1st Infantry Division (United States) - Interwar Period

Interwar Period

The 1st Division returned to the Continental U.S. in September 1919, demobilized its war-time TO&E at Camp Zachary Taylor at Louisville, Kentucky, and then returned to New York, with its headquarters located at Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn.

On 7 October 1920, the 1st Division organized under the peacetime TO&E, which included two organic infantry brigades of two infantry regiments each, one engineer regiment; one observation squadron; one field artillery brigade of two field artillery regiments; one medical regiment; one division quartermaster train; and a special troops command replacing the remainder of the division train. The total authorized strength of this TO&E was 19,385. 1st Division was one of three infantry divisions and one cavalry division that was authorized to remain at full peacetime strength, and it was the only Regular Army division assigned to the Second Corps Area, which also included the 27th Infantry Division of the New York National Guard; the 44th Infantry Division of the New Jersey, New York, and Delaware National Guards; the 21st Cavalry Division of the New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and New Jersey National Guards; and the 77th, 78th, and 98th Infantry Divisions and the 61st Cavalry Division of the Organized Reserves. This was the organization that existed in the Second Corps Area for the duration of the peace period.

1st Division adopted a new peacetime TO&E in preparation for war on 8 January 1940, which included three infantry regiments, one military police company, one engineer battalion, one signal company, one light field artillery regiment of three field artillery battalions and one medium field artillery regiment of two field artillery battalions, one medical battalion, and one quartermaster battalion. The authorized strength of this TO&E was 9,057 officers and enlisted men. 1st Infantry Division reorganized again on 1 November 1940 to a new TO&E, which added a reconnaissance troop, and organized the two field artillery regiments into a division artillery command, and beefed up the strength to a total authorized strength of 15,245 officers and enlisted men.