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nd
The 101 And 82 Airborne in
World War II
By: Dale F.
The Beginning
• U.S. Army Airborne units had first
started up in 1942 during World War II
• It was originally started with only two
units the 82nd All Americans and the
101st Screaming Eagles
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101 Screaming Eagles
•
The 101st Airborne division was
first activated in 1942 and
assigned to train at Camp
Claiborne Louisiana. Then they
moved to Fort Bragg North
Carolina to continue there
training then shipped to New
York then to England until June
6th 1944 they jumped into Hitlers
fortress Europe. There
Pathfinders being the first to go
in. starting the units great
history.
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82 All
Americans
• The 82nd Division was
activated at Camp Gordon,
Georgia, on 25 August 1917.It
was originally a infantry
division which fought in world
war I. As the Division filled, it
was discovered there were
soldiers from every state.
Through a popular contest, the
nickname "All American" was
chosen to reflect the unique
composition of the 82nd.When
the boys came home it stayed
a infantry division till August
15, 1942 becoming Americas
first Airborne division.
Operation Husky
• In 1942 training began in Fort Bragg North Carolina
and the unit was transformed into paratroopers.
Then in 1943 the unit was shipped out to
Casablanca, Morocco on May 10. There they were
trained for the invasion on Sicily. In which they
would spear head the assault. As they flew over the
american fleet to jump they were mistaken for enemy
bombers and 23 were shot down Eighty-one troopers
were killed, including the assistant division
commander, Brigadier General Charles Keerans. The
82nd continued its fighting in Sicily by leading
Patton's westward drive to Trapani and Castellmare.
In five days, the Division moved 150 miles and took
23,000 prisoners.
Italy
• On 9 September 1943, General Clark's Fifth Army launched
Operation AVALANCHE with an amphibious landing at Salerno,
Italy. Several operations had been planned for the 82nd,
including a drop on Rome, but were cancelled. Within four days
the Allied beachhead was in trouble. General Clark sent an
urgent request to General Ridgway who was in Sicily with the
82nd. On 13 September 1943, Colonel Reuben Tucker led his
504th combat team (minus 3rd battalion) on a parachute assault
at Paestum, south of Salerno. On the 14th, the 505th jumped.
The paratroopers were rushed to the front line where they
engaged the enemy in the rugged hills and drove them back.
On the 15th, the 25th and 3/504th conducted an amphibious
landing near Salerno. Throughout September and October the
82nd conducted operations in the Salerno/Naples area. The
82nd was the first unit to enter Naples. The Division advanced
north to the Volturno River, cleared the area of the enemy, and
became the first unit to set sail for England, via Ireland, to
prepare for the invasion of Normandy.
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D-Day 101
• The 101st Airborne Division first saw combat during the
Normandy invasion - 6 June 1944. they were going to jump
before H-Hour to seize positions west of Utah Beach. Given the
mission of anchoring the corps' southern flank, the division
was also to eliminate the German's secondary beach defenses,
allowing the seaborne forces once ashore, to continue inland.
The Screaming Eagles were to capture the causeway bridges
that ran behind the beach between St. Martin-de-Varreville and
Pouppeville. In the division's southern sector, it was to seize
the la Barquette lock and destroy a highway bridge northwest
of the town of Carentan and a railroad bridge further west. At
the same time elements of the division were to establish two
bridgeheads on the Douve River at le Port, northeast of
Carentan. The 101st completed all assignments except securing
the crossing at the Douve river.
D-Day 82nd
The US 82nd Airborne Division's mission was
to protect the far right flank of the invasion in
the Cotentin peninsula. It hoped to
accomplish this by destroying bridges over
the Douve River and by securing the
Merderet River by occupying both sides. It
also had the mission to capture Ste. MereEglise from the German garrison stationed
there. The capture of Ste. Mere-Eglise was
important because it straddled the main road
between Carentan and Cherbourg.
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Market Garden 101
• The plan called Operation Market-Garden, for the largest
airborne drop in military history. Three Allied divisions would
be involved. The US Army 101st Airborne would drop on
Eindhoven and take the canal crossings at Veghel. They would
hold the bridges there.
Market Garden 82nd
• The US Army 82nd Airborne would land
on bridges over the Maas and Waal
Rivers. 60 miles behind the German
lines. And hold the bridges there.
Market Garden After
• The operation was initially successful with the capture of the
Waal bridge at Nijmegen on September 20. But it was a failure
overall since the planned Allied advance across the Rhine at
Arnhem had to be abandoned. The British 1st Airborne Division
did not secure the bridge at Arnhem, and although they
managed to hold out near the bridge far longer than planned,
the British XXX Corps failed to relieve them. The Rhine
remained a barrier to the Allied advance until the offensives at
Remagen, Oppenheim, Rees and Wesel in March 1945. Due to
the Allied defeat at Arnhem, the north of the Netherlands could
not be liberated before winter and the Hongerwinter
('Hungerwinter') took tens of thousands of lives, particularly in
the cities of the Randstad area.
The Battle of the Bulge, December 16, 1944 to
January 25, 1945
• With the Germans almost in defeat they
would try one last great offensive later
known as the Battle of the Bulge. This
battle would be fought in the Ardennes
Forest on the German/Belgium border in
some of the coldest conditions ever
recorded.
Casualties
• Over a million men, 500,000
Germans, 600,000
Americans (more than
fought at Gettysburg) and
55,000 British.
• Armor: 800 tanks lost on
each side, 1,000 German
aircraft.
• Human Life: This would cost
the Americans over 81,000
casualties 23,554 captured
and 19,000 killed. The
Germans with over 100,000
killed, wounded or captured
1,400 British casualties 200
killed.
Other Facts
•
•
· The Malmedy Massacre, where 86 American soldiers were murdered in an
open field while they were surrounded by Germans after been taken prisoner,
was the worst atrocity committed against American troops during the course of
the war in Europe.
The 106th Infantry Division, average age of 22 years, suffered 564 killed in
action, 1,246 wounded and 7,001 missing in action at the end of the
offensive. Most of these casualties occurred within the first three days of
battle, when two of the division’s three regiments was forced to surrender.
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The Bulge, 101
• On December 17th, 1944 over 12,000 101st soldiers were sent
south to fight in what would be known as the Battle of the Bulge. The
101st arrived in Bastonge just ahead of the Germans and took
control of the city. They formed a perimeter and readied to defend
the city the Germans came and surrounded the city cutting them off
from and outside aid . When they left they were in such a rush that
they had no winter clothing no extra ammunition. After 5 days of
withstanding attacks by the Germans without reinforcements or
supplies, two German Officers were sent to the American
Headquarters with a letter from the German Commander demanding
that the 101st surrender. After hearing that the Germans wanted the
101st to surrender, the Acting Commander - BG General McAuliffe
said "Nuts". Surrendering was not an option for the 101st so "Nuts"
was chosen as the official response to the Germans demand for
surrender. The Germans continued their attack of the American
perimeter without success, and the 101st continued to hold the city.
on December 26th the 101st was relieved by Pattons 3rd army.
The Bulge 82nd
•
The 82nd moved into action on December 17th in reponse to the German's Ardennes Counteroffensive
and blunted General Von Runstedt's northern penetration in the American lines. On December 20th the
82nd attacked in the Vielsalm-St. Vith region and the 504th PIR took Monceau. This fierce attack forced
the German units back across the Ambleve River the next day.
However, further German assaults along the Salm hit the 505th PIR in the Trois Ponts area on December
22nd and by December 24th the division lost Manhay. On December 25th, 1944 the division withdrew from
the Vielsalm salient then attacked northeast of Bra on December 27th reaching Salm by January 4th, 1945.
On January 7th the 508th PIR Red Devil's launched an attack with the 504th in the vicinity of Thier-duMont where it suffered heavy casualties. The 508th was then withdrawn from the line and placed in
reserve until January 21st when it replaced elements of the 2d Infantry Division.
On January 29, 1945 First Sergeant Leonard Funk, Jr. of Company C, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment
won the Congressional Medal of Honor for action at Holzheim, Belgium. After leading his unit and
capturing 80 Germans.
On February 7th, 1945 the division attacked Bergstein, a town on the Roer River. The 82nd crossed the
Roer River on February 17th. During April, 1945 the division performed security duty in Cologne until they
attacked in the Bleckede area and pushed toward the Elbe River. As the 504th PIR drove toward Forst
Carrenzien, the German 21st Army surrendered to the division on May 2, 1945.
Hitler is dead
• On April 30, as the Battle of Berlin raged above him
and realizing that all was lost, German dictator Adolf
Hitler committed suicide in his bunker along with
Eva Braun, his long-term mistress whom he had
married just hours before their joint suicide. In his
will Hitler appointed his successors; Karl Dönitz as
the new Reichspräsident ("President of Germany")
and Joseph Goebbels as the new Reichskanzler
(Chancellor of Germany). However, Goebbels
committed suicide on May 1, 1945, leaving Dönitz as
sole leader of Germany.
After the Bulge
• After the Germans were beat back from
there offensive in the Ardennes the war
was starting to come to close in Europe
there army crippled there factories
destroyed and there cities laying in ruins
the German army surrendered in April of
1945
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After Math 101
• During World War Two, the 101st Airborne
Division spent 214 days in combat. In
addition to 2 Medals of Honor awarded to
Soldiers of the 101st, the Division awarded
47 Distinguished Service Crosses, 516 Silver
Stars and 6,977 Bronze Stars. The Division
was responsible for capturing 29, 527 Enemy
soldiers. The price of victory was high. 2,043
Screaming Eagles were killed in action and
7,976 were wounded. 1,193 became MIA and
336 were taken prisoner.
After Math 82nd
• The 82nd airborne lost 9,073 and saw 442 days of combat.
Following the surrender of Germany, the 82nd was ordered to
Berlin for occupation duty. In Berlin General George Patton was
so impressed with the 82nd's honor guard he said, "In all my
years in the Army and all the honor guards I have ever seen,
the 82nd's honor guard is undoubtedly the best." Hence the
"All-Americans" became known as "America's Guard of
Honor."
•
The 82nd returned to the United States January 3, 1946.
Instead of being demobilized, the 82nd made its permanent
home at Fort Bragg, North Carolina and was designated a
regular Army division on November 15, 1948. Today, the 82nd
Airborne Division is still located at Ft. Bragg and is the only
true Airborne Division in the U. S. Army.
The Elite
• Today the united states airborne are the
best in the world they have served with
honor in every war carrying out what the
men befor them started since the begging
days they were started.