140-519: Four Aces may refer to: Four Aces or Tribe of the Four Aces , a soldier of The 82nd Airborne Division who has deployed with the Division and wears an 82nd patch on both arms of their uniform. Four Aces (passenger liners) , a series of 1929–1931 American cruise ships, later converted to World War II military transport Four Aces ( Wild Cards ) ,
280-659: A Neutrality Pact in April 1941, and Japan adopted the doctrine of Nanshin-ron , promoted by the Navy, which took its focus southward and eventually led to war with the United States and the Western Allies. In Europe, Germany and Italy were becoming more aggressive. In March 1938, Germany annexed Austria , again provoking little response from other European powers. Encouraged, Hitler began pressing German claims on
420-578: A cautious French probe into the Saarland . The Western Allies also began a naval blockade of Germany , which aimed to damage the country's economy and war effort. Germany responded by ordering U-boat warfare against Allied merchant and warships, which would later escalate into the Battle of the Atlantic . On 8 September, German troops reached the suburbs of Warsaw . The Polish counter-offensive to
560-693: A 1975 interview with Gavin that Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery , commanding the Anglo-Canadian 21st Army Group , had told him that German opposition was too great to cross the Elbe. When Gavin's 82nd crossed the river, in company with the British 6th Airborne Division , the 82nd Airborne Division moved 36 miles in one day and captured over 100,000 troops, causing great laughter in Bradley's 12th Army Group headquarters. Following Germany's surrender,
700-522: A component of the Operation Overlord plan. In preparation for the operation, the division was significantly reorganized. To ease the integration of replacement troops, rest, and refitting following the fighting in Italy, the 504th PIR did not rejoin the division for the invasion. Two new parachute infantry regiments (PIRs), the 507th and the 508th , provided it, along with the veteran 505th,
840-495: A contingent of men from Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee. The citizens of Atlanta held a contest to give a nickname to the new division, and in April 1918, Major General Eben Swift , the commanding general, chose "All American" to reflect the unique composition of the 82nd—it had soldiers from all 48 states in the Union. The bulk of the division was two infantry brigades , each commanding two regiments. The 163rd Brigade commanded
980-616: A divisional troops contingent, and a division train . The division sailed to Europe in May 1918 to join the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF), commanded by General John Pershing , on the Western Front . Brigadier General William P. Burnham , who had previously commanded the 164th Brigade, led the division during most of its training and movement to Europe. In early April 1918, the division embarked from
1120-524: A pretext to initiate the invasion. The first German attack of the war came against the Polish defences at Westerplatte . The United Kingdom responded with an ultimatum for Germany to cease military operations, and on 3 September, after the ultimatum was ignored, Britain and France declared war on Germany. During the Phoney War period, the alliance provided no direct military support to Poland, outside of
1260-781: A pretext to worsen relations. On 29 August, Hitler demanded that a Polish plenipotentiary immediately travel to Berlin to negotiate the handover of Danzig , and to allow a plebiscite in the Polish Corridor in which the German minority would vote on secession. The Poles refused to comply with the German demands, and on the night of 30–31 August in a confrontational meeting with the British ambassador Nevile Henderson , Ribbentrop declared that Germany considered its claims rejected. On 1 September 1939, Germany invaded Poland after having staged several false flag border incidents as
1400-475: A secret protocol that defined German and Soviet "spheres of influence" (western Poland and Lithuania for Germany; eastern Poland , Finland, Estonia , Latvia and Bessarabia for the Soviet Union), and raised the question of continuing Polish independence. The pact neutralised the possibility of Soviet opposition to a campaign against Poland and assured that Germany would not have to face the prospect of
1540-774: A similar pact and rejected ceding part of its territory to the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union invaded Finland in November 1939, and was subsequently expelled from the League of Nations for this crime of aggression. Despite overwhelming numerical superiority, Soviet military success during the Winter War was modest, and the Finno-Soviet war ended in March 1940 with some Finnish concessions of territory . In June 1940,
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#17327649414951680-716: A team of superheroes in the Wild Cards shared universe The Four Aces , an American male pop music quartet from 1950 The Four Aces Club , a pioneering music venue in Dalston, London Four Aces (casino) , a casino in South Dakota Four Aces (bridge) , a 1930s American contract bridge team led by David Burnstine (later to become David Bruce) The Four Aces , a nickname for Peruvian Navy members Miguel Grau , Lizardo Montero , Aurelio García and Manuel Ferreyros . A variety of card trick involving
1820-452: A three-parachute infantry regiment punch. The 325th was also reinforced by the addition of the 3rd Battalion of the 401st GIR , bringing it up to a strength of three battalions. On 5 and 6 June these paratroopers, parachute artillery elements, and the 319th and 320th, boarded hundreds of transport planes and gliders to begin history's largest airborne assault at the time (only Operation Market Garden later that year would be larger). During
1960-544: A total of 8,077 casualties. Following the war's end, the division moved to training areas near Prauthoy , where it remained through February 1919. It returned to the United States in April and May, and was demobilized and deactivated at Camp Mills , New York, on 27 May. The 82nd Division was reconstituted in the Organized Reserve on 24 June 1921, allotted to the Fourth Corps Area , assigned to
2100-531: A two-front war, as it had in World War I. Immediately afterwards, Hitler ordered the attack to proceed on 26 August, but upon hearing that the United Kingdom had concluded a formal mutual assistance pact with Poland and that Italy would maintain neutrality, he decided to delay it. In response to British requests for direct negotiations to avoid war, Germany made demands on Poland, which served as
2240-556: Is an airborne infantry division of the United States Army specializing in parachute assault operations into hostile areas with a U.S. Department of Defense mandate to be "on-call to fight any time, anywhere" at "the knife's edge of technology and readiness." Primarily based at Fort Liberty, North Carolina , the 82nd Airborne Division is part of the XVIII Airborne Corps . The 82nd Airborne Division
2380-459: Is the U.S. Army's most strategically mobile division. The division was organized on 25 August 1917, at Camp Hancock , Georgia , (now subdivided and owned by a combination of the City of Augusta-Richmond County, Veterans Administration, and private parties) and later served with distinction on the Western Front in the final months of World War I . Since its initial members came from all 48 states,
2520-484: Is undoubtedly the best." Hence the "All-American" became also known as "America's Guard of Honor". The war ended before their scheduled participation in the Allied invasion of Japan , Operation Downfall . During WWII the division was composed of the following units: Attached paratrooper units: During World War II the division and its members were awarded the following awards: The 82nd Airborne division returned to
2660-405: 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 . In February 1943 the division received another change when the 326th was transferred to the 13th Airborne Division , being replaced by the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment , under James M. Gavin, then a colonel , who
2800-528: The 30th , 31st , and 81st Divisions . Replacements for them were received mostly from Camp Devens , Massachusetts , Camp Dix , New Jersey , Camps Lee and Meade , Virginia , and Camp Upton , New York , the men hailing from New England and the Mid-Atlantic states . In the spring, 5,000 more replacements for transfers made over the winter were assigned from Fort Devens, Camp Gordon, Camp Upton, Camp Dodge, Iowa , and Camp Travis, Texas , along with
2940-408: The 325th Infantry Regiment and the 326th Infantry Regiment along with the 320th Machine Gun Battalion. The 164th Brigade commanded the 327th Infantry Regiment and the 328th Infantry Regiment and the 321st Machine Gun Battalion. Also in the division were the 157th Field Artillery Brigade , composed of the 319th , 320th and 321st Field Artillery Regiments and the 307th Trench Mortar Battery;
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#17327649414953080-485: The 3d Battalion, 320th Artillery , was activated under Division Artillery to support the 4th Brigade. The units assigned and attached to the 3d Brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division were as follows: The deployment of the 3rd Brigade took place with significant problems and controversy. In The Rise and Fall of an American Army: U.S. Ground Forces in Vietnam, 1965–1973, author Shelby L. Stanton describes how, other than
3220-604: The Anglo-German Naval Agreement and the German–Polish declaration of non-aggression . The situation became a crisis in late August as German troops continued to mobilise against the Polish border. On 23 August the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact with Germany, after tripartite negotiations for a military alliance between France, the United Kingdom, and Soviet Union had stalled. This pact had
3360-689: The British Empire , with fighting in the Balkans , Mediterranean, and Middle East , the aerial Battle of Britain and the Blitz , and naval Battle of the Atlantic . Through a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany took control of much of continental Europe and formed the Axis alliance with Italy , Japan , and other countries. In June 1941, Germany led the European Axis in an invasion of
3500-582: The Clermont area in Argonne (just west of Verdun) starting on September 24, stationed there to act as a reserve for the US First Army. On 3 October, Major General George B. Duncan , commander of the 77th Division, relieved William Burnham of his duties and took over as commander of the 82nd. On the night of October 6, 1918, the 164th Brigade relieved troops of the 28th Division , which were holding
3640-657: The Far East , and the continental United States . In 1957, the division implemented the pentomic organization (officially Reorganization of the Airborne Division (ROTAD)) in order to better prepare for tactical nuclear war in Europe. Five battle groups (each with a headquarters and service company, five rifle companies and a mortar battery) replaced the division's three regiments of three battalions each. The division's battle groups were: The pentomic organization
3780-581: The German Revolution of 1918–1919 , and a democratic government, later known as the Weimar Republic , was created. The interwar period saw strife between supporters of the new republic and hardline opponents on both the political right and left. Italy, as an Entente ally, had made some post-war territorial gains; however, Italian nationalists were angered that the promises made by the United Kingdom and France to secure Italian entrance into
3920-800: The German invasion of Poland and the United Kingdom and France 's declaration of war on Germany two days later on 3 September 1939. Dates for the beginning of the Pacific War include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or the earlier Japanese invasion of Manchuria , on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor , who stated that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously, and
4060-576: The Italian mainland , and Allied offensives in the Pacific—cost the Axis powers their initiative and forced them into strategic retreat on all fronts. In 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France at Normandy , while the Soviet Union regained its territorial losses and pushed Germany and its allies westward. At the same time, Japan suffered reversals in mainland Asia, while the Allies crippled
4200-553: The Japanese Navy and captured key islands . The war in Europe concluded with the liberation of German-occupied territories ; the invasion of Germany by the Western Allies and the Soviet Union, culminating in the fall of Berlin to Soviet troops; Hitler's suicide ; and the German unconditional surrender on 8 May 1945 . Following the refusal of Japan to surrender on the terms of the Potsdam Declaration ,
4340-695: The League of Nations as a force to preserve peace. Both Italy and Ethiopia were member nations, but the League did little when the former clearly violated Article X of the League's Covenant . The United Kingdom and France supported imposing sanctions on Italy for the invasion, but the sanctions were not fully enforced and failed to end the Italian invasion. Italy subsequently dropped its objections to Germany's goal of absorbing Austria . When civil war broke out in Spain, Hitler and Mussolini lent military support to
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4480-541: The National Army . It was organized and formally activated on 25 August 1917 at Camp Gordon , Georgia. At the time, the division consisted entirely of newly conscripted soldiers. Original enlisted men assigned to the division came from Alabama , Georgia , and Tennessee , but during October 1917, nearly all of them were transferred to fill shortages in National Guard and National Army units, principally
4620-731: The Nationalist rebels , led by General Francisco Franco . Italy supported the Nationalists to a greater extent than the Nazis: Mussolini sent more than 70,000 ground troops, 6,000 aviation personnel, and 720 aircraft to Spain. The Soviet Union supported the existing government of the Spanish Republic . More than 30,000 foreign volunteers, known as the International Brigades , also fought against
4760-690: The Rome–Berlin Axis . A month later, Germany and Japan signed the Anti-Comintern Pact , which Italy joined the following year. The Kuomintang (KMT) party in China launched a unification campaign against regional warlords and nominally unified China in the mid-1920s, but was soon embroiled in a civil war against its former Chinese Communist Party (CCP) allies and new regional warlords . In 1931, an increasingly militaristic Empire of Japan , which had long sought influence in China as
4900-611: The Saint-Mihiel offensive . As the attack on the Saint-Mihiel salient began on September 12, the division engaged in a holding mission to prevent Imperial German Army forces from attacking the right flank of the First Army. This defensive action allowed the 163rd Brigade and 327th Infantry Regiment to advance north-east, raiding the communes of Port-sur-Seille , Eply , Bois de Cheminot , and Bois Fréhaut . Meanwhile,
5040-590: The Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact in April 1941. By contrast, the Germans were steadily making preparations for an attack on the Soviet Union, massing forces on the Soviet border. Hitler believed that the United Kingdom's refusal to end the war was based on the hope that the United States and the Soviet Union would enter the war against Germany sooner or later. On 31 July 1940, Hitler decided that
5180-598: The Stresa Front in April 1935 in order to contain Germany, a key step towards military globalisation ; however, that June, the United Kingdom made an independent naval agreement with Germany, easing prior restrictions. The Soviet Union, concerned by Germany's goals of capturing vast areas of Eastern Europe , drafted a treaty of mutual assistance with France. Before taking effect, though, the Franco-Soviet pact
5320-709: The Sudetenland , an area of Czechoslovakia with a predominantly ethnic German population. Soon the United Kingdom and France followed the appeasement policy of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and conceded this territory to Germany in the Munich Agreement , which was made against the wishes of the Czechoslovak government, in exchange for a promise of no further territorial demands. Soon afterwards, Germany and Italy forced Czechoslovakia to cede additional territory to Hungary, and Poland annexed
5460-658: The Tanggu Truce was signed in 1933. Thereafter, Chinese volunteer forces continued the resistance to Japanese aggression in Manchuria , and Chahar and Suiyuan . After the 1936 Xi'an Incident , the Kuomintang and CCP forces agreed on a ceasefire to present a united front to oppose Japan. The Second Italo-Ethiopian War was a brief colonial war that began in October 1935 and ended in May 1936. The war began with
5600-579: The Trans-Olza region of Czechoslovakia. Although all of Germany's stated demands had been satisfied by the agreement, privately Hitler was furious that British interference had prevented him from seizing all of Czechoslovakia in one operation. In subsequent speeches Hitler attacked British and Jewish "war-mongers" and in January 1939 secretly ordered a major build-up of the German navy to challenge British naval supremacy. In March 1939, Germany invaded
5740-506: The Treaty of Craiova . The loss of one-third of Romania's 1939 territory caused a coup against King Carol II, turning Romania into a fascist dictatorship under Marshal Ion Antonescu , with a course set towards the Axis in the hopes of a German guarantee. Meanwhile, German-Soviet political relations and economic co-operation gradually stalled, and both states began preparations for war. In April 1940, Germany invaded Denmark and Norway to protect shipments of iron ore from Sweden , which
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5880-401: The United Kingdom and France to declare war on Germany. Poland was divided between Germany and the Soviet Union under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact , in which they had agreed on " spheres of influence " in Eastern Europe. In 1940, the Soviets annexed the Baltic states and parts of Finland and Romania . After the fall of France in June 1940, the war continued mainly between Germany and
6020-426: The Wehrmacht rapidly advanced to the Channel and cut off the Allied forces in Belgium, trapping the bulk of the Allied armies in a cauldron on the Franco-Belgian border near Lille. The United Kingdom was able to evacuate a significant number of Allied troops from the continent by early June, although they had to abandon almost all their equipment. On 10 June, Italy invaded France , declaring war on both France and
6160-420: The XIV Corps , and further allotted to Florida , Georgia , and South Carolina as its home area. The division headquarters was organized on 23 September 1921 at 1202-1/2 Main Street in Columbia, South Carolina , relocating in 1923 to the Post Office Building where it remained until activated for World War II. The 82nd Division's designated mobilization station was Camp McClellan, Alabama , also where much of
6300-451: The aftermath of World War I and the rise of fascism in Europe and militarism in Japan . Key events leading up to the war included Japan's invasion of Manchuria , the Spanish Civil War , the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War , and Germany's annexations of Austria and the Sudetenland . World War II is generally considered to have begun on 1 September 1939, when Nazi Germany , under Adolf Hitler , invaded Poland , prompting
6440-404: The reunification of East and West Germany to take place and resolved most post–World War II issues. No formal peace treaty between Japan and the Soviet Union was ever signed, although the state of war between the two countries was terminated by the Soviet–Japanese Joint Declaration of 1956 , which also restored full diplomatic relations between them. World War I had radically altered
6580-605: The strategic bombing of population centres and delivery of the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was the deadliest conflict in history, resulting in 70 to 85 million deaths , more than half being civilians. Millions died in genocides , including the Holocaust of European Jews, as well as from massacres, starvation, and disease. Following the Allied powers' victory, Germany , Austria , Japan , and Korea were occupied, and war crimes tribunals were conducted against German and Japanese leaders . The causes of World War II included unresolved tensions in
6720-648: The 1940 tables of organization. The headquarters companies of the two infantry brigades were consolidated into the division's cavalry reconnaissance troop, and one infantry regiment was removed by inactivation. The field artillery brigade headquarters and headquarters battery became the headquarters and headquarters battery of the division artillery, and its three field artillery regiments were reorganized into four battalions. The engineer, medical, and quartermaster regiments were reorganized into battalions. In 1942, divisional quartermaster battalions were split into ordnance light maintenance companies and quartermaster companies, and
6860-428: The 307th Observation Squadron with Air Corps units at Maxwell Field , Alabama. The infantry regiments of the division rotated responsibility to conduct the Citizens Military Training Camps each year at Camp McClellan. The division participated in Fourth Corps Area or Third Army command post exercises in conjunction with other Regular Army, National Guard and Organized Reserve units, but unlike Regular and Guard units,
7000-439: The 325th GIR. When the division was relieved in early July, the 82nd had seen a month straight of severe combat. Casualties had been heavy. Losses included 5,245 troopers killed, wounded, or missing- a 46% casualty rate. Major General Ridgway's post-battle report stated in part, "... 33 days of action without relief, without replacements. Every mission accomplished. No ground gained was ever relinquished." Following Normandy,
7140-411: The 328th Infantry Regiment advanced on the west of the Moselle River , made contact with the 90th Division , and entered the town of Norroy , to consolidate American troop positions. By September 17, the Saint-Mihiel offensive had stabilized, and preparations for the infamous Meuse-Argonne offensive began. On September 20, the 82nd Division was relieved by the French 69th Division. The 82nd Division
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#17327649414957280-408: The 3d Brigade. As Stanton wrote: The division had been so rushed to get this brigade to the battlefront that it ignored individual deployment criteria. Paratroopers who had just returned from Vietnam now found themselves suddenly going back. The howl of soldier complaints was so vehement that the Department of the Army was soon forced to give each trooper who had deployed to Vietnam with the 3d Brigade
7420-545: The 3rd Brigade was en route to Chu Lai within 24 hours of receiving its orders. The 3rd Brigade performed combat duties in the Huế – Phu Bai area of the I Corps sector. Later the brigade moved south to Saigon , and fought in the Mekong Delta , the Iron Triangle and along the Cambodian border, serving nearly 22 months. While the 3rd Brigade was deployed, the division created a provisional 4th Brigade, consisting of 4th Battalion, 325th Infantry; 3d Battalion, 504th Infantry; and 3d Battalion, 505th Infantry. An additional unit,
7560-461: The 505th Parachute Regimental Combat Team, under Colonel Gavin, was the first regimental-sized combat parachute assault conducted by the United States Army. The first glider assault did not occur until Operation Neptune as part of the D-Day landings of 6 June 1944 . Troopers arrived in Italy by landing craft at Maiori, Naples, and Salerno. During the invasion of Italy , Ridgway considered Will Lang Jr. of TIME magazine an honorary member of
7700-424: The 826 men who 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 who remained were later absorbed into units of the 82nd Airborne. After several days of fighting, the destruction of the 62nd Volksgrenadiers, and what had been left of the 9th SS Panzer Division
7840-403: The 82nd Airborne Division entered Berlin for occupation duty , replacing the 2nd Armored Division in August 1945. The division was relieved by the 78th Infantry Division early in November 1945. While in Berlin, General George S. Patton was so impressed with the 82nd's "honor guard" that he said, "In all my years in the Army and all the honor guards I have ever seen, the 82nd's honor guard
7980-449: The 82nd Airborne Division returned to England to rest and refit for future airborne operations. The 82nd became part of the newly organized XVIII Airborne Corps , which consisted of the 17th , 82nd, and 101st Airborne Divisions . Ridgway was given command of the corps but was not officially promoted to lieutenant general until 1945. His recommendation for succession as division commander was Brigadier General James M. Gavin , previously
8120-419: The 82nd Airborne Division was assigned to take Cheneux which had been captured by Kampfgruppe Peiper . On 21–22 December 1944, the 82nd Airborne faced counterattacks from two Waffen SS divisions which included the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler ( lit. translation "The SS Bodyguard Division of Adolf Hitler") and the 9th SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen . The Waffen SS efforts to relieve
8260-430: The 82nd Airborne Division was forced to withdrawal for the first time in its combat history. The Germans pursued their retreat with the 2nd and 9th SS Panzer Divisions. The 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich engaged the 82nd until 28 December when it and what was left of the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte were ordered to move south to meet General George Patton 's forces attacking in the area of Bastogne. Some units of
8400-557: The 82nd Division did not participate as an organized unit in the Fourth Corps Area maneuvers and the Third Army maneuvers of 1938, 1940, and 1941 due to a lack of enlisted personnel and equipment, with the officers and a few enlisted reservists assigned to fill vacant slots in organized units to bring them to war strength for the exercises, with others assigned duties as umpires or support personnel. Before Organized Reserve infantry divisions were ordered into active military service, they were reorganized on paper as "triangular" divisions under
8540-463: The 82nd Division relieved the 78th division at Champigneulle . Three days later it advanced to the Ravin aux Pierres. On 31 October, the 82nd, except the artillery, was relieved by the 77th Division and the 80th Division , and assembled in the Argonne Forest to regroup. On 10 November, it moved again to training areas in Bourmont , where it remained until the Armistice of 11 November 1918 . The division suffered 995 killed and 7,082 wounded, for
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#17327649414958680-534: The 82nd Infantry Division, now commanded by Major General Ridgway, became the first airborne division in the history of the U.S. Army, and was redesignated as the 82nd Airborne Division . The 82nd was selected after deliberations by the U.S. Army General Staff because of a number of factors; it was not a Regular Army or National Guard unit (historian John B. Wilson wrote that "many traditionalists in those components wanted nothing to do with such an experimental force," while James M. Gavin wrote that many states would refuse
8820-451: The 82nd found a permanent home at Fort Bragg , North Carolina , designated a Regular Army division on 15 November 1948. The 82nd was not sent to the Korean War , as both Presidents Truman and Eisenhower chose to keep it in strategic reserve in the event of a Soviet ground attack anywhere in the world. Life in the 82nd during the 1950s and 1960s consisted of intensive training exercises in all environments and locations, including Panama ,
8960-569: The 82nd's assistant division commander. Upon being promoted to Major General in October 1944 at the age of 37, Gavin became the youngest general since the Civil War to command a U.S. Army division. On August 2, 1944, the division became part of the First Allied Airborne Army . In September, planning for Operation Market Garden (the Allied invasion of the Netherlands ) began in earnest. The operation called for three (at minimum) airborne divisions to seize and hold key bridges and roads deep behind German lines. The 504th PIR, now back at full strength,
9100-434: The 82nd, only two under-strength Marine and four skeletonized Army divisions were left stateside by the beginning of 1968. MACV, desperate for additional manpower, wanted the division to deploy to Vietnam, and the Department of the Army, wishing to retain its "sole readily deployable strategic reserve, the last real vestige of actual Army divisional combat potency in the United States left to the Pentagon," compromised by sending
9240-408: The 9th SS Panzer including the 19th Panzer Grenadier Regiment stayed and fought the 82nd. They were joined by the 62nd Volksgrenadier Division . The 9th SS Panzer tried to breakthrough by attacking the 508 and 504 PIR positions, but ultimately failed. The failure of the 9th and 2nd SS Panzer Divisions to break through the 82nd lines marked the end of the German offensive in the northern shoulder of
9380-409: The Allies were attempting to cut off . Denmark capitulated after six hours , and despite Allied support , Norway was conquered within two months. British discontent over the Norwegian campaign led to the resignation of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain , who was replaced by Winston Churchill on 10 May 1940. On the same day, Germany launched an offensive against France . To circumvent
9520-400: The Axis war against the Soviet Union, in Romania's case partially to recapture territory ceded to the Soviet Union . In early June 1940, the Italian Regia Aeronautica attacked and besieged Malta , a British possession. From late summer to early autumn, Italy conquered British Somaliland and made an incursion into British-held Egypt . In October, Italy attacked Greece , but the attack
9660-412: The Belgian city of Enghien , successfully re-establishing the front there. On October 11, the right flank of the division took the high ground north of the Rance river while the left flank continued to advance along the Aire. The next day, the 42nd Division relieved the 82nd's troops in Sommerance. Attacking with fresh troops, the 82nd broke through the Hindenburg Line on October 15. On October 18,
9800-421: The Blitz , but largely ended in May 1941 after failing to significantly disrupt the British war effort. Using newly captured French ports, the German Navy enjoyed success against an over-extended Royal Navy , using U-boats against British shipping in the Atlantic . The British Home Fleet scored a significant victory on 27 May 1941 by sinking the German battleship Bismarck . In November 1939,
9940-432: The Bulge. The German objective now became one of defense. On 3 January 1945, the 82nd Airborne Division conducted a counterattack. On the first day's fighting the 82nd Airborne 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
10080-684: The European Axis declaring war on the US. Japan conquered much of coastal China and Southeast Asia , but its advances in the Pacific were halted in mid-1942 after its defeat in the naval Battle of Midway ; Germany and Italy were defeated in North Africa and at Stalingrad in the Soviet Union. Key setbacks in 1943—including German defeats on the Eastern Front, the Allied invasions of Sicily and
10220-757: The French possessions of Syria and Lebanon , assisted by the Free French . With the situation in Europe and Asia relatively stable, Germany, Japan, and the Soviet Union made preparations for war. With the Soviets wary of mounting tensions with Germany, and the Japanese planning to take advantage of the European War by seizing resource-rich European possessions in Southeast Asia , the two powers signed
10360-677: The French sector. The division was briefly assigned to I Corps before falling under the command of IV Corps until late August. It was then moved to the Woëvre front. As part of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) deployed during WWI, the 82nd Division began training with British forces in Picardy as early as May 10, 1918. From there they moved to the hotly contested French border region of Lorraine , which they occupied from June 16 to September 11 in preparation for
10500-486: The Germans, and the last large operational unit of the Polish Army surrendered on 6 October . Despite the military defeat, Poland never surrendered; instead, it formed the Polish government-in-exile and a clandestine state apparatus remained in occupied Poland. A significant part of Polish military personnel evacuated to Romania and Latvia; many of them later fought against the Axis in other theatres of
10640-467: The June 6th assault, a 508th platoon leader, First Lieutenant Robert P. Mathias , would be the first U.S. Army officer killed by German fire during the invasion. On 7 June, after this first wave of attack, the 325th GIR would arrive by glider to provide a division reserve. In Normandy, the 82nd gained its first Medal of Honor of the war, belonging to Private First Class Charles N. DeGlopper of
10780-579: The Kampfgruppe Peiper failed due to the stubborn defense of the 82nd Airborne, the 30th ID , 2nd ID , and other units. On 23 December, the Germans attacked from the south and overran the 325th GIR holding the Baraque- Fraiture crossroads on the 82nd's southern flank, endangering the entire 82nd Airborne division. The 2nd SS Panzers objective was to outflank the 82nd Airborne. It was not an attack designed to reach Peiper, but it
10920-512: The Nationalists. Both Germany and the Soviet Union used this proxy war as an opportunity to test in combat their most advanced weapons and tactics. The Nationalists won the civil war in April 1939; Franco, now dictator, remained officially neutral during World War II but generally favoured the Axis . His greatest collaboration with Germany was the sending of volunteers to fight on the Eastern Front . In July 1937, Japan captured
11060-511: The Royal Navy putting three Italian battleships out of commission after a carrier attack at Taranto , and neutralising several more warships at the Battle of Cape Matapan . Italian defeats prompted Germany to deploy an expeditionary force to North Africa; at the end of March 1941, Rommel 's Afrika Korps launched an offensive which drove back Commonwealth forces. In less than a month, Axis forces advanced to western Egypt and besieged
11200-602: The Soviet Union occupied the entire territories of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, as well as the Romanian regions of Bessarabia, Northern Bukovina, and the Hertsa region . In August 1940, Hitler imposed the Second Vienna Award on Romania which led to the transfer of Northern Transylvania to Hungary. In September 1940, Bulgaria demanded Southern Dobruja from Romania with German and Italian support, leading to
11340-767: The Soviet Union , opening the Eastern Front and initially making large territorial gains. Japan aimed to dominate East Asia and the Asia-Pacific , and by 1937 was at war with the Republic of China . In December 1941, Japan attacked American and British territories in Southeast Asia and the Central Pacific , including Pearl Harbor in Hawaii , which resulted in the US and the UK declaring war against Japan, and
11480-530: The Soviet Union and Mongolia . The Japanese doctrine of Hokushin-ron , which emphasised Japan's expansion northward, was favoured by the Imperial Army during this time. This policy would prove difficult to maintain in light of the Japanese defeat at Khalkin Gol in 1939, the ongoing Second Sino-Japanese War and ally Nazi Germany pursuing neutrality with the Soviets. Japan and the Soviet Union eventually signed
11620-756: The Soviet Union should be eliminated and aimed for the conquest of Ukraine , the Baltic states and Byelorussia . However, other senior German officials like Ribbentrop saw an opportunity to create a Euro-Asian bloc against the British Empire by inviting the Soviet Union into the Tripartite Pact. In November 1940, negotiations took place to determine if the Soviet Union would join the pact. The Soviets showed some interest but asked for concessions from Finland, Bulgaria, Turkey, and Japan that Germany considered unacceptable. On 18 December 1940, Hitler issued
11760-402: The US dropped the first atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August. Faced with an imminent invasion of the Japanese archipelago , the possibility of further atomic bombings, and the Soviet declaration of war against Japan and its invasion of Manchuria , Japan announced its unconditional surrender on 15 August and signed a surrender document on 2 September 1945 , marking
11900-581: The United Kingdom and France guaranteed their support for Polish independence ; when Italy conquered Albania in April 1939, the same guarantee was extended to the Kingdoms of Romania and Greece . Shortly after the Franco - British pledge to Poland, Germany and Italy formalised their own alliance with the Pact of Steel . Hitler accused the United Kingdom and Poland of trying to "encircle" Germany and renounced
12040-542: The United Kingdom attacked on 3 July in an attempt to prevent its seizure by Germany. The air Battle of Britain began in early July with Luftwaffe attacks on shipping and harbours . The German campaign for air superiority started in August but its failure to defeat RAF Fighter Command forced the indefinite postponement of the proposed German invasion of Britain . The German strategic bombing offensive intensified with night attacks on London and other cities in
12180-461: The United Kingdom. The Germans turned south against the weakened French army, and Paris fell to them on 14 June. Eight days later France signed an armistice with Germany ; it was divided into German and Italian occupation zones , and an unoccupied rump state under the Vichy Regime , which, though officially neutral, was generally aligned with Germany. France kept its fleet, which
12320-534: The United States at once. MACV had no paratroopers to replace them, and overnight the brigade was transformed into a separate light infantry brigade, airborne in name only. On 24 July 1967, shortly before midnight, President Lyndon B. Johnson ordered the U.S. military to occupy Detroit . At 1:10 a.m., 4,700 paratroopers of the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions, under the command of Lieutenant General John L. Throckmorton , arrived in Detroit and began working in
12460-607: The United States on 3 January 1946 on the RMS ; Queen Mary . The 82nd initially was staged at Camp Shanks , New York, where they drilled for the coming Victory Parade , to be held in New York City on January 12, 1946. In 1947 the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion was assigned to the 82nd and was reflagged as the 3d Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment (redesignated as the 505th Airborne Infantry Regiment effective 15 December 1947). Instead of being demobilized,
12600-660: The United States was assisting China and the Western Allies, and had amended the Neutrality Act to allow "cash and carry" purchases by the Allies. In 1940, following the German capture of Paris, the size of the United States Navy was significantly increased . In September the United States further agreed to a trade of American destroyers for British bases . Still, a large majority of the American public continued to oppose any direct military intervention in
12740-606: The Yellow River ; this manoeuvre bought time for the Chinese to prepare their defences at Wuhan , but the city was taken by October. Japanese military victories did not bring about the collapse of Chinese resistance that Japan had hoped to achieve; instead, the Chinese government relocated inland to Chongqing and continued the war. In the mid-to-late 1930s, Japanese forces in Manchukuo had sporadic border clashes with
12880-485: The active elements of the 4th Division at various posts in the Fourth Corps Area. For example, the division artillery trained with the units of the 13th Field Artillery Brigade at Fort Bragg, North Carolina ; the 307th Engineer Regiment alongside Company A, 4th Engineer Regiment at Fort Benning, Georgia ; the 307th Medical Regiment trained at the medical officers training camp at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia ; and
13020-568: The assault, described it as "a single, isolated battle that ranks in magnificence and courage with Guam , Tarawa , Omaha Beach . A story that should be told to the blowing of bugles and the beating of drums for the men whose bravery made the capture of this crossing over the Waal possible." The Market Garden salient was held in a defensive operation for several weeks until the 82nd was relieved by Canadian troops, and sent into reserve in France. During
13160-461: The capital Nanking in December 1937. After the fall of Nanking, tens or hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians and disarmed combatants were murdered by the Japanese . In March 1938, Nationalist Chinese forces won their first major victory at Taierzhuang , but then the city of Xuzhou was taken by the Japanese in May. In June 1938, Chinese forces stalled the Japanese advance by flooding
13300-403: The conflict well into 1941. In December 1940, Roosevelt accused Hitler of planning world conquest and ruled out any negotiations as useless, calling for the United States to become an " arsenal of democracy " and promoting Lend-Lease programmes of military and humanitarian aid to support the British war effort; Lend-Lease was later extended to the other Allies, including the Soviet Union after it
13440-420: The conversion of their National Guard units, likely because of the additional expenses needed to maintain facilities for airborne units), its personnel had all completed basic training, and it was stationed in an area that had good weather and flying facilities. The division initially consisted of the 325th , 326th and 327th Infantry Regiments , and supporting units. The 327th was soon transferred to help form
13580-526: The creation of a " New Roman Empire ". Adolf Hitler , after an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the German government in 1923, eventually became the Chancellor of Germany in 1933 when Paul von Hindenburg and the Reichstag appointed him. Following Hindenburg's death in 1934, Hitler proclaimed himself Führer of Germany and abolished democracy, espousing a radical, racially motivated revision of
13720-757: The dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman, and Russian Empires. To prevent a future world war, the League of Nations was established in 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference . The organisation's primary goals were to prevent armed conflict through collective security, military, and naval disarmament , as well as settling international disputes through peaceful negotiations and arbitration. Despite strong pacifist sentiment after World War I , irredentist and revanchist nationalism had emerged in several European states. These sentiments were especially marked in Germany because of
13860-464: The division acquired the nickname All-American , which is the basis for its "AA" on the shoulder patch. The division later served in World War II where, in August 1942, it was reconstituted as the first airborne division of the U.S. Army and fought in numerous campaigns during the war. The 82nd Division was first constituted during World War I on 5 August 1917 as an infantry division in
14000-432: The division's headquarters and military police company, which had previously been a combined unit, was split. The 82nd Division was redesignated on 13 February 1942 as Division Headquarters, 82nd Division, and ordered into active service on 25 March 1942, at Camp Claiborne , Louisiana , under the command of Major General Omar N. Bradley . The officer and enlisted cadre mostly came from the 9th Infantry Division , while
14140-544: The division. In January 1944, the 504th, commanded by Colonel Reuben Tucker , which was temporarily detached to fight at Anzio , adopted the nickname "Devils in Baggy Pants", taken from an entry in a German officer's diary. With two air drops under its belt, the 82nd Airborne was ready for the second "D-Day" operation in the division's history; Operation Neptune , or the amphibious assault portion of Allied invasion of Normandy . The division conducted Mission Boston ,
14280-712: The end of May completed the German conquest of the Balkans. Partisan warfare subsequently broke out against the Axis occupation of Yugoslavia , which continued until the end of the war. In the Middle East in May, Commonwealth forces quashed an uprising in Iraq which had been supported by German aircraft from bases within Vichy-controlled Syria . Between June and July, British-led forces invaded and occupied
14420-463: The end of the war. World War II changed the political alignment and social structure of the world, and it set the foundation of international relations for the rest of the 20th century and into the 21st century. The United Nations was established to foster international cooperation and prevent conflicts, with the victorious great powers—China, France, the Soviet Union, the UK, and the US—becoming
14560-461: The enlisted fillers came from reception centers in the Midwest , South , and Southwest . During this period, 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 . Under Major General Bradley, the 82nd Division's Chief of Staff was George Van Pope . On 15 August 1942,
14700-575: The first step of what its government saw as the country's right to rule Asia , staged the Mukden incident as a pretext to invade Manchuria and establish the puppet state of Manchukuo . China appealed to the League of Nations to stop the Japanese invasion of Manchuria. Japan withdrew from the League of Nations after being condemned for its incursion into Manchuria. The two nations then fought several battles, in Shanghai , Rehe and Hebei , until
14840-864: The former Chinese imperial capital of Peking after instigating the Marco Polo Bridge incident , which culminated in the Japanese campaign to invade all of China. The Soviets quickly signed a non-aggression pact with China to lend materiel support, effectively ending China's prior cooperation with Germany . From September to November, the Japanese attacked Taiyuan , engaged the Kuomintang Army around Xinkou , and fought Communist forces in Pingxingguan . Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek deployed his best army to defend Shanghai , but after three months of fighting, Shanghai fell. The Japanese continued to push Chinese forces back, capturing
14980-415: The four aces . Timken 1111 , a steam locomotive also called the "Timken Four Aces". 4 asa , a Croatian music group See also [ edit ] Aces Four , an Irish thoroughbred racehorse born 1999 Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Four Aces . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change
15120-520: The front line from south of Fléville to La Forge , along the eastern bank of the Aire River . On October 7 the 82nd Division, minus the 163rd Brigade, which remained in reserve, attacked the northeastern edge of the Argonne Forest , taking "Hill 223" in the process. The division's right flank entered the commune of Cornay but later withdrew southeast. The division's left flank took
15260-594: The high ground northwest of Châtel-Chéhéry . On October 9, the division's left flank advanced to form a line along the French pylons on the road to the Belgian city of la Louvière . Throughout October, the division advanced north-east along the Aire (Aisne) river . On 10 October, it relieved troops of the 1st Division in Ardennes at Fléville and Sommerance . The 82nd Division then relaunched an attack on Cornay and
15400-525: The invasion of the Ethiopian Empire (also known as Abyssinia ) by the armed forces of the Kingdom of Italy ( Regno d'Italia ), which was launched from Italian Somaliland and Eritrea . The war resulted in the military occupation of Ethiopia and its annexation into the newly created colony of Italian East Africa ( Africa Orientale Italiana , or AOI); in addition it exposed the weakness of
15540-401: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Four_Aces&oldid=1252090581 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages 82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division
15680-549: The operation, 19-year-old Private John R. Towle of the 504th PIR was posthumously awarded the 82nd Airborne Division's second Medal of Honor of World War II. On 16 December 1944, the Germans launched a surprise offensive through the Ardennes Forest , which became known as the Battle of the Bulge . In SHAEF reserve, the 82nd was committed on the northern face of the bulge near Elsenborn Ridge . On 20 December 1944,
15820-601: The opportunity presented itself early in the battle. When the British XXX Corps arrived in Nijmegen, six hours ahead of schedule, they found themselves having to fight to take a bridge that should have already been in allied hands. In the afternoon of Wednesday 20 September 1944, the 82nd Airborne Division successfully conducted an opposed assault crossing of the Waal river. War correspondent Bill Downs , who witnessed
15960-459: The option of returning to Fort Bragg or remaining with the unit. To compensate for the abrupt departures from home for those who elected to stay with the unit, the Army authorized a month leave at the soldiers' own expense or a two-week leave with government aircraft provided for special flights back to North Carolina. Of the 3,650 paratroopers who had deployed from Fort Bragg, 2,513 elected to return to
16100-502: The permanent members of its security council . The Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers , setting the stage for the Cold War . In the wake of European devastation, the influence of its great powers waned, triggering the decolonisation of Africa and Asia . Most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery and expansion . World War II began in Europe on 1 September 1939 with
16240-589: The political European map with the defeat of the Central Powers —including Austria-Hungary , Germany , Bulgaria , and the Ottoman Empire —and the 1917 Bolshevik seizure of power in Russia , which led to the founding of the Soviet Union. Meanwhile, the victorious Allies of World War I , such as France, Belgium, Italy, Romania, and Greece, gained territory, and new nation-states were created out of
16380-599: The port of Tobruk . By late March 1941, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia signed the Tripartite Pact ; however, the Yugoslav government was overthrown two days later by pro-British nationalists. Germany and Italy responded with simultaneous invasions of both Yugoslavia and Greece , commencing on 6 April 1941; both nations were forced to surrender within the month. The airborne invasion of the Greek island of Crete at
16520-633: The ports in Boston , New York and Brooklyn to Liverpool , England, where the division fully assembled by mid-May 1918. From there, the division moved to Continental Europe , leaving Southampton and arriving at Le Havre , France . The 82nd Division then moved to the British-controlled sector of the Somme , where it began sending small numbers of troops and officers to the front lines to gain combat experience. On June 16, it moved by rail to
16660-722: The remainder of Czechoslovakia and subsequently split it into the German Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia and a pro-German client state , the Slovak Republic . Hitler also delivered an ultimatum to Lithuania on 20 March 1939, forcing the concession of the Klaipėda Region , formerly the German Memelland . Greatly alarmed and with Hitler making further demands on the Free City of Danzig ,
16800-462: The significant territorial, colonial, and financial losses imposed by the Treaty of Versailles . Under the treaty, Germany lost around 13 percent of its home territory and all its overseas possessions , while German annexation of other states was prohibited, reparations were imposed, and limits were placed on the size and capability of the country's armed forces . The German Empire was dissolved in
16940-498: The start or prelude to World War II. The exact date of the war's end also is not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 15 August 1945 ( V-J Day ), rather than with the formal surrender of Japan on 2 September 1945, which officially ended the war in Asia . A peace treaty between Japan and the Allies was signed in 1951. A 1990 treaty regarding Germany's future allowed
17080-409: The streets, coordinating refuse removal, tracing persons who had disappeared in the confusion, and carrying out routine military functions, such as the establishment of mobile patrols, guard posts, and roadblocks. World War II Asia-Pacific Mediterranean and Middle East Other campaigns Coups World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945)
17220-415: The strong Maginot Line fortifications on the Franco-German border, Germany directed its attack at the neutral nations of Belgium , the Netherlands , and Luxembourg . The Germans carried out a flanking manoeuvre through the Ardennes region, which was mistakenly perceived by the Allies as an impenetrable natural barrier against armoured vehicles. By successfully implementing new Blitzkrieg tactics,
17360-415: The two wars became World War II in 1941. Other proposed starting dates for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939. Others view the Spanish Civil War as
17500-470: The unit's annual training activities occurred in the interwar years. The headquarters usually trained at Camp McClellan, but also occasionally trained with the staff of the 8th Infantry Brigade, 4th Division . The 82nd Division's infantry regiments held their annual training primarily with the units of the 8th Infantry Brigade, while other units, such as the special troops, artillery, engineers, aviation, medical, and quartermaster units, usually trained alongside
17640-407: The war were not fulfilled in the peace settlement. From 1922 to 1925, the Fascist movement led by Benito Mussolini seized power in Italy with a nationalist, totalitarian , and class collaborationist agenda that abolished representative democracy, repressed socialist, left-wing, and liberal forces, and pursued an aggressive expansionist foreign policy aimed at making Italy a world power, promising
17780-475: The war. Germany annexed western Poland and occupied central Poland ; the Soviet Union annexed eastern Poland ; small shares of Polish territory were transferred to Lithuania and Slovakia . On 6 October, Hitler made a public peace overture to the United Kingdom and France but said that the future of Poland was to be determined exclusively by Germany and the Soviet Union. The proposal was rejected and Hitler ordered an immediate offensive against France, which
17920-404: The west halted the German advance for several days, but it was outflanked and encircled by the Wehrmacht . Remnants of the Polish army broke through to besieged Warsaw . On 17 September 1939, two days after signing a cease-fire with Japan , the Soviet Union invaded Poland under the supposed pretext that the Polish state had ceased to exist. On 27 September, the Warsaw garrison surrendered to
18060-483: The world order , and soon began a massive rearmament campaign . France, seeking to secure its alliance with Italy, allowed Italy a free hand in Ethiopia , which Italy desired as a colonial possession. The situation was aggravated in early 1935 when the Territory of the Saar Basin was legally reunited with Germany, and Hitler repudiated the Treaty of Versailles, accelerated his rearmament programme, and introduced conscription. The United Kingdom, France and Italy formed
18200-554: Was invaded by Germany. The United States started strategic planning to prepare for a full-scale offensive against Germany. At the end of September 1940, the Tripartite Pact formally united Japan, Italy, and Germany as the Axis powers . The Tripartite Pact stipulated that any country—with the exception of the Soviet Union—that attacked any Axis Power would be forced to go to war against all three. The Axis expanded in November 1940 when Hungary , Slovakia , and Romania joined. Romania and Hungary later made major contributions to
18340-410: Was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers . Nearly all the world's countries —including all the great powers —participated, with many investing all available economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities in pursuit of total war , blurring the distinction between military and civilian resources. Tanks and aircraft played major roles , with the latter enabling
18480-404: Was complete. For the 82nd Airborne Division the first part of the Battle of the Bulge had ended. After helping to secure the Ruhr , the 82nd Airborne Division took over Ludwigslust past the Elbe River , accepting the surrender of over 150,000 men of Lieutenant General Kurt von Tippelskirch 's 21st Army on 2 May 1945. General Omar Bradley , commanding the U.S. 12th Army Group , stated in
18620-437: Was his last chance, nonetheless. If it did outflank the 82nd, it could have opened a corridor and reached the stranded yet still powerful Kampfgruppe. But the attack came too late. On 24 December 1944, the 82nd Airborne Division with an official strength of 8,520 men was facing off against a vastly superior combined force of 43,000 men and over 1,200 armored fighting and artillery vehicles and pieces. Due to these circumstances,
18760-415: Was later to command the division. In April 1943, paratroopers from the 82nd, under the command of Major General Ridgway, sailed into the Mediterranean Theater of Operations and landed in North Africa as part of the Allied plan to invade Sicily . The division's first two combat operations were parachute assaults into Sicily on July 9 and Salerno on 13 September 1943. The initial assault on Sicily, by
18900-403: Was postponed until the spring of 1940 due to bad weather. After the outbreak of war in Poland, Stalin threatened Estonia , Latvia , and Lithuania with military invasion, forcing the three Baltic countries to sign pacts allowing the creation of Soviet military bases in these countries; in October 1939, significant Soviet military contingents were moved there. Finland refused to sign
19040-399: Was reassigned to the 82nd, while the 507th was assigned to the 17th Airborne Division , at the time training in England. On 17 September, the "All American" Division conducted its fourth (and final) combat jump of World War II. Fighting off German counterattacks, the division captured its objectives between Grave , and Nijmegen . The division failed to initially capture Nijmegen Bridge when
19180-657: Was repulsed with heavy Italian casualties; the campaign ended within months with minor territorial changes. To assist Italy and prevent Britain from gaining a foothold, Germany prepared to invade the Balkans, which would threaten Romanian oil fields and strike against British dominance of the Mediterranean. In December 1940, British Empire forces began counter-offensives against Italian forces in Egypt and Italian East Africa . The offensives were successful; by early February 1941, Italy had lost control of eastern Libya, and large numbers of Italian troops had been taken prisoner. The Italian Navy also suffered significant defeats, with
19320-441: Was required to go through the bureaucracy of the League of Nations, which rendered it essentially toothless. The United States, concerned with events in Europe and Asia, passed the Neutrality Act in August of the same year. Hitler defied the Versailles and Locarno Treaties by remilitarising the Rhineland in March 1936, encountering little opposition due to the policy of appeasement . In October 1936, Germany and Italy formed
19460-421: Was then stationed near Triaucourt and Rarécourt , near the First Army. During this operation, the 82nd Division suffered casualties from heavy artillery fire which the fresh American soldiers were completely unused to. The division was moved into reserve from September 26 to October 3 while it assembled near Varennes-en-Argonne to train and prepare for the Meuse-Argonne offensive . The division mobilized to
19600-401: Was unsuccessful, and the division reorganized into three brigades of three battalions (the Reorganization Objective Army Division (ROAD) organization) in 1964. In April 1965, the "All-Americans" invaded the Dominican Republic . Spearheaded by the 3rd Brigade, the 82nd deployed in Operation Power Pack . During the Tet Offensive , which swept across South Vietnam in January/February 1968,
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