General William C Lee
R E L A T E D
B I O S
Maj
Gen Omar N. Bradley
Gen
Matthew B Ridgway
Gen
James M Gavin
Lt Gen Lewis H Brereton
Congressional Medal
of Honor Recipients
Pfc
Charles N. DeGlopper
Pvt
John R.Towle
1st
Sgt Leonard Funk
R E L A T E D
S I T E S
USAAF Airborne Troop Carriers in World War II
Camp Claiborne, Louisiana
ETO
Cross Channel Attack (Hyperwar)
articles
R E L A T E D
A R T I C L E S
D-Day: The Paratroopers Experience
|
The 82nd
Airborne during World War II
Units
"If a man had a tent roof of calked linen 12 braccia broad and 12
braccia high, he will be able to let himself fall from any height without danger to
himself."
(Leonardo Da Vinci 1495)
 y
1941, the idea of airborne fighting increasingly gained adherents within the US military.
The German tactical concept of paratroopers being deployed by vertical envelopment as a means of
seizing enemy positions by glider or airplane until reinforcements arrived was repeatedly
proven to be an effective strategic maneuver throughout 1940. These successes prompted the U.S.Army to
accelerate their plans for airborne warfare.
Lt. Col William C. Lee (above left) ,
the "Father of the U.S. Airborne",  developed additional concepts
for the use of airborne troops through 1942. These included crossing rivers and canals, establishing
bridgeheads, attacking defended positions by landing on the flank within the enemy's perimeter and
destroying enemy supply and communication centers. These theories and concepts were formalized
by a young staff officer in Airborne Command under General Lee,
Colonel Gavin (picture right), who wrote the "Instructional Pamphlet for Airborne Operations". The U.S.Army was now
ready to use these tactics.
On August 15, 1942, the reactivated 82nd Infantry Division which was now commanded by
Major General Matthew B. Ridgway (below left) was redesignated
the 82nd Airborne Division becoming the U.S. Army's first airborne division.
At the same time, 82nd personnel also were used in
the formation of a second airborne unit - the "Screaming Eagles" of the 101st Airborne
Division.
In October 1942, the 82nd Airborne relocated their training  camp from Camp Claiborne
to Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The reorganized division consisted of the 325th & 326th Glider
Infantry Regiments along with the 319th & 320th Glider Field Artillery Battalions.On October 14,
the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment and the 376th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion were
absorbed into the 82nd. Also, the Engineer Battalion was reconstituted into two companies with
one company being designated glider and the other parachutists.
On 12 February 1943, the 326th Glider Infantry Regiment was reassigned to the 101st and
was replaced by the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment. To balance this change and permit the
organization of Regimental Combat Teams (RCT), Company B of the 307th Airborne Engineer Battalion
was converted from glider to parachute status and the 456th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion was
reassigned to the 82nd.
During World War II the 82nd Airborne Division fought under 10 Allied Armies and 19 Corps
and were called upon to perform many of the missions that Lt Col Lee had envisioned for them. These
missions ranked among the most perilous of any duties asked of America's servicemen during
World War II. Their teamwork and esprit de corps have become legendary.
The following subordinate units were a permanently assigned part of the Division
throughout World War II.
- 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment
- 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment
- 325th Glider Infantry Regiment
- 307th Airborne Engineer Battalion
- Division Headquarters and Headquarters Company
-
82nd Airborne Military Police (MP) Platoon
- 319th Glider Field Artillery Battalion
- 320th Glider Field Artillery Battalion
- 376th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion
- 456th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion
- Headquarters and Headquarters Battery Division Artillery
- 80th Airborne Anti-Aircraft Battalion
- 407th Airborne Quartermaster Company
- 307th Medical Company
- 82nd Signal Company
- 782nd Airborne Ordinance Maintenance Company
- 82nd Airborne Reconnisance Platoon
- 82nd Parachute Maintenance Company
The following units were attached to the 82nd Airborne Division for long periods
of time and are considered a vital part of the Division during it's combat period:
- 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment - (Normandy, Holland, Ardennes &
Rhineland)
- 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment - (Normandy)
- 401st Glider Infantry Regiment (2nd Battalion) - (Normandy, Holland,
Ardennes & Rhineland)
- 666th Quartermaster Truck Company - (Holland, Ardennes &
Central Europe)
books
R E L A T E D B O O K S
Badsey , Stephen & Chandler, David G (Editor)
Arnhem 1944:
Operation "Market Garden" (Campaign No.24) 1993
96p. ISBN: 1855323028
Breuer, William B Geronimo! American
Paratroopers in WWII. New York: St. Martin Press, 1989 621 p. ISBN: 0-312-03350-8
Breuer, William B Drop Zone Sicily:
Allied Airborne Strike,July 1943. Novato, CA: Presidio, c1983. 212 p. ISBN: 089 141 1968
Breuer, William B
They Jumped at Midnight Jove Publishing, (P) c1990 ISBN: 0515104256
Burriss, T Moffatt
Strike and Hold: A Memoir of the 82nd Airborne in WW II Brasseys, Inc, 256 pp August,2000 ISBN: 1574882589
D'Este, Carlo
Patton: A Genius for War 1024 pp ISBN: 0060927623
Gavin, James M.
On to Berlin : Battles of an Airborne Commander, 1943-1946 ISBN: 0670525170
Keegan, John The Second World War Penguin
(P), 708 p. ISBN: 014011341X
MacDonald, Charles B A Time For
Trumpets: The Untold Story of the Battle of the Bulge Wm Morrow & Co
(P), 720 p. ISBN: 068151574
Messina , Phillip Anzio: Song of
Destiny A.G.Halldin Publishing Company, 1992. ISBN: 0 935 64838 0
Nigl, Dr Alfred J & Charles A Nigl
Silent Wings - Savage Death Santa Ana, CA: Graphic Publishing, Dec 3,2007. 288 p. ISBN: 1882824318
O'Donnell, Patrick K. Beyond Valor
Free Press, 2001, 384 p. ISBN: 0684873842
Ruggero, Ed
Combat Jump: The Young Men who Led the Assault into Fortress Europe, July, 1943
HarperCollins, 10/21/2003. 388 p. ISBN: 0060088753
Ryan, Cornelius
The Longest Day Touchstone Books (P), 350 p. ISBN: 0671890913
Ryan, Cornelius
A Bridge Too Far 670 p. ISBN: 0684803305
The Center of Military History
The War in the Mediterranean: A WWII Pictorial History Brasseys, Inc.,
465 p. ISBN:1574881302
Verier, Mike
82nd Airborne Division in
Colour Photographs (Europa Militaria, No 9) ISBN: 187 200 4857
Wildman, John B All Americans 82nd
Airborne. Meadowlands Militaria, 6/83 ISBN:091 208 1007
|
