1st Engineer Brigade

the U.S. brigade the Russian brigade 1st Guards Engineer Brigade other brigades 1st Brigade (disambiguation) October 2020 October 2020 1st Engineer Amphibian Brigade1st Engineer Special Brigade1st Engineer Brigade File:1EngrBdeSSI.jpg 200px 1st Engineer Brigade Shoulder Sleeve Insignia 1942–19461986–present United States United States Engineer training Brigade 24px United States Army Engineer School Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri Headquarters "Put 'Em Across" red darkgraywhite darkgray Red and white World War II 1st Engineer Brigade COL Mike Kieser CSM Jesse Cody 125px Distinctive unit insignia 200px 1st Engineer Brigade Flag The 1st Engineer Brigade is a military engineering training brigade of the United States Army subordinate to the United States Army Engineer School. It is headquartered at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. History World War II The 1st Engineer Amphibian Brigade was activated at Camp Edwards, Massachusetts on 15 June 1942.Coll Keith Rosenthal 1958 365–368 Some 2,269 men were transferred from existing units, the 37th Engineer Combat Regiment providing the nucleus of the boat regiment, and the 87th Engineer Heavy Ponton Battalion that of the shore regiment.Coll Keith Rosenthal 1958 365–368 Brigadier General Henry C. Wolfe was assigned as commanding general on 7 July 1942.Heavey 1988 16 The brigade trained until 15 July, when it was assigned to the Amphibious Training Command.Coll Keith Rosenthal 1958 365–368 thumb|left|upright|Monument for the 1st Engineer Special Brigade on Utah Beach The brigade was pulled from the Amphibious Training Center early and sent to England to participate in Operation Sledgehammer, departing from the New York Port of Embarkation on 5 August, and arriving on 17 August.Stanton 1984 513 Elements of the brigade participated in the Operation Torch. The 531st Shore Regiment and 286th Signal Company acted as the shore party for the 1st Infantry Division, while the 2nd Battalion, 591st Engineer Boat Regiment was reorganized as a shore battalion, and operated in support of Combat Command B, 1st Armored Division.Heavey 1988 20–21 Brigade headquarters departed Glasgow on 24 November, and landed in North Africa on 6 December.Stanton 1984 513 Wolfe became chief engineer at the Services of Supply on 22 February and Colonel R. L. Brown of the 531st Engineer Shore Regiment acted as commander.Heavey 1988 37–40 Wolfe rejoined the brigade on 22 March 1943, but on 25 May he became S-3 at Allied Force Headquarters, and was replaced by Colonel Eugene M. Caffey.Heavey 1988 37–40 On 10 May 1943, the brigade was redesignated the 1st Engineer Special Brigade.Headquarters and Headquarters Company 1st Engineer Brigade – Lineage and Honors U.S. Army Center of Military History https://history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/lineages/branches/eng/0001enbde.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20141230131552/http://www.history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/lineages/branches/eng/0001enbde.htm dead 30 December 2014 5 February 2020 The 591st Boat Regiment was detached, as was the 561st Boat Maintenance Company, which remained in England working on Navy landing craft, but the 36th and 540th Engineer Combat Regiments were attached for the 10 July Allied invasion of Sicily (Operation Husky),Heavey 1988 37–40 bringing the strength of the brigade to over 20,000.Ruppenthal 1953 332 The brigade then participated in the Allied invasion of Italy at Salerno (Operation Avalanche) on 9 September.Heavey 1988 46–47 In November 1943, the headquarters of the 1st Engineer Special Brigade, along with the 531st Shore Regiment, 201st Medical Battalion, 286th Signal Company, 262nd Amphibian Truck Battalion and 3497th Ordnance Medium Automotive Maintenance Company, returned to England to participate in the invasion of Normandy (Operation Overlord).Heavey 1988 46–47 This nucleus of 3,346 men was built up to a strength of 15,000 men for Overlord.Beck Bortz Lynch Mayo 1985 309 During Exercise Tiger, a rehearsal for the Normandy operation on 28 April, German E-Boats attacked a convoy of landing ships, tank (LSTs) of the XI Amphibious Force carrying troops of the brigade. Two LSTs were sunk, and the brigade lost 413 men dead and 16 wounded.Ruppenthal 1953 332 The exercise was observed by Lieutenant General Omar N. Bradley, who, unaware of the sinking of the LSTs, blamed the resulting poor performance of the brigade on Caffey, and had him temporarily replaced for the Normandy landings by Brigadier General James E. Wharton.Beck Bortz Lynch Mayo 1985 332 The brigade participated in the D-Day landing on Utah Beach, and operated as Utah Beach Command until 23 October 1944, and then as the Utah District of the Normandy Base Section until 7 December 1944.Stanton 1984 513 Under the command of Colonel Benjamin B. Talley, the brigade headquarters returned to England, and embarked for the United States on 23 December. It arrived at Fort Dix, New Jersey, on 30 December. After four weeks leave, it reassembled at Fort Lewis, Washington. Part of the brigade headquarters went by air to Leyte to join the XXIV Corps for the invasion of Okinawa, while the rest traveled directly to Okinawa on the Achernar AKA-53 6.Heavey 1988 177 The brigade was in charge of unloading on Okinawa from 9 April to 31 May. It then prepared for the invasion of Japan. This did not occur due to the end of the war, and the brigade landed in Korea on 12 September 1945. Its final commander was Colonel Robert J. Kasper, who assumed command on 1 November 1945.Cullum 1950 941 The brigade was inactivated in Korea on 18 February 1946.Stanton 1984 513 Organization for the landing in Normandy:Heavey 1988 204–206 Brigade Headquarters 531st Engineer Shore Regiment 24th Amphibian Truck Battalion 462nd Amphibian Truck Company 478th Amphibian Truck Company 479th Amphibian Truck Company 306th Quartermaster Battalion 556th Quartermaster Railhead Company 562nd Quartermaster Railhead Company 3939th Quartermaster Gas Supply Co 191st Ordnance Battalion 3497th Ordnance Medium Automotive Maintenance Company 625th Ordnance Ammunition Company 161st Ordnance Platoon 577th Quartermaster Battalion 363rd Quartermaster Service Company 3207th Quartermaster Service Company 4144th Quartermaster Service Company 261st Medical Battalion (Amphibious) 449th Military Police Company 286th Joint Assault Signal Company 33rd Chemical Decontamination Company Postwar On 30 September 1986, the brigade was reformed at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, as the 1st Engineer Brigade, and was assigned to the United States Army Engineer School within the Training and Doctrine Command. Current Structure 25px 1st Engineer Brigade, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri 25px 31st Engineer Battalion, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri 25px 35th Engineer Battalion, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri 25px 169th Engineer Battalion, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri 25px 554th Engineer Battalion, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri References Bibliography Beck Alfred Bortz Abe Lynch Charles W. Mayo Lida Weld Ralph F. The Corps of Engineers: The War Against Germany United States Army in World War II – The Technical Services Washington, DC Center of Military History, Department of the Army 1985 10778247 https://history.army.mil/html/books/010/10-22/CMH_Pub_10-22.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20120927120422/http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/010/10-22/CMH_Pub_10-22.pdf dead 27 September 2012 31 January 2020 Coll Blanche D. Keith Jean E. Rosenthal Herbert H. The Corps of Engineers: Troops and Equipment Washington, DC Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of the Army 1958 934025581 https://history.army.mil/catalog/pubs/10/10-4.html https://web.archive.org/web/20101108053804/http://www.history.army.mil/catalog/pubs/10/10-4.html dead 8 November 2010 31 January 2020 Cullum George W. Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the US Military Academy at West Point New York since its Establishment in 1802: Supplement Volume IX 1940–1950 George Washington Cullum R. R. Donnelly and Sons, The Lakeside Press Chicago, Illinois 1950 http://digital-library.usma.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16919coll3/id/22314/rec/10 13 October 2015 Heavey William F. William F. Heavey 1947 Down Ramp! The Story of the Army Amphibian Engineers The Battery Press Nashville, Tennessee 1988 0-89839-123-7 270398219 Ruppenthal Roland G Logistical Support of the Armies: Volume I, May 1941 – September 1944 United States Army in World War II - European Theater of Operations Washington, DC Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of the Army 1953 https://history.army.mil/html/books/007/7-2-1/CMH_Pub_7-2-1.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20120927110237/http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/007/7-2-1/CMH_Pub_7-2-1.pdf dead 27 September 2012 14 July 2019 640653201 Stanton Shelby L. Order of Battle: U.S. Army World War II Novato, California Presidio Press 1984 0-89141-195-X 464157998 registration https://archive.org/details/orderofbattleusa00stan 001 Category:United States Army Corps of Engineers Category:United States Army Engineer School