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84TH
INFANTRY DIVISION

World
War I

Activated:
August 1917.
Overseas: October
1918. Major Operations: Provided replacements for other units;
saw no combat. Commanders: Brig. Gen. Wilber E. Wilder (25 August
1917), Maj. Gen. Harry C. Hale (6 October 1917), Brig. Gen. Wilber
E. Wilder (26 November 1917), Brig. Gen. Wilber E. Wilder (15
December 1917), Maj. Gen. Harry C. Hale (1 March 1918), Maj. Gen.
Harry C. Hale (5 June 1918), Maj. Gen. Harry C. Hale (21 July 1918),
Brig. Gen. Wilber E. Wilder (18 October 1918), Maj. Gen. Harry C.
Hale (31 October 1918). Inactivated: January 1919.

World
War II

Activated:
15 October 1942.
Overseas: 20 September 1944. Campaigns:
Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace,
Central Europe. Days of combat: 170. Distinguished Unit
Citations: 7. Awards:
DSC-12 ; DSM-1 ; SS-555; LM-4;
SM-27 ; BSM-2,962 ; AM-59.Commanders: Maj. Gen. John H. Hildring (October
1942-February 1943), Maj. Gen. Stonewall Jackson (February-October
1943), Maj. Gen. Robert B. McClure (October 1943-March 1944), Maj.
Gen. Roscoe B. Woodruff (March-June 1944), Maj. Gen. Alexander R.
Bolling (June 1944 to inactivation). Returned to U. S.:
19 January 1946.
Inactivated: 21
January 1946.

Combat
Chronicle

The
84th Infantry Division arrived in England, 1 October 1944, and
trained. It landed on Omaha Beach, 1-4 November 1944, and moved to
the vicinity of Gulpen, Holland, 5-12 November. The Division entered
combat, 18 November, with an attack on Geilenkirchen, Germany, as
part of the larger offensive in the Roer Valley, north of Aachen.
Taking Geilenkirchen, 19 November, the Division pushed forward to
take Beeck and Lindern in the face of heavy enemy resistance, 29
November. After a short rest, the Division returned to the fight,
taking Wurm and Mullendorf, 18 December, before moving to Belgium to
help stem the German winter offensive. Battling in snow, sleet, and
rain, the Division threw off German attacks, recaptured Verdenne,
24-28 December, took Beffe and Devantave, 4-6 January 1945, and
seized Laroche, 11 January. By 16 January, the Bulge had been
reduced. After a 5-day respite, the 84th resumed the offensive,
taking Gouvy and Beho. On 7 February, the Division assumed
responsibility for the Roer River zone, between Linnich and
Himmerich, and trained for the river crossing. On 23 February 1945,
the Division cut across the Roer, took Boisheim and Dulken, 1 March,
crossed the Niers Canal on the 2d, took Krefeld, 3 March, and
reached the Rhine by 5 March. The Division trained along the west
bank of the river in March. After crossing the Rhine, 1 April, the
Division drove from Lembeck toward Bielefeld in conjunction with the
5th Armored Division, crossing the Weser River to capture Hanover,
10 April. By 13 April, the Division had reached the Elbe, and halted
its advance, patrolling along the river. The Russians were contacted
at Balow, 2 May 1945. The Division remained on occupation duty in
Germany after VEday, returning
to the United States in January 1946 for demobilization.

Assignments
in the ETO*

10
September 1944: Ninth Army,
ETOUSA. 21 September 1944: III Corps. 4 November
1944: XIX Corps, Ninth Army,
12th Army Group. 8 November 1944: XIII Corps. 11 November 1944:
Ninth Army, 12th Army Group,
but attached for operations to the British XXX Corps, British Second
Army, British 21st Army Group. 23 November 1944: XIII Corps, Ninth Army, 12th Army Group.
20 December 1944: Ninth Army, 12th Army Group, but attached
to the XVIII (Abn) Corps of First Army, itself attached to the
British 21st Army Group. 20 December 1944: VII Corps. 22 December 1944:
VII Corps, First Army (attached
to British 21st Army Group), 12th Army Group. 18 January
1945: VII Corps, First Army,
12th Army Group. 23 January 1945: XVIII (Abn) Corps. 3 February
1945: XIII Corps, Ninth Army
(attached to British 21st Army Group), 12th Army Group. 4
April 1945: XIII Corps, Ninth
Army, 12th Army Group.

General

Nickname:
Railsplitters.
Shoulder patch: A
white axe splitting a rail on a red disk. Association:
84th Infantry Division
(Railsplitter) Society, Inc., P. O. Box 101, Springfield, Ill.
(Lloyd L. Garner, executive secretary). Publications: 84th
in the Battle of Germany; by
Lt. Theodore Draper, unit historian; Viking Press, New York 17, N.
Y. ; distributor, National Headquarters, Railsplitters Society;
1947. The 84th Division in the Battle of the Ardennes;
December 1944-January 1945; Historical Section, 84th Infantry
Division; 55 pp.

Nota
Bene: These combat chronicles, current as of October 1948, are
reproduced from The Army Almanac: A Book of Facts Concerning the
Army of the United States, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1950,
pp. 510-592.]
page created 30 November 2001

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