History
The division was formed in Algeria on May 1, 1943 from elements of the Constantine Division and the division was structured and equipped in a manner similar to, although not identical to, U.S. infantry divisions of the period. The primary combat units of the division as initially organized were the 3rd and 7th Algerian Tirailleur Regiments, and the 4th Tunisian Tirailleur Regiment. In March 1945, the 7th Algerian Tirailleurs returned to north Africa and its place was taken by the 49th Infantry Regiment.
The 3e DIA fought within the French Expeditionary Corps in the Italian Campaign, the campaign in Southern France, the Vosges Mountains, and Alsace during 1943 - 1944 before spearheading the advance of the French II Corps into Germany and entering Stuttgart on April 22, 1945.
Part of the French occupation army in Germany, the 3e DIA was inactivated and used to form a mixed infantry and armor division in April 1946. The division's honors and traditions were carried on first by the 3rd Armored Division and then the 3rd Mechanised Brigade.
Read more about this topic: 3rd Algerian Infantry Division
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“The history of every country begins in the heart of a man or a woman.”
—Willa Cather (1876–1947)
“History is not what you thought. It is what you can remember. All other history defeats itself.
In Beverly Hills ... they don’t throw their garbage away. They make it into television shows.
Idealism is the despot of thought, just as politics is the despot of will.”
—Mikhail Bakunin (1814–1876)
“It may be well to remember that the highest level of moral aspiration recorded in history was reached by a few ancient Jews—Micah, Isaiah, and the rest—who took no count whatever of what might not happen to them after death. It is not obvious to me why the same point should not by and by be reached by the Gentiles.”
—Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–95)