84th Division (United States)

84th Infantry Division

84th Infantry Division shoulder sleeve insignia
Active 1917–19
1942–present
Country  United States
Branch  United States Army
Type Infantry
Size Division
Garrison/HQ Fort Knox, Kentucky
Nickname(s) "The Railsplitters" (special designation)[1]
Motto Strike Hard!
Engagements

World War I
World War II

Gulf War

Commanders
Commander Maj. Gen. David W. Puster[2]
Notable
commanders		 John H. Hilldring
Alexander R. Bolling
Jeffrey W. Talley
Insignia
Distinctive unit insignia

The 84th Training Command ("Railsplitters"[1]) is a formation of the United States Army. During World War I and World War II, it was known as the 84th Infantry Division. From 1946 to 1952, the division was a part of the United States Army Reserve as the 84th Airborne Division. In 1959, the division was reorganized and redesignated once more to the 84th Division. The division was headquartered in Milwaukee in command of over 4,100 soldiers divided into eight brigades—including an ROTC brigade—spread throughout seven states.

Changes to the Reserve organizations in 2005–07 redesigned the unit as the 84th Training Command (Leader Readiness) and it was paired with the Army Reserve Readiness Training Center (ARRTC). The flag resided at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin. As a result of Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) throughout the Army, the 84th Training Command (LR) was moved to Fort Knox, Kentucky in September 2008. Since the move, the 84th Training Command and ARRTC split, leaving the ARRTC with leader readiness and training support. The 84th Training Command was re-designated once again to 84th Training Command (Unit Readiness).

In September 2010, the 84th was renamed 84th Training Command and began reorganization. The 84th mission currently supports three training divisions – The 78th Training Division (Ft. Dix, NJ), the 86th Training Division (Ft. McCoy, WI), and the 91st Training Division (Ft. Hunter Liggett, CA). 84th Mission Statement: The 84th Training Command trains and assesses Army Reserve units in ARFORGEN in accordance with USARC and FORSCOM directives in support of operational and functional commands. As directed, the command provides training to joint, combined, and active Army forces.

Tradition has it that the division traces its lineage to the Illinois militia company in which a young Captain Abraham Lincoln served during the Black Hawk War of 1832. The division patch was selected to honor this legacy and the division's origin in Illinois. For this reason, the alternative nickname of "Lincoln County" Division" has been used to denote the 84th.

World War I

The 84th Division trained at Camp Zachary Taylor during World War I. Troops from Indiana and Kentucky made up this division.

For World War I, personnel were first enlisted from the states of Illinois, Wisconsin, and Kentucky and were formed into an infantry division in 1917, whereupon they chose the formation's distinctive patch and nickname. The division was formally activated in August 1917. It was deployed to France in October 1918 to serve as a training formation for replacements which would be sent to the Western Front. At the war's end, the formation was recalled home and, without having seen combat actions, inactivated in January 1919.

Its commanders included Brig. Gen. Wilber E. Wilder (25 August 1917), Maj. Gen. Harry C. Hale (6 October 1917), Brig. Gen. Wilber E. Wilder (26 November 1917), Brig. Gen. Wilber E. Wilder (15 December 1917), Maj. Gen. Harry C. Hale (1 March 1918), Maj. Gen. Harry C. Hale (5 June 1918), Maj. Gen. Harry C. Hale (21 July 1918), Brig. Gen. Wilber E. Wilder (18 October 1918), Maj. Gen. Harry C. Hale (31 October 1918).

World War II

The 84th Infantry Division was activated on 15 October 1942. It embarked on 20 September 1944 and arrived in the United Kingdom on 1 October, for additional training. The division landed on Omaha Beach, 1–4 November 1944, and moved to the vicinity of Gulpen, the Netherlands, 5–12 November. The division entered combat, 18 November, with an attack on Geilenkirchen, Germany, as part of the larger offensive in the Roer Valley, north of Aachen. They were supported by the British Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry. Taking Geilenkirchen, as part of Operation Clipper on 19 November, the division pushed forward to take Beeck (Geilenkirchen) and Lindern in the face of heavy enemy resistance, 29 November.[3] After a short rest, the division returned to the fight, taking Wurm and Würm (Geilenkirchen), Mullendorf, 18 December, before moving to Belgium to help stem the German winter offensive (Battle of the Bulge).

Battling in snow, sleet, and rain, the division threw off German attacks, recaptured Verdenne, 24–28 December, took Beffe and Devantave (Rendeux), 4–6 January 1945, and seized La Roche, 11 January. By 16 January, the Bulge had been reduced. After a 5-day respite, the 84th resumed the offensive, taking Gouvy and Beho. On 7 February, the division assumed responsibility for the Roer River zone, between Linnich and Himmerich (near Heinsberg), and trained for the river crossing.

On 23 February 1945, the second day of Operation Grenade, the division cut across the Roer, took Boisheim and Dülken, 1 March, crossed the Niers on 2 March, took Krefeld, 3 March, and reached the Rhine by 5 March. One day before, the 'Krefeld-Uerdinger Brücke' was blown off by Wehrmacht soldiers.[4] The division trained along the west bank of the river in March.

After crossing the Rhine, 1 April, the division drove from Lembeck toward Bielefeld in conjunction with the 5th Armored Division, crossing the Weser River to capture Hanover, 10 April. By 13 April, it had reached the Elbe, and halted its advance, patrolling along the river. The Russians were contacted at Balow, 2 May 1945. The division remained on occupation duty in Germany after VE-day, returning to the United States on 19 January 1946 for demobilization. It was redesignated a reserve formation on 21 January 1946.

Assignments in European Theater of Operations

Cold War to present

Following the conclusion of World War II, the division was made part of the Army Reserve. In January 1946, following its inactivation, it was reorganized and redesignated the 84th Airborne Division, and was headquartered out of Wisconsin. In 1947, it was designated as the Army's Airborne Reserve Command. Five years later, in 1952, the division was once more reorganized, this time as a training division comprising three regiments—the 274th, 334th, and 339th. Throughout the 1950s, the division would continue its conversion to a training formation, changing its subordinate unit makeup from regiments to brigades and support groups.

On 24 January 1991, elements of the 84th Division (Training) were activated and mobilized for support roles in Operation Desert Storm. Less than three months later, on 22 March 1991, the elements were returned home. In 1993, reorganization within the Army Reserve brought about the a merger between the 84th and the 85th Division (Training). The move expanded the 84th's area of command to include the rest of Wisconsin and Illinois, as well as all of Missouri and Iowa. Soon after, in June 1994, units from the 84th participated in peacekeeping operations as part of the multinational in the Sinai, Egypt, and remained there until July 1995.

In April 1995, the formation was once more redesignated, this time as an institutional training division. This change brought with it command of units and training in the state of Nebraska. In August 1995, army reorganization further expanded the 84th's range of authority to command the fourteen U.S. Army Reserve Forces Schools in Region E—Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio.

In October 2004, the 84th Division (Institutional Training) underwent a major transformation. All eight brigades realigned under the 100th Division and the Headquarters and Division Band combined with the Army Reserve Readiness Training Center (ARRTC) located at Fort McCoy, Wis., to create the 84th U.S. Army Reserve Readiness Training Command (84th USARRTC). The expertise and resources from the two units gave the 84th USARRTC an edge on the type and amount of training opportunities offered. The three Army Reserve NCO academies also realigned under the new 84th USARRTC.

In October 2006, the 84th USARRTC underwent another major transformation as 12 brigades from the Army Reserve's Institutional Training Divisions realigned under the command. The brigades are responsible for Officer Education System (OES) training, such as the Combined Arms Exercise (CAX) and Intermediate Level Education (ILE), and Senior Reserve Officer Training Corps (SROTC) support to universities across the country.

In February 2007, the 84th USARRTC was renamed the 84th Training Command (Leader Readiness) in response to the unit's transformation under the Army Reserve's Decision Point 74. The 84th Training Command had exercise command and control over three professional development brigades, one schools brigade, one training development brigade, the 84th Division Band, and eventually the Small Arms Readiness Group.

In September 2008, the 84th Training Command (Unit Readiness) relocated from Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Fort McCoy, Wisconsin to Fort Knox, Kentucky.

In October 2009, the 84th was renamed and became the 84th Training Command, and the Army Reserve Readiness Training Center and the three US Army Reserve NCO Academies moved from the 84th to fall directly under the US Army Reserve.

In October 2010, the 84th Training Command began reorganization to fall in line with the transformation of the Army Reserve. The 84th Training Command has command and control (C2) over the US Army Reserve's warrior exercises (WAREX), combat support training exercises (CSTX); the observer controller/trainer mission of the US Army Reserve; and the US Army Reserve's three regional training centers at Fort Dix, New Jersey, Fort McCoy, Wisconsin and Fort Hunter Liggett, California. The three RTCs conduct all of the pre-mobilization training for deploying US Army Reserve units. The 84th Training Command is now located coast-to-coast and border-to-border. The command provides Army Reserve soldiers with a wide variety of training that will help prepare them for current worldwide operations.

Subordinate units

The 84th Training Command is undergoing transformation and will be adding units and reflagging existing units. As of November 2010:

70th Training Division (Fort Knox, Kentucky) (Scheduled to deactivate Oct 2012)

78th Training Division (Fort Dix, New Jersey)

86th Training Division (Fort McCoy, Wisconsin)

91st Training Division (Fort Hunter Liggett, California)

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 "Special Unit Designations". United States Army Center of Military History. 21 April 2010. Archived from the original on 9 July 2010. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
  2. ↑ "Major General David W. Puster". United States Army Reserve. United States Army Reserve.
  3. ↑ The Geilenkirchen Salient
  4. ↑ Ninth Army to the Rhine, p. 173ff.

Sources

External links

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