24-я пехотная дивизия Армии США: История и боевой путь

1921–2006 United States Army division

The 24th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the United States Army that was inactivated in October 1996. Formed during World War II from the disbanding Hawaiian Division, the division saw action throughout the Pacific theater, first fighting in New Guinea before landing on the Philippine islands of Leyte and Luzon, driving Japanese forces from them. Following the end of the war, the division participated in occupation duties in Japan, and was the first division to respond at the outbreak of the Korean War. For the first 18 months of the war, the division was heavily engaged on the front lines with North Korean and Chinese forces, suffering over 10,000 casualties. It was withdrawn from the front lines to the reserve force for the remainder of the war after the second battle for Wonju, but returned to Korea for patrol duty at the end of major combat operations. After its deployment in the Korean War, the division was active in Europe and the United States during the Cold War. It was based at Fort Stewart, Georgia and later reactivated at Fort Riley, Kansas. It did not see combat again until the Persian Gulf War, when it faced the Iraqi military. A few years after that conflict, it was inactivated as part of the post Cold War U. S. military drawdown of the 1990s. The division was reactivated in October 1999 as a formation for training and deploying U. S. Army National Guard units before its deactivation in October 2006.

The 24th Infantry Division traces its lineage to Army units activated in Hawaii. It was activated under the Square Division Table of Organization and Equipment (TO&E) on 1 March 1921 as the Hawaiian Division at Schofield Barracks, Oahu. and the 22nd Infantry Regiment was assigned to the Division, both of which had been assigned to the US 11th Infantry Division prior to 1921. The entire Hawaiian Division was concentrated at a single location during the next few years, allowing it to conduct more effective combined arms training. It was also manned at higher personnel levels than other divisions, and its field artillery was the first to be motorized. Between August and September 1941, the Hawaiian Division's assets were reorganized to form two divisions under the new Triangular Division TO&E. Its brigade headquarters were disbanded and the 27th and 35th Infantry Regiments were assigned to the new 25th Infantry Division. The division was then centered around three infantry regiments: the 19th Infantry Regiment and the 21st Infantry Regiment from the old Hawaiian Division, and the 299th Infantry Regiment from the Hawaii National Guard. In July 1942, the 299th Infantry was inactivated after its ranks were depleted by the transfer of many Nisei (second generation Japanese Americans) to form the 100th Infantry Battalion, and the 25th Infantry Division's 298th Infantry Regiment was reassigned to the 24th. Also part of the division were the 13th Field Artillery Battalion, the 52nd Field Artillery Battalion, the 63rd Field Artillery Battalion, the 11th Field Artillery Battalion, the 24th Signal Company, the 724th Ordnance Light Maintenance Company, the 24th Quartermaster Company, the 24th Reconnaissance Troop, the 3rd Engineer Combat Battalion, the 24th Medical Battalion, and the 24th Counterintelligence Corps Detachment. Among these casualties were Sgt. Paul J. Fadon (killed in a truck 10 miles north of Schofield Barracks), Pvt. Walter R. French, Pfc. Conrad Kujawa, Pvt. Torao Migita (killed by friendly fire in downtown Honolulu), and Cpt. Theodore J. Lewis (who became the 24th Infantry Division's first soldier killed during WWII). The division was then charged with the defense of northern Oahu, where it built an elaborate system of coastal defenses throughout 1942. After training, the division moved to Goodenough Island on 31 January 1944, to prepare for Operation Reckless, the amphibious capture of Hollandia, Netherlands New Guinea (now Jayapura, Papua province, Indonesia). The 24th landed at Tanahmerah Bay on 22 April 1944 and seized the important Hollandia Airdrome despite torrential rain and marshy terrain. Despite resistance from the isolated Japanese forces in the area, the 24th Infantry Division advanced rapidly through the region.

After occupation duty in the Hollandia area, the 24th Division was assigned to X Corps of the Sixth United States Army in preparation for the invasion of the Philippines. On 20 October 1944, the division was paired with the 1st Cavalry Division within X Corps, and the two divisions made an assault landing at Leyte, initially encountering only light resistance. Following a defeat at sea on 26 October, the Japanese launched a large, uncoordinated counteroffensive against the Sixth Army. The 24th Division drove up the Leyte Valley, advanced to Jaro and captured Breakneck Ridge on 12 November 1944, in heavy fighting. The division's 34th Infantry Regiment landed at San Antonio, Zambales on 29 January 1945 and ran into a furious battle on Zig Zag Pass, where it suffered heavy casualties. These operations were complete by 18 March, and the division moved south to attack through Basilan. Killed in action: 1,374 Members of the 24th Infantry Division also won 15 Distinguished Service Crosses, two Distinguished Service Medals, 625 Silver Star Medals, 38 Soldier's Medals, 2,197 Bronze Star Medals, and 50 Air Medals. The division itself was awarded eight Distinguished Unit Citations for participation in the campaign. During this time, the US Army shrank. At the end of World War II it contained 89 divisions, but by 1950, the 24th Infantry Division was one of only 10 active divisions in the force. It was one of four understrength divisions on occupation duty in Japan. The others were the 1st Cavalry Division, 7th Infantry Division, and 25th Infantry Division, all under control of the Eighth United States Army. The 24th Division retained the 19th, 21st, and 34th regiments, but the formations were undermanned and ill equipped due to the post war drawdown and reduction in military spending. The UN ordered an intervention to prevent the conquest of South Korea. U. S. President Harry S. Truman ordered ground forces into South Korea. The 24th Infantry Division was closest to Korea, and it was the first US division to respond. supported by a 134 man artillery battery (also from the 24th Infantry Division) was sent into South Korea. The force, nicknamed Task Force Smith for its commander, Lieutenant Colonel Charles Bradford Smith, was lightly armed and ordered to delay the advance of KPA forces while the rest of the 24th Infantry Division moved into South Korea. On 4 July, the task force set up in the hills north of Osan and prepared to block advancing KPA forces. According to recently declassified documents the troops were captured and taken to Pyongyang where they are thought to have been murdered about three months later. Approximately 30 percent of Task Force Smith became casualties in the Battle of Osan. The task force delayed the KPA advance for only seven hours. For the first month after the defeat of Task Force Smith, 24th Infantry Division soldiers were repeatedly defeated and pushed south by the KPA's superior numbers and equipment. 24th Infantry Division soldiers were pushed south at and around Chochiwon, Chonan, Pyongtaek, Hadong and Yechon. at the Kum River between 13 and 16 July and suffered 650 casualties of the 3,401 men committed there. In the ensuing battle, 922 men of the 24th Infantry Division were killed and 228 were wounded of 3,933 committed there. However, the 24th Infantry Division managed to delay the advancing North Koreans for two days, long enough for significant numbers of UN forces to arrive in Pusan and begin establishing defenses further south. By the time the 24th Infantry Division retreated and reformed, the 1st Cavalry Division was in place behind it. The division suffered over 3,600 casualties in the 17 days it fought alone against the KPA 3rd and 4th Divisions. By 4 August, a perimeter was established around Pusan on the hills to the north of the city and the Naktong River to the west. The Eighth Army, including the 24th Infantry Division, was cornered by the surrounding KPA. UN forces were now concentrated, the 24th Division was at Naktong, with the 25th Infantry Division to the south, and the 1st Cavalry Division and ROK forces to the north. The 24th Division was also reinforced by the 2nd Infantry Division, newly arrived in the theater. The 24th was quickly sent to block the KPA 6th Infantry Division, which attempted to attack the UN forces from the southwest. On 8 August, the KPA 4th Infantry Division crossed the river and attempted to penetrate the perimeter. After 10 days of fighting, the 24th Infantry Division counterattacked and forced the North Koreans back across the river. The 34th Regiment's survivors were added to the ranks of the 19th and 21st Regiments in an effort to bring them up to strength and the 5th Infantry remained with the 24th Division until the division withdrew from Korea. Elements of the 24th Infantry Division were moved into reserve on 23 August and replaced by the 2nd Infantry Division. A second, larger KPA attack occurred between 31 August and 19 September, but the 2nd, 24th, and 25th Infantry Divisions and the 1st Cavalry Division beat them back across the river again. The 24th Infantry Division advanced to Songju, then to Seoul. The Army advanced north along the west coast of Korea through October. The 24th Infantry Division, with the ROK 1st Infantry Division, moved to the left flank of the advancing Eighth Army, and moved north along Korea's west coast. The Chinese People's Volunteer Army (PVA) entered the war on the side of North Korea, making their first attacks in late October. On 1 November, the division's 21st Infantry captured Chonggodo, 18 mile (29 km) from the Yalu River and Korea's border with China. The 24th Infantry Division, on the west coast of the Korean peninsula, was hit by soldiers from the PVA 50th and 66th Field Armies. Amid heavy casualties, the Eighth Army retreated from North Korea to the Imjin River, south of the 38th Parallel, having been destabilised by the overwhelming PVA force. The Chinese eventually advanced too far for their supply lines to adequately support them, and their attack stalled.

General Matthew B. Ridgway ordered I, IX and X Corps to conduct a general counteroffensive on the Chinese (Operation Thunderbolt) quickly thereafter. The 24th Division, as part of IX Corps, advanced along the center of the peninsula to take Chipyong ni. The corps ran into heavy resistance and fought for the region until February. Between February and March 1951, the 24th Infantry Division participated in Operation Killer, pushing PVA forces north of the Han River. This operation was followed by Operation Ripper, which recaptured Seoul in March. After this, Operation Rugged and Operation Dauntless in April saw the division advance north of the 38th Parallel and reestablish itself along previously established lines of defense, code named Kansas and Utah, respectively. Though the 24th and 25th Infantry Divisions were able to hold their ground against the PVA 9th Army Corps, the ROK 6th Infantry Division, to the east, was destroyed by the PVA 13th Army Corps, which penetrated the line and threatened to encircle the 24th and 25th Divisions. The 1st Marine Division and 27th British Commonwealth Brigade were able to drive the 13th Army Corps back while the 24th and 25th Divisions withdrew on 25 April. In September, the UN forces launched another counteroffensive with the 24th Infantry Division at the center of the line, west of the Hwachon Reservoir. Flanked by the ROK 2nd and 6th Divisions, the 24th advanced past Kumwha, engaging the PVA 20th and 27th Armies. In January 1952, the 24th Infantry Division, which suffered over 10,000 casualties in 18 months of fighting, was redesignated as the Far East Theater reserve and pulled out of Korea. In July 1953, the division returned to Korea to restore order at Geoje prisoner of war camp. It arrived two weeks before the end of the war. Melvin O. Handrich, Mitchell Red Cloud Jr., Carl H. Dodd, Nelson V. Brittin, Ray E. Duke, Stanley T. Adams, Mack A. Jordan, and Woodrow W. Keeble. Keeble's medal was awarded on 3 March 2008, 26 years after his death. The 24th Infantry Division suffered 3,735 killed and 7,395 wounded during the Korean War. It remained on front line duty after the armistice until October 1957, patrolling the 38th parallel in the event that combat would resume. The division then returned to Japan and remained there for a short time. and the 1st Airborne Battle Group, 187th Infantry departed on 8 February 1959, also for the 82nd. On 13 July, less than 2 weeks after the reorganization, King Faisal II of Iraq was assassinated in a coup orchestrated by pro Egyptian officers. The Christian president of Lebanon, pressured by Muslims to join Egypt and Syria in the Gamal Abdel Nasser led United Arab Republic, requested help from the Eisenhower administration during the 1958 Lebanon crisis. On the night of 15 July, U. S. Marines from the Sixth Fleet landed at Beirut and secured the Beirut airport. The following day, the 24th Division's 1st Airborne Battle Group, 187th Infantry deployed to Turkey and flew to Beirut on 19 July. After the construction of the Berlin Wall in August 1961, the Seventh Army began sending infantry units from the divisions in West Germany on a rotating basis to reinforce the Berlin Brigade. The 24th Division's units participated in this action. In January 1963, the 24th was reorganized as a mechanized infantry division under the Reorganization Objective Army Division (ROAD) TO&E, which replaced the pentomic battle groups with conventional sized battalions organized in three combined arms brigades. The 169th Infantry Brigade, previously assigned to the 85th Infantry Division was redesignated the 1st Brigade, 24th Infantry Division. The 85th Division's 170th Infantry Brigade was redesignated the 2nd Brigade, 24th Infantry Division. In 1965, the 24th Infantry Division received its distinctive unit insignia. Because the Regular Army could not field a full division at Fort Stewart, the 24th had the 48th Infantry Brigade of the Georgia Army National Guard assigned to it as a round out unit in place of its 3rd Brigade.

Operation Desert Storm began with an extensive aerial bombing campaign on 17 January 1991. When the ground attack commenced on 24 February, the 24th Infantry Division formed the east flank of the corps with the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment. It blocked the Euphrates River valley to cut off Iraqi forces in Kuwait and little resistance. At this time, the 24th Division's ranks swelled to over 25,000 troops in 34 battalions, commanding 94 helicopters, 241 M1 Abrams tanks, 221 M2 Bradley Armored fighting vehicles, and over 7,800 other vehicles. The 24th Infantry Division performed exceptionally well in the theater; it had been training in desert warfare for several years before the conflict. and captured the two airfields the next day. The 24th then moved east with VII Corps and engaged several Iraqi Republican Guard divisions. The 24th Infantry Division's Task Force Tusker attacked entrenched Iraqi forces on 26 February 1991 to seize battle position 143, effectively severing the Iraqi Euphrates River Valley line of communication to the Kuwait Theater of operation and destroying the major combat elements of the Iraqi Republican Guard Forces Command's elite 26th Commando Brigade. On 2 March 1991 the 24th Infantry Division would participate in a controversial engagement against the Republican Guard Hammurabi Division. It would take place well after the ceasefire. It is known as the Battle of Rumaila. Iraqi Republican Guard forces were engaged within the Hammar Marshes of the Tigris–Euphrates river system in Iraq while attempting to reach and cross the Lake Hammar causeway and escape northward toward Baghdad on Highway 8. Most of the five mile long Iraqi caravan of several hundred vehicles was first boxed into a kill zone and then in the course of the next five hours systematically devastated by the U. S. 24th Infantry Division, including its armored forces, by AH 64 Apache attack helicopters, and nine artillery battalions. Nine American artillery battalions would fire thousands of rounds and rockets during this particular engagement. At least six Hammurabi Republican Guard battalions were destroyed. General Barry McCaffrey reported the elimination of 247 tanks and armored fighting vehicles, 43 artillery pieces, and over 400 trucks. Approximately 3,000 Iraqi soldiers were captured. A hospital bus with medics and wounded Iraqi soldiers who had already surrendered to another American platoon was also destroyed by gunfire, which later troubled many U. S. soldiers. Surviving Iraqi soldiers were either taken prisoner, fled on foot or swam to safety. By the end of combat operations, the 24th Infantry Division advanced 260 miles and destroyed 360 tanks and other armored personnel carriers, 300 artillery pieces, 1,200 trucks, 25 aircraft, 19 missiles, and over 500 pieces of engineer equipment. The division took over 5,000 Iraqi prisoners of war while suffering only eight killed, 36 wounded, and five non combat casualties. After returning to the United States in spring 1991, the 24th was reorganized with two brigades at Fort Stewart and the 3rd Brigade reactivated at Fort Benning, Georgia, replacing the 197th Infantry Brigade. the 24th Infantry Division was inactivated on 15 February 1996 The subordinate brigades of the divisions did not activate, so they could not be deployed as combat divisions. Instead, the headquarters units focused on full time training. On 5 June 1999 the 24th Infantry Division was reactivated, this time at Fort Riley, Kansas. From 1999 to 2006, the 24th Infantry Division consisted of a headquarters and three separate National Guard brigades; the 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team at Clinton, North Carolina, the 218th Heavy Brigade Combat Team at Columbia, South Carolina, and the 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team in Macon, Georgia. This transformation was part of an overall restructuring of the US Army to streamline the organizations overseeing training. Division East took control of reserve units in states east of the Mississippi River, eliminating the need for the 24th Infantry Division headquarters.

Though it was inactivated, the division was initially identified as the third highest priority inactive division in the United States Army Center of Military History's lineage scheme due to its numerous accolades and long history. All of the division's flags and heraldic items were moved to the National Infantry Museum at Fort Benning, Georgia following its inactivation. Should the U. S. Army decide to activate more divisions in the future following the activation of the 7th Infantry Division in 2012, the center will most likely suggest the first new division be the 9th Infantry Division, the second be the 24th Infantry Division, the third be the 5th Infantry Division, and the fourth be the 2nd Armored Division.

The 24th Infantry Division was awarded five campaign streamers and one unit decoration in World War II, eight campaign streamers and three unit decorations in the Korean War, two campaign streamers for the Gulf War, and one unit award in peacetime, for a total of fifteen campaign streamers and five unit decorations in its operational history.