The
2nd Infantry Division ("Indianhead";
[1] "2ID," "2nd ID", or "Second D") is a formation of the
United States Army. Its current primary mission is the pre-emptive defense of
South Korea in the event of an invasion from
North Korea. There are approximately 17,000 soldiers in the 2nd Infantry Division, with 10,000 of them stationed in South Korea,
[2] accounting for about 35% of the
United States Forces Korea personnel.
The 2nd Infantry Division is unique in that it is the only U.S. Army division that is made up partially of South Korean soldiers, called
KATUSAs (Korean Augmentation to the U.S. Army). This program began in 1950 by agreement with the first South Korean president,
Syngman Rhee. Some 27,000 KATUSAs served with the U.S. forces at the end of the
Korean War. As of May 2006, approximately 1,100 KATUSA soldiers serve with the 2ID. There were also more than 4,748 Dutch soldiers assigned to the division between 1950 and 1954.
[3][4]
Denoted the
2nd Infantry Division-ROK/U.S. Combined Division, the division is augmented by rotational BCTs from the rest of the U.S. Army's divisions.
[5]
World War II[edit]
Assignments in European Theater of Operations[edit]
- 22 October 1943: Attached to First Army
- 24 December 1943: XV Corps, but attached to First Army
- 14 April 1944: V Corps, First Army
- 1 August 1944: V Corps, First Army, 12th Army Group
- 17 August 1944: XIX Corps
- 18 August 1944: VIII Corps, Third Army, 12th Army Group
- 5 September 1944: VIII Corps, Ninth Army, 12th Army Group
- 22 October 1944: VIII Corps, First Army, 12th Army Group
- 11 December 1944: V Corps
- 20 December 1944: Attached, with the entire First Army, to the British 21st Army Group
- 18 January 1945: V Corps, First Army, 12th Army Group
- 28 April 1945: VII Corps
- 1 May 1945: V Corps
- 6 May 1945: Third Army, 12th Army Group
Narrative
2nd Infantry Division marching up the bluff at the E-1 draw in the Easy Red sector of Omaha Beach on D+1, 7 June 1944. They are going past the German bunker, Widerstandsnest 65, that defended the route up the Ruquet Valley to Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer.
After training in
Northern Ireland and
Wales from October 1943 to June 1944, the 2nd Infantry Division crossed the channel to land on
Omaha Beach on
D plus 1 (7 June 1944) near
Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer. Attacking across the
Aure River on 10 June, the division liberated
Trévières and proceeded to assault and secure Hill 192, a key enemy strong point on the road to
Saint-Lo. After three weeks of fortifying the position and by order of Commanding General
Walter M. Robertson, the order was given to take Hill 192. On 11 July under the command of Col.
Ralph Wise Zwicker the 38th Infantry Regiment and with the 9th and the 23rd by his side the battle began at 5:45am. Using an artillery concept from World War I (rolling barrage) and with the support of 25,000 rounds of HE/WP that were fired by 8 artillery battalions, the hill was taken. Except for three days during the
Battle of the Bulge, this was the heaviest expenditure of ammunition by the 38th Field Artillery Battalion; And was the only time during the 11 months of combat that 2nd Division artillery used a rolling barrage. The division went on the defensive until 26 July. After exploiting the Saint-Lo breakout, the 2nd Division then advanced across the
Vire to take
Tinchebray on 15 August 1944. The division then raced toward
Brest, the heavily defended port fortress which happened to be a major port for German
U-boats. After 39 days of fighting the
Battle for Brest was won, and was the first place the
Army Air Forces used
bunker busting bombs.
[citation needed]
The division took a brief rest 19–26 September before moving to defensive positions at
St. Vith,
Belgium on 29 September 1944. The division entered
Germany on 3 October 1944, and was ordered, on 11 December 1944, to attack and seize the
Roer River dams. The German
Ardennes offensive in mid-December forced the division to withdraw to defensive positions near
Elsenborn Ridge, where the German drive was halted. In February 1945 the division attacked, recapturing lost ground, and seized
Gemund, 4 March. Reaching the
Rhine on 9 March, the division advanced south to take
Breisig, 10–11 March, and to guard the
Remagen bridge,
12–20 March.
The division crossed the Rhine on 21 March and advanced to
Hadamar and
Limburg an der Lahn, relieving elements of the
9th Armored Division, 28 March. Advancing rapidly in the wake of the 9th Armored, the 2nd Infantry Division crossed the
Weser at
Veckerhagen, 6–7 April, captured
Göttingen 8 April, established a bridgehead across the
Saale, 14 April, seizing
Merseburg on 15 April. On 18 April the division took
Leipzig, mopped up in the area, and outposted the
Mulde River; elements which had crossed the river were withdrawn 24 April. Relieved on the Mulde, the 2nd moved 200 miles, 1–3 May, to positions along the German-
Czech border near
Schönsee and
Waldmünchen, where 2 ID relieved the 97th and 99th ID's. The division crossed over to
Czechoslovakia on 4 May 1945, and attacked in the general direction of
Pilsen, attacking that city on
VE Day. The division lost 3,031 killed in action, 12,785 wounded in action, and 457 died of wounds.
World War II unit history
The 2nd Infantry Division returned to the
New York Port of Embarkation on 20 July 1945, and arrived at
Camp Swift at
Bastrop, Texas on 22 July 1945. They started a training schedule to prepare them to participate in the scheduled
invasion of Japan, but they were still at Camp Swift on
VJ Day. They then moved to the staging area at
Camp Stoneman at
Pittsburg, California on 28 March 1946, but the move eastward was canceled, and they received orders to move to
Fort Lewis at
Tacoma, Washington. They arrived at Fort Lewis on 15 April 1946, which became their home station. From their Fort Lewis base, they conducted Arctic, air transportability, amphibious, and maneuver training.
