34th Infantry Division (United States)


The 34th Infantry Division is an infantry division of the United States Army, part of the National Guard, that participated in World War I, World War II and multiple current conflicts. It was the first American division deployed to Europe in World War II, where it fought with great distinction in the Italian Campaign.
The division was deactivated in 1945, and the 47th "Viking" Infantry Division was later created in the division's former area. In 1991 the 47th Division was redesignated the 34th. Since 2001, division soldiers have served on homeland security duties in the continental United States, in Afghanistan, and in Iraq. The 34th has also been deployed to support peacekeeping efforts in the former Yugoslavia and elsewhere.
The division continues to serve today, with most of the division part of the Minnesota and Iowa National Guard. In 2011, it was staffed by roughly 6,500 soldiers from the Minnesota National Guard, 2,900 from the Iowa National Guard, about 300 from the Nebraska National Guard, and about 100 from other states.

World War I

The division was established as the 34th Division of the National Guard in August 1917, consisting of units from Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. On 25 August 1917, it was placed under the command of Maj. Gen. Augustus P. Blocksom, who was succeeded by Brig. Gen. Frank G. Mauldin briefly on 18 September 1917, but was back in command by 10 December 1917.
The division initially included the 67th Infantry Brigade, formed in August 1917 in the Iowa and Nebraska National Guards and the 68th Infantry Brigade. The 67th Brigade comprised the 133rd Infantry Regiment and the 134th Infantry Regiment. The 68th Brigade comprised the 135th Infantry Regiment and the 136th Infantry Regiment.
The division takes its name from the shoulder sleeve insignia designed for a 1917 training camp contest by American regionalist artist Marvin Cone, who was then a soldier enlisted in the unit. Cone's design evoked the desert training grounds of Camp Cody, New Mexico, by superimposing a red steer skull over a black Mexican water jug called an "olla." In World War I, the unit was called the "Sandstorm Division." German troops in World War II, however, called the U.S. division's soldiers "Red Devils" and "Red Bulls," the division later officially adopted the divisional nickname Red Bulls.
Brig. Gen. Frank G. Mauldin took command. The 34th Division arrived in France in October 1918, but it was too late for the division to be sent to the front, as the end of hostilities was near, an armistice being signed the following month.
Brig. Gen. John Alexander Johnston took command 26 October 1918, and some personnel were sent to other units to support their final operations. Charles Dudley Rhodes took command in December and led the division until its departure for the United States in January 1919. The 34th was disbanded on 18 February 1919 at Camp Grant, Illinois.

World War I order of battle

Units of the 34th Division during World War I included:
The units of the 34th Division returned to their home stations and reverted to their state designations, to prepare for the reorganization of the National Guard in the early 1920s. On 17 January 1921, the Observation Squadron, Minnesota National Guard was federally recognized as the first aviation unit in the Minnesota National Guard. Per War Department naming conventions, the squadron was re-designated the 109th Observation Squadron on 25 January 1923.
Per the National Defense Act of 1920, the 34th Division was allotted the states of Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota, and assigned to the VII Corps in 1921. War Department policy mandated that National Guard division headquarters could not be organized and federally recognized until 75 percent of their intended subordinate units had been organized and federally recognized; the headquarters of the 34th Division was organized and federally recognized on 14 July 1924.
On 16 May 1934, the truck driver's union initiated a strike, which quickly degenerated into open violence in the streets of Minneapolis. Minnesota Governor Floyd B. Olson activated the National Guard and 4,000 guardsmen to suppress the chaos. Utilizing roving patrols, curfews, and security details, the 34th quickly restored order, thus enabling negotiated settlement of the labor dispute.
On 18 June 1939, a tornado hit Anoka, Minnesota, and Governor Harold E. Stassen called on the Guard again. 300 Guardsmen patrolled the streets and imposed a quasi-martial law while the community was stabilized.

Prelude to World War II

The expanding war in Europe threatened to draw a reluctant United States into the conflict. As the potential of U.S. involvement in World War II became more evident, initial steps were taken to prepare troops what for lay ahead through "precautionary training." The division was deemed one of the most service-ready units, and Ellard A. Walsh was promoted to major general in June 1940, and then succeeded to division commander in August, following month-long command tours intended to honor senior generals Lloyd D. Ross, George E. Leach, and David S. Ritchie before their retirements.
The Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 was signed into law 16 September, and the first conscription in U.S. history during peacetime commenced.
The 34th was subsequently federalized on 10 February 1941, with troops from North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa. The division was transported by rail and truck convoys to the newly constructed Camp Claiborne in Rapides Parish, Louisiana near Alexandria.
The soldiers started rigorous training including maneuvers in Alexandria starting 7 April 1941. The climate during the summer was especially harsh. The division then participated in what became known as the Louisiana Maneuvers, and became a well-disciplined, high-spirited, and well-prepared unit.
In the early phase of the maneuvers, General Walsh, who suffered from chronic ulcers, became too ill to continue in command, and was replaced by Major General Russell P. Hartle on 5 August 1941.

World War II

Order of battle

In common with other U.S. Army divisions during World War II the 34th was reorganized from a square to a triangular division before seeing combat. The division's three infantry regiments became the 133rd, 135th, and 168th Infantry Regiments, together with supporting units.

Combat chronicle

On 8 January 1942, the 34th Division was transported by train to Fort Dix, New Jersey to quickly prepare for overseas movement. The first contingent embarked at Brooklyn on 14 January 1942 and sailed from New York the next day. The initial group of 4,508 men stepped ashore at 12:15 hrs on 26 January 1942 at Dufferin Quay, Belfast, Northern Ireland. They were met by a delegation including the Governor, the Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, the Commander of British Troops Northern Ireland, and the Secretary of State for Air.
While in Northern Ireland, Hartle was tasked with organizing an American version of the British Commandos, a group of small "hit and run" forces, and promoted his aide-de-camp, Captain William Orlando Darby to lead the new unit. Darby assembled volunteers, and of the first 500 U.S. Army Rangers, 281 came from the 34th Infantry Division. On 20 May 1942, Hartle was designated commanding general of V Corps and Major General Charles Ryder, a distinguished veteran of World War I, took command of the 34th Division. The division trained in Northern Ireland until it boarded ships to travel to North Africa for Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of North Africa, in November 1942.
The 34th, under command of Major General Ryder, saw its first combat in French Algeria on 8 November 1942. As a member of the Eastern Task Force, which included two brigades of the British 78th Infantry Division, and two British Commando units, they landed at Algiers and seized the port and outlying airfields. Elements of the 34th Division took part in numerous subsequent engagements in Tunisia during the Allied build-up, notably at Sened Station, Sidi Bou Zid and Faid Pass, Sbeitla, and Fondouk Gap. In April 1943 the division assaulted Hill 609, capturing it on 1 May 1943, and then drove through Chouigui Pass to Tebourba and Ferryville. The Battle of Tunisia was won, and the Axis forces surrendered.
of Pantano, Italy – 29 November to 3 December 1943.
The division skipped the Allied invasion of Sicily and instead trained intensively for the invasion of the Italian mainland, with the main landings being at Salerno on 9 September 1943, D-Day, to be undertaken by elements of the U.S. Fifth Army, commanded by Lieutenant General Mark Clark. The 151st Field Artillery Battalion went in on D-Day, 9 September, landing at Salerno, while the rest of the division followed on 25 September. Engaging the enemy at the Calore River, 28 September, the 34th, as part of the VI Corps under Major General John Lucas, relentlessly drove north to take Benevento, crossed the winding Volturno three times in October and November, assaulted Monte Patano, and took one of its four peaks before being relieved on 9 December.
In January 1944, the division was back on the front line battering the Bernhardt Line defenses. Persevering through bitter fighting along the Mignano Gap, the 34th used goat herds to clear the minefields. The 34th took Monte Trocchio without resistance as the German defenders withdrew to the main prepared defenses of the Gustav Line. On 24 January 1944, during the First Battle of Monte Cassino they pushed across the Gari River into the hills behind and attacked Monastery Hill which dominated the town of Monte Cassino. While they nearly captured the objective, in the end their attacks on the monastery and the town failed. The performance of the 34th Infantry Division in the mountains has been called one of the finest feats of arms carried out by any soldiers during the war. The unit sustained losses of about 80 per cent in the infantry battalions. They were relieved from their positions 11–13 February 1944. Eventually, it took the combined force of five Allied infantry divisions to finish what the 34th nearly accomplished on its own.
After rest and rehabilitation, the 34th Division landed at the Anzio beachhead 25 March 1944. The division maintained defensive positions until the offensive of 23 May, when it broke out of the beachhead, took Cisterna, and raced to Civitavecchia and the Italian capital of Rome. After a short rest, the division, now commanded by Major General Charles Bolte, drove across the Cecina River to liberate Livorno, 19 July 1944, and continued on to take Monte Belmonte in October during the fighting on the Gothic Line. Digging in south of Bologna for the winter, the 34th manned the line opposite the German 65th Infantry Division. The Red Bull Division jumped off as part of the Spring 1945 offensive in Italy, 15 April 1945, and captured Bologna on 21 April after hard fighting against the 65th. Pursuit of the routed enemy to the French border was halted on 2 May upon the German surrender in Italy and the end of World War II in Europe.
On 27 June 1944 the 16th SS-Panzer Grenadiers command post in San Vincenzo, Italy was overrun by the 1st Battalion of the 133rd Infantry Regiment. The command post was a town center apartment which had been commandeered, when the owners returned to their apartment they found a signed large leather-bound Stieler's Hand Atlas which had been left behind.
The division participated in six major Army campaigns in North Africa and Italy. The division is credited with amassing 517 days of front-line combat, second only to the 654 days of fighting by the 32nd Infantry Division. One or more 34th Division units were engaged in actual combat for 611 days.
;Unit history
The 34th was inactivated on 3 November 1945. The division was reformed within the Iowa and Nebraska National Guards in 1946–7.
In 1960 its units comprised the 1 BG-133 Inf, 2 BG-133 Inf, 1 BG-134 Inf, 2 BG 134 Inf, 1 BG-168 Inf, 1st and 2nd Bns 168th Arty, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Battalions 185th Arty, 1st Bn 133rd Armor, 2nd Squadron 133rd Armor, 734th Ord Bn, 128th Engineer Battalion, 109th Med Bn, 234th Signal Bn, 234th Transportation Battalion, 34th QM Co., 34th Avn Co, 34th Admin Co., 34th Aircraft Maintenance Detachment.
It disbanded again in 1963, being replaced in part by the 67th Infantry Brigade. It also retained its Division HQ as a Command HQ to supervise training of combat and support units in the former division area for some years. The 47th Infantry Division was headquartered at St Paul, MN, by 1963, as the National Guard division covering the former 34th's area.
The division was reactivated as a National Guard division for Minnesota and Iowa on 10 February 1991 upon the fiftieth anniversary of its federal activation for World War II. At that point the division transitioned into a medium division, with a required strength of 18,062 soldiers.
In 2000 the Minnesota Legislature renamed all of Interstate 35 in Minnesota the "34th Division Highway," in honor of the division and its service in the World Wars.

Twenty-first century

Shortly after its rebirth in 1991, the division began a process of reorganization and change that has continued to the present. One of the most significant developments was transformation from its old brigade structure into brigade combat teams and the broadening of its multi-state base. The Rosemount-based 34th Red Bull Infantry Division provides command and control for 23,000 Citizen-Soldiers in eight different states. In Minnesota the 34th ID includes the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 34th Combat Aviation Brigade, 84th Troop Command and the 347th Regional Support Group. Known as the Red Bulls, the 34th Infantry Division is capable of deploying its Main Command Post, Tactical Command Post, and Division Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion to provide command and control for Army brigades.
Outside Minnesota, the 34th Infantry Division provides training and operational guidance to the 1–112th Security & Support Battalion, ND National Guard; 1–183rd Aviation Battalion, Idaho National Guard; 1–189th Aviation Battalion, Mont. National Guard; 115th Fires Brigade, Wyo. National Guard; 116th Heavy Brigade Combat Team, Idaho National Guard; 141st Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, ND National Guard; 157th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, Wis. National Guard; 196th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, SD National Guard; 2nd Brigade Combat Team, Iowa National Guard; and the 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Wis. National Guard. Combined, the division represents 23,000 Citizen-Soldiers in units stationed across eight different states.
Since October 2001, division personnel served in Operation Joint Forge in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Operation Joint Guardian in Kosovo. Other deployments during the same time period have included Operation Vigilant Hammer in Europe, the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, and Egypt, and Joint Task Force Bravo – Honduras.
The 34th Infantry Division has deployed approximately 11,000 soldiers on operations since October 2001. At home this has included troops deployed for Operation Noble Eagle; abroad, units and individual soldiers have deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq.

Afghanistan

34th Infantry Division exercises training and readiness oversight of the following elements, but they are not organic and include a division headquarters and headquarters battalion, one armored brigade combat team, two infantry brigade combat teams, a cavalry brigade combat team, a field artillery brigade, and several attached units along with Companies A and B from the 2nd Battalion 123rd Armor Regiment in the Kentucky Army National Guard: