The 45th Infantry Division was a unit of the United States Army in World War II. 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ... Infantry of the Royal Irish Rifles during the Battle of the Somme in World War I. Infantry are soldiers who fight primarily on foot with small arms in organized military units, though they may be transported to the battlefield by horses, ships, automobiles, skis, or other means. ... Symbol of the Polish 1st Legions Infantry Division in NATO code A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of around ten to fifteen thousand soldiers. ... It has been suggested that Arizona Governors Mansion be merged into this article or section. ... Official language(s) English Capital Denver Largest city Denver Area  Ranked 8th  - Total 104,185 sq mi (269,837 km²)  - Width 280 miles (451 km)  - Length 380 miles (612 km)  - % water 0. ... Capital Santa Fe Largest city Albuquerque Area  Ranked 5th  - Total 121,665 sq mi (315,194 km²)  - Width 342 miles (550 km)  - Length 370 miles (595 km)  - % water 0. ... Official language(s) None Capital Oklahoma City Largest city Oklahoma City Area  Ranked 20th  - Total 69,960 sq mi (181,196 km²)  - Width 230 miles (370 km)  - Length 298 miles (480 km)  - % water 1. ... Mark Wayne Clark (May 1, 1896 – April 17, 1984) was an American general during World War II and the Korean War. ... Lieutenant General Troy H. Middleton ( –1976) was a distinguished soldier-educator who served as a corps commander in Europe during World War II and, later, as President of Louisiana State University (LSU). ... The United States Army is the largest branch of the United States armed forces and has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ... Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead...

Pre-World War II

• Activated: In 1924 as a National Guard Division in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Oklahoma.

It has been suggested that Arizona Governors Mansion be merged into this article or section. ... Official language(s) English Capital Denver Largest city Denver Area  Ranked 8th  - Total 104,185 sq mi (269,837 km²)  - Width 280 miles (451 km)  - Length 380 miles (612 km)  - % water 0. ... Capital Santa Fe Largest city Albuquerque Area  Ranked 5th  - Total 121,665 sq mi (315,194 km²)  - Width 342 miles (550 km)  - Length 370 miles (595 km)  - % water 0. ... Official language(s) None Capital Oklahoma City Largest city Oklahoma City Area  Ranked 20th  - Total 69,960 sq mi (181,196 km²)  - Width 230 miles (370 km)  - Length 298 miles (480 km)  - % water 1. ...

World War II

• Activated: 16 September 1940
• Overseas: 8 June 1943
• Campaigns: Sicily, Naples-Foggia, Anzio, Rome-Arno, Southern France, Ardennes-Alsace, Rhineland, Central Europe
• Days of combat: 511
• Distinguished Unit Citations: 7
• Awards: MH-8 ; DSC-61 ; DSM-3 ; SS-1,848 ; LM-38; SM-59 ; BSM-5,744 ; AM-52
• Commanders:

• Maj, Gen. William S. Key (September 1940-October 1942)
• Maj. Gen. Troy H. Middleton (October 1942-December 1943)
• Maj. Gen. William W. Eagles (December 1943-December 1944)
• Maj. Gen. Robert T. Frederick (December 1944-September 1945)
• Brig. Gen. Henry J. D. Meyer (September 1945 to inactivation)

• Returned to U.S.: 14 September 1945
• Inactivated: 7 December 1945 (See National Guard)

The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ...

Combat Chronicle

Mediterranean Theatre

The 45th Division landed in North Africa, 22 June 1943, and trained at Arzew, French Morocco. It landed in Sicily, 10 July, in its first major amphibious operation and moved inland under minor opposition. The enemy resisted fiercely at Motta Hill, 26 July, before losing the fourday battle of "Bloody Ridge." On 1 August, the division withdrew for rest and patrols. On 10 September 1943, the second landing at Salerno occurred. Against stiff resistance, the 45th pushed to the Calore River, 27 September, crossed the Volturno River, 3 November, and took Venafro. Until 9 January 1944, the division inched forward into the mountains reaching St. Elia north of Cassino before moving to a rest area. Sicily (Sicilia in Italian, Sicilian and Spanish, Σικελία in Greek) is an autonomous region of Italy and the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, with an area of 25,700 km² and 5 million inhabitants. ... Salerno is a town and a province capital in Campania, south-western Italy, located on the gulf of the same name on the Tyrrhenian Sea. ... The Calore or Calore Irpino is a river in southwestern Italy. ... The Volturno is a river in south-central Italy. ... Combatants United States United Kingdom Poland New Zealand India Free France Morocco Brazil and others Nazi Germany Commanders Harold Alexander Albert Kesselring Frido von Senger Strength 105,000 80,000 Casualties 54,000 20,000 The Battle of Monte Cassino (also known as the Battle for Rome and the Battle...

The 45th landed at Anzio, 22 January 1944, and for 4 months stood its ground against violent assaults. It went over to the attack, 23 May, crossed the Tiber River, 4 June, outflanking Rome and withdrew for rest and training on the 16th. Anzio (2003 pop. ...

France and Germany

The 45th participated in its fourth assault landing during Operation Dragoon, 15 August 1944, at St. Maxime in Southern France. Against slight opposition, it spearheaded the drive for the Belfort Gap. It took the strongly defended city of Epinal, 24 September, crossed the Moselle River and entered the western foothills of the Vosges, taking Rambervillers on the 30th, and crossing the Mortagne River, 23 October. Combatants United States1 Free France, United Kingdom Germany Commanders Jacob L. Devers Johannes Blaskowitz Strength 250,000 (approx) 230,000 (approx) Casualties 4,500 American, 4,500+ French 125,000+ (approx) Monument to the landings of Allied troops under General Patch on the beach of St Tropez, France. ...

After a brief rest, on 25 November the 45th cracked the forts north of Mutzig (Fort Kaiser Wilhelm II designed in 1893 to block access to the plain of Alsace [1]), crossed the Zintzel River and pushed through the Maginot defenses. From 2 January 1945, the division fought defensively along the German border, withdrawing to the Moder River. On 17 February, it went back for rest and training. The 45th moved north to the Sarreguemines area and smashed at the Siegfried Line, 17 March, taking Homburg on the 21st and crossing the Rhine between Worms and Hamm on the 26th. The advance continued, Aschaffenburg falling, 3 April, and Nuremberg on the 20th. The division crossed the Danube, 27 April, took Munich on the 30th and liberated 32,000 captives in the Dachau concentration camp on April 29, 1945. The division captured Munich during the next two days, and on the eve of V-E Day, began operating Radio Station Thunderbird. During the next month, the division occupied Munich and set up collection points and camps for the massive numbers of surrendering troops of the Axis armies. The number of POWs taken by the 45th Division during its almost two years of fighting totaled 124,840. Located at the entrance of the Bruche Valley the town enjoyed certain renown until the French Revolution. ... Sarreguemines (German Saargemünd) is a town and commune in the Moselle département, in Lorraine, northeastern France. ... The original Siegfried line (Siegfriedstellung) was a line of defensive forts and tank defenses built by Germany as a section of the Hindenburg Line 1916-1917 in northern France during World War I. However, in English, Siegfried line more commonly refers to the similar World War II defensive line, built... Memorial at the camp, 1997. ...

The division returned to New York in early June, 1945, and from there went to Camp Bowie, Texas. On December 7, 1945, the division was deactivated and its members reassigned to other Army units.

During World War II, the 45th Division fought in 511 days of combat. Over 20,000 soldiers in the division were killed, wounded or missing in action. Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead...

Division involvement in alleged war crimes

• During the invasion of Sicily in 1943, the U.S. 45th (Thunderbird) members of the division executed 76 German and Italian Prisoners of War in the Biscari Massacre. One officer and one NCO were court-martialled.

• Members of the division executed a number of guards after the liberation of the Dachau Concentration Camp in the so-called Dachau Massacre.

Geneva Convention definition A prisoner of war (POW) is a soldier, sailor, airman, or marine who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. ... The Biscari massacre was a war crime committed by U.S. troops during World War II, where unarmed German and Italian prisoners of war were supposedly killed at Biscari in 1943. ... Memorial at the camp, 1997. ... It has been suggested that Internment be merged into this article or section. ... Dachau massacre The Dachau Massacre took place in the Dachau concentration camp, near Dachau, Germany, on April 29, 1945 during World War II. The incident happened following the surrender of Dachau concentration camp to soldiers of the 45th Division of the US Seventh Army. ...

Korean War

Charles George of the division's 179th Infantry Regiment was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions on November 30, 1952 near Songnae-dong, Korea. The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States. ... Korea (Korean: 한국 or 조선, see below) is a geographic area, civilization, and former state situated on the Korean Peninsula in East Asia. ...

General

• Nickname: Thunderbird Division (named for the huge, eagle-like bird capable of producing thunder, lightning, and rain in Native American mythology). [2]
• Slogan: Semper Anticus (Always Forward).
• Shoulder patch: A red square containing a Thunderbird with outstretched wings, adapted from an American Indian symbol. Before the 1930s, a red square with a yellow swastika (also an American Indian symbol). See [3], [4].
• Bill Mauldin, the famous wartime cartoonist for "Stars and Stripes," served in the 45th Infantry Division from 1940 until 1945.

Image File history File links 45th_Infantry_insignia_(swastika). ... Depiction of a Thunderbird on a Totem Pole The Thunderbird is a mythical creature common to Native American religion. ... An Aani (Atsina) named Assiniboin Boy. ... The swastika (from Sanskrit ) is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles in either left-facing () or right-facing () direction. ... William Henry Bill Mauldin (October 29, 1921 – January 22, 2003) was a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist of the United States. ...

References

• Wintlock, Flint The Rock of Anzio, 1998 ISBN 0-8133-3399-7
• U.S. Government Printing Office. The Army Almanac: A Book of Facts Concerning the Army of the United States, ©1950, Harrisburg, Pa., LC Control Number: 59010070. Reproduced at CMH
• Bishop, Lt. Col. Leo V., Glasgow, Maj. Frank J. and Fisher, Maj. Georg A. (compiled and edited), The Fighting Forty-Fifth: the Combat Report of an Infantry Division, ©1946 by the 45th Infantry Division, printed by Army & Navy Publishing Co., 200 p. illus., Baton Rouge, LA. LC Control Number: 49051541. No ISBN.
• Buechner, Howard A., Dachau - The Hour of the Avenger, Thunderbird Press, ©1986, paperback, 159 pages, ISBN 0-913159-04-2, first published in 1986. LC Control Number: 87181873.
• US Army Centre for Military History

See also

• Dachau concentration camp

Memorial at the camp, 1997. ...

External links

• 45th Infantry Division Museum
• 45th Infantry Division History and Reenactments
• The 45th: The Story of the 45th Infantry Division