95th Infantry Division (United States): Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

The 95th Infantry Division was a unit of the United States Army in World War II.

World War II

• Activated: 15 July 1942.
• Overseas: 10 August 1944.
• Campaigns: Ardennes-Alsace, Northern France, Rhineland, Central Europe.
• Days of combat: 151.
• Distinguished Unit Citations: 1.
• Awards: MH-1 Andrew Miller; DSC-11; DSM-1; SS-896; LM-15; SM-19; BSM-4,281; AM-162.
• Commanders: Maj. Gen. Harry L. Twaddle commanded the division throughout its entire life in World War II.
• Returned to U.S.: 29 June 1945.
• Inactivated: 15 October 1945.

Combat chronicle

The 95th Infantry Division arrived in England on 17 August 1944. After receiving additional training, it moved to France, 15 September, and bivouacked near Norroy-le-Sec, 1-14 October. The Division went into the line, 19 October, in the Moselle River bridgehead sector east of Moselle and South of Metz and patrolled the Seille River near Cheminot, repulsing enemy attempts to cross the river. On 1 November, elements went over to the offensive, reducing an enemy pocket east of Maizieres. On the 8th, these units crossed the Moselle River and advanced to Bertrange. Against heavy resistance, the 95th captured the forts surrounding Metz and captured the city, 22 November.

The Division pushed toward the Saar, 25 November, and entered Germany on the 28th. The 95th seized a Saar River bridge, 3 December, and engaged in bitter house-to-house fighting for Saarlautern. Suburbs of the city fell and, although the enemy resisted fiercely, the Saar bridgehead was firmly established by 19 December. While some units went to an assembly area, others held the area against strong German attacks. On 2 February 1945, the Division began moving to the Maastricht area in the Netherlands, and by 14 February, elements were in the line near Meerselo in relief of British units.

Relieved, 23 February, the 95th assembled near Julich, Germany, 1 March. It forced the enemy into a pocket near the Hitler Bridge at Uerdingen and cleared the pocket, 5 March, while elements advanced to the Rhine. From 12 March, the 95th established defenses in the vicinity of Neuss. Assembling east of the Rhine at Beckum, 3 April, it launched an attack across the Lippe River, 4 April, and captured Hamm and Kamen on the 6th. After clearing the enemy pocket between the Ruhr and the Mohne Rivers, the Division took Dortmund, 13 April, and maintained positions on the north bank of the Ruhr.

European Theater of Operations">Assignments in the European Theater of Operations

• 27 July 1944: XIII Corps, Ninth Army.
• 28 August 1944: XIII Corps, Ninth Army, 12th Army Group.
• 5 September 1944: III Corps.
• 10 October 1944: XX Corps, Third Army, 12th Army Group.
• 29 January 1945: VIII Corps.
• 5 February 1945: Ninth Army (attached to the British 21st Army Group), 12th Army Group.
• 13 February 1945: Ninth Army (attached to the British 21st Army Group), 12th Army Group, but attached for operations to the British VIII Corps of the British Second Army.
• 20 February 1945: XIX Corps, Ninth Army (attached to the British 21st Army Group), 12th Army Group.
• 26 February 1945: XIII Corps.
• 30 March 1945: XIX Corps.
• 31 March 1945: XXII Corps, Fifteenth Army, 12th Army Group.
• 2 April 1945: XIX Corps, Ninth Army (attached to British 21st Army Group), 12th Army Group.
• 4 April 1945: XIX Corps, Ninth Army, 12th Army Group.
• 9 April 1945: XVI Corps.

General

• Nicknames: Victory Division; also, the OK Division, and The Iron Men of Metz (After the Battle for Metz, November 1944)
• Motto: Iron Men of Metz
• Shoulder patch: Monogrammatic red "9" and a white Roman "V" on a blue elliptical background.

References

• The Army Almanac: A Book of Facts Concerning the Army of the United States, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1950 (reproduced at CMH).