29^th Infantry Division

The 29th Infantry Division landed on Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944, the 116th Infantry Regiment attached temporarily to the 1st Infantry Division and suffering severe casualties in the initial assault. The 115th Infantry Regiment followed onto the beach the same day, while the 175th Infantry Regiment secured Isigny, an initial D-Day objective, on June 9. In the weeks that followed, the division fought through the bocage south of the beachhead. On June 16 it opened the push on Saint-Lô, the 175th Infantry battling for Hills 90 and 97 while the 116th Infantry pressed on Martinville Ridge. The Blue and Gray Division entered Saint-Lô on July 18. Turning to Brest, the 116th and 175th Infantry assaulted the Le Conquet Peninsula in August, and the all-out assault on the city commenced September 8, German resistance collapsing on September 13 after weeks of deliberate fighting.

Campaign map image

World War II Campaign Map of the 29th Infantry Division. Map courtesy of HistoryShots.

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The division moved to Holland and resumed operations in the autumn, elements of the 116th Infantry participating in the Betuwe bridgehead fighting in October. By November the division had begun the offensive toward the Roer, the 116th Infantry capturing Setterich on November 19 after heavy combat, enabling the 2nd Armored Division to push through.

In early 1945 the division crossed the Roer and advanced into northern Germany, crossing the Rhine and continuing toward the Elbe before the end of the war. Its campaign combined the severe losses of Omaha Beach with sustained operations across France and Germany.