World War II US Army 82nd Airborne Division Action

Description

82nd Airborne Division: Key Events and Figures, 1942-1945

Timeline of Main Events: 82nd Airborne Division (Based on Provided Source)

• February 13, 1942: The 82nd Infantry Division is reactivated two months after Pearl Harbor and the German declaration of war. Major General Omar Bradley is the first commander of the reactivated division.
• August 15, 1942: The 82nd Infantry Division, under the command of Major General Matthew Ridgway, becomes the first airborne division in the history of the U.S. Army and is redesignated the 82nd Airborne Division. It initially consists of the 325th, 326th, and 327th Infantry Regiments, and supporting units.
• Shortly after August 15, 1942: The 327th Infantry Regiment is transferred to help form the 101st Airborne Division and is replaced in the 82nd Airborne by the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment. The division then comprises two glider infantry regiments (325th and 326th) and one parachute infantry regiment (504th).
• April 1943: The 82nd Airborne paratroopers deploy to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations under the command of Major General Ridgway to participate in the invasion of Sicily.
• July 9, 1943: The 82nd Airborne conducts its first combat operation with a parachute assault into Sicily.
• September 13, 1943: The 82nd Airborne conducts its second combat operation with a parachute assault at Salerno, Italy.
• May 28, 1944: Field Order #6, Operation Neptune (the airborne phase of the Normandy invasion), is issued.
• June 5-6, 1944: As part of Operation Neptune and Mission Boston, the 82nd Airborne lands paratroopers, parachute artillery, and the 319th and 320th (likely field artillery battalions) in Normandy.
• June 6, 1944: First Lieutenant Robert P. Mathias of the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment becomes the first U.S. Army officer killed by German fire on D-Day.
• June 7, 1944: The 325th Glider Infantry Regiment arrives in Normandy by glider to serve as the division reserve.
• June 5 – July 8, 1944: The 82nd Airborne is involved in operations on the Cherbourg Peninsula.
• August 2, 1944: The 82nd Airborne Division becomes part of the First Allied Airborne Army.
• September 1944: The 82nd Airborne begins planning for Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands, an operation to seize key bridges and roads behind German lines. Field Order #11 for Operation Market is issued on September 13, 1944.
• September 17-30, 1944: Operation Market Garden takes place, involving parachute and glider landings by the 82nd Airborne in Holland.
• December 16, 1944: The Germans launch a surprise offensive in the Ardennes Forest, initiating the Battle of the Bulge.
• December 20, 1944: The 82nd Airborne Division is assigned to take Cheneux to force Kampfgruppe Peiper (part of the Waffen SS Leibstandarte Division) into a retreat.
• December 21-22, 1944: The 82nd Airborne faces counterattacks from three powerful Waffen SS divisions: the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler, 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich, and the 9th SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen.
• December 24, 1944: Facing overwhelming enemy forces (estimated at 43,000 men against their 8,520), the 82nd Airborne Division is forced to withdraw for the first time in its combat history.
• January 3, 1945: The 82nd Airborne Division launches a counterattack, overrunning positions of the 62nd Volksgrenadiers and the 9th SS Panzer Division and capturing 2,400 prisoners, but suffering high casualties. The attached 551st Parachute Infantry Battalion is nearly annihilated.
• April – December 1945: Following Germany’s surrender, the 82nd Airborne Division serves on occupation duty in Berlin.
• April 1945: The 82nd Airborne participates in operations in Central Europe, advancing towards Cologne and crossing the Elbe River.
• May 1945: The 82nd Airborne continues operations in Central Europe. The German 21st Army surrenders unconditionally to the 82nd Airborne Division.

Cast of Characters:

• Major General Omar Bradley: The first commander of the reactivated 82nd Infantry Division starting on February 13, 1942. He played a significant role in the early formation of the division that would become the 82nd Airborne.
• Major General Matthew Ridgway: Commander of the 82nd Infantry Division when it became the first U.S. Army airborne division on August 15, 1942, and continued to command it through the Sicily and Italy campaigns. He is noted as one of the three officers from the early 82nd who would later steer the U.S. Army.
• James M. Gavin: An officer who served in the early 82nd Airborne Division and is highlighted as one of the three who would later lead the U.S. Army. His specific roles and actions within the timeframe of these excerpts are not detailed.
• Maxwell D. Taylor: Another officer who served in the early 82nd Airborne Division and is mentioned as one of the three who would significantly influence the future U.S. Army. His specific contributions within these excerpts are not elaborated upon.
• First Lieutenant Robert P. Mathias: A platoon leader in the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment. He is notable for being the first U.S. Army officer killed by German fire on D-Day, June 6, 1944.
• Lt. Colonel Joerg: The charismatic leader of the 551st Parachute Infantry Battalion. He was lost during the Battle of the Bulge, contributing to the near destruction and eventual disbandment of the battalion.
• Jack Thompson: A War Correspondent who wrote stories about the Sicilian invasion by the 82nd Airborne in July-August 1943.

World War II United States Army 82nd Airborne Division Action & After-Action Reports

9,313 pages of after-action material including administration papers, administration orders, journals and messages, terrain studies and, records of combat, periodic reports, narrative histories, German POW interrogation reports, operation memoranda and maps.

The 82nd Division was reactivated on February 13, 1942, two months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the German declaration of war. Under the command of Major General Omar Bradley, the division brought together three officers who would ultimately steer the U.S. Army during the following two decades: Matthew Ridgway, James M. Gavin, and Maxwell D. Taylor.

On 15 August 1942, the 82nd Infantry Division, commanded by Major General Ridgway, became the first airborne division in the history of the U.S. Army, and was later designated as the 82nd Airborne Division. The division initially consisted of the 325th, 326th and 327th Infantry Regiments, and supporting units. The 327th was soon transferred to help form the 101st Airborne Division and was replaced by the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, leaving the division with two regiments of glider infantry and one of parachute infantry.

Sicily and Italy

In April 1943 82nd paratroopers deployed to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, under the command of Major General Ridgway to take part in the campaign to invade Sicily. The division’s first two combat operations were parachute assaults into Sicily on 9 July and Salerno on 13 September 1943.

Normandy

The 82nd Airborne as part of Operation Neptune, conducted Mission Boston. On 5 and 6 June, the 82nd Airborne landed paratroopers, parachute artillery elements, and the 319th and 320th. During the 6 June assault, a 508th platoon leader, First Lieutenant Robert P. Mathias, would be the first U.S. Army officer killed by German fire on D-Day. On 7 June, after this first wave of attack, the 325th GIR would arrive by glider to provide a division reserve.

Market Garden

On August 2, 1944 the division became part of the First Allied Airborne Army. In September, the 82nd began planning for Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands. The operation called for the seizure of key bridges and roads deep behind German lines.

The Battle of the Bulge

On 16 December 1944, the Germans launched a surprise offensive through the Ardennes Forest, which became known as the Battle of the Bulge.

On 20 December 1944, the 82nd Airborne Division was assigned to take Cheneux where they would force the Waffen SS Division Leibstandarte’s Kampfgruppe Peiper into a fighting retreat. On 21–22 December 1944, the 82nd Airborne faced counterattacks from three powerful Waffen SS divisions which included the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler, 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich, and the 9th SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen. The Waffen SS efforts to relieve Kampfgruppe Peiper failed due to the 82nd Airborne.

On 24 December 1944, the 82nd Airborne Division with an official strength of 8,520 men was facing off against a vastly larger combined force of 43,000 men and over 1,200 armored fighting and artillery vehicles and pieces. Due to these circumstances the 82nd Airborne Division was forced to withdrawal for the first time in its combat history. On 3 January 1945, the 82nd Airborne Division conducted a counterattack. On the first day’s fighting the Division overran the 62nd Volksgrenadiers and the 9th SS Panzer’s positions capturing 2,400 prisoners. The 82nd Airborne suffered high casualties in the process.

The attached 551st Parachute Infantry Battalion was all but destroyed during these attacks. Of the 826 men that went into the Ardennes, only 110 came out. Having lost its charismatic leader Lt. Colonel Joerg, and almost all its men either wounded, killed, or frostbitten, the 551 was never reconstituted. The few soldiers that remained were later absorbed into units of the 82nd Airborne.

Occupation of Germany

Following Germany’s surrender, the 82nd Airborne Division entered Berlin for occupation duty, lasting from April until December 1945.

Document collection sets highlights include:

82nd Airborne Division history, 25 August 1917-1 March 1944. Biography of some officers, history prior to present war through Italian Campaign

Narrative report, 25 May-15 July 1944, Normandy; unit journal, G-2 estimate of situation, terrain study and overlays.

82nd Airborne Division in Sicily and Italy, July 1943-January 1944, Sicily, 505th Parachute Infantry CT Reports; 504th History “Devils in Baggy Pants” Sicily history; Italy, Division after action report.

September-November 1943; 82nd Airborne Division in Sicily and Italy, July 1943-January 1944 – 325th Glider Infantry report; 505th Parachute Infantry Report, 6 casualties in Italy, World War II casualties, decorations, citations, summary of days in action assignments attachments, detachments and CP location.

Stories of Sicilian invasion by Jack Thompson, War Correspondent, July-August 1943.

Lessons learned in Operation in Sicily, supply and evacuation only, 3 August 1943.

Field Order #6, Operation Neptune, 28 May 1944 with overlays.

Graphic story of the 82nd Airborne Division operations on Cherbourg Peninsula, 5 June-8 July 1944.

Operation Neptune action in Normandy, France, report by regiments, troop list, casualties and overlays.

Operations report, Neptune Operation, 6 June to 8 July 1944. Statistical study of glider landings, list of aircraft, personnel and major equipment of Forces A, B, C, and list of units attached to the 82nd Airborne; casualties by branch; memos, resupply and data on Operation Neptune with overlays.

Field Order Number 11 – Operation Bigot Market and Market – September 1944 – This intelligence report of the 82nd Airborne Division in Operation Market. Includes annexes such as notes on the Nijmegen Area, Tactical Study of the Terrain, Bridge Data, Order of Battle Summary, Evaluation of Terrain for Airborne Landings in the Nijmegen Area, and Security prior to the operation. Graphics included.

Field Order #11, Operation Market, 13 September 1944, with overlays and maps.

Graphic history Operation Market, Holland, 17-30 September 1944, overlays, maps, showing parachute landings, statistical study of glider landings, statistical study of parachute landings.

G-2 journal and message file, Operation Market, 16-19 October 1944.

G-2 journal and message file, Operation Market, 20-23 October 1944.

G-2 journal and message field, Operation Market, 24-27 October 1944

Office of Provost Marshall, Chronological log of Bulge mission, 17 December 1944- 22 February 1945.

Battle of the Belgian Bulge in Siegfried Line and the Roer River, 17 December 1944-February 1945, Division Commander’s report, chronology, December 1944, January 1945, February 1945 and overlays.

After action report, Central Europe, April 1945. Narrative, intelligence phases, schedule of attachments, map routes of march to Cologne area, Cologne to Elbe River, Rhine River defenses, Elbe River crossing and bridgehead establishment; Part B: After action report, Central Europe, May 1945. Officer list, sub-attachments, record of unconditional surrender of German 21st Army to the 82nd Airborne and maps.