Country United States Type Infantry | Branch United States Army Size Division | |
 | ||
Active 1917–1919
1942–45
1946–2007 Nickname(s) Custer (special designation) | ||
The 85th Infantry Division also known as "Custer Division" (named after the cavalry commander George Armstrong Custer) was an infantry division of the United States Army.
Contents
World War I
The division was first activated 25 August 1917 at Camp Custer, Michigan, and comprised the 169th and 170th Infantry brigades and the 160th Field Artillery Brigade. After a year of training the division left the United States for England.
The Division was composed of the following units:
Headquarters Troop, 85th Division
From England the 339th Infantry Regiment sailed to Archangel, Russia to fight along the White Army in the Russian Civil War against Bolshevik forces as part of the Polar Bear Expedition. Accompanying the 339th were the 1st Battalion, 310th Engineers, the 337th Ambulance Company, and the 337th Field Hospital. After arrival in France as part of the American Expeditionary Forces, the remainder of the division was broken up to support other units. The Headquarters was stationed in Lorraine as a depot division and therefore did not participate in any combat operations. Doughboys of the Division served in other Divisions at the Battles for St. Mihiel, Marbache and in the Meuse-Argonne on the Western Front. After the war the division remained on occupation duty in Germany and by August 1919, the last elements of the division returned to the United States.
World War II
On 15 May 1942, five months after the United States entered World War II, the 85th Infantry Division was reactivated at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, under the command of Major General Wade H. Haislip. Divisions in the U.S. Army at that time were "triangularized" with three combat regiments instead of the four regiment structure "square division" used during World War I. The 340th Infantry Regiment was redesignated as the 410th Quartermaster Battalion and left the division. Basic infantry training was begun in June 1942 at Camp Shelby, Mississippi. In April 1943, it participated in large-scale army training in the Louisiana Maneuvers near Leesville, Louisiana. In August, the division was moved to Camp Coxcomb, California for desert warfare training. In October, the division was transferred to Fort Dix, New Jersey, for final preparations before shipment overseas. Major General John B. Coulter was transferred as commander and retained this position throughout the war. The Assistant Division Commander (ADC) throughout the war was Brigadier General Lee S. Gerow.
World War II organization:
The 85th Division left the United States on 24 December 1943 and arrived in Casablanca, French Morocco on 2 January 1944. It received amphibious training at Port aux Poules near Arzew and Oran, Algeria, 1 February to 23 March, then embarked for Naples, Italy, arriving on 27 March. The 339th Regimental Combat Team was the first division element to depart Port-Aux-Poules for movement to the Italian Campaign. Arriving in Italy on March 14, the 339th RCT was attached to the 88th Infantry Division and became the first regiment of the 85th to see combat during World War II on the Minturno-Castelforte front north of Naples, 28 March. The 85th Division, under II Corps of the U.S. Fifth Army under Mark W. Clark, was committed to action as a unit, 10 April 1944, north of the Garigliano River, facing the Gustav Line, and held defensive positions for a month.
On 11 May, it launched its attack, taking Solacciano, Castellonorato, and Formia. Itri fell, 19 May, and the 85th continued to mop up the Gaeta Peninsula. Terracina was taken and the road to the Anzio beachhead was opened. The division pursued the enemy to the hills near Sezze until pinched out by friendly forces from Anzio. The Gustav Line had been smashed and the 85th started for a rest area on 29 May, but was ordered to the Lariano sector which the division cleared by the 31st. Driving on Rome, the 85th pushed through Monte Compatri and Frascati, entered the Italian capital of Rome on 5 June 1944, and advanced to Viterbo before being relieved on 10 June.
After rehabilitation and training, the 85th took over the defense of the Arno River line from 15 to 26 August. The division attacked the mountain defenses of the Gothic Line on 13 September, and broke through, taking Firenzuola on the 21st. The 85th advanced slowly through mud and rain against heavy resistance taking La Martina and gaining the Idice River Valley road on 2 October, and reaching Mount Mezzano on the 24th overlooking the Po River Valley. From 27 October to 22 November 1944, defense areas near Pizzano were held. On the 23d, the division was relieved for rest and rehabilitation.
The 85th Division relieved the British 1st Infantry Division on 6 January 1945, and limited its activities to cautious patrols until 13 March. After a brief training period, the 85th, now under the command of Major General Willis D. Crittenberger's IV Corps, during the final offensive in Italy, thrust southwest of Bologna on 14 April, pushing through Lucca and Pistoia into the Po Valley as enemy resistance collapsed. The Panaro River was crossed on the 23rd and the Po the next day. The division mopped up fleeing Germans until their mass surrender on 2 May 1945, in the Belluno-Agordo area. The end of World War II in Europe came six days later. Three soldiers from the 85th Infantry Division earned the Medal of Honor.
Casualties
Cold War
The division returned to the United States and was inactivated at Camp Patrick Henry, Virginia on 26 August 1945. It was then reactivated at Chicago, Illinois on 19 February 1947 in the U.S. Army Reserve. On 1 June 1959, the division's mission was changed to training and it was named the 85th Infantry Division (Training).
Organization
Upon reactivation in the Army Reserve, the division was organized with a division headquarters, three training brigades and a training group, with division headquarters located in Chicago, Illinois. In 1983, the Division Headquarters was moved to Arlington Heights, Illinois, with subordinate brigade headquarters located in Waukegan, Illinois (1st Brigade); St. Louis, Missouri (2nd Brigade); Rockford, Illinois (3rd Brigade); Fort Sheridan, Illinois (4th Brigade); and Aurora, Illinois (Training Group). In 1999 the division was further reorganized as the 85th Division (Training Support). Its four brigades were headquartered as follows:
Distinguished Leaders
Commanders within the division who became U.S. Army general officers include:
Unit inactivation and reactivation
In September 2007, the 85th Division (Training Support) was formally inactivated and its remaining assets folded into the 75th Division (Training Support) and the 88th Regional Readiness Command. In December 2008, the 85th Division was reactivated as the 85th USAR Support Command.