Combat Narrative

The 103rd Infantry Division in World War II

Assignments in the European Theater of Operations:

November 1, 1944: Seventh Army, 6th Army Group

  November 6, 1944: VI Corps

December 22, 1944: XV Corps

  January 9, 1945: XXI Corps

  January 16, 1945: VI Corps

  March 29, 1945: Seventh Army, 6th Army Group

  April 19, 1945: VI Corps

As a result of the 1920 National Defense Act, the Army formulated three branches – the regular Army, the Army National Guard, and the Army Reserves. The Guard and Reserves trained and planned for active service during times of war. In August 1921, the 103rd Infantry Division was formed as part of the Army Reserves. It was based in New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado and thus adopted the slogan of the “Cactus” Division. It consisted of Headquarters, a Special Division, 328th Medical Regiment, Sanitation Battalion, Ambulance Battalion, 205th Infantry Brigade, 206th Infantry Brigade, 409th Infantry Regiment, 410th Infantry Regiment, 411th Infantry Regiment, 412th Infantry Regiment, 178th Field Artillery, 382nd Field Artillery, 383rd Field Artillery, 328th Engineers, and 103rd Air Service. 

On November 15, 1942, the 103rd was activated for duty in World War II at hot and humid Camp Claiborne, Louisiana. The command staff assembled and organized the division. Major General Charles C. Hafner (previously the Division Artillery Commander for the 58th Field Artillery Brigade of the 33rd Infantry Division), assumed overall command of the 103rd.  Brigadier General John T. Pierce (formerly the commander of the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division) became Assistant Division Commander. Brigadier General Roger Wicks became the Division Artillery Commander. Colonel Guy Meloy Jr. was appointed the Chief of Staff. Colonel Charles Stevens was initially the commander of the 409th Infantry Regiment, but poor health caused him to be replaced by Colonel Claudius Lloyd for the duration of the war. Colonel Henry Harding became commander of the 410th Infantry Regiment. Colonel Donovan Yeuell was the hard-driving and well-respected commander of the 411th Infantry Regiment.

By the end of 1942, the 103rd consisted of 14,654 personnel. Most of the soldiers underwent initial basic training at Camp Claiborne. The summer of 1943 was one of the hottest on record in northwestern Louisiana, but the Cactusmen survived and prepared to fight. The training culminated in maneuvers lasting from August 8 until November 14, 1943. On November 15, the 103rd withdrew from tactical training and relocated to Camp Howze, Texas.

The weather at Camp Howze was an improvement over Louisiana. However, intensive training did not diminish as the men of the Cactus Division prepared for the rigors of war in Europe. Field exercises were conducted in exotic places, such as Lake Murray, Decatur, Honey Grove, and near the Texas-Oklahoma border, followed by more field exercises. Spit and shine, and parades broke up the monotony. As a result of this intensive training, the Cactus men became a well-trained division ready for battle. On September 15, 1944, the division held a final review on the Camp Howze parade grounds. People from Gainesville, Texas visited the camp and showed support and admiration as the division demonstrated its marching prowess. Once this parade concluded, the 103rd moved to Camp Shanks, New York and processed for deployment to the European Theater of Operations.

Soon they faced the determined Germans in several of the war's intensive final battles. On October 20, 1944, the 103rd Infantry Division arrived at Marseilles, France. Moving by rail and truck, on November 1, the Cactus soldiers left Marseilles. They arrived north of Dijon (in east-central France) and joined elements of Lieutenant General Alexander Patch’s 7th Army. The soldiers halted at a rail junction in Docelles (near Epinal). Here, the VI Corps of Patch’s 7th Army prepared an offensive operation to the northeast of the Moselle River and the 103rd played an integral part.  The Cactus Division took positions on the front between the 3rd and 36th Infantry Divisions. On November 11, 1944, Allied forces on this front attacked Germany. Coincidentally, this was precisely twenty-six years after the end of World War I.

From November 11 to 15, the 409th and 410th Infantry Regiments conducted intense reconnaissance patrols. On November 15, 1944, the 103rd received orders to seize and hold the high ground southwest of St. Die, France. Major General Edward Brooks lavishly praised the Cactus Division during its first week of combat. Meeting heavy resistance, elements of the 103rd crossed the Meurthe River and took St. Die on November 22, 1944. Before withdrawing, the Germans set fire to Saint Die. Symbolically, the Germans first set fire to the building where centuries earlier cartographers had named the lands of the Western hemisphere "America."

From St. Die, the 103rd set out to take Steige and capture its mountain pass. The 411th quickly passed through Steige and launched a surprise attack on Maisonsgoutte, which was captured on November 26. The hard winter of 1944 pelted the Cactus soldiers with cold rain and sleet during their first ten days of combat. After nineteen days of intense fighting in mountainous terrain, the Germans assumed their enemy would not fight through the Vosges Mountains. However, the 103rd proved them wrong. To the amazement of the Germans, the 103rd successfully breached the heavily defended passes.

From Maisonsgoutte, the division fought on through Hohwarth, Eichhoffen, Epfig, and finally to Ebersheim. The Cactus Division's amazing successes were costly. Within a two-week span, the Division suffered 76 killed, 549 wounded, and 51 missing. The toll on the Germans remains unknown, but the Division took 1,600 prisoners. On December 4, 1944, the Allies liberated the city of Selestat. This was the third time in less than a hundred years that the city had been liberated during wartime. The Germans had occupied Selestat for the past four years and used it as a major hospital location, as well as a supply and evacuation depot.  Because of its strategically important location, the Germans heavily defended the city and offered strong resistance.

On December 10, the 103rd crossed the Zintzel River at Griesbach. The division pushed through to Climbach, where they met determined Axis armies well-equipped with armor, artillery, and infantry. The brutal fight for Climbach inflicted heavy losses on the 103rd Infantry. On December 14, 1944, Task Force Blackshear was organized to attack Climbach, just outside the German border. The task force consisted of a company of the 411th infantry, a platoon of tanks, and Company C of the 614th Tank Division towing anti-tank guns. First Lieutenant Charles L. Thomas of the 614th Tank Destroyer Company was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinary heroism. Thomas rode in the lead vehicle of Task Force Blackshear. His armored scout car became subjected to intense enemy artillery, self-propelled guns, and small arms fire. The initial burst of hostile fire wounded Thomas, and he signaled the remainder of the column to halt. Despite the severity of his wounds, Thomas assisted the crew of the wrecked car in dismounting. Leaving the scant protection that the vehicle afforded, Thomas became subjected to another hail of enemy fire which inflicted multiple gunshot wounds on his chest, legs, and left arm. Despite the intense pain, he ordered and directed the dispersion and emplacement of two anti-tank guns. These guns promptly and effectively returned fire. Realizing he could no longer remain in command of the platoon, he signaled to the platoon commander to join him. Thomas thoroughly oriented the commander on the general situation and the enemy gun dispositions. After he ascertained that his junior officer was in complete control of the situation, he evacuated.

Just three days before Christmas, the division received a well-deserved break. They took transports from Wissembourg to Hillimar, France and then moved to Guenviller and Cappel for Christmas Day. Meanwhile, the Battle of the Bulge had begun to the north. The Germans infiltrated the U.S. Army with agents and saboteurs who spoke English and were somewhat familiar with American slang. American soldiers responded to the increased threat with ingenuity. Everyone was riddled with questions, such as: “Where do you put the quarterbacks?” “What is a juicy fruit?” “What is a Baby Ruth?” Responding with the wrong answer could get someone shot.

The 103rd hunkered down in defensive positions. The Germans began an offensive in December causing 244 killed, 1,048 wounded, and 291 missing. On New Year’s Eve, the Germans mounted an attack against the 7th Army front. The 103rd became deeply concerned that the Germans would push an attack into their rear, cutting the them off from retreat. If the Germans mounted a simultaneous attack on the Colmar Pocket to the south and moved through Selestat to the Saverne Pass, such an attack could cut off the VI Corps forces in Alsace. American forces stopped the German advance after penetrating the lines at Bitche, which was later dubbed the “Bitche Salient” by American troops. The Germans launched a major offensive called Operation Nordwind on New Year's Eve.

On January 8, Major General Haffner relinquished command of the 103rd Infantry Division to Brigadier General Anthony C. McAuliffe.  McAuliffe had recently emerged as the victorious commander at the Battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes region to the north. In December 1944, the German commander sent a message to McAuliffe demanding that he surrender the town of Bastogne or the Germans would annihilate the town and the Allied forces there. McAuliffe famously replied “Nuts” and refused to surrender. For his actions in saving Bastogne and winning the Battle of the Bulge, General McAuliffe received command of the 103rd Infantry Division.

By January 14, the 103rd moved to Reichshofen, taking positions along the Saner River. They withdrew to the Moder River and set up a defensive line. On January 19, the 411th Infantry and A Company of the 781st Tank Battalion formed the 411th Combat Team and rolled into Sessenheim. To the north of Sessenheim, German 88mm artillery fire destroyed four American tanks. In under 30 minutes, a German Tiger tank took out the remaining four American tanks. Both sides sustained heavy casualties, but the combat team held. The battle at Sessenheim crippled the German advance and broke their push south. The Allied forces successfully stopped Operation Nordwind by January 25, 1945.

On March 15, 1945, the 103rd began an offensive called Operation Undertone. The men crossed the Moder and Zintzel Rivers before capturing Muhlhausen against sharp opposition. The Division then moved over the Lauter River and penetrated the defenses of the Siegfried Line. As German resistance disintegrated, on March 23, the 103rd reached Germany’s Rhine Valley. They engaged in cleanup operations over the plains west of the Rhine River. Operation Undertone ended on March 31, 1945, when the 103rd Infantry Division recaptured the Alsace territory that had been lost during Germany’s Operation Nordwind offensive. The Allies penetrated the “impenetrable” Siegfried Line, pushed the German Army out of defensive positions into vulnerable locations, and brought the war directly to German citizens. This helped to prepare the way for the 3rd Army to cross the Rhine, and prepared the way for the 7th Army to cross at Worms and Mannheim. In early April 1945, the 103rd undertook occupational duties, but in late April they resumed the offensive. They pursued the retreating German Army through Stuttgart and captured Munsingen on April 24. Elements of the 103rd crossed the Danube River near Ulm, Germany on April 26.

On April 27, 1945, the 411th Infantry advanced south along the Lech River, cleared Buchloe, and then moved on to Landsberg. The 411th’s 3rd Battalion surprised two hundred German soldiers manning an ambush point. The combat lasted for a few minutes, which permitted the Americans to capture the bewildered Germans. Shortly after taking the German prisoners, a Hungarian officer stated he wanted to surrender his men. The 411th followed the Hungarian officer and were shocked to see over nine hundred Hungarians standing in formation, at attention, and with clean uniforms. The Hungarian officer faced his soldiers, made an about face, saluted the Americans, and stated unequivocally, “they are all yours, sir.”

At Landsberg, the 411th Infantry uncovered the real horror of German Holocaust policies. They encountered six concentration camps where thousands of incarcerated people had died. Arriving at the camp on April 27, the soldiers saw the bodies of camp inmates. In one camp, over three hundred lay dead on the open ground, and six hundred more “enemies of the Third Reich” wandered around the camp malnourished and exhausted.

On April 30, the 7th Army captured the city of Munich. That same day, Adolph Hitler and his wife, Eva Braun, committed suicide. On May 1, 1945, the 409th Regimental Combat Team crossed the Austrian border. The unit advanced from Mittenwald, the historic point where centuries of crossings had been made from Germany into Austria. The 410th Infantry remained at Oberammergau, the town that hosted the historic Passion Play (the New Testament story of Jesus’s life) since the mid-1600s. The 411th Infantry remained in position at Garmisch-Partenkirchen. On May 4, the 103rd Infantry Division reached Innsbruck, Austria where General Pierce received the formal surrender of German Army Group A.

World War II in the European Theater ended when the German High Command signed an unconditional surrender on May 7, 1945. Victory in Europe Day (V-E Day) was declared on the following day. The 103rd Infantry Division faced a fierce and determined enemy and underwent very intense combat. During their six months of service, 356 of the 103rd Division were captured and held in prisoner of war camps. They suffered 6,762 casualties, including 848 killed. For the remainder of their time in Austria, the 103rd performed occupational duties and assisted military and government organizations with initiating the long road to recovery after the war. During the first week of September, the 103rd began processing for return to the United States. On September 22, 1945, the 103rd Infantry Division was permanently deactivated.

NOTE: On January 13, 1997, Captain Thomas’s Distinguished Service Cross was posthumously upgraded to The Congressional Medal of Honor.

NOTE: General Haffner suffered from combat fatigue and mild hypothyroidism and soon retired from the military.