1st Infantry Division
Insignia of the 1st Infantry Division
Active	24 May 1917 - present
Country	United States
Branch	United States Army
Type	Combined arms
Size	Division
Part of	III Armored Corps
Garrison/HQ	Fort Riley, Kansas
Nickname(s)	"The Big Red One"[1] (abbreviated "BRO"[2]) "The Bloody First"
Motto(s)	No Mission Too Difficult. No Sacrifice Too Great. Duty First!
March	"The Big Red One Song"[3]
Mascot(s)	Rags
Engagements	World War I Montdidier-Noyon Aisne-Marne St. Mihiel Meuse-Argonne World War II Algeria-French Morocco Tunisia Italian campaign Operation Husky Battle of Troina Operation Overlord Northern France Operation Cobra Rhineland Battle of the Mons pocket Battle of Aachen Battle of Hürtgen Forest Ardennes-Alsace Central Europe Operation Lumberjack Battle of Remagen Vietnam War Tet Offensive Gulf War Operation Desert Storm Battle of 73 Easting Battle of Norfolk Global War on Terrorism Iraq War First Battle of Fallujah Second Battle of Fallujah Battle of Ramadi War in Afghanistan Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Freedom's Sentinel Operation Inherent Resolve
Website	1id.army.mil Leadership
Commanders
Commanding General	MG Monte L. Rone
Deputy Commanding General	BG Niave F. Knell
Command Sergeant Major	CSM Derek Noyes
Previous Commanders	Complete list
Insignia
Subdued shoulder sleeve insignia, worn on ACU
Combat Service Identification Badge
Distinctive unit insignia
Flag[4]

The 1st Infantry Division (1ID) is a combined arms division of the United States Army, and is the oldest continuously serving division in the Regular Army.^[5] It has seen continuous service since its organization in 1917 during World War I.^[6] It was officially nicknamed "The Big Red One" (abbreviated "BRO"^[2]) after its shoulder patch^[6] and is also nicknamed "The Fighting First."^[6] The division has also received troop monikers of "The Big Dead One" and "The Bloody First" as puns on the respective officially sanctioned nicknames.^[7] It is currently based at Fort Riley, Kansas.

World War I

A few weeks after the American entry into World War I, the First Expeditionary Division, later designated the 1st Infantry Division, was constituted on 24 May 1917, in the Regular Army, and was organized on 8 June 1917, at Fort Jay, on Governors Island in New York harbor under the command of Brigadier General William L. Sibert, from Army units then in service on the Mexico–United States border and at various Army posts throughout the United States. The original table of organization and equipment (TO&E) included two organic infantry brigades of two infantry regiments each, one engineer battalion; one signal battalion; one trench mortar battery; one field artillery brigade of three field artillery regiments; one air squadron; and a full division train. The total authorized strength of this TO&E was 18,919 officers and enlisted men. George S. Patton, who served as the first headquarters commandant for the American Expeditionary Forces, oversaw much of the arrangements for the movement of the 1st Division to France, and their organization in-country. Frank W. Coe, who later served as Chief of Coast Artillery, was the division's first chief of staff.

The first units sailed from New York City and Hoboken, New Jersey, on 14 June 1917.^[8] Throughout the remainder of the year, the rest of the division followed, landing at St. Nazaire, France, and Liverpool, England. After a brief stay in rest camps, the troops in England proceeded to France, landing at Le Havre. The last unit arrived in St. Nazaire 22 December. Upon arrival in France, the division, less its artillery, was assembled in the First (Gondrecourt) training area, and the artillery was at Le Valdahon.

On 4 July, the 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry,^[9] paraded through the streets of Paris to bolster the sagging French spirits. An apocryphal story holds that at Lafayette's tomb, to the delight of the attending Parisians, Captain Charles E. Stanton of the division's 16th Infantry Regiment stepped forward and declared, "Lafayette, nous sommes ici! " Two days later, on 6 July, Headquarters, First Expeditionary Division was redesignated as Headquarters, First Division, American Expeditionary Forces.

On 8 August 1917, the 1st Division adopted the "square" Table of Organization and Equipment (TO&E), which specified two organic infantry brigades of two infantry regiments each; one engineer regiment; one signal battalion; one machine gun battalion; one field artillery brigade of three field artillery regiments, and a complete division train. The total authorized strength of this new TO&E was 27,120 officers and enlisted men.

On the morning of 23 October, the first American shell of the war was fired toward German lines by a First Division artillery unit. Two days later, the 2nd Battalion of the 16th Infantry suffered the first American casualties of the war.

By April 1918, the German Army had pushed to within 40 miles (64 km) of Paris. In reaction to this thrust, the division moved into the Picardy Sector to bolster the exhausted French First Army. To the division's front lay the small village of Cantigny, situated on the high ground overlooking a forested countryside. The 28th Infantry Regiment^{[citation needed]} attacked the town, and within 45 minutes captured it along with 250 German soldiers. It was the first American victory of the war. The 28th was thereafter named the "Black Lions of Cantigny."^[10]

Soissons was taken by the 1st Division in July 1918. The Soisson's victory was costly – 700 men were killed or wounded. (One of them, Private Francis Lupo of Cincinnati, was missing in action for 85 years, until his remains were discovered on the former battlefield in 2003).^[11] The 1st Division took part in the first offensive by an American army in the war, and helped to clear the Saint-Mihiel salient by fighting continuously from 11 to 13 September 1918. The last major World War I battle was fought in the Meuse-Argonne Forest. The division advanced a total of seven kilometers and defeated, in whole or part, eight German divisions. This victory was mainly due to the efforts of George C. Marshall, who began the war as the division's Deputy Chief of Staff before being elevated to G-3 for the entire AEF in July 1918. Combat operations ended with the implementation of the terms of the Armistice on 11 November 1918. At the time the division was at Sedan, the farthest American penetration of the war, and was the first to cross the Rhine into occupied Germany.

By the end of the war, the division had suffered 4,964 killed in action, 17,201 wounded in action, and 1,056 missing or died of wounds. Five division soldiers received Medals of Honor.

The division's dog mascot was a mixed-breed terrier known as Rags. Rags was adopted by the division in 1918 and remained its mascot until his death in 1936. Rags achieved notoriety and celebrity as a war dog, after saving many lives in the crucial Argonne Campaign by delivering a vital message despite being bombed and gassed.

Order of battle

Assigned units

• Headquarters, 1st Division
• 1st Infantry Brigade
  • 16th Infantry Regiment
  • 18th Infantry Regiment
  • 2nd Machine Gun Battalion
• 2nd Infantry Brigade
  • 26th Infantry Regiment
  • 28th Infantry Regiment
  • 3rd Machine Gun Battalion
• 1st Field Artillery Brigade
  • 5th Field Artillery Regiment (155 mm)
  • 6th Field Artillery Regiment (75 mm)
  • 7th Field Artillery Regiment (75 mm)
  • 1st Trench Mortar Battery
• 1st Machine Gun Battalion
• 1st Engineer Regiment
• 2nd Field Signal Battalion
• Headquarters Troop, 1st Division
• 1st Train Headquarters and Military Police
  • 1st Ammunition Train
  • 1st Supply Train
  • 1st Engineer Train
  • 1st Sanitary Train
    • 2nd, 3rd, 12th, and 13th Ambulance Companies and Field Hospitals)

1st Military Police Company, 1st Infantry Division.

Attached units

En route to France and in 1st (Gondrecourt) Training Area

(as of 9 June – 23 September 1917)

• 5th Regiment USMC

Ménil-la-Tour Area 28 February – 3 April 1918

• 1st Battalion, 2nd Engineers (2nd Division)

Cantigny Sector, at times from 27 April to 7 July 1918

• French 228th Field Artillery Regiment (75 mm)
• French 253d Field Artillery Regiment (75 mm)
• 1st and 2nd Battalions of the French 258th Field Artillery Regiment (75 mm)
• 4th Battalion, Fr 301st Artillery Regiment (155 mm)
• One battery, French 3rd Cl Artillery Regiment (155 mm)
• 3rd and 4th Battalions, French 284th Artillery Regiment (220 mm)
• 2nd Battalion, French 289th Artillery Regiment (220 mm)
• One battery, Fr 3d Cl Artillery Regiment (220 mm)
• 6th Battalion, Fr 289th Artillery Regiment (280 mm)
• Two batteries Fr TM (58 mm)
• One battery Fr TM (150 mm)
• One battery Fr TM (240 mm)
• Fr 5th Tank Battalion (12 tanks)

Aisne-Marne Operation

(as of 18–23 July 1918)

• Fr 42d Aero Sq
• Fr 83d Bln Company
• Fr 253d FA-Portée (75 mm)
• Fr 11th and 12th Groups of Tanks

Saizerais Sector

(as of 8–24 August 1918)

• Fr 258th Aero Sq
• 6th and 7th Bln Companies
• 3 batteries Fr 247th FA- Portée
• Preceding and during the Saint-Mihiel Operation, at times from 8–14 September 1918
• 8th Observation Sq
• 9th Bln Company
• 58th Field Artillery Brigade and 108th Am Tn (33d Division)
• 76th Field Artillery (3d Division) (75 mm)
• Two batteries, 44th CA (8")
• Troops D, F, and H, 2nd Cavalry
• Two platoons, Company A, 1st Gas Regiment (Eight mortars)
• Two infantry battalions (42nd Division)
• 6th Infantry Brigade (3nd^{[clarification needed]} Division)
  • Two companies, 51st Pioneer Infantry
  • 7th MG Battalion (3d Division)
  • 49 tanks of 1st Tank Brigade

Meuse-Argonne Operation

(as of 1–2 October 1918)

• 60th Field Artillery Brigade
• 110th Am Tn (35th Division)

(as of 1–12 October 1918)

• 1st Aero Squadron
• 2d Bln Company
• Fr 219th Field Artillery (75 mm)
• Fr 247th Field Artillery (6 batteries 75 mm)
• Fr 5th Battalion 282d Artillery (220 mm)
• Provisional Squadron, 2d Cavalry
• Company C, 1st Gas Regiment
• Company C, 344th Tank Battalion, 1st Tank Brigade (16 tanks)
• Companies B and C, 345th Tank Battalion, 1st Tank Brigade (16 tanks)

(as of 7 October 1918)