Infantry Rings

Let’s look at the infantry and see how important this unit, division or brigade is in the overall scheme of things in the US military and elsewhere.

United Sates Army and the Infantry.

The United States along with most armies around the world depend enormously in the Infantry units and divisions. These are soldiers who are trained for the specific role of fighting toe to toe and have the ability to engage the enemy up close hence they suffer a far higher casualty rate the other departments of the military. They are very well trained in areas fitness, power, strength and discipline and have to think on their feet to have the best chance of surviving. The infantry units are the oldest branches of the armies and can certainly not be done without as there are some things machines and technology can’t do.

4th Infantry Division

The Secon World War Infantry
About 35% of the military’s population would be made up of Infantry well that’s since the Second World War but prior to that you would have a much higher percentage of Infantry. In Camp Greene in the state of North Carolina on December 10th 1917 under the leadership and command of George H. Cameron the 4th Infantry Division was organised. This particular division played a huge role in the 1st and 2nd world wars and indeed the current campaign in Iraq and Afghanistan, not a day goes by when that we don’t hear through the media about some of the battles that these fine infantry personnel are engaged in.

Infantry Training
 

One of the big training areas for the Infantry is in the great State of Texas about 200 miles south of Dallas in a place named Killeen. The name of the base here is Fort Hood and here is home to the 4th Infantry division and if you ever have the opportunity to drive in this area you will see the four leaf clover like symbol which is the 4th Infantry Division emblem, painted on the buildings and towers on this post. The early training was in North Carolina on Camp Greene, and historians will relate that in January and February 1918 when the East Coast of the United States was hit with one of the harshest winters on record the 4th Infantry spent 17 days doing outdoor training in preparation for their engagement in the First World War.

 

Infantry in Germany
 

In September 1944 the 22nd Infantry Reg. crossed over from the Belgian border and they became the first Infantry unit from the United States Military to cross in to the country controlled by the Third Reich and the infamous Adolf Hitler. But the Germans became aware of the incursion and immediately rushed reinforcements to the are which was a front of about 15 miles long. This period in the history of the Infantry was very difficult and a lot of the soldiers suffered with trench foot and other serious infections which would make fighting and movement extremely difficult as the weather also would have been very cold and wet. In the year of 1944 the 12th Infantry moved into a town called Hurtgen and they took over from the 28th Infantry Division.