Pictured is the 1st Infantry Division from the next Europa game, Second Front.

Nicknamed: "Big Red One", based on its divisional insignia of a large red "1" on an olive drab shield.

Motto: "Duty First". The 1st was one of the two best infantry divisions fielded by the U.S. Army, the other being the 9th Infantry.

Organization

16th Infantry Regiment - 3 battalions

18th Infantry Regiment - 3 battalions

26th Infantry Regiment - 3 battalions

1st Reconnaissance Troop (Mechanized)

1st Engineer Combat Battalion

5th Field Artillery Battalion - 155mm

7th Field Artillery Battalion - 105mm

32nd Field Artillery Battalion - 105mm

33rd Field Artillery Battalion - 105mm

(various support & service units attached)

Main Attachments

Note: U.S. infantry divisions were organized as general purpose fighting formations, with a minimum of specialist troops integral to the units. In theory, independent specialist units were to be attached to infantry divisions as the situation demanded, but in practice these units became semi-permanently attached to specific divisions. The following 3 units were the ones usually attached to the 1st:

612th Tank Destroyer Battalion

Attached 14 Jun 44 to 9 May 45. Arrived UK 15 May 44, landed France 14 Jun 44. Initially equiped with towed 76mm AT guns, converted to self-propelled tank destroyers M-18s) in Dec 44.

462nd AA Artillery Auto-Weapons Bn.

Attached 16 Jun 44 to 17 Aug 44, 3 Oct 44 to 8 May 45. Arrived UK 16 Nov 43, landed France 11 Jun 44. For Europa, factored into the division to provide intrinsic AA strength.

741st Tank Battalion

Attached 15 Jun 44 to 17 Aug 44, 3 Oct 44 to 8 May 45. Medium tank battalion. Arrived UK 2 Nov 43, landed France 6 Jun 44.

The "Big Red 1" In Combat

1. The division arrived in the UK from the U.S. on 7 Aug 42, with General Terry de la Mesa commanding.

2. On 8 Nov 42, it participated in the Operation Torch amphibious assault of French Northwest Africa, landing at Oran.

3. It then moved into Tunisia and joined the fighting there. Elements of the 1st were involved in the Kasserine Pass battle in Feb 43, and the division continued operations in Tunisia until the Axis surrender there in May. General Clarence Huebner took command of the division in July.

4. The 1st was next employed in Sicily, assaulting Gela on 10 Jul 43. It fought in the Sicilian campaign until the Germans withdrew to the mainland. It remained in Sicily until it returned to the UK.

5. The division arrived in the UK in Nov 43 and began training for the invasion of France.

6. The 1st landed in Normandy at Omaha Beach on 6 Jun 44, in heavy combat. It fought throughout the Normandy campaign and was involved in the breakout and pursuit across France.

7. It reached the German border with Belgium in early Sep 44, beginning a hard-fought battle for the city of Aachen. Aachen fell to the division in late Oct, and it then entered the Roer River fighting. In Dec it was pulled out of combat for a rest, General Cliff Andrus became the new commander. The 1st was sent to the Ardennes following the German attack there, and was instrumental in stopping and repelling the German drive in the Malmedy sector. In Feb 45 it returned to the Roer River area and fought in the Rhineland campaign, reaching the Rhine River in early March. The 1st crossed the Rhine and helped form the Ruhr Pocket, then moved to mopping up operations in the Harz Mountains in April.

8. The division then moved to the GermanCzech border. It drove on Karlsbad. Czechoslovaki in early May and was in western Czech. when the war in Europe ended. In all its fighting the 1st had 3,616 killed in action: 15,208 wounded in action; 1,500 missing or captured and over 14,000 nonbattle casualties. The division lost over 30,000 men -- over twice its table of organization strength.

Sources: Order of Battle, U.S. Army, World War II by Shelby L. Stanton.
U.S. Army Order of Battle, European Theater of Operations edited by W. Victor Madej.

Response in Exchange (Letter to Editor: Europa #2)

More 1sts:

US 1st Infantry Division (Europa #1)
German 1st Infantry Division (Europa #4)
1st Moscow Proletariat Rifle Division (Europa #5)