The 1st American Infantry Division of the US Army, (1st Infantry Division) nicknamed The Big Red One, because of its insignia, a red and imposing 1 (Literally:The big 1 red) is, like its name, the indicates, the oldest division to have served continuously.
History
The US 1st Infantry Division was first activated in 1917 during World War I. It was the first American unit to fight in France when, on October 21, 1917, its 14,500 men were assigned to a sector of the front, near Toul. She participated in the Battle of Cantigny (Somme) from May 28 to 31, 1918. This was her first major engagement of the Great War.
She began the Second World War with Operation Torch in North Africa, landing near Oran. She then fought Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps and then took part in Operation Husky, the landing in Sicily. She was found at Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944, where she suffered heavy losses alongside the 29th American Infantry Division. It ended the war in Germany, near Czechoslovakia in 1945. The division will have lost 21,023 men (wounded and prisoners probably included) while 43,743 soldiers served there. They collected 20,752 medals, including 16 Medals of Honor. The division remained in the occupation forces in Germany until 1955.
When the Vietnam War began, the 1st Infantry was again the first to be ordered to deploy, in 1965. It remained in Vietnam until 1970 and mourned the deaths of more than 3,000 of its fighters who collected 11 Medals of Honor.
The division returned to combat in the Gulf War in 1990-91, notably participating in the Battle of 73 Easting against the Iraqi Republican Guard. If she succeeded in destroying 550 enemy tanks, 480 armored vehicles and capturing 11,400 prisoners, she lamented the death of 18 soldiers.
In December 1994, due to an army personnel restructuring plan, the 1st Infantry was abolished and the 3rd American Infantry Division, stationed in Germany, renamed 1st Infantry, inherited its colors. This new 1st division was stationed in Würzburg from 1996 and carried out peacekeeping operations in the Balkans, particularly in Kosovo.
Finally, the division, as part of the relief of Operation Iraqi Freedom units, took over from the 4th US Infantry Division in the northern part of the Sunni Triangle, particularly in the towns of Baqubah and Tikrit.
Since 2006, she has been stationed in Fort Riley, Kansas.
Operations
1942
November:Operation Torch
1943
February-May:Tunisia Campaign
July :Operation Husky
1944
June:Normandy landings at Omaha Beach, Battle of Normandy
October:Battle of Aix- la-Chapelle
December:Battle of the Ardennes
1967
January:Operation Cedar Falls
1990
August:Gulf War (1990-1991)
2014
August:War against the Islamic State (2014- ?)
Organization
1st Brigade "Devil's Brigade"
2nd Brigade "Dagger Brigade"
3rd Brigade
4th Brigade "Wings of Victory"
Divisional Artillery
"Sappers Attack" Engineer Brigade
Cinema
Samuel Fuller's film "Beyond Glory" tells the story of a platoon of the 1st North African Division at the end of the Second World War