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Bringing in POW's

THE HISTORY OF THE “YD”

     The 26th Infantry division was first mustered into service after the outbreak of the First World War in 1917. It was the first National Guard Division to be formed during the war. Consisting of guard troops from all six New England states, the division was soon christened the "Yankee Division" or "YD" for short. At this time the YD was comprised of the 101st (MA NG), 102nd (CT NG), 103rd (ME NG), and 104th (MA NG) infantry regiments. The division had the distinction of being the first National Guard division to land in France, as well as the first complete U.S. division (elements of the 1st Infantry Division had landed a few months earlier) to deploy overseas.

     Under the command of Maj. Gen Clarence Edwards, the division saw extensive service on the front lines throughout the war, amassing a battle record which was only rivaled by the regulars of the "Big Red One". The division won the right to wear the battle clasps for Ile de France, Lorraine, Aisne Marne, St. Mihel, Meuse Argonne, and Champagne Marne After the war, the division returned to New England and it’s individual units resumed duty with their respective state National Guards.

     Following an Army reorganization in the 1920’s, a decision was reached to form the 26th Division entirely of units from the state of Massachusetts, the rest of the New England guard units were broken up to create the newly formed 43rd Infantry Division. The YD now consisted of the 101st, 104th, 181st, and 182nd infantry regiments.

     With the threat of war looming on the horizon in the early 1940’s, the YD was called to active service in early 1941. At the same time congress passed the nation’s first peacetime conscription act, and the YD regiments were brought up to strength with a draft of men from New England. The division spent most of ’41 training at various locations in the American south. In December of 1941, the YD’s year of active service was drawing to an end. The Division returned to Camp Edwards Massachusetts on Saturday, December 6th 1941, and prepared to muster out. The hopes of the men to be out of uniform and home for Christmas ended with the news of the attack on Pearl Harbor the next day.

     With the nation now rapidly mobilizing for modern war, the army decided to change the division structure from the old "square" or four regiment organization, to the new "triangular" three regiment division. It was believed that the triangular structure would prove to be more suitable for fast moving, mechanized combat of the type which was demonstrated by the Nazi blitzkrieg. The 181st and 182nd regiments were detached from the division, and replaced with the 328th infantry regiment which had been recently reformed. The 328th had been part of the 82nd Division in WW1, and was famous for being the regiment in which Alvin York had served in during the war. The 181st regiment later went on to be one of the first U.S. Army regiments to see service in the war, fighting on Guadalcanal with the famous Americal Division.

     Upon completion of it’s new reorganization, the YD assumed the task of patrolling the Atlantic coast to prevent the possible landing of Enemy spies or saboteurs. It remained in this role until early 1943, when it began intensive training in preparation for an overseas wartime assignment.

     That assignment came in August of 1944, when the division boarded transports in Hoboken NJ. Arriving in France several weeks later, the division went into a strategic reserve posture behind the front lines in northern France. In October of 1944, the division, led by Maj. Gen. Willard S. Paul, relieved the 4th Armored Division in the front lines in the Salonnes-Moncourt area. The division participated in the 3rd Army offensive throughout October and November, seizing amongst others Vic-sur-Seille, Marimont, Dieuze, and Sarre Union. In early December the YD was assisting in the capture of the fortified city of Metz.

     It was in Metz that the division received news of the German Ardennes offensive. Word soon came down for the division to break off from its current task, turn north and assault into the flank of the German "bulge". During this action the 26th was on the right flank of the 4th Armored Divisions famous drive to relieve Bastogne. Encountering stiff German resistance, the division seized Arsdorf on Christmas day and pushed on to cross the Wiltz river, and to seize the town of Wiltz itself.

     Following the reduction of the Bulge, the YD took up defensive positions in the ruined city of Saarlauten. Here units of the division found themselves often times in the same buildings as their counterparts in the German army. In March of 1945, the YD resumed it’s attack, and soon had reached and crossed the Rhine river at Oppenheim on the 26th of that month. With defeat now almost certain, the German army began to fall apart. The YD, along with the tanks of the 11th Armored Division, now pushed rapidly across Germany, seizing numerous towns and hamlets along the way. By the 15th of April the division had reached the 3rd Army restraining line in the vicinity of Hoff. The 26th now turned it’s attack south, pushing into Austria and assisting in the seizure of Lintz. When the war ended on May 7th, the YD had pushed to the Vlatava river in Czechoslovakia.

     The YD was credited with four campaigns during WW2; Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, and Central Europe. Casualties suffered by the division included 1850 men killed in action and 7886 men wounded. The division returned home in 1946 and again resumed duty with the Massachusetts National Guard.

     Things remained peaceful for the YD in the post war years. In 1951 the division was about to be called up again for service in the Korean war, but a public outcry arose in the state of Massachusetts. Many people felt it was unfair to the YD to be the first ones called to duty for three straight wars. The pentagon acknowledged this and instead activated the YD’s cousins in the 43rd Infantry division.

     The final chapter of the YD unfolded in 1993. With the post Gulf-War reduction of the armed forces, the old YD was slated for disbandment. It was a sad day that August when members of the division both past and present gathered at the state house in Boston for a formal deactivation ceremony. In it’s short existence the YD had fought bravely in both of America’s World Wars and served faithfully throughout the peace that followed.

*** Visit our Scrapbook with information about actual veterans of the YD***