Philippine Division (United States)

Philippine Division 12th Infantry Division
Shoulder sleeve insignia
Active	1922 – 1942 1944 – 1947 (as 12th Infantry Division (Philippine Scouts))
Country	United States
Branch	United States Army
Type	Square Division
Headquarters	Fort William McKinley
Engagements	World War II Philippine Islands
Commanders
Notable commanders	MG Jonathan M. Wainwright MG William Weigel
Insignia
Distinctive unit insignia	None authorized

Philippine Division, or from 1944–1947 the 12th Infantry Division, was the core U.S. infantry division of the United States Army's Philippine Department during World War II.

The division was organized in April 1922 and primarily consisted of United States Army officers and Filipino enlisted men. It primary purpose was to defend the Philippines from invasion. When the Philippine Army was established in 1935, it provided a potential candidate pool of Filipinos with military experience.

On 31 July 1941, the division consisted of 10,473 troops, mostly enlisted Filipinos, known as the Philippine Scouts who formed the 45th and 57th US Infantry Regiments. All of the division's enlisted men, with the exception of the 31st Infantry Regiment, and various military police and headquarters troops, were Philippine Scouts.^[1]

In October 1941, as part of the U.S. Army Forces Far East, plans were made to "triangularize" the division. The 34th Infantry was detached from the 8th Infantry Division and moved to a port of embarkation in December 1941, along with two battalions of 105mm field artillery. The Philippine Division was to have two complete U.S. regimental combat teams in place by January 1942 to provide General Douglas MacArthur with a modern, trained mobile reaction force, while freeing up Philippine Scouts for rounding out other units. The outbreak of war in December 1941, however, isolated the Philippines and prevented implementation of the plan.