99th Infantry Division (United States)
| 99th Infantry Division | |
|---|---|
99th Infantry Division shoulder sleeve insignia
|
|
| Active | 15 November 1942 – 15 October 1945 |
| Country |
 United States
|
| Branch |
 United States Army
|
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | Division |
| Nickname(s) | Battle Babies, Checkerboard Division |
| Engagements | |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Major General Walter E. Lauer |
The 99th Infantry Division was a unit of the United States Army in World War II. It played a strategic role in the Battle of the Bulge when its inexperienced troops held fast on the northern shoulder of the German advance, refusing them access to the vital northern road network that led into Belgium.
The 99th Regional Support Command, which is the successor unit of the 99th Infantry Division, is a Major General command under the US Army Reserve Command (USARC). The command provides base operations support to all Army Reserve Soldiers, units, facilities and equipment for the entire Northeast Region of the Army Reserve, including Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine, Connecticut and New Hampshire. Base operations includes personnel administration, finance, facilities management, logistics management, maintenance, public affairs and legal support. The 99th Regional Support Command is headquartered at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, NJ. The current commander is Major General Margaret W. Boor, who assumed command Oct. 1, 2013, replacing MG William D. Razz Waff, who was then reassigned as the Headquarters, Department of the Army Deputy G-1, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1.
In the 1930s the 99th Reconnaissance Troop was organized by consolidating infantry brigade headquarters and headquarters companies of the 99th Infantry Division.
The 99th Infantry Division, comprising the 393rd, 394th, and the 395th Infantry Regiments, arrived in England on 10 October 1944. Put under operational control of V Corps, First Army, it moved to Le Havre, France on 3 November and proceeded to Aubel, Belgium, to prepare to enter the front lines.
The division first saw action on the 9 November, taking over the defense of the sector north of the Roer River between Schmidt and Monschau, a distance of nearly 19 miles. After defensive patrolling, the 99th probed the Siegfried Line against heavy resistance on 13 December. Formerly known as the Checkerboard Division, which referred to its shoulder patch, in late 1944 having not yet seen battle, it was nicknamed the Battle Babies.
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Wikipedia