Originally redesignated in 1917, (having formerly been 9th Division),
and nicknamed 'Old Hickory' and with recruits drawn from
North & South Carolina, Tennessee & Virginia,
the 30th Infantry Division entered France in the Great War,
in May 1918 and joined the British Expeditionary Force (BEF).
Seeing extensive combat on The Western Front
including on The Hindenburg Line and along the St Quentin Canal,
sadly, the Division lost 1,237 officers & men in just 3 months.
Re-activated in World War Two, after a further 2 years of training in the US,
the 30th was despatched to Europe
arriving the UK in February 1944 ready for the D-Day Landings.
Entering France via the American 'Omaha' Beach on D-Day+5,
the 30th went straight into action at St Lo as part of the Allied breakout of Normandy.
Tragically a friendly fire incident involving
USAAF B. 24 Liberators & B.17 Flying Fortress
carpet-bombing the locale in support, accidentally killed 100 of the 30th's infantrymen.
.
However regrouping as a Division, the 30th advanced eastward through August,
entering Belgium, crossing the Meuse River in September,
and capturing, first Masstricht then Aachen, in October 1944.
After a brief rest period, they were thrown in to
Battle of the Bulge
coming face-to-face with the might of the
SS-Leibstandarte 'Adolf Hitler' Division
which they managed to repulse after heavy fighting..
Pausing to rest & refit, the 30th Inf. Div. then launched back into action again in January 1945
and on March 24th crossed the Rhine into Germany,
taking Braunschweig on April 12th and Magdeburg April 17th 1945,
then liberating the subcamps of Buchenwald concentration camp some day later.
After a short period on Occupation duties, the 30th Division returned
to the US in August 1945 after 11 months in combat
,
having suffered the loss of 3,003 officers killed-in-action.