4th Infantry Division leaves New York en route to Germany, 1951.
and 43d Infantry Divisions joined the 1st Infantry Division in Germany. The commitment of these forces and similar actions by the NATO partners demonstrated a new reliance on collective security to deter aggression[1]
Organizational Trends
During the Korean War the Army modified some aspects of its divisional organizations, but the basic triangular structures adopted during World War II and revised in the immediate postwar period for infantry, armored, and airborne divisions remained intact. In 1952 a divisional ordnance battalion replaced the ordnance company, which increased self-sufficiency in each type of division. The trend in most organizations, however, was to save personnel and increase firepower. Chief of Staff Collins estimated that the changes in the infantry division enhanced its firepower by 68 percent compared to its World War II counterpart with only a 20 percent increase in personnel.[2]
Firepower in the infantry regiment was increased through a series of changes. A 105-mm. recoilless rifle found a place within the regiment, as did the more powerful 3.5-inch "bazooka," a rocket fired from a shoulder position. In the first engagements of the Korean War, the 2.36-inch bazooka had proved inadequate against the Soviet T-34 tanks supplied to the North Koreans. To meet the Far East Command's requirement for an improved antitank weapon, 3.5-inch rocket launchers were rushed to the theater. On 20 July 1950 elements of the 24th Infantry Division used
- ↑ Truman, Papers of the President, 1950, p. 626; Dean Acheson, Present at the Creation; My Years in the State Department (New York: W. W, Norton and Co., 1969), pp. 437–40; Historical Data Cards for the 4th, 28th, and 43d Inf Divs and the 2d Armd Div, DAMH-HSO.
- ↑ TOE 7, Infantry Division, 15 May 1952; TOE 17, Armored Division, 29 Dee 1952; TOE 57, Airborne Division, 1 Jan 1952; Lloyd Norman, "The New Look Strategy," Combat Forces Journal 4 (Feb 1954); 15–20.
