36th Infantry Division (United States) - History

History

World War I

The 36th Infantry Division was originally activated as the 15th Division, a Army National Guard Division from Texas and Oklahoma. The new unit also received a new commander, Major General Edwin St. John Greble. The designation was changed to the 36th Division in 1917, possibly in July. The final composition of the 36th Division consisted of the 71st and 72nd Infantry Brigades, the 141st and 142nd Infantry Regiments belonging to the 71st. The 143rd and 144th Infantry Regiments were attached to the 72nd Brigade. Belonging to the 71st was also the 132nd Machine Gun Battalion. Similarly, the 72nd received the 133rd Machine Gun Battalion. The 61st Field Artillery Brigade, 131st, 132nd, and 133rd Field Artillery Regiments, 111th Regiment Engineers, 111th Signal Battalion and the 111th Supply Train comprised the rest of the 36th Division. The unit was trained at Fort Bowie, Texas. The unit was sent to Europe in July 1918 and conducted major operations in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. On October 9–10, the unit was participated in heavy combat near the village of St. Etienne. Following this victory, which included capture of several hundred German men and officers, as well as artillery, the unit launched an assault near an area known as "Forest Farm." During World War I, the division suffered 2,584 casualties consisting of 466 killed in action, and 2,118 wounded in action. The unit was inactivated in June 1919.