recalled for World War I service in July 1917. The 6th Division was reorganized and redesignated as the 27th Division on 1 October 1917.
World War I In World War I the 27th Division was commanded by Major General
John F. O'Ryan.
Formation Following the declaration of war on the
Central Powers by the
United States, the division was called into federal service on 15 July 1917, and hastily recruited New Yorkers to increase its numbers. Its initial strength was 991 officers and 27,114 enlisted men. The division's initial organization of three brigades with three infantry regiments each was carried over from the 6th Division Prior to its departing to training, the division participated in a large send-off parade in New York City along 5th Avenue on 30 August 1917. The 7th Infantry Regiment was the first to leave for training on 11 September 1917, by train. The training was conducted at a purpose-built but temporary facility at
Camp Wadsworth,
Spartanburg, South Carolina. Nearby hotels such as the Cleveland Hotel became centers for social life. The camp also housed seven YMCA Huts and a Knights of Columbus Hall. While African-American servicemen stationed at Camp Wadsworth associated with the 27th, they were not permitted to enter the service organization clubs on base, which were segregated, until a black soldiers' club was built in early 1918. In the spring of 1918, the division began its movement toward embarkation camps, and shipped out on 20 April 1918. The division's advance detachment left Hoboken on 2 May and arrived at Brest, France, 10 May 1918. Late in June the last units of the 27th Division had arrived safely overseas.
Western Front From the arrival of the first troops to the
Western Front until 24 July, the division spent its time undertaking its final stages of training under British mentors in
Picardy and
Flanders. On 25 July, the 27th Division, excluding its artillery brigade and ammunition train, occupied the Dickebusch Lake and Scherpenberg sectors in Flanders. In just over a month, this operation merged into the Ypres-Lys action, and then, from 19 August to 3 September, the 27th was on its own. It was decided by
Field Marshal Douglas Haig that the
Fourth Army's Australian Corps would lead the
Battle of St. Quentin Canal . However, due to the Corps depleted nature, which was a result of fighting almost continuously, it would be reinforced by the 27th and
30th divisions, which resulted in
II Corps being temporarily reassigned under Australian command. This great Somme "push", which lasted from 24 September to 1 October, saw the 27th engaged in severe fighting along the Saint Quentin Canal Tunnel—one of the out-lying strong points of the
Hindenburg Line. At the conclusion of the first phase of the battle, and following heavy losses, the 27th was placed into reserve for rest and recuperation. Six days later, the division was sent back into the line, moving steadily toward Busigny whilst chasing the retreating Germans. These operations were supported by Australian Artillery until 9 October, when British artillery units began supporting the division's operations. As a result of these offensives by the Australian, British and US forces, the Hindenburg's Main Line was penetrated. The 52d Field Artillery Brigade and the 102nd Ammunition Train of the New York Division had not gone with the rest of the Twenty-seventh Division to the British front in Flanders. They had moved up on 28 October, to support the Seventy-Ninth Division in the Argonne. Meanwhile, the Twenty-Seventh Division units which had seen heavy action in Flanders, had moved back to an area near the French seaport of Brest. • Major Operations:
Meuse-Argonne (only the artillery),
Ypres-Lys,
Somme Offensive. • Initially stationed in the East Poperinghe Line. • Battle of Dickebusche Lake, Summer 1918 •
Battle of Vierstraat Ridge, Summer 1918 • Struggled to break the German defensive Hindenburg Line, September 1918. •
Second battle of the Somme, 25 September 1918 • Selle River, November 1918 The 27th did break the Hindenburg line during the Battle of the Somme and forced a German retreat from their defensive line and forced the Germans to a final confrontation. After a final confrontation with the retreating Germans at the Selle River the Armistice ended the fighting and the division was sent home in February 1919, to be mustered out several months later. The division had sustained a total of 8,334 (
KIA: 1,442;
WIA: 6,892) casualties when it was inactivated in April 1919.
Interwar period In 1921, pursuant to the
National Defense Act of 1920, the division was reconstituted in the National Guard, allotted to the state of New York in the
Second Corps Area, and assigned to the
II Corps. The division headquarters was reorganized and federally recognized at New York City on 23 December 1921. The 53rd Infantry Brigade initially consisted of the 105th and 106th Infantry Regiments. On 1 September 1940, the first iteration of the 106th Infantry Regiment was converted into the 186th Field Artillery Regiment and 101st Military Police Battalion. The 10th Infantry (New York), formerly part of the separate 93rd Infantry Brigade (the headquarters of which was converted into the 71st Field Artillery Brigade on 1 September 1940), was assigned to the 53rd Brigade in its place. It was later redesignated the 106th Infantry, although it was lineally unrelated to the first unit bearing that designation. The 54th Infantry Brigade initially consisted of the 107th and 108th Infantry Regiments. On 1 August 1940, the 107th Infantry was converted into the 207th Coast Artillery Regiment, and the 165th Infantry, formerly part of the 93rd Infantry Brigade, was assigned in its place as of 20 June 1940. The designated mobilization point and annual training center for the “Empire” Division was
Camp Smith, near
Peekskill, New York. The mobilization point was changed in 1939 to Camp Foster,
Florida. The division, less the 52nd Field Artillery Brigade, conducted annual training most years at Camp Smith, from 1922 to 1939, while the 52nd Field Artillery Brigade trained most years at
Pine Camp, New York, so that its batteries could conduct live-fire training at the artillery ranges located there. Generally, the division staff conducted
command post exercises and staff training concurrent with the annual training camps. In 1929, the division staff participated in the Second Corps Area
command post exercise from 7–29 July at
Camp Dix,
New Jersey, and in the First Army command post exercises in July 1931 and July 1934 also held at Camp Dix. In summer 1935, the division participated in the Second Corps Area phase of the First Army maneuvers at Pine Camp. During that maneuver, the 27th Division operated as part of the provisional II Corps against the provisional I Corps. The “Empire” Division also participated in the First Army Maneuvers in the summers of 1939 and 1940 held at
Plattsburg and
Canton, New York, respectively. In both maneuvers, the 27th Division again operated as part of the provisional II Corps against the provisional I Corps. The division was inducted into active federal service at home stations on 15 October 1940, relieved from the II Corps, and assigned to the
VII Corps. Instead of Camp Foster, however, the Empire Division was ordered to move to
Fort McClellan,
Alabama, where it arrived on 25 October 1940. After the division’s initial train-up period, it participated in the
Carolina Maneuvers in October–November 1941.
World War II Following the
Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the division was one of the first stateside divisions to be assigned defensive duties. The 27th Division departed Fort McClellan on 14 December 1941 for California to establish blocking positions against a seaborne invasion of the United States southwestern coast. It was then sent to Hawaii, arriving on 21 May 1942, to defend the outer islands from amphibious attack. In September 1942, the division was reorganized from a "
square" to a "
triangular" division. The 27th was the last of the National Guard divisions to make this change, as it had been earmarked for overseas shipment and had departed for Hawaii in the midst of the other divisions being converted in the spring of 1942, and Army officials in Hawaii had prepared facilities to receive the units of a larger "square" division. The 165th Infantry (the once and future
69th Infantry) and 3rd Battalion, 105th Infantry first saw action against the enemy during the attack and
capture of Makin Atoll in the
Gilbert Islands, 21–24 November 1943. The 1st and 3rd
Battalions of the
106th Regiment participated in the
attack on Eniwetok Atoll, 19–26 February 1944, returning to
Oahu in March. During this mission, the 2nd Battalion, 106th Infantry landed unopposed on
Majuro Island, 1 February, and completed its seizure, 3 February. The division began preparations for the
Marianas operations, 15 March. On
D-day plus 1, 16 June 1944, elements landed at night
on Saipan to support the
Second and
Fourth Marine Divisions. A beachhead was established and Aslito Airfield captured, 18 June. Fighting continued throughout June. Marine General
Holland Smith, unsatisfied with the performance of the 27th Division, relieved its commander, Army General Ralph C. Smith., which led to angry recrimination from senior Army commanders, including
Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall. During a pitched battle, 7 July, Japanese overran elements of the division in a
banzai attack, but organized resistance was crushed the next day. During the months of July and August, the 27th cleaned out isolated pockets in the mountains and cliffs of
Saipan. Beginning in the middle of August, the division moved to the
New Hebrides for rest and rehabilitation. On 25 March 1945, the 27th sailed from
Espiritu Santo, arriving
at Okinawa, 9 April 1945. The Division participated in the
XXIV Corps general attack, 19 April 1945, securing a dominating ridge line south of
Machinato and
Kakazu. Machinato Airfield was captured, 28 April, after a severe struggle. On 1 May, the division was relieved by the
1st Marine Division and attached to the Island Command for garrison duty.
Tori Shima was seized, 12 May, without opposition. The 27th attacked from the south end of
Ishikawa Isthmus to sweep the northern sector of
Okinawa. The enemy fought bitterly on
Onnatake Hill from 23 May until 2 June, before losing the strong point. After a mopping-up period, the division left Okinawa, 7 September 1945, moved to Japan and occupied
Niigata and
Fukushima Prefectures. • Overseas: 10 March 1942. • Campaigns: Divisional elements participated in various campaigns in the Pacific Theater: •
Distinguished Unit Citations: 2. • Awards:
MH: 4;
DSC: 21;
DSM: 2;
Silver Star: 412;
LM: 15; SM: 13;
BSM: 986; AM: 9. • Returned to U.S.: 15 December 1945 • Inactivated: 31 December 1945
Casualties •
Total battle casualties: 6,533 •
Killed in action: 1,512 The division was reconstituted along the lines of its wartime structure with limited reorganizations. On 1 February 1955 the 27th Division became the
27th Armored Division, retaining many of its former units. On 1 February 1968, the division was reorganized as the 27th Armored Brigade, a unit of the
50th Armored Division. The 27th Armored Brigade was reorganized as an infantry brigade in 1975 and aligned with the
42nd Infantry Division. In 1985 the 27th Infantry Brigade was activated as part of the
New York Army National Guard, and assigned as the "roundout" brigade of the Army's
10th Mountain Division. The 27th Brigade was later reorganized as the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, and reestablished use of the 27th Infantry Division's NYD shoulder sleeve insignia. The
27th Infantry Brigade carries on the lineage and history of the 27th Infantry Division. ==Order of battle==