33rd Infantry Division (United States)
| 33rd Infantry Division | |
|---|---|
Shoulder sleeve insignia
|
|
| Active | 1917–19 1941–46 c.1946–68 |
| Country |
 United States
|
| Branch |
 United States Army
|
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | Division |
| Nickname(s) | "Illinois Division"; "Prairie Division"; "Golden Cross Division" |
| Engagements | |
| Decorations | Presidential Unit Citation (6) |
The 33rd Infantry Division was a formation of the U.S. Army National Guard between 1917 and 1968. Originally formed for service during World War I, the division fought along the Western Front at Le Hamel, in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, on the Somme and around St. Mihiel. It was re-formed in the inter-war years, and then later activated for service during World War II, seeing action against the Japanese in the Pacific. In the post war era, the division was reconstituted as an all-Illinois National Guard division. In the late 1960s, the division was reduced to brigade-sized formation, and is currently perpetuated by the 33rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team.
The 33rd infantry division was a division that served in World War I and beyond that. The 33rd division was trained at Camp Logan in Houston Texas as part of the National state guard in Illinois. The 33rd infantry division was made up of around multiple companies. The first unit went to France on 1918. The first unit to go into France was the 108th engineers, under colonel Henry A. Allen. On June 20 and 21st the division went to the Amiens sector, where there was expected to be a major German attack. The division was trained by British and was part of some of their operations. The first major battle the 33rd division took part in was the assault on Hamel on July 4 . Four companies took part in the assault they were 131st infantry and 132nd infantry. From a strictly military point of view, the battle was not that significant. However, it was the first occasion on which US Armuy personnel fought alongside British Empire forces. It was also the first time that American troops fought alongside Australians. It demonstrated to their allies that US troops could play an effective role in the war.
On August 23rd the 33rd Division was moved to the Toul sector. It was the only division to fight as part of British Empire, French and US corps in the history of the US Army. The last mission the 33rd division took part in was on December 27, 1918.
In total, from the 33rd arriving in France to the German armistice on November 11, 1918, the division captured 13 units of heavy artillery and 87 pieces of light artillery. Also, they captured 460 machine guns and 430 light guns. In total, the entire division gained 40,300 meters of land in WW1. The 33rd division was the only unit in the war to have machine gun barrage enemy nests while infantry turned the position. In total, the 33rd infantry division received 215 American decorations, 56 British decorations, and various others.
...
Wikipedia