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'{{Infobox Military Unit |unit_name=U.S. 99th Infantry Division |image=[[Image:US 99th Infantry Division.png|200px]] |caption=99th Infantry Division shoulder sleeve insignia |country[[United States of America|USA]] |allegiance= |type=Division |branch= [[United States Army]] Reserve (inactive) |dates=[[November 15]], [[1942]] - [[October 15]], [[1945]] |specialization=Infantry |command_structure=Division |size= |current_commander= |garrison= |ceremonial_chief= |nickname=Battle Babies, Checkerboard Division |motto= |colors= |march= |mascot= |battles='''World War II''' *[[Rhineland]] *[[Battle of the Bulge|Ardennes-Alsace]] *[[Western Allied invasion of Germany|Central Europe]] |notable_commanders=Walter E. Lauer |anniversaries= }} {{US Infantry |previous=[[98th Infantry Division (United States)|98th Infantry Division]] |next= [[100th Infantry Division (United States)|100th Infantry Division]] }} The '''99th Infantry Division''' was a unit of the [[United States Army]] in [[World War II]]. It played a strategic role in the [[Battle of the Bulge]] when its inexperienced troops held fast on the northern shoulder of the German advance, refusing them access to the vital northern road network that led into Belgium. ==Unit insignia== The unit's distinctive shoulder patch consisted of a five-sided shield of black on which is superimposed a horizontal band of white and blue squares. The black represents the iron from the mills of [[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania|Pittsburgh]] where many of the troops were from. The blue and white are taken from the coat of arms for [[William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham|William Pitt]] for whom Pittsburgh was named. ==World War II== *Activated: 15 November 1942 *Overseas: 30 September 1944 *Campaigns: [[Rhineland]], [[Ardennes-Alsace]], [[Central Europe Campaign|Central Europe]] *Days of combat: 151 *Distinguished Unit Citations: 2 *Awards: [[Medal of Honor]]-[[Vernon McGarity|1]] ; [[Distinguished Service Cross (United States)]]-16 ; [[Distinguished Service Medal (Army)]]-1 ; [[Silver Star]]-252; [[Legion of Merit]]-6; [[Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)|DFC]]-7 ; [[Soldier's Medal]]-8 ; [[Bronze Star Medal|Bronze Star]] -2,127 ; [[Air Medal]]-48 *Commanders: Maj. Gen. Thompson Lawrence (November 1942-July 1943), Maj. Gen. Walter E. Lauer (July 1943-18 August 1945), Brig. Gen. Frederick H. Black (August 1945 to inactivation) *Returned to U. S.: 17 September 1945 *Inactivated: 15 October 1945 ===Order of Battle (44-45)=== 99th Infantry Division Order of Battle 1944-1945<br> - Headquarters & Headquarters Company 99th Infantry Division<br /> - Headquarters & Headquarters Battery Division Artillery<br> - Headquarters, Special troops<br> - Military Police Platoon<br> - 99th Quartermaster Company<br> - 99th Signal Corps Company<br> - 99th Counter Intelligence Corps Detachment<br> - 324th Engineer Combat Battalion<br> - 324th Medical Company<br> - 370th Field Artillery Battalion (105 MM)<br> - 371st Field Artillery Battalion (105 MM)<br> - 372nd Field Artillery Battalion (155 MM)<br> - 393rd Infantry Regiment<br> - 394th Infantry Regiment<br> - 395th Infantry Regiment<br> - 799th Ordnance Light Maintenance Company<br> - 924th Field Artillery Battalion (105 MM)<br> - 535th AAA A-Weapons Battalion : 11-12-1944 - 09-05-1945<br> - 629th Tank Destroyer Battalion : 22-02-1945 - 09-05-1945<br> - 644th Tank Destroyer Battalion : 28-01-1945 - 08-02-1945<br> - 750th Tank Battalion : 28-01-1945 - 05-02-1945<br> - 786th Tank Battalion : 23-02-1945 - 09-05-1945<br> - 801st Tank Destroyer Battalion : 09-11-1944 - 03-02-1945<br> - 814th Tank Destroyer Battalion : 08-02-1945 - 13-02-1945<br> - 817th Tank Destroyer Battalion : 13-02-1945 - 22-02-1945<br> ===Combat Chronicle=== [[Image:Danube-Eining.JPG|250px|thumb|[[Danube]] river near [[Eining]], Germany]] The 99th Infantry Division, comprising the [[393rd Infantry Regiment (United States)|393rd]], [[394nd Infantry Regiment (United States)|394th]], and the [[395th Infantry Regiment (United States)|395th Infantry Regiments]], arrived in England on 10 October 1944. Put under operational control of [[V Corps (United States)|V Corps]], [[First Army (United States)|First Army]], it moved to [[Le Havre, France]] on 3 November and proceeded to [[Aubel, Belgium]], to prepare to enter the front lines. The division first saw action on the 9 November, taking over the defense of the sector north of the [[Roer River]] between Schmidt and [[Monschau]]. After defensive patrolling, the 99th probed the [[Siegfried Line]] against heavy resistance on 13 December. Formerly known as the Checkerboard Division, which referred to its shoulder patch, in late 1944 having not yet seen battle, it was nicknamed the ''Battle Babies''. [[Image:Battle-of-bulge-northern-shoulder.jpg|thumb|Map depicting the northern shoulder of the Battle of the Bulge, or Ardennes Offensive, in which the [[6th Panzer Army (Germany)|German Sixth Panzer Army]] attacked the United States' 99th Infantry Division, but could not dislodge them. The 99th Division's effective defense of the sector prevented the Germans from accessing the valuable road network and considerably slowed their timetable, allowing the Allies to bring up additional reinforcements.]]The inexperienced troops of the division were lodged on the northern shoulder of the [[Battle of the Bulge|Ardennes Offensive]] on 16 December. Although cut up and surrounded in part, the 99th was one of the only divisions that did not yield to the German attack, and held their positions until reinforcements arrived. The lines were then moved back to form defensive positions east of [[Elsenborn Ridge]] on the 19th. Here it held firmly against violent enemy attacks. From 21 December 1944 to 30 January 1945, the unit was engaged in aggressive patrolling and reequipping. It attacked toward the Monschau Forest, 1 February, mopping up and patrolling until it was relieved for training and rehabilitation, 13 February. On 2 March, 1945, the division took the offensive, moving toward Keln and crossing the Erft Canal near Glesch. After clearing towns west of the [[Rhine]], it crossed the river at Remagen on the 11th and continued to [[Linz]] and to the Wied. Crossing on the 23d, it pushed east on the Koln-Frankfurt highway to [[Gießen|Giessen]]. Against light resistance it crossed the [[Dill River]] and pushed on to Krofdorf-Gleiberg, taking Giessen 29 March. The 99th then moved to Schwarzenau, 3 April, and attacked the southeast sector of the [[Ruhr Pocket]] on the 5th. Although the enemy resisted fiercely, the Ruhr pocket collapsed with the fall of [[Iserlohn]], 16 April. The last drive began on 23 April. The 99th crossed the Ludwig Canal against stiff resistance and established a bridgehead over the [[Altmuhl River]], 25 April. The [[Danube]] was crossed near Eining on the 27th and the [[Isar]] at [[Landshut]], 1 May, after a stubborn fight. The attack continued without opposition to the [[Inn River]] and Giesenhausen when [[VE-day]] came. ===Most decorated platoon of World War II=== {{main|Lyle Bouck}} The [[ISTAR|Intelligence and Reconnaissance Platoon]] from the [[394th Infantry Regiment (United States)|394th Infantry Regiment]] of the 99th division was the most decorated platoon of [[World War II]] for action on the first morning of the Battle of the Bulge defending a key road in the vicinity of the [[Losheim Gap]]. Led by a 20-year old lieutenant named [[Lyle Bouck|Lyle Bouck Jr.]], during a 20-hour long fight with an entire German battalion of over 600 men, the 18 men of the platoon inflicted between 400 and 500 casualties on the Germans. The platoon seriously disrupted the entire German Sixth Army's schedule of attack along the northern edge of the offensive. At dusk on 16 December, about 50 German paratroopers finally flanked the platoon and captured the remaining 15 soldiers. Two who had been sent on foot to regimental headquarters to seek reinforcements had been captured, and a third was killed.<ref name="della">{{cite web|url=http://www.fas.org/irp/agency/army/mipb/1996-1/delagius.htm|title=The Heroic Stand of an Intelligence Platoon:|last=Della-Giustina|first=Captain John |date=January-March 1996|work=Military Intelligence Professional Bulletin|accessdate=2009-03-17}}</ref> Due to the capture of the platoon's soldiers and the blur of events during the first week of this massive campaign, the U.S. Army did not recognize the platoon for its courageous deeds for thirty-seven years. On October 25, 1981, the entire platoon was recognized with a [[Presidential Unit Citation (United States)|Presidential Unit Citation]], and every member of the platoon was decorated, including four [[Distinguished Service Cross (United States Army)|Distinguished Service Crosses]], five [[Silver Star]]s, and ten [[Bronze Star Medal|Bronze Stars]] with V for [[Valor device|Valor]]. ===Assignments in the European Theatre of Operations=== *4 November 1944: [[U.S. V Corps|V Corps]], [[First United States Army]], [[12th Army Group]] *18 December 1944: Attached to [[2nd Infantry Division (United States)|2d Infantry Division]] of the V Corps, First Army, 12th Army Group *20 December 1944: Attached, with the entire First Army, to the [[British 21st Army Group]] *7 January 1944: Relieved from attachment to the 2nd Infantry Division and assigned to V Corps, First Army (attached to the British 21st Army Group), 12th Army Group *18 January 1945: V Corps, First Army, 12th Army Group *20 February 1945: [[US VII Corps|VII Corps]] *9 March 1945: [[U.S. III Corps|III Corps]] *19 April 1945: III Corps, [[U.S. Third Army|Third Army]], 12th Army Group ===Commendations and honors=== When the [[Battle of the Bulge|Ardennes Offensive]] had ended, Gen. Lauer received verbal commendations from Field Marshal Sir [[Bernard L. Montgomery]], 21st Army Group Commander, and Gen. [[Courtney Hodges]], First Army Commander, on the vigorous and effective defense contributed by the 99th. A written commendation was received from Maj. Gen. [[Leonard T. Gerow]], V Corps Commander: {{cquote|I wish to express to you and the members of your command my appreciation and commendation for the fine job you did in preventing the enemy from carrying out his plans to break through the V Corps sector and push on to the Meuse River. Not only did your command assist in effectively frustrating that particular part of the plan, but it also inflicted such heavy losses on the enemy that he was unable to carry out other contemplated missions in other sectors of the Allied front. Gen. von Manteuffel, commander of the 5th Panzer Army, stated in the address to his troops prior to the attack that "our ground mission must be continuous; otherwise we will not achieve our goal". Due in part to the 99th Infantry Division, this ground mission has not been continuous, and he will not achieve his goal...<ref name="lonesentry">{{cite web|url=http://www.lonesentry.com/gi_stories_booklets/99thinfantry/index.html |title=Battle Babies: The Story of the 99th Infantry Division|publisher=U.S. Army Orientation Branch, Information and Education Division, ETOUSA|accessdate=2009-03-07}}</ref>}} The [[Medal of Honor]] was awarded T/Sgt [[Vernon McGarity]], Company L, 393rd Infantry, 99th Infantry Division, for action near [[Krinkelt]], Belgium, on 16 December 1944. {{portal|United States Army|United States Department of the Army Seal.svg}} ==References== {{reflist}} ==Additional Reading== *''The Army Almanac: A Book of Facts Concerning the Army of the United States'' U.S. Government Printing Office, 1950 at http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/lineage/cc/cc.htm * {{cite book|last=Kershaw|first=Alex|title=The Longest Winter: The Battle of the Bulge And the Epic Story of World War II's Most Decorated Platoon|publisher=De Capo Press|date=October 30, 2005|isbn=0306814404|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=ZTCmeRrHvRsC}} ==External links== *[http://www.eucmh.com/ European Center of Military History] *[http://www.lonesentry.com/gi_stories_booklets/99thinfantry/index.html Battle Babies: The Story of the 99th Infantry Division] *[http://www.battleofthebulge.org/fact/fact_sheet_of_the_99th_infantry.html Fact Sheet of the 99th Infantry Division] from http://www.battleofthebulge.org *[http://99div.com/ Checkerboard, official publication of 99th Infantry Division Association] Once Upon a Time in War - The 99th Infantry Division in WWII by Robert Humphrey, 11/2008 - sold on Amazon.com and several other book stores as well. http://www.amazon.com/Once-Upon-Time-War-Commanders/dp/0806139463/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1244230155&sr=8-1 [[Category:Infantry divisions of the United States Army|099th Infantry Division, U.S.]] [[Category:World War II divisions of the United States|Infantry Division, U.S. 099]] [[Category:Military units and formations established in 1942]] [[sl:99. pehotna divizija (ZDA)]]'