4542nd Infantry Division Patch20th Armored Division PatchUnits of the Co-Liberating Divisions and Units at the Main Dachau Concentration Camp XV CorpsEight Air Force Shoulder Patch
Afternoon of April 29 to Afternoon of May 1, 1945

And Successor Units

LEFT to RIGHT: Patches of the 45th Infantry Division,
42nd Infantry Division, 20th Armored Division, XV Corps, and Eight Air Force
45th Infantry Division:

Task Force Sparks


First into the SS training facility adjacent to the concentration camp; entered the concentration camp from the SS training facility.


Elements of "I" and "L" Companies, 3rd Battalion, 157th Infantry Regiment supported by elements of the 191st Tank Battalion


Later joined by:


C Company


158th Field Artillery Battalion relieved the 3rd Battalion.


Unknown time and date:

45th MP Platoon arrived at the boxcars with the dead inmates in the SS training compound


20th Armored Division:

Unknown date and time; operating with units of the 42nd Infantry Division to which it was attached.

D Company and Assault Gun Platoon, 27th Tank Battalion, 20th AD attached to the 222nd Infantry Regiment, 42nd Infantry Division

42nd Infantry Division:

Entered the SS training facility adjacent to the concentration camp after the units of the 45th; entered the concentration camp from the area of the main gate.

Companies A, 1st Battalion, and Company F, 2nd Battalion, 222nd Infantry Regiment and other unidentified 222nd IR units.


XV Corps

Unknown date and time:

2947th Technical Intelligence Engineer Team (C), XV Corps Headquarters Engineer Section

April 29:

G-3 (Operations and Training) officer from unidentified XV Corps

April 30:

G-5
(Military-Civil Operations)officer from unidentified XV Corps


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.


Successor Units of Liberating Units

157th Infantry Regiment:
158th Field Artillery Battalion
The 20th Armored Division and the 222nd Infantry Regiment, 42nd Infantry Division were deactivated after WWII so no successor units exist.


Details:

The U.S. Army Center of Military History recognizes the 45th Infantry Division, the 20th Armored Division, and the 42nd Infantry Division as the three co-liberating divisions of the main Dachau concentration camp.

Those three units had about 42,000 soldiers in about 48 units.

On April 29 to 30, 1945 probably a few hundred soldiers from elements of five units were at the concentration camp along with soldiers from non-divisional XV Corps units.

The service and support units were outside the concentration camp supporting both the liberation of Dachau and the other combat units.

The other combat units were en route to or at other assignments including the planned attack on Munich on April 30, 1945.

Among the reasons for this list is to answer the question from families: was my relative at the liberation of the main Dachau concentration camp?

After the end of the war in Europe, almost all of the soldiers of the 45th ID had the opportunity to visit the main Dachau concentration camp.

The 45th was stationed in and around Dachau on occupation duty.

They assisted in the care of the liberated main camp inmates along with Dachau subcamp inmates brought to Dachau for care and processing.

Post VE Day, soldiers of the 20th AD, 42nd ID, XV Corps could visit the main camp as GI tourists.


Sources:

45th and 42nd Infantry Divisions and XV Corps:

The Rock Of Anzio: From Sicily To Dachau, A History Of The U.S. 45th Infantry Division by Flint Whitlock

Frank Byrchata, son of a veteran of the 158th Field Artillery Battalion.

20th Armored Division:

U.S. Army Center for Military History
documentation designating the 20th Armored Division a co-liberating division of Dachau, pages 15 (Company D) and pages 18, 20 (Assault Gun Platoon).

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

Minor Revision:May 17, 2021
Last Major Update:May 20, 2021
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Posted: April 2, 2021

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