| 104th Training Division | |
|---|---|
 104th Division insignia | |
| Active | 24 June 1921 – 20 December 1945 1 December 1946 – present |
| Country |  United States |
| Allegiance |  United States Army |
| Branch | Army Reserve |
| Type | TrainingDivision |
| Role | Training |
| Size | Division |
| Garrison/HQ | Fort Lewis, Washington |
| Nicknames | "Timberwolf Division"[1] "Nightfighters"[2] |
| Mottos | "Nothing in Hell can stop the Timberwolves"[1] "We Succeed"[3][4] |
| Engagements | |
| Commanders | |
| Commanding General | Brigadier General Vance Kuhner |
| Command Sergeant Major | Command Sergeant Major Terrence Aleshire |
| Notable commanders | Gilbert R. Cook (1942–1943) Terry de la Mesa Allen Sr. (1944–1945) |
| Insignia | |
| Distinctive Unit Insignia |  |
The104th Infantry Division was aninfantrydivision of theUnited States Army. Today, it is known as the104th Training Division (Leader Training) and based atFort Lewis, Washington, as a training unit of theUnited States Army Reserve.
Activated in 1921 and deployed during World War II, the division saw almost 200 days of fighting in northwestern Europe as it fought throughFrance,Netherlands, Belgium, and westernGermany, fighting back several fierce German counterattacks as it advanced through the theater throughout late 1944 and 1945. This was the only combat duty that the 104th Infantry Division has served during its history. At the end of the fighting on 7 May 1945 (V-E Day), this division was in central Germany opposite the troops of its allies from theSoviet Army.
After World War II, this division was reorganized primarily as a training division for Reserve forces. After several decades, the division then expanded its role to conducting entry-level training for soldiers of all branches of the Army in the northwestern United States. Its role and size have expanded over that time due to the consolidation of other training commands, and the division subsequently took charge of a number of brigades specializing in various entry-level training for soldiers of all types.
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The 104th Division was constituted in theOrganized Reserve on 24 June 1921, allotted to theNinth Corps Area, and assigned to theXIX Corps. The division was allocated to the states ofUtah,Idaho,Montana, andWyoming as its home area, although the 2nd Battalion, 413th Infantry was organized atReno, Nevada.[5] The division headquarters was organized on 7 October 1921 atFort Douglas, Utah, and relocated in May 1923 to Room 312 in the Commercial Building inSalt Lake City. The headquarters was moved on 30 September 1926 to the Vermont Building where it remained until activated for World War II. To maintain communications with the officers of the division, the division staff published a newsletter titled “Frontier Division,” which was reflective of the unit's geographical area. The newsletter informed the division's members what the division's summer training quotas were, where the camps were to be held, and which units would be assigned to help conduct theCitizens Military Training Camps (CMTC).
For the few summers when the division headquarters was called to duty for training as a unit, the 104th Division usually trained with the staff of the3rd Division's 6th Infantry Brigade at Fort Douglas. The subordinate infantry regiments of the division held their summer training primarily with the units of the 3rd Division at Fort Douglas andFort Missoula, Montana, and some years with the2nd Division's 4th Infantry Brigade at the Pole Mountain Military Reservation, Wyoming. Other units, however, such as the special troops, artillery, engineers, aviation, medical, and quartermaster, trained at various posts in the Ninth Corps Area with Regular Army units of the same branch. For example, the 329th Engineer Regiment usually trained with elements of the 3rd Division's 6th Engineer Regiment atCamp Lewis, Washington, and the 329th Medical Regiment trained at the post hospital atFort Francis E. Warren, Wyoming. In addition to the unit training camps, the infantry regiments of the division rotated responsibility to conduct the CMTC held at Camp Lewis each year.
On a number of occasions, the division participated in Ninth Corps Area and Fourth Armycommand post exercises 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 Ninth Corps Area, however, the 104th Division did not participate in the various Ninth Corps Area maneuvers and the major Fourth Army maneuvers of 1936 and 1940 as an organized unit due to lack of enlisted personnel and equipment. Instead, the officers and a few enlisted reservists were assigned to the Regular and Guard units to fill vacant slots and bring the units up to full peace strength for the exercises. Additionally, some officers were assigned duties as umpires or as support personnel.[6]
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.[7] The 104th Infantry Division was ordered into active military service on 15 September 1942 under the command ofMajor GeneralGilbert R. Cook, and was reorganized as the 104th Infantry Division atCamp Adair,Oregon.[8][9] The division earned its nickname "Timberwolf Division" from its time in the northwest.[1]
The 104th was the first U.S. Army division to be trained to fight in nighttime conditions.[2] After training at Camp Adair, the division participated in theOregon Maneuver combat exercise in the fall of 1943.[10][11] On 15 October 1943, Major GeneralTerry de la Mesa Allen Sr. took command of the division.[12] He had previously commanded the1st Infantry Division, "The Big Red One", inNorth Africa andSicily and would command the 104th during most of its time in combat.[13] On 7 December 1943, the division moved to, and began 13 weeks of desert training atCamp Hyder, Arizona. The division concluded training on 9 February 1944, and next moved to Camp Granite, California. One last move in March to Camp Carson, Colorado, aboard 24 trains was followed with a cross-county move to Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, arriving on 20 August 1944.
The 104th Infantry Division sailed for theWestern Front on 27 August 1944.[14] It landed in France on 7 September 1944.[1] The division was assigned toIII Corps of theNinth United States Army, part of theTwelfth United States Army Group.[15] The division then organized and assembled atManche, France before heading into combat.[16]
Joining theBattle of the Scheldt, the division moved into defensive positions in the vicinity ofWuustwezel, Belgium on 23 October 1944. The Timberwolves were then assigned toField Marshal SirBernard Montgomery's Anglo-Canadian21st Army Group under theBritish I Corps, within theFirst Canadian Army, along with theU.S. 7th Armored Division, in order toclear out the Scheldt Estuary and open the port ofAntwerp. While the U.S. 7th Armored Division was assigned static duty holding the right flank of the gains made during the failedMarket Garden operation, the 104th Infantry Division was to participate in theFirst Canadian Army's taking of the Scheldt. The Timberwolves travelled across France by train and debarked near the Belgian-Dutch border and waited for word to take part in a new allied offensive,Operation Pheasant, taking the place of the experiencedBritish 49th Infantry Division on the left flank and thePolish 1st Armored Division on the right.
The Americans were given responsibility for taking 22 miles of wet, low country from the Belgian border to theMeuse (Maas). The width of their front was approximately 8,000 yards. General Allen planned to employ all three of his regiments at the same time, shoulder to shoulder. The 104th began combat operations on 25 and 26 October and began to attack the Germans, who offered varying levels of resistance. Along the division's front, the Germans were spread thinly and did not have continuous lines of defense. However, they did possess deadly strong points and endeavored to make the Timberwolves' progress as time-consuming and costly as possible, making heavy use of mines, booby traps, and roadblocks. Despite this, the advance was steady, though paid for in the lives of the 104th Division soldiers. Conditions were rainy, chilly, wet, and muddy. Moisture seemed to grip everything and everyone. Sleet beat down on the troops, who went for days soaked to the skin and slimy with mud.[17] On 30 October, after five days of continuous operations the division had pushed about 15 miles to within sight of the Mark River and had liberatedZundert, gained control of theBreda-Roosendaal Road, and overrun the Vaart Canal defenses.[14]Leur andEtten fell as the division advanced to theMark River, arriving there by 31 October.[14] A coordinated attack over the Mark River atStanddaarbuiten on 2 November established abridgehead and the rest of the division crossed the river. With the Allies firmly on the north side of the Mark River, German resistance collapsed. For the next two days, the Timberwolves pursued enemy remnants north to the Meuse.Zevenbergen was captured and the Meuse was reached on 5 November.[14] That same day, General Allen received orders from theU.S. First Army, releasing it from Canadian control. While the bulk of the division moved nearAachen, Germany, elements remained to secureMoerdijk until 7 November, when they were relieved.[14] During this time, the division was reassigned toVII Corps of the U.S. 1st Army, also part of the Twelfth Army Group.[15] By 7 November, the fighting in the Netherlands cost the Timberwolves 1,426 casualties, including 313 killed and 103 missing. Montgomery and the Canadian commanders sent their congratulations, and General Allen disseminated copies of their letters to his regiments and wrote a personal letter of thanks to everyone in the division, concluding with his favorite motto, "Nothing in Hell must stop the Timberwolves!" As a result of the actions of the 104th and their Allied counterparts, the Scheldt Estuary was cleared. TheRoyal Navy took three weeks to sweep the estuary waters clear of mines, and in early December 1944, the port of Antwerp was open to Allied shipping.
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While under American command on 16 November 1944, the division went on another offensive in support ofOperation Queen, takingStolberg and pushing on against heavy resistance.[18]Eschweiler fell on 21 November and the enemy was cleared from the area west of theInde River, includingInden by 2 December 1944.Lucherberg was held against enemy counterattacks on 3 December, and all strongholds west of theRoer River were captured by the 23rd.[18] It took temporary command of the60th Infantry Regiment of the9th Infantry Division.[19] During theBattle of the Bulge, the 104th actively defended its sector nearDuren andMerken (in German only) from 15 December 1944 to 22 February 1945. During that time, it was reassigned toXIX Corps of theNinth United States Army.[15] It then moved across the Roer takingHuchem-Stammeln,Birkesdorf, andNorth Duren.[18]
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On 5 March, after heavy fighting, it enteredKöln. After defending the west bank of theRhine River, the division crossed the river atHonnef on 22 March 1945, and attacked to the east of theRemagen bridgehead.[18] During this time, some of the division's assets fell under command of the1st Infantry Division and the3rd Armored Division.[20]
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After a period of mopping up and consolidation, it participated in the trap of enemy troops in theRuhr pocket. The 104th repulsed heavy attacks nearMedebach and capturedPaderborn on 1 April 1945.[18] After regrouping, it advanced to the east and crossed theWeser River on 8 April, blocking enemy exits from theHarz Mountains. On 11 April 1945 the Division was involved in the liberation of a large German concentration camp at Nordhausen.[21] The division then crossed theSaale River and tookHalle in a bitter five-day struggle from 15 to 19 April.[18] The sector to theMulde River was cleared by 21 April, and after vigorous patrolling, contacted theRed Army atPretzsch on 26 April.[18] The division took temporary command of assets from the69th Infantry Division in early May.[19]
The division returned to the United States on 3 July 1945, where it began making preparations for deployment to the Pacific Theater. After Japan surrendered, the division began the process ofdemobilization. The division was inactivated at Camp San Luis Obispo, California on 20 December 1945.[23]
During World War II, soldiers of the division were awarded twoMedals of Honor, 14Distinguished Service Crosses, oneDistinguished Service Medal, 642Silver Star Medals, sixLegion of Merit medals, 20Soldier's Medals, 2,797Bronze Star Medals, and 40Air Medals.[14] The division received 9Distinguished Unit Citations and threecampaign streamers during 200 days of combat.[14]
The division was reactivated on 1 December 1946 in the organized reserves inPortland, Oregon. It began taking on the responsibility of holding training programs for new soldiers of the US Army Reserve. In July 1948, the division held its first session of summer training. By the end of the training, it had turned out 300 new reservists.[24] By 1952, the division was turning out 1,500 new reservists per training camp.[24] The division was reorganized specifically as a training division in 1959.[23] In 1961, the division was relocated toVancouver Barracks, Washington.[23]
In 1967, the division was reorganized. As part of an army-wide initiative known as theReorganization Objective Army Division plan, the division's regiments were disbanded and replaced with larger and more versatile brigades.[25] The1st Brigade, 104th Division, activated at Vancouver Barracks,[26] and the2nd Brigade, 104th Division activated atPasco, Washington.[27] Meanwhile, the3rd Brigade, 104th Division,[28] as well as the4th Brigade, 104th Division both activated atFort Lawton, Washington.[29] Each of these brigades carried the history of other historic units which fought under the 104th Infantry Division in World War II. The 104th Division was then assigned the mission of conductingOne Station Unit Training,Basic Combat Training,Advanced Individual Training, andCombat Support training.[24] 1st Brigade took on basic combat training, while 3rd Brigade undertook combat support training, 4th Brigade conductedcombat service support training.[25]
In 1996, three more brigades were added to the division's structure. The5th Brigade, 104th Division was activated atSalt Lake City,Utah.[30] The6th Brigade, 104th Division was activated atAurora, Colorado.[31] The7th Brigade, 104th Division activated atVancouver, Washington.[32] The 5th Brigade conducted health services training, 6th Brigade took charge of professional development training and 7th Brigade provided training support to the other brigades. These units were redesignated from other training commands and put under the command of the division.[25]
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Two additional provisional brigades were created under the 104th Division in 1999; the8th Brigade, 104th Division was created at Fort Lewis as a unit for trainingReserve Officers' Training Corpscadets, and the 4690th US Army Reserve Forces School atFort Shafter, Hawaii was redesignated as the4690th Brigade, 104th Division, for service as a multifunctional training unit.[33] In 2005, theBase Realignment and Closure suggestions included the closure of the Vancouver Barracks, and the 104th Division was subsequently relocated to Fort Lewis, Washington.[24] In 2005, the current Distinctive Unit Insignia was designed under the direction of Major General Terrill K. (TK) Moffett. The 104th received its newdistinctive unit insignia in 2006.[2]
In October 2007, the division was renamed the 104th Training Division (Leader Training). This change reflected a change in the division's mission, specifically trainingofficer andnon-commissioned officer candidates in their assigned fields.[2]
As of 2017 the following units are subordinated to the 104th Training Division (Leader Training):[34]
| Ribbon | Award | Year | Subordinate Elements | Embroidered | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Army Superior Unit Award | 1 Jan 2005 – 31 Dec 2006 | 104th Division (Institutional Training), HQ to include: Headquarters (less detachment), 1st Brigade, 104th Division, 1st Battalion, 414th Regiment, 2d Battalion, 414th Regiment, 1st Battalion, 415th Regiment, 2d Battalion, 415th Regiment, 3d Battalion, 415th Regiment, 1043d Training Detachment, Headquarters, 3d Brigade, 104th Division, 1st Battalion, 104th Regiment, 2d Battalion, 104th Regiment, 3d Battalion, 104th Regiment, 4th Battalion, 104th Regiment, 5th Battalion, 104th Regiment, 1041st Training Detachment, U.S. Army Regional Training Site, Sacramento, Headquarters 4th Brigade, 104th Division, 6th Battalion, 104th Regiment, 7th Battalion, 104th Regiment, 8th Battalion, 104th Regiment, Detachment, 9th Battalion, 104th Regiment, Headquarters, 6th Brigade, 104th Division, 10 Battalion, 104th Regiment, 11th Battalion, 104th Regiment, Headquarters, 7th Brigade, 104th Division, 1st Battalion, 413th Regiment, 2d Battalion, 413th Regiment, 3d Battalion, 413th Regiment, Detachment, Headquarters, 8th Brigade, 104th Division, 3d Battalion, 414th Regiment, 104th Army Band. | 2005–2006 | Permanent Orders 147-30[35][36] |
| Conflict | Streamer | Year(s) |
|---|---|---|
World War II  | Northern France | 1944 |
| Rhineland | 1944–1945 | |
| Central Europe | 1945 | |
| World War II Victory | None |
Several men who served with the 104th Infantry Division later went on to achieve notability for various reasons. Among these areRabbiGunther Plaut,[37]paleontologistCharles Repenning,Governor of IowaLeo Hoegh,[38] New York City MayorEd Koch, New York GovernorHugh L. Carey, judgePerry Shields, and U.S. Army generalsJohn R. Deane Jr. andBryant Moore. In addition, actorJames G. Snitzer was a member of the 104th and died in combat in 1945.[39] NFL playerBob Shaw also served with the 104th and was awarded the Bronze Star duringWorld War II. Screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky also served with the 104th during WW II. Bernard Moore was a member of the 104th Timberwolves and went on to be the manager at the Waldorf Astoria Towers in New York, later promoted to the Washington Hilton in Washington, DC.[40] Daniel K. Roberts, Purple Heart Medal recipient having stepped on a land mine on the French German border while going to get medic help for his sergeant for 30 plus years was the president of Robert Half Personnel Accountemps agencies with many US and Canadian locations.[41][42]
In addition, two soldiers from this division were awarded theMedal of Honor for their service in combat. They areWilly F. James Jr., for scouting German positions while being pinned down by machine gun fire,[43] andCecil H. Bolton, who led a company of men on the attack despite wounds from amortar shell.[44]
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