30^th Infantry Division

The 30th Infantry Division entered combat in Normandy, landing across Omaha Beach on June 10, 1944. The 120th Infantry Regiment captured Montmartin-en-Graignes the following day and held the Vire-Taute Canal line while the 117th Infantry Regiment attacked across the Vire. On July 7 the 120th Infantry crossed the Vire-Taute Canal and established a bridgehead that the 3rd Armored Division exploited toward Saint-Lô. Relieving the 1st Infantry Division near Mortain on August 6, the division was struck the next day by a powerful German armored counterattack aimed at cutting the Allied corridor to Avranches. The 120th Infantry held the critical Hill 314 position in isolation, repelling assault after assault until the German offensive collapsed by August 12 — the stand at Mortain becoming one of the defining actions of the Western Front campaign.

Campaign map image

World War II Campaign Map of the 30th Infantry Division. Map courtesy of HistoryShots.

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Following Mortain, the division advanced into Belgium and Germany. The 119th Infantry Regiment advanced into Maastricht on September 14, and the 117th Infantry seized Ubach in house-to-house fighting on October 3 to help complete the encirclement of Aachen. In December 1944 the division again faced a major German offensive in the Ardennes, its resistance in the northern sector helping contain the advance of German armored forces.

In early 1945 the division crossed the Roer and advanced to the Rhine. After the river crossings of March, Old Hickory moved rapidly across northwestern Germany, reaching the Elbe by April. The division's combat record was defined by its defensive strength at Mortain and its sustained performance across the Western Front.

The division’s combat record was defined by its defensive strength at Mortain and its sustained performance in both offensive and defensive operations across the Western Front.