1st Ranger Battalion (United States)

WWII 1st Ranger Battalion Shoulder Sleeve Insignia

Modern 1/75 Ranger Regiment Beret Flash

The 1st Ranger Battalion was formed upon America’s entry into World War II. Major General Lucian Truscott, U.S. Army, in liaison with the British General Staff, submitted proposals to General George Marshall that “we undertake immediately an American unit along the lines of the British Commandos” in 1942. A subsequent cable from the U.S. Department of War authorized the activation of the 1st U.S. Army Ranger Battalion.

After much deliberation, Company A, 1st Ranger Battalion was constituted on May 27, 1942, and Captain William Orlando Darby, a graduate of West Point with amphibious training, was chosen as its commanding officer. Promoted to major within weeks, Darby rose to the challenge of organizing the unit. Of the 1,500 men to volunteer for the original Ranger Battalion, only 600 were chosen. Eighty percent of these original Rangers came from the 34th Infantry Division. [1] On June 19, 1942, Company A, 1st Ranger Battalion, was officially activated.

A select team of four officers toured the existing Commando training camps and selected the center at Achnacarry, Scotland for the Rangers. Here they underwent intense training. Coached by the battle-seasoned commando instructors (commanded by Colonel Charles Vaughan), the Rangers learned the basics of commando warfare. Five hundred of the 600 volunteers (83.33%) that Darby brought with him to Achnacarry completed the Commando training. Many could not endure the exercises; one Ranger was killed, while several others were wounded in training so realistic that it was executed under live fire.

4th Ranger Battalion (United States)

Activated on May 29, 1943 in Tunisia, 4th Ranger Battalion was a Ranger unit in the United States Army during World War II.

5th Ranger Battalion (United States)

The Fifth Ranger Infantry Battalion was a World War II Ranger battalion activated on September 1, 1943 at Camp Forrest, Tennessee. By this time, while in maneuvers on the United States, they were commanded by the Major Owen Carter. Later, when they moved to England, they began to be commanded by Major (later Lieutenant Colonel) Max Schneider, former executive officer of the 4th Ranger Battalion, who led the 5th Rangers as part of the provisional Ranger Assault Force commanded by Colonel James Earl Rudder.

During the Battle of Normandy, the battalion landed on Omaha Beach along with companies A, B and C of the 2nd Ranger Battalion, where elements of the 116th Regiment of the 29th Infantry Division were pinned down by murderous machinegun fire and mortars from the heights above. It was there that the situation was so critical that General Omar Bradley was seriously considering redirecting reinforcements to other areas of the beachhead. And it was then and there that General Norman Cota, Assistant Division Commander of the 29th Infantry Division, gave the now famous order that has become the motto of the 75th Ranger Regiment: “Rangers, Lead The Way!”

The Fifth Battalion Rangers broke across the sea wall and barbed wire entanglements, and up the pillbox-rimmed heights under intense enemy machine-gun and mortar fire and with A and B Companies of the 2nd Battalion and some elements of the 116th Infantry Regiment, advanced four miles (6 km) to the key town of Vierville, thus opening the breach for supporting troops to follow-up and expand the beachhead. Meanwhile C Company of the 2nd Battalion, due to rough seas, landed west of the Vierville draw and suffered 50 percent casualties during the landing, but still scaled a 90-foot (27 m) cliff using ropes and bayonets to knock out a formidable enemy position that was sweeping the beach with deadly fire.

The Fifth Battalion with elements of the 116th Regiment finally linked up with the beleaguered 2nd Battalion on D+3, although Lieutenant Charles Parker of A Company, 5th Battalion, had penetrated deep behind enemy lines on D-Day and reached the 2nd Battalion with 20 prisoners. Later, with the 2nd Battalion the unit distinguished itself in the hard-fought battle of Brest. Under the leadership of Lieutenant Colonel Richard Sullivan the 5th Ranger Battalion took part in the Battle of the Bulge, Battle of Huertgen Forest and other tough battles throughout central Europe, earning two Distinguished Unit Citations and the French Croix de Guerre. The outfit was deactivated October 22 1945 at Camp Myles Standish, Massachusetts.

6th Ranger Battalion (United States)

The 6th Ranger Battalion was a United States Army Ranger Battalion which saw action in the Pacific during World War II. The Battalion is best known for its role in the Raid at Cabanatuan in January 1945.