The United States Army's main adversary since the end of World War Two has been the Soviet Union and its massive tank and mechanized armies. To stand toe to toe with the massive military might of the Russians, the US Army deployed "heavy" divisions, that were built around armor and mechanized battalions. They were designed to operate in open country and defeat Soviet armored units.

However, smaller (or low intensity) conflicts, were always a problem. Operations against small regional forces required that the army break down its heavy divisions or deploy large infantry divisions. Although the infantry divisions were well suited to smaller conflicts, they required large numbers of aircraft or ships to get them to the area of operations, and they could not be moved quickly.

The answer to these problems was the creation of the "light" division. The light division was an infantry division that was restructured to allow rapid deployment.

The division was streamlined by deleting all the armor, heavy artillery, many of the vehicles, and much of the heavy equipment. The result was a 10,000-man, foot-mobile infantry division that could be deployed using fewer than 500 C-141 cargo aircrafts.

The light division consists of three infantry brigades, division artillery, a combat aviation brigade, and a division support command. The division has sufficient firepower and maneuverability to take on small armies of minor third-world countries or large forces of guerrillas. However, they do not have the mobility or combat power to take on a conventional force equipped with armor, and if they met such an enemy, they would quickly be replaced by a "heavy division."

Even against a guerrilla force the light infantry division requires substantial logistics and transportation support to conduct sustained operations. These assets, from other army units, are brought into the theater after the division has landed.

Initially the army converted the 6th and 7th Infantry, and the 10th Mountain divisions to light divisions. The 6th Light was stationed in Alaska, the 7th Light in Fort Ord, Ca., and the 10th Mountain was assigned to Ft. Drum, N.Y.

Battle Briefs

The Charge of the Light Division
A New Player in the Mediterranean: French Carrier
Operation Zaunkonig 1944