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ITEM NO: A80038

The US 29th Infantry Division was a United States infantry division that existed during World War I and World War II.

Nicknamed "Blue and Gray", the division's motto is "29 Let's Go," taken from General Eisenhower's inspiring speech to the troops preparing for the invasion of Normandy. The shoulder patch is a half-blue, half-gray circlecontaining the nomad, or "yin-yang," Korean symbol of eternal life; the symbol was approved 14 December 1917 and was designed by Maj. James Ulio. The uniting of the blue and grey symbolizes the fact that the division was composed of regiments from Virginia and Maryland that had fought on both sides of the American Civil War. It is currently part of the US Army National Guard.

In WWII, the 29th Division was formed on 3 February 1941 and departed for the United Kingdom on 5 October 1942 where it continued training in Scotland and England from October of 1942 up to June, 1944 in preparation for the invasion of France.

Teamed with the US 1st Infantry Division, the 116th Infantry Regiment of the 29th Division was in the first assault wave to Teamed with the US 1st Infantry Division, the 116th Infantry Regiment of the 29th Division was in the first assault wave to face of intense enemy fire but soon secured the bluff tops and went on to occupy Isigny on 9 June. The division cut across the Elle River and advanced slowly toward St. Lo, fighting bitterly in the Normandy bocage (hedge rows).

The 29th Infantry Division had spent 242 days in combat during campaigns in Normandy, Northern France, the Rhineland and Central Europe, earning four Distinguished Unit Citations in the process. Two soldiers of the division were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. Also awarded were 44 DSCs, one DSM, 854 Silver Stars, 17 Legion of Merit, 24 Soldier's Medal and 6,308 Bronze Stars.

The 29th Division returned to the United States on January 4, 1946 and was demobilized a fortnight later.

The 82nd Airborne Division of the United States Army was formed originally as the 82nd Infantry Division on August 25, 1917, at Camp Gordon, Georgia. Since members of the division came from all 48 states, the unit was given the nickname "All-Americans," the basis for its famed "AA" shoulder patch. Famous soldiers of the division include Sergeant Alvin C. York and General James M. Gavin.

After the outbreak of World War II, the 82nd was reactivated on March 25, 1942, at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana, under the command of Major General Omar N. Bradley.

On August 15, 1942, the 82nd Infantry Division became the first airborne division in the U.S. Army, and was re-designated the 82nd Airborne Division. In April 1943, paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division deployed to North Africa under the command of Major General Matthew B. Ridgway to participate in the campaign to invade Italy. The Division's first two combat operations were parachute and glider assaults into Sicily on July 9 and Salerno on September 13, 1943. After that, the division also joined the invasion of Normandy. On June 5, 1944 and June 6, 1944, the paratroopers of the 82nd's three parachute infantry regiments and reinforced glider infantry regiment boarded hundreds of transport planes and gliders and began the largest airborne assault in history.

The division returned to the United States January 3, 1946. Instead of being demobilized, the 82nd made its permanent home at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and was designated a regular Army division on November 15, 1948. The 82nd was not sent to the Korean War, as both Presidents Truman and Eisenhower deemed it necessary to keep the division as a strategic reserve in the event of a Soviet ground attack anywhere in the world.

Afrikakorps The Desert Fox/Der Wustenfuchs “Erwin Rommel” ITEM NO: D80049


 

Erwin Rommel was born in Heidenheim, Germany, on 15th November, 1891. He joined the German Army in 1910. By the outbreak of the First World War Rommel had reached the rank of lieutenant. He fought on the Western Front and in January 1915 won the Iron Cross. In 1917 Rommel served on the Italian Front and after leading the attack on Monte Matajur, was promoted to captain. In October 1935 he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel and began teaching at the Potsdam War Academy.

An infantry tactics book of Rommel's lectures was published in 1937 which was read by Adolf Hitler. Hitler was greatly impressed by Rommel's ideas and arranged him to command his HQ staff in Austria and Czechoslovakia. After that, Rommel was given command of the 7th Panzer Division that invaded France in May, 1940. Rommel's troops moved faster and farther than any other army in military history.

As a result of his exploits in France he was promoted to the rank of general. When Benito Mussolini asked for help in North Africa Adolf Hitler sent Rommel to command the new Deutsches Afrika Korps and successfully drove the British 8th Army out of Libya. He moved into Egypt but was defeated at El Alamein. With the USA Army landing in Morocco and Algeria, his troops were forced to leave Tunisia.

In the autumn of 1944 Hitler discovered that Rommel was plotting against him. On 14th October, 1944, Rommel was visited by two generals who had been sent by Hitler with an ultimatum: suicide with a state funeral and protection for his family and staff, or trial for high treason. Erwin Rommel took poison and officially it was stated that he had died of a brain seizure

SS-Freiwilligen-Gebirgs Division “Prinz Eugen”
SS-Obersturmführer - Herbert Zeller ITEM NO: D80041

The Division was formed in March 1942 by volunteers but this later changed when conscription was introduced. The unit itself was formed by a SS Selbstschutz (SS Protection Force) and the Einsatz-Staffel (ES) (Also called Prinz Eugen) from Croatia and named SS-Freiwilligen-Division Prinz Eugen.

The Gebirgs Division was formed in autumn 1942 when it gathered some 21,500 soldiers. Its weaponry was mainly composed of captured equipment such as Czech machine guns and French light tanks It was designated to the Balkans as an anti-partisan mountain division – the fist such division in Yugoslavia since 1941.

The first actions Prinz Eugen participated near the Serbian-Montenegro border in the mountains east of the Ibar River. Prinz Eugen advanced alongside the 1. Gebirgs-Division, elements of the “Brandenburg” Regiment,  369. (Kroatische) Infanterie-Division, 118. Jäger-Division and 104. The Division was reorganized on 22 October 1943 and was renamed to 7. SS-Freiwilligen-Gebirgs-Division Prinz Eugen. The next big offensive, in which Prinz Eugen participated, was the assault on Drvar, codenamed Rosselsprung, which began on 25 May 1944. The goals of this operation were to kill or capture Tito on the Drvar island with the SS-Fallshirmjäger-Bataillon 500, the 1. Brandenburg Regiment of the Division Brandenberg and other units with a massive support of the Luftwaffe.

On 21 September l944, it was at that time that the division saw action in one of the most crucial operations in the Balkans so far. Linking up with 13. Waffen-Gebirgs-Division der SS Handschar (kroatische Nr. 1) the remnants of the 23. Waffen-Gebirgs-Division der SS Kama (kroatische Nr. 2) and 21. SS Waffen-Gebirgs-Division der SS Skanderbeg (albanische Nr. 1), Prinz Eugen created the Vardar corridor in Macedonia allowing the retreat north of  350,000 German soldiers from occupation duties in the Aegean and Greek regions.

In the beginning of November the "SS Skanderberg" Division was disbanded and its remnants incorporated into the 14. Regiment of Prinz Eugen, which received its honour title "Skanderbeg". The fighting around Nisch in October caused the unit some heavy casualties and the 7th SS was sent for refreshing. In January 1945 the Division once again fought the Red Army and and Tito’s partisans around Otok and Vukovar. The retreat from Bosnia continued and Prinz Eugen soon retreated to Croatia in April, where it was to hold its positions south of Karlovac on 2 May 1945. On 10 May 1945 the Division retreated towards Celje in Slovenia where it surrendered on 11 May 1945 to Yugoslav forces.

The history of the Sturmabteilung (SA), often referred to as the "brown shirts", began when the Rollkommando was formed on1920 to protect the meetings held by the Deutsche Arbeiter Partei (DAP).

The SA was formally formed on 4th Nov 1921 following a party meeting when a large number of opponents attempted to disrupt it but was beaten and thrown out by the men of the Turn- und Sportabteilung.

At the end of 1921 there was a conflict between Röhm and Hitler, Röhm wanted to train the SA as an army but Hitler wanted to use it solely for propaganda and intimidating opponents.

Klintzsch left the command of the SA 11 May 1923 to return to Brigade Ehrhardt and was replaced by Hauptmann Hermann Göring. Göring reorganized the SA according to military lines and divided it into standarten, sturmbannen and hundertschaften. AVehrkehrsabteilung was formed in Munich of men with access to or knowledge cars or motorcycles, this would later evolve into the NSKK. An elite guard unit, the Stabswache, was also formed, but it later merged with the Stosstrupp Hitler and later evolved into the SS.

Hitler took the post as Oberster SA-Führer personally on 2nd Sep 1930 and the leader of the SA was now referred to as the Stabschef. Hitler recalled Röhm from Bolivia and he was made Stabschef 5th Jan 1931.

In 1934 the Nacht der langen Messer (night of the long knives) ended with Röhm and other SA leaders carried out by the SS which would take the SA's place as the leading Nazi organization

USMC 1st Marine Regiment

Luftwaffe Infantry Division

Grossdeutchland Division 16. Kompany