U.S. 99th Infantry Division
99th Infantry Division Shoulder Insignia
Active	November 15, 1942 - October 15, 1945
Branch	Army Reserve (inactive)
Type	Division
Role	Infantry
Nickname	Battle Babies, Checkerboard Division
Battles/wars	Ardennes Offensive
Commanders
Current commander	N/A

The 99th Infantry Division was a unit of the United States Army in World War II. November 15 is the 319th day of the year (320th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 46 days remaining. ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ... October 15 is the 288th day of the year (289th in leap years). ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ... 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 France Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Charles de Gaulle Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian...

World War II

• Activated: 15 November 1942
• Overseas: 30 September 1944
• Campaigns: Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe
• Days of combat: 151
• Distinguished Unit Citations: 2
• Awards: MH-1 ; DSC-16 ; DSM-1 ; SS-252; LM-6; DFC-7 ; SM-8 ; BSM-2,127 ; AM-48
• Commanders: Maj. Gen. Thompson Lawrence (November 1942-July 1943), Maj. Gen. Walter E. Lauer (July 1943-18 August 1945), Brig. Gen. Frederick H. Black (August 1945 to inactivation)
• Returned to U. S.: 17 September 1945
• Inactivated: 15 October 1945

The Rhineland (Rheinland in German) is the general name for the land on both sides of the river Rhine in the west of Germany. ... Combatants United States United Kingdom Germany Commanders Dwight D. Eisenhower Gerd von Rundstedt Strength Dec 16 - start of the Battle: about 83,000 men; 242 Sherman tanks, 182 tank destroyers, and 394 pieces of corps and divisional artillery. ... wtrwretqwt ... The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States. ... The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is the second highest military decoration of the United States Army, awarded for extreme gallantry and risk of life in actual combat with an armed enemy force. ... The Distinguished Service Medal is a military award of the United States Army which is presented to any person who, while serving in any capacity with the United States military, has distinguished himself or herself by exceptionally meritorious service to the Government in a duty of great responsibility. ... The Silver Star is the fifth highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of the United States Armed Forces, and the third highest given for valor (in the face of the enemy). ... The Legion of Merit is a military decoration of the United States armed forces that is awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. ... The Distinguished Flying Cross. ... My Lai Massacre (1968). ... The Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration and is the fourth highest award for bravery, heroism or meritorious service. ... The Air Medal is a military decoration of the United States which was established by Executive Order 9158, signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt, on May 11, 1942. ...

Combat Chronicle

The 99th Infantry Division arrived in England, 10 October 1944, moved to Le Havre, France, 3 November, and proceeded to Aubel, Belgium, to prepare for combat. The division first saw action on the 9th, taking over the defense of the sector north of the Roer River between Schmidt and Monschau. After defensive patrolling, the 99th probed the Siegfried Line against heavy resistance, 13 December. Le Havre is a city in Normandy, northern France, on the English Channel at the mouth of the Seine. ... The Rur (-German, in Dutch and French: Roer, not to be confused with the Ruhr) is a river in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. ... Monschau (French: Montjoie) is a city in the west of Germany, located in the district Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia. ... 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...

The Ardennes Offensive caught the division on the 16th. Although cut up and surrounded in part, the 99th held as a whole until reinforcements came. Then it drew back gradually to form defensive positions east of Elsenborn on the 19th. Here it held firmly against violent enemy attacks. From 21 December 1944 to 30 January 1945, the unit was engaged in aggressive patrolling and reequipping. It attacked toward the Monschau Forest, 1 February, mopping up and patrolling until it was relieved for training and rehabilitation, 13 February. Combatants United States United Kingdom Germany Commanders Dwight Eisenhower Omar Bradley George Patton Bernard Montgomery Walther Model Gerd von Rundstedt Adolf Hitler Strength Dec 16 - start of the Battle: about 83,000 men; 242 Sherman tanks, 182 tank destroyers, and 394 pieces of corps and divisional artillery. ...

On 2 March, 1945, the division took the offensive, moving toward Keln and crossing the Erft Canal near Glesch. After clearing towns west of the Rhine, it crossed the river at Remagen on the 11th and continued to Linz and to the Wied. Crossing on the 23d, it pushed east on the Koln-Frankfurt highway to Giessen. Against light resistance it crossed the Dill River and pushed on to Krofdorf-Gleiberg, taking Giessen 29 March. The 99th then moved to Schwarzenau, 3 April, and attacked the southeast sector of the Ruhr Pocket on the 5th. Although the enemy resisted fiercely, the Ruhr pocket collapsed with the fall of Iserlohn, 16 April. Loreley At 1,320 kilometres (820 miles) and an average discharge of more than 2,000 cubic meters per second, the Rhine (Dutch Rijn, French Rhin, German Rhein, Italian: Reno, Romansch: Rein, ) is one of the longest and most important rivers in Europe. ... Map of Austria, locating Linz Linz is a city and Statutarstadt in northeast Austria, on the Danube river. ... theatre in Giessen Architecture in Giessen Giessen (German spelling Gießen) is a city in the German federal state (Bundesland) of Hesse, capital of both the Giessen district and the Giessen Administrative Region. ... The 68-km-long Dill is a tributary to the Lahn, joining it on the right bank, in Middle Hesse, Germany. ... The Ruhr Pocket was a battle that took place at the end of World War II in the Ruhr Area, Germany. ... Map of Germany showing Iserlohn Iserlohn is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. ...

The last drive began on 23 April. The 99th crossed the Ludwig Canal against stiff resistance and established a bridgehead over the Altmuhl River, 25 April. The Danube was crossed near Eining on the 27th and the Isar at Landshut, 1 May, after a stubborn fight. The attack continued without opposition to the Inn River and Giesenhausen when VE-day came. The Danube (ancient Danuvius, ancient Greek Istros) is the longest river of the European Union and Europes second-longest[3] (after the Volga). ... The Isar is the third largest river in Bavaria, Germany. ... Landshut is a city in Bavaria, Germany, the capital of the Niederbayern region. ... The Inn is a river in Switzerland, Austria and Germany. ... Victory in Europe Day (V-E Day) was May 8, 1945, the date when the Allies during the Second World War formally celebrated the defeat of Nazi Germany and the end of Adolf Hitlers Reich. ...

Assignments in the ETO

• 4 November 1944: V Corps, First Army, 12th Army Group
• 18 December 1944: Attached to 2d Infantry Division of the V Corps, First Army, 12th Army Group
• 20 December 1944: Attached, with the entire First Army, to the British 21st Army Group
• 7 January 1944: Relieved from attachment to the 2nd Infantry Division and assigned to V Corps, First Army (attached to the British 21st Army Group), 12th Army Group
• 18 January 1945: V Corps, First Army, 12th Army Group
• 20 February 1945: VII Corps
• 9 March 1945: III Corps
• 19 April 1945: III Corps, Third Army, 12th Army Group

For the V Corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War, see V Corps (ACW) The V Corps (Fifth Corps)—nicknamed the Victory Corps—is a corps of the United States Army. ... The military of a number of countries have a First Army: Australian First Army Austro-Hungarian First Army British First Army Bulgarian First Army Canadian First Army French First Army German First Army Greek First Army Hungarian First Army Italian First Army Polish First Army Romanian First Army Russian First... (Redirected from 12th Army Group) The 12th Army Group was the largest and most powerful American formation ever to take to the field. ... The 2nd Infantry Division is a formation of the United States Army. ... The British 21st Army Group was an important Allied force in the European Theatre of World War II. // Normandy Commanded by General (later Field Marshal) Sir Bernard Montgomery, it initially controlled all ground forces in Operation Overlord. ... The VII Army Corps of the United States Army was one of the two principal corps of the army in Europe during the Cold War, along with V Corps. ... For the III Corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War, see III Corps (ACW). ... Shoulder Sleeve Insignia of the U.S. Third Army. ...

Medal of Honor Recipients

• Vernon McGarity: Technical Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company L, 393rd Infantry, 99th Infantry Division. Near Krinkelt, Belgium, 16 December 1944

Vernon McGarity was a recipient of the Medal of Honor during World War II while a member of the US 99th Infantry Division. ...

General

• Nickname: Battle Babies; formerly Checkerboard Division.
• Shoulder patch: A fivesided shield of black on which is superimposed a horizontal band of white and blue squares. The black represents the iron from the mills of Pittsburgh where many of the troops were from. The blue and white are taken from the coat of arms for William Pitt for whom Pittsburgh was named.

Nickname: Steel City, Iron City, City of Champions, City of Bridges, City of Colleges, P-Burgh, The Burgh Motto: Benigno Numine Location in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Coordinates: Country United States State Pennsylvania County Allegheny County Founded 1758 Mayor Luke Ravenstahl (D) Area    - City 151. ... William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham (15 November 1708–11 May 1778) was a British Whig statesman who achieved his greatest fame as Secretary of State during the Seven Years War (aka French and Indian War) and who was later Prime Minister of Great Britain. ...

References

• The Army Almanac: A Book of Facts Concerning the Army of the United States U.S. Government Printing Office, 1950 reproduced at http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/lineage/cc/cc.htm.

External links

• Battle Babies: The Story of the 99th Infantry Division