The 72nd Infantry Brigade was organized at Camp Bowie, Texas, in July, 1917. A unit of the 36th Infantry Division, the 72nd Brigade included the 3rd and 4th Texas Infantry Regiments. These regiments served on the Mexico–United States border during the Pancho Villa Expedition, and then were organized and federalized for World War I as the 133rd Machine Gun Battalion, and 143rd and 144th Infantry Regiments.
World War I
The 72nd Brigade arrived in France in July, 1918, and took part in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive of September, October and November which led to the German surrender. In early 1919 the 72nd Brigade was mustered out at Camp Bowie.
Post World War I
When the National Guard was reorganized following passage of the National Defense Act of 1920, the 36th Infantry Division was continued as a Texas National Guard organization, with the 72nd Brigade as a subordinate command. The Army discontinued machine gun battalions, and the 72nd Brigade consisted of the 143rd and 144th Infantry Regiments.
The 36th Division, including the 72nd Brigade, was federalized in 1940 for service during World War II. A 1942 restructuring led to the Army discontinuing the use of brigade headquarters in favor of regiments reporting directly to the division headquarters, and Headquarters, 72nd Brigade was inactivated, though its regiments continued as part of the 36th Infantry Division, and saw combat in North Africa, Italy, and France, as well as in the Pacific Theater.
Following World War II the National Guard’s reorganization included the fielding of several armored divisions in anticipation of tank warfare against the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics to defend Western Europe. One of these armored divisions, the 49th, was allocated to Texas and formed around what had been the 72nd Infantry Brigade. The 49th Armored Division continued in service until 1968, and was activated during the 1961 Berlin crisis. A 1968 National Guard reorganization led to the inactivation of the 49th Armored Division and the reactivation of the 72nd Infantry Brigade. In 1973 another reorganization caused the reactivation of the 49th Armored Division and inactivation of the 72nd Infantry Brigade. The 49th Armored Division was inactivated and reflagged as the 36th Infantry Division in 2004, and the 72nd Brigade was reactivated. In 2005 and 2006 the Army’s conversion to modular brigades included the 72nd Brigade’s reorganization as an Infantry Brigade Combat Team.
