The 29^th Infantry Division was one of the three American Infantry Divisions which took part in the D-Day landing.

Also known as the "Blue and Grey Division" it was created back in 1917 and fought in France during the First World War.

On the 3^rd of February 1941 the division was reactivated under the orders of Commanding General Leonard Townsend Gerow until July 1943. Then General Charles Hunter Gerhardt took command.

The 29^th Infantry Division sailed from New York both on the RMS Queen Mary (that you can visit today at Long Beach, California) and the RMS Queen Elizabeth the 26^th of  September and the 5^th of October 1942 to Greenock in Scotland where the men arrived on October 11^th 1942.

On October 18^th, 1942 elements of the 29^th Division were transferred to Tidworth and set up base at the Salisbury Camp vacated by the 1^st Infantry Division.

Only one of their Artillery Battalion (110^th Field Artillery Battalion) will temporarily be set up at Banbury, about 80 miles up north.

Composed exclusively of volunteers, the 29^th Rangers Battalion was created in December 1942.

This Rangers Battalion was based at Bude, Cornwall and were stationed in some luxury hotel where the men tasted a variety of Army food rations! Why? To find out which rations was the best during battle! To do so, they had to march 25 miles to find out how physically efficient was the food ration they took that day!

The 29^th Rangers Battalion will be disbanded on October 4^th, 1943, the men were sent back to the three Infantry Regiments of the 29^th Infantry Division.

In May 1943 the soldiers of the 29^th Infantry Division were deployed to different places.

The 175^th Infantry Regiment to Torquay and Exeter then to Devon and Penzance, Camborne, Saint Ives and finally Helston.

The 116^th Infantry Regiment were sent to Plymouth.

As for the 115^th Infantry Regiment, they were deployed per Battalions:

• The 1^st Battalion to Tregantle Fort
• The 2^nd Battalion to Launceston
• The 3^rd Battalion, with the Service Company & Anti-tank Company, to Bodmin

The men of the 116^th Infantry Regiment arrived at the 1^st US Army Assault Training Center in Saunton Sands for training on the 1^st of September 1943.  There they were trained to fight the first hundred yards of the beach, as if they were landing in Normandy (Note: follow one of Normandy American Heroes tour to discover with our SUV's the elements still existing of the Assault Training Center!)

The 115^th  Regimental Combat Team arrived at the Assault Training Center  two months later on the 5^th of November 1943.

The Regimental Combat team was the only unit who went back to the Assault Training Center in March 1944 for a refresher course between the 20^th and the 29^th.

Then, from the 2^nd to the 5^th of May 1944, the men of the 29^th Division had three rehearsal exercise at Slapton Sands, codenamed "FABIUS-1" (Final Assault Before Invasion of the US Army) to learn how to get out of an LCVP as fast as possible under enemy fire. As you do realize, no German troops were in the U.K. so other elements of the 1st US Army played the role of the enemy and were instructed to shoot live bullets above the head of their comrade!

Note: some LCVP are still standing at the Assault Training Center! How so? Because they were built in concrete...

At the end of the FABIUS-1 training, the men of 116^th Infantry Regiment and those of the 115^th Infantry Regiment were ready to land and liberate Europe from the Nazis.

On the 4^th of June 1944 the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, General Dwight D. Eisenhower gave the order from the library of Southwick House overlooking Portsmouth, the famous simple order: "Ok let's go!"

Written by Pierre Fallet, WWII Trainee of Normandy American Heroes