71st Infantry Division (United States)
| 71st Infantry Division | |
|---|---|
71st Infantry Division shoulder sleeve insignia
|
|
| Active | 1943–46 1954–56 |
| Country |
 United States
|
| Branch |
 United States Army
|
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | Division |
| Nickname(s) | "The Red Circle" |
| Engagements | |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
William Westmoreland Willard G. Wyman |
The 71st Infantry Division was a unit of the United States Army in World War II.
The division was first organized as the 71st Light Division (Pack, Jungle), intended for use in the mountainous jungle areas of the Pacific theater. Smaller than the standard infantry division, at about 9,000 personnel, its primary means of transport was hundreds of mules controlled by several quartermaster pack companies of African-American muleteers, and for artillery several battalions of 75mm pack howitzers, which could be broken down and carried by mule train. The 14th Infantry Regiment, a Regular Army unit which had been stationed in the Panama Canal Zone for years prior to the war and had received extensive training in jungle operations during that time was assigned to the division to provide the nucleus of jungle expertise. After training at Camp Carson, Colorado, the division was sent to Hunter Ligget Military Reservation in the mountains inland from Big Sur, California, where it maneuvered against the 89th Light Division as a test of the light division concept. As a result of the test it was decided that the light divisions had insufficient manpower and firepower to be effective and the concept was abandoned. The 71st Division was sent to Fort Benning, Georgia, where it was reorganized and retrained as a standard infantry division, although it remained unusual in having Regular Army infantry regiments assigned to an AUS division.
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