29th Ranger Battalion

The 29th Provisional Ranger Battalion was a United States Army unit in World War II. Formed in December 1942 in England as a detachment of volunteers from the 29th Infantry Division, the battalion underwent commando training under British supervision and participated in raids on German installations, mostly in concert with No. 4 Commando. The battalion was disbanded in October 1943 and its men returned to their parent units.

On Monday, 4 February 1943, ten officers and 166 enlisted men and NCOs of the 29th Infantry Division were sent to Achnacarry, Scotland. The British Commando instructors called this unit, which was undergoing Ranger training, the 2nd Ranger Battalion. However, another American unit also had that designation, so the Rangers in the battalion and the American staff officers called them the 29th Ranger Battalion, named after its division. Major Randy Millholland of the 115th Infantry Regiment, the battalion commanding officer, instructed his men to "keep their eyes and ears open and their mouths shut." Millholland, a tough, energetic officer, was widely respected. The Ranger trainees were immensely proud of their battalion and did not want to be sent back to their old units as instructors in Ranger tactics. Soon after the proud Rangers completed their training, two of them accompanied a raiding force of British Commandos during an attack on one of the Channel Islands. One of these Rangers covered the withdrawal of his group, killing three German soldiers and wounded several others. By the time of this raid, the 29th Battalion had grown to include four Ranger infantry companies and one headquarters company.

The following is from an article entitled, "29th RANGER BATTALION (Dec. 1942 – Nov. 1943)" by J. Robert Slaughter which appeared in the Twenty-Niner Newsletter in July 1993. Mr. Slaughter was a member of the Provisional Rangers. More information can be found regarding the 29th Provisional Rangers and the illustrious history of Maryland’s 29th division at the Maryland Museum of Military History, Fifth Regiment Armory, 29th Division Street, Baltimore, MD 21201.

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