103rd Inf Division

Genuine WWII shoulder badge of the 103rd Infantry Division. 

The 103rd Infantry Division is a division of the US Army, active during World War II.

It was created on October 15, 1942 and after two years of training, it was sent to Europe, arriving in Marseille on October 20, 1944. It relieved the 3rd division at Chevry at the beginning of November, then experiencing its first combats. On November 16, it progressed towards Saint-Dié, through the Vosges massif, encountering violent resistance. It took Diefenbach on November 29 then Sélestat on December 4. It entered Germany a few days later, testing the first defenses of the Siegfried Line. Positioned west of Sarreguemines at the time of the Battle of the Bulge, the unit was spared by the German offensive, repelling the German advance near Muehlhausen between January 23 and 25. From March 15, the division returned to the offensive, crossing the Moder and piercing the Siegfried Line.

In the final weeks of the German campaign, enemy resistance collapsed. The 103rd Division reached the Rhine on March 23, clearing the west bank of the river of all opposing resistance. In mid-April, it began a rapid advance, taking Münsingen (Baden-Württemberg) on ​​April 24 and then liberating the Kaufering concentration camp, a component of the Dachau camp on April 27. The first members of the unit crossed the Danube on April 26 and continued their advance towards Austria, capturing Innsbrück on May 4 almost without a fight. The 411th Infantry Regiment continued to the Brenner Pass where it joined with the advanced elements of the 88th Division coming from Italy. After the war, the unit returned to American soil on September 10 and was demobilized twelve days later.