29th+Infantry+Division

The 29th Infantry Division

The 29th Infantry Division was a US Army unit of troops that fought for the allied forces during World War II. Their goal was to stop the German war machine and restore the stolen territory to the respective nations. They trained in Scotland and England getting ready for the D-Day invasion. Alongside the 1st Division, they were some of the first troops to hit the heavily armed beaches of Normandy. Soon after landing on Omaha beach in June 1944, they had captured the bluff tops occupied by the Germans. They cut across the Elle River and made a slow advance to St. Lo. After capturing St. Lo, they joined the battle of Vire and managed to take control of the heavily armed city. They turned west and took part in the assault on Brest in September 1944. The division had a short rest before taking defensive positions along the Teveren-Geilenkirchen line in Germany. They held strong there until October 1944 when some of the troops left to fight elsewhere. In November the division began its drive to Roer. They faced lots of heavy fighting as they plowed through many German cities. By the end of the month they had reached Roer and took defensive positions as they prepared for the offensive. After successfully defending Roer the units split up to clean up the Ruhr area. The 29th Infantry Division was in combat for 242 days. They fought very bravely and fought in situations that most of us couldn’t imagine. The soldiers returned to the United States in January 1946 and were inactivated. Storming the beaches and fighting in many surrounding battles took lots of courage and these men should not be forgotten.