Posted on 11/11/2024 2:05:58 PM PST by Retain Mike
The Army deployed 65 infantry divisions for the Second World War. Each was a small town with its own equivalents for community services plus eight categories of combat arms. Units such as artillery, engineering, and heavy weapons engaged the enemy directly. Yet of all categories, the foot soldier faced the greatest hazard with the least chance of reward. Except for the Purple Heart and the coveted Combat Infantryman’s Badge, recognition often eluded them because, so few came through to testify to the valor of the many. These civilians become warriors confronted the most dismal fate of all whose duty was uninterrupted by missions completed or a fixed deployment time. The infantrymen were enveloped within the most chaotic, barbaric, and brittle existence against extraordinary capable enemies where victory often required actions well beyond prior limits for impossibility.
Omar Bradley said, “Previous combat had taught us that casualties are lumped primarily in the rifle platoons. For here are concentrated the handful of troops who must advance under enemy fire. It is upon them that the burden of war falls with greater risk and with less likelihood of survival than any other of the combat arms. An infantry division of WW II consisted of 81 rifle platoons, each with a combat strength of approximately 40 men. Altogether those 81 assault units comprised but 3,240 men in a division of 14,000…..Prior to invasion we had estimated that the infantry would incur 70 percent of the losses of our combat forces. By August we had boosted that figure to 83 percent on the basis of our experience in the Normandy hedgerows.”
Nearly a third of the 65 divisions in the Pacific and European theaters suffered 100% or more casualties. However, their regimental staffs saw frontline units obliterated three to six times over. You can verify these losses from the links provided and Bradley’s assertion.
To deal with this problem there were never enough infantrymen coming from the states, though large numbers were transferred from Army Service Forces and Army Air Forces to Army Ground Forces. Replacement centers overseas continually reassigned artillerymen, machine gunners, cooks, and clerks to infantry duties. The situation in Europe became so severe that rear area units in France and Great Britain were tasked to supply soldiers for retraining as infantrymen. Those suffering battle fatigue came off the line for a few days for clean uniforms, bathing, hot food, and sleep. However, scarcity compelled their repeated return until crippling wounds, mental breakage, death, or victory brought final relief.
For example, the 4th and 29th Infantry landed on D-Day and suffered about 500% battle casualties in their rifle platoons during the eleven months until VE-Day. Added to these numbers were half again as many non-battle human wrecks debilitated by trench foot, frost bite, pneumonia, hernia, heart disease, malaria, arthritis, etc. and most never returned to duty. In the jungles of the Pacific non-combat losses exacted an even greater price. But somehow the infantry crossed Europe and the Pacific and always remained in the forefront of attacks.
Ernie Pyle said of them, “The worst experience of all is just the accumulated blur, and the hurting vagueness of being too long in the lines, the everlasting alertness, the noise and fear, the cell-by-cell exhaustion, the thinning of the surrounding ranks as day follows nameless day. And the constant march into the eternity of one’s own small quota of chances for survival. Those are the things that hurt and destroy. But they went back to them because they were good soldiers, and they had a duty they could not define.”
Partial bibliography:
A Soldier’s Story by Omar N. Bradley
Brave Men by Ernie Pyle (the quote named Tommy Clayton, but was generalized here because Ernie Pyle saw him as an example of the infantrymen he loved.)
Crusade in Europe by Dwight D. Eisenhower
The U.S. Infantryman in World War II by Robert S. Rush
Foot Soldier by Roscoe C. Blunt, Jr.
Links for Listings of United States Divisions during WW II
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Army_divisions_during_World_War_II http://www.historyshots.com/usarmy/
Army Battle Casualties and Non-battle Deaths in World War II
http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/ref/Casualties/index.html
3rd 'Marne' Infantry Division
http://www.custermen.com/ItalyWW2/Units/Division3.htm
National 4th Infantry (IVY) Division Association
http://www.4thinfantry.org/content/division-history
45th Infantry Division
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/45th_Infantry_Division_(United_States)
Remembering the Thunderbirds – Oklahoma’s 45th Infantry Division
http://www.baptistmessenger.com/remembering-the-thunderbirds-oklahomas-45th-infantry-division/ Total casualties of 62,640 When Gen. George S. Patton described the 45th Infantry Division, he said it was “one of the finest, if not the finest infantry division in this history of modern warfare.”
My dad served in Europe and he told me things that broke my heart
Never again. Who’s worth invading? Haven’t we learned by now?
Troops stationed overseas should be paid for by the host countries.
93% of that American Army were draftees, pretty much it was a war of draftee against draftee everywhere, Germans included.
I always heard merchant mariners had the highest death rate.
> I always heard merchant mariners had the highest death rate. <
That’s correct, according to this article:
http://www.usmm.org/casualty.html
But I don’t believe they received veteran status until sometime in the 1980s.
James Garner joined the Merchant marine in WWII at age 16 and later received 2 purple hearts for infantry combat wounds in Korea.
Pretty grim.
Peter Falk, Jack Lord, and Carroll O’Connor were also in the Merchant Marines in World War 2.
My grandpa fought for McArthur in the S W Pacific.
He drove a bulldozer, and was a mechanic when needed. Endured bugs, heat and humidity, tropical fungus and diseases, short rations, shifts that were brutal—6 on and 6 off for days. Occasionally Japnese airstrikes (that loved to target Bulldozers) and even Japanese snipers.
Still compared to a rifleman they would have called him lucky. He had a cot and pillow with mosquito net and a tent each night, hot meals usually, base security (Air Force engineer battalions came with their own organic security platoons armed with all light arms including MGs and bazookas) and once an island was more secure even ice, a commons area and rarely beer.
831st (871st..something) AAEB Battalion 1943-1945
Much the same happened in WW1 as well. All the extensive training of the regiments and divisions suddenly hits a crisis point when the well-trained are murdered in windrows, and the cooks, clerks and repo guys that just got bum-rushed through a limited basic training showed up on the lines. More than a few stories are out there for WW1 and WW2 newbies like this that hadn’t even held a rifle, much less loaded or fired one.
Real Men
Toughest SOB’s to walk the planet.
“..Real Men. Toughest SOB’s to walk the planet....”
Yep...no doubt in my mind having grown up as a kid under em.....father, uncles, etc.
That statement holds true for those in all the theaters too; Europe, Pacific, etc....they were some tough, hard-core individuals (toxic masculinity on steroids..LOL). Not many can compare to em these days.
The interesting part, they didn’t think of themselves that way. It may be because of the Great Depression. It put most everyone in their place. A truly great equalizer greater than the old Colt 45.
Another well done.
You may enjoy, “General Kenny Reports”. It is all about the Fifth Air Force. Very good read I think.
Thank you.
In essence, if your ship was hit and began to sink, you might get into a lifeboat but had only a poor chance of rescue. Due to the risk of enemy attack, ships in convoy had orders not to stop and make rescues. Many US merchant sailors therefore died when their ships went down or of exposure in the ocean in life vests or in lifeboats.
“Troops stationed overseas should be paid for by the host countries.”
For that you need the FFL 😁
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