Upon arrival in Naples, the 88th became the first draftee division to enter a combat zone in World War II. It was one of the first of the Organized Reserve divisions to be called into federal service, created nearly "from scratch" after the implementation of the draft in 1940. Free shipping . The citizens of the town were herded into a church so they could not warn the Allies of what lay ahead, and then were mercilessly shot by German tanks. Although the Germans put up a fierce fight, Mount Diamano fell to the 350th Infantry in less than an hour. The 339th Infantry Regimental Combat Team was the first division element to depart Port-Aux-Poules for movement to the Italian Campaign. This time they geared up to cross rivers, as the upcoming assault crossing of the Arno was not going to be easy. The soldiers began to wonder when, and if, they would ever see the front. First Entered combat: Advance party on night of 34 January 1944 in support of, First Organization Committed to Line: 2nd Battalion, 351st Infantry Regiment plus attachments, Began post war POW Command: 7 June 1945. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. Reserve. All three regiments were involved in intense fighting, and all three were beginning to lose their drive. (((navigator.appName == "Netscape") && This is a new website. and later when the 88th American Division alone occupied the sector, kept the enemy var a=new Image(); a.src=img; return a; Jam-packed with photos (both personal and professional), u Gen. Robert N. Getty (15 March 1918), Inactivated: 10 June 1919, Camp Dodge, Iowa, 313th Train Headquarters and Military Police, 349th, 350th, 351st, and 352nd Ambulance Companies and Field Hospitals. The division personnel, during World War I, was drawn primarily from the Middle West, and the "W" indicates its western origin; when inverted, the letter becomes "M" and thus the name, "Middle. 88th Division photos (350th Band & Major Russ), Be sure and check out my Fire Department site! The division was so fierce in battle that German prisoners supposedly remarked that the troops of the 88th fought like devils. As a result, the division eventually adopted the nickname the Blue Devils in reference to their blue shoulder patches. Blue Devil's and the Invasion of Italy historical Seventh Army, when the hostilities ended on 2 May 1945. The division shoulder patch is worn by the United States Army Reserve 88th Readiness Division at Fort Snelling, Minnesota; the division lineage is perpetuated by the 88th RD. PDF format and optomized for file size and Opticle on the Internet. Sixty percent were infantry and the rest were artillerymen, medics, ordnancemen, signalmen, reconnaissance troops, quartermasters, and engineers. That same day, the 88th was ordered to relieve the British 5th Infantry Division in the Minturno section of the Fifth Army line. Finally the Blue Devils were going to get the rest they needed so desperately. Atlanta, Georgia 30328 | 877.481.5750. It was cold and wet in Naples, weather many of the men were not expecting. That way I have proof you 285107821627 We were established in 1983 as a member-based, charitable 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. The New York State National Guard Division was officially designated the 27th Infantry Division on July 20th, 1917. and on October 15, 1918, the command of the Center Sector of Haute-Alsace passed from the September 20. We were established in 1983 as a member-based, charitable 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Although the principal mission for the 88th was a holding and harassing action, ground troops were used mostly for reconnaissance. the American divisions west of the Meuse River to advance without having their right flank in the A.E.F. 6th 11th 60th 61st. The effort of the Allies paid off. In October 1954 the mission ended upon the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding of London[10] establishing a temporary civil administration in the Anglo-American Zone of the Free Territory of Trieste, entrusted to the responsibility of the Italian Government. The 111th U.S. Infantry was part of the 28th Division. Company F was destroyed, with all of its men either killed or captured. Training largely took place at Camp Dodge, Iowa. // --> . had over 40 percent of those that they sent into the field, never return. Reconstituted 24 June 1921 in the Organized Reserves as the 350th Infantry and assigned to the 88th Division (later redesignated as the 88th Infantry Division) Organized in November. At 1600 on 2 May, German forces surrendered. BY BIDDING YOU AGREE TO THESE TERMS. and Regiment Histories, Historical Narratives, Daily organized September 4, 1917, at Camp Dodge, Iowa, from men drafted from the states of // -->