Introduction
The 101st Airborne Division of the US Army was activated August 16, 1942 at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana and placed under the command of
Major General William C. Lee. In one of his first speeches, Lee said "The 101st Airborne Division... has no
history, but it has a rendezvous with
destiny."
The 101st Airborne Division is currently formed of three
brigades plus
Artillery, Support Command, two Aviation Brigades, Corps Support Group and several separate commands. The 101st has made its home in
Fort Campbell, Kentucky, since March 1956. Their
shoulder patch depicts an
American Eagle on a shield with the word "Airborne" written above it in yellow lettering. The presence of the
Eagle led to their
nickname, the
Screaming Eagles.
Inception and Early History
The 101st was originally activated on July 23, 1918 as part of the mobilization for
World War I. However, due to manpower and supply problems, the 101st was never truly active and did not see combat. After the war, the 101st was demobilzed. In 1921 the 101st was reactivated as part of a buildup of reserves, but still existed mostly on paper, with little in the way of real units.
Then, in 1940, the
US Army began testing the
viability of
parachute infantry units. After successful tests were conducted at Fort Benning, and after the British Army successfully used paratroopers in combat, the US Army authorized the creation of two Airborne Infantry Divisions: the
82nd Airborne and the 101st Airborne.
Airborne Rangers had a grueling training process, especially since it was an entirely new type of
infantry unit. After months of this arduous training, The 101st was certified as ready for combat, and was sent to England late in 1943 to continue training for their eventual involvement in the
D-Day invasion.
Combat Campaigns & Tactics
Three methods were used during
World War II to land troops:
parachutes, transport
gliders, and transport planes. All three methods were used in the war, though it was found that the last method was ill-suited for the initial capture of enemy territory from the air;
paratroopers (because they make it possible to drop very large numbers of troops at the same time within a specific area) and
gliderborne troops (because they could land their whole load in one place) were better suited for such a mission.
During World War II, the 101st Airborne Division led the way on D-Day with a night drop of paratroopers and gliderborne troops. Their mission was to prevent German troops from reinforcing those stationed at
Utah Beach (where allied forces would be landing by boat). Of course, things didn't go exactly as planned, and troops were scattered everywhere, but the desired outcome was achieved.
The battle hardened 101st went on to participate in
Operation Market-Garden and the
Battle of the Bulge. When surrounded at
Bastogne and given an opportunity to surrender, Brig. General Anthony McAuliffe issued the short, now infamous, reply: "NUTS!" and the 101st fought on, successfully holding Bastogne. For the heroic defense of
Bastogne, the 101st Airborne Division was awarded the
Distinguished Unit Citation, the first ever to be awarded to an entire Division. The 101st's expoits in
WWII were honored in the
Band of Brothers mini-series that aired on
HBO and
BBC in the fall of 2001.
In the mid-1960s, the 101st was deployed to
Vietnam. In almost seven years of combat in
Vietnam, parts of the 101st participated in 15 campaigns. They successfully fought for the city of
Hue when the
NVA launched the
Tet Offensive. Following
Tet, the 101st participated in several counter attacks including
Operation: Somerset Plain and
Operation: Nevada Eagle. In addition, the 101st provided technical training to the
South Vietnamese forces (this was known as "
Vietnamization").
In 1968, the 101st was reorganized to become an
airmobile division, meaning that they became capable of being transported (usually with a helicopter) from one site to another within a
combat zone. Today, the 101st stands as the Army's only
air assault division with excellent
strategic and
tactical mobility.
In January 1991, the 101st deployed in
Iraq during the deepest combat air assault into enemy territory in the history of the world. The star of
Operation: Desert Storm was the
AH-64 Apache helicopter, which performed remarkably. Amazingly, the 101st sustained no casualties during the 100-hour war and captured thousands of enemy soldiers. 101st soldiers went on to support humanitarian relief efforts in
Rwanda and
Somalia (they were part of the force fighting in the
Battle of Mogadishu, in which two
Blackhawk helicopters were shot down; also see the book/movie
Blackhawk Down), then later helped with
peacekeeping missions to
Haiti and
Bosnia.
The most recent rendezvous with destiny puts the 101st in Kandahar, Afghanistan, to replace Marines who have been there since late November.
Aircraft
As previously mentioned, the 101st was designated as an
air assault division, indicating that the
helicopter became the primary means of transportation for the division. The following is a list of aircraft flown by the 101st Airborne Division:
- AH-64 Apache: This heavily armed advanced attack helicopter is flown by nearly all of the division's attack units and can reach speeds of 200 mph. It was the primary vehicle used by the 101st during the Gulf War
- UH-60 Black Hawk: The workhorse of the division, the Black Hawk is primarily used in a transport capacity, reaching speeds of 180 mph
- OH-58D Kiowa Warrior: Used mostly as an an armed reconnaissance vehicle, it can be heavily armed and it has a 90-knot cruise airspeed.
- OH-6A Cayuse: A small tactical helicopter is flown by units of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, it was developed in the mid-1960s and can cruise at speeds of 150 mph.
- Hughes 500M Little Bird: This is essentially a more heavily armed and newer derivation of the old OH-6 "Cayuse."
- CH-47 Chinook: This unique aircraft was put into action in 1965 in Vietnam as a transport helicopter. It employs a unique two-rotor design that works in tandem to lift the aircraft. It can lift 8 tons and cruise at speeds topping 150 mph.
Sources:
http://www.campbell.army.mil/
http://www.grunts.net/army/101abn.html
http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/matrix/101/101-Matrix.htm
http://www.chesapeake.net/~fuzz/
http://www.militarynews.ru/echech.asp
http://avstop.com/History/WWII/3.htm
http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/books/Vietnam/Airmobility/airmobility-fm.html
Aircraft: http://www.campbell.army.mil/copters.htm