US Army Training Center - Yearbook (Fort Carson, CO)

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Through the 9th's efforts, the Cotentin Peninsula had been cut off. Next the Division turned north toward Cherbourg, seizing Octeville and capturing the senior army and navy commander of the Cherbourg area. By July 1, the Division had cleaned up the Cap de la Hague, Later that month, it spearheaded the St. Lo breakthrough and joined the chase which closed the Falaise Gap. Swinging eastward, the 9th moved across the Seine at Meluen to Chateau- Thierry and, on September 2, 1944, laid claim to being the first allied unil to begin the liberation of Belgium when a unit entered Momignies. On September 5, the Old Reliables crossed the Meuse River and entered Germany south of Toetgen. The months of October and November wen spent battling! through Saarlautern and hammering the German forces. A hard battle was fought near Aachen before the winter offensive or Monsehau Forest. After relieving the 99th Division, the 9th beat back the enemy's major effor in that sector. March 1945 found the Old Reliables helping the lst Division mopping up resistance in Bonn. Later that month the 9th was one of the first divisions in the Remagen bridgehead area-crossing the Wied River near Hopper. The next month it surged forward again, cutting the Cologne-Frankfurt autobahn at several points and taking the walled city of Zulpich. In per- haps its greatest test of driving power, the 9th successfully reduced the

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The Division was the first across the Rhine. The Old Reliables first went into action on November 8, 1942, when the 39th 'Regimental Combat Team landed at Algiers, the 47th Team hit the beach at Safi, Morocco and the 60th smashed into the beach at Port Lyautey, Morrocco. While the 60th was fighting at Maknassy, Tunisia, the remainder of the Division moved to El Guettar, attacking the enemy on the Gafsa-Gabes axis in order to relieve pressure on British forces to the south. In following weeks, the Division continued its steady drive toward Bizerte, On May 7, 1943, its troops rolled through the city to mop up final resistance in Tunisia. Next came Sicily, where, on August 9, it went into action at Troina. Three days lat-er, one element had reached Floresta and another had occupied Badazzo, keypoint of the enemy's last defense before Messina. The Divisio11 remained in position until August 20, when it was officially announced that the enemy had been defeated in Sicily. Leaving the island in November of 1943, the 9th went to England to train for the invasion of France, landing in Normandy on D-Day, june 6. The 39th saw action first, capturing Quinneville. Following that the Divi- sion drove across the Dueve River, reaching the east coast near St. Lo, D'Ourville and Barneville on june 17.

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Ruhr Pocket, The 9th moved into the line and thwarted a major Germany attempt to break through the pocket which had bottled up thousands of enemy troops. The Division worked constantly on shrinking the Ruhr Pocket in the closing days of the war, freeing 900 slave laborers from five countries with the capture of Sinu on the Dill River. The 9th was assigned to Ingolstadt, Germany, at war's end. Among the awards and decorations awarded to individual soldiers we five Congressional Medals of Honor, 66 Distinguished Service Crosses, 1 Legion of Merit, one Distinguished Flying Cross, 1855 Silver Stars: 2- Bronze Stars for heroismg 3570 Bronze stars for meritorious service and l Air Medals. Duing the course of the campaigns of World War II, the 9th Infan Division suffered 4581 personnel killed in action, 16,961 wounded in act. and 750 missing in action. During the war, the 9th captured approximately 130,000 prisoners. Distinguished unit citations were awarded the lst Battalion of the 39th for action on June 28, 1944, near St. Jacques de Nehoug the 2nd Batttalion of the 39th for action july 11 and 12 at Le Desert, France, the 2nd Batta- lion of the 47th for action june 21 to 26, 1944, at Cherbourg, France, and the 3rd Battalion of the 47th for action during its drive on Cherbourg and the Hague Peninsula from june 21 to 26, 1944.