Maneuver and Firepower

ARMY LINEAGE SERIES


MANEUVER AND FIREPOWER
THE EVOLUTION OF DIVISIONS AND SEPARATE BRIGADES


by
John B. Wilson


CENTER OF MILITARY HISTORY
UNITED STATES ARMY
WASHINGTON, D. C., 1998


Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

iii
Foreword

This work traces the evolution of two unique U.S. Army organizations-divisions and brigades-which combined combat arms, combat support, and combat service support units into well-oiled engines for war. The Army has used divisions for over two hundred and twenty years on the battlefield and for nearly eighty years has maintained them in peacetime as well. Separate combined arms brigades, a newer phenomenon, date to the 1960s. Both organizations have played a pivotal role in the American military experience, and their exploits form the core of the Army's history in the twentieth century.

The following study is a systematic account of the way these two organizations evolved, highlighting the rationales behind that evolution and the many factors that played a part in bringing those changes into reality. This book will also complement the forthcoming revised edition of Armies, Corps, Divisions, and Separate Brigades, a volume in the Army Lineage Series.

In this work the reader, whether military or civilian, can follow the development of two of the Army's complex organizations. Force planners today will find the challenges faced by their predecessors in making these institutions responsive to an ever-changing threat in an evolving political and technological environment highly relevant. By telling this story in a comprehensive manner, the volume makes a significant contribution to the history of the Army.

v
The Author

John B. Wilson was born and grew up in Imperial, Pennsylvania. He is a graduate of Duquesne University, receiving a B.A. degree in history in 1963 and an M.A. degree in American history in 1966. He joined the Organizational History Branch, Center of Military History, in 1968 and served there until he retired in 1997. He compiled Armies, Corps, Divisions, and Separate Brigades in the Army Lineage Series and is the author of several articles on the organizations of divisions and separate brigades.
vi
Preface

This volume examines the evolution of divisions and separate brigades in the U.S. Army as it searched for the most effective way to fuse combat arms, combat support, and service units into combined arms teams. The Army has used divisions and brigades since the colonial era, but the national leadership did not provide for their permanency in the force until the twentieth century. When divisions became a part of the standing force, experiences on American battlefields in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, as well as European military practices, shaped their organization. The permanent divisions and brigades that the Army organized, however, were uniquely American.
At the beginning of the seventeenth century armies had no permanent tactical subdivisions. Administrative organizations called "regiments" were primarily designed to bring armed men to the battlefield. Upon arriving at the battle site, the men were usually grouped into battalions or squadrons, tactical organizations. King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden established brigades during the Thirty Years War as tactical organizations, assigning several battalions to them for the duration of a campaign, an arrangement that minimized the necessity for regrouping or retraining his army before going into battle. Shortly thereafter, other nations adopted the Swedish example.
The size of armies increased by the early eighteenth century, and Frederick the Great of Prussia began dividing his army into columns, which marched as wings or lines that fell into a prearranged order on the battlefield. Such maneuvers required discipline and well-drilled troops. To overcome the Prussians, Marshal Maurice de Saxe of France reintroduced the cadence step, which had fallen into disuse, and stressed discipline to control an army on the march and in combat. By marching troops at a measured step, Maurice could judge the time required to move his army to engage an enemy. With the ability to calculate marching time, Marshal Victor E Broglie in the mid-1700s began dividing the French Army into several permanent columns or divisions of infantry and artillery for a campaign. These divisions made an army easier to maneuver and occasionally permitted him to use part of it as an independent force. Almost two hundred years later Basil Liddell Hart described that process as making a limbless army grow arms that could grip an enemy at different points while others struck him.
During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries European military theorists incorporated the doctrine for organizing divisions and brigades into their publica- vii
tions, and many of those works were known to military leaders in colonial America. The British Army also brought European methods of war to North America before the Revolutionary War, and the colonists adopted much of that practice and doctrine in developing their own divisions and brigades as command and control units.
Against this background, Chapter I surveys the types of brigades and divisions the Army employed in the various wars of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. These units and the doctrine underlying them were the basis for organizing and maintaining permanent divisions and brigades in the twentieth century Chapters 2 through 14 trace the evolution of United States Army divisions and separate brigades from approximately 1900 to 1990. Their various reorganizations and their roles in the total Army are the grist of the study Chapter 15 draws together some of the lessons explored in the main body of the volume. Since the manuscript was prepared seven years ago momentous changes have occurred in the Army, and a brief look forward examines some of them.
The word "division" over the years has had many meanings within the Army, as well as within the other military services. As used in this study, the term addresses only a large, combined arms team capable of independent operations. But an integral part of the story is also the development of the "brigade," initially a command and control headquarters for two or more regiments or battalions from the same arm or branch. In the mid-twentieth century the brigade evolved into a combined arms unit smaller than a division. The combined arms brigade, although a relatively new structure, is also a subject of this study.
A few words need to be said about the charts and tables in the volume. Tables of organization and equipment (TOE) published for divisions and separate brigades and their subordinate elements served as the skeleton for the study, and the charts were derived from them. No one table, however, contains all the information that appears in each chart. Therefore, to develop each chart, I began with the largest unit, such as the division, and compiled the data for each subordinate element down to and including company, troops, battery, or detachment. The charts, nevertheless, represent only windows in time, for the organizations constantly changed. The tables listing divisions and brigades, their location, maneuver elements, and other information were also drawn from many sources. Hence, they are not attributed to any particular work or document.
Many colleagues have served as mentors in the research and writing of this manuscript. To name everyone who assisted in the work is impossible, but key supporters in the Center of Military History have been Morris J. MacGregor, Acting Chief Historian of the center in 1989-90; Dr. David Trask, former Chief Historian; and Lt. Col. Clayton R. Newell, former Chief, Historical Services Division. I am also indebted to Col. Raymond K. Bluhm, Colonel Newell's successor, who read the manuscript and offered insightful suggestions, and to Dr. John T. Greenwood, who arranged space and support for me within the center after I retired to complete the work. Janice E. McKenney, Chief, Organizational viii
History Branch, read, commented on, and edited numerous versions of each chapter, and Romana M. Danysh from the Organizational History Branch read and commented on the work and listened to endless hours of discussion about the scope and presentation of the material. Rebecca Robbins Raines, Donna Everett, and Edward Bedessem, all currently assigned to the Organizational History Branch, assisted in defining ideas and the relationships of arms, support, and service units to divisions and separate brigades.
Outside the branch but within the center, Dr. Edward Drea, former Chief, Historical Research and Analysis Division, offered invaluable help in clarifying the ideas presented. Maj. Glenn Hawkins and Dr. Edgar E Raines read sections of the manuscript and forced close examination of some of its basic assumptions. Dr. Robert K. Wright, Chief, Historical Resources Branch, offered suggestions for organizing and presenting the material. Over the years the center's library staff, especially James Knight, offered indispensable help in locating books and articles and completing citations in the notes and bibliography. Geraldine Harcarik from the Historical Resources Branch cheerfully searched for countless documents in the center's archival holdings.
No serious historical work about the Army can be accomplished without drawing on holdings of the U.S. Army Military History Institute at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. The staff there was a steady source of help. In particular, John Slonaker, Dennis Vetock, and Louise Arnold-Friend always found time to stop during a busy day to respond to my requests for documents, books, and articles. They gladly shared their knowledge of Army organization, suggesting works that might not have come to my attention. Another individual in the historical community who shared his knowledge about the Army was John L. Romjue of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command.
The preparation of the volume for publication has also been the result of the efforts of many people. I would like to express my appreciation to Susan Carroll, who edited the manuscript and prepared the index; Joycelyn M. Canery, who typed the final text; Beth E MacKenzie, who designed the charts and obtained and placed the photographs; John A. Birmingham, who created the pages and designed the cover; and Sherry Dowdy who created the maps. I am particularly appreciative of the work of Catherine A. Heerin, who oversaw the editorial process, and Arthur S. Hardyman, who saw the production effort to fruition.
Many have contributed to the completion of this work by their knowledge, advice, cooperation, and encouragement---and to all of them I owe a debt of gratitude. For any and all errors of fact or interpretation, I am responsible.


Illustrations courtesy of the following sources: pp. 4, 380, 386, and 393, U.S. Army Art Collection; pp. 8, 15, 17, 36, 48, 113 (top), 221, 247, 272, 304 (bottom), 324, 326, 360 (top and bottom), 387 (top), and 396 (top), U.S. Army Center of Military History; pp. 11, 26 (top and bottom), 27, and 53, Library of Congress; pp. 18, 35, 51 (bottom), and 144, U.S. Army Military History Institute; p. 231 (top), William Gardner Bell; pp. 231 (bottom), 292 (top and bottom), 300, 304 (top), 328, 354, 3 87 (bottom), and 396 (bottom), National Guard Association; p. 298, Firestone News Service; p. 384, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command; and p. 392, Fort Lewis Military Museum. All other illustrations from the files of the National Archives and Records Administration.

Joseph T. Glatthaar University of Houston	Michael J. Kurtz National Archives and Records Administration
Raymond A. Callahan University of Delaware	Brig. Gen. Fletcher M. Lamkin, Jr. U.S. Military Academy
Maj. Gen. James J. Cravens, Jr. U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command	Carol A. Reardon Pennsylvania State University
Carlo W. D'Este New Seabury, Mass.	Col. Everett L. Roper, Jr. U.S. Army War College
George C. Herring, Jr. University of Kentucky	Mark A. Stoler University of Vermont
Brig. Gen. Joseph R. Inge U.S. Army Command and General Staff College	Lt. Gen. Frederick E. Vollrath Archivist of the Army
Gerhard L. Weinberg University of North Carolina

Chief Historian	Jeffrey J. Clarke
Chief, Field Programs and Historical Services Division	John T. Greenwood
Editor in Chief	John W Elsberg

*Chapter*	*Page*
I. EARLY EXPERIENCES	3
Revolutionary War	3
War of 1812	7
Mexican War	10
Civil War	12
War With Spain	16

II. GENESIS OF PERMANENT DIVISIONS	23
Reforms Following the War With Spain	23
Concentration on the Mexican Border in 1911	29
The Stimson Plan	31
Operations on the Mexican Border 1913-1917	34
Authorization of Permanent Divisions	37

III. THE TEST WORLD WAR I	47
First Revisions	47
The Baker Board and Pershing's Staff Organizational Study	52
Plans To Organize More Divisions	55
Organizing the Divisions	58
Expansion of the Divisional Forces	65
Divisional Changes	67

IV. THE AFTERMATH OF WORLD WAR I	79
Occupation and Demobilization	79
The AEF Evaluates World War I Divisional Organizations	83
Development of Divisions Under the 1920 National Defense Act	86
Reorganization of Divisions	97

V. A RETURN TO THE PAST; A LOOK TO THE FUTURE	109
Paper Divisions	109
Reserve Divisions	115
More Realistic Mobilization Plans	117
Motorization and Mechanization	120
A New Infantry Division	125
A New Cavalry Division	133

VI. PRELUDE TO COMBAT	143
Infantry and Cavalry Divisions Revisited	143
Organizing Armored Divisions	147
Mobilization of National Guard Units	152
Expanding Divisional Forces	154
Reorganization of the National Guard Divisions	158
Another Reorganization	160
Increases in the Force Structure	169

VII. THE CRUCIBLE-COMBAT	179
Wartime Reorganization, 1943	179
Light Divisions	187
Expanding Divisional Forces: Meeting the Troop Basis	190
Deployment and More Organizational Changes	196
Correcting Organizational Problems	196
Redeployment	199

VIII. AN INTERLUDE OF PEACE	207
Demobilization, Occupation, and the General Reserve	207
Reorganization of Reserve Divisions	213
Postwar Divisional Organizations	222
The State of Divisional Forces	229

IX. THE KOREAN WAR AND ITS AFTERMATH	239
Deployment of Forces to Korea	239
Rebuilding the General Reserve	242
Organizational Trends	247
Readjustment of Divisional Forces	250
Improving the Reserves	254

X. THE SEARCH FOR ATOMIC AGE DIVISIONS	263
Exploring Alternative Divisions	263
Pentomic Divisions	270
Reorganization of the Divisions	279
Evaluating ROCID and ROCAD	281

XI. A NEW DIRECTION-FLEXIBLE RESPONSE	291
MOMAR-I	291
The Development of ROAD	293
ROAD Delayed	303
The ROAD Reorganization	308
Airmobility	314

XII. FLEXIBLE RESPONSE	323
The Buildup of the Army	323
Expansion of the Force	330
Organizational Changes to Units in Vietnam	333
Divisions and Brigades in Other Commands	336
Retrenchment	341

XIII. THE TOTAL ARMY	353
The 21-Division, 21-Brigade Force	353
A New Force - Greater Integration of Regulars and Reserves	364

XIV. A NEW ASSESSMENT	379
The Division Restructuring Study	379
Division-86	383
Elusive Light Divisions	390
The Army of Excellence	391
A New Direction	403

XV. CONCLUSION	413

A LOOK FORWARD	421

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE	427

1. National Guard Infantry Divisions, 1914	32
2. National Guard Infantry Divisions, 1917	40
3. Geographic Distribution of National Guard Divisions, World War I	59
4. Geographic Distribution of National Army Divisions, World War I	61
5. Expansion of Divisional Forces, 1918	66
6. Deployment of Divisions to France	70
7. Demobilization of Divisions	82
8. Distribution of Regular Army Divisions and Brigades, 1922	100
9. Allotment of Reserve Component Infantry Divisions, 1921	102
10. Allotment of Reserve Component Cavalry Divisions, 1921	103
11. Allotment of National Guard Cavalry Brigades, 1927	116
12. Divisions Active on 7 December 1941	157
13. Divisions Activated or Ordered Into Active Military Service in 1942	171
14. Divisions Activated in 1943	192
15. Deployment of Divisions to the Pacific Theater	194
16. Deployment of Divisions to the European Theater	195
17. Status of Divisions, 1 June 1946	209
18. Location of National Guard Divisions, Post-World War II	216
19. Location of Organized Reserve Corps Divisions, Post-World War II	220
20. Divisions Designated as Training Centers, 1947-50	222
21. Combat Divisions on Active Duty During the Korean War	244
22. Regular Army Training Divisions, 1950-56	245
23. Operation GYROSCOPE	253
24. Maneuver Element Mix of Divisions: ROAD Reorganization, 30 June 1965	310
25. Maneuver Element Mix of Brigades: ROAD Reorganization, 30 June 1965	313
26. Divisions and Brigades: Selected Reserve Force, 1965	329
27. Deployment of Divisions and Brigades to Vietnam	333
28. Maneuver Elements Assigned to Divisions and Brigades in Vietnam, 30 June 1969	336
29. Maneuver Element Mix of Divisions and Brigades on Active Duty Outside Vietnam, 30 June 1969	339
30. National Guard Divisions and Brigades, 1968	340
31. Redeployment of Divisions and Brigades From Vietnam	345
32. The 21-Division Force, June 1974	362
33. The 21-Brigade Force, June 1974	363
34. Round-out Units, 1978	365
35. The 24-Division Force, 1978	368
36. The 24-Brigade Force, 1978	369
37. Divisions, 1989	404
38. Brigades, 1989	406
39. Divisions and Brigades in Southwest Asia, 1990-91	407

1. Infantry Division, 1917	39
2. Cavalry Division, 1917	41
3. Infantry Division, 24 May 1917	50
4. Infantry Division, 8 August 1917	56
5. Infantry Division, 7 October 1920	93
6. Cavalry Division, 4 April 1921	96
7. Cavalry Division, 1928	114
8. The Mechanized Force, 1928	124
9. Proposed Infantry Division, 30 July 1936	128
10. Infantry Division (Peace), 1939, Corrected to 8 January 1940	134
11. Cavalry Division, 1938	136
12. Infantry Division, 1 November 1940	146
13. Cavalry Division, 1 November 1940	148
14. Armored Division, 15 November 1940	151
15. Infantry Division, 1 August 1942	162
16. Armored Division, 1 March 1942	164
17. Motorized Division, 1 August 1942	165
18. Airborne Division, 15 October 1942	168
19. Infantry Division, 15 July 1943	183
20. Armored Division, 15 September 1943	186
21. Light Division, 1943	189
22. Airborne Division, 1944	197
23. Infantry Division, 7 July 1948	226
24. Armored Division, 8 October 1948	228
25. Airborne Division, 1 April 1950	230
26. Atomic Field Army Infantry Division, 30 September 1954	266
27. Atomic Field Army Armored Division, 30 September 1954	268
28. PENTANA Division	273
29. Airborne Division (ROTAD), 10 August 1956	275
30. Infantry Division (ROCID), 21 December 1956	278
31. Armored Division (ROCAD), 1956	280
32. Pentomic Infantry Division, 1 February 1960	283
33. Training Division, 1 April 1959	285
34. Medium Division (MOMAR), 1960	294
35. Heavy Division (MOMAR), 1960	295
36. ROAD Division Base, 1961	299
37. Airborne Division, 1961	301
38. Airborne Brigade, 1961	302
39. Howze Board Air Assault Division, 1963	315
40. Airmobile Division, 10 July 1965	317
41. Training Division, 1966	342
42. TRICAP Division	358
43. Training Division, 1970	371
44. Heavy Division, Division Restructuring Study, 1 March 1977	381
45. Heavy Division (Tank Heavy) as Briefed to General Meyer on 18 October 1979	385
46. Heavy Division, 1 October 1982	388
47. Light Division, 1 October 1985	394
48. Airborne Division, 1 April 1987	398
49. Air Assault Division, 1 April 1987	399

1. Corps Areas in the United States, 20 August 1920	88
2. Field Armies in the United States, 1932	118
3. Field Armies in the United States, Post-World War II	218

Soldiers of the American Revolution, Trenton, December 26, 1776	4
Bvt. Lt. Gen. Winfield Scott	8
The Battle of Palo Alto	11
Camp Humphreys, Virginia, 1863	15
Staff of the 2d Division, I Army Corps, 1898	17
Camp Alger, Virginia, 1898	18
The Public Views the 1904 Maneuvers, Manassas, Virginia	26
Troops Pass in Review, 1904 Manassas Maneuvers	26
Maj. Gen. Henry C. Corbin and Col. Arthur L. Wagner	27
Maj. Gen. J. Franklin Bell	29
27th Infantry, 2d Division, Encampment, Texas City, Texas	35
4th South Dakota Infantry, San Benito, Texas, 1916	36
Maj. Gen. Hugh L. Scott	48
Maj. Gen. Tasker H. Bliss	49
16th Infantry, 1st Division, Parades in Paris, 1917	51
The Gondrecourt, France, Training Area	51
Officers of the American Expeditionary Forces and the Baker Mission	53
Draftees Drill in Civilian Clothes, Camp Upton, New York	62
Camp Meade, Maryland, 1917	63
165th Infantry, 42d Division, in Trenches, 1918	69
Traffic Congestion in the Argonne, 1918	72
American Occupation Troops Cross the Rhine at Coblenz, Germany, 1919	80
1st Field Artillery Brigade, 1st Division, on Occupation Duty in Germany, 1919	81
5th Field Artillery Troops at the 1st Division Parade, Washington, D.C., 1919	84
Superior Board Members, 1919	86
26th Division Parade, Fort Devens, Massachusetts, 1925	110
Maj. Gen. Charles P. Summerall	111
Officers Quarters, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, 1925	113
1st Cavalry Division Maneuvers, 1927	113
Medium Armored Car of the Mechanized Force, 1931	123
General Malin Craig	127
General George C. Marshall	133
1st Cavalry Division Maneuvers, Toyahvale, Texas, 1938	135
67th Infantry (Provisional Tank Brigade) at Third Army Maneuvers, 1940	144
37-mm. Gun and Crew, 1941	145
Brig. Gen. Adna R. Chaffee	149
Half-Track Personnel Car, 1941	152
Tanks of the 68th Armored, 2d Armored Division, at the Louisiana Maneuvers, 1941	155
Provisional Tank Destroyer Battalion , Fort Meade, Maryland, 1941	156
Lt. Gen. Walter C. Short Reviews the Hawaiian Division, 1941	158
Camp Shelby, Mississippi, 1941	160
Paratroopers in a Special Demonstration, Fort Belvoir, Virginia, 1941	167
Lt. Gen. Lesley J. McNair	181
General McNair and Maj. Gen, Elbridge G. Chapman Inspect 13th Airborne Division Troops, 1944	191
8th Infantry Division Arrives at Hampton Roads, Virginia, Port of Embarkation, 1945	200
41st Infantry Division Departs the Philippines, 1945	208
7th Infantry Division Band, Seoul, Korea, 1945	211
350th Infantry, 88th Infantry Division, Parades in Gorizia, Italy, 1945	221
A Final Parade in Gorizia, Prior to the 88th Division's Departure, 1947	231
82d Airborne Division Troops at the New York City Victory Parade, 1946	231
Elements of the 2d Infantry Division Near Wonju, Korea, 1951	241
40th Infantry Division Troops Prepare To Replace the 24th Division, 1952	246
4th Infantry Division Leaves New York for Germany, 1951	247
3.5-inch Rocket Launcher in Action Against the North Koreans, 1950	248
M41 Light Tank Bound for the 705th Tank Battalion, 1954	249
37th Infantry Division Troops Pass in Review, 1954	251
General Matthew B. Ridgway	265
General Maxwell D. Taylor	270
101st Airborne Division Simulates an Atomic Blast During Training, 1957	271
Honest John Rocket Launcher, 1957	272
M60 Tank	292
M48 Tanks	292
General Clyde D. Eddleman	296
Davy Crockett Rocket Launcher	298
Little John Rocket Launcher	300
32d Infantry Division Elements Train During the Berlin Crisis, 1961	304
Pre-positioned Equipment in Germany During Operation BIG LIFT	304
1st Battalion, 60th Infantry, at Fort Richardson, Alaska, 1963	312
Elements of the 173d Airborne Brigade Arrive in Vietnam	324
9th Infantry Division's First Base Camp in Vietnam, 1966	326
Soldiers of the 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, Fire From Viet Cong Trenches,1966	327
Elements of the 69th Infantry Brigade Train at Fort Riley, Kansas, 1966	328
3d Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, Members Engage the Viet Cong, 1966	331
Elements of the 9th Infantry Division Departing Vietnam, 1969	343
Tube-Launched, Optically Tracked, Wire-Guided Missile	354
General Creighton W. Abrams	357
Chaparral Surface-to-Air Missile System	360
Vulcan Air Defense System	360
General Fred C. Weyand	380
General Donn A. Starry	384
General Edward C. Meyer	386
Bradley Fighting Vehicle System	387
Multiple Launch Rocket System	387
9th Infantry Division "Dune Buggy"	392
General John A. Wickham, Jr	393
Winter Training, 205th Infantry Brigade, 1986	396
Reactivation Ceremony, 29th Infantry Division, 1985	396