103rd Infantry Division (United States)

103rd Infantry Division
103rd Infantry Division
	103rd Infantry Division shoulder sleeve insignia.
Active	1921 – 1945
Country	United States
Branch	United States Army
Type	Infantry
Size	Division
Nickname(s)	"Cactus Division" (Special Designation)
Engagements	World War II
Commanders
Notable; commanders	Anthony McAuliffe

The 103rd Infantry Division ("Cactus Division"^[1]) was a unit of the United States Army that served in the U.S. Seventh Army of the 6th Army Group during World War II.

It was variously assigned to the VI Corps, XV Corps, and XXI Corps. By war's end it was part of VI Corps' dash across Bavaria into the Alps, reaching Innsbruck, Austria, taking the Brenner Pass, and earning the honor of linking up with the U.S. Fifth Army coming north from Vipiteno, Italy, joining the Italian and Western European fronts on 4 May 1945.^[2]

^ ^a ^b "Special Unit Designations". United States Army Center of Military History. 21 April 2010. Archived from the original on 9 July 2010. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
^ Fifth Army History • Race to the Alps, Chapter VI : Conclusion [1] Archived 13 April 2017 at the Wayback Machine "4 May; the Reconnaissance Troop, 349th Infantry [88th Division], met troops from [103rd Infantry Division] VI Corps of Seventh Army at 1051 at Vipiteno, 9 miles south of Brenner."

[SUD-1] "Special Unit Designations". United States Army Center of Military History. 21 April 2010. Archived from the original on 9 July 2010. Retrieved 9 July 2010.

[Alps-2] Fifth Army History • Race to the Alps, Chapter VI : Conclusion [1] Archived 13 April 2017 at the Wayback Machine "4 May; the Reconnaissance Troop, 349th Infantry [88th Division], met troops from [103rd Infantry Division] VI Corps of Seventh Army at 1051 at Vipiteno, 9 miles south of Brenner."

[1]

[2]