Which military unit saw the most action in World War 2?

Answer 1

The 1st Marine Division probably saw more combat in the Pacific than any other division sized unit in WWII. 1st Marine Div. was the first American division to engage any Axis power in offensive combat on Guadalcanal in August 1942. 1st Marine Div. made four amphibious landings and fought in four campaigns (Guadalcanal, Cape Gloucester, Peleliu, and Okinawa) from 1942-1945. In addition to being the first U.S. division to enter combat it was among the last in combat, fighting in the Battle of Okinawa, the last ground engagement of World War II. 1st Marine Div suffered 3,550 KIA and over 14,000 WIA throughout the war.

the u.s. army's 24th infantry division saw the most combat in the pacific theater. they have a silver campaign star on their a.p.t. ribbon for 5 campaigns they fought in. 1. central pacific (pearl harbor) 2.new guinea 3.leyte 4.luzon .5 southern Philippines (minadano). they also have the most assault arrowheads (4) of any division in any theater for spearheading assault landings. the 24th also fought for 78 days on leyte (a pacific record) plus another 75 days on mindano. the 3 infantry regiments assigned were the 19th the 21st and the 34th. the division suffered roughly 1700 kia and 3500 wia. the division was adwarded 11 unit citations over the course of the war. there were 4 medals of honor awarded to members of the division. MacArthur said " no division is closer to my heart then the 24th"

The Third Infantry Division (Rock of the Marne) also earned four arrowheads for amphibious assaults in the M.T.O. They are Fedala, Nov. 8, 1942; Sicily, July 10, 1943; Anzio, Jan. 22, 1944; Southern France, Aug. 15, 1944. Infantry, the Queen of Battle.

Richard V. Horrell WW 2 Connections.com

the 24th infantry is known as the victory division for it's never having lost a battle to the japs and as the first to fight division for it's role in defending schofield barracks on dec 7th 1941. in a twist of fate in desert storm the 24th raced across the desert smashing the republican guards then after the war the 24th was retired and the same units that made up the 24th were reflagged as the 3nd infantry division who in gulfwar 2 lead the charged to Baghdad. same regiments different division.

According to the Official Unit History of the Third Inf. Div. in WW 2, written by Donald G. Taggart in 1945, the Third Inf. Div. was awarded four arrowheads for the four amphibious assaults previously cited by me. Also, the Third Inf. Div. participated in ten campaigns during WW 2. Obviously the Third Inf. Div. was carrying a similar load in the MTO that the 24th Inf. Div. was carrying in the PTO.

Richard V. Horrell WW 2 Connections.com

us army historians made some campaign credit revisions in the early 1960's. i have seen both 9 and 10 campaigns credited to the 3nd infantry. there is a book published by the army in 1962 that lists all campaigns and honors for each regiment and division. during ww2 leyte was considered part of the luzon campaign. it was not given its own campaign credit until after the war.

there was no m.t.o. the 3 combat theaters were the eto,the apt and the cbi /china/burma/India. the us army offical campaign books "the green books" list 3 arrowheads for the 3nd infantry and 10 campaigns giving the 3nd infantry the most of any division in any theater of operations in worldwar 2. the 24th did have the most in the pacific however. despite what the marines may say.

There was an MTO (Mediterranean Theater of Operations), it was originally designated the NATO (North Africa Theather of Operations). There were several theathers, including the Middle East Theater and the CBI (China/Burma/India) Theater.

Actually, checking government documents, it seems the Army listed the China and India/Burma theaters as two separate theaters.

32nd red arrow saw more combat time than any us div. in history in ww2

Answer 2

34th Infantry Division holds the distictions of being the first us division deployed to Europe in WW2 and having spent more days in combat and having taken more enemy-defended hills than any other US Army Division in the war.

Answer 3

Its a choice between the US Army's 1st Infantry Division and the 3rd Infantry Division. Both divisions saw action in North Africa and Sicily. Then the 1st ID was removed to England, to provide at least one veteran infantry division for the Normandy D-Day landings. The 3rd ID went ashore in Italy just after the Salerno landings for a couple of months, then landed at Anzio and was there for over four months before being in on the capture of Rome. Then the 3rd ID (along with the veteran 36th and 45th IDs) made the "second D-Day" landings on the Riviera, the Mediterranean coast of southern France, in August 1944. Both the 1st and 3rd IDs were committed more or less continuously from that time until VE Day.

According to Army records the 1st ID spent a few more days in the line, "in combat" than the 3rd ID. By other standards though, the 3rd ID probably saw more and rougher action. An infantry division had around 15,000 men at full strength. For the war, the 3rd ID had over 6600 men KIA, and another 27,000 wounded. The 1st ID was a distant "second" on this list, with 5100 KIA. Another measure might be the number of Medals of Honor awarded to division members. You do not earn a MOH without seeing some hard service. For the entire war, among the 16 million Americans in uniform, some 460 Medals of Honor were awarded (including over 30 handed out by Clinton when he was in office, upgrading previous lesser awards to blacks and Hispanics). So, roughly one for every 35,000 servicemen. Thirty-seven of these Medals were earned by men of the 3rd Infantry Division, around 7% of all awarded, to one single 15,000 man division. You don't rack up a total like that without being in the thick of it for a long, long time. The 3rd ID got handed all the tough jobs. One of the Marine divisions was a distant second on this list, with 21.

Answer 4

Japan was opposed by Australia, New Zealand, England, the United States and Canada.