The U.S. 41st Infantry Regiment is a regiment of the United States Army. Its 1st Battalion is currently assigned to the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division. Its 3rd Battalion was assigned to the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, which was replaced in 2018 by 4th Battalion, 70th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division.
History
41st United States Infantry Regiment
The 41st United States Infantry Regiment was one of six segregated regiments (2 cavalry and 4 infantry) created in 1866 following the American Civil War to provide for African American participation in the defense of the United States. It was consolidated in 1869 with the 38th Infantry Regiment to form the 24th Infantry Regiment. It is not related to the current 41st Infantry Regiment.
Significant dates: Constituted 1866-07-28 in the Regular Army as the 41st United States Infantry Regiment Organized 1866-12-25 at Baton Rouge, Louisiana Consolidated 1869-03-15 with the 38th United States Infantry Regiment; consolidated units redesignated as 24th Infantry Regiment.
20th century
The 41st Infantry Regiment was formed on 20 June 1917 as Company A, 41st Infantry at Fort Snelling, Minnesota from soldiers of the 3d Battalion, 36th Infantry Regiment. On 9 July 1918, the Regiment was assigned to the 10th Division at Camp Funston, Kansas, which was commanded by Leonard Wood. Here the 41st prepared for deployment to Europe to fight in World War I. In October 1918, the regiment sent an advance party to France to prepare for the deployment, however, the war ended in November so the regiment did not deploy. As part of the general demobilization following the war, the regiment was deactivated on 22 September 1921 at Camp Meade, Maryland.
It was reactivated on 15 July 1940 when Company A, 1st Battalion, 41st Infantry (Armored) was activated at Fort Benning, Georgia. The 41st Infantry Regiment constituted the organic infantry of the newly formed 2nd Armored Division. The association between the 41st Infantry and the 2d Armored Division lasted throughout World War II and continued through Operation Desert Storm. The crest of the regiment shows a blue shield with a yellow circle and a castle, representing its birthplace at Fort Snelling, Minnesota. In the upper left corner, a star representing a previous fort in Texas is depicted.
The regiment was part of the Western Task Force of Operation Torch, which landed at Casablanca in French Morocco on 8 November 1942. Later it was an active participant in the invasion of Sicily (July 10, 1943 - August 17, 1943). With the 2nd Armored Division the 41st would play an integral role in the arduous Normandy Campaign, the Battle of the Bulge and the Western Allied invasion of Germany.
The regiment was awarded four Presidential Unit Citations during the Second World War, including one for leading the initial breakout in the Normandy Campaign and a later citation for actions in the invasion of Germany itself.
Reorganized and redesignated 1 July 1963 as the 1st Battalion, 41st Infantry. On 22 March 1983, the battalion was issued its first M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles. After a long summer of training, the Battalion conducted an ARTEP in December 1983. In November 1984, the battalion received movement orders to rotate to the 2nd Armored Division (Forward) in early summer 1986 as the Army's first COHORT rotational battalion. Upon arriving at Garlstedt, Germany the 1st Battalion, 41st Infantry proved its combat readiness by leading the way in numerous field exercises. There were four (Mech) battalions of the 41st Infantry in the 2nd Armd Div at this time.