Big Red 1st Division
The 1st Mechanized Infantry Division of the U.S. Army was established in France in June 1917. It was called the 1st Expeditionary Division at the time. At the beginning of its establishment, it participated in the First World War and went through several major battles. It fought for 158 days in total and suffered 22,320 casualties. It was awarded 5 Medals of Honor and won the honorary title of "Big Red Division".
The U.S. 1st Mechanized Infantry Division
The U.S. Army’s 1st Infantry Division is one of the main forces of the U.S. Army. The division has participated in all major U.S. wars since its formation, and most of them were The main force in the battle, especially in World War II, remained in the North African landing campaign, the Gela landing site in Sicily, the "Omaha" beach in Normandy, the capture of the "Siegfeld Line", the Remagen Bridge in the Ardennes, and Czechoslovakia. Thanks to the division's blood and illustrious military exploits, the division is worthy of its reputation as the first unit of the U.S. military and is the ace division among the aces of the U.S. military.
The U.S. 1st Infantry Division was formed in 1917 during World War I, and the 1st Infantry Division was originally called the U.S. 1st Expeditionary Division. After the outbreak of World War I, President Wilson issued a call to arms to the nation: "Arm, arm to the maximum, arm without restriction!" Congress enacted the Military Conscription Act of 1917. According to the instructions of the U.S. Department of the Army on the formation of the 1st U.S. Expeditionary Division, on May 24, 1917, the U.S. Army gathered regular army troops dispersed in multiple locations to formally form the 1st U.S. Expeditionary Division, William L. Major General Burt served as the first division commander.
On June 14, the first batch of troops of the U.S. 1st Expeditionary Division set sail from the ports of New York and Hoboken to Europe. The remaining troops arrived in Saint-Nazaire, France and the United Kingdom throughout the year. Liverpool, the last of the troops arrived at Saint-Nazaire on 22 December. After the first troops arrived in France, the U.S. 1st Expeditionary Division was reorganized into the U.S. 1st Infantry Division on July 6. The division is mainly composed of the 1st Infantry Brigade, 1st Infantry Brigade, 2nd Infantry Brigade and 1st Field Artillery Brigade, as well as various supporting units. After arriving in France, the U.S. 1st Infantry Division did not immediately join the war. Later, June 8, 1917 was determined as the founding day of the U.S. 1st Infantry Division.
General Pershing, commander of the "Iron Hammer" American Expeditionary Force, was extremely concerned about the US 1st Division and personally formulated a lengthy training plan. He wanted the division to become a model for the US military. Since the first detachments of the 1st Division arrived at Gondgur, which was selected as a training area on July 5, 1917, Pershing began to check their basic tactical use level, which took more than a month. time. In late August 1917, the French 47th Alpine Sniper Division, also known as the "Blue Devils" Division, began to teach trench warfare and weapons knowledge to the US 1st Division. It was not until October 21 that Pershing sent the division to an area without fighting and assigned it to the French 18th Division to let it experience life on the front line. From that day on, each regiment sent one battalion to follow the French army into the front for 10 days, and then the other battalions went to the front for a few more days. At the end of November 1917, the 1st Division returned to Gondgur and implemented what it learned on the front line into subsequent training. It was only on January 18, 1918, six months after the 1st Division arrived in France, that Pershing believed that the division was ready to accept a separate mission and could be sent to the front.
During this period, the 1st Division gave birth to a famous American strategist, five-star General George Marshall, but at that time he was only a temporary lieutenant colonel in the 1st Division Staff Department. Marshall's task is to keep the 1st Division headquarters informed of the situation in the forward positions, check deployment and material supplies, and pay close attention to the rusticity of the troops.
On October 21, 1917, the U.S. 1st Infantry Division participated in the capture of Somerville in Lorraine. From January 18 to February 5, 1918, the 1st Infantry Brigade of the Division (attached to 5 French battalions) participated in the battle to capture Ansoville in Lorraine.
From February 5 to April 3, the U.S. 1st Infantry Division captured Ansoville in Lorraine. From April 27 to June 8, the U.S. 1st Infantry Division occupied Contigny, which was a city occupied by the Germans. hamlet, the Allies needed it, and the 1st Division was ordered to take it. The soldiers finally captured it after a hard fight and were ordered to hold their position. It withstood the most intensive German artillery fire in the final stages of World War I and defended the village. Marshall later wrote: "We held Continy, and the Germans never reoccupied the village."
From June 9th to 13th, the U.S. 1st Infantry Division participated in the Battle of Montetidier Noon's defensive operations.
From June 14 to July 8, the U.S. 1st Infantry Division and French troops exchanged defenses in the Contigny area.
From July 18th to 22nd, the U.S. 1st Infantry Division participated in the Battle of the Aisne-Marne. From August 7 to 24, the division occupied Sese in the Lorraine area. From September 8 to 11, the division occupied Luther between Sechepre and Ansoville.
From September 12th to 16th, the U.S. 1st Infantry Division participated in the Battle of St. Mihiel.
From October 1st to 12th, the U.S. 1st Infantry Division participated in the first phase of the Meuse-Argonne offensive campaign. From October 29th to November 11th, the division participated in the Meuse-Argonne offensive campaign. The second phase of the offensive campaign.
After the Pearl Harbor incident broke out on December 7, 1941, the United States got rid of the shackles of "isolationism" and the U.S. military also began emergency preparations for war. The U.S. 1st Infantry Division is no exception.
After gathering in the United Kingdom and conducting combat training, the U.S. 1st Infantry Division participated in the North African landing campaign code-named "Operation Torch" on November 8, 1942, and successfully landed in Oran, French Algeria. Thereafter, the division advanced towards Tunisia within the formation of the 2nd Army. The division suffered heavy losses in the battle with the Germans and suffered heavy casualties.
On May 9, 1943, 240,000 German-Italian Army Group Africa surrendered, and North Africa was controlled by the Allies. There has been no war in North Africa since then. The Allies took advantage of this favorable situation and launched the Sicilian Campaign code-named "Husky".
On July 10, the U.S. 1st Infantry Division forced a landing at Gela in southeastern Sicily and quickly broke through the defenders' defense lines. Soon, Germany's well-equipped "Goering" armored division counterattacked against the 1st Infantry Division. 60 German tanks rushed straight to the beach without infantry in an attempt to destroy the US bridgehead. The 1st Infantry Division could only temporarily dig individual trenches. Blocking the attack, with the support of naval gunfire and Canadian troops, the 1st Infantry Division used artillery fire to repel the German armored divisions. Many tanks had rushed 2,000 meters in front of the trenches. Taking advantage of the victory, the 1st Infantry Division launched an attack and captured Tello in one fell swoop. In the battle of Ina on July 13, the 1st Division suffered heavy casualties, including Lieutenant Colonel Joseph B. Crawford, but they opened the Strait of Messina for the Allies. door.
After 28 days of desperate fighting, the 1st Infantry Division achieved brilliant results but also paid a great price. 267 brave soldiers paid their lives, 1,184 were injured, and 337 were missing, but the superiors It was also discovered that there were discipline problems in the division. They changed their generals on the spot. Major General Clarence R. Huebner took over the command of the 1st Infantry Division from Major General Terry M. Allen. Major General Clarence R. Huebner He was a quartermaster in Washington at the time. He had fought in the 16th Regiment of the 1st Infantry Division during World War I.
After intensive training, the 16th Infantry Regiment of the 1st Infantry Division was incorporated into the V Corps and expanded to 34,124 people and 3,306 vehicles. In June 1944, it launched the Normandy landing operations code-named "Operation Overlord" The main attack was on "Omaha" Beach, but this was the most brutal and bloody battle in the entire Normandy landing operation. Five-star General Bradley, commander of the 1st Army after the war and promoted to the first Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recalled: "Omaha" beach is a nightmare. To this day, the thought of what happened there on June 6, 1944, brings with it a twinge of pain. I have returned there many times to pay my respects to the warriors who died on the beach. They will never be forgotten.
Nor will people forget those who were lucky enough to survive until the day of victory. Everyone who set foot on Omaha Beach that day was a hero.
Omaha is located east of Utah Beach, a 6.4-kilometer-long beach between the mouth of the Weir River at the southern end of the Cotentin Peninsula and Port Basin. The coast is a steep cliff with a height of more than 30 meters. There are four The deep valley carved out by the sea water has become a natural outlet to the inland. The difference between high and low tide on the beach is about 270 meters. The beach is hard sand with a towering pebble embankment, and behind it are sand dunes, grassland, and woods. , easy to defend but difficult to attack. The German army made full use of the favorable natural terrain to build fortifications. They set up three obstacles between the low tide line and the high tide line, mixed with a large number of mines, and built a concrete fort on the pebble embankment. In front of the fort, there were concertina wire fences and several There were thousands of landmines, and the four exits were blocked with mines and reinforced concrete barriers. There are 16 strong support points on the coast, equipped with machine guns and anti-tank guns. There are also bunkers built on the cliffs, which contain extremely powerful 88mm artillery. The damage range of the artillery fire can cover the entire beach.
The reason why the Allied forces chose to land here is because from the mouth of the Weir River to Arrow Menche, it is located between the U.S. Army’s Utah Beach and the British Army’s Beach. The location is very important, and this 32-kilometer long stretch Only this section of the coast can barely be landed, and the rest are cliffs. In addition, the Allies believed that the defenders here were a regiment of the 716th Coastal Defense Division. They had neither armored units nor motor vehicles. Most of the soldiers were reservists and had poor combat effectiveness. In fact, in mid-March, in order to strengthen the defense force in the Normandy area, Rommel transferred the elite field force 352nd Infantry Division from Saint-Lo. One of the main regiments of this division was deployed on the Omaha beach, and the other two regiments were deployed further away from the beach. Only a few miles to Bayeux. In fact, the regiment of the 716th Garrison Division on "Omaha" Beach had been integrated into the 352nd Division, and Allied intelligence agencies did not find out the whereabouts of the 352nd Division until after the landing troops set off.
The assault troops that landed in Omaha included the 116th Regiment of Charles Gerhardt's 29th Division and the 16th Regiment of Huebner's "Big Red Division", as well as those specially trained to blast enemy underwater Obstacle engineer troops. Formation O, commanded by Rear Admiral Hall, was responsible for the transport. We arrived at the transfer area at 3 o'clock on June 6. At that time, the wind force on the sea was level 5 and the waves were 12 meters high. 10 landing craft capsized due to the strong wind and waves. The 300 soldiers on board were struggling on the sea. 3- Six-foot-high waves crashed toward our battleships and transports. In the dark night, it is difficult and dangerous for the landing ship to anchor. Carrying heavy equipment, the infantrymen climbed into the violently rolling ship and soon became unbearable: wet, cold and seasick. The 16 tank landing ships carrying 64 amphibious tanks attacking the east and west beaches were bumping violently and moving awkwardly on the sea. The soldiers were cold, wet, and exhausted by the time they reached the beach.
What is worse is that in the pre-landing fire preparations, the Allied forces initially did not bomb this area in advance aviation fire preparations in order to achieve tactical surprise. At 5:50 on June 6, the naval gun fire support fleet consisting of 2 battleships, 4 cruisers, and 12 destroyers carried out 40 minutes of naval gun fire preparations. However, due to fear of German shore artillery fire at Cape Hawke, Warships only shoot at long distances, and their accuracy is very low. At 6 o'clock, 480 B-26 bombers prepared for direct aviation firepower on the German defensive positions and dropped 1,285 tons of bombs. However, the clouds were low and thick at that time. The pilots were afraid of accidentally injuring their own troops, so they deliberately delayed the bombing for 30 seconds. As a result, all 1,285 tons of bombs fell. 5 kilometers away. Therefore, most of the German fortifications and firepower points were intact. As soon as the Allied fire preparations were completed, the German artillery fire began.
Among the 32 amphibious tanks planned to accompany the landing troops ashore to provide timely fire support, 27 of the 32 tanks in the western section sank due to strong winds and waves within a few minutes of launching, and the remaining 5 tanks Two of them were driven onto the beach by the skilled drivers who overcame the wind and waves, and the other three were due to the initiative of a tank landing captain. When he saw the first tank sinking in the wind and waves just after it was launched, he immediately ordered the bow door to be closed. , sending the remaining three vehicles directly to the beach.
When the commander in the eastern section saw that the wind and waves were too strong and the amphibious tanks could not launch, he ordered the tanks to be sent directly to the beach. However, the time to reach the beach was advanced. In order to wait for the armored vehicles to cooperate with the operation, the tank landing craft had to linger near the coast. While waiting, the Germans seized the opportunity to bombard them fiercely and sank two tank landing craft. Most of the dozens of amphibious vehicles equipped with 105mm artillery were also sunk. As a result, only half of the amphibious tanks and a few combat vehicles reached the "Omaha" beach. At 6:30, the first batch of infantry from Jerodian Army arrived at "Omaha" Beach, but most of them were in the wrong place. It was not until 6:45 that amphibious tanks and armored vehicles arrived on the beach. However, as soon as they arrived on the beach, several of them were destroyed by German artillery fire. Then the first wave of 1,500 soldiers began to assault the land. Because there was an eastward tide in the sea and the misty smoke on the shore, it was difficult for the soldiers to distinguish their direction and the formation became chaotic. When landing, the soldiers had to first wade through a shallow water area of ??more than 1 meter deep and 50-90 meters wide, and then pass through an unprotected beach 180-270 meters wide before they could approach the embankment, and all of this was done by the German army. Under intensive and fierce artillery fire. So for the first half hour, these 1,500 soldiers were unable to fight at all and were just struggling for survival in shallow water and on the beach. Only 2 of the 8 companies that landed in the first batch landed on the scheduled beach. These troops were immediately attacked by the enemy's machine guns, mortars and artillery, and were overwhelmed by the German firepower. The underwater demolition team, composed of engineers and navy divers, suffered heavy casualties. Dozens of people were killed or injured, and many drowned in the sea. The equipment was seriously lost and damaged, but they still overcame the difficulties and braved German artillery fire to start clearing the obstacles. They managed to blow up the underwater obstacles and opened up two passages in the eastern section and four passages in the western section. However, most of the engineers who cleared the obstacles were However, he was shot dead on the spot. Unfortunately, there was no time to mark the passage before the tide came in. Subsequent landing boats could not find the passage, and they were crowded on the beach and allowed to be bombarded by the Germans. There was nowhere to hide, and the people crawling on the beach and in the shallow water were unable to fight back, nor could they hide behind the stranded landing ship. Most of the amphibious tanks were destroyed. There was no artillery support, and within a few hours, the beach was covered with blood and even the water was dyed red.
The second wave arrived at the beach at 7 o'clock, just as the tide was rising. The German artillery fire was very accurate and fierce, completely suppressing the landing troops on the narrow beachhead. In two hours, no one from the US military rushed to the beach in the western section, and only occupied a 9-meter-wide section of the beach in the eastern section. The sea was crowded with landing craft, and the order was extremely chaotic. The beach service director had to order that only personnel were allowed to land, and no vehicles or supplies were allowed to land temporarily. At this time, Bradley, the commander of the U.S. 1st Army, based on several sporadic communications and reports from warship lookout posts, knew that the landing was encountering great difficulties and victory was almost impossible. He planned to abandon the landing in Omaha and let the U.S. military The follow-up troops of the 5th Army landed on Utah Beach or the British beachhead.
The beaches of Omaha have been stained with blood for too long. It took 6 hours after landing to occupy the 10-yard beachhead. It was not until the main commanders came ashore that the soldiers began to move towards shelters such as breakwaters and cliffs. These brave commanders were Brigadier General Norman D. Cota, deputy commander of the 29th Division, Colonel Charles D. W. Canhan of the 116th Infantry Regiment, and Colonel George A. Taylor, commanding the 16th Infantry Regiment.
However, at this moment, the situation took a turn. The U.S. Navy, which was responsible for naval gun fire support, saw that there were numerous casualties among officers and soldiers on land. There was no news from the shore fire control group and the naval liaison group, and they realized that there were The situation was extremely serious. The 17 destroyers gave full play to their initiative and sailed to a distance of only 730 meters from the beach to provide close fire support regardless of the dangers of running aground, hitting mines and being bombarded. Texas rancher Colonel James E. Rudder led 150 Rangers to climb the cliff and destroy six 155mm French guns reported by French intelligence. They trudged up to Hawk's Point and discovered the so-called 155mm The coastal artillery turned out to be disguised as telephone poles, eliminating the threat of the coastal artillery. The US destroyer moved up to the beach and fired at the German firepower points one by one. The powerful firepower left the Germans unable to parry, so they had to hang a white flag and beg to surrender.
The destroyers then fired at each newly discovered target, and whenever they saw the Army firing tracer bullets, they regarded it as indicating the target and immediately launched a bombardment. It was the active assistance of the destroyers that gradually suppressed the German firepower and created conditions for the US military attack on the beach. The US military commanders on the beach also worked hard to inspire their subordinates. For example, Brigadier General Cota, the deputy commander of the 29th Division, issued emotional orders on the beach where shrapnel was flying, setting a fearless example for everyone on the beach. Cota shouted : "There are two kinds of people left on the beach, one is the dead and the other is waiting to die. Come on! Drive the devil away from here!" Those who were able to move risked their lives and rushed to the breakwater. Hundreds more soldiers from the 18th Infantry Regiment and the 115th Infantry Regiment rushed out from the landing ships and followed them. Brave deeds and heroic soldiers were seen everywhere. Colonel Taylor, commander of the 16th Regiment of the 1st Division, also shouted: "We will only die if we stay here! We must rush forward even if we die!" Under their leadership, despite heavy casualties, the U.S. troops on the beach organized the remaining troops to fight one after another. Continuous blasts opened the sealed exit and finally broke through the embankment.
At noon, the new troops of the three regiments of the second echelon landed in advance. With the support of naval guns and tanks, they expanded the landing site step by step. Then, under the guidance of the calibration fire of the "Spitfire" aircraft, the U.S. military The heavy artillery on the battleships and cruisers also joined in the shooting from the other side, which caused the Germans to cry and scurry away.
At 1:30 pm, the commander of the 1st Army, Bradley, received exciting news from Jero: “The troops are firmly holding the beach... and are advancing towards the high ground behind the beach. ." Bradley sent Chiefs of Staff Bill Keane and Chet Hansen to the beach to inspect. Their report was more optimistic than Bradley expected. The situation on the entire beach is still serious, but the troops have occupied one or two trenches and are advancing inland step by step. Based on their reports, Bradley gave up the idea of ??abandoning Omaha Beach.
When it got dark, the 1st Division and the 29th Division finally fought their way through and occupied the landing site with a front of 6.4 kilometers and a depth of 2.4 kilometers. At night, the front of the landing site was further expanded to 8 kilometers, and the landing personnel** *35,000 people. Throughout the day on D-Day, the U.S. 5th Army also paid an extremely heavy price, with 2,500 casualties alone. That night, the headquarters of the 5th Army went ashore and opened a forward command post. The first telegram sent by Army Commander Major General Roger to Bradley was: "Thank God for creating the United States Navy for us."
In this battle, the 1st Division played a great role , also suffered heavy casualties, 3,000 casualties in one day, and nearly 1,000 casualties in the 16th Regiment. However, Bradley, commander of the 1st Army, recalled: I often sent newly formed troops to the offensive battle on "Omaha" Beach. Go to the vanguard and feel pain in your heart. The troops sent this time were the 5th Army Headquarters led by Jero and the 29th Division led by Gerhardt. This is why I decided to send Huebner's heroic "Red Division" to reinforce it. Just like in the Battle of Sicily, the "Big Red Division" once again charged into battle amid a hail of enemy bullets. Thank God the division is there.
After the Normandy landings, the U.S. 1st Infantry Division continued to advance northward and soon liberated the Belgian city of Liege, then broke through the "Siegfeld Line" and advanced into the German mainland. The first target of the division's attack was Aachen, Germany. On October 21, the German garrison commander finally could not withstand the American attack and abandoned the city and surrendered. Then, the 1st Infantry Division crossed the Rhine River and continued to advance deep into Germany.
On December 16, the Nazi German army was unwilling to accept defeat and launched a large-scale counterattack in the Ardennes region with 10 armored divisions and 14 infantry divisions. At that time, the 1st Infantry Division was resting and recuperating. The 26th Regiment of the 1st Infantry Division was immediately sent to block the German 12th Armored Division. On December 17, the 16th Regiment annihilated a German airborne force north of Westmes and the 18th Regiment annihilated a German airborne force in Yupennan and captured the German Army Commander von .Hudter. On January 15, 1945, the U.S. 1st Infantry Division launched a counterattack, once again crossed the "Siegfeld Line" and captured the bridgehead of the Remagen Bridge. By April 1, the division had advanced more than 240 kilometers eastward.
On April 8, the division crossed the Wese River and entered Czechoslovakia. On May 8, Nazi Germany signed an unconditional surrender.
In World War II, the 1st Infantry Division suffered 21,023 casualties, but captured more than 100,000 enemies, and 15 of them won the Congressional Medal of Honor. After the war, the division remained in Germany as an occupying force until 1955, when it returned to the United States under a rotation system.
In 1965, the U.S. 1st Infantry Division was ordered to participate in the Vietnam War, and its 2nd Brigade went to Vietnam first. On July 2, Company B of the 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment of the 2nd Brigade exchanged fire with the "Vietnam ***" guerrillas while searching near Bien Hoa. This was their first battle in Vietnam.
From June 2 to July 13, 1966, the U.S. 1st Infantry Division and the South Vietnamese 5th Infantry Division and the "Vietnamese" 9th Division carried out the "El Paso 2" in Hulong Province. "Operation No." It is said that the "Vietnamese Army" suffered 855 casualties.
From September 14 to November 24, 1966, the U.S. 196th (Independent) Infantry Brigade launched Operation "Attleboro". In early November, the U.S. 1st Infantry Division and the 4th Infantry The 1st 173rd Airborne Brigade of the 3rd Division and several battalions of the South Vietnamese Army were involved. It is said that this is the largest combat operation of the US military, with 1,106 casualties of the "Vietnamese Army".
From November 30, 1966 to December 14, 1967, one battalion each of the U.S. 1st Infantry Division, 4th Infantry Division and 25th Infantry Division was launched in Saigon and the surrounding areas of Saigon. In 1967 In January, the U.S. 199th Infantry Brigade took over the "Fairfax" operation. This operation emphasized the joint combat operations of the US Army/South Vietnamese Army. After the 199th Infantry Brigade withdrew, the combat area was taken over by the South Vietnamese 5th Ranger Group. It is said that the "Vietnamese Army" suffered 1,043 casualties.
From January 8 to 26, 1967, the U.S. 1st Infantry Division, 25th Infantry Division, 173rd Airborne Brigade 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment and the South Vietnamese Army troops fought against the "Vietnam Army" in the Iron Triangle *"The 4th Military District Headquarters carried out the "Ceda Falls" joint operation.
From September 27 to November 19, 1967, the 1st Infantry Division of the United States carried out "the area included in Binh Duong Province after the "Vietnamese Army" troops attacked the town of Loc Ninh in Binh Long Province. Operation Shenandoah. It is said that the "Vietnamese Army" suffered 956 casualties.
From March 11 to April 7, 1968, the U.S. 1st Infantry Division, 9th Infantry Division and 25th Infantry Division, the South Vietnamese 5th Infantry Division 1 25th Division and several airborne battalions and the Navy The Marine Task Force conducted Operation "Way to Win" in the Saigon area and five surrounding provinces. It is said that the "Vietnamese Army" suffered 2,658 casualties.
It is worth mentioning that in September 1968, Major General Keith L. Ware, commander of the 1st Infantry Division, was commanding operations in Loc Ninh, north of Saigon, when the helicopter he was riding in was "overrun". **" hit and crashed, killing everyone.
In April 1970, the U.S. 1st Infantry Division was ordered to return to Fort Riley, Kansas, the United States, after suffering tens of thousands of casualties among officers and soldiers in South Vietnam.
On November 8, 1990, the 1st (Mechanized) Infantry Division was ordered to deploy to the Gulf area. In the following two months, it deployed more than 12,000 officers and soldiers and more than 7,000 pieces of equipment to Saudi Arabia. They then conducted pre-war training in Saudi Arabia to prepare for ground operations.
On the morning of February 24, 1991, ground operations as part of Operation Desert Storm began. The U.S. 1st (Mechanized) Infantry Division took the lead in launching an offensive against the Iraqi 26th Infantry Division, opening a path for subsequent troops and becoming the pioneer of the U.S. 7th Army. In today's battle, the 1st Infantry Division captured 2,500 Iraqi soldiers. Subsequently, they were ordered to maneuver north and break into the depths of the Iraqi army, intending to eliminate Saddam's elite Iraqi Army and National Guard forces.
After 16 hours of maneuvering, the U.S. 1st (Mechanized) Infantry Division entered battle again.
On the night of February 26, the division encountered the Tawakarna Division of the Iraqi Army and the National Guard and the 27th Brigade of the 12th Tank Division, destroying 40 Iraqi tanks and infantry fighting vehicles each, forcing the Iraqi army to retreat quickly. .
In order to cut off the Iraqi army's escape north from Kuwait City, the U.S. 1st (Mechanized) Infantry Division continued to advance eastward, destroying a large number of Iraqi army vehicles and capturing several Iraqi soldiers. At 20:00 on the 27th, the 1st Squadron of the 4th Cavalry Regiment of the Division captured the road used by the Iraqi army to escape north. In the early morning of the 28th, the main force of the division occupied defensive positions along the highway, completely cutting off the Iraqi army's retreat.
By the time the ceasefire was announced at 8:00 on the 28th, the 1st Infantry Division had advanced 260 kilometers in this "100-hour ground battle" and destroyed 550 Iraqi tanks and 480 armored personnel carriers, and captured There were 11,400 Iraqi troops, but only 18 of them were killed, and they lost 5 tanks and 5 infantry fighting vehicles each.
On May 10, 1991, the U.S. 1st (Mechanized) Infantry Division returned to Fort Riley, Kansas, the United States.
On February 10, 1995, U.S. Secretary of the Army Togo D. West Jr. and Army Chief of Staff General Gordon R. Sullivan announced the reorganization of the Army's active combat divisions from 12 divisions for 10 divisions. The U.S. 3rd (Mechanized) Infantry Division in Germany was reorganized into the U.S. 1st (Mechanized) Infantry Division, and the U.S. 1st (Mechanized) Infantry Division headquarters and division support units at Fort Riley, Kansas, were withdrawn from active service. The U.S. Army officially stated that this move was to retain one of the most famous divisions (numbers) of the U.S. 1st (Mechanized) Infantry Division (designation) in the active force while reducing Army divisions.
From November 1996 to October 1997, the U.S. 1st (Mechanized) Infantry Division was ordered to perform peacekeeping missions in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The division’s two commanders, Major General Montgomery C. Meigs and Dai Shao ·Major General L. Grange successively served as the commander of the Northern Multinational Division. In October 1997, Maj. Gen. David L. Grange, commander of the 1st (Mechanized) Infantry Division, transferred command and control of the Northern Multinational Division to Maj. Gen. Larry R. Ellis, commander of the U.S. 1st Armored Division.
In June 1999, after the end of the Kosovo War, part of the U.S. 1st (Mechanized) Infantry Division was ordered to station in Kosovo to perform peacekeeping missions and serve as the Eastern Multinational Brigade. A deputy division commander concurrently served as the Eastern Multinational Brigade. long.