Attached and Affiliated Units

Throughout the combat tour, various units were attached to the 103rd Infantry Division for a variety of reasons, from needing additional or specific support on various missions to simply working in the same area of operations. These attached units were often specialty units that the 103rd Infantry Division did not have organically built into their structure, such as anti-tank battalions, armored units, or tank destroyers. In some rare instances, the 103rd Infantry Division also bolstered their strength by having infantry battalions from different divisions folded into their ranks. Please see below for a full list of the attached units and the dates that they were attached to the 103rd Infantry Division as well as a brief description of each specialty unit.

Anti-Aircraft Artillery Units

Anti-aircraft artillery units provided an umbrella of sorts over the soldiers of the 103rd Infantry Division and protected from possible enemy air attacks. These units used a variety of weapons and guns, from multiple .50 caliber machine guns to heavier pieces of artillery that could fire projectiles that exploded at a certain time or height to send shrapnel in different directions to bring down aircraft. In some instances, these machine guns and artillery pieces could also be used for anti-personnel purposes with devastating effect. Two different anti-aircraft battalions were attached to the 103rd Division during the war.

353rd AAA SL Battalion:

25 January- 5 February 1945

756th Tank Battalion:

15 November 1944-3 February 1945

22 February-31 March 1945

47th Tank Battalion, 48th Tank Battalion and CCA (14th Armored Division

2-3 December 1944

14-19 December 1944

4-10 March 1945

242nd Field Artillery Battalion (105mm Howitzer):

2 March-25 March 1945

28 March-29 March 1945

26 April-5 May 1945

Armored Units

761st Tank Battalion:

10 March-28 March 1945

Armored units were vital to increasing the firepower of infantry units in World War II, and were often used in support of ground units when moving on unknown terrain or on well-defended objectives. The tank battalions comprised tanks with variety of sizes of main guns from 37mm to 105mm. Once the tank battalions got to Europe, they were almost always attached to different units instead of fighting on their own. Because of their strategic importance on the battlefield and their mobility, armored units were often engaged in combat and their crews had little rest. During the war, the 103rd was attached to several different armored battalions.

191st Tank Battalion:

25 January-5 February 1945

Cavalry Units

Cavalry units were assigned to the 103rd Infantry Division to assist with scouting and reconnaissance, as well as acting as additional troops to fill in any unoccupied positions on the front lines or to fill gaps caused by manpower shortages. When acting in their traditional reconnaissance role, the soldiers of the cavalry units would scout ahead of the men of the 103rd Infantry Division to discover and communicate any enemy activity, especially possible ambushes. Two different cavalry units were attached to the 103rd during their time in the ETO.

115th Cavalry Group:

24 April- 3 May 1945

Chemical Units

117th Cavalry Recon Squad:

24 April- 5 May 1945

81st Chemical Mortar Battalion:

15 March-5 May 1945

83rd Chemical Mortar Battalion:

21 April-9 May 1945

Chemical battalions attached to the 103rd worked with any munitions or other materials that were considered hazardous or required specialty training and handling. These units were responsible for any non-traditional (high explosive) mortar rounds such as smoke, white phosphorous, chemical, or gas rounds that would be carried and fired if necessary. Three different chemical units worked with the 103rd during the war.

3rd Chemical Mortar Battalion:

14 November-21 December 1944

495th Armored Field Artillery Battalion

(12th Armored Division):

26 December 1944-2 January 1945

601st Tank Destroyer Battalion (Self-Propelled):

15 November 1944-5 February 1945

781st Tank Battalion:

17 January-5 February 1945

17 February-22 February 1945

23 April-5 May 1945

43rd Tank Battalion (12th Armored Division):

5 December 1944-7 January 1945

Field Artillery Units

While the 103rd Infantry Division had their own, dedicated artillery battalions, additional artillery units were often attached to assist if additional fire missions were needed, especially when the division was advancing. Artillery battalions using weapons of differing firepower were also attached to the 103rd if needed for a particular mission. The most common artillery pieces used by these units were 105mm and 155mm guns, both of which could rain down devastating fire on enemy positions; they were often used to “soften up” an objective before an infantry assault.

69th Armored Field Artillery Battalion:

19 February-unknown detachment date, 1945 3 May-9 May 1945

991st Field Artillery Battalion (155mm Howitzer):

20 March-24 March 1945

Infantry Units

At times during the war, additional infantry manpower might be needed by a Division to deal with a specific offensive or defensive mission or just to bolster the Division’s strength for a time. While this did not happen often during the war, there were times that the 103rd Infantry was joined by other infantry units or regiments.

274th Infantry Regiment (70th Infantry Division):

17 January-22 January 1945

Tank Destroyer Units

Tank destroyer units often advanced with infantry to provide protection and added firepower should the infantry unit find itself confronting enemy tanks or other armor forces. The tank destroyer units also provided general, close fire support to infantry units that were moving or in need of immediate assistance. In the U. S. Army in WWII, there were two main types of tank destroyer units, those with self-propelled guns and those with towed guns. Self-Propelled units had guns that were attached or part of a wheeled or tracked vehicle, and therefore much more mobile. Towed guns were independent guns that relied on vehicles to move them to a fixed position.

614th Tank Destroyer Battalion (Towed):

7 February-31 March 1945

30 April- 5 May 1945

824th Tank Destroyer Battalion (Self-Propelled):

24 April-5 May 1945