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The 2nd Brigade, also known as the ''Dagger Brigade'', is a manuver Brigade in the U.S. 1st Infantry Division . The brigade is stationed in Schweinfurt , Germany . DISTINCTIVE UNIT of the ''Dagger'' Brigade.]] On December 11 , 1980 the 2nd Brigade was authorized their own Distinctive Unit Insignia (DUI). It is described as ''"a silver device 1 1/4 inches in height overall consisting of a blue arrowhead on which is superimposed a silver lion."'' UNITS The 2nd Brigade, as of 1996 , is composed of:
HISTORY Origin The 2nd Dagger Brigade was first constituted on May 24 , 1917 as Headquarters, 2nd Infantry Brigade of the 1st Expeditionary Division, which was later designated as the 1st Division. World War I The 2nd Brigade deployed to France in December of 1917 with the rest of the U.S. 1st Infantry Division as part of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF), as the American military was known in World War I . The brigade participated in many campaigns, including the Meuse-Argonne Offensive and the Battle Of Saint-Mihiel . The brigade redeployed at the end of World War I in August, 1918 . World War II
In 1942 units that had previously been under 2nd Brigade participated in Operation Torch , the landings on North Africa . The 1st Infantry Division at that time was composed of only three Infantry Regiment s, the 16th Infantry , 18th Infantry , and 26th Infantry , all of which distinguished themselves in the push across North Africa from the Kasserine Pass to Rommel 's eventual defeat at the Second Battle Of El Alamein . These units were then moved to Tidworth Camp in Wiltshire, England in anticipation of a cross-channel invasion late in 1942 , but the next Amphibious operation the unit would undertake next was to be in Sicily , not France . , Sicily , location of the Battle Of Troina during Operation Husky in World War II .]] The brigade participated in Operation Husky , the invasion of Sicily, by storming ashore at Gela , July 10 , 1943 , and quickly overpowering the Italian defenses. Soon after, the German Herman Goering Tank Division counter-attacked with 100 tanks. With the help of naval gunfire, divisional artillery and Canadian allies, the counter-attack was repulsed. Brigade units then advanced and captured Nicosia on July 28 . During the Battle For Troina , from July 31 , 1943 to August 6 , 1943 , brigade units, including the 26th Infantry , were instrumental in capturing and then defending Troina from German counterattack. Even though the 26th was decimated due to intense counterattacks—one company reported only 17 men fit for duty by August 5th—the brigade held Troina. The brigade unit's refusal to give up Troina forced the German 15th Panzer Grenadier Division to retreat toward Randazzo , opening the Allied road to the Straits Of Messina . After Operation Husky , the brigade units returned to England , this time in Dorset to prepare for D-Day at Normandy . Brigade units, led by the 16th Infantry and closely followed by the 18th, led the way across Omaha Beach at Normandy . It was on Omaha Beach that Col. George Taylor, commander of the 16th Infantry Regiment, famously told his men, ''"Two kinds of people are staying on this beach! The dead and those who are going to die! Now, let's get the hell out of here!"'' The units participated in the Battle Of Normandy throughout the summer of 1944 and subsequent operations across France, reaching the German border at Aachen in September. Along with the rest of the U.S. 1st Infantry Division , brigade units laid siege to Aachen, taking the city after a direct assault on October 21 , 1944 . They then attacked east of Aachen in the Battle Of Hurtgen Forest , driving to the Roer River . Brigade units moved to a rest area December 7th for its first real rest in 6 months of combat, and were resting when the Von Rundstedt offensive ''(aka Battle Of The Bulge )'' suddenly broke loose December 16 , 1944 . ''Dagger Brigade'' units raced to the Ardennes , and fighting continuously from December 17 , 1944 to January 14 , 1945, helped blunt and turn back the German offensive. While the brigade itself was disbanded on January 15 , 1945 , brigade units kept fighting as part of the U.S. 1st Infantry Division until the end of the war in May 1945 . Post World War II The ''Dagger Brigade'' didn't participate in the Korean War as it was still inactivated. On February 15 , 1958 the 2nd Brigade was re-activated at Fort Devens and spent the next five years training in northern Massachusetts and Cape Cod . It was inactivated on February 19 , 1963 at Fort Devens, only to be reactivated on October 23 , 1963 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division and moved (with the rest of the Division) to Fort Riley , Kansas in January, 1964 . Vietnam On July 12 , 1965 , the 2nd Brigade landed at Cam Ranh Bay and Vung Tau , making it the first element of an Infantry Division to arrive in Vietnam . The brigade returned to Fort Riley , Kansas in April of 1970 . Persian Gulf War The Dagger Brigade deployed from Fort Riley , Kansas to Saudi Arabia in December, 1990 as part of the United States' offensive buildup. The brigade was commanded by Colonel Anthony Moreno . The brigade was comprised of 2-16 Infantry Battalion , 3-37 Armor Battalion , and 4-37 Armor Battalion , plus supporting units. The brigade redeployed to Fort Riley in May, 1991 . Bosnia-Herzegovina On February 15 , 1996 the ''Dagger Brigade'' was relocated with the rest of the U.S. 1st Infantry Division to Europe . The ''Dagger Brigade'' replaced the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division 's ''Raider Brigade'' in Schweinfurt , Germany . Also in February 1996 the ''Dagger Brigade'' deployed units to Bosnia-Herzegovina to participate in Operation Joint Endeavor with the US 1st Armored Division . On October 7 , 1996 , the Brigade Combat Team deployed to Bosnia to cover the US 1st Armored Division 's redeployment to Germany . The brigade participated in Operation Joint Endeavor and Operation Joint Guard , and served as a stabilization force. The brigade redeployed to Schweinfurt in May 1997 , except for the 1-77 Armor Battalion task force, which stayed in Bosnia until November 1997 . Kosovo The ''Dagger Brigade'' served in Kosovo in 1999 - 2000 and again in 2002 - 2003 . The ''Dagger Brigade'' deployed to the Balkans twice in 1999 , first as part of Task Force Sabre in Macedonia , then in Kosovo as part of Task Force Falcon . Task Force Falcon served as the U.S. component of the NATO -led Kosovo Force (KFOR) with the mission of conducting peackeeping operations in the Federal Republic Of Yugoslavia 'a Serbian Kosovo province. TF Falcon was under the command of the 1st Infantry Division and included elements from the 1st Armored Division . The ''Dagger Brigade'' enetered the war-torn province of Kosovo on June 12 , 1999 . TF Falcon headquartered at Camp Bondsteel, and grew into a Multi-National Brigade, including units from Greece , Russia , Poland , Ukraine , Lithuania , and the UK . Initial efforts focused on monitoring and verifying the withdrawal of former Federal Republic Of Yugoslavia ''(now Serbia and Montenegro)'' forces and later the demilitarization and transformation of the Kosovo Liberation Army . The ''Dagger Brigade'' rotated to Kosovo again in 2002 , this time focused on maintaining the secure environment established by coalition forces. 2003 Invasion of Iraq Buckner poses with local women at a medical clinic assessment in Iraq in May 2004 .]] In January 2003 , the ''Dagger Brigade'' deployed to Turkey to support Operation Iraqi Freedom . Initial efforts were to prepare the way for the US 4th Infantry Division to invade Iraq from the north. When the Turkish government denied access through their border, the 2nd brigade returned to Germany . , 1-18 Infantry Battalion , 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division on patrol in Iraq in November of 2004.]] In February 2004 , the ''Dagger Brigade'' deployed to northern Iraq to serve as part of the Occupation force. The Brigade Combat Team included of 1-18 Infantry Battalion , 1-26 Infantry Battalion , 1-77 Armor Battalion , 2-108 Infantry Battalion , 1-7 Field Artillery Battalion , plus supporting elements. LINEAGE
HONORS Campaign Participation Credit
Decorations
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