The 9th Infantry Division -- WWII G.I. Stories Booklet (2025)

The 9th Infantry Division -- WWII G.I. Stories Booklet (1)



"Hitler's Nemesis: The 9th Infantry Division" is a small booklet covering the history of the 9th Infantry Division. This booklet is one of the series of G.I. Stories published by the Stars & Stripes in Paris in 1944-1945.

This is one of a series of G.I. Stories of the Ground, Air and Service Forcesin the European Theater of Operations, to be issued by the Stars and Stripes,a publication of the Information and Education Division, Special and InformationServices, ETOUSA... Maj. Gen. Louis A. Craig, commanding the 9th Inf. Div.,lent his cooperation to the preparation of the pamphlet and basic materialwas supplied to the editors by his personnel.

THE

patch which you are wearing on your left shoulder (and whichyou probably sewed on with many a muttered curse and thereafterthought of but seldom) is a gallant bit of color that you oughtto know more about, regardless of whether you've been with the9th Division since it was activated, or just joined it thisafternoon. It is not merely another gadget — it's yourdivision insignia, and has been ever since the War Departmentapproved it back in 1923. Technically it is known as a red-and-blueoctofoil — a design of eight petals — with a whitecenter. Now, don't let it discourage you to find that a designof eight petals is being used for the

NINTH

Division, because here's the reason: based upon the heraldic rulesof the 15th century each son of a family had his own individualdistinguishing mark, and the mark of the ninth son was this"octofoil." And, so, this being the ninth regular Army division, theheraldic symbolism is correct. Now, red and blue are the colors ofdivision flags, and the white in the center is the color of thenumerals you'll find on division flags. And the background discis your old friend, olive drab. Wear it with pride, as fightingmen of the 9th

INFANTRY

Division have worn it on three continents. At home, it symbolized one ofthe Army's proudest show divisions. Abroad it has been hailed byNorth Africans, both Arab and others, by Sicilians and French andBelgians, as the insignia of liberating forces. The Germans, too,have come to know it well, and fear the power that it represents. Forever in their memory, clarion-clear, rings a prophetic roster of grimand ominous names: Safi... Algiers... Port Lyautey... Sened...Maknassy... El Guettar... Sedjenane... Bizerte... Randazzo...Quinneville... Barneville... Cherbourg... Chateau Thierry...Dinant... Monchau... Germeter... Zweifall... the 9th Divisionwas there. And the 9th Division is your

DIVISION

Passed by Censor For Mailing Home

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ECAUSE thestory of the 9th Infantry Division is such a longstory — a story which reaches back to the sand and pineof the Fort Bragg Reservation in North Carolina and stretchesyet ahead to an ending we can neither see nor prophesy — itcan be told within the compass of this little book only as akaleidoscope of highlights: brief sketches of men and memoriesthat combine to form the rich and undying heritage of every manwho has been, is, or one day will be, a member of our gallant fellowship.

To you into whose hands this little book will go, I express theearnest hope that you will see between the lines the whole magnificentuntold tale of courage, patience, enduring toil and unending sacrifice,which is the true and solid foundation for the story you will read,and which more than any man or any group of men, is responsible forthe imposing history and brilliant future of our 9th Infantry Division.

Louis A. Craig
MajorGeneral
Commanding

The 9th Infantry Division Story

THIS IS HOW IT BEGAN

If any unit has earned the rightto be called Hitler's Nemesis it is the U.S. 9th Div. Here is an outfit thatreally thrives on tough opposition. America has reason to be proud of thissuperb fighting unit.

BOSTON GLOBE (Editorial)

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NAug. 1, 1944, the 9th Inf. Div. was four years old, and its brief brillianthistory is a clear reflection of the part the United States has played in thiswar. The more than four years of its existence is a picture in miniature ofAmerica's preparation for and participation in World War II.

In Aug. 1940 the British had experienced Dunkirk and were preparing forinvasion. The United States, too, faced with imminent war, began to expand itsarmy, and the last of the regular army divisions, the 9th Inf. Div., wasactivated at Ft. Bragg, N.C., on Aug. 1, 1940.

Sent to organize the 9th was a skeleton force of regular army soldiers, towhich were added in the next few months thousands of the civilians who werepouring into the Army through Selective Service. After a period of trainingcame the flaming morning of Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941 — Pearl Harbor andthe real thing. It became obvious that Allied armies would have to land onenemy-held beaches, and so the 9th immediately was launched on an amphibioustraining program.

Since that time, the 9th has met and defeated the enemy many times. The 9thlanded in the invasion of North Africa on Nov. 8, 1942, fought through thebarren country of El Guettar, across the mountains of Sedjenane and Sicily,across and up the Cherbourg Peninsula in France, through France, Belgium andthe Siegfried Line into Germany proper.

During training and combat the 9th continuously cadred new divisions in theever-expanding Army and graduated such outstanding soldiers asLt. Gen. Jacob L. Devers, Commander of VI Army Group; Maj. Gen. M.S. Eddy,Commander of XII Corps; Lt. Gen. Alexander M. Patch, Commander of Seventh Army;seven major generals and four brigadier generals. The division now is commandedby Maj. Gen. Louis A. Craig.

Now marching triumphantly toward its fifth anniversary the 9th Div. is composedof men from all the 48 states and the District of Columbia, welded by courage,fortitude and glory into a great fighting unit.

Born of the necessity of preserving freedom, the 9th Inf. Div. stands as astriking symbol of the military might of a democracy. It is America at war.

The 9th Div. is well known back home, for the 9th has long been a "show division"and staged many reviews for Allied leaders.

JACK FOISIE, THE STARS AND STRIPES

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HE original9th Div. was organized in July 1918 at Camp Sheridan, Ala., while the9th F.A. Brig. was organized at Camp McClellan, Ala. Both were composed almostentirely of regular army units. When the Armistice was signed on Nov. 11, 1918,the 9th Div. was still in the states, and demobilization began on Dec. 31, 1918. However,many of the units in the present 9th Div. saw combat in World War I. The 39th and47th Regts. were brigade partners of the 4th Div., and the 60th Inf. Regt. was aunit of the 5th Div. All three saw combat duty. The 39th and 47th have battle honorsfor the Aisne-Marne, the Meuse-Argonne, Lorraine, St. Mihiel and Champagne; the60th Inf. is entitled to streamers embroidered for Alsace, Lorraine, St. Mihiel,and the Meuse-Argonne.

For more than 20 years the 9th had remained inactive, but at 0600 onAug. 1, 1940, Sgt. John J. Waldrop, the first enlisted man of the reactivateddivision, arrived at Ft. Bragg, N.C. The division area was an uninhabited plotof muddy ground, but as the cadre trickled in a "Tent City" rose in record time.

On Jan. 16, 1941, the first 500 selectees arrived from Camp Upton, N.Y. On thefollowing day 500 more arrived and they continued to pour in. Under the stimulusof this new blood the "regulars" forgot the rigors of Tent City to help the rawand bewildered "rookies."

With the approach of summer the 9th began an extensive field training program. Mosthighly publicized maneuver of all was the war games near Bowling Green, Va., in June,during which Col. Frank C. Mahin's 60th Inf., supported by the 60th and 34th F.A. Bns.,tangled with units of the 44th Div., and came away covered with glory and mosquitobites. Just prior to its first anniversary the division was full strength and wasrated as one of the crack outfits of our rapidly expanding Army.

On its first anniversary the 9th Div. lost Maj. Gen. Jacob L. Devers, who hadbeen C.G. from Nov. 4, 1940 to Aug. 1, 1941. He left for Ft. Knox, Ky., to takecommand of the Army's Armored Force, where he was soon promoted to Lt. Gen. At afarewell division review held for him, the 15th Engr. Bn. displayed a fleet ofbrand new dump trucks. But the solemnity of the occasion was rudely shattered whenan inexperienced driver kicked the wrong lever, and dumped a load of very surprisedpersonnel smack in front of the reviewing stand.

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T thestart of its second year the 9th could boast rightfully that it was the onlydivision in the army doing things "according to Hoyle." The C.G. wasBrig. Gen. (now Maj. Gen.) Rene Edward DeRussey Hoyle.

In mid-September the 9th moved out to begin the memorable Carolina maneuvers andoperated for 10 weeks near Rock Hill, Chester, and Lancaster, S.C., and aroundRockingham, Cheraw, Hamlet and Monroe, N.C. These were the days of simulatedartillery fire, flour-sack bombs, broomstick guns and beer-can mortar shells. Thefirst recreation center was just getting under way, and on week-ends civilianhostesses pleaded with soldiers to come in for a fast game of checkers or towrite a letter home.

Maneuvers ended Nov. 28, 1941; and some outfits hadn't yet reached their barrackswhen Dec. 7 and real war rolled around. Shortly after the first of the year thefirst hint of the division's future came when it was attached to the AmphibiousCorps, Atlantic Fleet, for training.

During the spring and summer, 1942, the 9th changed greatly. It learned a new type ofwarfaresending unit after unit aboard transports in Chesapeake Bay to stage amphibiousattacks on Solomons Island. It gave freely of its experienced personnel to form nucleiof new divisions.

On July 24, 1942 Brig. Gen. Manton S. Eddy became C.G. and on Aug. 9 he was promotedto Maj. Gen. He was to lead the 9th to Africa, Sicily, England and France.

During the summer, soldiers raced up and down nets on mock landing-craft,across — and often into — MacFayden's Pond on footbridges, and slashedat one another with bayonets as they had been taughtby Marine Col. A. J. Drexel Biddle. Famed military observers visited the divisionweekly, some of them well known — Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson,Gen. George C. Marshall. Others were little known to Americans then, but sincehave become world-famous — Field Marshal Sir John Dill, AdmiralLord Louis Mountbatten, Lt. Gen. Lesley J. McNair, and Lt. Gen. Mark W. Clark.

Then it came. In early September the 39th Inf. Regt. was alerted. The 39th Combat Team,commanded by Col. Benjamin F. Caffey, moved out on Sept. 17, 1942 to a POE. Later the47th and 60th Combat Teams exchanged barracks for tents on Chicken Road, Ft. Bragg'sReservation. On Oct. 14, 1942 the 60th Combat Team, commanded by Col. Frederick J. deRohan,shipped to a POE and was followed Oct. 17 by Col. Edwin H. Randle's 47th Combat Team. OnDec. 12 the remainder of the division sailed from New York Harbor.

After Training Comes the McCoy

THE LONG AFRICAN CAMPAIGNS

Observers who saw the 9th Div. in action in theMediterranean considered it probably the crack U.S. Army unit in theNorth African theater.

TOM WOLF (NEA)

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HE9th Inf. Div. was introduced to the North African theater — andvice versa — just before dawn of Nov. 8, 1942, when the 39th Combat Team(which had come via the British Isles) landed at Algiers, while the47th Combat Team was hitting the beach at Safi, French Morocco, and the60th Combat Team was hammering at the Kasba and the airport atPort Lyautey, Morocco. There, in the short sharp, murderous battle thatpreceded victory, the division received the baptism of fire which put theultimate touches to its preparation for the big job.

Following the cessation of hostilities, plans were made to regroup the divisionat Port Lyautey. The 39th Combat Team remained near Algiers, and during the nextthree months was strung out more than 500 miles, guarding communication lines. The47th made a foot march of over 250 miles from Safi to Port Lyautey, while theremainder of the division landed at Casablanca and moved to the division area. Bythe first of 1943, the 9th, less the 39th Combat Team, was concentrated nearPort Lyautey.

For the next month, soldiers of the 9th in turn guarded the Spanish Moroccanborder, drank red wine, staged a review for President Roosevelt, saw Martha Raye,slept in cork forests, and found out that the guidebooks don't tell the wholestory. On Jan. 31, 1943, the first elements began moving by train and truckfrom Port Lyautey.

The route was through Elmo Grain, Sidi Slimane, Petit Jean, Fez, Taza, Guercif,Taorit, Oujda, across the Algerian frontier, through Marnia and Turene to Tlemcen.

The stay in Tlemcen was short. At 1100 Feb.17 orders were received to move the division artillery to the Tunisian frontwhere Rommel had broken through. Four and a half hours later the 34th F.A. Bn.crossed the IP as leading unit. Snow was on the ground and rain fell as theartillery and the cannon companies pulled out. By day and night they drovevia Sidi bel Abbes, L'Arba, Setif, Ain M'Lila, Ain Beida, to Tebessa. Brig.Gen. S. LeRoy Irwin, artillery commander, then received orders from II Corpsto proceed to Thala, which was seriously threatened. The road out of Tebessawas jammed with traffic, and heavy guns repeatedly slid off roads made slipperyby mud and continuous rain.

By 0400 Feb. 21 the artillery battalions were in position to fire. In three daysand twelve hours this column of 411 vehicles, 138 officers, and 2032 enlistedmen had covered 777 miles of winding, congested and slippery roads, throughrain and snow. Rommel's thrust was stopped.

Meantime, the remainder of the division left Tlemcen on Feb. 19. Heavy wetsnow fell as the convoy moved out at 0830 on a route that led — rememberthe names? — through Lamtar, Detrie, Sidi bel Abbes, Boulet, Mercier Lacomba,Ain Frass, Ain Fakin, Tizzi, St. Andre, Mascara, Ain Fares, El Bofdj, Tliouanet,Relizane, Hamedena, St. Aime, Inkerman, Charon, Malikoff, Orleansville, Oued Fodda,Rouina, Duperre, Lavandere, Affreville, Miliana, Marguerite, Bourkika, Ameur el Ain,Mouiniville, Calmatie, L'Arba, Rivte Alma, Menerville, Souk el Haad, Dalestad,Thiers, Bouiara, El Esnam, El Adjiba, Mzita, Coligny, Setif, Ain M'Lila (wherebarracks bags were stored) — to arrive near Bou Chebka Feb. 27 1943.

During the move the 39th Combat Team joined the division, reuniting the 9th onceagain. The division immediately went into position and began patrolling aroundSbeitla and Kasserine. In late March, the 60th Combat Team was detached to fightthe battle of Maknassy, while the remainder of the division moved to El Guettar.

Here the 1st Inf. Div. on the left and the 9th Inf. Div. on the right, as parts ofGen. Patton's II Corps, were to attack on the Gafsa-Gabes axis to relieve the pressureon Gen. Montgomery's British force to the south.

Detachments reduced the 9th for this operation to six — and for several daysto five — infantry battalions. Principal handicap, however, was the almostcomplete lack of adequate maps. Nevertheless, the attack was launched on the morningof March 28, and for the next 11 days a bitter battle was waged for hills 290, 369,and 772. By April 7 the enemy had pulled back and the 9th, after occupying forwardpositions, made immediate plans to begin the long, secret trek to northern Tunisia.

This meant moving an entire division from southern Tunisia to the extreme northernflank bordering the Mediterranean. By April 13 the relief of the British divisionin the sector had begun. Also, the 60th Combat Team had rejoined the division atBou Chebka and had begun to move northward.

Attached to the division during the next operation were four Tabours of Goums:grim-visaged, swarthy, turbanned, "bathrobe-wearing," silent Berber tribesmenwho, as part of the Corps Franc d'Afrique, fought and died for seven monthsbeside their American, French and British comrades. "Goum" — a wordthese tribesmen never used in referring to themselves — is an Arabicterm meaning "irregular soldier."

With the relief of the British swiftly completed, the 9th was now ready as aunit, and on April 23 the attack was launched in the Sedjenane sector.

The division commander soon decided that a frontal attack on the Green Hill-Bald Hillposition would be too costly. He therefore decided to employ the bulk of the divisionin a wide flanking movement through extremely difficult terrain north of the mainroad, to outflank enemy positions and cut lines of communications north and northeast.

Such a maneuver would be hampered by an almost total lack of communicationsthroughout the area to be traversed. However, the Germans would never expect such adifficult maneuver if our troops could be moved into position without detection. Secrecywas essential to preserve the element of surprise.

In preparation for the attack a careful study was made of the terrain and dominantobservation was selected for each of the intermediate objectives to be captured bythe regiments each day. While these objectives were not always captured on the planneddates, most of them eventually were occupied, and in every case such occupation proveddecisive in outflanking the Germans.

The extreme width of the front — 28 miles — posed a very difficult problemfor the artillery commander who had to scatter his units. As a solution light battalionswere kept in their usual role, supporting the infantry regiments, but medium and heavyartillery were divided into two groups, one for the south and one for the north.

Supply was a great problem. The French had virtually no transportation. Threehundred mules were obtained, and for several days the regiments were forced torely solely on them for supply transportation and evacuation.

In the campaign which followed, the soldiers of the 9th proved that they could takeadvantage of the lessons they had learned the hard way. The first proof was a brilliantenvelopment of the Green-Bald Hill positions which the British had assaulted unsuccessfullyfor months. At Djebel Dardys and Djebel Mrata the 60th Inf. massacred a Germancounter-attacking force. Djebel Cheniti was a brilliant demonstration of infantry"leaning up against" artillery preparation.

The 9th continued to drive steadily toward Bizerte, one of the principal Allied objectives. Finallyat 1515 hours May 7, the following conversation took place:

CO, 894th TD Bn.: "Have covered the entire valley of the Oued Garba. No signof enemy in the valley. Believe way to Bizerte wide open. Request permission to proceedinto Bizerte and occupy city."

G-3, 9th Div.: "CG instructs you proceed Bizerte and occupy it. Reportyour position every half hour."

CO, 894th TD Bn.: "Will comply with pleasure."

And then, as Maj. Dean T. Vanderhoef, Ass't. G-2, played the "William Tell Overture" onhis ocarina over the radio telephone, troops rolled into Bizerte.

Mopping up continued for several days, and when all resistance ended, a brilliantlysuccessful operation was complete. The 9th had come of age.

Days of combat in North Africa were over. Tunisia had been a disillusioning land, devoidof cinematic glamor; a land of overloaded burros and few houses for shelter. The battlehad featured over-extended fronts and equally extended lines of supply. Communicationswere across a country once described by a doughboy as "miles and miles of miles andmiles" — a country strewn with French, German, and American mines whoseexact location no one knew. These had been the days when cold-numbedfingers were sliced on C ration cans, when air superiority didn't always seem acertainty, when Yank and The Stars and Stripes were things thatdidn't arrive, when the only news came by way of BBC (and nobody had a radio), whenthe theory became a fact that "Africa is a very cold continent where the sun is hot."

Other divisions after the end of the African campaign went back to bivouacs nearOran or Algiers, but they sent the 9th to Magenta, 80 kilometers south of Sidi bel Abbesin the direction of the Sahara Desert.

HAL BOYLE (AP)

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FTERthe inevitable policing-up around Bizerte the 9th hit the road west, over thesame route traversed three months before. Magenta, Algeria, where the division wasassembled by late afternoon May 26, developed into an elaborate bivouac as daysslipped into weeks.

Though dust, heat and flies seemed to increase almost daily, the coolness and beautyof mornings and evenings were worth the trouble and heat of mid-day. There was alwaysthe certainty of a night's sleep free of heat, but the mid-day sun was so intense thata division order (never rescinded) specified a siesta for all troops from 1300 to1500 hours each afternoon.

Sidi bel Abbes, French Foreign Legion Hq. and the nearest town of any size, was50 miles away, and some passes were issued to division personnel each day. Truckconvoys brought the troops in and returned them to their areas each night.

Shortly after the arrival of the division in this area, changes began to take place. The9th passed from control of II Corps to I Armored Corps. On June 1 orders were issuedtransferring Brig. Gen. S. LeRoy Irwin, Div. Arty. commander, and Col. Edwin H. Randle,47th Inf. commander, from the 9th to the United States. Both received promotions andnew commands. Irwin took command of the 5th Div. and Randle became Ass't. CO of the77th Div. which later landed on Guam. On May 30, Col. Reese M. Howell was relievedfrom the 17th F.A. Brig. to command the 9th Div. Arty. Appointed Brig. Gen. June 9,he took command of the Div. Arty. on June 17, 1943.

Between May 26 and June 27, 1943 the 9th participated in a program of training andrest. Emphasis was placed on rest — not forgetting reveille, formal retreat,calisthenics, Saturday morning inspections and all the thousand-and-one formalitieswhich plague a GI who otherwise might have ten minutes to himself — withmovies, band-concerts and as much entertainment as could be lured to the forsakenspot that was the division area. Units were sent to the beach at Ain el Turck nearOran in rotation for periods of four days each. Dysentery was prevalent. The trainingprogram featured schools, demonstrations and conditioning exercises.

Throughout the stay in the area the 9th received much cooperation from the FrenchForeign Legion. In return the division trained personnel of the 2nd Spahis (French)in reconnaissance work, and personnel of the French 9th Colonial Div. in tactics andtechnics of cannon-company and heavy weapon material. Details were also trainedby the 9th Sig. Co. and the 15th Engr. Bn.

But movement was in the air again. On June 29 and 30, the 39th Combat Team (withattachments) and the 9th Div. Arty. moved out for Bizerte, via Orleansville, L'Arba,Setif and Souk-Ahras. Col. George Smythe took command of the 47th Inf. Another restlessweek followed as the remainder of the division stayed at Magenta pursuing its trainingprogram. And on July 8 orders were issued directing the remaining units to Ain el Turck. Theinfantry regiments, with attachments, were to march.

Thus, seven weeks after having moved into the Magenta area, the division left. Thenew area was near Bou Sfer, with all units within walking distance of the beach. Inthis "staging area" preparations were immediately begun to move to Sicily. For twoweeks training was conducted in the morning but each afternoon units were formed andmoved to the beach at a walk-and-run, where the remainder of the afternoon was spent.

Across the Mediterranean to Sicily

BATTLES, RECOGNITION, REST

The stamina and endurance of these men (of the 9th) as well as their march and firingline discipline is remarkable.

HAROLD DENNY, N.Y. TIMES

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N themorning of July 29 five passenger ships (the Borinquin, Evangeline, Orizaba, Mexica,and Shawnee) with escort, moved out of Mers el Kebir, preceded by freighters. The trip wasuneventful and the convoy arrived off Palermo harbor in the early evening of July 31. But itwas impossible to unload and the ships remained anchored during the night.

At approximately 0415 on Sunday Aug. 1, 1943 — the 3rd anniversary of the 9th — thecelebration began. Enemy planes raided the harbor for an hour and 45 minutes.

During the raid the 9th lost neither personnel nor equipment, but an undetermined numberof enemy planes was shot down. That morning unloading of ships began and division unitswent into bivouac east of Palermo. During the next few days concentration of the divisioneast of Nicosia was completed.

Units that had preceded the main body of the division for the invasion of Sicily rejoinedthe 9th west of Troina. By Aug. 5 all units were in a position for the attack that waslaunched on the morning of Aug. 6.

The 60th lnf. was sent on a wide flanking movement north through almost impassableterrain. Their mission was similar to what they had accomplished so brilliantly inthe Bizerte campaign. Again there were major problems of supply and evacuationcompetently solved by the supply services, medics, and engineers.

While the 60th went north through Capizzi and then east, the 47th and 39th advancedeast from Troina. The enemy once again was maneuvered out of one positionafter another. By Aug. 12 the 60th Inf. reached Floresta, and the 39thoccupied Randazzo, keypoint of the enemy's last line of defense beforeMessina. Here the 9th Div. was "pinched out" by the 3rd Div. on the northand the British on the south.

The 9th Div. remained in position until Aug. 20, when it was officially announcedthat the island of Sicily was free of enemy. On Aug. 23, movement began towardCefalu on the Tyrrhenian Sea.

Here, for the first time the division received some of the credit it had so richlyearned the hard way. Because of confused censorship regulations, the 9th had beenneglected in press releases concerning the North African and Siciliancampaigns. Recognition came in early Oct. 1943 in The Stars and Stripes,which stated:

The 9th has the kind of leadership and spirit that make a fighting outfit. Themen showed it at Randazzo, the southern hinge of the last German defense line inSicily. They showed it by their brilliant envelopment of Green and Bald Hills inthe Sedjenane Valley campaign which led to the fall of Bizerte. They showed itin one of the bitterest battles of North Africa — the fight at El Guettar;and again when they force-marched some 900 miles to help stem the Rommel thrustat Kasserine Pass. And they showed it when their three combat teams landed atSafi, at Port Lyautey, and at Algiers last Nov. 8.

In this area the bubble of rotation swelled to enormous size and burst abruptly. Herethe division had a chance to see entertainers like Jack Benny, Al Jolson, andAdolphe Menjou. Here the Donut Girls appeared, and from Sept. 5 through Oct. 30 servedmore than 170,000 freshly-baked doughnuts to the 9th Div. Here on Oct. 25, 1943, 34newly naturalized members of the division formally became citizens of the countryfor which they'd been fighting for months.

These were the days of vino, marsala, and vermouth; of grapes and melons andalmonds; of gaily-painted donkey carts and swims in the blue Tyrrhenian Sea; ofvisits to Palermo and Monreale and the dark catacombs; of the frequent times whenthe soldiers found out that the guidebooks don't tell the whole story.

Then came Halloween and an order for the 9th to move to Mondello, nearPalermo, "the muddiest patch of ground in the world." And on the nightof Monday, Nov. 8, 1943, the 9th was boat-and-train bound for England.

England and D-Day Build-Up

WINCHESTER WAS THE PLACE

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TWinchester the division scattered through the neighborhood of Bushfield, BartonStacey, Alresford and Basingstoke. An information course was instituted to teachbasic good manners to a batch of GI Tarzans who'd been in the woods too long. The9th was very fortunate in its jumping-off place, for Winchester was Old Englandthrough and through. Even the most casual and literal-minded visitor scarcelycould help feeling the weight of centuries borne by Winchester Castle,Cathedral and College.

But for all its quiet, ancient beauty, Winchester was nothing more than a springboardfrom which the 9th could leap into the final European phases of the world conflict. Asthe mild English winter melted into spring, the luxury of passes, furloughs andweek-ends wore away to reveal more and more clearly the grim, steel framework ofominous military preparation.

Gen. Bernard Montgomery addressed the troops on a rainy afternoon Jan. 19, 1944, atthe 60th Inf. area in Winchester Barracks. On March 24 Gen. Eisenhower,Lt. Gen. Omar N. Bradley, Maj. Gen. J. Lawton Collins, and Prime Minister Winston Churchillinspected the division.

By April 2, with all leaves and furloughs cleared up, the training pace wasaccelerated by a field problem on Easter Sunday. On May 27 at 0630 the divisionwas put on a six-hour alert status. The men knew the time was at hand.

There had been GI movies, USO shows, PX supplies, the Red Cross tea wagon, signsin English, mild-and-bitter, pubs and dances, and the not-so surprising rediscoverythat the guidebooks don't tell the whole story.

The division began moving to marshalling areas on Saturday afternoon, June 3. Men foundsleep difficult the night of June 5, under the ceaseless drone of unseen planes. By two-thirty,when the first units were alerted, everybody knew...

Invasion of the continent began in the early morning of June 6, 1944. The 9th Inf. hitthe Normandy beach on D plus 4, as one of the two U.S. infantry divisions on thebeachhead with previous combat experience, a fact fully appreciated by highercommanders and military observers.

Again the 9th Unleashed its Might

A CAPTURED HUN WAS CAMERA-SHY

The Ninth is good. It performed like a beautiful ma-chine in the Cherbourg campaign.

ERNIE PYLE

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NLOADINGof men and equipment had hardly been completed when the 39th Combat Team,the "Anything, Anywhere, Anytime — Bar Nothing!" boys of Col. Paddy Flint, wereattached to the 4th Inf. Div. to clean up the east coast of the peninsula. Followingcapture of Quinneville, which at that time constituted the farthest Allied advance tothe north, the 39th returned to division control, and the 9th was ready to write oneof the most glorious chapters in its history.

The attack was swift, perfectly executed. Each time the enemy dropped back, the9th Div. hit him again. Having driven across the Douve River, and although northand south flanks were exposed, the 47th and the 60th Inf. reached the east coastnear St. Lo, D'Ourville and Barneville early on June 17.

The Cotentin Peninsula was cut, but the enemy made a desperate attempt to breakout near St. Jacques de Nehou. Artillery and a terrific mortar concentrationmassacred this force.

The 9th then turned north toward Cherbourg. The 39th went through Octeville whilethe 47th seized the western half of the town and the arsenal. Meanwhile the 60thwas protecting the left flank and preparing for an attack up the cape.

During this campaign the 9th captured Lt. Gen. Karl Wilhelm von Schlieben andRear Admiral Hennecke, senior enemy Army and Navy commanders of the Cherbourgarea. They were immediately brought to the division CP where ensued a bit ofrepartee which shortly became famous.

Bob Capa, Life magazine photographer, appeared at the division commander's tent totake pictures of the captured officers. But the Germans definitely had othernotions. Von Schlieben was particularly difficult. "I am tired of this picturetaking," he snapped. Capa, who speaks German, sighed and lowered his cameramomentarily. "I, too, am tired, General," he pointed out, "I have to takepictures of so many captured German generals!"

While other forces occupied Cherbourg, the 9th cleaned up the Cap de la Hague byJuly 1. The 9th had accomplished the opening chapter of the invasion drama.

This had been Africa with hedgerows, calvados, snipers, totally destroyed villages, anoccasional pretty girl, and the familiar realization that the guidebooks don't tellthe whole story.

The story of how completely the 9th had done its job is told best by some of the warcorrespondents who reported the facts to the world:

The Infantry of the 9th Div. rates a mass Congressional Medal.

WILLIAM H. STONEMAN

The hedgerow-to-hedgerow fighting of the 9th Div. across the Cherbourg peninsula fromsea to sea must rate as one of the most brilliant successes of United States militaryhistory. For four days I accompanied these veterans who not only had turned the tidein Tunisia with the capture of Bizerte, but also helped wind up the Sicilian campaignwith the seizure of Randazzo. They were brought to France to chop off the tip of thestrategic peninsula and isolate the Germans in Cherbourg... The renowned heroes ofPort Lyautey and Bizerte pushed along the flank to Barneville, encountered severeresistance at the little town of St. Jacques de Nehou.

TOM HENRY

To the north the 9th had taken Nehou. Veterans of Bizerte and Sicily, the men of the 9thwere now fresh from England, itching for more fight. They got their chance: the 82nd wastoo spent to exploit its breakthrough. So while one regiment of the 9th pushed west fromNehou through St. Jacques, another regiment passed through the tired 82nd, pushed throughSt. Saveur in a parallel thrust... the 9th had gained 12 1/2 miles in two days — thefastest advance of the campaign... The 9th had done the job: Cherbourg was sealed off.

TIME

Omar Bradley has done it again. Slipping stronger units past the lines of their tiringcomrades, he once more smashed unexpectedly through the Germans to cut off Cherbourg,just as be broke through to doom Bizerte a little over a year ago. And he used thesame outfit — the battle-tested 9th Div. — to strike the decisive blow... Theblow that broke the Nazi's back below Cherbourg was a clever one and aroused realenthusiasm here (Washington, D.C.) Brig. Gen. Horace S. Sewell of the Britishbranded "the 9th American Division's exploit" as "a magnificent achievement."

CAPT. LOWELL M. LIMPUS

It was June 25, the nineteenth day of the Battle of Liberation. And the veterans ofthe American 9th Inf. Div., who a year before had helped to corner the Germans inTunisia's Cap Bon Peninsula, now were conducting the first smashing Allied victoryof the invasion. For by nightfall the great port of Cherbourg was for all practicalpurposes in American hands.

NEWSWEEK

The 9th Inf. Div. has been in action continuously since July 9, driving fromFrance through Belgium, into Germany.

THE STARS AND STRIPES (Oct. 9, '44)

T

HEREcame then the briefest of rest periods; July 9 found the 9th back in action again. Itwas the St. Lo-Perriers offensive this time. All three regiments were in the line, repeatingagain the story of hedgerow hell, slow advances from one field to the next, murderouscasualties. Although this continued throughout the month, several days before theJuly 25 breakthrough the 9th cut the St. Lo-Perriers road. On July 25 the 9th wasone of the spearhead divisions in the offensive, and by the end of the day thedivision was credited with the furthest advance of any of the divisions in the "push."

The 9th beat off a series of counter-attacks in the Mortain-Cherence le Roussel sectorand later joined in the chase which closed the Falaise Gap.

On Aug. 20, 1944 Maj. Gen. Louis A. Craig took command of the 9th and began anoffensive which carried the unit over much of the same ground that he himselfhad covered in the last war.

The 9th swung toward the east, across the Seine at Melun, then pushed northeastto the historic Marne on Aug. 28 without opposition, and swept through equallyhistoric Chateau-Thierry the following day.

Through Belgium, into Germany

OVER MEUSE, THROUGH SIEGFRIED

O

NSept. 2 the 9th laid claim to being the first Allied force to begin the liberationof Belgium when the reconnaissance troop entered near Momignies at 1107. At 1155 the60th Inf. crossed the border. The 9th was truly "an Army of Liberation." In everytown the GIs were greeted by throngs of happy people who had waited four long yearsand who now were free. The Belgian "White Army" aided the Americans whenever they could.

The 9th continued the push through Chimay, through Couvin, toward Dinant and theMeuse River. The crossing of the Meuse has historically been one of the mostdifficult of military operations. It was not less difficult now.

Crossings were attempted at several points — some were instantly successful,others required several thrusts. By Sept. 5, however, the 9th had pressed acrossthe Meuse River.

The push continued and on Sept. 13 the 9th moved into Germany south of Roetgen. Thefollowing day the 47th Inf. staked its claim of being the first Allied unit tocompletely breach the Siegfried Line, advancing through the first zone and onthrough the second. The 39th and 60th meantime drove into the Hurtgen Forest.

A letter from Maj. Gen. J. Lawton Collins, C.G. of VII Corps, to Maj. Gen. Craiggives an apt description of the division's participation in the battles of Europe:

"After the fall of Cherbourg the 9th participated in the bitter fighting in theswamps and hedgerows of Normandy, and contributed materially to the breakthroughof the German defenses that ended the 'hedgerow' fighting and opened the war ofmaneuver. Joining in the pursuit, the division secured the left flank of theVII Corps in its drive on Mortain, then bore a large share of the vicious attacksof the German Seventh Army in the Mortain-Cherence le Roussel area aimed atseparating the American First and Third Armies. With these German attacks beatenoff, the 9th again participated in the pursuit that assisted in closing theFalaise Gap from the south.

"After crossing the Seine, the Marne, and the Aisne rivers in rapid succession, the9th again came to grips with the retreating enemy in the edge of the Ardennes Foresteast of Hirson and drove him across the Meuse. The division's successful crossing ofthe Meuse in the vicinity of Dinant, in the face of strong opposition, was one of themost difficult tasks of this war. Using assault boats and rafts, the initial crossingwas at night. Despite heavy losses the division established a secure bridgehead, whichit held against spirited German counter-attacks, then completed its crossing and routedthe enemy which fled to the east. The pursuit continued without pause until the divisionhad joined in the breakthrough of the West Wall.

"During these extensive operations the 9th Division advanced almost 600 miles againstenemy opposition, captured over 28,000 prisoners and participated in threemajor campaigns with not more than five days out of action in a period ofover four months. This outstanding record is one of the finest in theEuropean Theater."

A

NDthere, for a moment, pauses the story of the 9th Infantry Division. Itis today as it was yesterday, the gallant story of fighting men, sketched inhonor of the living and the dead who blazed a brilliant trail across a quarterof the world to do what had to be done. And tomorrow? Tomorrow's story is nowin your hands. It will be as magnificent a tale as the story of the pastwhich you have just read, if only you, with the help of God, decidethat it shall be so...

Printed by Desfosses-Neogravure, Paris.

The 9th Infantry Division -- WWII G.I. Stories Booklet (2025)
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