United States. Army. Infantry Division, 1st

The 1st Division ("Fighting First" or "The Big Red One") was activated on May 24, 1917, assembled at the New York Port of Embarkation in June, and completed its arrival in France on December 22, 1917. The 1st Division was the first to arrive in France, first to suffer casualties, first to enter Germany, and the first to cross the Rhine. It saw action in the Sommerviller, Ansauville, Lucey, and Saizerais sectors in Lorraine, the Cantigny sector in Picardy, and took part in the Montdidier-Noyon defensive and Aisne-Marne, St. Mihiel, and Meuse-Argonne operations. After the Armistice, the Division became part of the Army of Occupation. It returned to the United States in September 1919. Its permanent station was Fort Hamilton, New York until February 1941, when it transferred to Fort Devens, Massachusetts. The Division took part in the Louisiana maneuvers in May 1940 and in the Carolina maneuvers, October-November 1941. In February 1942, the Division went to Camp Blanding, Florida, for additional training, and later (June 1942) to Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania. The Division departed New York on August 2, 1942, for Scotland.

The First Infantry Division saw its first combat in World War II in North Africa, landing at Oran, Algeria, and taking part in the initial fighting, November 8-10, 1942. Elements of the Division took part in see-saw combat at Maktar, Medjes el Bab, Kasserine Pass, Gafsa, El Guettar, Beja, and Mateur, January 21 - May 9, 1943, helping secure Tunisia. The 1st Infantry Division was the first ashore in the invasion of Sicily, July 10, 1943, where it fought a series of short, fierce battles on the island's tortuous terrain. When that campaign was over the Division returned to England to prepare for the Normandy invasion, October 1943 - June 1944. The 1st Infantry Division landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day, June 6, 1944, where some units suffered 30% casualties in the first hour, and secured Formigny and Caumont in the beachhead. The Division followed up the St. Lo breakthrough with an attack on Marigny, July 27, 1944, and then drove across France in a continuous offensive, reaching the German border at Aachen in September. The Division laid siege to Aachen, taking the city after a direct assault, October 21, 1944. The Division then attacked east of Aachen through the Hurtgen Forest, driving to the Ruhr, and moved to a rest area on December 7. When the von Rundstedt offensive suddenly broke loose on December 16, the Division raced to the Ardennes, and fighting continuously from December 17, 1944 through January 28, 1945, helped blunt and turn back the German offensive. Thereupon, the Division attacked and again breached the Siegfried Line, fought across the Ruhr, February 23, 1945, an drove on to the Rhine, crossing at the Remagen bridgehead, March 15-16. The Division broke out of the bridgehead, took part in the encirclement of the Ruhr pocket, captured Paderborn, pushed through the Harzt Mountains, and was in Czechoslovakia, at Kinsperk, Sangerberg, and Mnichov, when the war in Europe ended.

World War II commanders included Major General Donald Cubbison, July 1941 - May 1942; Major General Terry Allen, June 1942 - July 1943; Major General Clarence R. Huebner, July 1943 - December 1944; Major General Clift Andrus, December 1944 - May 1946.

In 1965, the First Infantry Division was again selected to be the first division to deploy, when the went to Vietnam. The first unit to go from the Big Red One was the 2nd Brigade. Advanced parties landed at Qui Nhon on June 23, 1965. For nearly five years, the First Infantry Division soldiers battled against an aggressive enemy. The enemy made expert use of the dense jungles and inaccessible countryside. The use of helicopters was one of the best means of countering the jungle and the lack of roads. The experience gained in resupply operations, medical evacuation and the tactics of the air mobile assault has been used in developing basic doctrine in these areas. The First Infantry Division returned to Fort Riley in April 1970. Over 3,000 soldiers of the Big Red One died in action.

On August 2, 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait. This act precipitated U.S. military involvement in the Persian Gulf. The 1st Infantry Division was put on alert for deployment on November 8, 1990. The Division deployed over 12,000 soldiers and 7,000 pieces of equipment to Saudi Arabia over the next two months. On the morning of February 24, 1991, under Major General Thomas G. Rhame, the Big Red One spearheaded the armored attack into Iraq, leading the way for the VII Corps. The Division smashed into the Iraqi 26th Infantry Division by breaking through the enemy lines and taking over 2,500 prisoners. At 8 a.m., February 28, 1991, the war was over when a cease-fire was called. The Big Red One had fought through 260 kilometers of enemy-held territory in 100 hours, destroying 550 enemy tanks, 480 armored, personnel carriers and taking 11,400 prisoners. Eighteen of the Division's soldiers were killed in the war.

Three Army divisions were reflagged as the Army restructures from 12 to 10 active divisions. The 2nd Armored Division at Fort Hood, Texas, was redesignated as the 4th Infantry Division, and the 24th Infantry Division was redesignated as the 3rd Infantry Division The 3rd Infantry Division, stationed in Germany, was redesignated as the 1st Infantry Division. The redesignations occurred during Fiscal Year 1996. The Army's restructuring plan was announced in December 1994. It called for the inactivation of the headquarters and division support units of the 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley, Kansas, and the 4th Infantry Division at Fort Carson, Colorado. The redesignation plan ensured that two of the Army's most famous and decorated divisions remain in the active force. The plan designating the divisions to remain was developed by the U.S. Army Center of Military History, which maintains records of Army unit lineage and honors. The Center prepared an order-of-precedence list based on unit age, campaign participation, and awards and decorations. Units were then rank-ordered by category, providing a framework for the Army leadership to make its decision.

Units of the 1st Infantry Division played a key role in Bosnia. The 1st Infantry Division assumed authority for command and control of Task Force Eagle in a transfer of authority ceremony on Eagle Base on November 10, 1996. The Division's mission was to provide a covering force for the 1st Armored Division units returning to Germany, and to continue to implement the military aspects of the General Framework Agreement for Peace. The Division continued to support the Dayton Peace Accord through the transition from the Implementation Force (IFOR) to the Stabilization Force (SFOR), in December 1996. The Division drew together with National Guard and Reserve soldiers, members of the Navy, Air Force and Marines, and the soldiers from 12 nations in the area known as Multi-National Division North (MND(N)).

By mid-October 2002 the 1st Infantry Division's parent command - the Heidelberg, Germany-based V Corps headquarters - was on its way to Kuwait along with a battalion of Apache helicopters and a corps-level Marine command post. But the 1st Infantry Division faced six months of retraining before the first units would be available for combat deployment against Iraq. The Division's 2nd Brigade task force was wrapping up a six-month tour of duty in Kosovo, and the Division's 3rd Brigade was preparing to relieve these soldiers in November 2002 for their own half-year tour. A key part of the Brigade, the Division's 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, was given last-minute orders to remain in Germany. For 1st Infantry Division soldiers to take part in an Iraqi attack, the incoming 3rd Brigade would have to get a last-minute re-tasking for combat duty, or the outgoing 2nd Brigade would have to be put through a crash retraining program.