Offered for auction is a nice small grouping belonging to a private 1st class of the 26th infantry division i.e. ''Yankee Division'', famous from their combat near WILTZ, luxemburg, other areas of the Bulge and France. The lot consists of a nice USED 26th ID patch, his Pfc rank chevrons, his prayer book and leather cover WITH the original religious charm still included, which would be carried in the little pocket. The prayer book is dated 1940. Altogether a great set, complete left as-found. Nice 100% original WW2 grouping for your WW2 collection! History of the 26th Infantry division The division was assigned to III Corps of the U.S. Ninth Army, under Lieutenant General William Hood Simpson, part of the 12th Army Group, commanded by Lieutenant General Omar Bradley.[19] It was shipped from the United States directly to France, and was not sent through Britain.[20] The 26th ID landed in France at Cherbourg and Utah Beach on 7 September 1944, but did not enter combat as a division until a month later. Elements were on patrol duty along the coast from Carteret to Siouville from 13 to 30 September.[21] The 328th Infantry saw action with the 80th Infantry Division from 5 to 15 October.[22] The division was then reassigned to XII Corps of Lieutenant General George S. Patton's U.S. Third Army.[19] On 7 October, the 26th relieved the 4th Armored Division in the Salonnes-Moncourt-Canal du Rhine au Marne sector, and maintained defensive positions. The division launched a limited objective attack on 22 October, in the Moncourt woods. On 8 November, the 26th then went on the offensive, along with first all Black tank Battalion, the 761st, who spearheaded the assault, the 26th Division took Dieuze on 20 November, advanced across the Saar River to Saar Union, and captured it on 2 December, after house-to-house fighting. Reaching Maginot fortifications on 5 December, it regrouped, entering Saareguemines on 8 December.[21] Around this time it was reassigned to III Corps.[19] Rest at Metz was interrupted by the German offensive in the Ardennes, the Battle of the Bulge. The division moved north to Luxembourg from 19 to 21 December, to take part in the battle of the Ardennes break-through. It attacked at Rambrouch and Grosbous on 22 December, beat off strong German counterattacks, captured Arsdorf on Christmas Day after heavy fighting, attacked toward the Wiltz River, but was forced to withdraw in the face of determined German resistance. After regrouping on 5–8 January 1945, it attacked again, crossing the Wiltz River on 20 January.[21] The division's drive to the Rhine River jumped off on 13 March 1945, and carried the division through Merzig from 17 March, to the Rhine by 21 March, and across the Rhine at Oppenheim on 25–26 March.[21] The division was subsequently reassigned to XII Corps.[19] It took part in the house-to-house reduction of Hanau on 28 March, broke out of the Main River bridgehead, drove through Fulda on 1 April, and helped reduce Meiningen on 5 April. Moving southeast into Austria, the division assisted in the capture of Linz, 5 May. It had changed the direction of its advance, and was moving northeast into Czechoslovakia, across the Vltava River, when the cease-fire order was received.[21] One day later, the division overran the Gusen concentration camp in conjunction with the 11th Armored Division, liberating it from German forces. There, it discovered that the Germans had used forced labor to carve out an elaborate tunnel system with underground aircraft production facilities. SS officers at the camp allegedly planned to demolish the tunnels with the prisoners inside, but the movement of the 26th Infantry and 11th Armored Divisions prevented this.[23]