91st Division (United States)


The 91st Infantry Division is an infantry division of the United States Army that fought in World War I and World War II. From 1946 until 2008, it was part of the United States Army Reserve. It was briefly inactivated from 2008 until 2010 when it was elevated back to a division size element as the 91st Training Division .

History

World War I

The Division was composed of the following units:
Constituted on 5 August 1917 at Camp Lewis, Washington, near Tacoma, the division soon thereafter departed for England in the summer of 1918. In September 1918, the division's first operation was in the St. Mihiel Offensive in France. Serving under the U.S. Army's V Corps, the division fought in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive and successfully helped to destroy the German First Guard Division and continued to smash through three successive enemy lines.
Twelve days before the end of World War I, the division, as part of the VII Corps of the French Sixth Army, helped drive the Germans east across the Escaut River in the Battle of the Lys and the Escaut. The division was awarded separate campaign streamers for its active role in the Lorraine, Meuse-Argonne and Ypres-Lys campaigns.
In 1919, the 91st was inactivated at the Presidio of San Francisco.
The Division was composed of the following units:
After being reconstituted in 1921 as part of the Organized Reserves and being assigned to the state of California, the division then served as an administrative control center for the next 21 years.

World War II

As the early battles of World War II involving the United States were being fought, the division was reactivated at Camp White, Oregon on 15 August 1942, under the command of Major General Charles H. Gerhardt. After initial training at Camp White, the division participation in the Oregon Maneuver combat exercise in the fall of 1943.

Order of battle

Then, the division, now under Major General William G. Livesay, departed for the European Continent on 3 April 1944. There, on the Italian Front, the 361st Regimental Combat Team was detached to participate in the battles for Rome and the Arno River. It became the first formation of the U.S. Fifth Army to reach the river. In September 1944, the division crossed the Sieve River, outflanked the famous Gothic Line, and captured the Futa Pass. For its part in combat, the division was awarded the North Apennines, Po Valley and Rome-Arno campaign streamers.
The division returned to the United States where it was inactivated at Camp Rucker, Alabama, in December 1945. Two members were awarded the Medal of Honor during the war, Roy W. Harmon and Oscar G. Johnson.

World War II statistics

Command structure

Awards: MH-2 ; DSC-2 ; DSM-1 ; SS-528; LM-33; SM-43 ; BSM-4,152.
Theater: Mediterranean
Days of combat: 271
Campaigns:
Casualties
In December 1946, the 91st was reactivated at the Presidio of San Francisco as part of the U.S. Army Reserve. In 1959, the division was reorganized and redesignated as the 91st Division. In 1993, the division was again reorganized and redesignated as the 91st Division and again in 1999 as the 91st Division.
Its headquarters was at Parks Reserve Forces Training Area, Dublin, California, when the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommended the Department of Defense relocate the 91st Division to Fort Hunter Liggett.
The four brigades of the 91st Division were redesignated as separate brigades:
The 91st Division moved its headquarters to Fort Hunter Liggett on 1 May 2009, was reorganized and re-designated as the 91st Training Brigade on 1 October 2009 and was then re-designated as the 91st Training Division on 1 October 2010.

Subordinate units

As of 2017 the following units are subordinated to the 91st Training Division :
The soldiers in the TV show Combat! portray members of the 363rd Infantry Regiment.

Shoulder Sleeve Insignia