The 106th Infantry Division was a division of the United States Army formed for service during World War II. Nicknamed the "Golden Lion," the division was activated on 15 March 1943 at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, with a cadre drawn from the 80th Infantry Division. It was constituted on paper on 5 May 1942, five months after the United States entered the war.
Activation and Training
The division was organized under the standard "triangular" structure of the era, comprising three infantry regiments (the 422nd, 423rd, and 424th Infantry Regiments) and supporting artillery, engineer, and service units. Following basic and advanced infantry training, the division moved on 28 March 1944 to Tennessee to participate in the Second Army No. 5 Maneuvers. During 1944, the division experienced extensive personnel turnover, with 5,050 infantry, field artillery, and cavalry privates and noncommissioned officers withdrawn between April and September to serve as replacements for overseas units. These men were replaced primarily by former Army Specialized Training Program students, aviation cadets transferred to ground forces, and personnel from disbanded antiaircraft and tank destroyer units.
Deployment to Europe
The division staged at Camp Miles Standish, Massachusetts, in October 1944, sailed to England, and arrived on 17 November 1944. After 19 days of training in England, it was assigned on 29 November to VIII Corps, First United States Army, 12th Army Group. The division moved to France on 6 December 1944 and crossed into Belgium on 10 December. On 11 December 1944, the 106th Infantry Division relieved the 2nd Infantry Division in the Schnee Eifel sector of the Ardennes Forest, with its 424th Infantry Regiment positioned at Winterspelt. By doctrine, a division was responsible for no more than 5 miles (8 km) of front; the 106th, along with the attached 14th Cavalry Group, was covering a front of at least 21 miles (34 km).
Battle of the Bulge
On 16 December 1944, the German army launched the Ardennes Offensive (the Battle of the Bulge). The 106th Division bore the brunt of the initial assault. Two of its three regiments—the 422nd and 423rd Infantry Regiments—were encircled and cut off by a junction of German forces near Schönberg. After regrouping for a counterattack that was blocked by the enemy, the two regiments surrendered on 19 December 1944. The Germans captured approximately 6,000 American soldiers in one of the largest mass surrenders in United States military history.
The remaining elements of the division, including the 424th Infantry Regiment and the 81st Engineer Combat Battalion, withdrew over the Our River and joined other units at the vital road and rail junction of St. Vith. Under the command of Lt. Col. Thomas Riggs, the 81st Engineer Combat Battalion—a scratch force of only a few hundred men—conducted a five-day holding action (17–21 December) against vastly superior German forces. For this action, the battalion was later awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation. The defense of St. Vith has been credited with disrupting the German timetable for reaching Antwerp, thereby hampering the overall offensive.
Casualties
- Total battle casualties: 8,627
- Killed in action: 417
- Wounded in action: 1,278
- Missing in action: 235
- Prisoner of war: 6,697
Reorganization and Post-Battle Service
The division was reconstituted on 16 March 1945 when the 3rd Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) and the 159th Infantry Regiment were attached to replace the two lost regiments. The division moved into Germany on 25 April and handled prisoner-of-war enclosures and occupational duties for the remainder of its time in Europe, including responsibility for guarding approximately 1.5 million German prisoners in the Rheinwiesenlager camps. The 422nd and 423rd Infantry Regiments were reconstituted from replacements in France on 15 April but remained in training status when Germany surrendered on 8 May 1945.
The division returned to the New York Port of Embarkation on 1 October 1945 and was deactivated on 2 October 1945 at Camp Shanks, New York.
Post-War
The division headquarters was allotted to the Organized Reserve Corps on 25 March 1948 and was briefly reorganized in Puerto Rico. However, the War Department determined the division was not needed, and it was inactivated on 12 October 1950 at San Juan, Puerto Rico. The division was never officially added to the troop list following the war.
Campaign Participation Credit
- Rhineland Campaign
- Ardennes-Alsace Campaign
- Central Europe Campaign
Notable Members
- Kurt Vonnegut — Served in the 106th Infantry Division and used his experiences during the Battle of the Bulge and as a prisoner of war in his novel Slaughterhouse-Five.
- Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds — Captured on 19 December 1944 with the 422nd Infantry Regiment. In 2015, he was recognized by Yad Vashem as the first American serviceman from World War II to be honored as Righteous Among The Nations for risking his life to protect Jewish-American POWs under his command.
- Donald Prell — Futurologist and founder of Datamation, the first computer magazine; served as leader of the second anti-tank platoon in the 422nd Infantry Regiment and was taken prisoner.
- Richard B. Parker — Foreign Service Officer who served as U.S. Ambassador to Algeria, Lebanon, and Morocco; led the first platoon of the Anti-Tank Company of the 422nd Infantry Regiment and was captured.
