10th Mountain (L)
BACKGROUND
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Birth of the Division
In November 1939, the Soviet Union
invaded Finland. Finnish soldiers on skis annihilated two
tank divisions, humiliating the Russians. Charles Minot
(Minnie) Dole, the president of the National Ski Patrol, saw
this as a perfect example of why the U.S. Army needed
mountain troops. Dole spent months lobbying the War
Department to train troops in mountain and winter warfare.
In September 1940, Dole was able to present his case to
General George C. Marshall, the Army Chief of Staff, who
caused the Army take action on Dole’s proposals to create
ski units.
On December 8, 1941, the Army
activated its first mountain unit, the 87th Mountain
Infantry Battalion (Later became an entire Regiment) at Fort
Lewis, Washington. The unit was dubbed "Minnie’s Ski Troops"
in honor of Dole. The 87th trained on Mount Ranier’s 14,408
foot peak. The National Ski Patrol took on the unique role
of recruiting for the 87th Infantry Regiment and later the
Division. After returning from the Kiska Campaign in the
Aleutian Islands near Alaska the 87th formed the core of the
new Division.
10th Mountain Division - World War II
This unique organization came into
being on July 13, 1943, at Camp Hale, Colorado as the 10th
Light Division (Alpine). The combat power of the Division
was contained in the 85th, 86th, and 87th Infantry
Regiments. The Division’s year training at the 9,200 foot
high Camp Hale honed the skills of its soldiers to fight and
survive under the most brutal mountain conditions.
On June 22, 1944, the Division was
shipped to Camp Swift, Texas to prepare for the Louisiana
maneuvers of 1944, which were later canceled. A period of
acclimation to a low altitude and hot climate was necessary
to prepare for this training.
On November 6, 1944, the 10th
Division was redesignated the 10th Mountain Division. That
same month the blue and white "Mountain" tab was authorized.
Combat - 1945
The division entered combat on
January 28, 1945 in the North Apennine Mountains of Italy.
The division faced German positions arrayed along the 5 mile
long Monte Belvedere-Monte della Torraccia ridge. Other
divisions had attempted to assault Mount Belvedere three
times, even holding it temporarily, but none had succeeded.
To get to Mount Belvedere the division first had to take a
ridge line to the west known to the Americans as the Riva
Ridge. The Germans on Riva Ridge protected the approaches to
Mount Belvedere. The assault on Riva Ridge was the task of
the 1st Battalion and F Company, 2d Battalion, 86th Mountain
Infantry. After much scouting, it was decided the assault
would be at night, a 1,500-vertical-assent. The Germans
considered the ridge to be impossible to scale and manned it
with only one battalion of mountain troops. The attack by
the 86th on February 18, 1945, was a complete success and an
unwelcome surprise to the Germans.
Mount Belvedere was assaulted next.
Belvedere was heavily manned and protected with minefields.
Shortly after the 86th assault on the Riva Ridge, the 85th
and 87th Regiments made a bayonet attack without covering
artillery fire on Belvedere beginning on February 19th.
Again the surprise of the assault was successful and after a
hard fight, the peak was captured. Realizing the importance
of the peak, the Germans made seven counterattacks over two
days. After the first three days of intense combat, the
division lost 850 casualties to include 195 dead. The 10th
had captured over 1,000 prisoners. The 10th was now in a
position to breach the German's Apennine Mountain line, take
Highway 65 and open the way to the Po Valley.
On April 14, 1945, the final phase
of the war in Italy began. With the 85th and 87th leading,
the 10th Mountain Division attacked toward the Po Valley
spearheading the Fifth Army drive. The fighting was fierce
with the loss of 553 mountain infantryman killed, wounded,
or missing in the first day.
Medal of Honor - Private First Class
John D. Magrath - April 14, 1945
On April 14th, Private First
Class John D. Magrath, from East Norwalk, Connecticut,
assigned to Company G, 2d Battalion 85th Infantry, became
the division's only Medal of Honor recipient. His company
was pinned down by heavy artillery, mortar and small-arms
fire near Castel d’ Aiano, Italy. Shortly after the company
had crossed the line of departure, it came under intense
enemy fire and the company commander, Captain Halvorson was
killed. Volunteering to accompany the acting commander with
a small reconnaissance party moving on Hill 909, radioman
Magrath set out with the group. After going only a few
yards, the party was pinned down. But instead of flopping to
the ground as the others had done, Magrath, armed only with
his M-1 Garand, charged ahead and disappeared around the
corner of a house. Coming face to face with two Germans
manning a machine gun, Magrath killed one and forced the
other to surrender. Five more of the enemy emerged from
their foxholes, firing at Magrath and retreating toward
their own lines. Discarding his rifle in favor of the
deadlier German MG-34 machine gun, Magrath mowed down the
fleeing enemy, killing one and wounding three. He then saw
another German position, moved forward, and exchanged fire
until he had killed two and wounded three and captured their
weapon. The rest of Company G followed his lead with amazed
admiration. Later that day, Magrath volunteered to run
through heavy shelling to gather a casualty report. As he
was crossing an open field, two mortar rounds landed at his
feet, killing him instantly. John Magrath, age nineteen, was
awarded the Medal of Honor, posthumously.
In June 1995, Fort Drum, New York
renamed its Soldiers Sports Complex as the John D. Magrath
Gymnasium. A plaque and portrait at Magrath Gym honor his
memory.
Crossing the Po, Lake Garda, War’s
End
Early on April 20th, the seventh day
of the attack, the first units of the 85th Infantry Regiment
broke out into Po Valley. Five days of attack had cost 1,283
casualties. With the German’s mountain line broken, the next
objective was to cross the Po River.
On the morning of April 23rd, the
10th was the first division to reach the Po River. The first
battalion of the 87th Mountain Infantry, the original
mountain infantry unit, made the crossing under fire in 50
light canvas assault boats.
The final combat for the 10th
Division took place in the vicinity of Lake Garda, a canyon
lake at the foothills of the Alps. On April 27, 1945, the
first troops reached the south end of the lake, cutting off
the German Army’s main escape route to the Brenner Pass. The
drive was delayed by destroyed tunnels and road blocks.
Using amphibious DUKWs, these obstacles were bypassed and
the towns of Riva and Tarbole at the head of the lake were
captured. Organized resistance in Italy ended on May 2,
1945.
The 10th completely destroyed
five elite German divisions. In 114 days of combat, the 10th
Division suffered casualties of 992 killed in action and
4,154 wounded.
Since the 10th Mountain Division was
one of the last to enter combat, it was to be used in the
projected invasion of Japan. These plans ended with the
surrender of Japan in August 1945. After a brief tour of
duty in the Army of Occupation in Italy, the 10th was sent
to Camp Carson, Colorado. There on 30 November 1945, the
10th Mountain Division was disbanded.
Postwar Growth of Skiing
Veterans of the 10th Mountain
Division were in a large part responsible for the
development of skiing into a big name sport and popular
vacation industry after World War II. Ex-soldiers from the
10th laid out ski hills, built ski lodges, designed ski
lifts and improved ski equipment. They started ski magazines
and opened ski schools. Vail, Aspen, Sugarbush, Crystal
Mountain, and Whiteface Mountain are but a few of the ski
resorts built by 10th Mountain veterans.
10th Infantry Division 1948-1958
To meet the Army’s requirements to
train large numbers of replacements the 10th was reactivated
as a training division on July 1, 1948, at Fort Riley,
Kansas. It didn’t retain its wartime designation as a
Mountain Division and as result lost its "Mountain" tab. The
Division had the mission of processing and training new
soldiers for service with other Army units. The outbreak of
the Korean Conflict in June 1950, enlarged this mission. A
total of 123,000 men completed basic training with the 10th
during the period 1948-1953.
In January 1954, the
Department of Army
announced that the 10th Division
would become a combat infantry division, and be sent to
Europe under a new rotation policy. The 10th Training
Division was reduced to zero strength in May 1954. The
personnel and equipment of the 37th Infantry Division were
brought to Fort Riley, and on June 15, 1954, became the new
10th Infantry Division. In what became known as Operation
Gyroscope, the 10th replaced the 1st Infantry Division in
Germany. The headquarters of the 10th Division was located
in Wurzburg, with all units stationed within a 75 miles
radius. Stretched in an arc, from Frankfurt to Nurenburg,
the 10th occupied a strategic center position in the NATO
defense forces. With 9 Infantry Battalions, 4 Artillery
Battalions, and one Tank Battalion, the 10th Infantry
Division was a powerful military force. The 10th Division
was in turn replaced in Germany by the 3rd Infantry Division
in 1958. The 10th was then sent to Fort Benning, Georgia and
inactivated on June 14, 1958.
10th Mountain Division (Light
Infantry) - 1985 to Present
The Division was officially
reactivated on February 13, 1985, at Fort Drum, New York as
the 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry). The division
commander after reactivation was Brigadier General William
S. Carpenter. The 10th was the first division of any kind
formed by the Army since 1975 and the first based in the
Northeast US since World War II. The 10th Mountain Division
(LI) was designed to meet a wide range of worldwide
infantry-intensive contingency missions. Equipment design
was oriented toward reduced size and weight for reasons of
both strategic and tactical mobility.
Desert Shield/Storm 1990-1991
Although the 10th didn’t deploy to
Southwest Asia as a unit, about 1,200 10th Mountain Division
soldiers did go. The largest unit to deploy was the 548th
Supply and Services Battalion with almost 1,000 soldiers,
which supported the 24th Mechanized Infantry Division in
Iraq. Following a cease-fire in March, the first Division
soldiers began redeploying to Fort Drum. The last soldiers
were welcomed home in June 1991.
Hurricane Andrew Relief - Florida
1992
Hurricane Andrew struck South
Florida on August 24, 1992, killing 13 people, rendering an
estimated 250,000 people homeless and causing damages in
excess of 20 billion dollars. On September 27, 1992, the
10th Mountain Division assumed responsibility for Hurricane
Andrew disaster relief as Task Force Mountain. Division
soldiers set up relief camps, distributed food, clothing,
medical necessities and building supplies as well as helping
to rebuild homes and clear debris. The last of the 6,000
Division soldiers to deployed to Florida returned home in
October 1992.
Somalia 1992-94
Operation Restore Hope
- December 1992 to May 1993. On December 3, 1993, the
Division headquarters was designated as the headquarters for
all Army Forces (ARFOR) of the Unified Task Force (UNITAF)
for Operation Restore Hope. Major General Steven L. Arnold,
the Division Commander, was named Army Forces commander. The
Division’s mission was to secure major cities and roads to
provide safe passage of relief supplies to the starving
Somali population. Due to 10th Mountain Division efforts,
humanitarian agencies declared an end to the food emergency
and factional fighting decreased. A Company, 41st Engineer
Battalion built a 160 foot Bailey bridge north of Kismayo.
It was the largest Bailey bridge built outside the U.S.
since the Vietnam War. Beginning in mid February 1993, the
Division began the gradual reduction of forces in Somalia.
Operation Continue Hope
- May 1993 - March 1994. On 4 May, the UN assumed the task
of securing the flow of relief supplies in Somalia. All
remaining Division units in Somalia came under the control
of a new headquarters, United Nations Operations in Somalia
(UNOSOM II).
2-14th Infantry Battalion Aids
Rangers - 3-4 October 1993
On 3 October, Special Operations
Task Force Ranger (TFR) conducted a daylight raid on an
enemy stronghold, deep in militia-held Mogadishu. The
Rangers had successfully captured some of warlord Mohammed
Farah Aidid’s key aides but went to the aid of an aircraft
shot down by enemy fire. They were quickly surrounded by
Somali gunmen. The 2-14th Infantry quick reaction force
(QRF) was dispatched to secure the ground evacuation route.
As darkness fell, the 2-14th Infantry was reinforced with
coalition armor and for three hours they fought a moving gun
battle from the gates of the Port to the Olympic Hotel and
the Ranger perimeter. The 2-14th was successful in linking
up with the Rangers and began withdrawal under fire along a
route secured by Pakistani forces. As dawn broke over the
city the exhausted soldiers marched, rode, and stumbled into
the protective Pakistani enclave at city stadium. For 2-14th
soldiers, the ordeal had lasted over twelve hours. The
2-14th had a total of twenty-nine soldiers wounded and one
killed. One 41st Engineer Battalion soldier, attached to
2-14, was injured in the firefight and later died of his
wounds in a hospital in Lanstuhl, Germany. Task Force Ranger
suffered nineteen killed, fifty-seven wounded, and one
missing (captured, later returned alive). Estimates of
Somali militia losses were three hundred killed and over
seven hundred wounded. With six and a half hours of
continuous fighting, this was the longest sustained
firefight by regular US forces since the Vietnam War.
The last divisional combat unit
stationed in Somalia, 2d Battalion, 22d Infantry returned
home March 12, 1994. In all, some 7,300 soldiers from the
10th served in Somalia.
Operation Uphold Democracy - Haiti
1994-95
The Division formed the nucleus of
the Multinational Force Haiti (MNF Haiti) and Joint Task
Force 190 (JTF 190) in Haiti during Operation Uphold
Democracy. The MNF-Haiti was the US led coalition force in
Haiti which included soldiers from 20 nations. More than
8,600 of the almost 21,000 troops in Haiti wore the 10th
Mountain Division patch.
At 0930 hours, on 19 September 1994,
the Division’s 1st Brigade conducted the Army’s first air
assault from an aircraft carrier. This force consisted of 54
helicopters and almost 2,000 soldiers. They occupied the
Port-au-Prince International Airport. This was the largest
Army air operation conducted from a carrier since the
Doolittle Raid in World War II, where Army Air Force bombers
were launched off of a carrier to attack Tokyo.
The Division’s mission was to create
a secure and stable environment under which the legitimate
government of Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide could
be reestablished and democratic elections held. The final
step in preparing for Aristide’s return from exile occurred
early on October 13th, when General Cedras, his family and
members his de-facto government left the country for Panama.
When President Aristide returned to the Port-au-Prince
International Airport on October 15, 1994, his security was
provide courtesy of the 10th Mountain Division.
The 10th Mountain Division handed
over control of the MNF-Haiti to the 25th Infantry Division
on January 15, 1995. The Division redeployed the last of
more than 8,600 Division soldiers who served in Haiti by
January 31, 1995.
Operation Joint Guard - Bosnia 1997
The 642d Engineer Company deployed
for Bosnia on March 18, 1997 for a 6 month tour constructing
and maintaining roads and base camps. Two companies of the
2d Battalion, 14th Infantry deployed for Bosnia a day later.
B Company’s mission is to defend a critical bridge site, C
Company’s mission is to act as the theater reserve.
Task Force Eagle - 1998-2000
In the fall of 1998, the division
received notice that it would be serving as senior
headquarters of Task Force Eagle, providing a peacekeeping
force to support the ongoing operation within the
Multi-National Division-North area of responsibility in
Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Preparations began immediately for
Stabilization Force 6. While division staff began planning,
soldiers began training. The division split into two
operations: Task Force Drum-for those remaining in the North
Country-and Task Force Eagle, set to deploy to Bosnia.
Warfighting skills remained the focus of the division's
training.
In preparation for the Bosnia
assignment, four major events were staged in 1999, including
an SFOR6 conference in Tuzla, Bosnia; a deployment exercise
at Fort Drum as a rehearsal; a conference at Fort Drum and
Fort Hood, and an inter-theater rehearsal by some staff
members, with other units in Bosnia.
Selected division units began
deploying in late summer, to link up with their commander,
Maj. Gen. James L. Campbell, who had preceded his soldiers
to Bosnia. Approximately 3,000 division soldiers deployed.
Meanwhile at Fort Drum, every effort was made to ensure the
safety and care of soldiers and families remaining at home.
After successfully performing their
mission in Bosnia, the division units conducted a Transfer
of Authority, relinquishing their assignments to soldiers of
the 49th Armored Division, Texas National Guard. By early
summer 2000, all 10th Mountain Division soldiers had
returned safely to Fort Drum.
After adding humanitarian, training
and operational deployments together, the 10th Mountain
Division (LI) had earned the distinction of being the most
deployed Army division during the 1990s, a period which had
seen the greatest number of missions for United States
military forces-reserve and active-since the end of World
War II.
Working Towards the Future-JCF-AWE
2000
The Joint Contingency Force-Advanced
Warfighting Experiment (JCF-AWE) wrapped up in September
2000 when soldiers from the division's 1st Brigade
successfully completed the nearly month-long exercise at
Fort Polk's Joint Readiness Training Center.
The JCF-AWE was designed to improve,
demonstrate and validate the enhanced lethality, agility and
effectiveness of combat systems on future battlefields by
focusing on three major goals:
- Expand the commanders'
situational awareness through digitized command and
control, enhanced communications, and improved
interoperability between systems, processes and
procedures;
- Enhance military operations in
urban and complex environments; and,
- Improve the ability of military
forces to plan and conduct forced and early-entry
operations.
These goals were met by integrating
dozens of new technological initiatives such as digitized
communication systems, unmanned aerial vehicles, and
thermal-sighted weapons.
In less than a year's time the
brigade soldiers received basic technical instruction on the
new technology, and they then learned how to put these
systems to use in tactical, combat situations. Again
division soldiers had a unique experience: Helping to mold
the future of the infantry.
During the 2000 presidential
election, the readiness of the 10th Mountain Division became
a political issue when George W. Bush asserted that the
division was "not ready for duty." He attributed the
division's low readiness to the frequent deployments
throughout the 1990s without time in between for division
elements to retrain and refit. A report from the US General
Accounting Office in July 2000 also noted that although the
entire 10th Mountain Division was not deployed to the
contingencies at once, "deployment of key
components—especially headquarters—makes these divisions
unavailable for deployment elsewhere in case of a major
war". Conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation agreed
with these sentiments, charging that the US military overall
was not prepared for war due to post-Cold War drawdowns of
the US Military. The Army responded that, though the 10th
Mountain Division had been unprepared following its
deployment as Task Force Eagle, that the unit was fully
prepared for combat by late 2000 despite being undermanned.
Still, the Army moved the 10th Mountain Division down on the
deployment list, allowing it time to retrain and refit.
In 2002, columnist and highly decorated military veteran
David Hackworth again criticized the 10th Mountain Division
for being unprepared due to lack of training, low physical
fitness, unprepared leadership and low morale. He said the
division was no longer capable of mountain warfare.
Initial deployments
Following the 11 September 2001 attacks, elements of the
division, including its special troops battalion and the
1-87th Infantry deployed to Afghanistan as part of Operation
Enduring Freedom in late 2001. These forces remained in the
country until mid-2002, fighting to secure remote areas of
the country and participating in prominent operations such
as Operation Anaconda, the Fall of Mazar-i-Sharif, and the
Battle of Qala-i-Jangi. The division also participated in
fighting in the Shahi Khot Valley in 2002. Upon the return
of the battalions, they were welcomed home and praised by
President Bush.
In 2003, the division's headquarters, along with the 1st
Brigade, returned to Afghanistan. During that time, they
operated in the frontier regions of the country such as
Paktika Province, going places previously untouched by the
war in search of Taliban and Al-Qaeda forces. Fighting in
several small-scale conflicts such as Operation Avalanche,
Operation Mountain Resolve, and Operation Mountain Viper,
the division maintained a strategy of small units moving
through remote regions of the country to interact directly
with the population and drive out insurgents. The 1st
Brigade also undertook a number of humanitarian missions.
In 2003 and into 2004, the division's aviation brigade
deployed for the first time to Afghanistan. As the only
aviation brigade in the theater, the brigade provided air
support for all US Army units operating in the country. The
brigade's mission at that time focused on close air support,
medevac missions, and other duties involving combat with
Taliban and Al-Qaeda forces in the country. The brigade
returned to Fort Drum in 2004.
Reorganization and Iraq deployments
Upon the return of the division headquarters and 1st
Brigade, the 10th Mountain Division began the process of
transformation into a modular division. On 16 September
2004, the division headquarters finished its transformation,
adding the 10th Mountain Division Special Troops Battalion.
The 1st Brigade became the 1st Brigade Combat Team, while
the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division was
activated for the first time. In January 2005, the 4th
Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division was activated at
Fort Polk, Louisiana. 2nd Brigade Combat Team would not be
transformed until September 2005, pending a deployment to
Iraq.
In late 2004, 2nd Brigade Combat Team was deployed to Iraq
supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. The 2nd Brigade Combat
Team undertook combat operations in western Baghdad, an area
of responsibility which included Abu Ghraib, Monsour, and
Route Irish. It returned to the US in late 2005. Around that
time, the 1st Brigade Combat Team deployed back to Iraq,
staying in the country until 2006.
Recent deployments
The division headquarters, 3rd Brigade Combat Team and two
Battalion Task Forces from the 4th Brigade Combat Team
deployed to Afghanistan in 2006, staying in the country
until 2007. The division and brigade served in the eastern
region of the country, along the border with Pakistan,
fulfilling a similar role as it did during its previous
deployment. During this time, the deployment of the brigade
was extended along with that of the 4th Brigade, 82nd
Airborne Division. It was eventually replaced by the 173rd
Airborne Brigade Combat Team which was rerouted from Iraq.
In winter 2006 the 10th Aviation Brigade, 10th Mountain
Division, was deployed again to Afghanistan to support
Operation Enduring Freedom as the only aviation brigade in
the theater, stationed at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan.
Named "Task Force Falcon," the brigade's mission was to
conduct aviation operations to destroy insurgents and
anti-coalition militia in an effort to help build the Afghan
National Security Force's capability and allow the Afghan
government to increase its capabilities. In addition, the
Task Force provided logistical and combat support for
International Security Assistance Force forces throughout
the country.
After a one-year rest, the headquarters of the 10th Mountain
Division was deployed to Iraq for the first time in April
2008. The division headquarters served as the command
element for southern Baghdad until late March 2009, when it
displaced to Basrah to replace departing British forces on
31 March 2009 to coordinate security for the Multinational
Division-South area of responsibility, a consolidation of
the previously Polish-led south central and British-led
southeast operational areas. The 10th Mountain Division
headquarters transferred authority for MND-S to the 34th
Infantry Division, Minnesota Army National Guard on 20 May
2009.
The 4th BCT operated in Northeast Baghdad under the 4th
Infantry Division headquarters from November 2007 until
January 2009. The 10th Mountain participated in larger scale
operations such as Operation Phantom Phoenix.
The 3rd Brigade Combat Team was slated to deploy to Iraq in
2009, but that deployment was rerouted. In January 2009, the
3rd BCT instead deployed to Kunar,Logar and Wardak, eastern
Afghanistan to relieve the 101st Airborne Division, as part
of a new buildup of US forces in that country. The brigade
was responsible for expanding Forward Operating Bases and
Combat OutPosts or "COPS" in the region, as well as
strengthening US military presence in the region in
preparation for additional US forces to arrive.
The 2nd Brigade Combat Team is scheduled to deploy to Iraq
in the fall of 2009, as a part of the 2009–2010 rotation to
Iraq. The 1st Brigade Combat Team was scheduled to deploy to
Iraq in late 2009, but deployed instead to Afghanistan in
March 2010.
The 3rd Brigade Combat Team deployed to Afghanistan in March
2011 and came back
The 4th Brigade Combat Team deployed to Regional Command
East, under the 101st Airborne Division from October 2010
and returned in October 2011.
Assignment to Ft. Drum and the 10th Mountain Division is a
widely sought-after posting in the U.S. Army, and has been
since the return of the Division to the Army's rolls in
1985.
Honors
The 10th Mountain Division was awarded two campaign
streamers in World War II and four campaign streamers in the
War on Terrorism for a total of six campaign streamers and
two unit decorations in its operational history. Note that
some of the division's brigades received more or fewer
decorations depending on their individual deployments.
Division Shoulder Patch
The shoulder patch for the 10th was
approved on January 7, 1944. The blue background of the
patch and the crossed bayonets suggest the infantry, the
bayonets also form a Roman number "X" (10) representing the
unit’s number. The overall shape of the patch is of a
powder-keg suggesting the Division’s explosive power. Red,
white, and blue suggest the national colors. The word
"MOUNTAIN" is white on a blue tab affixed directly above the
patch.
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