1st Infantry Division (South Africa), Western Desert, Sidi Rezeg: November 1941, Preparing defences at Gazala and change of command
By 10 February, the Gazala defences were organised on a two division basis, with the left (southern) sector occupied by the 4th Indian Division and the 1st SA Division taking responsibility for the right sector, reaching down to the sea. On 10 March, Brink injured his back and was evacuated back to South Africa  –  he was replaced by Dan Pienaar from the 1st Brigade, who had now been promoted to Maj-General.


1st Infantry Division (South Africa), Western Desert, Sidi Rezeg: November 1941, Preparing defences at Gazala and change of command
On 26 May 1942, in his Order of the Day, Gen Pienaar warned the division (now, for the first time deployed with all three brigades under Division command) of an impending attack – directly aimed at their front.


1st Infantry Division (South Africa), Western Desert, Gazala: May 1942
This account only reflects the role of the 1st SA Infantry Division.


1st Infantry Division (South Africa), Western Desert, Gazala: May 1942, "The Cauldron"
Rommel's advance, containing at least 10,000 vehicles was headed south, to make a long sweeping right-hook around the southern end of the Allied line. The Afrika Korps diary speaks of a bright moonlit night where they advanced without having any contact with the enemy. However the 4th SA Armoured Car Regiment had been tracking their advance and reporting the progress three to four times per hour. The following morning, the German—Italian forces made contact with the 7th Armoured Division, east of Bir Hakeim where General Messervy of the 7th Armoured Division was taken prisoner.


1st Infantry Division (South Africa), Western Desert, Gazala: May 1942, "The Cauldron"
7th Armoured as well as the Free French at Bir Hakeim held up the advance but by late morning, Axis forces had advanced well behind the southern flank and were now heading north behind the Allied lines. The 90th Light captured and held El Adem. With Allied forces now recovering and re-deploying into better assault positions, the Axis forces were caught in an area known as "The Cauldron" between Bir Hakeim to the south, Tobruk to the north east and the Allied minefields between the Axis and their supply lines to the west.


1st Infantry Division (South Africa), Western Desert, Gazala: May 1942, "The Cauldron"
Three days armoured fighting ensued in the area of the Cauldron. To better secure his positions, Rommel then drove two Italian formations directly west, through the Allied minefields to re-establish his supply channels. All this time, opposite the 1st SA Division positions to the north of the Gazala Line, the German 15th Rifle Brigade (Brigade Stab zbv (mot) 15), and the Italian Sabratha and Trento Divisions remained quiet.


1st Infantry Division (South Africa), Western Desert, Gazala: May 1942, "The Cauldron"
By 12 June, the remaining Free French had been forced to withdraw from Bir Hakeim. At Bir el Hatmat, Rommel had dispersed the tactical HQs of the two British Divisions as well as the HQs of the 9th and 10th Indian Infantry Brigades and other smaller units and the 22nd Armoured Brigade had been forced from the battlefield by renewed attacks from 15th Panzer. In "The Cauldron", three Indian infantry battalions, a reconnaissance regiment and four artillery regiments had been virtually destroyed.


1st Infantry Division (South Africa), Western Desert, Gazala: May 1942, "The Cauldron"
On the day before, Axis forces had pushed towards El Adem and had forced the 201st Guards Brigade to withdraw from the Knightsbridge Box on the Gazala Line back to the Tobruk perimeter. On the 14th, Auchinlek authorised Ritchie to withdraw from the Gazala line and the 1st SA and the 50th Northumbrian Divisions were ordered to withdraw along the coastal road back towards Tobruk.


1st Infantry Division (South Africa), Western Desert, Gazala: May 1942, Retreat
While the 1st SA and 50th Divisions were preparing for their withdrawal on the Via Balbia, Axis forces were wreaking havoc on the escarpment amongst Allied forces and Rommel dictated his 170mm guns to open fire from the escarpment down onto the Via Balbia as the South Africans and British were destroying their ammunition dumps in the Gazala Line Rommel tasked 15th and 21st Panzer with breaking north and severing the Via Balbia close to Elwet et Tamar, cutting off the two Divisions to the west.


1st Infantry Division (South Africa), Western Desert, Gazala: May 1942, Retreat
With the road being unable to accommodate two divisions, elements of the 50th Division broke out in a south westerly direction in a wide sweep eventually turning back east towards the Allied lines. The South Africans withdrew to series of defensive boxes at Williams Post, Best Post, "Point 187," Commonwealth Keep and then Acroma. The 21st and 15th Panzer attacks forced the 1st SA Division to fight a rearguard action and to withdraw through each of the respective boxes well into the night. Chased by Axis tanks, driving east on the Via Balbia, the first elements reached Tobruk during the night of 13/14 June. The division was now spread out between the original Gazala defences and Tobruk, as each element tried to make their way east.


1st Infantry Division (South Africa), Western Desert, Gazala: May 1942, Gazala Gallop
By 1400 on 15 June, 1st SA Division and elements of the 50th Northumbian Division were close to Gambut, headed towards the Egypt frontier. At the same time, Ritchie had ordered the balance of Eighth Army to withdraw to the defensive positions at Mersa Matruh, some 100 miles east of the frontier, leaving Tobruk to hold out and threaten the Axis lines of communication in much the same way as in 1941  –  This became known as the Gazala Gallop. At dawn on 21 June, the Tobruk Garrison surrendered to the Axis forces. On the same day, 1st SA Division were ordered to withdraw a further 220 miles east, to El Alamein.


1st Infantry Division (South Africa), Western Desert, First Battle of El Alamein: July 1942
Having arrived back from the Gazala Line, the division spent two weeks improving defences on the El Alamein defences in the "Alamein Box". Auchenlik had issued an order instructing all surplus personnel to be sent back to the Delta, which greatly displeased Pienaar. The division had been deploying two brigades of infantry, each accompanied by a battery of artillery to protect the areas west and south of the defensive box. Auchinlecks order effectively meant that Pienaar could only hold the box with one under-strength brigade Before these troops could be returned, battle was joined with the 90th Light Infantry Division in the early morning hours of 1 July.


1st Infantry Division (South Africa), Western Desert, First Battle of El Alamein: July 1942
At 0605 Axis transports were seen advancing to within 2,000 yards of the 3rd Brigade positions and they were engaged with machine and anti-tank gun fire from the Imperial Light Horse. During the early morning hours, the 90th Light had lost direction and veered too far north, resulting in the clash with ILH. While the Rand Light Infantry were driving off German towed artillery, South African Air Force Boston light bombers bombed their supply columns. By 0730 the 90th Light had been halted and were pinned down by the South Africans, determined to avenge Gazala and the surrender of Tobruk. The 90th Light only managing to extricate themselves under cover of a dust storm later in the day. The Axis attack had been stopped all along the Allied line of defence.


1st Infantry Division (South Africa), Western Desert, First Battle of El Alamein: July 1942
Rommel launched one more assault on 31 August, aimed at Alam el Halfa ridge. The division responded by launching a number of successful raids at the enemy forces after last light, once they had stopped their advance for the night on 31 August. By noon on 1 September, 15th Panzer were immobilised by lack of fuel south of Alam Halfa. Pienaar re-organised the division to occupy the positions with one brigade and released two brigades as part of "battle groups" to act against the immobilised Axis division. The report that these forces were available was not welcomed at Corps and Army headquarters, and these mobile formations were not used. After the counter-attack was eventually organised, the Axis had already started to withdraw and fighting was broken off on 7 September.


1st Infantry Division (South Africa), Western Desert, First Battle of El Alamein: July 1942, Cracks Widen
Cracks and fissures had again become visible between the 1st SA Div and the Army command. 1st SA Brigade had been deployed on the flank, on Ruweisat Ridge and by this time they had become somewhat isolated during the previous days fighting and the Allied bombing missions of the previous night. The Brigade had lost its Officer Commanding as well as its Brigade Major during the previous two days fighting and over 15,000 shells had fallen on their strongpoint, known as "Hotbox," from the area of the Trieste Division.


1st Infantry Division (South Africa), Western Desert, First Battle of El Alamein: July 1942, Cracks Widen
Pienaar advised Norrie that their position was "untenable" and Norrie replied that if that was the case, he would "..... relieve the Brigade, place it in reserve and replace it with another formation." Offended by this  –  Pienaar called 8th Army HQ and was advised by Dorman-Smith that the Brigade was to remain where it was. Not satisfied, Pienaar insisted on speaking to Auchinleck, who ordered that the Brigade hold its ground – but offered to relieve the Brigade within two days when the 9th Australian Division reached El Alamein.


1st Infantry Division (South Africa), Western Desert, First Battle of El Alamein: July 1942, Cracks Widen
Pienaar's demands of the evening of 2 July shook the 8th Army command's confidence in the morale of the division and Auchinleck stated that the division could no longer be exposed to "undue operational strain,"  fearing that material losses to the division, especially after the surrender of the 2nd SA Division at Tobruk, would lead to political disaster. Auchinleck deployed the 9th Australian Division to re-enforce the northern sector of the line held by the South Africans three days later.


1st Infantry Division (South Africa), Western Desert, First Battle of El Alamein: July 1942, Cracks Widen
Pienaar had also been falsely accused of supporting the retreat to the Delta and engaging the Axis from behind the Suez Canal – he remained resolved to fight, stating to an American war correspondent at Alam Halfa in July 1942 ".... Here I stop, I've retreated far enough, whether we hold the damn thing or not!"


1st Infantry Division (South Africa), Western Desert, Second Battle of El Alamein: October 1942, Battle plan
For what was to become the final South African assault on the Axis forces (Operation Lightfoot), the division was tasked attack on a two-brigade front to secure the southern end of Mieiriya Ridge. The Indian 4th and Northumbrian 50th Divisions were deployed to their south and to the north, was the 2nd New Zealand Division. The South Africans were to attack towards the south west with 2nd SA Infantry Brigade (Brig. W.H.E. Poole) on the right and 3rd SA Infantry Brigade (Brig. R. Palmer) on the left. 1st


1st Infantry Division (South Africa), Western Desert, Second Battle of El Alamein: October 1942, Battle plan
SA Infantry Brigade was deployed further south and was responsible for creating an anti-tank screen to protect the left flank of the South African attack (See Map 4). The Australians and Highlanders were to force a northern corridor through the Axis minefields while the New Zealanders and South Africans were to do the same in the southern sector.


1st Infantry Division (South Africa), Western Desert, Second Battle of El Alamein: October 1942, Break-In: Operation Lightfoot
Operation Lightfoot started at 2140 on 23 October with a five-hour fire plan, the start of which signified H-Hour for the infantry assault. Pienaar had deployed each of the lead brigades, with on battalion leading for the first phase to the "red line"  –  after a pause of an hour and a quarter, the two trailing battalions would pass through to the final objective on Miteiriya Ridge. 1st


1st Infantry Division (South Africa), Western Desert, Second Battle of El Alamein: October 1942, Break-In: Operation Lightfoot
Brigade  –  who was not part of the main advance was provided with a special force of armoured cars, machine guns and anti-tank guns to guard their and the division's left flank (Refer Map 4). They were also allocated a mobile element of the 8th Royal Tanks. The divisional artillery, reinforced by three troops from X Corps was to fire a fire-plan of timed concentrations – using smoke on the intermediate and final objectives to cover re-organisation and to help with direction finding.


1st Infantry Division (South Africa), Western Desert, Second Battle of El Alamein: October 1942, Break-In: Operation Lightfoot
The two South African brigades advanced with 40mm Bofors guns marking the lines of advance between the respective battalions and the first objectives on the Corps objective line called "Oxalic" were occupied by the Natal Mounted Rifles at 2350. The Cape Town Highlanders were the last battalion to reach their individual unit objectives on Oxalic – and were established on Miteiriya Ridge by 0800 the following morning.


1st Infantry Division (South Africa), Western Desert, Second Battle of El Alamein: October 1942, Break-In: Operation Lightfoot
The fact that the 1st and 10th Armoured Divisions had not broken through into the open areas west of the line as originally planned, meant that Montgomery had to change his orders – moving to an attritional World War I type of battle, which Montgomery in a semblance of a novelty – dubbed "Crumbling Actions." By the evening of 26 October (as from the H-Hour on the 23rd), the South Africans had suffered 600 casualties, as compared to 2,000 in the 51st Division, 1,000 Australians and a similar number of New Zealanders.


1st Infantry Division (South Africa), Western Desert, Second Battle of El Alamein: October 1942, "Crumbling Operations"
During the night of 25/26 October, some South African and other elements which had not yet established themselves on their exact Oxalic objectives, made corrective moves and by dawn the entire XXX Corps was finally in their initial phase objectives. The Australians and the 1st Armoured Division had launched attacks in the north, being the start of the "crumbling" process, while at the same time, there was much re-organisation and re-deployment to the south.


1st Infantry Division (South Africa), Western Desert, Second Battle of El Alamein: October 1942, "Crumbling Operations"
On 26 October Leese issued orders for the 1st SA Division to "side-step" north in conjunction with a similar move by the 4th Indian Division and to extend their lines to occupy the area held by the New Zealand Division and the 9th Armoured Brigade. Once this move was completed, these relieved units were to be withdrawn into reserve. During the order group to issue these instructions, Pienaar again voiced an objection to orders – on the grounds that he had insufficient transport to make the move in the required time.


1st Infantry Division (South Africa), Western Desert, Second Battle of El Alamein: October 1942, "Crumbling Operations"
Freyberg, in a move to "spike his guns" asked Pienaar again, if the only limiting factor was transport? Pienaar confirmed – and when Freyberg offered him transport from the New Zealand Division, no more was heard of the matter and the re-deployment was executed. The South Africans were now stretched on a wider front, between the Australians and 51st Division in the north and the Indian 4th Division on Ruweisat Ridge, with 5th SA Brigade on the right, 3rd SA Brigade on its left and 1st SA Brigade being pulled back as the divisional reserve.


1st Infantry Division (South Africa), Western Desert, Second Battle of El Alamein: October 1942, Break-Out: Operation Supercharge
On the night of 2/3 November, the Australians noticed signs of withdrawal by Axis units in the coastal salient and by 1000 Montgomery had received similar reports from the south. Contrary to Hitler's instructions – Rommel had started to withdraw. The final plan to destroy the Axis forces, code named "Supercharge" was put into action. The 1st SA Division played no role in this phase of the operation – but the South African armoured cars attached to XXX Corps were actively involved in the attempted destruction and subsequent pursuit.


1st Infantry Division (South Africa), Western Desert, Second Battle of El Alamein: October 1942, Break-Out: Operation Supercharge
At 0540 on 4 November, after repeated attempts at breaking through the Axis lines – Lt-Col Reeves-Moore lead the South African armoured cars into the rear of the Axis positions, "....the eager children of any mechanized pursuit... scampered at dawn into the open desert beyond the mines and trenches and guns, to make their exuberant mischief amid the disintegrating enemy".


1st Infantry Division (South Africa), Western Desert, Second Battle of El Alamein: October 1942, Break-Out: Operation Supercharge
They soon started causing the havoc for which they had been intended – A Sqn capturing two 88mm guns, two 105 mm guns, two 110mm guns, a Breda portee, six trucks and 130 prisoners; while B Sqn captured five trucks, a staff car, one 105 mm and one 150 mm gun and 100 prisoners within a matter of hours.


1st Infantry Division (South Africa), Western Desert, Second Battle of El Alamein: October 1942, Break-Out: Operation Supercharge
While the armoured cars were dashing west, the 1st SA Division had moved further north and over the previous two nights had relieved the 51st Highland Division. During the night of 3/4 November, the last unit to move into its new position was the 1st Cape Town Highlanders, who moved during a major artillery barrage in support of an attack by the 5th Indian Infantry Brigade. The regiment awoke on 4 November to silence and the absence of gunfire, save for the sound of Allied vehicles advancing west in pursuit of the retreating enemy. For the 1st South African Division, the war had ended.


1st Infantry Division (South Africa), Disbandment
The Union Defence Force had finalised a decision to convert the 1st SA Infantry Division into an Armoured Division and the Axis withdrawal from El Alamein marked the end of fighting for the division in the Middle East. By 1 December, advance parties were already returning to South Africa to assist with the establishment of the intended armoured division and later in the month, General Dan Pienaar was recalled to South Africa to lead the formation of the new division. He and eleven other officers boarded a Lockheed Lodestar on 17 December to fly back to South Africa. The aircraft stopped to re-fuel at Kisumu on the shores of Lake Victoria and on takeoff on 19 December, it plunged into the lake, killing all on board.


1st Infantry Division (South Africa), Disbandment
On 1 January 1943, the 1st SA Infantry Division embarked for home, with troops returning to their parent units in South Africa. The division had been dissolved and many of its former units were to be absorbed into the 6th South African Armoured Division. The designation 1st South African Infantry Division was also used briefly by a successor formation in 1948–49.


1st Infantry Division (South Africa), Orders of Battle, Western Desert, 17 October 1942
Division Commander: Major General Daniel Hermanus ("Dan") Pienaar CB DSO & two bars


1st Infantry Division (South Africa), Orders of Battle, Attached formations
Not reflected in the above order of battle due to date discrepancies:


1st Infantry Division (South Korea)
The 1st Infantry Division (Korean: 제1보병사단, Hanja: 第一步兵師團) is a military formation of the Republic of Korea Army's I Corps. The division was established on 1947 under the command of Colonel Kim Suk-won.


1st Infantry Division (South Korea), History, Korean War
The division was the first unit of the ROK Army to be attacked by the North Koreans on June 25, 1950. At 4 a.m. the North Koreans began an artillery barrage on the division's positions along the 38th Parallel. The artillery bombardment was quickly followed by ground attacks by the NKPA's 1st and 6th Infantry Divisions. It became part of II Corps after the first fall of Seoul, and was part of the defensive line to slow the North Korean advance from Seoul to Taejon. It subsequently fought in the Battle of Pusan Perimeter.


1st Infantry Division (South Korea), History, Korean War
On October 19, 1950 Company F of the U.S. 5th Cavalry entered Pyongyang, followed shortly thereafter by 1st Division elements from the northeast. The next morning, the division reached the heart of the city and took the strongly fortified administrative center without difficulty. The entire city was secured by 10:00 that day.


1st Infantry Division (South Korea), History, Battle of Unsan
"In the western half of North Korea, as part of the U.S. I Corps' general advance on October 25, 1950, the 1st Division was spread out on the road that ran from the Chongchon River to Unsan. The division's 15th Regiment passed through Yongbyon and continued toward Unsan without opposition. In the lead were elements of Company D, 6th Medium Tank Battalion, which also passed through Unsan without incident. Just before 1100, as the tanks approached a bridge one and a half miles northeast of the town, enemy mortar fire destroyed the bridge.


1st Infantry Division (South Korea), History, Battle of Unsan
Engaging the enemy force, the soldiers reported a half-hour later that at least three hundred Chinese troops were in the hills just north of Unsan. The 12th Regiment, the second division unit in the column, turned west when it arrived at Unsan, and also ran into Chinese forces just beyond the town. The CCF's attacks against the 1st Division continued on the twenty-sixth but eased up the following day."


1st Infantry Division (South Korea), History, Battle of Unsan
During the afternoon of November 1, the CCF's attack north of Unsan gained strength against the 15th Regiment and gradually extended to the right flank of the U.S. 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry. At nightfall the 1st Battalion controlled the northern approaches to the Samtan River, except for portions of the 15th Regiment's zone on the east side. The battalion's position on the left was weak; there were not enough soldiers to extend the defensive line to the main ridge leading into Unsan. This left a gap between the 1st and 2d Battalions. East of the Samtan the 15th Regiment was under heavy attack, and shortly after midnight it no longer existed as a combat force.


1st Infantry Division (South Korea), In popular culture
Lee Jin-tae and Lee Jin-seok, main characters in the 2004 Korean film Taegukgi, were assigned to the fictional 2d Company, 4th Battalion, 8th Regiment, 1st Infantry Division.


1st Infantry Division (United Kingdom)
The 1st Infantry Division was a regular army infantry division of the British Army with a very long history. The division was present at the Peninsular War, the Crimean War, the First World War, and during the Second World War and was finally disbanded in 1960.


1st Infantry Division (United Kingdom), Napoleonic Wars
The British 1st Division was originally formed in 1809 by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington for service in the Peninsula War, drawing initially from two British brigades and one Hanoverian brigade of the King's German Legion.


1st Infantry Division (United Kingdom), Napoleonic Wars
During the Peninsula War, it was involved in most of the engagements between the Allies and France including the Battle of Talavera in 1809, the Battle of Salamanca in 1812, the Siege of Tarragona in 1813, the Battle of Vitoria in 1813, the Siege of San Sebastián in 1813, the Battle of the Pyrenees in 1813, the Battle of the Bidassoa in 1813 and the Battle of Toulouse in 1814.


1st Infantry Division (United Kingdom), Napoleonic Wars, Waterloo campaign
Napoleon Bonaparte returned during the Congress of Vienna. On 13 March, seven days before Napoleon reached Paris, the powers at the Congress of Vienna declared him an outlaw; four days later the United Kingdom, Russia, Austria and Prussia, members of the Seventh Coalition, bound themselves to put 150,000 men each into the field to end his rule.


1st Infantry Division (United Kingdom), Napoleonic Wars, Waterloo campaign
This set the stage for the last conflict in the Napoleonic Wars and for the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo, the restoration of the French monarchy for the second time and the permanent exile of Napoleon to the island of Saint Helena, where he died in May 1821. 1st Division was involved in the Waterloo Campaign seeing its first action at the Battle of Quatre Bras then at the Battle of Waterloo, where it held Wellington's right flank. On the extreme right was the chateau, garden, and orchard of Hougoumont, which was defended by the division's 2nd Brigade under General John Byng.


1st Infantry Division (United Kingdom), Napoleonic Wars, Waterloo campaign
The initial attack by Maréchal de Camp Bauduin's 1st Brigade of the 5th Division emptied the wood and park, but was driven back by heavy British artillery fire and cost Bauduin his life. The British guns were distracted into an artillery duel with French guns and this allowed a second attack by General de Brigade Baron Soye's 2nd Brigade of the 6th Division. They managed a small breach on the south side but could not exploit it. An attack by elements of the 1st Brigade of the 6th Division on the north side was more successful.


1st Infantry Division (United Kingdom), Napoleonic Wars, Waterloo campaign
This attack lead to one of the most famous skirmishes in the Battle of Waterloo – Sous-Lieutenant Legros, wielding an axe, managed to break through the north gate. A desperate fight ensued between the invading French soldiers and the defending Guards. In a near-miraculous attack, Macdonell, a small party of officers and Corporal James Graham fought through the melee to shut the gate, trapping Legros and about 30 other soldiers of the 1st Legere inside. All of the French who entered, apart from a young drummer boy, were killed in a desperate hand-to-hand fight. The French attack in the immediate vicinity of the farm was repulsed by the arrival of the 2nd Coldstream Guards and 2/3rd Foot Guards.


1st Infantry Division (United Kingdom), Crimean War
The Crimean War (1853–1856) was fought between Imperial Russia on one side and an alliance of France, Britain, the Kingdom of Sardinia, and the Ottoman Empire on the other. Most of the conflict took place on the Crimean Peninsula, with additional actions occurring in western Turkey, and the Baltic Sea region. The Crimean War is sometimes considered to be the first "modern" conflict and "introduced technical changes which affected the future course of warfare".


1st Infantry Division (United Kingdom), Crimean War
The Division, which now consisted of the Guards Brigade and the Highland Brigade, was involved in the Battle of Alma (20 September 1854), which is considered to be the first battle of the Crimean war. They were next in action during the Battle of Balaclava. The battle started with a successful Russian attack on Ottoman positions. This led to the Russians breaking through into the valley of Balaklava (anglicised as "Balaclava"), where British forces were encamped. The Russian advance was intended to disrupt the British base and attack British positions near Sevastopol from the rear.


1st Infantry Division (United Kingdom), Crimean War
An initial Russian advance south of the southern line of hills was repulsed by the British. A large attacking force of Russian cavalry advanced over the ridgeline, and split into two portions. One of these columns drove south towards the town of Balaklava itself, threatening the main supply of the entire British army. That drive was repulsed by the muskets of the 93rd (Highland) Regiment, which had been formed into a lone line of two rows by its commander, Sir Colin Campbell. This action became known in history as "The Thin Red Line", this battle was also well known for the Charge of the Light Brigade. The division was also involved in the Battle of Inkerman (5 November 1854).


1st Infantry Division (United Kingdom), Second Anglo-Boer War
When an army corps of three divisions was mobilised and despatched to South Africa at the outbreak of the Boer War, Lt-Gen Lord Methuen was given command of 1st Division of two infantry brigades, 1st (Guards) under Maj-Gen Sir Henry Colville and 2nd under Maj-Gen Henry Hildyard, with 4th Brigade Division (three batteries) of the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) under Col C.J. Long.


1st Infantry Division (United Kingdom), Second Anglo-Boer War
The British commander, Sir Redvers Buller, had intended to march with the whole army corps across the Orange River to Bloemfontein, capital of the Orange Free State, but by the time the troops reached Cape Town the Boers had seized the Orange River crossings and begun sieges of Ladysmith, Kimberley and Mafeking. Buller was forced to split his forces, sending divisions to relieve Ladysmith and Kimberley. Methuen and 1st Division were assigned to the relief of Kimberley, but the situation at Ladysmith deteriorated, and Buller diverted Hildyard's 2nd Brigade and Long's artillery to that sector.


1st Infantry Division (United Kingdom), Second Anglo-Boer War
The division that Methuen assembled at Orange River Station in November 1899 comprised Colville's Guards Brigade and a 'scratch' brigade numbered 9th under Maj-Gen S.R. Fetherstonehaugh, with the 9th Lancers and a brigade division of RFA under Col Hall. Methuen could also call on the 3rd (Highland) Brigade under Maj-Gen Andrew Wauchope (diverted from 2nd Division), in reserve at De Aar.


1st Infantry Division (United Kingdom), Second Anglo-Boer War, Order of battle at Belmont, Graspan and Modder River
The order of battle was:GOC: Lt-Gen Lord MethuenAAG: Col R. B. MainwaringDAAGs: Lt-Col H. P. NorcottMaj R. H. L. Warner


1st Infantry Division (United Kingdom), Second Anglo-Boer War, Order of battle at Belmont, Graspan and Modder River
9th BrigadeMaj-Gen S. R. Fetherstonehaugh (wounded at Belmont))Maj-Gen Reginald Pole-Carew


1st Infantry Division (United Kingdom), Second Anglo-Boer War, Order of battle at Belmont, Graspan and Modder River
Methuen followed the railway in the direction of Kimberley, and encountered large Boer forces at Belmont, where 1st Division obtained 'a victory of sorts' on 23 November, though with heavy casualties. They followed up and attacked again at Graspan (25 November) and at Modder River (28 November), again forcing the Boers from their positions but without landing a decisive punch. After receiving reinforcements, Methuen attacked at Magersfontein (11 December 1899). Despite the heavy artillery preparation and night approach, the attack failed. Together with failed attacks on the other fronts at Stormberg and Colenso, the news of Magersfontein led to the political crisis of Black Week in Britain.


1st Infantry Division (United Kingdom), Second Anglo-Boer War, Order of battle at Magersfontein
Having failed to break through at Magersfontein, Methuen was obliged to stand on the Modder River, apart from sending 9th Brigade raiding into the Orange Free State. Behind the screen provided by 1st Division, the newly arrived commander-in-chief, Lord Roberts, assembled a large army to renew the offensive. After the disaster it had suffered at Magersfontein, where Wauchope was killed, the Highland Brigade and its new commander, Brig-Gen Hector MacDonald, refused to serve under Methuen, and Roberts transferred them to a new 9th Division under Colville. He also sacked Babington from command of the cavalry. And when Roberts advanced in February 1900, he stripped the Guards Brigade from 1st Division to join a new 11th Division under Pole-Carew and took much of the artillery and transport, This left Methuen and a reduced 1st Division to cover Roberts's lines of communication.


1st Infantry Division (United Kingdom), Second Anglo-Boer War, Order of battle at Magersfontein
Following the Battle of Paardeberg (18–27 February), the reliefs of Kimberley and Ladysmith, and the fall of Bloemfontein, Roberts reorganised his force to pursue the defeated Boers. Methuen was tasked with clearing the country along the Vaal River on the Boers' flank and driving towards Mafeking, which was still besieged. On 5 April Methuen led out his Mounted Infantry under Brig-Gen Lord Chesham, with the Kimberley Mounted Corps and 4th Battery RFA, and caught a Boer Commando led by a French volunteer, the Comte de Villebois-Mareuil. At the small Battle of Boshof, the Imperial Yeomanry (in action for the first time) surrounded the Boers and then closed with the bayonet. De Villebois-Mareuil was killed and his men killed or captured.


1st Infantry Division (United Kingdom), Second Anglo-Boer War, Order of battle May–June 1900
The order of battle was:1st Division (Methuen's Column)GOC: Lt-Gen Lord Methuen


1st Infantry Division (United Kingdom), Second Anglo-Boer War, Order of battle May–June 1900
Increasingly, Roberts' forces were operating as mobile columns rather than formed divisions. Methuen's 1st Division became known as the 'Mobile Marvels' and the 'Mudcrushers' because of their prodigious marches. They also acquired the nicknames 'The Salvation Army' and 'Beechams' (from Beecham's Pills, a popular cure-all) because they relieved so many outposts and besieged garrisons. With 9th Brigade and the Imperial Yeomanry, Methuen's Column took part in the operations of June 1900 to trap the elusive Boer leader Christiaan de Wet. Advancing along the Kroonstad railway, they encountered de Wet at Rhenoster River.


1st Infantry Division (United Kingdom), Second Anglo-Boer War, Order of battle May–June 1900
After a heavy artillery bombardment, the Loyal North Lancashires broke through the Boer lines and many Boers surrendered. But de Wet got away with most of his mounted men and Methuen's troops were too exhausted to pursue. The frustrating pursuit of de Wet and other Boer leaders went on for months. After July 1900 1st Division existed only on paper, and Methuen's Column consisted of an ad hoc brigade of raw recruits – 'colonel's work', Methuen described it.


1st Infantry Division (United Kingdom), Prior to First World War
With the return of the troops from South Africa at the end of the Boer War, 1st Division was reformed at Aldershot as part of the 1st Corps, with two brigades (the 1st Guards brigade and 2nd Infantry Brigade, comprising eight battalions), 'fairly well organized for mobilization'. Under Lord Haldane's 1907 reforms, which laid down plans for the despatch of a British Expeditionary Force in case of war, 1st Division was one of the two permanent divisions in Aldershot Command that would constitute |I Corps.


1st Infantry Division (United Kingdom), Prior to First World War, Establishment May 1907
(Brigades consisted of four battalions Actual units within this structure varied as battalions, batteries and RE companies rotated between home and overseas stations.)


1st Infantry Division (United Kingdom), First World War
The division was a permanently established Regular Army division that was amongst the first to be sent to France at the outbreak of the First World War. It served on the Western Front for the duration of the war. On 31 October 1914 divisional commander General Samuel Lomax was seriously wounded by an artillery shell and died on 10 April 1915 never having recovered from his wounds. After the war the division was part of the occupation force stationed at Bonn.


1st Infantry Division (United Kingdom), First World War
The division's insignia was the signal flag for the 'Number 1'. During the war, the division was involved in the following battles: Battle of Mons, First Battle of the Marne, First Battle of the Aisne, First Battle of Ypres, Battle of Aubers Ridge, Battle of Loos, Battle of the Somme, Battle of Pozières, Third Battle of Ypres, Battle of Épehy.


1st Infantry Division (United Kingdom), First World War, World War I order of battle
Originally called the '1st (Guards) Brigade' because it contained the 1st battalions of the Coldstream Guards and the Scots Guards. When the Guards Division was created in August 1915 and these two battalions departed (both for 2nd Guards Brigade), the brigade was renamed as 1st Brigade.


1st Infantry Division (United Kingdom), Second World War
At the start of the Second World War, the 1st Infantry Division was stationed at Aldershot and commanded by Major General the Hon. Harold Alexander (who had assumed command in 1938). The division was sent to France in mid-September 1939, arriving there on 20 September, where it formed part of I Corps (Lieutenant General Sir John Dill) of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). The division, unlike in the First World War, was not immediately engaged in fighting, and was to remain in France for the next few months until evacuated from Dunkirk in Operation Dynamo in June 1940.


1st Infantry Division (United Kingdom), Second World War, North Africa
In late February 1943, the 1st Division, now commanded by Major General Walter Clutterbuck, left the United Kingdom, destined for North Africa to take part in the final stages of the Tunisian Campaign. The division, arriving there on 9 March, was initially under the direct command of the British First Army, commanded by Lieutenant General Kenneth Anderson, who had commanded the division in the retreat to Dunkirk until May 1941.


1st Infantry Division (United Kingdom), Second World War, North Africa
Soon, the division, which had been stationed in the Medjez-Bou Arada sector, became part of Lieutenant General Charles Allfrey's V Corps The division was engaged mainly in patrolling and began preparations for an offensive to end the war in North Africa. On the night of 20/21 April the division took part in the Battle of the Medjez Plain, where it was pitted against the Hermann Göring Division which, with the commander having anticipated an offensive, had launched his own offensive with the intention of spoiling the Allied attack.


1st Infantry Division (United Kingdom), Second World War, North Africa
The offensive, however, was soon repulsed (although an entire company of the 1st Battalion, Duke of Wellington's Regiment had been overrun) with the aid of the divisional artillery (which had been moved forward for the upcoming battle) and Churchill tanks of the 142nd (Suffolk) Regiment Royal Armoured Corps (142 RAC), part of the 25th Army Tank Brigade, and the 1st Division suffered only 106 casualties.


1st Infantry Division (United Kingdom), Second World War, North Africa
The next few days saw the 1st Division engaged in particularly hard fighting, with the 2nd Brigade, attacking a ridge known as Gueriat el Atach. The attack failed, at a cost of over 500 casualties, with the supporting 142 RAC losing 29 of 52 tanks, mainly from enemy Tiger tanks. Among those killed were Lieutenant Willward Alexander Sandys-Clarke of the 1st Battalion, Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire), who was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his heroism in stalking and destroying an enemy machine gun. The ridge was taken the next day, 24 April, by the 2nd Battalion, Sherwood Foresters, of the 3rd Brigade.


1st Infantry Division (United Kingdom), Second World War, North Africa
Two days later, the 24th Guards Brigade moved to an attack an objective named Bou Aoukaz. No opposition was encountered, aside from mines, and they were ordered by Division HQ to assault Bou Aoukaz on the afternoon of 27 April. The Bou was taken, but with heavy casualties to the 1st Irish and 5th Grenadiers, mostly from enemy shells and mortar. It was discovered that the Germans had retreated, being apparently amazed at the tenacity of the Guards. The 1st Scots Guards had been ordered to assault the Bou from the left flank.


1st Infantry Division (United Kingdom), Second World War, North Africa
However, a machine gun had held them up, which was taken out by Captain Charles Lyell and four guardsmen. They were then fired on by an 88mm gun, which was silenced by Captain Lyell, who was killed while bayoneting the 88 crew, with the survivors fleeing. Captain Lyell was posthumously awarded the VC. The Bou was taken but soon given up, due to a communications issue. The Scots Guards renewed the assault upon the Bou the following day, only to be repulsed. The day afterwards, the enemy, realising how vital the Bou was, being the key to Tunis, launched a huge counterattack, which fell upon the 24th Brigade. It was during this period that the division earned its third VC, belonging to Lance Corporal John Kenneally of the 1st Irish Guards.


1st Infantry Division (United Kingdom), Second World War, North Africa
Fighting continued for the next few days until mid-May, when the Axis forces in North Africa finally surrendered, prompting Alexander, commander of the Allied 18th Army Group (and who had previously commanded the 1st Division), to cable to Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister, "Sir, it is my duty to report that the Tunisian campaign is over. All enemy resistance has ceased. We are masters of the North African shores".


1st Infantry Division (United Kingdom), Second World War, Italy
The division, commanded from October 1943 by Major General Ronald Penney, arrived on the Italian Front in December 1943, initially to serve under command of the Eighth Army (General Sir Bernard Montgomery) but soon became part of the US Fifth Army (Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark). Operation Shingle was an Allied amphibious landing against Axis forces in the area of Anzio and Nettuno, Italy. The operation was intended to outflank German forces at the Winter Line and enable an attack on the Italian capital of Rome. The resulting combat is commonly called the Battle of Anzio. The division came under the command of the US VI Corps (Major General John P. Lucas).


1st Infantry Division (United Kingdom), Second World War, Italy
The landings began on 22 January 1944. Although resistance had been expected, as seen at the Salerno landings during September 1943, the initial landings were unopposed, with the exception of desultory Luftwaffe strafing runs. By midnight, 36,000 soldiers and 3,200 vehicles had landed on the beaches. A mere 13 Allied troops were killed, and 97 wounded; about 200 Germans had been taken as POWs. The British 1st Division penetrated 2 miles (3 km) inland, the U.S. Army Rangers captured Anzio's port, the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion captured Nettuno, and the US 3rd Infantry Division penetrated 3 miles (5 km) inland.


1st Infantry Division (United Kingdom), Second World War, Italy
There was severe fighting throughout the next few weeks as the Germans launched several fierce counterattacks in an attempt to drive the Allied force back into the sea. Testimony to this was when, on 17 February, Penney was wounded by shellfire and command of the 1st Division was taken by Major General Gerald Templer of the recently arrived 56th (London) Infantry Division, from 18 to 22 February, when Penney resumed command.


1st Infantry Division (United Kingdom), Second World War, Italy
Because of the fighting seen by the division throughout February and March, the 24th Guards Brigade was withdrawn from the division, due to a lack of Guards replacements (even at this stage of the war the Guards were the only infantry regiments in the British Army to receive drafts of replacements from their own regiment), and replaced by the 18th Infantry Brigade from the 1st British Armoured Division, which was in North Africa at the time.


1st Infantry Division (United Kingdom), Second World War, Italy
Operation Diadem was the final battle for Monte Cassino the plan was the U.S. II Corps on the left would attack up the coast along the line of Route 7 towards Rome. The French Expeditionary Corps (CEF) to their right would attack from the bridgehead across the Garigliano into the Aurunci Mountains. British XIII Corps in the centre right of the front would attack along the Liri valley whilst on the right 2nd Polish Corps would isolate the monastery and push round behind it into the Liri valley to link with XIII Corps. I Canadian Corps would be held in reserve ready to exploit the expected breakthrough. Once the German Tenth Army had been defeated, the U.S. VI Corps would break out of the Anzio beachhead to cut off the retreating Germans in the Alban Hills.


1st Infantry Division (United Kingdom), Second World War, Italy
As the Canadians and Polish launched their attack on 23 May, Major General Lucian Truscott, who had replaced Lucas as commander of U.S. VI Corps, launched a two pronged attack using five (three American and two British) of the seven divisions in the bridgehead at Anzio. The German 14th Army facing this thrust was without any armoured divisions because Kesselring had sent his armour south to help the German 10th Army in the Cassino action. The 18th Infantry Brigade, which was temporarily attached to the division from February to August, returned to command of the 1st British Armoured Division and were replaced by the 66th Infantry Brigade became a part of the division for the rest of the war.


1st Infantry Division (United Kingdom), Second World War, Italy
In the fighting for the Anzio beachhead, 8,868 officers and men of the British 1st Infantry Division were killed, wounded or missing in action. The division, commanded from July 1944 by Major General Charles Loewen, subsequently went on to fight on the Gothic Line until being withdrawn from Italy in January 1945.


1st Infantry Division (United Kingdom), Second World War, Italy, Order of battle
See list of component units of British 1st Infantry Division.


1st Infantry Division (United Kingdom), Post war
After the war, the division only remained in Palestine for a short time. It was transferred to Egypt for a few months before going back to Palestine in April 1946. Two years later, as the British mandate over Palestine ended, the division returned to Egypt, also spending periods in Libya up until 1951. In October of that year, as British forces pulled out of Egypt outside of the Suez Canal Zone, the division garrisoned that small area. After British forces withdrew from Egypt, the division returned to the UK for a short while in 1955 and 1956. In 1960, it was disbanded before being reformed as the 1st Division based in Verden an der Aller in Germany as part of I (British) Corps in the British Army of the Rhine.


1st Infantry Division (United States)
The 1st Infantry Division is a combined arms division of the United States Army, and is the oldest continuously serving division in the Regular Army. It has seen continuous service since its organization in 1917 during World War I. It was officially nicknamed "The Big Red One" (abbreviated "BRO") after its shoulder patch and is also nicknamed "The Fighting First." The division has also received troop monikers of "The Big Dead One" and "The Bloody First" as puns on the respective officially sanctioned nicknames. It is currently based at Fort Riley, Kansas.


1st Infantry Division (United States), World War I
The First Expeditionary Division, later designated the 1st Infantry Division, was constituted on 24 May 1917, in the Regular Army, and was organized on 8 June 1917, at Fort Jay, on Governors Island in New York harbor under the command of Brigadier General William L. Sibert, from Army units then in service on the Mexico–United States border and at various Army posts throughout the United States.


1st Infantry Division (United States), World War I
The original table of organization and equipment (TO&E) included two organic infantry brigades of two infantry regiments each, one engineer battalion; one signal battalion; one trench mortar battery; one field artillery brigade of three field artillery regiments; one air squadron; and a full division train. The total authorized strength of this TO&E was 18,919 officers and enlisted men. George S. Patton, who served as the first headquarters commandant for the American Expeditionary Forces, oversaw much of the arrangements for the movement of the 1st Division to France, and their organization in-country. Frank W. Coe, who later served as Chief of Coast Artillery, was the division's first chief of staff.


1st Infantry Division (United States), World War I
The first units sailed from New York City and Hoboken, New Jersey, on 14 June 1917. Throughout the remainder of the year, the rest of the division followed, landing at St. Nazaire, France, and Liverpool, England. After a brief stay in rest camps, the troops in England proceeded to France, landing at Le Havre. The last unit arrived in St. Nazaire 22 December. Upon arrival in France, the division, less its artillery, was assembled in the First (Gondrecourt) training area, and the artillery was at Le Valdahon.


1st Infantry Division (United States), World War I
On 4 July, the 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry, paraded through the streets of Paris to bolster the sagging French spirits. An apocryphal story holds that at Lafayette's tomb, to the delight of the attending Parisians, Captain C.E. Stanton of the division's 16th Infantry Regiment stepped forward and declared, "Lafayette, nous sommes ici! [ Lafayette, we are here!] " Two days later, 6 July, Headquarters, First Expeditionary Division was redesignated as Headquarters, First Division, American Expeditionary Forces.


1st Infantry Division (United States), World War I
On 8 August 1917, the 1st Division adopted the "square" Table of Organization and Equipment (TO&E), which specified two organic infantry brigades of two infantry regiments each; one engineer regiment; one signal battalion; one machine gun battalion; one field artillery brigade of three field artillery regiments, and a complete division train. The total authorized strength of this new TO&E was 27,120 officers and enlisted men.


1st Infantry Division (United States), World War I
On the morning of 23 October, the first American shell of the war was fired toward German lines by a First Division artillery unit. Two days later, the 2nd Battalion of the 16th Infantry suffered the first American casualties of the war.


1st Infantry Division (United States), World War I
By April 1918, the German Army had pushed to within 40 miles (64 km) of Paris. In reaction to this thrust, the division moved into the Picardy Sector to bolster the exhausted French First Army. To the division's front lay the small village of Cantigny, situated on the high ground overlooking a forested countryside. The 28th Infantry Regiment attacked the town, and within 45 minutes captured it along with 250 German soldiers. It was the first American victory of the war. The 28th was thereafter named the "Black Lions of Cantigny."


1st Infantry Division (United States), World War I
Soissons was taken by the 1st Division in July 1918. The Soissons victory was costly – 700 men were killed or wounded. (One of them, Private Francis Lupo of Cincinnati, was missing in action for 85 years, until his remains were discovered on the former battlefield in 2003). The 1st Division took part in the first offensive by an American army in the war, and helped to clear the Saint-Mihiel salient by fighting continuously from 11 to 13 September 1918. The last major World War I battle was fought in the Meuse-Argonne Forest.


1st Infantry Division (United States), World War I
The division advanced a total of seven kilometers and defeated, in whole or part, eight German divisions. This victory was mainly due to the efforts of George C. Marshall, who began the war as the division's Deputy Chief of Staff before being elevated to G-3 for the entire AEF in July 1918. Combat operations ended with the implementation of the terms of the Armistice on 11 November 1918. At the time the division was at Sedan, the farthest American penetration of the war, and was the first to cross the Rhine into occupied Germany.


1st Infantry Division (United States), World War I
By the end of the war, the division had suffered 4,964 killed in action, 17,201 wounded in action, and 1,056 missing or died of wounds. Five division soldiers received Medals of Honor.


1st Infantry Division (United States), World War I
The division's dog-mascot was a mixed breed terrier known as Rags. Rags was adopted by the division in 1918 and remained its mascot until his death in 1936. Rags achieved notoriety and celebrity as a war dog, after saving many lives in the crucial Argonne Campaign by delivering a vital message despite being bombed and gassed.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Interwar period
The 1st Division returned to the continental U.S. in September 1919, demobilized its war-time TO&E at Camp Zachary Taylor at Louisville, Kentucky, and then returned to New York, with its headquarters located at Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Interwar period
On 7 October 1920, the 1st Division organized under the peacetime TO&E, which included two organic infantry brigades of two infantry regiments each, one engineer regiment; one observation squadron; one field artillery brigade of two field artillery regiments; one medical regiment; one division quartermaster train; and a special troops command replacing the remainder of the division train. The total authorized strength of this TO&E was 19,385. 1st Division was one of three infantry divisions and one cavalry division that was authorized to remain at full peacetime strength.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Interwar period
It was the only Regular Army division assigned to the Second Corps Area, which also included the 27th Infantry Division of the New York National Guard; the 44th Infantry Division of the New Jersey, New York, and Delaware National Guards; the 21st Cavalry Division of the New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and New Jersey National Guards; and the 77th, 78th, and 98th Infantry Divisions and the 61st Cavalry Division of the Organized Reserves. This was the organization that existed in the Second Corps Area for the duration of the Interbellum period.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Interwar period
1st Division adopted a new peacetime TO&E in preparation for war on 8 January 1940, which included three infantry regiments, one military police company, one engineer battalion, one signal company, one light field artillery regiment of three field artillery battalions and one medium field artillery regiment of two field artillery battalions, one medical battalion, and one quartermaster battalion. The authorized strength of this TO&E was 9,057 officers and enlisted men. 1st Infantry Division reorganized again on 1 November 1940 to a new TO&E, which added a reconnaissance troop, and organized the two field artillery regiments into a division artillery command, and beefed up the strength to a total authorized strength of 15,245 officers and enlisted men.


1st Infantry Division (United States), World War II, Combat chronicle
Shortly after the German invasion of Poland, beginning World War II in Europe, the 1st Infantry Division, under Major General Walter Short, was moved to Fort Benning, Georgia, on 19 November 1939 where it supported the U.S. Army Infantry School as part of American mobilization preparations. It then moved to the Sabine Parish, Louisiana area on 11 May 1940 to participate in the Louisiana Maneuvers. The division next relocated to Fort Hamilton, Brooklyn on 5 June 1940, where it spent over six months before moving to Fort Devens, Massachusetts, on 4 February 1941. As part of its training that year, the division participated in both Carolina Maneuvers of October and November before returning to Fort Devens, Massachusetts on 6 December 1941.


1st Infantry Division (United States), World War II, Combat chronicle
A day later, on 7 December 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and, four days later, Germany declared war on the United States, thus bringing the United States into the conflict. The division was ordered to Camp Blanding, Florida, as quickly as trains could be gathered and winter weather permitted, and arrived on 21 February 1942. The division, now under Major General Donald C. Cubbison, was there reorganized and refurbished with new equipment, being re-designated as the 1st Infantry Division on 15 May 1942.


1st Infantry Division (United States), World War II, Combat chronicle
Within a week, the division was returned to its former post at Fort Benning, Georgia, from where it was expedited on 21 June 1942 to Indiantown Gap Military Reservation for wartime overseas deployment final preparation. The division, now under the command of Major General Terry Allen, a distinguished World War I veteran, departed the New York Port of Embarkation on 1 August 1942, arrived in Beaminster in south-west England about a week later, and departed 22 October 1942 for the combat amphibious assault of North Africa.


1st Infantry Division (United States), World War II, Combat chronicle
As part of II Corps, the division landed in Oran, Algeria on 8 November 1942 as part of Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of French North Africa. Elements of the division then took part in combat at Maktar, Tebourba, Medjez el Bab, the Battle of Kasserine Pass (where American forces were pushed back), and Gafsa. It then led the Allied assault in brutal fighting at El Guettar, Béja, and Mateur. The 1st Infantry Division was in combat in the Tunisian Campaign from 21 January 1943 to 9 May 1943, helping secure Tunisia. The campaign ended just days later, with the surrender of almost 250,000 Axis soldiers. After months of nearly continuous fighting, the division had a short rest before training for the next operation.


1st Infantry Division (United States), World War II, Combat chronicle
In July 1943, the division took part in the Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, still under the command of Major General Allen. Lieutenant General George S. Patton, commanding the U.S. Seventh Army, specifically requested the division as part of his forces for the invasion of Sicily. It was still assigned to the II Corps. In Sicily the 1st Division saw heavy action when making amphibious landings opposed by Italian and German tanks at the Battle of Gela.


1st Infantry Division (United States), World War II, Combat chronicle
The 1st Division then moved up through the center of Sicily, slogging it out through the mountains along with the 45th Infantry Division. In these mountains, the division saw some of the heaviest fighting in the entire Sicilian campaign at the Battle of Troina; some units losing more than half their strength in assaulting the mountain town. On 7 August 1943, Major General Allen was relieved of his command by Lieutenant General Omar Bradley, then commanding the II Corps. Allen was replaced by Major General Clarence R. Huebner who was, like Allen, a decorated veteran of World War I who had served with the 1st Infantry Division throughout the war.


1st Infantry Division (United States), World War II, Combat chronicle
When that campaign was over, the division returned to England, arriving there on 5 November 1943 to prepare for the eventual invasion of Normandy. One regimental combat team of 1st Infantry Division and one regimental combat team from the 29th Infantry Division as well as A,B,C companies of the 2nd Rangers Battalion and the 5th Rangers Battalion comprised the first wave of troops that assaulted German Army defenses on Omaha Beach on D-Day.


1st Infantry Division (United States), World War II, Combat chronicle
The division had to run 300 yards to get to the bluffs, with some of the division's units suffering 30 percent casualties in the first hour of the assault, and secured Formigny and Caumont in the beachhead by the end of the day. The division followed up the Saint-Lô break-through with an attack on Marigny, 27 July 1944.


1st Infantry Division (United States), World War II, Combat chronicle
The division then drove across France in a continuous offensive. It took large numbers of prisoners during the Battle of the Mons Pocket, and reached the German border at Aachen in September. The division laid siege to Aachen, taking the city after a direct assault on 21 October 1944. The 1st Division then attacked east of Aachen through the Hürtgen Forest, driving to the Ruhr, and was moved to a rear area 7 December 1944 for refitting and rest following 6 months of combat.


1st Infantry Division (United States), World War II, Combat chronicle
When the German Wacht Am Rhein offensive (commonly called the Battle of the Bulge) was launched on 16 December 1944, the division was quickly moved to the Ardennes front. Fighting continuously from 17 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, the division helped to blunt and reverse the German offensive. Thereupon, the division, now commanded by Major General Clift Andrus, attacked and again breached the Siegfried Line, fought across the Ruhr, 23 February 1945, and drove on to the Rhine, crossing at the Remagen bridgehead, 15–16 March.


1st Infantry Division (United States), World War II, Combat chronicle
The division broke out of the bridgehead, took part in the encirclement of the Ruhr Pocket, captured Paderborn, pushed through the Harz Mountains, and was in Czechoslovakia, fighting at Kynšperk nad Ohří, Prameny, and Mnichov (Domažlice District) when the war in Europe ended. Sixteen members of the division were awarded the Medal of Honor during World War II.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Cold War, Korean War
During the Korean War, the Big Red One was assigned to occupation duty in Germany, while acting as a strategic deterrent against Soviet designs on Europe. 1st Infantry Division troops secured the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials and later transported seven convicted Nazi war criminals to Spandau Prison in Berlin.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Cold War, Korean War
In 1955, the division colors left Germany and were relocated to Fort Riley, Kansas.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Cold War, 1950s–1970s
Following its return from Germany, the 1st Infantry Division established headquarters at Fort Riley, Kansas. Its troops reorganized and trained for war at Fort Riley and at other posts. In 1962 and 1963, four 1st Infantry Division Pentomic battle groups (2nd Battle Group, 12th Infantry; 1st Battle Group, 13th Infantry; 1st Battle Group, 28th Infantry; and 2d Battle Group, 26th Infantry) rotated, in turn, to West Berlin, Germany to augment the U.S. Army's Berlin Brigade during an international crisis initiated by construction of the Berlin Wall. These "Long Thrust Operations" were the most significant deployments conducted by 1st Infantry Division troops during the Cold War, placing Big Red One troops in confrontation with hostile communist forces.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Cold War, 1950s–1970s
From President Kennedy's approval on 25 May 1961, the Army divisions began to convert to the "Reorganization Objective Army Division 1965" (ROAD) structure in early 1962. While the bulk of the division was moved to Fort Riley in April 1970 (the colors returning to Kansas from Vietnam) replacing the inactivated 24th Infantry Division, its 3d Brigade, the Division Forward replacement component of REFORGER for the inactivated 24th Infantry Division, a mixture of cavalry and infantry, was forward-deployed to Germany.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Cold War, 1950s–1970s
The brigade was initially stationed at , later moving to Cooke Barracks in Göppingen, with four battalions (two infantry, two armor) and the 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry stationed in Stuttgart/Boeblingen (Panzer Kaserne) and the field artillery battalion in Neu Ulm (Wiley Kaserne) with the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry in Göppingen and the 3d Battalion, 63d Armor in Augsburg. The Division Forward was inactivated on 15 August 1991 and the Big Red One became a two-brigade division with an assigned National Guard "roundout" brigade.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Cold War, Vietnam War
The division fought in the Vietnam War from 1965 to 1970. Arriving in July 1965, the division began combat operations within two weeks. By the end of 1965 the division had participated in three major operations: Hump, Bushmaster 1 and Bushmaster II, under the command of MG Jonathan O. Seaman.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Cold War, Vietnam War
In 1966, the division took part in Operation Marauder, Operation Crimp II and Operation Rolling Stone, all in the early part of the year. In March, Major General William E. DePuy took command. In June and July the division took part in the battles of Ap Tau O, Srok Dong and Minh Thanh Road. In November 1966, the division participated in Operation Attleboro.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Cold War, Vietnam War
1967 saw the division in Operation Cedar Falls, Operation Junction City, Operation Manhattan, Operation Billings, and Operation Shenandoah II. MG John H. Hay assumed command in February. On 17 June 1967, during Operation Billings, the division suffered 185 casualties, 35 killed and 150 wounded in the battle of Xom Bo II. Three months later on 17 October 1967, the 1st I.D suffered heavy casualties at the Battle of Ong Thanh with 58 killed.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Cold War, Vietnam War
The division was involved in the Tet Offensive of 1968, securing the massive Tan Son Nhut Air Base. In March, MG Keith L. Ware took command. That same month the division took part in Operation Quyet Thang ("Resolve to Win") and in April the division participated in the largest operation of the Vietnam War, Operation Toan Thang ("Certain Victory"). On 13 September, the division commander, MG Ware, was killed in action when his command helicopter was shot down by enemy anti-aircraft fire. MG Orwin C. Talbott moved up from his position of assistant division commander to assume command of the division.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Cold War, Vietnam War
In the first half of 1969, The Big Red One conducted reconnaissance-in-force and ambush operations, including a multi-divisional operation, Atlas Wedge. The last part of the year saw the division take part in Dong Tien ("Progress Together") operations. These operations were intended to assist South Vietnamese forces to take a more active role in combat. In August, MG A. E. Milloy took command of the 1st I.D. while the division took part in battles along National Highway 13, known as "Thunder Road" to the end of the year.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Cold War, Vietnam War
In January 1970 it was announced that the division would return to Fort Riley. The division officially departed South Vietnam on 7 April 1970, when the division commander Brigadier General John Q. Henion, left Bien Hoa Air Base and returned the colors to Fort Riley. 11 members of the division were awarded the Medal of Honor. During its involvement in the Vietnam war, the division lost 6,146 killed in action, with a further 16,019 wounded. Twenty of its number were taken as prisoners-of-war.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Cold War, Vietnam War
1st Brigade, 1st Inf Div Oct 1965 – Apr 1970


1st Infantry Division (United States), Cold War, Vietnam War
1st Bn/16th Inf Oct 1965 – Nov 19661st Bn/28th Inf Oct 1965 – Apr 19702nd Bn/28th Inf Oct 1965 – Nov 19661st Bn/2nd Inf Dec 1966 – Apr 19701st Bn/26th Inf Dec 1966 – Jan 19702nd Bn(M)/2nd Inf Feb 1970 – Apr 19702nd Bn/28th Inf [2] Feb 1970 – Apr 19701st Bn/5th Art (105mm How) DS 1st Bde Oct 1965 – Apr 1970


1st Infantry Division (United States), Cold War, Vietnam War
2nd Brigade, 1st Inf Div Jul 1965 – Apr 1970


1st Infantry Division (United States), Cold War, Vietnam War
2nd Bn/16th Inf Jul 1965 – Apr 19701st Bn/18th Inf Jul 1965 – Jan 19702nd Bn/18th Inf Jul 1965 – Apr 19701st Bn(M)/16th Inf Feb 1970 – Apr 19701st Bn/7th Art (105mm How) DS 2nd Bde Oct 1965* – Apr 1970


1st Infantry Division (United States), Cold War, Vietnam War
3rd Brigade, 1st Inf Div Oct 1965 – Apr 1970


1st Infantry Division (United States), Cold War, Vietnam War
1st Bn/2nd Inf Oct 1965 – Nov 19662nd Bn/2nd Inf Oct 1965 – Feb 1969 mechanized by Jan 19651st Bn/26th Inf Oct 1965 – Nov 19661st Bn/16th Inf Dec 1966 – Jan 1970 mechanized ca Oct 19682nd Bn/28th Inf Dec 1966 – Jan 19702nd Bn(M)/2nd Inf [2] Apr 1969 – Jan 19701st Bn/18th Inf Feb 1970 – Apr 19701st Bn/26th Inf Feb 1970 – Apr 19702nd Bn/33rd Art (105mm How) DS 3rd Bde Oct 1965 – Apr 1970


1st Infantry Division (United States), Cold War, Vietnam War
2nd Bn (M)/2nd Inf with 1st Cavalry Division Mar 1969


1st Infantry Division (United States), Cold War, REFORGER
The division participated in REFORGER (Return of Forces in Germany) in all years. REFORGER was the largest set of NATO ground maneuvers since the end of World War II. The group performed surveillance on the border of Czechoslovakia and Germany during the Cold War.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Post-Cold War era, First Gulf War
The division, commanded by Major General , also participated in Operation Desert Storm. The division's two maneuver brigades from Fort Riley were rounded out by the addition of two tank battalions (2nd and 3rd, 66th Armor), an infantry battalion (1-41st Infantry), and a field artillery battalion (4-3 FA) from 2nd Armored Division (Forward) in Germany. The division played a significant role in the Battle of Norfolk.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Post-Cold War era, First Gulf War
Specific combat arms and combat support units of the 3rd Battalion, 37th Armor and others were responsible for the initial breach of the Iraqi defenses providing subsequent passages for the rest of VII Corps, consequently rolling over the Iraqi 26th Infantry Division and taking 2,600 prisoners of war. The division continued with the subsequent 260-kilometre (160 mi) long assault on Iraqi-held territory over 100 hours, engaging eleven Iraqi divisions, destroying 550 tanks, 480 armored personnel carriers and taking 11,400 prisoners. 1st Infantry Division Artillery, including 4-3 FA battalion, was decisive during combat operations performing multiple raids and fire missions.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Post-Cold War era, First Gulf War
These combat operations resulted in the destruction of 50 enemy tanks, 139 APCs, 30 air defense systems, 152 artillery pieces, 27 missile launchers, 108 mortars, and 548 wheeled vehicles, 61 trench lines and bunker positions, 92 dug in and open infantry targets, and 34 logistical sites. By the early morning of 28 February 1991, the division had taken position along the "Highway of Death", preventing any Iraqi retreat.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Post-Cold War era, First Gulf War
The division's HHC, Alpha, Bravo, Charlie and Delta 3/37 Armor, HHC, Alpha, Bravo, Charlie and Delta 4/37 Armor, and 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment (1/4 CAV), was then tasked with securing the town of Safwan, Iraq, and the airfield there where the Iraqis were later forced to sign the surrender agreement.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Post-Cold War era, First Gulf War
For extraordinary heroism during ground combat operations in Operation Desert Storm from 24 February 1991 through 4 March 1991. Organized as Task Force 3/37th Armor, the Unit was composed of HHC, B, and C Companies, 3/37th Armor; A and D Company, Second Battalion, Sixteenth Infantry; First Platoon of B Company and Second Platoon of C Company, Second Battalion, Third Air Defense Artillery; C Company, First Engineer Battalion; and Ground Surveillance Radar Team B, One Hundred and First Military Intelligence Battalion.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Post-Cold War era, First Gulf War
As part of the First Infantry Division (Mechanized) and VII Corps main effort, Task Forces 3/37th Armor, 2/16th infantry and 4/37th armor breached the Iraqi defense on 24 February 1991, clearing four passage lanes and expanding the gap under direct enemy fire.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Post-Cold War era, First Gulf War
The task force then attacked 300 kilometres (190 mi) across southern Iraq into northern Kuwait, severing Iraqi lines of communication, and then drove north once again in the middle of the night (with primitive GPS),into Iraq to assist in the seizure of the airfield at the City of Safwan, Iraq the next morning and the securing of that airfield for the Coalition Forces-Iraqi Cease-Fire negotiations or "peace talks". During the operation, over fifty enemy combat vehicles were destroyed and over 1700 prisoners were captured. Throughout the Ground War, the soldiers performed with marked distinction under difficult and hazardous conditions. Their gallantry, determination, and Esprit de Corps guaranteed victory and maintained the finest traditions of the United States Army.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Post-Cold War era, First Gulf War
There was also the "bulldozer assault", wherein the 1st and 2nd Brigades from the 1st Infantry Division (Mechanized) used mine plows mounted on tanks and combat earthmovers to bury Iraqi soldiers defending the fortified "Saddam Line." While approximately 2,000 men surrendered, escaping death, one newspaper story reported that U.S. commanders estimated thousands of Iraqi soldiers had been buried alive during the two-day assault over period 24–25 February 1991.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Post-Cold War era, First Gulf War
In 1996 the division colors were relocated to the German city of Würzburg (replacing the 3rd Infantry Division, which had relocated to Fort Stewart, GA). The division would remain in Germany until 2006, when the colors were struck and moved (again) to Fort Riley, Kansas.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Post-Cold War era, Balkans
The divisional cavalry squadron, 1st Squadron 4th US Cavalry deployed to Bosnia as part of the initial IFOR mission from January to December 1996. The Squadron was based in Camp Alicia near the town of Kalesija. 2nd (Dagger) Brigade Combat Team deployed to Bosnia as part of IFOR (and subsequent SFOR) from October 1996 to April 1997. 2nd Brigade was replaced by elements from the 3rd Brigade and the division's aviation brigade. Units from the 1st (Devil) Brigade Combat Team also deployed to Bosnia as part of SFOR6 ("Operation Joint Forge") from August 1999 to April 2000.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Post-Cold War era, Balkans
Elements of the division, to include personnel and units from the 2nd, 3rd and aviation brigades, served in Kosovo. During the Kosovo War three soldiers were captured by Serbian forces but were later released after peace talks.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Post-Cold War era, Balkans
Units of the 1st Infantry Division served in Kosovo as part of the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) 1A and KFOR 1B from June 1999 to June 2000, then again for KFOR 4A and 4B from May 2002 to July 2003.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Post-Cold War era, Iraq 2003 and 2004
In January 2003, the division headquarters deployed to Turkey to command and control Army Forces Turkey (ARFOR-T) with a mission to receive and move the 4th Infantry Division across Turkey and into Northern Iraq. The task organization included HHC Division, 1–4 Cavalry, 1–26 Infantry, 1–6 Field Artillery, 2-1 Aviation, HHC Engineer Brigade, 9th Engineers, HHC DISCOM, 701 Main Support Battalion, 601 Aviation Support Battalion, 4-3 Air Defense Artillery, 101 Military Intelligence Battalion, 121 Signal Battalion, 12th Chemical Company, and other US Army Europe units to include the Theater Support Command.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Post-Cold War era, Iraq 2003 and 2004
The division opened three seaports, two airports, three command posts, and convoy support centers along a 500-mile route from the Turkish coast, through Mardin, to the Northern Iraqi border. When the Turkish government voted to deny US ground forces access to Turkey, ARFOR-T collapsed the line of communication and redeployed to Germany home stations in April 2003.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Post-Cold War era, Iraq 2003 and 2004
1–63 Armor of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team deployed to Kirkuk, Iraq from Rose Barracks, Germany, during the first-ever deployment of the USAREUR (United States Army Europe) Immediate Ready Task Force (IRTF) in March 2003, in support of the 173rd Airborne Brigade. The battalion redeployed to Europe with the 173rd in March 2004.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Post-Cold War era, Iraq 2003 and 2004
The 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division deployed from Fort Riley, Kansas in September 2003 to provide support to the 82nd Airborne Division in the city of Ramadi, Iraq. In September 2004, the 1st Brigade was replaced by elements from the 2nd Infantry Division in Ramadi and redeployed to Ft. Riley.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Post-Cold War era, Iraq 2003 and 2004
In January 2004, the division less the 1st Brigade Combat Team deployed from home stations in Germany to Iraq, where it conducted an area relief with the 4th Infantry Division in the Salah ad-Din, Diyala, Kirkuk and Sulaymaniyah provinces, with the division headquarters located on Forward Operating Base Danger, in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Post-Cold War era, Iraq 2003 and 2004
Task Force Danger, as the division was called during OIF2, was augmented with the 2nd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, the 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team of the North Carolina Army National Guard, the 264th Engineer Group of the Wisconsin Army National Guard, the 167th Corps Support Group, 1st ROC (USAR), and the 2nd Battalion, 108th Infantry Regiment of the New York Army National Guard. The 2nd Brigade Combat Team was headquartered in Tikrit, the 3rd Brigade Combat Team was headquartered outside Baqubah, and the 30th BCT was headquartered in Kirkuk.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Post-Cold War era, Iraq 2003 and 2004
The 4th Brigade and Division Support Command were based at Forward Operating Base Spiecher north of Tikrit. Task Force Danger conducted counterinsurgency operations, to include the full spectrum of combat, peace enforcement, training and equipping Iraqi security forces, support to Iraqi institutions to improve quality of life, and two national elections. Major combat included operations in Baqubah, Samarra, Bayji, Najaf, Al Diwaniyah, and Fallujah. In February 2005, the division facilitated an area relief with the 42d Infantry Division, New York National Guard, and elements of the 3rd Infantry Division and redeployed to home stations in Germany.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Post-Cold War era, Rebasing to US
In July 2006 the division was withdrawn from Germany back to Fort Riley in CONUS, leaving only 2nd (Dagger) Brigade in Schweinfurt, Germany until 28 March 2008 when the 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division was reorganized and re-designated as the 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Post-Cold War era, Iraq 2006–2008
The 2nd (Dagger) Brigade Combat Team deployed to Iraq from mid-August 2006 to late November 2007. 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment was the first to embark and was sent to the Adhamiya district of Baghdad to assist in suppressing the widespread sectarian violence. The 1st Battalion, 77th Armor Regiment was deployed to Ramadi and the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment was sent to Forward Operating Base Falcon in the Al Rashid district of southwest Baghdad. HQ and HQ Company 2BCT, 1st ID, 9th Engineer Battalion, 1st Battalion, 7th Field Artillery Regiment, 299th


1st Infantry Division (United States), Post-Cold War era, Iraq 2006–2008
Support Battalion, C/101 MI BN, and 57th Signal Company were all (Dagger) units occupying Camp Liberty, a sprawling encampment of 30,000+ military and DoD civilians located just east of Baghdad International Airport (BIAP). 2BCT MP PLT (formerly 2nd Platoon, 1st Military Police Company) was located at FOB (Forward Operating Base) Justice. During the 15-month deployment, 61 soldiers from the brigade were killed, including 31 from 1–26 infantry, which had the most casualties in any single battalion since the Vietnam War.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Post-Cold War era, Iraq 2006–2008
Elements from Fort Riley's 1st (Devil) Brigade deployed in the fall of 2006 to other area of operations in Iraq. Units include companies from the 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry; 1st Battalion, 34th Armor; 1st Battalion, 5th Field Artillery; 1st Engineer Battalion; and D Troop, 4th Cavalry.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Post-Cold War era, Transition team training mission
State-side training for the military transition teams () is located at Fort Riley, Kansas. Training began 1 June 2006. Some of the units such as the 18th Infantry Regiment, the 26th Infantry Regiment, and the 16th Infantry Regiment have already gone into Afghanistan along with some reconnaissance units. Those units have been in the Kunar Province since mid-2006. As of fall 2009 the transition team training mission has moved to Fort Polk, and the 1st Brigade has transitioned into a combat ready force with possible plans to deploy in the next few years.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Post-Cold War era, Iraq 2007
In February 2007, the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team deployed to southern Baghdad in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. the second unit tasked with the "surge" announced earlier in the year by President Bush. The main force of the brigade was under Col "Ricky" Gibbs at FOB Falcon. 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry was put under operational control of 2nd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, and located at FOB Rustamiyah (Featured in the Book "the Good Soldiers" by Washington Post reporter David Finkel)


1st Infantry Division (United States), Post-Cold War era, Iraq 2007
In the fall of 2007, the Combat Aviation Brigade (Demon Brigade), 1st Infantry Division deployed to Iraq and was placed under the command of Multinational Division – North located at COB Spiecher. The majority of the CAB is stationed at COB Spiecher, with the 1st Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment and some supporting elements stationed at FOB Warrior.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Post-Cold War era, Afghanistan 2008–2009
In June and July 2008, 3rd Brigade, "Duke", deployed to Eastern Afghanistan under the command of CJTF-101, relieving the 173rd Airborne Brigade and taking control of the Kunar, Nuristan, Nangarhar, and Laghman provinces. One of the brigades infantry battalions, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry, was tasked out down south in the Kandahar province outside of the brigade command. The 6th Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment was tasked with securing the Kunar Valley.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Post-Cold War era, Afghanistan 2008–2009
Combat Outposts Keating and Lowell were engaged in combat on nearly a daily basis while Observation Posts Hatchet and Mace disrupted Taliban supply lines and took the brunt of attacks from the east out of Pakistan. They were involved in the infamous Battle of Bari Alai, where 3 American soldiers and 2 Latvian soldiers were killed. The battle lasted over the course of 4 days where the fatigued soldiers of Charlie Troop and Hatchet Troop were continuously harassed by Taliban fighters after retaking the observation post.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Post-Cold War era, Afghanistan 2008–2009
6-4 Cavalry had the most casualties of the brigade with the exception of the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, who were continuously engaged with the Taliban in the Korengal Valley. CNN branded the brigade "The Dying Duke" because of the brutality and high casualty rate of the unit in their time in theater. Main focuses of the brigade and PRT were to protect population centers such as Jalalabad and Asadabad and help develop the local economy through the construction of roads, and provide security while doing so. The brigade returned to Ft. Hood, Texas in July 2009 after a year of combat in which they recorded over 2000 firefights, over 3000 enemy killed, over 1000 bombs dropped, 26,000 rounds of artillery fire and over 500 Purple Hearts awarded.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Post-Cold War era, Iraq 2008–2009
In October 2008, the 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team deployed to northwest Baghdad in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The brigade HQ was located on VBC (Victory Base Complex) and the brigade was responsible for the NW quarter of Baghdad. During this deployment soldiers of the 1st CAB (Combined Arms Battalion), 18th Infantry Regiment were located on FOB Justice. The 1st CAB, 63rd Armor was initially located in Mah-Muh-Diyah (south of Baghdad) and then relocated to JSS Nasir wa Salam (NWS) in the Abu Ghraib area to the west of Baghdad.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Post-Cold War era, Iraq 2008–2009
5th Squadron, 4th Cavalry was located in the Ghazaliyah area of West Baghdad where they battled the 1920s Revolutionary Brigade and eventually wrested control of the area from them. The 1st Battalion, 7th Field Artillery was located on FOB Prosperity within the "Green Zone", and the 2nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion located in the Victory Base Complex. During this deployment, the 4th Squadron, 10th Cavalry, 2nd Battalion, 8th (US) Cavalry Regiment was attached to the brigade for several months, as well as the 1st Battalion, 41st Field Artillery, and a battalion from the 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team (PAARNG).


1st Infantry Division (United States), Post-Cold War era, Iraq 2008–2009
The most notable events which occurred during this time were the Iraqi provincial elections, the expiration of the UN Mandate and the corresponding implementation of the security agreement (SA), between the Government of Iraq and the United States, and "Bloody Wednesday" 19 August 2009 coordinated bombing of the finance ministry and the foreign ministry, with rocket attacks in the green zone. The bombings resulted in 101 dead and over 560 wounded.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Post-Cold War era, Iraq 2008–2009
The Dagger Brigade experienced constant, albeit minor, enemy contact during this deployment—although the brigade still had two KIAs (one serving as the brigade deputy commander's personal security detachment and one from the attached PAARNG battalion) and numerous WIA. During this deployment, LTC J.B. Richardson III (commander of 5–4 CAV) earned a Bronze Star for Valor for single-handedly assaulting through an enemy RKG-3 ambush and inflicting multiple casualties on the enemy.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Post-Cold War era, Iraq 2009–2010
4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Dragons) deployed in August 2009 as one of the last combat units to be deployed to Iraq. Under the Command of Colonel Henry A. Arnold III. The Brigade experienced two casualties over the course of the deployment. Spc. Tony Carrasco Jr. Died 4 November 2009. 2nd Battalion 32nd Field Artillery. Spc. Jacob Dohrenwend. 21 June 2010. 1st Battalion 28th Infantry Regiment.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Post-Cold War era, Iraq 2010–2011
1st Heavy Brigade Combat Team headquarters with their Brigade Support Battalion (BSB) and Special Troops Battalion deployed to Kirkuk, Iraq in October 2010 to establish the 1-1 Advise and Assist Task Force as part of Operation New Dawn. They were later joined by 1–5 Field Artillery in northern Iraq in late spring 2011.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Post-Cold War era, Iraq 2010–2011
2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team deployed to Baghdad, Iraq in November 2010 in an advise and assist role as part of Operation New Dawn under the command of COL Paul T. Calvert. The brigade HQ was located at Victory Base Complex, where it was co-located within the USD-C Division HQ building and shared the same TOC. This unique C2 relationship earned the brigade the moniker of the "Luckiest Brigade in the Army" from the USD-C commander.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Post-Cold War era, Iraq 2010–2011
The brigade was placed under USD-C (initially 1st AD, then 25th Infantry Division after Dec 2011) and was single-handedly responsible for the entire province of Baghdad. As the brigade responsible for the "center of gravity" (i.e. Baghdad) for United States Forces-Iraq, the 2nd "Dagger" Brigade was responsible for advising and assisting 50% of the Iraqi security forces within Iraq to include two Iraqi corps HQ (the Karkh Area Command and Rusafa Area Command) and seven Iraqi divisions (6th IA, 9th IA—Mechanized, 17th IA, 11th IA, 1st FP, 2nd FP, and 4th FP) and 50,000 Iraqi policemen.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Post-Cold War era, Iraq 2010–2011
The 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, commanded by LTC John Cross, was located at Camp Taji and FOB Old MOD. They were partnered with the 9th and 11th IA Divisions. 1st Battalion, 7th FA, commanded by LTC Andrew Gainey, was located at JSS Loyalty. They were partnered with the 1st Federal Police Division. 1st Battalion, 63rd Armored, commanded by LTC Michael Henderson, was located at JSS Deason, Muthana Airfield, and VBC. They were partnered with the 6th and 17th IA Divisions. 5th Squadron, 4th Cavalry, commanded by LTC Mathew Moore was located at JSS Falcon.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Post-Cold War era, Iraq 2010–2011
They were partnered with the 2nd and 4th FP Divisions. The Special Troops Battalion, commanded by LTC Shilisa Geter, was located at VBC (Victory Base Complex) and partnered with the Baghdad Police Directorate. Meanwhile, due to the drawdown of US forces and the redeployment of theater-level sustainment brigades, the 299th BSB, commanded by LTC Dale Farrand, assumed the area support mission for all DOD and DOS elements within the province of Baghdad in addition to supporting the Dagger Brigade.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Post-Cold War era, Iraq 2010–2011
Significant events during this deployment included the resumption of attacks by the Sadrist movement and other Iranian-backed militia, the subsequent operations that stopped those attacks, the rearward passage of lines of USD-North as they redeployed through Baghdad, the organization and training of divisional field artillery regiments for the IA divisions, the fielding of M1 tanks for the 9th IA Division, and the hand-over of all US facilities within Baghdad to the Government of Iraq or elements of the US State Department.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Post-Cold War era, Iraq 2010–2011
During this deployment the brigade simultaneously trained ISF units to the point of conducting Iraqi-led battalion CALFEXs, advised ISF units as they conducted hundreds of Iraqi-led raids which disrupted the attacks of Iranian-backed militia, while also conducting unilateral and combined force protection operations to ensure the security of US bases and redeploying US forces. The brigade experienced nine KIAs during this deployment, the majority of which resulted from a single IRAM attack (improvised rocket-assisted munition) conducted against JSS Loyalty by Iranian-backed militia on 6 June 2011. The brigade departed Iraq in November 2011 after having turned the majority of the city of Baghdad over to complete Iraqi control.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Post-Cold War era, Afghanistan 2011–2012
From 1st Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry (CAB) and 4th Squadron, 4th Cavalry deployed to Afghanistan in the winter of 2011, with 2nd Battalion, 34th Armor (CAB) later deploying in the spring of 2011. 1–16 IN (CAB) was assigned to support the combined joint special task force, the Iron Rangers were deployed to 58 remote locations across Afghanistan. They completed more than 10,000 missions as part of village stability operations with the Afghan people. The operations connected the government of Afghanistan to the village level and taught Afghans about their constitution. 2–34 AR (CAB) was deployed to Maiwand, Kandahar Province located southern Afghanistan near the Kandahar/Helmand Province border. 4-4 Cavalry was deployed to central Zhari District, Kandahar province and conducted thousands of combat patrols throughout the birthplace and homeland of the Taliban.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Post-Cold War era, Afghanistan 2011–2012
3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team deployed to Khost and Paktya provinces in Eastern Afghanistan in January 2011. 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment was once again detached from the brigade and deployed to Ghazni province under Polish command. The brigade conducted Operations Tofan I and II. Tofan I's mission was to disrupt insurgent safe havens in the Musa Khel region of Khowst Province, improve the ability for the government to reach the people there and gather intelligence for planning future operations.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Post-Cold War era, Afghanistan 2011–2012
Tofan II's mission was to establish contact with the insurgents, disrupt their logistics, and reduce any material or moral support from the local population. Movement to the extremely remote area, which featured narrow or non-existent roads set among mountains, included mounted and dismounted soldiers who also had to be aware of the need to control the key terrain features around Suri Kheyl.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Post-Cold War era, Afghanistan 2012–2013
The 1st Infantry Division headquarters deployed to Bagram, Afghanistan on 19 April 2012 as part of Operation Enduring Freedom XIII after receiving responsibility for Regional Command (East)(RC(E)) from 1st Cavalry Division. The division served as the Combined Joint Task Force-1 (CJTF-1) and RC(E), command and controlling the vital region (Bamiyan, Parwan, Panjshayr, Kapisa, Laghman, Nuristan, Konar, Nangarhar, Maiden Wardak, Logar, Paktiya, Khowst, Ghazni, and Paktika) surrounding Kabul and a large portion of the volatile border with Pakistan. During the division's tenure in Afghanistan, the division oversaw a transition of authority to the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF)201st Corps north of Kabul and had prepared the ANSF 203rd Corps to assume full security responsibility south of Kabul prior to transitioning RC(E) to 101st Airborne Division (AASLT).


1st Infantry Division (United States), Post-Cold War era, Afghanistan 2012–2013
The 4th IBCT deployed to Afghanistan in May 2012 for a 9-month deployment. The brigade operated in Ghazni and Paktika provinces in eastern Afghanistan. Dragon Brigade concluded its deployment in February 2013, transitioning oversight of Ghazni province to 1st Brigade, 10th Mountain Division and Paktika province to 2nd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division and full security responsibility for those provinces to 3rd and 2nd Brigades, ANSF 203rd Corps, respectively.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Post-Cold War era, Operation Inherent Resolve
In response to the growing ISIL threat the Department of Defense announced on 25 September 2014 that approximately 500 soldiers from 1st Infantry Division Headquarters will be deployed to Iraq with the task of assisting Iraqi Security Forces. This will be the first Division HQ deployed in Iraq since withdrawal back in 2011. Among the soldiers sent over approximately 200 will be stationed in Baghdad, where they will make up close to half of US troops deployed.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Post-Cold War era, Operation Inherent Resolve
In mid-October 2016 the US Army announced it will deploy about 500 soldiers from the 1st Infantry Division Headquarters to Iraq in the fall of 2016. Troops will assume the role of Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command-Iraq in support of Operation Inherent Resolve.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Post-Cold War era, Operation Freedom's Sentinel
In late July 2016, the U.S. Army announced that it will send 800 soldiers from 1st Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, to Afghanistan to support Operation Freedom's Sentinel – the U.S. counter-terrorism operation against the remnants of al-Qaeda, ISIS–K and other terror groups. The brigade will deploy with its AH-64 Apache attack helicopters and UH-60 Black Hawk utility helicopters sometime before October 2016.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Post-Cold War era, Operation Atlantic Resolve
In April 2017, Military.com reported that approximately 4,000 soldiers from the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division will deploy to Europe as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve, replacing the 3rd Armored BCT, 4th Infantry Division in a regular rotation of forces. The unit deployed in September 2017 and redeployed in June 2018, serving throughout Eastern Europe conducting readiness and inter-operability training with NATO Allies to assure U.S. Allies and deter aggression.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Post-Cold War era, Operation Atlantic Resolve
The Division Headquarters deployed part of its headquarters in March 2018 to Poznan, Poland, to serve as the U.S. Army Europe's Mission Command Element forward providing mission command of the Regionally Aligned Forces serving in Atlantic Resolve. They are scheduled to remain until June 2020. In January the division's 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team and 1st Combat Aviation Brigade deployed to Eastern Europe in Support of Operation Atlantic Resolve with the mission of building readiness, assuring Allies, and deterring aggression on the continent.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Insignia
No credible source states how the insignia of the 1st Infantry Division originated in World War I. There are two theories as to how the idea of the patch came about. The first theory states that the 1st Division supply trucks were manufactured in England. To make sure the 1st Division's trucks were not confused with other allies, the drivers would paint a huge "1" on the side of each truck. Later, the division engineers would go even farther and put a red number one on their sleeves.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Insignia
The second theory claims that a general of the division decided the unit should have a shoulder insignia. He decided to cut a red numeral "1" from his flannel underwear. When he showed his prototype to his men, one lieutenant said, "the general's underwear is showing!" Offended, the general challenged the young lieutenant to come up with something better. So, the young officer cut a piece of gray cloth from the uniform of a captured soldier, and placed the red "1" on top.


1st Infantry Division (United States), Music, Band
The 1st Infantry Division Band (abbreviated as the 1ID Band and often known as the Big Red One Band) is the musical ambassador for the division that performs for military ceremonies at Fort Riley and the surrounding communities in the Midwest. The 38-member band contains the Concert Wind Ensemble, the Marching Band, a Seated Ceremonial Band as well as other specialized ensembles. The band was notably involved in the Thunder Road incident in Vietnam, during which Major General John Hay ordered the band to march down "Thunder Road", for one mile while playing the Colonel Bogey March.