The Great War recipient Sergeant
William Shemin of the regiment's Company G|alt=Man wearing a campaign hat. The 47th Infantry Regiment was organized at
Camp Syracuse, near
Syracuse, New York, on 1 June 1917, almost two months after the
American entry into World War I, with a
cadre from the
9th Infantry Regiment; Initially assigned to Major General
George H. Cameron's
4th Division; within the division the regiment was part of Brigadier General
Benjamin A. Poore's
7th Infantry Brigade. By May 1918, the regiment arrived at
Brest, France, training until July. it was then sent to bolster the beleaguered
42nd Division at
Ourcq. In September and October 1918, the regiment fought near
Cuisy,
Septsarges, and
Brieulles-sur-Meuse; during this period of time Colonel
Troy H. Middleton took command of the regiment, having previously commanded the regiment's 1st Battalion. It ended the war near
Fays, Vosges, and served in the
Army of Occupation near
Koblenz until July 1919.
Interwar period The 47th Infantry Regiment arrived at the
port of New York on 16 July 1919 on the troopship
USS Mobile. Emergency period personnel were discharged from the service in New York, and the regiment was transferred 2 August 1919 to
Camp Dodge,
Iowa, and to
Camp Lewis,
Washington, on 2 August 1920. The 47th Infantry Regiment was inactivated on 22 September 1921 at Camp Lewis and along with the 4th Division, was allotted to the Fourth
Corps Area for mobilization responsibility. On 27 July 1921, the
58th Infantry Regiment had been designated the 47th Infantry's "Active Associate," that would provide the personnel to reactivate the unit in the event of war. Upon inactivation of the 47th Infantry, the personnel were transferred to the
3rd Division's
7th Infantry Regiment at Camp Lewis. The 58th Infantry Regiment was relieved as Active Associate on 17 July 1922, and the
22nd Infantry Regiment was designated as Active Associate. The 47th Infantry was organized on 25 July 1926 with Organized Reserve personnel as a "Regular Army Inactive" unit with headquarters at
Starkville,
Mississippi. The regiment was affiliated with the
Agricultural and Mechanical College of Mississippi's
ROTC program on 25 February 1927 and was organized, less the 3rd Battalion, at Starkville with Regular Army instructors assigned to the ROTC detachment and Reserve officers commissioned from the program. An Organized Reserve officer functioned as the day-to-day commander of the regiment, but the professor of military science and tactics at Mississippi A&M was designated the regimental commander for mobilization purposes. Concurrently, the 3rd Battalion was affiliated with the
Louisiana State University ROTC program and organized at
Baton Rouge,
Louisiana. The 22nd Infantry was relieved on 30 June 1927 as Active Associate. The 47th Infantry was relieved from the 4th Division on 15 August 1927 and assigned to the
7th Division, and relieved from the 7th Division on 1 October 1933. It participated in the 1938
Third Army maneuvers in the
De Soto National Forest in
Mississippi by providing numerous Reserve officers as umpires. The regimental headquarters was transferred by 1939 to Baton Rouge. The regiment conducted summer training most years at
Fort McPherson, Georgia, and some years at
Fort Screven, Georgia. As an alternate form of summer training, the regiment conducted infantry
Citizens Military Training Camps some years at
Camp Beauregard, Louisiana. The 47th Infantry was assigned to the reactivated
9th Infantry Division on 1 August 1940, and activated on 10 August 1940, less Reserve personnel, at
Fort Bragg,
North Carolina. The regiment was briefly commanded by Colonel
Alexander Patch in the summer of 1941; after the
Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Patch was reassigned to the
Pacific Theater of Operations.
World War II In November 1942, the regiment took part in
Operation Blackstone in North Africa, where it fought against
Vichy French forces during an amphibious landing; the regiment's Company K were the first American troops to land in
French Morocco. At the time of the regiment was commanded by Colonel
Edwin Randle. during this time, the regiment conducted a
foot march of more than from Safi to
Port-Lyautey. Still in North Africa, along with the rest of the
9th Infantry Division (United States), the regiment fought in the
Battle of El Guettar, which resulted in a significant number of casualties; for actions during the battle, the regiment's commander, received the
Distinguished Service Cross (he would later go on to be promoted to be the assistant division commander of the
77th Division). Following El Guettar, the regiment moved north, and fought in the
Battle of Sedjenane, and soldiers of the regiment's 2d Battalion, were the first Allied soldiers in
Bizerte. After Colonel Randle was promoted and parted ways with the regiment, Colonel
George W. Smythe became the regiment's commander. Along with the rest of the 9th Infantry Division, the regiment was sent to Sicily, in 1943; in Sicily the regiment was tangentially involved during the
Battle of Troina, which saw the 9th Infantry Division's other infantry regiments in significant combat. Remaining in Sicily after the Axis forces retreated, the regiment received orders to move in November 1943, making its way to
England; While stationed around
Alresford, the regiment adopted a dog as a
mascot which died when struck by a vehicle in May 1944. The dog's marked grave is still in place in Alresford. On 10 June, four days after
D-Day, the 9th Infantry Division landed at
Utah Beach. Assigned to
VII Corps, it was allocated to the liberation of the
Cotentin Peninsula and was the division that sealed off the peninsula to prevent additional German reinforcements from breaking through. Medical supplies for the regiment had been lost during its movement from England to Normandy, but were replaced and captured German vehicles were pressed into service by the regiment's medical detachment. The regiment reached
Saint-Lô-d'Ourville, via
Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte,
Saint-Sauveur-de-Pierrepont, and
Neuville-en-Beaumont, by 18 June. Relieved by the
357th Infantry Regiment (of the
90th Infantry Division) along the English Channel, facing Jersey, the regiment moved to
Saint-Jacques-de-Néhou where it began its push northward to
Vasteville, via
Bricquebec; on 20 June it began its push towards Cherbourg, but was initially halted near
Sideville by stiff German prepared defenses around the outskirts of the port city. On 22 June, the attack on Cherbourg began, with the regiment errantly being attacked by aircraft of the
IX Bomber Command, and the
39th Infantry Regiment following behind its advancement; by the 24th the regiment had broken through the enemy defenses, and along with the 39th, where fighting within the suburb of Octeville. The regiment continued to fight in the western portion of Cherbourg, and by the 26th it captured German General
Karl-Wilhelm von Schlieben and Admiral
Walter Hennecke. The city fell to the Allies by the next day; following the liberation of the port city, along with the
60th Infantry Regiment, the 47th fought the remaining German forces in
Cap de la Hague, ultimately capturing over 6,000 Germans by 1 July. By 10 July, the 9th Infantry Division was tasked to join the effort to
liberate Saint-Lô; the next day it was attacked by the
Panzer Lehr Division. On 11 July, wounded men and medical officers of the regiment's third battalion, were captured by German forces; one of the medical officers would later be killed by friendly fire and buried at
Aisne-Marne American Cemetery and Memorial, while the other was liberated at
Château-Thierry while taking care of wounded
prisoners of war. The liberation of Château-Thierry occurred on 27 August, while the 9th Infantry Division was following the wake of the movement of the
3d Armored Division. it was the first German city to fall to the Allies. The regiment penetrated the
Siegfried Line near Schevenhütte on 16 September. This was followed by fighting in the
Hürtgen Forest; during the battle the regiment captured
Frenzerburg Castle. By 30 September, the regiment had lost 163 officers; one company alone lost 18 officers killed, leading to a loss of experienced leadership over time. During the
Battle of the Bulge, the regiment served as a cornerstone of American resistance around
Eupen. The regiment had the distinction of another first; on 8 March 1945, soldiers of the regiment became the first infantry troops to cross the
Rhine River, doing so at
Remagen; for its actions during the crossing of the Rhine, the regiment was awarded a
Distinguished Unit Citation. By early April, the 9th Infantry Division was assigned to
III Corps, and was part of the effort against the
Ruhr Pocket; once again the Panzer Lehr Division attacked the 9th Infantry Division. For its actions in repelling the attack the regiment earned another Distinguished Unit Citation. By mid-April 1945, the 9th Infantry Division was reassigned to VII Corps, and fought against remaining German forces in the
Harz Mountains; there they encountered concentration camps near
Nordhausen. After the
Germans surrendered, the regiment conducted
occupation duty in Germany, which lasted until late 1946. In December 1946, the regiment was deactivated in Germany. the following year the regiment's 2d Battalion was inactivated at Fort Lewis, and the 3d Battalion was inactivated at Atlanta. In July 1963, the 1st Battalion was reactivated as a part of the
171st Infantry Brigade. In 1966, at
Fort Riley, both the 2d and 3d Battalions were reactivated, with the 3d Battalion being reassigned to 9th Infantry Division. however, the regiment's 3d Battalion was based in
Kiến Hòa province. In addition to riverine operations, the regiment also conducted
air mobile operations. For the most part the regiment's battalions were assigned to the 9th Infantry Division's 2d Brigade, except for the 2d Battalion, which was temporarily assigned at various times in 1968 to the division's other two brigades. During its time in Vietnam, the regiment conducted
joint operations with the
United States Navy, during which its soldiers deployed from, and billeted aboard, naval vessels. In 1966, upon learning of the regiment's upcoming riverine mission, the regiment's leadership worked with the Navy's Amphibious Training School, in
Coronado, to gain the skills needed for the expected deployment. In January 1967, the regiment deployed from
Fort Riley, by way of San Francisco, disembarking at
Vũng Tàu. due to this the 3d Battalion was assigned to the
199th Infantry Brigade, but was later inactivated in January 1994 at
Fort Polk. On 8 April 2013, an inactivation ceremony was held for the 3d Battalion, 47th Infantry Regiment, resulting in a reduction of 44 soldier and 27 civilian positions. On 4 March 2019, 3d Battalion was re-activated in the
198th Infantry Brigade for
infantry one station unit training. ==Regimental lineage==