104th Infantry Division (United States)

104th Infantry Division (United States)

The 104th Infantry Division was an Infantry division of the United States Army. Today, it is known as the 104th Division (Leader Training) and based at Fort Lewis, Washington, as a training unit of the United States Army Reserve.

Activated in 1921, the division was created as an infantry unit with a focus on nighttime combat operations. Deployed during World War II, the division saw almost 200 days of fighting in northwestern Europe as it fought through France, Belgium, and western Germany, fighting back several fierce German counterattacks as it advanced through the theater throughout late 1944 and 1945. This was the only combat duty that the 104th Infantry Division has served during its history. At the end of the fighting on 7 May 1945 (V-E Day), this division was in central Germany opposite the troops of its allies from the Soviet Army.

After World War II, this division was reorganized primarily as a training division for Reserve forces. After several decades, the division then expanded its role to conducting entry-level training for soldiers of all branches of the Army in the northwestern United States. Its role and size have expanded over that time due to consolidation of other training commands, and the division subsequently took charge of a number of brigades specializing in various entry-level training for soldiers of all types.