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Insignia, the letters "DD" back to back, in red, on a khaki shield. Organized at Camp Wheeler, Ga., on Oct. 1st, 1917. The nucleus of this division was composed of National Guard Troops from Georgia, Alabama and Florida (1st and 2d Regts., Ala. Inf.; 1st Reg. Ala Cav.; Co. A, Ala. Fld. Sig. Bn.; Field Hospital Co. No. 1; 1st, 2d, and 5th Ga. Inf.; 1st Sq. Ga. Cav.; 1st Bn. Ga. Fld. Arty.; Co. A, Ga. Engrs.; Ga. Field Hospital No. 1). The division was brought up to full strength by National Army drafts from Illinois and Michigan. The 31st Division remained in training at Camp Wheeler until Sept., 1918.
The first units sailed for overseas on Sept. 16, 1918, and the last units arrived in France on Nov. 9, 1918. Upon arrival in France the division was designated as a replacement division and ordered to the Le Mans area. The personnel of most of the units were withdrawn from the division and sent to other divisions as replacements, causing the 31st to exist only as a skeltonized division.
Commanding generals: Maj. Gen. Francis J. Kernan, Aug. 25th, 1917 to Sept. 18, 1917; Maj. Gen. John L. Hayden, Sept. 18, 1917 to March 15, 1918; Maj. Gen. Francis H. French, March 15, 1918 to May 15, 1918; Maj. Gen. LeRoy S. Lyon, May 15, 1918 to Nov. 11, 1918.
The units composing the division were: 61st, 62nd Inf. Brigs., 56th Fld. Arty Brig., 121st, 122nd, 123rd, 124th Inf. Regts. 116th, 117th, 118th Machine Gun Bns., 116th, 117th, 118th Fld. Arty. Regts., 106th Trench Mortar Battery, 106th Engr. Regt. And Train, 106th Fld. Sig. Bn., 106th Hqs. Train and M.P., 106th Amm. Train, 106th Supply Train, 106th Sanitary Train (121st, 122nd, 123rd, and 124th Field Hospitals and Amb. Cos.)
Insignia, a flying red arrow with a red cross bar in the middle. Organized at Camp MacArthur, Waco, Texas, in Sept., 1917. This division was formerly the old 12th National Guard Division, composed of troops from Wisconsin and Michigan, (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th Regts. Wis. Inf., 21st , 32nd, and 33rd Mich. Inf., 1st Wis. F.A., and 1st Mich. F.A., 1st Wis. Cav. And 1st Mich. Cav., 1st Bn. Wis. Engrs and 1st Bn. Mich. Engrs., 1st Wis. Fld. Sig. Bn., and 1st Mich. Fld. Sig. Bn., Wis. And Mich. Field Hospital and Amb. Cos. Nos.1 and 2.)
First units of the division embarked for overseas at Hoboken on January 19, 1918, and the last units arrived in France, March 12, 1918. The division was ordered to the 10th training area with hdqs. at Prauthoy, Haute-Marne and was designated as a replacement division. On May 15, 1918, the status of the division was changed to a combat division and moved into Alsace where it took over a front-line sector near Belfort. The division held this sector until July 21st when it was relieved by the French and ordered to the Ourcq where it relieved the 3d Division in the Aisne-Marne offensive on July 30th. In this offensive the 32nd Division broke the German line of resistance on the Ourcq and drove the enemy back to the heights of the Vesle making a total advance of nineteen kilometers. On Aug. 28th it entered the front line northeast of Soissons as a part of the French 10th Army and contributed to an important extent to the success of the French in outflanking the German line on the Chemin-des-Dames. In this drive the 32nd Division captured the strong German position on the Juvigny plateau, advancing to a depth of five and a half kilometers. On Sept. 2d, the division was relieved by the 2d Moroccan Division and sent back to Joinville for a rest period. On Sept. 20th the division left the Joinville rest area and moved by bus to the Meuse-Argonne front. On Sept. 30th the division entered the front line before the Kriemhilde Stellung near Romagne-sous-Montfaucon. In a series of attacks during the next three weeks the division penetrated the enemy positio during the next three weeks the division penetrated the enemy position to a depth of eight and a half kilometers. On October 20th the division was relieved and placed in the 3d Army Corps reserve until Nov. 6th when it again entered the line at the Dun-sur-Meuse bridgehead and on Nov. 10th attacked east of the Meuse, and was in line when the armistice was signed.
The division became part of the 3rd Army upon its organization and on Nov. 17th began its march from Vilosnes-sur-Meuse to the Rhine and on Dec. 13th after marching 300 kilometers crossed the Rhine and occupied a sector in the Coblenz bridgehead with the 1st Division on the right and the 2d Division on the left.
This division captured from the enemy the following: 2,153 prisoners, 21 pieces of artillery and 190 machine guns. It made a total advance of thirty-six kilometers against resistance. Battle deaths, 2,898; wounded 10,986; number taken prisoners, one office and 155 men. Distinguished Serivce Crosses awarded, 134.
The 32nd Division was composed of the following organizations: 63rd and 64th Inf. Brigs., 125th, 126th, 127th, 128th Inf. Regts., 119th, 120th, 121st Machine Gun Bns., 57th F.A. Brig., 119th, 120th, 121st Fld. Arty. Regts., 107th Trench Mortar Batteries, 107th Engr. Regt. and Train, 107th Fld. Sig. Bn., 107th Hdqs. Train and M.P., 107th Amm. Train, 107th Supply Train, 107th Sanitary Train (125th, 126th, 127th and 128th Amb. Cos. And Field Hospitals).
Popularly known as the "Prarie Division." Insignia, a yellow cross on a round black patch. Organized at Camp Logan, Houston, Texas, about the middle of August, 1917. The nucleus of the division was the Illinois National Guard (1st and 2nd Inf. Brig. Hdqs.; 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th Inf. Regts.; 2nd and 3rd Regts. Fld. Arty.; Co. A, Signal Corps; 1st Engrs; 1st, 2d, 3d, 4th Field Hospitals and Amb. Cos.). The first organization left Camp Logan, April 23, 1918, for Camp Merritt. The rest of the division followed shortly afterward and sailed from Hoboken for France, disembarking at Brest. The last units arrived in France June 11, 1918.
Upon arrival in France the division was first sent to the Huppy area, near Abbeville, and on June 20th and 21st the division moved into the Amiens sector, where it was trained under the British, occupying portions of the British trenches and participating in a number of small operations. On July 4th, Cos. C and E, 131st Inf., and A and G, 132nd Inf. Took part in the attack on Hamel, which was the first time American troops had fought with the Austrailians. On August 8, 1918, began the great British offensive, in which the 33d Division broke the German line at Chipilly Ridge and Gressaire Wood. On Aug. 23d it was transferred by rail from the British front to the area of the 1st American Army in the Toul sector, being concentrated on Aug. 26th in the region of Tronville-en-Barrois. On Sept. 5th it started for Verdun, where it relieved on the nights of Sept. 7th, 8th, and 9th, the 120th French Division.
In the Meuse-Argonne battle, commencing Sept. 26th, the 33rd Division formed the right of the 3d Armerican Army Corps. For the next eleven days it formed the pivot of this corps. On Oct. 6th, the division was transferred to the French 17th Army Corps and participated (Oct. 8th) in the attack of the French 17th Corps east of the Meuse. Upon being relieved the 33d Division marched to the Troyon-sur-Meuse sector on the St. Mihiel front, relieving the 79th Division on the nights of Oct. 23d, 24th, and 25th. From this date to include the date of the armistice the division participated in a number of minor operations in this sector.
This division captured from the enemy the following: 65 officers; 3,922 men, 100 pieces of artillery, 414 machine guns, 20 trench mortars and other material. It made a total advance against resistance of thirty-six kilometers. Battle deaths, 153 officers and 701 men; wounded, 153 officers and 6,844 men; missing 148 men; prisoners of war, one officer and 17 men.
Maj. Gen. George Bell, Jr., U.S. Army commanded the division from Aug. 16, 1917 to include Nov. 11, 1918.
Following is a list of the decorations conferred on individuals of this division: Congressional Medals of Honor, 8; Distinguished Service Crosses, 110; British Distinguished Service Orders, 1; British Military Medals, 41; French Croix de Guerre, 47; Belgian Order of Leopold, 1.
The following organizations composed this division: 65th and 66th Inf. Brigs., 129th, 130th, 131st, and 132d Inf. Regts., 123d and 124th Machine Gun Bns., 58th Arty. Brig., 122d, 123d, and 124th Arty. Regts., 108th Trench Mortar Battery, 122d Div. Machine Gun Bn., 108th Supply Train, 108th Amm. Train, 108th Sanitary Train (129th, 130th, 131st and 132d Amb. Cos. And Field Hospitals).
Known as the "Sandstorm Division." Insignia, a black oval encircling a red bovine skull. Organized at Camp Cody, New Mexico, on Oct. 2, 1917. The division was made up of National Guard troops from Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. (Hqs. 1st Minn. Brig.; 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Minn. Inf.; Minn. Field Hospital and Amb. Cos. No. 1; Hqs. 1st Iowa Brig.; 1st and 2nd Iowa Inf.; 1st Sq. Iowa Cav.; 1st Iowa F.A.; 1st Bn. Iowa Engrs; Co. C, Iowa Sig. Corps.; Iowa Amm. Train; Iowa Field Hospitals and Ambulance Cos. No.s 1 and 2; 4th, 5th and 6th Nebraska Inf.; Co. B, Nebraska Sig. Corps.; 1st Regt. North Dakota Inf., and North Dakota Field Hospital Co. No. 1; 1st Regt. South Dakota Cav.). The 34th Division remained in training at Camp Cody, New Mexico, until, Sept., 1918. The first units sailed for overseas on Sept. 16, 1918, via England, and the last units arrived in France on Oct. 24, 1918. Upon arrival in France, the division was ordered to the Le Mans area where it was broken up. In the early part of December, the division began its return to the United States by individual units.
Commanding Generals: Maj. Gen. A. P. Blocksom, Sept. 18, 1917, to May 7, 1918; Maj. Gen. Wm. R. Smith, Sept. 28 to Oct. 10, 1918; Maj. Gen. Beaumont B. Buck, Oct. 17 to Nov. 7, 1918; Brig. Gen. John A. Johnson, Nov. 7 to Nov. 11, 1918.
This division was composed of the following organizations: 67th, 68th Inf. Brigs., 69th Fld. Arty. Brig., 133d, 134th, 135th, and 136th Inf. Regts., 125th, 126th, 127th Fld. Arty. Regts., 109th Trench Mortar Battery, 109th Fld. Sig. Bn., 109th Hqs. Train and M.P., 109th Amm. Train, 109th Supply Trian, 109th Sanitary Train (133d, 134th, 135th, and 136th Amb. Cos. and Field Hospitals), 109th Field Train, 109th Engr. Regt. And Train.
Insignia the Santa Fe Cross. Organized at Camp Doniphan, Fort Sill, Oklahoma, Sept. 13, 1917, from the National Guard units of Missouri and Kansas. On April 11, 1198, it began leaving camp for Camp Mills, N.Y., and sailed for France April 25th, via Liverpool and Winchester, England, arriving in France, May 11th. It trained with the British first in the area of Eu until June 11th, from then until June 30th in the Arches area. From the training sector, it went into the trenches in the Vosges in the DeGalbert and Gerardmer sectors. On Sept. 11th, it was sent to the St. Mihiel sector, where it acted as army reserve during the operations. On Sept. 21st, the division relieved a French division in the Grange le Compte sector. It next went into the Meuse-Argonne offensive Sept. 26th in the Vauquois sector until Oct. 1st, when it was withdrawn and sent to the vicinity of Conde-en-Barrois, where it arrived Oct. 12th, taking over the Sommedieue sector. From there it was sent on Nov. 9th to the training area near Commercy.
The division captured from the enemy the following: 781 prisoners, 24 pieces of artillery, 85 machine guns, and other material. It advanced twelve and one-half kilometers in the face of resistance. Battle deaths: 960, wounded, 6,894 captured, 169. Distinguished Service Crosses awarded, 17.
Commanding generals: Maj.-Gen. W. M. Wright, Brig.-Gen. N. F. McClure, Maj. Gen. Peter M. Traub.
The following organizations composed this division: 69th, 70th Inf. Brig., 137th, 138th, 139th, 140th, Inf. Regts., 129th, 130th Machine Gun Bns., 60th Arty. Brig., 128th, 129th, 130th Arty. Regts., 110th Trench Mortar Battery, 128th Div. Machine Gun Bn., 110th Engr. Regt. and Train, 110th, Fld. Sig. Bn., 110th Train Hq. and M.P., 110th Supply Train, 110th Amm. Train, 110th Sanitary Train (137th, 138th, 139th, 140th Amb. Cos. And Field Hospitals).
