History
The 4th Infantry Division is a division of the United States Army based at Fort Carson, Colorado.
The 4th Division was reactivated on 1 June 1940 at Fort Benning, Georgia, under the command of Major General Walter Prosser. The division was brought to full strength first by voluntary enlistments, and after the passage of the Selective Training and Service Act, the assignment of 5,300 draftees in February and March 1941, who primarily hailed from New York, New Jersey, and Delaware.
Once in England the 4th Infantry Division became absorbed in "an incredible degree of rugged and realistic training" for the amphibious assault on continental Europe. It was during the final dress rehearsal for the D-Day landings, Exercise Tiger, that the division would actually suffer its greatest losses in connection with the D-Day landings. German E-boats infiltrated the exercise area and torpedoed several of the landing ships, killing at least 749 of the force. The incident was little acknowledged until long after the war.
The 4th Infantry Division assaulted the northern coast of German-held France during the Normandy landings, landing at Utah Beach, 6 June 1944. The 8th Infantry Regiment of the 4th Infantry Division claimed being the first surface-borne Allied unit (as opposed to the parachutist formations that were air-dropped earlier) to hit the beaches at Normandy on D-Day, 6 June 1944.
The 4th Division was reactivated on 1 June 1940 at Fort Benning, Georgia, under the command of Major General Walter Prosser. The division was brought to full strength first by voluntary enlistments, and after the passage of the Selective Training and Service Act, the assignment of 5,300 draftees in February and March 1941, who primarily hailed from New York, New Jersey, and Delaware.
Once in England the 4th Infantry Division became absorbed in "an incredible degree of rugged and realistic training" for the amphibious assault on continental Europe. It was during the final dress rehearsal for the D-Day landings, Exercise Tiger, that the division would actually suffer its greatest losses in connection with the D-Day landings. German E-boats infiltrated the exercise area and torpedoed several of the landing ships, killing at least 749 of the force. The incident was little acknowledged until long after the war.
The 4th Infantry Division assaulted the northern coast of German-held France during the Normandy landings, landing at Utah Beach, 6 June 1944. The 8th Infantry Regiment of the 4th Infantry Division claimed being the first surface-borne Allied unit (as opposed to the parachutist formations that were air-dropped earlier) to hit the beaches at Normandy on D-Day, 6 June 1944.
Featured Missions
| Campaign | Mission |
|---|---|
| Operation Overlord | Utah Beach |