Organization of the Division
The 32D ‘Red Arrow’ Division was created in the fall of 1917 by combining the Michigan and Wisconsin National Guard. Wisconsin provided about 15,000 Soldiers and Michigan provided 8,000. Later 4,000 National Army troops (selectees or draftees) from Camp Custer, Michigan, and Camp Grant, Illinois, were assigned to the Division before it left for France. Those draftees were primarily from the upper Midwest. Later, in France, the 32D Division received replacements from nearly every state in the union.
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Before being activated for World War I, the Michigan and Wisconsin National Guard were organized in accordance with pre-war US Regular Army units. At that time, the General Staff of the War Department envisioned “triangular” infantry brigades of three infantry regiments each, with three such brigades in a division (plus artillery, engineer, signal, supply and medical units). Each rifle company would have 3 officers and 150 men.
In the spring of 1917, however, General John ‘Blackjack’ Pershing (the commander of the A.E.F.) and his staff made a trip to France to observe the tactics and formations in use by the Allies. Based on his observations, Gen. Pershing decided that reorganizing US units into massive “square” divisions, also known as “Pershing Divisions”, might be able to provide enough muscle to break the stalemate of trench warfare. Each “square” division was built around four powerful infantry regiments of 3,720 enlisted men each. There would be two such regiments, plus a machine gun battalion, in an infantry brigade (2 infantry brigades per division). Each infantry brigade would be supported by a regiment of light (75mm) artillery; a 3rd regiment of heavy artillery (155mm howitzers) and a trench mortar battery would complete the division's brigade of artillery. All of this, plus an additional machine gun battalion, a combat engineer regiment, a signal battalion and a division train (consisting of military police, ammunition train, supply train, engineer train, sanitary train) gave each division an authorized strength of 991 officers and 27,114 men (each rifle company consisted of 7 officers and 250 men, as opposed to the pre-war rifle companies of 3 officers and 150 men).
The table below lists the new units that were needed to complete the organization of the 32D Division. It also attempts to list which old Michigan or Wisconsin National Guard units were reorganized to create the new units and which armory those old units came from. It also attempts to list the first commander of those new units. Additional information, to hopefully someday complete this table, will be added as it is found.
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The 125TH and 126TH Infantry Regiments and the 120TH Machine Gun Battalion of the 63D Infantry Brigade were formed from the 31ST, 32D and 33D Michigan Infantry Regiments (Michigan Infantry Brigade). The 125TH Infantry, the ‘Lumberjack’ Regiment, included all of the 33D Michigan Infantry (with the exception of one company) and five companies of the 31ST Michigan Infantry. The 126TH included the entire 32D Michigan Infantry plus 5 companies of the 31ST Michigan Infantry. The 120TH MG BN was formed from surplus companies of the Michigan Infantry Brigade.
The 127TH and 128TH Infantry Regiments and 121ST Machine Gun Battalion of the 64TH Infantry Brigade were formed from the 1ST, 2D and 3D Wisconsin Infantry Regiments (1ST Wisconsin Brigade) plus some soldiers from the 57TH Depot Brigade.
The 4TH, 5TH and 6TH Wisconsin Infantry Regiments (2D Wisconsin Brigade) functioned as the 57TH Depot Brigade. From this brigade the various new units of the new Division were organized in accordance with the “Tables of Organization, 1917”. The 57TH Depot Brigade only existed for several weeks, it ceased to exist as soon as the organization of the Division was completed.
The 57TH Field Artillery Brigade was formed from the 1ST Wisconsin and 1ST Michigan Field Artillery Regiments and 1ST Wisconsin and 1ST Michigan Cavalry Regiments plus some soldiers from the 57TH Depot Brigade.
119TH FA, composed largely of Michigan artillery and cavalry troops
120TH FA, made up almost entirely from troops of the 1ST Wisconsin Cavalry
121ST FA, the heavy artillery regiment of the 57TH FA Brigade, formed from the 1ST Wisconsin Field Artillery
The 107TH Engineer Regiment was formed from the 1ST Wisconsin and 1ST Michigan Engineer Battalions plus some soldiers from the 57TH Depot Brigade.
Whole companies were transferred from the 57TH Depot Brigade to make up the 107TH Trains, 32D Military Police Company and 119TH Machine Gun Battalion.
The 107TH Sanitary Train was formed from Wisconsin Ambulance Companies Nos. 1 and 2, Michigan Ambulance Company No. 2, Wisconsin Field Hospitals Nos. 1 and 2 and Michigan Field Hospital No. 1.
The 107TH Field Signal Battalion was formed from the 1ST Wisconsin and 1ST Michigan Field Signal Battalions.
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In reorganization of the Division it was the policy to preserve original company organizations, but some consolidation was necessary to bring the companies up from the formerly prescribed strength of 150 men to the new “Tables of Organization, 1917” strength of 250 men.
Bibliography:
Acker, John C., Sergeant Major. Thru the War with Our Outfit: Being A Historical Narrative of the 107TH Ammunition Train. Sturgeon Bay, WI, 1920.
Hanton, Carl, Captain. The 32nd Division in the World War. Madison, WI: Wisconsin War History Commission, 1920.
Hill, Jim Dan, Major General, Retired. The Minute Man in Peace and War. Harrisburg: The Stackpole Company, 1964.
Rice, O. S. Wisconsin Memorial Day Annual. Madison, WI: Democrat Printing Co., 1919.
Numerous newspaper articles.