EC0065

Specific issue not listed on WorldCat

The 7th Infantry Division was created during World War I and was activated on 6 December 1917 as the 7th Division of the regular army at Camp Wheeler, Georgia.[2] One month later, it prepared to deploy to Europe as a part of the American Expeditionary Force.[2] Two brigades were assigned to the division, the 13th Infantry Brigade and the 14th Infantry Brigade.[3] Most of the division sailed to Europe aboard the SS Leviathan.[4]
While on the Western Front, the 7th did not see action at full divisional strength, though its infantry and reconnaissance elements did engage German forces.[4] On 11 October 1918, it first came under shell fire and later, at Saint-Mihiel, came under chemical attack.[4] Elements of the 7th probed up toward Prény near the Moselle River, capturing positions and driving German forces out of the region.[4] It was at this time that the division first received its shoulder sleeve insignia.[5]
In early November, the 7th began preparing for an assault on the Hindenburg Line as part of the Second Army.[4] The division launched a reconnaissance in force on the Voëvre plain, but the main assault was never conducted as hostilities ended on 11 November 1918 with the signing of the armistice.[4] During its 33 days on the front line, the 7th Division suffered 1,709 casualties,[6] including 204 killed in action and 1,505 wounded in action.[7] and was awarded a campaign streamer for Lorraine.[2] The division then served on occupation duties as it began preparations to return to the continental United States.[2] The 7th Division arrived home in late 1919, and was gradually demobilized at Camp George G. Meade, Maryland[4] until on 22 September 1921, when it was inactivated.[8]