The 188th Infantry Brigade is an infantry training brigade of the United States Army based at Fort Stewart, Georgia. It is a subordinate unit of the First United States Army, Division East.
Active from 1921 to 1942 as part of the 94th Infantry Division, the brigade was transformed into a reconnaissance troop during and after World War II, supporting the 94th Division as it fought in Europe. Activated again from 1997 to 1999 and again in 2006, the unit gained responsibility for conducting training for other reserve component army units with a variety of purposes. Today, the unit is responsible for training selected United States Army Reserve and National Guard units East of the Mississippi River.
Organization
The brigade is subordinate to First Army Division East of the First United States Army, one of nine training brigades spread throughout the United States.
2006 Organization
Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Fort Stewart, Georgia
1st Battalion, 306th Regiment (Infantry) 2nd Battalion, 306th Regiment (Field Artillery) 3rd Battalion, 345th Regiment (Training Support Battalion) 1st Battalion, 347th Regiment (Training Support Battalion) 2nd Battalion, 349th Regiment (Logistics Support Battalion)
2016 Organization
As part of Operation Bold Shift, the brigade absorbed battalions from inactivating First Army brigades.
Headquarters and Headquarters Company
1st Battalion, 306th Regiment (Infantry) 2nd Battalion, 306th Regiment (Field Artillery) 4th Battalion, 306th Regiment (Brigade Engineer Battalion) 5th Battalion, 306th Regiment (Brigade Support Battalion) 2nd Battalion, 345th Regiment (Training Support Battalion) 3rd Battalion, 345th Regiment (Training Support Battalion) (Fort Jackson, South Carolina) 1st Battalion, 346th Regiment (Air Defense Artillery) 1st Battalion, 347th Regiment (Training Support Battalion) 2nd Battalion, 347th Regiment (Training Support Battalion) (Fort Gordon, Georgia) 2nd Battalion, 349th Regiment (Logistics Support Battalion) 3rd Battalion, 395th Regiment (Armor)
History
The 188th Infantry Brigade was first constituted on 24 June 1921 in the organized reserves at Boston, Massachusetts. It was organized with two infantry regiments, the 376th Infantry Regiment and the 419th Infantry Regiment. It was, in turn, assigned to the 94th Infantry Division. From 1921 to 1942 the division remained on the Massachusetts organized reserve rolls, though the unit did not assemble except for regular weekend training. In 1925, the brigade relocated to Worcester, Massachusetts and in 1940 it moved to Springfield, Massachusetts.
94th Reconnaissance Troop
The 94th Infantry Division was mobilized for deployment for World War II on 15 September 1942 at Fort Custer, Michigan. During this mobilization the 188th Infantry Brigade went through a series of reorganizations. The 376th Infantry Regiment continued as part of the 94th Infantry Division and the remainder of the 188th Infantry Brigade became the 94th Reconnaissance Troop, still assigned to the 94th Infantry Division.
The 94th Infantry Division, with the troop in tow, landed on Utah Beach on 8 September 1944, 94 days after D-Day. It and moved into Brittany to assume responsibility for containing some 60,000 German troops besieged in the ports of Lorient and Saint-Nazaire. The 94th inflicted over 2,700 casualties on the German forces and took 566 prisoners before being relieved on 1 January 1945.
Moving west, the troop followed the division as it took positions in the Saar-Moselle Triangle, facing the Siegfried Switch Line on 7 January 1945, and shifted to the offensive on 14 January, seizing Tettingen and Butzdorf that day. The following day, the Nennigberg-Wies area was wrested from the German army, but heavy counterattacks followed and Butzdorf, Berg, and most of Nennig changed hands several times before being finally secured. On 20 January, an unsuccessful battalion attack against Orscholz, eastern terminus of the switch position, cost the division most of two companies. In early February, the division, with troop in tow, took the woods of Campholz and later Sinz.