| 88th Division 88th Infantry Division | |
|---|---|
&sq=&lang=&file=File:88th_Infantry_Division_SSI.svg) 88th Infantry Division shoulder sleeve insignia. | |
| Active | 1917–1919 1921–1947 |
| Country |  United States of America |
| Branch | &sq=&lang=&file=File:Seal_of_the_United_States_Department_of_War.png){kind=small} United States Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | Division |
| Nickname(s) | "Fighting Blue Devils" "Clover Leaf Division" |
| Engagements | World War I |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Paul Wilkins Kendall |
| Insignia | |
| Distinctive Unit Insignia | &sq=&lang=&file=File:88th_RSC_DUI_drawing.gif) |
The 88th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the United States Army that saw service in both World War I and World War II. It was one of the first of the Organized Reserve divisions to be called into federal service, created nearly "from scratch" after the implementation of the draft in 1940. Previous divisions were composed of a core of either Regular Army or National Guard personnel plus draftees. Much of the experience in reactivating it was used in the subsequent expansion of the U.S. Army.
By the end of World War II the 88th Infantry fought its way to the northernmost extreme of Italy. In early May 1945 troops of its 349th Infantry Regiment joined the 103d Infantry Division of the VI Corps of the U.S. Seventh Army, part of the 6th Army Group, which had raced south through Bavaria into Innsbruck, Austria, in Vipiteno in the Italian Alps.[1]
- ^ Fifth Army History • Race to the Alps, Chapter VI : Conclusion [1] Archived 13 April 2017 at the Wayback Machine "On 3 May the 85th and 88th [Infantry] Divisions sent task forces north over ice and snow 3 feet deep to seal the Austrian frontier and to gain contact with the American Seventh Army, driving southward from Germany. The 339th Infantry [85th Division] reached Austrian soil east of Dobbiaco at 0415, 4 May; the Reconnaissance Troop, 349th Infantry [88th Division], met troops from [103rd Infantry Division] VI Corps of Seventh Army at 1051 at Vipiteno, 9 miles south of Brenner."