Genesis of U.S. mountain troops In November 1939, two months after World War II broke out in Europe, during the
Soviet Union's invasion of Finland,
Red Army efforts were frustrated following the destruction of two armored divisions by Finnish
soldiers on skis. The conflict caught global attention as the outnumbered and outgunned Finnish soldiers were able to use the difficult local terrain to their advantage, severely hampering the Soviet attacks and embarrassing their military. Upon seeing the effectiveness of these troops,
Charles Minot "Minnie" Dole, the president of the
National Ski Patrol, began to lobby the
War Department of the need for a similar unit of troops in the United States Army, trained for fighting in
winter and
mountain warfare. In September 1940, Dole was able to present his case to
General George C. Marshall, the Army Chief of Staff, who agreed with Dole's assessment, deciding to create a "Mountain" unit for fighting in harsh terrain. The U.S. Army authorized the formation of the platoon-sized Army Ski Patrol in November 1940. The first Patrol was formed at
Camp Murray as part of the
41st Infantry Division under Lt. Ralph S. Phelps (later to become commanding General of the 41st). The army, prompted by fears that its standing force would not perform well in the event of a winter attack on the
Northeastern coast, as well as knowledge that the
German Army already had three
mountain warfare divisions known as
Gebirgsjäger, approved the concept for a division. At first, planners envisioned ten mountain divisions, but personnel shortages revised the goal to three. Eventually, the 10th Mountain Division would be the only one brought to active duty. Military leaders continued to express concern about the feasibility of a division-sized mountain warfare unit until the fall of 1941, when they received reports that
Greek mountain troops had held back superior numbers of unprepared
Italian troops in the
Albanian mountains during the
Greco-Italian War. The Italian military had lost a disastrous 25,000 men in the campaign because of their lack of preparedness to fight in the mountains. On 22 October 1941, General Marshall decided to form the first battalion of mountain warfare troops for a new mountain division. The Ski Patrol would assist in its training. On 8 December 1941, the day after the
Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the subsequent American entry into World War II, the army activated its first mountain unit, the
87th Mountain Infantry Battalion (which was later expanded to the
87th Infantry Regiment) at
Fort Lewis,
Washington, south of
Tacoma. The
National Ski Patrol took on the unique role of recruiting for the 87th Infantry Regiment and later the division, becoming the only civilian recruiting agency in military history. The 87th trained in harsh conditions, including
Mount Rainier's peak, throughout 1942 as more recruits were brought in to form the division. Initial training was conducted by Olympian
Rolf Monsen. A new garrison was built for the division in central
Colorado at
Camp Hale, at an
elevation of above
sea level. and activated five days later at
Camp Hale under the command of
Brigadier General Lloyd E. Jones, with Brigadier General
Frank L. Culin Jr. assigned as his assistant division commander (ADC). The 10th Light Division was centered on regimental commands; the
85th,
86th, and
87th Infantry Regiments. At the time, the division had a strength of 8,500 out of the 16,000 planned, so the military transferred troops from the
30th,
31st, and
33rd Infantry Divisions along with volunteers from the
National Guards of Maine,
New Hampshire,
Vermont,
New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia,
Michigan,
Wisconsin,
Minnesota,
Iowa,
North and
South Dakota,
Colorado,
Wyoming,
Montana,
Idaho,
Utah and
Washington (specifically, men who were from the
Rocky Mountain and
northern states such as men from in the Appalachian Mountain Area, Green Mountains of Vermont, White Mountains of New Hampshire, Adirondack and Taconic Mountains of New York and The Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania and men from the areas in the United States close to the
45th parallel north), to fill out the remainder of the division. This lowered morale, and the division faced many difficulties in the new training, which had no established army doctrine. Also assigned to the division were the 604th, 605th, and 616th Field Artillery Battalions, the 110th Signal Company, the 710th Ordnance Company, the 10th Quartermaster Company, the 10th Reconnaissance Troop, the 126th Engineer Battalion, the 10th Medical Battalion, and the 10th Counterintelligence Corps Detachment. The 10th Light Division was unique in that it was the only division in the army with three
field artillery battalions instead of four. and winter weather gear, such as white camouflage and skis specifically designed for the division. The division practiced its
rock climbing skills in preparation for the invasion of
Italy on the challenging peaks of
Seneca Rocks in
West Virginia. Its specialized training culminated with what were known as the "D-Series" ("D" for "Divisional"), military maneuvers on the divisional level in the Colorado Rockies in Winter conditions. Beginning 26 March 1944, the exercises were intended to last five weeks. The soldiers endured an adverse environment, and "tactical conditions" that banned open fires in sub-zero temperatures. As a result, the exercises were ended after 3 weeks. Official statistics recorded 195 cases of frostbite and 340 other incapacitating injuries. On 22 June 1944, the division was shipped to
Camp Swift, Texas, to prepare for maneuvers in
Louisiana, which were later canceled. A period of acclimation to a low altitude and hot climate was thought necessary to prepare for this training. On 6 November 1944, the 10th Division was redesignated the
10th Mountain Division. Also in November, the division received a new commander, Brigadier General
George Price Hays, a
Medal of Honor recipient and a distinguished veteran of
World War I. On January 4, 1945, he received a promotion to major general. File:Lloyd E. Jones (US Army General) 2.jpg|Brigadier General Lloyd E. Jones observes troops land at Amchitka Island during the Aleutians Campaign, shortly before assuming command of the 10th Light Division. File:Lt. Gen. George P. Hays.jpg|Lt. Gen. George P. Hays assumed command after Jones fell ill in 1944.
Italy The division sailed for the
Italian front in two parts, with the 86th Infantry and support leaving
Camp Patrick Henry,
Virginia on 11 December 1944 aboard the
SS Argentina and arriving in
Naples, Italy on 22 December. The 85th and 87th Infantry left
Hampton Roads, Virginia on 4 January 1945 aboard the
SS West Point and arrived on 13 January 1945. By 6 January, its support units were preparing to head to the front lines. It was attached to Major General
Willis D. Crittenberger's
IV Corps, part of the
American Fifth Army, commanded by
Lieutenant General Lucian Truscott. By 8 January, the 86th Infantry had moved to
Bagni di Lucca near in preparation for an offensive by the Fifth Army to capture the mountain along with surrounding high ground, which allowed the Axis to block advances to
Po Valley. Starting 14 January, the division began moving to
Pisa as part of the Fifth Army massing for this attack. Preliminary defensive actions in mid-February were followed by
Operation Encore, a series of attacks in conjunction with troops of the
1st Brazilian Infantry Division, to dislodge the Germans from their artillery positions in the
Northern Apennines on the border between
Tuscany and
Emilia-Romagna regions, in order to make possible the Allied advance over the
Po Valley. While the Brazilian division was in charge of taking
Monte Castello and
Castelnuovo di
Vergato, the 10th Mountain Division was responsible for the Mount Belvedere area, climbing nearby Riva Ridge during the night of 18 February and attacking on 20 February. These peaks were cleared after four days of heavy fighting, as
Axis troops launched several
counterattacks in these positions. In early March, the division fought its way north of Canolle and moved to within of
Bologna. On 5 March, while Brazilian units captured Castelnuovo, the 85th and the 87th Infantry took respectively Mount Della Spe and
Castel D'Aiano, cutting the Axis routes of resupply and communication into the Po Valley, setting the stage for the next Fifth Army offensive. The division resumed its attack on 14 April 1945, pressing forward on multiple axes. That day it assaulted Torre Iussi and Rocca Roffeno, north of Mount Della Spe. After stiff fighting, on 17 April it broke through the German
Gothic Line defenses, opening the way into the
Po Valley. Over the next days the advance continued: on 20 April the 10th captured Mongiorgio and pushed into the Po plain, taking key positions at Pradalbino and Bomporto. The division crossed the
Po River at San Benedetto Po on 23 April, reached
Verona on 25 April, and encountered heavy resistance in the areas of
Torbole and
Nago. Because the routes around Lake Garda had been rendered impassable by destroyed tunnels and bridges, the division carried out an amphibious crossing of the lake using
DUKW vehicles. On 30 April it secured
Gargnano and
Porto di Tremosine on the western shore, effectively ending organized German resistance in northern Italy. The site of the sinking remained unknown for decades, despite repeated efforts by the U.S. Army, local divers, and underwater archaeology teams. In 2012, after several unsuccessful surveys, the Italian volunteer rescue group
Volontari del Garda located the wreck upright on the lakebed using sonar and remotely operated vehicles. According to Associazione Benàch, the documentary “seeks to bring recognition to the 25 men who never returned from Lake Garda and to remind future generations of the price of liberation.” Darby had been appointed to the division only days earlier, following the wounding of Brigadier General Robinson E. Duff, and was directing the final movements of the divisions advance when he was struck by shrapnel. His death came just hours before the announcement of the
German surrender in Italy. •
Killed in action: 992 Three days after the rest of the division landed stateside on 11 August,
Japan officially surrendered. The division was demobilized and inactivated on 30 November 1945 at
Camp Carson, Colorado. During World War II, the 10th Mountain Division suffered 992
killed in action and 4,154
wounded in action in 114 days of combat. Soldiers of the division were awarded one
Medal of Honor (
John D. Magrath), three
Distinguished Service Crosses, one
Distinguished Service Medal, 449
Silver Star Medals, seven
Legion of Merit Medals, 15
Soldier's Medals, and 7,729
Bronze Star Medals. In 1954, the division was converted to a combat division once again, though it did not regain its "Mountain" status. The division was also assigned a round-out brigade from the
Army National Guard, the
27th Infantry Brigade. The division was specially designed as a
light infantry division able to rapidly deploy. In this process, it lost its mountain warfare capability, but its light infantry organization still made it versatile for difficult terrain. Equipment design was oriented toward reduced size and weight for reasons of both strategic and tactical mobility. • 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry • 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry •
2nd Brigade • Headquarters & Headquarters Company • 2nd Battalion,
14th Infantry • Headquarters & Headquarters Company • 1st Battalion,
108th Infantry,
Auburn • 2nd Battalion, 108th Infantry, Syracuse • 427th Support Battalion (Forward), Syracuse • Troop E,
101st Cavalry,
Buffalo • 827th Engineer Company, Buffalo •
Aviation Brigade • Headquarters & Headquarters Company • 3rd Squadron,
17th Cavalry (Reconnaissance) • 2nd Battalion,
25th Aviation (Attack) • Company C, 25th Aviation (General Support) • Company D, 25th Aviation (Assault) •
Division Artillery • Headquarters & Headquarters Battery • 1st Battalion,
7th Field Artillery (18 × M101 105 mm towed howitzer) • 2nd Battalion, 7th Field Artillery (18 × M101 105 mm towed howitzer) • 710th Maintenance Battalion • Company E, 25th Aviation (Aviation Intermediate Maintenance) • 3rd Battalion,
62nd Air Defense Artillery • 41st Engineer Battalion • 10th Signal Battalion • 110th Military Intelligence Battalion • 10th Military Police Company • 59th Chemical Company • 10th Mountain Division Band
Contingencies village for weapons in 1993. In 1990, the division sent 1,200 soldiers to support
Operation Desert Storm. Two infantry platoons from the division were among those sent: 1st Platoon Bravo Company 1/22 and the 1/22 Scout Platoon. Once in Iraq, the scouts were sent home and First Platoon was left as a counterintelligence force. Performing three-man 24hr patrols through the remainder of their deployment, this platoon was widely regarded as the division's best at that time. Following a cease-fire in March 1991, the support soldiers began redeploying to Fort Drum through June of that year. When
Task Force Ranger and the
SAR team were pinned down during a raid in what later became known as the
Battle of Mogadishu, the 10th Mountain Division provided infantry for the UN quick reaction force sent to rescue them. The 10th Mountain Division had two soldiers killed in the fighting, which was the longest sustained firefight by regular U.S. Army forces since the
Vietnam War.
Operation Joint Forge In the fall of 1998, the division received notice that it would be serving as senior headquarters of
Task Force Eagle, providing a peacekeeping force to support the ongoing operation within the Multi-National Division-North area of responsibility in
Bosnia and Herzegovina. A report from the
U.S. General Accounting Office in July 2000 also noted that although the entire 10th Mountain Division was not deployed to the contingencies at once, "deployment of key components—especially headquarters—makes these divisions unavailable for deployment elsewhere in case of a major war".
Conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation agreed with these sentiments, charging that the U.S. military overall was not prepared for war due to post–
Cold War drawdowns of the U.S. military. Still, the Army moved the 10th Mountain Division down on the deployment list, allowing it time to retrain and refit. These concerns were quickly debunked as the 10th Mountain Division was the first conventional unit in the entire US military to be deployed to Afghanistan, seeing heavy combat.
Afghanistan and Iraq Initial deployments and 2004 reorganization . over a village near
Hawija, Iraq in March 2008. Following the
11 September 2001 attacks, elements of the division, including its
special troops battalion and 1st Battalion,
87th Infantry Regiment (1-87th) infantry deployed to
Afghanistan as part of
Operation Enduring Freedom in late 2001. This was the first conventional unit to be deployed in the entire US military. This command served as the representative for Lieutenant General
Paul T. Mikolashek, the Third U.S. Army/CFLCC commanding general (CG) in the theater of operations. As such, Hagenbeck's headquarters was responsible for commanding and controlling virtually all Coalition ground forces and ground force operations in the theater, including the security of Coalition airfields in Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Pakistan, as well as the logistics operations set up to support those forces. The division was also intended to defend Uzbekistan against attacks by the
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, which was seeking to overthrow
Islam Karimov's secular government. On 13 February 2002, Mikolashek ordered Hagenbeck to move CFLCC (Forward) to Bagram airfield located at Bagram and 2 days later the headquarters was officially redesignated as Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF) Mountain. It assumed responsibility for the planning and execution of what had then become known as
Operation Anaconda. Elements of the division, primarily 1-87th Infantry, remained in the country until mid-2002, fighting to secure remote areas of the country and participating in prominent operations such as
Operation Anaconda, the
Fall of Mazar-i-Sharif, and the
Battle of Qala-i-Jangi. These 1-87th Infantry soldiers became the first U.S. conventional forces to fight in Afghanistan. The division also participated in fighting in the
Shahi Khot Valley in 2002. In June 2002, elements of the
82nd Airborne Division arrived to relieve CJTF Mountain, and in September, Major General
John R. Vines and his
Combined Task Force 82 relieved CJTF Mountain as the major subordinate headquarters to
Combined Joint Task Force 180. Upon the return of the battalions, they were welcomed home and praised by President Bush. In 2003, the division's headquarters, along with the 1st Brigade, returned to Afghanistan. During that time, they operated in the frontier regions of the country such as
Paktika Province, going to places previously untouched by the war in search of
Taliban and
Al-Qaeda forces. Fighting in several small-scale conflicts such as
Operation Avalanche,
Operation Mountain Resolve, and
Operation Mountain Viper, the division maintained a strategy of small units moving through remote regions of the country to interact directly with the population and drive out insurgents. The 1st Brigade also undertook a number of humanitarian missions. On the return of the division headquarters and 1st Brigade, the 10th Mountain Division began the process of
transformation into a modular division. On 16 September 2004, the division headquarters finished its transformation, adding the
10th Mountain Division Special Troops Battalion. The 1st Brigade became the 1st
Brigade Combat Team, while the
3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division was activated for the first time. In January 2005, the
4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division was activated at
Fort Polk,
Louisiana. 2nd Brigade Combat Team would not be transformed until September 2005, pending a deployment to
Iraq.
Afghanistan deployments . The division headquarters, the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, and two Battalion Task Forces from the 4th Brigade Combat Team deployed to Afghanistan in 2005, staying in the country until 2006. The division and brigade served in the eastern region of the country, along the border with
Pakistan, fulfilling a similar role as it did during its previous deployment. During this time, the deployment of the brigade was extended along with that of the 4th Brigade,
82nd Airborne Division. It was eventually replaced by the
173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team which was rerouted from Iraq. In the winter of 2006, the 10th Aviation Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, was deployed again to Afghanistan to support Operation Enduring Freedom as the only aviation brigade in the theater, stationed at
Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan. Named "Task Force Falcon," the brigade's mission was to conduct aviation operations to destroy insurgents and anti-coalition militia in an effort to help build the
Afghan National Security Force's capability and allow the Afghan government to increase its capabilities. In addition, the Task Force provided logistical and combat support for
International Security Assistance Force forces throughout the country. The
3rd Brigade Combat Team was slated to deploy to Iraq in 2009, but that deployment was rerouted. In January 2009, the
3rd BCT instead deployed to
Kunar,
Logar and
Wardak Provinces, eastern Afghanistan to relieve the
101st Airborne Division, as part of a new buildup of US forces in that country. The brigade was responsible for expanding
forward operating bases and
combat outposts (COPs) in the region, as well as strengthening US military presence in preparation for additional US forces to arrive. infantry engaging Taliban. The 1st Brigade Combat Team was scheduled to deploy to Iraq in late 2009 but deployed instead to Afghanistan in March 2010 for 13 months.
1-87th Infantry deployed to
Kunduz and
Baghlan Provinces, establishing remote
combat outposts (COPs) against the Taliban after they had taken control of these provinces over the last several years. Notably, Blacksheep Company was responsible for numerous large-scale engagements, including the Battle of Shahabuddin and securing a High-Value Target (HVT) after an
air assault raid. This deployment was transformational to the
Counterinsurgency in Northern Afghanistan campaign of the war. The Brigade again deployed to Afghanistan in late 2012 to Ghazni Provence for nine months. . The
3rd Brigade Combat Team deployed to Kandahar Province, southern Afghanistan in March 2011, again relieving the
101st Airborne Division. During this deployment,
3rd BCT mainly occupied
forward operating bases (FOBs) and
combat outposts (COPs) in the
Maywand,
Zhari, and
Arghandab Districts of Kandahar Province. The brigade was redeployed to Fort Drum in March 2012 after a twelve-month deployment. The 4th Brigade Combat Team deployed to Regional Command East, under the 101st Airborne Division from October 2010 until their redeployment in October 2011. The 4th BCT deployed to both Wardak and Logar provinces. During this deployment, they went to places such as Chakh Valley in Wardak Province and Charkh Valley in Logar Province in search of elements of the Haqqani Network. In May 2013, the brigade deployed again to Afghanistan returning home in February 2014. In 2015,
Diana M. Holland became the first woman to serve as a general officer at
Fort Drum, and the first woman to serve as a deputy commanding general in one of the Army's light infantry divisions (specifically, the 10th Mountain Division.) In February 2015,
2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division were deployed to Afghanistan as part of the
Resolute Support Mission in the
Post ISAF phase of the War in Afghanistan between late summer and early fall 2015, 300 troops from 10th Mountain's headquarters at deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Freedom's Sentinel, along with about 1,000 troops from the
3rd Brigade Combat Team. In February 2016, the Taliban began a new
assault on Sangin, Helmand Province, the US responded by deploying 500 to 800 troops from 2nd battalion 87th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division to Helmand Province in order to prop up Afghan army's 215th Corps in the province, particularly around Sangin, joining US and British special operations forces already in the area. On 5 December 2019, the
Department of the Army announced that the
1st Brigade Combat Team would replace the 3rd Brigade Combat Team,
82nd Airborne Division as part of a unit rotation in support of
Operation Freedom's Sentinel. The brigade deployed to Afghanistan in February 2020.
Operation Atlantic Resolve On 3 November 2016,
Stars and Stripes reported that the 10th Combat Aviation Brigade would deploy 1,750 soldiers to
Eastern Europe in March 2017, in support of
Operation Atlantic Resolve – as part of NATO efforts to reassure Eastern Europe in response to
Russian intervention in Ukraine in 2014. The brigade arrived with approximately 60 aircraft, including CH-47 Chinooks, UH-60 Blackhawks, and medevac helicopters. The brigade was headquartered in Germany and the brigade's units were forward-based at locations in
Latvia,
Romania, and
Poland.
Operation Inherent Resolve , Iraq, November 10, 2015. Between late summer and early fall 2015, as well as again in 2016, 1,250 soldiers from the
1st Brigade Combat Team were
deployed to Iraq to support
Operation Inherent Resolve. During the two deployments the brigade spent in Iraq, they fought to regain control of the cities of Ramadi, Fallujah, and Mosul from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. In 2022 the unit would redeploy again, in support of Operation Inherent Resolve. == Honors ==