28th Infantry Division Quick Facts
Activated
Feb 17, 1941
Entered Combat
Jul 27, 1944 Normandy
Days in Combat
196
Battle Casualties
16,762
Division Type
Infantry
Theaters
28th Infantry Division Combat History

The 28th Infantry Division entered combat in Normandy in July 1944 and advanced through France, taking Percy on August 1 and Gathemo on August 10 before parading through Paris on August 29. Continuing east, the 110th Infantry Regiment began hammering the West Wall west of Grosskampenberg on September 12, and the 112th Infantry Regiment was committed at the Wallendorf Bridgehead on September 19. The division attacked toward Schmidt on November 2 after heavy artillery preparation. In brutal days of fighting in the Hürtgen Forest sector, Vossenack and Schmidt changed hands repeatedly; the 112th Infantry had to be withdrawn on November 14 and the 109th Infantry Regiment on November 17 before the 8th Infantry Division relieved the Keystone Division in the Vossenack–Schmidt sector.

Only weeks later, the division was deployed along the Ardennes front when the German offensive began on December 16. Positioned along the Our River and around Clervaux, its units absorbed the initial shock of the attack. The division was forced out of Wiltz on December 19, and disorganized elements infiltrated back to friendly lines in small groups. Despite the disruption, the division's resistance contributed to slowing the German timetable and defending the interior road network.

After rebuilding, the division returned to offensive operations in 1945, advancing into southern Germany as Allied forces closed in on the final collapse of German resistance. Its campaign was defined by heavy fighting in both the Hürtgen Forest and the opening phase of the Ardennes.

Division Organization 1944/1945
Infantry Regiments
109th Infantry Regiment
110th Infantry Regiment
112th Infantry Regiment
Field Artillery
107th Field Artillery Battalion (105mm)
108th Field Artillery Battalion (155mm)
109th Field Artillery Battalion (105mm)
229th Field Artillery Battalion (105mm)
Support Units
103rd Engineer Combat Battalion
103rd Medical Battalion
28th Reconnaissance Troop (Mechanized)
28th Signal Company
28th Quartermaster Company
728th Ordnance Light Maintenance Company
HQ & Attached
28th Counter Intelligence Corps Detachment

(A) = attached

Sources and Notes