4th Infantry Division (U.S.)

An active modular division, the 4th Infantry Division of the United States Army, headquartered at Fort Hood, Texas, except for its 3rd Brigade at Fort Carson, Colorado. It is known as the "Ivy Division" for its insignia, four ivy leaves on a diamond field, which symbolize the roman numeral "IV."

The 4th Division is a "heavy} division armed with M1A2 Abrams tanks, M2 Bradley armored fighting vehicles, M109 155 mm howitzers, AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, and UH-60 Black Hawk transport helicopters.

It is subordinate to III Corps.

First World War
It was created in 1917.

Second World War
At the Battle of Normandy, the 4th was the first U.S. division to land at Utah Beach. It participated in the liberation of Paris on August 25, 1944,

Crossing into Germany in September 1944, it fought in the Hürtgen Forest and Battle of the Bulge. By March 1945, it crossed the Rhine River, captured Nuremberg, and turned into Bavaria.

In April 1945, it liberated a subcamp of the Dachau Concentration Camp at Huanstetten. and a few weeks later captured the German city of Nuremberg. It was recognized as a liberating unit by the U.S. Army's Center of Military History and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1992.

Iraq War
In preparation for the Gulf War, the 4th was designated to be part of a northern attack prong through Turkey, but Turkey did not give permission for ground troops to invade Iraq from its territory. : Initially ordered to deploy in January 2003, the division did not arrive in Kuwait until late March. The delay was caused by the inability of the United States and Turkey to reach an agreement over using Turkish military bases to gain access to northern Iraq, where the division was originally planned to be located. Units from the division began crossing into Iraq on April 12, 2003, and were sent to Baghdad to take over security duties from 1st Marine Expeditionary Force.

Units: Since its first deployment to Iraq, the division has been expanded to include a fourth brigade, transforming into what the Army calls a "modular division." Each brigade is now a self-sustaining brigade combat team that can operate outside of the full division. It is organized with seven brigade-sized elements: 4 brigades, a multifunctional Aviation brigade, Fires Brigade and Support brigade.

The 4th was initially ordered to deploy in January 2003 before the war began, but did not arrive in Kuwait until late March. Eventually, it entered Iraq on April 12, 2003, and took over the security role for Bagdad from I Marine Expeditionary Force, expanding its coverage to Kirkuk and Tikrit.

On December 13, 2003, approximately 600 soldiers of the division's 1st Brigade participated in Operation RED DAWN, which led to the capture of deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein near Tikrit. (Full story) The 1st Infantry Division and an attached Army National Guard infantry brigade relieved the division in April 2004.