45 42nd Infantry Division Patch20th Armored Division Patch 191st
                Tank Battalion Shoulder PatchUnits at the Dachau Concentration Camp XV Corps 692th Tank Destroyer Battalion 8th Air Force
          Afternoon of April 29 to Afternoon of May 1, 1945

LEFT to RIGHT: Unit Insignia of the 45th Infantry Division, 42nd Infantry Division, 20th Armored Division, 191st Tank Battalion, XV Corps, 692nd Tank Destroyer Battalion , Eight Air Force*

45th Infantry Division:

42nd Infantry Division:
20th Armored Division:
XV Corps

Seventh Army

*Eighth Air Force
 

Brigadier General Charles Y. Banfill, Deputy Commander for Operations, U.S. Eighth Air Force was with the units of the 42nd ID at Dachau. He was accompanying the 42nd to observe the effects of supporting aerial operations.

General Banfill was in the equivalent of a non-divisional unit and therefore his presence at Dachau did not meet the U.S. Army Center of Military History criteria for his unit to be recognized as a co-liberating division of Dachau.

Additional Information:


The U.S. Army Center of Military History (CMH) officially recognizes the 45th and 42nd Infantry Divisions, and the 20th Armored Division, as the three co-Liberating Divisions of the main Dachau concentration camp.

These Divisions comprised close to 40,000 troops, across 48 component units.

It appears a few hundred soldiers from each of the co-Liberating Divisions, plus those of non-Divisional XV Corps, arrived at the concentration camp within the CMH-specified 48-hour Liberation period from 29 April to 1 May, 1945.

Service units were outside the concentration camp supporting liberation activities.

Additional combat units were in the vicinity, enroute to or at other assignments including the planned attack on Munich on 30 April, 1945.

Post War/Occupation until Mid-July 1945

180th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division


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The 45th Infantry Division in World War II: An Unofficial Guide to Resources

Posted: April 2, 2021
Last Reviewed:

Update,Revision & Correction History:
May 12, 2023
:December 20, 2021
February 9, 2025
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Administrators: Leonard H. Cizewski & Judy Erwin Branham

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Web Page Acknowledgement:

Web page researched and composed by Leonard H. Cizewski. Rich Mintz, and Govan Yee
.

Greg Webber shared the information about his father Lt. Elmer Webber, Co. A, 191st TB.

Web Site Permission and Acknowledgements:

While almost all items on this site are in the public domain, please contact the administrators for instructions on how to acknowledge the source.

Many volunteer researchers at their own expense obtained many of these public domain items from sources such as the National Archives.