World War II

World War II

1940-1945 — World War II: The entire Kansas Army National Guard, consisting of four regiments in the 35th Division and many supporting units, was mobilized a year prior to Pearl Harbor. The 35th Division was sent to southern California to protect against possible Japanese invasion. In June 1942, elements of the division were sent to the Aleutiane to combat the Japanese. The remainder of the division was reorganized and sent to Europe. The 635th Tank Destroyer Battalion fought through the Normandy Invasion. The 137th Infantry Regiment fought in the Battle of St. Lo. As part of Gen. Patton’s 3rd Army, it participated in the capture of Orleans and Nancy, France; Battle of the Bulge; Crossing of the Rhine; capture of the Ruhr Valley; and near Berlin at war’s end. The 127th Observation Squadron, Wichita, was organized and mobilized in 1941 and sent to Xalajkunda in Fall 1944. The 127th Fighter Squadron was activated in 1946.

 

 

KANSAS NATIONAL GUARD

WORLD WAR II

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS

1940

The Adjutant General’s office handles such issues as WWI veterans seeking reinstatement. administrating Selective Service, conversion of cavalry units to field artillery, creation of a home guard and the construction of an air field for the guard in either Kansas City or Wichita.

OCT 8 — State Detachment activated to support the Adjutant General as State Director for Selective Service System. It was the first Kansas unit mobilized under the national Emergency declaration of 27 AUG.

DEC 23 — 35th Infantry Division Activated for what was then thought to be a one year training period. This included all Kansas National Guard units affiliated with the Division.

1941

JAN 1 — Division moves to Camp Joseph T. Robinson, in Little Rock, Ark. for training. This training would include everything from military customs and courtesy to night combat training. Also, advanced training for specialists was conducted.

JUN 2 — Elements of the 35th Division assigned to support the Tennessee Maneuvers “war games”. Over 4,500 Divisional troops were involved. The Tennessee Maneuvers were the first of the Fall 1941 maneuvers which were designed to prepare the troops for the rigors they would experience on the battlefield.

OCT 6 — 127th Observation Squadron, Wichita, inducted into Federal Services.

DEC 7 — Japanese attack Pearl Harbor; orders issued to move 35th Division to California for coastal defense.

DEC 14 — Move to Fort Ord, California begins at 1800. After arrival, the Division takes up positions in the Southern California Sector. This included the Hollywood Race Track, Malibu, El Segundo and Venice. The Division Headquarters would be located at Camp San Luis Obispo.

DEC 15 — The 635th Tank Destroyer Battalion was designated. It was made up of batteries from the 127th Field Artillery, the 135th F.A.,., and the 161st F.A. 

*This is not an attempt to be inclusive of all Kansas Guard units in WWII. The information is mostly dervied from two sources: The 35th Infantry Division in WWII 1941-1945 and Sunflower State Prepares for War: The Kansas National Guard and the National Emergency of 1940-1941, an unpublished manuscript. Other sources in clue original documents and unpublished unit histories. — 102nd Military History Detachment, Kansas Army National Guard, 1993. 

1942

The Division, with its components of Kansas National Guard units, spends the year on coastal defense in California.

MAR 1 — 35th Division reorganized as a standard triangular division.

APR 13 — 127th Observation Squadron moved to Tullahoma, TN.

JUL 28 — 7 officers and 200 men are detached from 130th Field Artillery and become the 130th Training Battalion.

1943

Early in the year, the 35th assembles at Camp San Luis Obispo for training and reorganization.

JAN 12 — Elements of 130th Field Artillery redesignated 219th F.A.. and rejoin 35th Division.

APR 1 — Entire Division moves to Camp Rucker, Ala. for intense training. At this time, the Division make-up is substantially the same was it would be in combat– with National Guard units from Kansas and Nebraska.

NOVEMBER – The Division again participates in the Tennessee Maneuvers, engaging in two months of conditioning for combat that earned the commendation of the Second Army directors of the exercise.

DEC 27 — Remaining elements of 130th relieved from 35th Division – and attached to Southern California Sector.

1944

JAN 18 — The Division moves to Camp Butner, North Carolina for final preparation for deployment.

FEB 9 — 635th Tank Destroyer Bn. deploys to England.

MAY 1 — Division begins to move into staging area at Camp Kilmer, NJ for final inspection of men and equipment.

APR 20 — Advance detachment, under command of BG Edmund Sebree sails to England from Fort Hamilton, NY.

MAY 25 — MG Paul W. Baade, division commander, arrives in Liverpool England.

MAY 27 — All Division troops now in England.

JUN 6 — D-Day, Division enters ITS final phase of preparation.

JUN 8 — 635th Tank Destroyer Bn. lands at Omaha Beach and pushes through northern France in support of the 1st Infantry Division.

JUN 25 — General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander Allied Expeditionary Forces, inspects Division.

JUL 5 — First elements of Division arrive at Omaha Beach, France.

JUL 7 — All troops have been landed and registered in transit area.

JUL 10 — 137th & 320th Infantry Regiments relieve-elements of 29th Division. Immediate objective: St. Lo. Division receives first casualty from enemy fire.

JUL 10 — Battle of St. Lo. 137th has 145 KIA, 704 WIA and 6 MIA from this action.

JUL 27 — 35th moves sough from St. Lo in “Operation Cobra”

JUL 27 — Vire Campaign.

AUG 11 — Division rescues “Lost Battalion of the 30th Division. ” 35th Quartermaster runs enemy lines to deliver supplies.

AUG 16 — Orleans falls to 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the 137th Infantry.

AUG 20 — Sens-Troyes-Pithiviers-Montargis-Nancy.

OCT 5 — 130th Field Artillery participates in “Campaign Germany” .

NOV 11 — Battle of Achain.

NOV 7 — On to Germany. The 35th was involved in almost constant engagements during this time as it pushed toward the German border.

DEC 10 — 2/137th wins Distinguished Unit Citation during a battle at a large porcelain factory near Sarreguemines.

DEC 11 — Division troops look across Blies River into Germany.

DEC 11 — 127th Observation Squadron attached to 2nd Air Commandos and sent to Kalajkunda, India where it spent the balance of the war flying support missions for the British.

DEC 12 — Lt. Clarence Sprague, PFC Richard Iles, PFC Charles Golumbek and PVT John Friday, all of the 137th Infantry become the first men in the Division to cross into Germany.

DEC 12 — Division crosses into Germany in a large scale offensive to place the Santa Fe at the gates of the Sigfried Line. Division clears Bliesbruck, Habkirchen, Gersheim, Reinheim and NiederGailbach.

DEC 23 — Division moves to Metz. This ended a period in which the Division fought continuously for 162 days -3,888 hours of operations, unceasing except to move.

DEC 25 — The Division spends Christmas in Metz. It was ordered out that night to help combat the “Battle of the Bulge” which the Germans started on DEC 16.

DEC 27 — Battle of Bastogne. The 35th took 1,034 prisoners and killed and wounded as many more.

1945

JAN 18 — Division moves to Metz.

JAN 23 — Metz and Sarreguemines Operations. Noted especially for the 292 mile trip from the Seventh to Ninth Army sectors — one of the longest infantry moves of the war. In January alone, the Santa Fe Division traversed approximately 450 miles.

FEB 23 — Operation Grenade. The 35th helps drive the Germans from positions along the Roer River with an ensuing pursuit for 50 miles, forcing a withdrawal across the Rhine.

MAR 25 — Task Force Miltonberger, of which the 35th was a part, crosses the Rhine.

APR 1 — 635th Tank Destroyer Battalion moves across Europe into Austria in support of the 71st Infantry Division.

APR 2 — Central Europe Campaign.

APR 12 — Division reaches XIX Corps sector near the Elbe River. In the 18 days since it crossed the Rhine, the Santa Fe captured 3,770 prisoners.

APR 13 — The 35th dashes 295 miles from Herne, in the Ruhr area up the autobahn to the Elbe River, making it the nearest American troops to Berlin.

MAY 8 — V-E Day. The 35th’s command post was located in Dohren, Hannover, Germany. The Division, as well as the other non-Divisional Kansas units had accomplished their mission.

MAY 17 — Division relieved of governing duties in Hannover area and sent to Recklinghausen.

MAY 30 — Relieved from Recklinghausen and moved to Koblenz area, where it took over governmental and occupational duties.

JUN 30 — Elements of the 130th Field Artillery take charge of one of the largest POW camps of the war in Stenay, France.

JUL 10 — Santa Fe Division relieved of duty in Koblenz area.

JUL 11 — The Division, less the 137th, moved Camp Norfolk, France, where it received enough “low point” men to bring it up to strength.

JUL 11 — 137th assembles at Camp White Tie, near Brussels, to act as honor guard for President Truman, a 35th Infantry Division veteran, who was en route to the Potsdam Conference.

AUG 14 — V-J Day.

AUG 15 — Division begins moved to Port of Le Havre for transport to England.

AUG 23 — 137th sails on S.S. Cristobal for Boston Harbor and Camp Miles Standish.

SEP 5 — The Division, less the 137th, departs England on the Queen Mary for New York Harbor. The troops entrained for Camp Kilmer, NJ.

DEC 7 — Four years after Pearl Harbor, the 35th Infantry Division was deactivated at Camp Breckinridge Kentucky.