Item:
ON5051

Original U.S. WWII 45th Division 180 Infantry Regiment Named Grouping with Scrapbook

Item Description

Original Items: One-of-a-kind set. This group belonged to Corporal Antonio Battigaglia who served with Company M, 180th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division during WWII. Corporal Battigaglia was injured in theater and it was severe enough to ship him home. He continued to serve as an MP in the states under 1st Service Command. He was born on 15th July 1925, enlisted in the Army on 1st September 1943 and was discharged on 3rd April 1946. We was sent to Europe in February 1944.

The 45th Infantry Division participated in its fourth amphibious assault landing during Operation Dragoon on 15 August 1944, at St. Maxime, in Southern France. The 45th Infantry Division landed its 157th and 180th regimental combat teams and captured the heights of the Chaines de Mar before meeting with the 1st Special Service Force. The German Army, reeling from the Battle of Normandy, in which it had suffered a major defeat, pulled back after a short fight, part of an overall German withdrawal to the east following the landings. Soldiers of the 45th Infantry Division engaged the dispersed forces of German Army Group G, suffering very few casualties.The U.S. Seventh Army, along with Free French forces, were able to advance north quickly. By 12 September, the Seventh Army linked up with Lieutenant General George S. Patton's U.S. Third Army, advancing from Normandy, joining the two forces at Dijon. Against slight opposition, it spearheaded the drive for the Belfort Gap. The 45th Infantry Division took the strongly defended city of Epinal on 24 September. The division was then reassigned to V Corps, under the command of Major General Leonard T. Gerow, for its next advance. On 30 September the division crossed the Moselle River and entered the western foothills of the Vosges, taking Rambervillers. It would remain in the area for a month waiting for other units to catch up before crossing the Mortagne River on 23 October. The division remained on the line with the U.S. 6th Army Group the southernmost of three army groups advancing through France.

After the crossing was complete, the division was relieved from V Corps and assigned to Major General Wade H. Haislip's XV Corps. The division was allowed a one-month rest, resuming its advance on 25 November, attacking the forts north of Mutzig. These forts had been designed by Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1893 to block access to the plain of Alsace. The 45th Division next crossed the Zintzel River before pushing through the Maginot Line defenses. During this time much of the division's artillery assets were attached to the 44th Infantry Division to provide additional support. The 45th Infantry Division, now commanded by Major General Robert T. Frederick, who had previously commanded the 1st Special Service Force, was reassigned to VI Corps on New Year's Day. From 2 January 1945, the division fought defensively along the German border, withdrawing to the Moder River. It sent half of its artillery to support the 70th Infantry Division. On 17 February the division was pulled off the line for rest and training. Once this rest period was complete, the division was assigned to XV Corps for the final push into German territory. The 45th moved north to the Sarreguemines area and smashed through the Siegfried Line, on 17 March taking Homburg on the 21st and crossing the Rhine between Worms and Hamm on the 26th.The advance continued, with Aschaffenburg falling on 3 April, and Nuremberg on the 20th. The division crossed the Danube River on 27 April, and liberated 32,000 captives of the CC Camp prison camp on 29 April 1945. The division captured Munich during the next two days, occupying the city until V-E Day and the surrender of Germany. During the next month, the division remained in Munich and set up collection points and camps for the massive numbers of surrendering troops of the German armies. The number of POWs taken by the 45th Division during its almost two years of fighting totaled 124,840 men. The division was then slated to move to the Pacific theater of operations to participate in the invasion of mainland Japan on the island of Honshu, but these plans were scrubbed before the division could depart after the surrender of Japan, on V-J Day.

 Included in this fantastic 45th Division set are the following items:

- OD wool 4-pocket coat with all original insignia including 1st Service Command, 45th Division, sterling CIB,  3 ribbon bars including ETO with 1 campaign star, US/MP collar discs, and PFC chevrons. This uniform appears in several photos in his scrapbook.

- OD wool Ike jacket with all original insignia including 45th Infantry Division, sterling CIB, 3 ribbon bars including ETO with 1 campaign star.

- Dog tag

- Scrapbook with 21 original photos several showing him in these very uniforms, Scrapbook also contains numerous wartime newspaper clippings

- OD wool overseas cap with MP collar disc

- Two khaki cotton long-sleeve shirts

- Two khaki cotton trousers (appear unissued)

- Khaki cotton overseas cap with infantry piping

- Khaki wool tie

- Wool MP armband 

- Period copy of discharge showing his service in the 45th Division

- Miscellaneous paperwork including ID cards, passes, and clothing inventory sheet

- Small group of patches, ribbons, and insignia

- Eye glasses in case and more.

Overall a fantastic grouping from a soldier in one of the most famous U.S. infantry divisions of WWII.

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