34^th Infantry Division

The 34th Infantry Division entered federal service in February 1941 and became the first American division deployed to the European theater, arriving in Northern Ireland in January 1942. It entered combat during Operation TORCH when its 168th Infantry Regiment landed west of Algiers on November 8, 1942, seizing the port and outlying airfields, while the rest of the division came ashore in North Africa in January 1943. After battles at Sened, Fondouk Gap, and the surrounding heights, the 135th Infantry Regiment stormed Hill 490 on April 28, 1943; the division then took Hill 609 on May 1 and drove through Chouigui Pass to Ferryville, completing the Tunisian campaign.

Campaign map image

World War II Campaign Map of the 34th Infantry Division. Map courtesy of HistoryShots.

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The division entered the Italian campaign at Salerno in September 1943 and advanced north through the Volturno line into the Winter Line battles. The 168th Infantry stormed Mount Pantano on November 5 and held it against German attempts to reclaim it before being relieved by the 135th Infantry. In early 1944, the 133rd Infantry Regiment crossed the Rapido River north of Cassino on January 25 and attacked through the bridgehead; on February 5 the regiment reached the walls of the Cassino Abbey — the farthest advance made by any Allied unit in those battles — before being withdrawn. The 168th Infantry then continued assaults up Monastery Hill through mid-February before the division was pulled for rehabilitation.

In March 1944, the division moved to the Anzio beachhead, where it maintained defensive positions and took part in the May breakout and the advance to Rome. It then continued north through central Italy: the 135th Infantry won the Battle of Rosignano July 3–7, 1944, and the division entered Livorno and reached the Arno River on July 22. Attacking the Gothic Line in September, the 168th Infantry captured Monte Frassino on September 15 and the 133rd Infantry secured Montepiano on September 23 as the Apennine barrier was broken.

Remaining in line through the winter south of Bologna, the division joined the final offensive in April 1945, helped capture Bologna, and continued the advance into northern Italy until the German surrender on May 2. With 517 days in combat, the 34th compiled the longest continuous combat record of any U.S. division in the war.