![]() ![]() The United States’ available active Army (128,000 men) and National Guard (131,000 men) were too small and ill-equipped to make any immediate difference. Upon America’s entrance in the Great War in April 1917, both the Allies (France, Britain, Russia and Italy) and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Turkey and Bulgaria) were running out of manpower. Men of Iron, a National Guard Heritage Series painting by Don Troiani, depicts a heroic stand by the 28th Division’s 109th Infantry Regiment against attacking German troops during the Champagne-Marne Offensive in July 1918. Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF), visited the division’s 109th Regiment, 55th Brigade, to commend them for a defensive stand, he referred to them in a speech as “men of iron.” As the 28th continued to take and hold ground against the best the Germans could field against them in subsequent operations, Pershing began calling them the “Iron Division.” The division’s fighting ability and tenacity became widely recognized at the highest echelons of the military. From July 15, 1918, to the end of hostilities on November 11, 1918, the 28th participated in no less than eight major operations. ![]() Arriving in France in late Spring 1918, the 28th immediately began developing a reputation for successfully accomplishing difficult tasks. Organized by Pennsylvania in 1878, the division was made up of units that had already earned battle streamers for contributions in conflicts from the American Revolution to the Civil War. In 1917, when America entered World War I, the 28th Infantry Division was the nation’s oldest National Guard unit. ![]()
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