MAP:100th Infantry Division, European Theater of Operations, 1 November, 1944-11 May, 1945

The 100th landed in Marseilles, France, on 20 October, 1944, and entered combat in the middle of November when they attacked the German Winter Line in the Vosges mountains of Northeast France, as part of VI Corps. The 1st Battalion, 399th Infantry Regiment received the Presidential Unit Citation for their success in these battles against the Germans.  Lt. Edward Silk, 2nd Battalion, 398th Infantry Regiment was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

MAP: The Battle of the Vosges Mountains

In December the division successfully went on the offensive in the region of Bitche, Wingen, and Lemberg.  Fort Schiesseck, on the Maginot Line, was initially assaulted on December 14th, and fell after heavy fighting on the 20th of December.  The Von Rundstedt offensive forced the division to stop the attack and to hold defensive positions as part of Seventh Army's mission during the Battle of the Bulge.

The division resumed attacking on 15 March 1945, and Bitche fell on 16 March.  After taking Neustadt and Ludwigshafen, they crossed the Rhine on 31 March, followed the 10th Armored Division south, and then east across the Neckar where they established and enlarged a bridgehead. The division took Heilbronn on 12 April, and then continued south, reaching Stuttgart by 21 April.

MAP: The Battle for Bitche

MAP: The Battle for Heilbronn

The Century Division assumed occupational duties at the end of April 1945 and returned to the United States on 1 January 1946, at which time it was released from Active Duty.

MAP: Finale