Re: US Army Division numbering

"Ami Silberman" <silber@xxxxxxxxx> writes:

>82nd and 101st are numbered according to the infantry division numbering,
>but were designated as parachute and airborne (IIRC) respectively. Since
>they were elite units, they retained their numbering after the war, and to
>the current day. IIRC, the 506th is a regiment. Regimental numbers are an
>entirely different beast, and I don't remember how they were assigned.

The oldest infantry (and cavalry) regiments antedate permanent divisions,
and were simply created in numerical order. When permanent divisions were
organized, the existing regiments were formed into divisions without any
special regard for their numbering. When the army ran out of existing
regiments, it created new numbered regiments to go into the new numbered
divisions. Each division had four regiments, which were numbered so that
the Nth division would have the 4N-3 through 4N regiments. Thus, for
instance, the 90th division had the 357th, 358th, 359th, and 360th
regiments. In the leadup to WWII, the divisions were reorganized as
"triangular" divisions with only three infantry regiments, losing the
highest numbered from their existing 4. There were also some independent
regiments (like the famous 442nd) that seem to have had numbers higher
than those of any regiments that were part of any division.

Thus one would expect that the 82nd division would have the 325th, 326th,
and 327th regiments and the 101st would have the 401st, 402nd, and 403rd.
Looking at the unit numbers of the various airborne divisions, it looks as
though two of the regiments were taken from the 82nd and transfered to
other divisions (possibly to help transfer knowledge about airborne
operations), while a new series of regiments numbered in the 500's were
created to replace existing regiments in the airborne divisions.

--
Roger Moore | Master of Meaningless Trivia | (raj@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx)
I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of freedom of the
people by gradual and silent encroachments by those in power than by
violent and sudden usurpations. -- James Madison
.

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