| 100th Training Division | |
|---|---|
 100th Training Division shoulder sleeve insignia | |
| Active | 1918 – 1919 1921 – 1946 1946 – present |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| Type | Training |
| Size | Division |
| Part of | United States Army Reserve Command |
| Garrison/HQ | Fort Knox,Kentucky, U.S. |
| Nicknames | Century[1] Sons ofBitche |
| Mottos | "Success in Battle"[2] "Soldiers of the Century"[3] "Train 'em Tough!"[4] |
| Colors | Blue and red |
| Engagements | World War I |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Withers Burress Andrew Tychsen Dillman A. Rush |
| Insignia | |
| Distinctive unit insignia |  |
The100th Training Division (Leader Development) (formerly the100th Infantry Division) is adivision of theUnited States Army headquartered at Fort Knox,Kentucky. It currently serves as a major training command of theUnited States Army Reserve. It has been known as the"Century Division" owing to its "100th" designation.
Throughout its long history, the division has taken on numerous roles. Serving as the100th Infantry Division until the 1950s, the division then briefly became the100th Airborne Divisionbefore becoming the100th Division (Training). Since this transformation, the division has primarily taken on numerous training roles for other Army units.
It was originally activated in mid-1918, too late to join the fighting in World War I. The division is best known for its exploits during World War II as the 100th Infantry Division. Fighting in theEuropean Theater, the division advanced through France and Germany through the end of the war, fending off heavy German counterattacks along the way. World War II would be the only war the division would see active combat in before taking on a role as a training unit.
| US Infantry Divisions | ||||
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On 23 July 1918, theWar Department directed the organization of the 100th Division atCamp Bowie,Texas. Plans called for the division to include a headquarters, headquarters troop, the 199th Infantry Brigade (397th and 398th Infantry Regiments and 374th Machine Gun Battalion), 200th Infantry Brigade (399th and 400th Infantry Regiments and 375th Machine Gun Battalion), 373rd Machine Gun Battalion, 175th Field Artillery Brigade (373rd-375th Field Artillery Regiments and 25th Trench Mortar Battery), 325th Engineers, 625th Field Signal Battalion, and 325th Train Headquarters and Military Police (Ammunition, Engineer, Sanitary, and Supply Trains). It was intended that the 199th Infantry Brigade would be organized in France from the 56th and 57th Pioneer Infantry Regiments.
The 25th Trench Mortar Battery was formed at Camp Stanley, Texas, in August 1918 and was assigned to the 175th Field Artillery Brigade, but never ended up joining. The organization of the division began in October with the appointment of Colonel William L. Reed as division chief of staff, but organization never progressed beyond the assignment of the division staff and preliminary preparations for the receipt ofSelective Service men. After theArmistice of 11 November 1918, the 100th Division was ordered demobilized on 30 November 1918.[5]
The 100th Division was reconstituted in theOrganized Reserve on 24 June 1921, allotted to the FifthCorps Area, and assigned to theXV Corps. The division was further allotted to the states ofWest Virginia and Kentucky as its home area. The division headquarters was organized on 27 September 1921 at 209 Greenbriar Street inCharleston, West Virginia, but relocated in April 1922 to 815 Quarrier Street and moved again in September 1922 to the Morrison Building in Charleston. On 29 May 1923, the division received itsshoulder sleeve insignia.[3] The headquarters was relocated a final time on 30 June 1928 from 1313 Union Bank and Trust Building in Charleston to the Coal Exchange Building inHuntington, and remained there until activated for World War II. To maintain communications with the officers of the division, the division staff published a newsletter titled “The Century,” which alluded to the division's numerical designation. The newsletter informed the division's members of such things as when and where the inactive training sessions were to be held, what the division's summer training quotas were, when and where the camps were to be held, and which units would be assigned to help conduct theCitizens Military Training Camps (CMTC). As the 1920s gave way to the 1930s and many World War I-experienced Reservists began to retire, the single largest cohort of the division's assigned officers became new ROTC (Reserve Officers' Training Corps) graduates chiefly fromWest Virginia University inMorgantown, theUniversity of Kentucky inLexington, orWestern Kentucky State Teachers' College inBowling Green.
The 100th Division headquarters occasionally trained with the staff of the5th Division's 10th Infantry Brigade atFort Benjamin Harrison,Indiana. The subordinate infantry regiments of the division held their summer training primarily with the units of the 10th Infantry Brigade at Camp Knox orFort Thomas, Kentucky, or Fort Benjamin Harrison. Some years, the division's 167th and 168th Infantry Brigades and their subordinate units conducted camp at theCulver Military Academy inCulver, Indiana. Other units, such as the special troops, artillery, engineers, aviation, medical, and quartermaster, trained at various posts in the Fifth Corps Areas, usually with active units of the 5th Division. For example, the division's artillery trained with the 5th Division field artillery units stationed at Camp Knox; the 309th Engineer Regiment usually trained at Fort Benjamin Harrison; the 309th Medical Regiment trained at Camp Knox; and the 309th Observation Squadron trained with the88th Observation Squadron atWright Field,Ohio. In addition to the unit training camps, the infantry regiments of the division rotated responsibility for conducting the infantry CMTC training held at Camp Knox and Fort Thomas each year. On a number of occasions, the division participated in Fifth Corps Area and Second Armycommand post exercises (CPXs) in conjunction with other Regular Army, National Guard, and Organized Reserve units. These training events gave division staff officers’ opportunities to practice the roles they would be expected to perform in the event the division was mobilized. Unlike the Regular and Guard units in the Fifth Corps Area, however, the 100th Division did not participate in the various Fifth Corps Area maneuvers and theSecond Army maneuvers of 1936, 1940, and 1941 as an organized unit due to lack of enlisted personnel and equipment. Instead, the officers and a few enlisted reservists were assigned to Regular and Guard units to fill vacant slots and bring the units up to war strength for the exercises. Additionally, some officers were assigned duties as umpires or as support personnel.[6][7]
Before Organized Reserve infantry divisions were ordered into active military service, they were reorganized on paper as "triangular" divisions under the 1940 tables of organization. The headquarters companies of the two infantry brigades were consolidated into the division's cavalry reconnaissance troop, and one infantry regiment was removed by inactivation. The field artillery brigade headquarters and headquarters battery became the headquarters and headquarters battery of the division artillery. Its three field artillery regiments were reorganized into four battalions; one battalion was taken from each of the two 75 mm gun regiments to form two 105 mm howitzer battalions, the brigade's ammunition train was reorganized as the third 105 mm howitzer battalion, and the 155 mm howitzer battalion was formed from the 155 mm howitzer regiment. The engineer, medical, and quartermaster regiments were reorganized into battalions. In 1942, divisional quartermaster battalions were split into ordnance light maintenance companies and quartermaster companies, and the division's headquarters and military police company, which had previously been a combined unit, was split.[9]
On 15 August 1942, the War Department designated Major General Withers A. Burress as division commander, Colonel Maurice L. Miller as assistant division commander, and Colonel Theodore A. Buechler as division artillery commander. Miller and Buechler were later promoted to brigadier general. The officer cadre (regimental, battalion, and company commanders) was designated by the end of August, and was dispatched to training schools to prepare them for their new assignments. In October 1942, they reported to Fort Jackson,South Carolina, and were joined by about 400 "filler" officers principally obtained fromofficer candidate schools. In mid-October, thenon-commissioned officer cadre, provided principally by the76th Infantry Division arrived at Fort Jackson. The 100th Infantry Division was officially ordered into active military service on 15 November 1942. Over 13,000 enlisted fillers, consisting of men from all across the United States, "salesmen fromNew York; farmers from theCarolinas,Georgia, andAlabama; mechanics fromNew Jersey; clerks from theNew England states; mill workers fromPennsylvania andDelaware," arrived in short order thereafter. Basic training began on 28 December 1942.[10]
From late 1943 to early 1944, the division trained in the mountains ofTennessee and was subsequently sent toFort Bragg, North Carolina, for further training.[11] While at Fort Bragg,Technical Sergeant Walter L. Bull earned the firstExpert Infantryman's Badge.[11]
Between January 1943 and August 1944, the division sent 14,636 enlisted men and 1,400 officers as cadres or fillers for other units or to overseas replacement depots.[12] The latter transfers were to obey two War Department directives issued in January and February 1944. The first was that the greatest possible proportion of men sent overseas as replacements have at least six months of training. The latter was to prohibit 18 year olds and men with children conceived prior to Pearl Harbor who had less than six months of training from being sent overseas as replacements unless men could be found from other sources. In June 1944, the age rule became even stricter, with no men under 19 shipped as replacements in infantry or armor under any circumstances, and no men under 18 years and 6 months assigned to infantry or armor replacement training centers.
Between April 1944 ("when the initial age rules began to have a substantial effect") and September 1944 (when the age policy came to an end), the 100th Infantry Division lost 125 infantry noncommissioned officers and 3,859 privates. In exchange, the division received men from replacement training centers (particularly starting in the summer, when demand for replacements in all theaters became so high that the centers, rather than units, again became the primary source of overseas replacements), the pared-downArmy Specialized Training Program, aviation cadets returned to the ground forces, men from disbanded units in other branches of the Army (principallyantiaircraft andtank destroyer), and men who had volunteered for the infantry from other branches of the Army.
The division sailed to Europe on 6 October of that year.[13] The division arrived atMarseille, France, on 20 October.[13] It was made part ofVI Corps of theSeventh United States Army,Sixth United States Army Group.[14]
As soon as the division was prepared for combat, it began moving into theMeurthe-et-Moselle region,[15] and sent its first elements into combat atSt. Remy in theVosges Mountains on 1 November 1944.[13] The division as a whole began the relief of the45th Infantry Division atBaccarat on 5 November, and assumed control of the sector on 9 November.[13] The attack jumped off on 12 November, and the division drove against the German Winter Line in theVosges Mountains.[13] The 100th tookBertrichamps andClairupt, pierced the German line, and seizedRaon-l'Étape and Saint-Blaise-Moyenmoutier between 16 and 26 November.[13] Later in November the division moved into theVosges region,[15] elements assisted in holding theSaverne Gap bridgehead while the bulk of the division went into reserve.[13] The unit was relieved from assignment to VI Corps and transferred to the USXV Corps on 27 November 1944.[14] It then moved into theMoselle region.[15]
In December 1944, the division went on the offensive in the vicinity ofBitche, France. The division occupied the nearby areas ofWingen andLemberg after fierce fighting on 6–10 December. The division then advanced toReyersviller, which fell after fighting on 11–13 December.[13] On 14 December, regiments from the 100th started their assault on a minor fortification Freundenburg and Fort Schiesseck, a major defensive work in the region.[16] Fort Freundenburg was captured on 17 December by the 100th division's 398th Infantry Regiment.[16] Fort Schiesseck capitulated after three more days of heavy assault by the 100th on 20 December.[13] The division was ordered to halt its attack and to hold defensive positions south ofBitche as part of theSeventh Army during theBattle of the Bulge.[13] Thanks to a stout defense, the men of the 100th later became known as the "Sons of Bitche". The German counterattacks of 1 and 8–10 January 1945 were repulsed, after heavy fighting at Bitche. After further attacks stalled and the Germans began to withdraw, the sector was generally quiet and the division prepared to resume its offensive east.[13]
On 15 March 1945, the attack jumped off and on 16 March, Bitche fell to the 100th Infantry Division.[13] The unit was then relieved from assignment to XV Corps, and transferred toXXI Corps on 22 March 1945.[14] TakingNeustadt andLudwigshafen, the division reached theRhine River on 24 March.[13] On 25 March 1945, the unit was returned from XXI Corps back to VI Corps.[14] On 31 March 1945, the 100th Infantry Division crossed the Rhine and moved south in the wake of the10th Armored Division and then east across theNeckar River, establishing and enlarging a bridgehead from 4 to 11 April.[13]Heilbronn fell afternine days of house-to-house combat on 12 April and the division resumed its rapid pursuit of the enemy, reachingStuttgart by 21 April.[13] The 100th was mopping up along the Neckar, southeast of Stuttgart on 23 April, when it was removed from VI Corps and assigned directly to the Seventh United States Army as an Echelon Above Corps Asset.[14] The division was then assigned primarily to patrolling the sector east ofStuttgart.[17] Shifting toGöppingen on 30 April, the Division engaged in occupational duties as the war in Europe came to an end onV-E Day.[17] The division had spent 163 days in combat.[18]
The division took 13,351 enemy prisoners of war on its own.[18] Members of the division won threeMedals of Honor, sevenDistinguished Service Crosses, fiveLegions of Merit, 492Silver Star Medals, 23Soldier's Medals, 5,156Bronze Star Medals, and 90Air Medals. The division itself was awarded threecampaign streamers for participation in the campaign.[18]
100th Infantry Division returned to the United States via theHampton Roads Port of Embarkation on 10 January 1946, and was released from active duty atCamp Patrick Henry,Virginia that day.[13] The division then began the process ofdemobilization, before inactivating on 26 January.[7]
In fall of 1946, the division was reactivated in theU.S. Army Reserve as the 100th Airborne Division inLouisville, Kentucky.[7] This distinction as one of the fewairborne divisions within the U.S. Army was brief; in 1952 the division was once again redesignated the 100th Infantry Division.[7] It would change names again in 1955, this time to 100th Division (Replacement Training).[7] It would once again be reorganized in 1959 to its present designation as 100th Division (Institutional Training). Its mission became to teach basic, advanced, and common training skills to soldiers from the Army's active, reserve, andNational Guard components.[7]
In 1961, some 1,500 soldiers from the 100th were activated and sent toFort Chaffee,Arkansas,[7] in order to provide support during theBerlin Crisis. During their time on active duty, the 100th successfully trained some 32,000 soldiers after thoroughly rebuilding and fixing the old Army base. The unit was returned to reserve status again in August 1962.[11] In 1968, the division received itsdistinctive unit insignia, which alluded to its history in World War II and as a Kentucky-based unit.[3]
With theReorganization Objective Army Division plan in 1968, the division ceased to be centered on regiments and instead was reorganized with brigades. However, with the 199th Infantry Brigade active as a separate brigade, the division's new brigades were activated from units that had been under its command in World War II.[20] The division's headquarters element (which had since been replaced by aHeadquarters and Headquarters Company) was redesignated the1st Brigade, 100th Division responsible for basic armor school training.[20] The 928th Field Artillery Battalion became the2nd Brigade, 100th Division responsible for armored cavalry unit training.[20] The 325th Engineer Battalion became the3rd Brigade, 100th Division responsible for combat support training,[20] and the 800th Ordnance Battalion became the4th Brigade, 100th Division, responsible for combat service support training.[21]
In 1978, the 100th became the first Army Reserve formation to be equipped with its own squadrons ofM1 Abramstanks. With the arrival of theM3 Bradleyinfantry fighting vehicles, the division's mission profile changed from individual combat training to armor and armor reconnaissance training.[11] By 1986, it was the largest reserve unit within the state ofKentucky, commanding fifty-eight percent of instate reservists.[11]
At the outbreak ofOperation Desert Storm in 1991, the 100th was assigned to armor training atFort Knox, Kentucky for deploying armor units. Armor training was a responsibility that the division continued after the war.[11]
In 1995 the division was reorganized to include Army Reserve schools, taking over the responsibilities for new programs. In 1996 the 100th Division's 1st Brigade worked with Readiness Group Knox to pioneer the national training experiment to reserve combat units at crew and platoon levels.[11] Later that year, the division added three additional divisional brigades; the5th Brigade, 100th Division inMemphis, Tennessee for health services training,[21] the6th Brigade, 100th Division in Louisville, Kentucky for professional development training,[21] and the7th Brigade, 100th Division at Fort Knox, formed from the 100th Training Command and responsible for training exercises.[21] The 5th Brigade moved toMillington, Tennessee in 1997, and the 7th Brigade inactivated in 2000.[21] The8th Brigade, 100th Division was also activated as a unit overseeing ROTC training.[3]
During 1997, the division was tasked with partial responsibility forOperation Future Challenge at Fort Knox, a six-weekReserve Officer's Training Corps Basic Camp during each summer. By 2000, the 100th has assumed full responsibility for running the camp. Later that same year, the 100th began inactivating many of itsM1A1 Abrams tanks as part of a reduction in military expenditures.[11]
After theSeptember 11 attacks, the 100th Division began taking on the job of preparingArmy National Guard units fromOhio and Kentucky as they began to prepare for deployment in support of thewar on terrorism.[11]
By 2006, the division had moved its headquarters fromLouisville to Fort Knox, easing distance strains in administration and training.[11] In line with Army Reserve transformations, the 100th Division restructured, eliminating all but four of its brigades. The division shifted its focus from initial entry training to providingmilitary occupational specialty andnon-commissioned officer training for four army career fields across the United States. The 100th Division (Operational Support) teaches soldiers subjects frommilitary intelligence,signal corps,civil affairs/psychological operations and health services.[4]
On 1 October 2018 the 100th Training Division was redesignated as the 100th Training Division (Leader Development). The 100th Training Division (Leader Development) establishes and implements the Army Reserve Leader Development Strategy to provide a continuum of career education, training, and experience for leaders in the Army Reserve. During this reorganization, the 83rd USARRTC and the 97th (CGSOC) Brigade were placed under the 100th Training Division.
As of 2018 the following units are subordinated to the 100th Training Division (Leader Development):
| Conflict | Streamer | Year(s) |
|---|---|---|
| World War II | Rhineland | 1944–1945 |
| World War II | Ardennes-Alsace Battle Credit | 1944–1945 |
| World War II | Central Europe | 1945 |
| Unit | Year the PUC was awarded | Campaign | Streamer inscription |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Battalion, 397th Infantry Regiment | 1946 | Central Europe | HEILBRONN |
| 2nd Battalion, 397th Infantry Regiment | |||
| H Company, 397th Infantry Regiment | Ardennes-Alsace | RIMLING | |
| 3rd Battalion, 397th Infantry Regiment | 1951 | ||
| 3rd Battalion, 398th Infantry Regiment | 1945 | BITCHE | |
| 1946 | Central Europe | HEILBRONN | |
| 1st Battalion, 399th Infantry Regiment | RAON-L'ÉTAPE | ||
| 3rd Battalion, 399th Infantry Regiment | 1952 | Central Europe | BEILSTEIN[23] |
The division's legacy in World War II has been honored several times. TheCross Island Parkway inQueens, New York was renamed the "100th Infantry Division Parkway" in 2005 in honor of 2,300 soldiers from New York that served with the division during the war.[24] Three soldiers earned theMedal of Honor serving with the division in World War II. They wereEdward A. Silk,Mike Colalillo, andCharles F. Carey Jr.[25][26]
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