The 78th Training Division (Operations) ("Lightning"

The subordinate infantry regiments of the division held their summer training primarily with the units of the 1st Infantry Brigade. Other units, such as the special troops, artillery, engineers, aviation, medical, and quartermaster, usually trained at various posts in the Second and Third Corps Areas also with other units of the 1st Division. For example, the division’s artillery units trained with the 7th Field Artillery at Pine Camp, New York; the 303rd Engineer Regiment usually trained with the 1st Engineer Regiment at Fort DuPont, Delaware; the 303rd Medical Regiment trained with the 1st Medical Regiment at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania; and the 303rd Observation Squadron trained with the 5th Observation Squadron at Mitchel Field, New York. In addition to the unit training camps, the infantry regiments of the division rotated responsibility for conducting the infantry CMTC held at Camp Dix each year. On a number of occasions, the division participated in Second Corps Area or First Army command post exercises in conjunction with other Regular Army, National Guard, and Organized Reserve units. These training events gave division staff officers’ opportunities to practice the roles they would be expected to perform in the event the division was mobilized. Unlike the Regular Army and National Guard units in the First Corps Area, the 78th Division did not participate in the Second Corps Area maneuvers and the First Army maneuvers of 1935, 1939, and 1940 as an organized unit due to lack of enlisted personnel and equipment. Instead, the officers and a few enlisted reservists were assigned to Regular Army and National Guard units to fill vacant slots and bring the units up to war strength for the exercises. Additionally, some were assigned duties as umpires or as support personnel.

Order of battle, 1939

  • Headquarters (Newark, NJ)
  • Headquarters, Special Troops (Newark, NJ)
  • Headquarters Company (Newark, NJ)
  • 78th Military Police Company (Newark, NJ)
  • 78th Signal Company (Newark, NJ)
  • 303rd Ordnance Company (Medium) (Newark, NJ)
  • 78th Tank Company (Light) (Newark, NJ)
  • 155th Infantry Brigade (Englewood, NJ)
  • 309th Infantry Regiment (Camden, NJ)
  • 310th Infantry Regiment (Englewood, NJ)
  • 156th Infantry Brigade (Newark, NJ)
  • 311th Infantry Regiment (Elizabeth, NJ)
  • 312th Infantry Regiment (Newark, NJ)
  • 153rd Field Artillery Brigade (Englewood, NJ)
  • 307th Field Artillery Regiment (75 mm) (Trenton, NJ)
  • 308th Field Artillery Regiment (75 mm) (Hoboken, NJ)
  • 309th Field Artillery Regiment (155 mm) (Brooklyn, NY)
  • 303rd Ammunition Train (Trenton, NJ)
  • 303rd Engineer Regiment (Paterson, NJ)
  • 303rd Medical Regiment (Newark, NJ)
  • 403rd Quartermaster Regiment (Newark, NJ)

World War II

Before Organized Reserve infantry divisions were ordered into active military service, they were reorganized on paper as "triangular" divisions under the 1940 tables of organization. The headquarters companies of the two infantry brigades were consolidated into the division's cavalry reconnaissance troop, and one infantry regiment was removed by inactivation. The field artillery brigade headquarters and headquarters battery became the headquarters and headquarters battery of the division artillery. Its three field artillery regiments were reorganized into four battalions; one battalion was taken from each of the two 75 mm gun regiments to form two 105 mm howitzer battalions, the brigade's ammunition train was reorganized as the third 105 mm howitzer battalion, and the 155 mm howitzer battalion was formed from the 155 mm howitzer regiment. The engineer, medical, and quartermaster regiments were reorganized into battalions. In 1942, divisional quartermaster battalions were split into ordnance light maintenance companies and quartermaster companies, and the division's headquarters and military police company, which had previously been a combined unit, was split.

The 78th Infantry Division was reorganized effective 20 February 1942, and was ordered into active military service on 15 August 1942 and reorganized at Camp Butner, North Carolina, and concurrently redesignated as Headquarters, 78th Infantry Division. It was designated as a replacement pool division on 1 October 1942, and remained in this assignment until 1 March 1943, when the 78th Division was restored to field duty, and to its training regimen. 78th Division moved to the Carolina Maneuver Area on 15 November 1943 to test its training, and then returned to Camp Butner on 7 December 1943. The personnel then went on Christmas leave, and deployed to the Tennessee Maneuver Area on 25 January 1944, where they participated in the 5th Second Army Tennessee Maneuvers. They then moved to Camp Pickett, Virginia, where they filled their TO&E, (table of organization and equipment), then deployed to the staging area at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, on 4 October 1944.

After two years as a training division, the 78th embarked for the European Theatre from the New York POE on 14 October 1944, whereupon they sailed for England. They arrived on 26 October 1944, and after further training crossed to France on 22 November 1944.

After landing in France, the division moved to Tongeren, Belgium, on 27 November 1944, and to Roetgen, Germany, on 7 December 1944, to prepare for combat. The 311th Infantry Regiment was attached to the US 8th Infantry Division in the Hurtgen Forest, 10 December. The 309th and 310th Infantry Regiments relieved elements of the 1st Division in the line in the vicinity of Entenpfuhl, 1–12 December. On the 13th these regiments smashed into Simmerath, Witzerath, and Bickerath and were fighting for Kesternich when Gerd von Rundstedt launched his counteroffensive in the Monschau area, on 18 December.

The 78th held the area it had taken from the Siegfried Line against German attacks throughout the winter. The Division attacked, 30 January 1945, and took Kesternich, 2 February, the town of Schmidt on the 8th, and captured intact the vital Schwammanauel Dam the next day. In the advance, the Roer River was crossed, 28 February, and the division joined the offensive of the First and Ninth Armies toward the Rhine. That river was crossed over the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen, 8 March, by the 310th Regiment, the first troops to cross in the wake of the 9th Armored Division. That unit, attached to the 9th Armored and acting as a motorized unit had driven across Germany capturing Euskirchen, Rheinbach, and Bad Neuenahr. The 78th expanded the bridgehead, taking Honnef and cutting part of the Autobahn, 16 March. From 2 April to 8 May, the division was active in the reduction of the Ruhr Pocket and at VE-day was stationed near Marburg. In mid-November 1945 the division relieved the 82nd Airborne Division on occupation duty in Berlin. In May 1946, the 3rd Inf Regiment was moved to Berlin and on 15 June, it took over the Berlin Military District from the division.

The 78th Infantry Division was subsequently inactivated at Berlin on 16 June 1946. The division's infantry regiments were also inactivated as follows:

309th Infantry Regiment between 15 Apr – May 22, 1946, in Germany;

310th Infantry Regiment on 15 Jun 1946, at Berlin;

311th Infantry Regiment on 22 May 1946, in Germany. The division remained on occupation duty in Germany until it was inactivated on 22 May 1946.

right|thumb|On parade in Berlin, 8 May 1946

World War II order of battle

  • Headquarters, 78th Infantry Division
  • 309th Infantry Regiment
  • 310th Infantry Regiment
  • 311th Infantry Regiment
  • Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 78th Infantry Division Artillery
  • 307th Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm)
  • 308th Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm)
  • 309th Field Artillery Battalion (155 mm)
  • 903rd Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm)
  • 303rd Engineer Combat Battalion
  • 303rd Medical Battalion
  • 78th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop (Mechanized)

thumb|right|Triangular Division example: 1942 U.S. infantry division.

  • Headquarters, Special Troops, 78th Infantry Division
  • Headquarters Company, 78th Infantry Division
  • 778th Ordnance Light Maintenance Company
  • 78th Quartermaster Company
  • 78th Signal Company
  • Military Police Platoon
  • Band
  • 78th Counterintelligence Corps Detachment
  • Attachments
  • 552nd Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion (AW) 20 December 1944 – after VE day
  • 628th Tank Destroyer Battalion 19 December 1944 – 23 December 1944
  • 709th Tank Battalion 10 December 1944 – 25 January 1945
  • 736th Tank Battalion 25 January 1945 – 1 February 1945
  • 774th Tank Battalion 3 February 1945 – 24 February 1945
  • 817th Tank Destroyer Battalion 1 December 1944 – 6 December 1944
  • 893rd Tank Destroyer Battalion 11 December 1944 – after VE day

Assignments in European Theater of Operations

  • 9 November 1944: Ninth Army, 12th Army Group.
  • 28 November 1944: XIX Corps
  • 5 December 1944: V Corps, First Army, 12th Army Group.
  • 18 December 1944: VII Corps.
  • 20 December 1944: Attached, with the entire First Army, to the British 21st Army Group.
  • 22 December 1944: XIX Corps, Ninth Army (attached to the British 21st Army Group), 12th Army Group.
  • 2 February 1945: V Corps, First Army, 12th Army Group.
  • 3 February 1945: XVIII (Abn) Corps.
  • 12 February 1945: III Corps.
  • 16 March 1945: VII Corps.
  • 3 April 1945: XVIII (Abn) Corps.
  • 19 April 1945: First Army, 12th Army Group.
  • 22 May 1946: Deactivated

Summary

  • Called into federal service: 15 August 1942.
  • Overseas: 14 October 1944.
  • Campaigns: Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe.
  • Days of combat: 125.
  • Distinguished Unit Citations: 4.
  • Commanders: Maj. Gen. Edwin P. Parker Jr. (August 1942 – November 1945), Maj. Gen. Ray W. Barker (January 1946 to inactivation).
  • Inactivated: 22 May 1946 in Europe.

World War II individual awards

One Medal of Honor recipient (Jonah Edward Kelley, of the 311th Infantry); ten Distinguished Service Crosses; 599 Silver Star medals; 3,909 Bronze Star medals and 5,454 Purple Hearts. 1,368 officers and enlisted men had perished.

Casualties

  • Total battle casualties: 8,146
  • Killed in action: 1,427
  • 31px 78th Training Division, at the Fort Dix entity of Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst (NJ)
  • Mission Training Complex (MTC), at the Fort Dix entity of Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst (NJ)
  • 2nd Mission Command Training Detachment (MCTD), at the Fort Dix entity of Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst (NJ)
  • 3rd Battalion, 318th Regiment (Observe/Controller Trainer — OC/T), at Fort Meade (MD)
  • Charlie Company, 3rd Battalion, 318th Infantry Regiment (Observe/Controller Trainer — OC/T), in Coraopolis (PA)
  • 2nd Brigade, at Naval Station Newport (RI)
  • 1st Mission Command Training Detachment (MCTD), at Naval Station Newport (RI)
  • 2nd Mission Command Training Detachment (MCTD), in Danbury (CT)
  • 1st Branch, 2nd MCTD, in Coraopolis (PA)
  • 2nd Battalion, 311th Regiment (Observe/Controller Trainer — OC/T), at Fort Bragg (NC)

! Streamer

! Year(s)

|-

| rowspan="3" | World War I <br> 150px

|| St. Mihiel

|| 1918

|-

|| Meuse-Argonne

|| 1918

|-

|| Lorraine

|| 1918

|-

| rowspan="3" | World War II <br> 150px<br> 150px

|| Rhineland

|| 1944

|-

|| Ardennes-Alsace

|| 1944

|-

|| Central Europe

|| 1945

|}

Decorations

{| class="wikitable"

! Ribbon

! Award

! Embroidered

! Year

! Earned by

|-

||100px

|Presidential Unit Citation

|| SCHWAMMENAUEL DAM

||1944

|| 1st Battalion, 309th Regiment

|-

||100px

|Presidential Unit Citation

|| REMAGEN BRIDGEHEAD

||1945

|| 1st Battalion, 310th Regiment

|-

||100px

|Presidential Unit Citation

|| ROER-RHINE RIVERS

||1945

|| 3rd Battalion, 310th Regiment

|-

||100px

|Presidential Unit Citation

|| SIEGFRIED LINE

||1944

|| 2nd Battalion, 311th Regiment

|-

||100px

||Army Superior Unit Award

|| Pre and Post-Mobilization Training

||2004–2005

|| 1st Battalion, 309th Regiment<br>2nd Battalion, 309th Regiment

|-

||100px

||Army Superior Unit Award

|| Pre and Post-Mobilization Training

||2008–2011

|| 1st Battalion, 310th Regiment<br>2nd Battalion, 310th Regiment<br>1st Battalion, 311th Regiment<br>2nd Battalion, 311th Regiment

|-

|}

Other honors

A portion of Pine Swamp Road in Mineral County, West Virginia was named "WWII 78th Lightning Division Road" in honor of the division by the West Virginia Legislature.

A portion of Interstate 78 in Pennsylvania is also named after the 78th division.

In the 2019 superhero film Avengers: Endgame, soldiers of the 78th are portrayed at Camp Lehigh, New Jersey. Captain America (Chris Evans) impersonates an officer of the 78th while infiltrating the compound to retrieve one of the Infinity Stones with help from Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.)

References

  • The Army Almanac: A Book of Facts Concerning the Army of the United States U.S. Government Printing Office, 1950 reproduced at [https://archive.today/20121205051233/http://www.history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/cbtchron/cbtchron.html] .
  • Order of Battle: U.S. Army World War II; Edited by Shelby L. Stanton from War Department Archives, 1984.
  • United States Army Institute of Heraldry
  • Lightning, The History of the 78th Infantry Division –
  • Lightning: The Story of the 78th Infantry Division
  • The 78th Division Veterans Assoc.
  • Carl Albert Janowski Goes to War and Back (78th Division – World War 1)
  • My Dad Goes to War