NOTICE TO BUYERS ABOUT ILLEGAL USPS OVERCHARGES (last rev. 19 Mar 2022)
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These CDs contain PDF, MP3, MP4, HTM and TXT files that you can listen to, watch, view or read from your computer's cd drive. These are not DVDs. They willnot work in your DVD player.
These World War II Research CDs will get your started in your endeavor to learn about World War II, however, in many cases, files of a World War II division can bevery scarce and so these CDs may not include everything you might expect to see on a research cd or may want to know about a Division. Those files did not existor were unavailable in the Public Domain at the time this CD set was compiled.
Files copied from books and the National Archives, etc., are "as is" and may be incomplete or unreadable in parts and generally, there are no better source copiesavailable.
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CD1 is more Division specific and may contain historical narratives, daily reports and rosters and monographs, etc., while CD 2 is usually more Campaign andWorld War II general history focused and may contain film, research guides and forms among other interesting things.
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Researching
World War II
UnitHistories, Documents
Monographs, Books and Reports on CD
PDF Remastered and Keyword Searchable
This grouping of informationis for the World War 2 Researcher orFamily Member
and is designed to be suitable bothas a Research Tool and as a Family Heirloomkeepsake.
Top- Orderof Battle - Chronology Map- Files - History- Campaigns - Bottom
Battle
157th InfantryRegiment
179th Infantry Regiment
180th Infantry Regiment45th Infantry Division Artillery
158th Field Artillery Battalion(105mm)
160th Field Artillery Battalion(105mm)
171st Field Artillery Battalion(105mm)
189th Field Artillery Battalion(155mm)45th Reconnaissance Troop(Mechanized)
120th Engineer Combat Battalion
120th Medical Battalion
45th Infantry Division MilitaryPolice Platoon
45th Infantry Division SpecialTroops45th Quartermaster Company
45th Signal Company
700th Ordnance Light Maintenance Company
45th Counter Intelligence Corps Detachment
Casualties Killed- 1,510
Wounded - 7,246
Missing - 1,436
Captured - 266
Battle Casualties - 10,458
Non-Battle Casualties - 15,991
Total Casualties - 26,449Commanders
Maj.Gen. William S. Key
September 1940 - October1942Maj. Gen. Troy H.Middleton
October 1942 - December1943Maj. Gen. WilliamW. Eagles
December 1943 - December1944Maj. Gen. RobertT. Frederick
December 1944 - September1945Brig. Gen. HenryJ. D. Meyer
September 1945 - - 17 Aug 43Naples-Foggia9Sep 43 - 21 Jan 44Anzio22Jan - 24 May 44Rome-Arno22Jan - 9 Sep 44SouthernFrance15Aug - 14 Sep 44Rhineland15Sep 44 - 21 Mar 45Ardennes-Alsace16Dec 44 - 25 Jan 45CentralEurope22Mar - 11 May 45Medals
Medalof Honor Recipients- 8
Distinguished Service Cross- 54
Legion of Merit - 30
Silver Star - 1,230
Soldiers Medal - 36
Bronze Star - 3,314
Air Medal - 53Distinguished Unit Citations- 7
Daysof Combat- 511
Medal of HonorRecipients
VanT. Barfoot, 2nd Lt.
157th Infantry - 45th InfantryDivision
nr. Carano, Italy
May 23, 1944
ErnestChilders, 2nd Lt.
45th Infantry Division
Oliveto, Italy
September 22, 1943
AlmondE. Fisher, 2nd Lt.
Company E, 157th Infantry- 45th Infantry Division
nr. Grammont, France
September 12-13, 1944
WilliamJ. Johnston, Pfc.
Company G, 180th Infantry- 45th Infantry Division
nr. Padiglione, Italy
February 17-19, 1944
JackC. Montgomery, 1st Lt.
45th Infantry Division
nr. Padiglione, Italy
February 22, 1944
JamesD. Slaton, Cpl.
157th Infantry - 45th InfantryDivision
nr. Oliveto, Italy
September 23, 1943
JackL. Treadwell, Cpt.
Company F, 180th Infantry- 45th Infantry Division
nr. Nieder-Wurzbach, Germany
March 18, 1945
EdwardG. Wilkin, Cpl.
Company C, 157th Infantry- 45th Infantry Division
Siegfried Line in Germany
March 18, 1945
Top- Orderof Battle - Chronology Map- Files - History- Campaigns - Bottom
1942 14Jan-Thefirst contingent of the 34th Divisionembarks at Brooklyn. 194016Sep- The45th Infantry Division was federalizedinto the Active duty force.194215Aug- Divisionreconstituted as the 45th Airborneactivated at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana.Oct-Divisionmoved to Fort Bragg, North Carolinaand began its training under the AirborneCommand and trained at Fort Sill,Camp Barkeley, Fort Devens, Pine Campand Camp Pickett. The division trainedin amphibious assault techniques atFort Devens in preparation for theinvasion of Italy. 19438Jun-The Division sailed for the Mediterraneanregion.22Jun- The45th Division landed in North Africaand trained at Arzew, French Morocco.10Jul- TheDivision was one of the leading unitsin the amphibious assault on Sicily.26Jul-Divisionfought for four days to defeat Italianand German forces on Motta Hill.1Aug- TheDivision withdrew from the front linefor rest and rear-guard patrol duty.10Sep- TheDivision conducted its second landingat Agropoli and Paestrom.17Sep- The45th pushed to the Calore River aftera week of heavy fighting.20Sep- Americanforces were finally able to breakout and establish a more secure beachhead.3Nov-Divisioncrossed the Volturno River and tookVenafro. 19449Jan- The division inched forward into themountains reaching St. Elia, northof Cassino, before moving to a restarea.30Jan- VICorps moved out, it encountered heavyresistance and for the next four monthsthe division stood its ground duringrepeated German counterattacks.23May- TheDivision went on the offensive, crossingthe Tiber River by June 4.16Jun- Divisionwithdrew for rest in preparation foranother assault. 15Aug-The Division landed at St. Maxime,France during Operation Dragoon.12Sep-Seventh Army and the Third UnitedStates Army advance from Normandyand spearhead the drive for the BelfortGap. 24Sep-Took the strongly defended city ofEpinal.30Sep- Divisioncrossed the Moselle River and enteredthe western foothills of the Vosges,taking Rambervillers.23Oct-Division remained in the area a monthwaiting for other units to catch upbefore crossing the Mortagne River.25Nov- Aftera one month rest the Division resumedits advance attacking the forts northof Mutzig and crossed the ZintzelRiver and pushed through the Maginotdefenses.19451Jan- The45th Infantry Division was reassignedto VI Corps on New Year's day.2Jan- TheDivision fought defensively alongthe German border, withdrawing tothe Moder River.17Feb- TheDivisionwas pulled off the line for rest andtraining. 17Mar-The 45th moved north to the Sarregueminesarea and smashed through the SiegfriedLine. 21Mar- Homburgtaken.26Mar- Crossedthe Rhine between Worms and falls. 27Apr- TheDivision crossed the Danube Riverand liberated 32,000 captives of theDachau concentration camp.29Apr- TheDivision captured Munich during thenext two days, occupying the cityuntil V-E Dayand the surrender ofGermany. May-TheDivision remained in Munich and setup collection points and camps forthe massive numbers of surrenderingtroops of the German armies. Jun-TheDivision returned to New York andfrom there went to Camp Bowie, Texas.7Dec-The Division was deactivated fromthe active duty force.194610Sep- The 45th Infantry Division was reconstitutedas a National Guard unit.
Top- Orderof Battle - Chronology Map- Files - History- Campaigns - Bottom
45th Infantry Division
in World War II
CD1
Open all files from thefolders on the CDs
Install AdobeAcrobat PDF Reader from CD 1
Thefiles below are found on CD 1 GI StoriesHistory of the
45th Infantry Division
CD 1
39 Pages - PDF 1 Jul - 22 Aug 4345th-Infantry DivisionSicilian Campaign
G3 JournalOperation Husky
Part 1CD 1
28 Pages - PDF 13 - 14 Jul 4345th Infantry Division
179th Infantry SicilyCD 1
27 Pages - PDF 2 Nov 43 - 3 Jan 4445th Infantry Division
180th Infantry RegimentOperations
Venafro to Casale, Italy CD 1
25 Pages - PDF22 Jan - 31 May 44The German
Operation at Anzio
CD 1
167 Pages - PDF7 - 8 Feb 4445th Infantry Division
157th Infantry RegimentOperations
Moletta River LineAnzio Campaign CD 1
32 Pages - PDF16 Feb 4445th Infantry Division
179th Infantry RegimentInfantry in Defense
of a Wide FrontCD 1
115 Pages - PDF22 - 24 May 4445th Infantry Division
157th Infantry RegimentOperations
Battle at AnzioAnzio CampaignCD 1
24 Pages - PDF15 Mar 4545th Infantry Division
157th Infantry RegimentRegiment in a
Night AttackPalatinate, France CD 1
30 Pages - PDF17 - 20 Apr 4545th Infantry Division
180th Infantry GermanyCD 1
43 Pages - PDF45th Infantry DivisionConnecticut MenHistory CD 1
16 Pages - PDFOrder of BattleUS ARMY
European Theater
of OperationsCD 1
618 Pages - PDF 9 Jul - 17 Aug 43Sicily
CampaignCD 1
29 Pages - PDF Sicily and the
Surrender of ItalyCD 1
630 Pages - PDF 9 Sep 43 - 21 Jan 1
32 Pages - PDF 22 Jan - 24 May 44 Anzio
CampaignCD 1
28 Pages - PDF22 Jan - 9 Sep 1
31 Pages - PDF15 Aug - 14 Sep 44 Southern France
CampaignCD 1
32 Pages - PDF15 Sep 44 - 21 Mar 45 Rhineland
CampaignCD 1
36 Pages - PDF16 Dec 44 - 25 Jan 1
56 Pages - PDF The Ardennes
Battle of the BulgeCD 1
00 - Pages - PDF 22 Mar - 11 May 45 Central Europe
CampaignCD 1
36 Pages - PDF Pictorial Record
War Against
Germany Europe
and Adjacent AreasCD 1
458 Pages - PDF 1941 - 1945
US Army
World War II
Chronology
CD 1
672 Pages - PDF Research Guide
National Archives
Finding Information of
Personal Participation
in World War II GuideCD 1
5 Pages - PDF Form SF-180
Records Request Request for
Personnel RecordsCD 1
3 Pages - PDF Guide to
Research Resources Relating to
World War II
CD 1
20 Pages - PDF World War II
Situation MapsEurope
CD 1
82 Pages - PDF Thefiles below are found on CD 2VE Day
Eisenhower FlyerCD 2
1 Page - PDFRank
Insignia of GradeCD 2
1 Page - PDFChartEnlisted Men's
Uniform InsigniasCD 2
1 Page - 2
19 Pages - PDF Mines - Booby Traps
Identification GuideCD 2
80 Pages - PDF Aircraft
Nose ArtCD 2
34 Pages - PDF
Aircraft
Recognition GuideCD 2
17 Pages - PDF
Aircraft
Insignia PosterCD 2
1 Page - PDF
US
World War II
PostersCD 2
249 Pages - PDF
German
World War II
PostersCD 2
75 Pages - PDF
Comic Book
Covers
CD 2
8 Pages - PDF Song LyricsArmy
HIT KIT
of Popular SongsCD 2
6 Pages - PDF Troopships
of World War 2
391 Pages - PDF British
Grenadier Guards
1939 - 1945CampaignsBEF - 1939 - 1940
Tunisia 1942 - 1943
Italy - 1943 - 1945
Europe 1944 - 1945CD 2
93 Pages - PDF FilmThe
BIG PICTURE
Documentary Film "Combat Infantryman"An Official
Television Report
to the Nation
From the
United States ArmyCD 2
Film Info - PDF
Film: 27m14s - MP4 Newsreels"Allied Vise Tightens
On Rhineland"
Universal Newsreel
7 Dec 44
Film: 7m17s"Nazis Surrender"
Universal Newsreel
14 May 45
Film: 7m24s"The Year 1945"
United Newsreel
Film: 8m34sCD 2
Newsreels - Folder 1 Sep 39 - 10 May 42 Graphic History
Of The WarCD 2
76 Pages - PDF 1985Veterans
Remerbrances
of World War II40th Anniversary
of VE Day CD 2
141 Pages - PDF Brief History
of World War IICD 2
55 Pages - PDF APOsArmy
Postal 2
149 Pages - PDF
Top- Orderof Battle - Chronology Map- Files - History- Campaigns - Bottom
Infantry DivisionHistory
The45th Division landed in NorthAfrica, 22 June 1943, and trainedat Arzew, French Morocco.
It landed in Sicily,10 July, in its first major amphibiousoperation and moved inland underminor opposition. The enemy resistedfiercely at Motta Hill, 26 July,before losing the fourday battleof "Bloody Ridge." On1 August, the Division withdrewfor rest and patrols.
On 10 September1943, the second landing at Salernooccurred. Against stiff resistance,the 45th pushed to the CaloreRiver, 27 September, crossed theVolturno River, 3 November, andtook Venafro. Until 9 January1944, the Division inched forwardinto the mountains reaching St.Elia north of Cassino before movingto a rest area.
The 45th landedat Anzio, 22 January 1944, andfor 4 months stood its groundagainst violent assaults. It wentover to the attack, 23 May, crossedthe Tiber River, 4 June, outflankingRome and withdrew for rest andtraining on the 16th.
The 45th participatedin its fourth assault landing,15 August 1944, at St. Maximein Southern France. Against slightopposition, it spearheaded thedrive for the Belfort Gap. Ittook the strongly defended cityof Epinal, 24 September, crossedthe Moselle River and enteredthe western foothills of the Vosges,taking Rambervillers on the 30th,and crossing the Mortagne River,23 October.
After a briefrest the 45th cracked the fortsnorth of Mutzig, an anchor ofthe Maginot Line, 25 November,crossed the Zintzel River andpushed through the Maginot defenses.
From 2 January1945, the Division fought defensivelyalong the German border, withdrawingto the Moder River. On 17 February,it went back for rest and training.
The 45th movednorth to the Sarreguemines areaand smashed at the Siegfried Line,17 March, taking Homburg on the21st and crossing the Rhine betweenWorms and Hamm on the 26th. Theadvance continued, Aschaffenburgfalling, 3 April, and Nurnbergon the 20th. The Division crossedthe Danube, 27 April, took Munichon the 30th and as war ended wasstationed near Dachau.
Top- Orderof Battle - Chronology Map- Files - History- Campaigns - Bottom
45thInfantry
Division
Campaignsof World War II
Sicily9Jul - 17 Aug 43Naples-Foggia9Sep 43 - 21 Jan 44Anzio22Jan - 24 May 44Rome-Arno22Jan - 9 Sep 44SouthernFrance15Aug - 14 Sep 44Rhineland15Sep 44 - 21 Mar 45Ardennes-Alsace16Dec 44 - 25 Jan 45CentralEurope22Mar - 11 May 45
SicilyCampaign
9 July - 17 August 1943
On the nightof 9–10 July 1943, anAllied armada of 2,590 vesselslaunched one of the largestcombined operations of WorldWar II—the invasion ofSicily. Over the next thirty-eightdays, half a million Alliedsoldiers, sailors, and airmengrappled with their German andItalian counterparts for controlof this rocky outwork of Hitler’s“Fortress Europe.”When the struggle was over,Sicily became the first pieceof the Axis homeland to fallto Allied forces during WorldWar II. More important, it servedas both a base for the invasionof Italy and as a training groundfor many of the officers andenlisted men who eleven monthslater landed on the beachesof Normandy.
Naples- Foggia
9 September 1943 - 21 January1944
The Allied goals,established before the invasionof Italy, were to gain controlof the Mediterranean, keep pressureon the Germans while buildingfor the cross-Channel attack,and force Italy to withdraw fromthe war. All agreed that basesin Italy would provide supportfor the air war against Germansources of supply in the Balkansand the German industrial heartlanditself. These sound strategicgoals were valid in 1943 and havestood the test of time. By lateAugust, the Italian governmenthad decided to withdraw from thewar and break relations with Germany.The fall of Sicily had enhancedAllied control of the Mediterraneanbut had not assured it. Priorto the invasion of Italy, therefore,the Allied goals were far frombeing totally satisfied, and aneager world watched as the Allieslaunched first Operation BAYTOWNand then Operation AVALANCHE toinvade the European continent.
Anzio
22 January - 24 May 1944
The four monthsof this campaign would see someof the most savage fighting ofWorld War II.
Following thesuccessful Allied landings atCalabria, Taranto, and Salernoin early September 1943 and theunconditional surrender of Italythat same month, German forceshad quickly disarmed their formerallies and begun a slow, fightingwithdrawal to the north. Defendingtwo hastily prepared, fortifiedbelts stretching from coast tocoast, the Germans significantlyslowed the Allied advance beforesettling into the Gustav Line,a third, more formidable and sophisticateddefensive belt of interlockingpositions on the high ground alongthe peninsula’s narrowestpoint.
During the fourmonths of the Anzio Campaign theAllied VI Corps suffered over29,200 combat casualties (4,400killed, 18,000 wounded, 6,800prisoners or missing) and 37,000noncombat casualties. Two-thirdsof these losses, amounting to17 percent of VI Corps’effective strength, were inflictedbetween the initial landings andthe end of the German counteroffensiveon 4 March. Of the combat casualties,16,200 were Americans (2,800 killed,11,000 wounded, 2,400 prisonersor missing) as were 26,000 ofthe Allied noncombat casualties.German combat losses, sufferedwholly by the Fourteenth Army,were estimated at 27,500 (5,500killed, 17,500 wounded, and 4,500prisoners or missing), figuresvery similar to Allied losses.
The Anzio Campaigncontinues to be controversial,just as it was during its planningand implementation stages. Theoperation, according to U.S. ArmyCenter of Military History historianClayton D. Laurie, clearly failedin its immediate objectives ofoutflanking the Gustav Line, restoringmobility to the Italian campaign,and speeding the capture of Rome.
Yet the campaigndid accomplish several goals.The presence of a significantAllied force behind the Germanmain line of resistance, uncomfortablyclose to Rome, represented a constantthreat. The Germans could notignore Anzio and were forced intoa response, thereby surrenderingthe initiative in Italy to theAllies. The 135,000 troops ofthe Fourteenth Army surroundingAnzio could not be moved elsewhere,nor could they be used to makethe already formidable GustavLine virtually impregnable.
Rome -Arno
22 January - 9 September 1944
The Allied operationsin Italy between January and September1944 were essentially an infantryman’swar where the outcome was decidedby countless bitterly fought smallunit actions waged over some ofEurope’s most difficultterrain under some of the worstweather conditions found anywhereduring World War II.
SouthernFrance
15 August - 14 September 1944
The Allied invasionof southern France in the latesummer of 1944, an operation firstcode-named ANVIL and later DRAGOON,marked the beginning of one ofthe most successful but controversialcampaigns of World War II. However,because it fell both geographicallyand chronologically between twomuch larger Allied efforts innorthern France and Italy, bothits conduct and its contributionshave been largely ignored. Plannedoriginally as a simultaneous complementto OVERLORD, the cross-Channelattack on Normandy, ANVIL actuallytook place over two months later,on 15 August 1944, making it appearalmost an afterthought to themain Allied offensive in northernEurope. Yet the success of ANVILand the ensuing capture of thegreat southern French ports ofToulon and Marseille, togetherwith the subsequent drive northup the Rhone River valley to Lyonand Dijon, were ultimately toprovide critical support to theNormandy-based armies finallymoving east toward the Germanborder.
Rhineland
15 September 1944 - 21 March 1945
The RhinelandCampaign, although costly forthe Allies, had clearly been ruinousfor the Germans. The Germans sufferedsome 300,000 casualties and lostvast amounts of irreplaceableequipment. Hitler, having demandedthe defense of all of the Germanhomeland, enabled the Allies todestroy the Wehrmacht in the Westbetween the Siegfried Line andthe Rhine River. Now, the ThirdReich lay virtually prostratebefore Eisenhower’s massedarmies.
Ardennes- Alsace
16 December1944 - 25 January 1945
In August 1944, while his armieswere being destroyed in Normandy,Hitler secretly put in motionactions to build a large reserveforce, forofferding its use to bolsterGermany’s beleaguered defenses.To provide the needed manpower,he trimmed existing military forcesand conscripted youths, the unfit,and old men previously untouchedfor military service during WorldWar II.
In September Hitler named theport of Antwerp, Belgium, as theobjective. Selecting the Eifelregion as a staging area, Hitlerintended to mass twenty-five divisionsfor an attack through the thinlyheld Ardennes Forest area of southernBelgium and Luxembourg. Once theMeuse River was reached and crossed,these forces would swing northwestsome 60 miles to envelop the portof Antwerp. The maneuver was designedto sever the already stretchedAllied supply lines in the northand to encircle and destroy athird of the Allies’ groundforces. If successful, Hitlerbelieved that the offensive couldsmash the Allied coalition, orat least greatly cripple its groundcombat capabilities, leaving himfree to focus on the Russiansat his back door.
CentralEurope
22 March - 11 May 1945
By the beginningof the Central Europe Campaignof World War II, Allied victoryin Europe was inevitable. Havinggambled his future ability todefend Germany on the Ardennesoffensive and lost, Hitler hadno real strength left to stopthe powerful Allied armies. YetHitler forced the Allies to fight,often bitterly, for final victory.Even when the hopelessness ofthe German situation became obviousto his most loyal subordinates,Hitler refused to admit defeat.Only when Soviet artillery wasfalling around his Berlin headquartersbunker did the German Fuehrerbegin to perceive the final outcomeof his megalomaniacal crusade.
Top- Orderof Battle - Chronology Map- Files - History- Campaigns - Bottom
For Mac or PC computer use. A monographis a work of writing or essay or book on a specificsubject and may be released in the manner of a bookor journal article. Files copied from books andthe National Archives and are 'as is' and may beincomplete or unreadable in parts. For Special Requestsor more information about this or any of my other"Researching WWII" CDs like it, send an email to(removed per policy).
