11th Infantry Division (United States)

Former US Army unit June 2015 May 2026 11th Division WWI11D.svg 200px August 1918 - November 1919 11th Infantry Division shoulder sleeve insignia United States Army Infantry Camp Meade, Maryland Lafayette Division Brigadier General Joseph Alfred GastonMajor General Jesse McIlvane Carter The 11th Division, an infantry division of the United States Army, was activated twice during the First World War. During the Second World War the division was notionally reactivated as part of Fortitude South II. History World War I The 11th Division was first formed as a National Guard division in early 1917 consisting of units of the Michigan and Wisconsin National Guards. By the end of that same year, the 11th Division became the 32nd Division (later 32nd Infantry Division).February 2013thumb|Official Seal of the Eleventh Division, formed by 15,000 men of the 11th division at Camp Meade, Maryland, 1918|leftUS Infantry Divisions 10th Mountain Division 12th Infantry Division 1918-1919 12th Infantry Division The 11th Division was reformed as a National Army division in August 1918 at Camp Meade, Maryland, and was commanded briefly by Brigadier General Joseph Alfred Gaston before Major General Jesse McIlvane CarterKozlowski Angie Latham 2024-08-19 Honoring a French hero’s legacy: Vive Lafayette! » The Business Monthly https://bizmonthly.com/opinion/columns/2024/08/honoring-a-french-heros-legacy-vive-lafayette/ 2026-07-16 The Business Monthly en-USRichard J. Beamish, America's Part in the World War, 2005, page 562 took over. The division was nicknamed the Lafayette Division,Paul Dickson, War Slang, 2011, page 76 and its shoulder sleeve insignia included a silhouette of Lafayette.The American Rifleman, Divisional Insignia Explained, 1 March 1919, page 451 The 17th Infantry Regiment, and the 63rd Infantry Regiment were the two units chosen as the cadre around which the division would be formed. The 71st and 72nd Infantry Regiments were formed from cadres from the 17th and 63rd Regiments. The division's field artillery brigade was trained at West Point, Kentucky, and never actually joined the division at Camp Meade. The division's advanced schools detachment started for England on 25 October 1918, arriving 8 November 1918.Beamish, 2005, p. 562 With the Armistice, further activities were halted and the division disbanded on 29 November 1918 at Camp Meade, Maryland. World War II (deception formation) 11th Infantry Division (deception) US 11th Infantry Division.svg 200px Shoulder Sleeve Insignia of the third 11th Infantry Division. It was made to resemble the face of a clock, with the 11 o'clock position colored black to represent the 11th Division. 1944 Operation Fortitude South US United States United States Army Infantry Division 25px XXXIII Corps (fictitious) Northwich, Cheshire (deception) The 11th Infantry Division was 'reformed' for a third time in 1944 as part of Operation Fortitude. A purely notional unit, in the deception it was depicted as intended to replace the real 4th Armored Division when the 4th Armored moved to Normandy.Hesketh 1999 244Holt 2005 902 The division was presented to the Germans as a well trained unit based in the area around Northwich, CheshireUS phantom divisions – Normandy landing D-Day Overlord https://www.dday-overlord.com/en/d-day/preliminary-operations/us-phantom-divisions 2026-07-16 en-US with its headquarters located at Delamere House. When the 4th Armored Division moved to Normandy, the 11th Infantry Division was depicted as moving into the vacated quarters around Bury St Edmunds.Hesketh 1999 422 There, as part of the (notional) US XXXIII Corps of the (notional) US 14th Army it was depicted as assigned the role of following up the Pas de Calais landings.Hesketh 1999 418 In the aftermath of Fortitude South II the 11th Division was depicted as moving to Winchester in Hampshire during August, 1944. The deception then had the 11th Division moving to Abergavenny in South Wales during October, 1944 when the deception was terminated by announcing that the 11th Division had been disbanded to provide replacements for other units. In the deception the 11th Infantry Division was composed of the notional 178th, 352nd, and 392d Infantry Regiments, in addition to notional artillery and support units. References Citations Bibliography https://books.google.com/books?id=sg1IKgmKdnUC America's Part in the World War: A History of the Greatness of Our Country's Achievements Beamish Richard J. Kessinger Publishing 2005 978-1-4179-5718-7 The Deceivers: Allied Military Deception in the Second World War Thaddeus Holt Holt Thaddeus Phoenix 2005 0-7538-1917-1 Fortitude: The D-Day Deception Campaign Hesketh Roger St Ermin's Press 1999 0-316-85172-8 External links 11th Infantry Division 011th Category:Operation Quicksilver (deception plan) formations Category:Military units and formations established in 1917 Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1919 11th