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Division Artillery

The Headquarters of the Artillery comprised of 12 officers and 82 enlisted men. During training Lt. Col. William Nelson Gillmore was C.O. When Gen. Brooks left for combat he took along Col. Gillmore. At this time he was replaced by Lt. Col. John George Howard who took the group through combat to the end of WWII. Under his control were three battalions, and when extra firepower was needed he also had the permanent Battalions of the 575 AAA and the 705th Tank Destroyers. The men of Division Artillery often used the medium Sherman tanks for protection as forward observers. Getting as close to the action as they did only four were killed in action, ten wounded in action, and six injured in action.

There were eight pilots assigned to the 11th. They flew the Piper Cubs or Flying Grasshoppers. Only one was shot down. They frequently flew over enemy lines. Each of the Division Battalions had two planes and Division Artillery Headquarters had two.

In addition to the above the "Darty" Headquarters had under its command, if necessary, as many as ten to twenty other artillery battalions, such as the 974FA, with its 155MM Howitzers or the 183rd Field Artillery Group with various sized weapons from 75MM guns to 240 MM Howitzers. A few others that the 11th used were the 410th, 182nd, 177th Groups and the 33rd Brigade.

As a matter of record, it was noted that the three Division Battalions were pressed into service and on the firing lines from the 30th of December of 1944 to May 5th of 1945. They each expended 40,000 rounds of 105MM projectiles. They directly fired for the 17th Airborne Division, and the 87th, 5th, 90th, 4th, 71st and 80th Infantry Divisions. It also worked with the Sixth and Fourteenth Armored Divisions.

On March 3rd in 1945, the Division's Artillery in support of CCB, fired 56 missions, expending 1,064 rounds during the half day operation and destroyed four enemy tanks. That day of operation was the Division's first drive to the Rhine River.

The 602nd and 811th Tank Destroyer Battalions were used by the Division with great admiration, due to the bravery displayed while with the 11th. They had been in action before the Bulge and were indeed battle wise. These small units saved the day in many cases. They had M-10 Tank Destroyers with 76MM guns. Both Battalions had about 40 men killed in action. The 602nd was attached from the 29th of December of 1944 to January 7th of 1945, and then again from February 4 to February 24th of 1945. The 811th unofficially fought with the 11th through the Battle of the Bulge and later at the Rhine from January 27th to March 20th of 1945.