The War:

Narrative, Timeline, & Details

From October 1944 to September 1945, the 103rd Infantry Division served in the European Theater of World War II. During this time, they fought in France, Germany, and Austria. After arriving in Marseilles, France on October 20, 1944, the 103rd Infantry Division joined the Seventh Army. They also were assigned to the VI Corps, XV Corps, and XXI Corps throughout their service in Europe. For more information about their combat participation, see the Timeline and Combat Narratives. For information about the officers who served with the 103rd Infantry Division, see the Division General Officers. For information about those soldiers who were killed, wounded, or captured in battle, see the corresponding sections below. Finally, this section contains information about the awards and citations won by this division and their role as a Holocaust Liberator Unit.

Photo Credits:

Header Photo: Joseph A. Bowenm, Assault boats loaded with Seventh Army infantry cross Rhine River under artillery fire. March 26, 1945. Signal Corps Archive via Flickr.

Timeline Photo: Tec 4 C.L.W. Moore, SC 411807- 2nd Infantry Division Men Pass a Sign to Keep Them on the Alert, near Hasenfeld, Germany. March 3, 1945. Signal Corps Archive via Flickr.

Combat Narrative Photo: Bennett Fenberg, SC 364302- Crouched behind a .50 caliber machine gun, American Machine Gunner of the Seventh Army, Provides Protective Cover for Advancing Infantrymen during Drive on Niederbronn Les Baines. December 10, 1944. Signal Corps Archive via Flickr.

General Officers Photo: Unknown photographer, SC 196553-S- General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander, in Center of Group, Talks Informally to Enlisted Men of a Quartermaster Salvage Repair Depot, during his Recent Visit to the Front Lines. November 16, 1944. Signal Corps Archive via Flickr.

Killed in Action Photo: Unknown photographer, SC 201378- Medics carry a wounded infantryman of Co. K., 304th Infantry Regiment, 76th Division, U.S. Third Army in Germany, across a footbridge to an aid station. Holsthum, Germany. 25 February, 1945. U.S. Army Signal Corps Archive via Flickr.

Wounded in Action Photo: Wounded: Kitzerow, SC 190609-S- U.S. Army and Navy Medics Combine to Give a Wounded American Soldier the Necessary Treatment in a French Town. Treveres, France. June 21, 1944. Signal Corps Archive via Flickr.

Missing in Action Photo: Unknown photographer, SC 201485-S- A German observation post is the target for American 155mm howitzers of the 3rd Infantry Division. They are blasting it to rubble, as the Germans and Americans fight across the Rhine River in Neuf Breisach, France. 13 February, 1945. U.S. Army Signal Corps Archive via Flickr.

Prisoners of War Photo: SC 197221- Pvt. George M. Leg, Birmingham, England, Has his Bag of Personal Effects Inspected by a German Noncom before his Release During the Exchange of Allied and German Prisoners near Pernic, France. Signal Corps Archive via Flickr.

Awards Photo: Col. Henry James Harding Medal. Photo from 103rd Infantry Division Association Archival Collection, Special Collections at McCain University Library and Archives, the University of Southern Mississippi.

Holocaust Photo: T/5 Smith, SC 335338- Men of the 103rd Infantry Division Round up all the Male Civilians in Landsberg, Germany, to go to the Stalag #4 Concentration Camp to Bury Political Prisoners Starved and Burned to Death by SS troops. April 29, 1945. Signal Corps Archive via Flickr.