84th Infantry Division

Nickname: Railsplitters. Shoulder Patch: A red disk on which, in white, an ax splits a rail. History Organized: August, 1917, Camp Taylor, Kentucky. Division furnished personnel to other divisions at first, then moved to Camp Sherman, Ohio, and was brought to full strength. Overseas: September-October, 1918. Training Reactivated: Oct. 15, 1942, Camp Howze, Texas, X Corps, Third Army. Maneuvers: Louisiana, 1943, Third Army. Transferred to Claiborne, November, 1943. Overseas: September, 1944 (ETO) ……. Commanding Generals: Maj. Gen. John H. Hilldring, October, 1942, to February, 1943; Maj. Gen. Stonewall Jackson, Feb.-Oct., 1943; Maj. Gen. Robert B. McClure, October, 1943. to March, 1944; Maj. Gen. Roscoe B. Woodruff, March-June, 1944; Maj. Gen. Alexander R. Bolling, June, 1944 to present. ……. Component Units: (As Of Sept., 1944): 333rd, 334th and 335th Infantry Regiments; 325th, 326th, 809th (L) and 327th (M) FA Battalions. Higher Command: Ninth Army. ……. Awards: Distinguished Unit Citation to 3rd Battalion, 334th Infantry for action in Germany, February 23, – March 5, 1945; DUC to Co. G, 334th Infantry, for similar action, Feb. 23-28, 1945. ……. Combat Highlights: Assaults on the Siegfried Line, smashing the Germans back during the 1944 winter offensive and capture of Hannover are among the achievements of the 84th Division. As soon as the Railsplitters landed in France, November, 1944 they were sent to Holland on the Geilen-kirchen salient, the town being a Nazi anchor in the Siegfried Line. The 84th had fought its way into the town by November 18 and went on to take Lindern and a succession of stubbornly defended towns. Wurm and Mellendorf, Siegfried Line strong points, fell to the 84th. Along came von Rundstedt’s winter offensive and cost the 84th bitter sub-zero fighting around Marche to hold back the strong German attack. The 84th held firmly, took the full weight of the Nazi effort and then lashed back. Launching an attack in sleet and snow, January 3, 1945, along with the 2nd Armored Division, the 84th doughfoots pushed in where tanks could not go. By night the enemy were cleared out of the woods above Odeigne Next day, the 84th took Beffe and then Devantage and Magoster. Taking up positions along the Roer, early in February, the 84th crossed the river February 23, took Korrenzig, Baal, Matzerath, Hoven and Golkrath. Next the 84th cleared up Krefeld and headed for the Rhine. The Roer to Rhine plunge took 10 days. The 84th crossed the Rhine and by April was rolling toward the Elbe and four days later the 84th reached the Elbe to meet the Russians there. In 128 days of combat, the 84th took 70,000 prisoners.

Showing all 7 results