Combat chronicle (Amonines, Belgium 4 January 1945) • Constituted 24 December 1942, in the
Army of the United States as Headquarters, 75th Infantry Division. • Activated 15 April 1943, at
Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. • Moved to Louisiana Maneuver Area on 24 January 1944, where it participated in the
Fourth Army # 6 Louisiana maneuvers. • Transferred to
Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky on 7 April 1944. • Staged at
Camp Shanks, New York, on 7 November 1944. • Deployed from
New York Port of Embarkation on 14 November 1944. • Arrived in England on 22 November 1944. Some troops spent time training at
Seabank Hotel in
Porthcawl, Wales. • Landed in France on 13 December 1944. • Crossed over into the
Netherlands on 18 December 1944. • Withdrew to the Netherlands on 18 February 1945. • Entered Germany on 10 March 1945. The 75th Infantry Division arrived in Britain, 22 November 1944; headquarters having arrived on 2 November 1944. After a brief training program, the division landed at
Le Havre and
Rouen, 13 December, and bivouacked at
Yvetot on the 14th. When the
Von Rundstedt offensive broke in the
Ardennes, the 75th was rushed to the front and entered defensive combat, 23 December 1944, alongside the
Ourthe River, advanced to the
Aisne River, and entered Grandmenil, 5 January 1945. The division relieved the
82d Airborne Division along the
Salm River, 8 January, and strengthened its defensive positions until 17 January when it attacked, taking
Vielsalm and other towns in the area. Shifting to the Seventh Army area in
Alsace—
Lorraine, the 75th crossed the
Colmar Canal, 1 February, and took part in the liberation of
Colmar and in the fighting between the
Rhine River and the
Vosges Mountains. It crossed the
Marne-Rhine Canal and reached the
Rhine, 7 February. After a brief rest at
Lunéville, it returned to combat, relieving the
6th British Airborne Division on a defensive front along the
Meuse (
Maas), near
Roermond, in the Netherlands, on 21 February. From 13 to 23 March, the 75th patrolled a sector along the west bank of the Rhine from
Wesel to
Homburg, and probed enemy defenses at night. On 24 March, elements crossed the Rhine in the wake of the 30th and
79th Divisions. Pursuit of the enemy continued as the 75th cleared the Haard Forest, 1 April, crossed the
Dortmund-Ems Canal on the 4th, and cleared the approaches to
Dortmund, which fell to the
95th Division, 13 April. Around the same time, troops of the division liberated
Stalag VI-A, a POW camp where thousands of Soviet and Polish prisoners of war had died of malnutrition and disease. After taking
Herdecke, 13 April, the division moved to Braumbauer for rest and rehabilitation, then took over security and military government duties in
Westphalia. The father of
Randy Pausch was wounded and received a
Bronze Star during this time, as related in
The Last Lecture. The division was located at
Werdohl, Germany, on 14 August 1945. It returned to the Continental US at
Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation on 14 November 1945, and proceeded to
Camp Patrick Henry, Virginia. The division was inactivated 14 November 1945, at
Camp Patrick Henry, Virginia.
Assignments in the ETO • 9 December 1944: 12th Army Group • 9 December 1944: Ninth Army, 12th Army Group. • 11 December 1944: XVI Corps. • 22 December 1944: VII Corps, First Army (attached to the British 21st Army Group), 12th Army Group. • 29 December 1944: XVIII (Abn) Corps. • 2 January 1945: VII Corps. • 7 January 1945: XVIII (Abn) Corps. • 25 January 1945: 6th Army Group. • 30 January 1945: XXI Corps, Seventh Army, 6th Army Group, but attached for operations to the First French Army, 6th Army Group. • 11 February 1945: Seventh Army, 6th Army Group. • 14 February 1945: 12th Army Group. • 17 February 1945: Ninth Army, 12th Army Group, but attached to the British Second Army for operations and the British VIII Corps for administration. • 1 March 1945: XVI Corps, Ninth Army, 12th Army Group.
Units • Headquarters, 75th Infantry Division •
289th Infantry Regiment • 290th Infantry Regiment •
291st Infantry Regiment • Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 75th Infantry Division Artillery • 730th Field Artillery Battalion (155 mm) • 897th Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm) • 898th Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm) • 899th Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm) • 275th Engineer Combat Battalion • 375th Medical Battalion • 75th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop (Mechanized) • Headquarters, Special Troops, 75th Infantry Division • Headquarters Company, 75th Infantry Division • 775th Ordnance Light Maintenance Company • 75th Quartermaster Company • 575th Signal Company • Military Police Platoon • Band • 75th Counterintelligence Corps Detachment
Casualties •
Total battle casualties: 4,324 •
Killed in action: 817 •
Wounded in action: 3,314 •
Missing in action: 77 •
Prisoner of war: 116 == History since 1945 ==