Panama Canal Division

The Panama Canal Division was a unit of the United States Army, established in order to ensure the United States could adequately defend the Canal Zone in Panama. When it was authorized in 1920, similar divisions were organized to defend Hawaii and the Philippines.

Panama Canal Division
Active1921–1932
Country United States
Branch United States Army
Part ofPanama Canal Department

History

10th Division
Shoulder sleeve insignia of the World War I 10th Division

On July 9, 1918, the 10th Division was activated for World War I.[1] It was organized in August, and mobilized and trained at Camp Funston, Kansas.[1] The 10th Division completed training in October and moved to Camp Mills, New York to await transport to France.[1] Advance units of the division had departed Camp Mills by early November, but the Armistice of November 11, 1918 ended the need for the division to serve overseas.[1] Most units had been demobilized by early 1919, and the 10th Division was inactivated in March.[1]

Organization

The organization of the 10th Division included:[1]

Divisional Troops

Headquarters Troop
28th Machine Gun Battalion
210th Engineer Battalion
210th Field Signal Battalion

19th Infantry Brigade

41st Infantry Regiment
69th Infantry Regiment
29th Machine Gun Battalion

20th Infantry Brigade

20th Infantry Regiment
70th Infantry Regiment
30th Machine Gun Battalion

10th Field Artillery Brigade

28th Field Artillery Regiment
29th Field Artillery Regiment
30th Field Artillery Regiment
10th Trench Mortar Battery

Trains

10th Train Headquarters and Military Police
10th Ammunition Train
10th Supply Train
210th Engineer Train
10th Sanitary Train

Commanders

Commanders of the 10th Division included:[1]

Panama Canal Division

The Panama Canal Division was organized in 1921 and included units of the 10th Division that had not been inactivated after World War I. The Panama Canal Division was active until 1932.[2][3] Its initial composition included the 19th Infantry Brigade commanding the (14th and 65th Infantry Regiments, of which the 65th was stationed in Puerto Rico) and the 20th Infantry Brigade commanding the (33rd and 42nd Infantry Regiments).[2] The two brigades appear to have been active until 1927.[4]

The commander of the Panama Canal Department, Major General Preston Brown, later determined that the defense of Panama would be better served by command groups representing the Atlantic and the Pacific. In 1932, the Army inactivated the division, keeping its Tables of Organization on file should the need arise to reactivate it. It never has.[2]

Commanding generals

Panama Canal Division

Panama Mobile Force
  • MG Ben Lear: February 16, 1940 – September 20, 1940
  • MG William E. Prosser: September 21, 1940 – March 1942
  • MG Robert H. Lewis: March 1942 – December 21, 1942
  • MG Harry C. Ingles: December 22, 1942 - February 1943
  • BG Jesse C. Drain: February 1943 - April 2, 1943
  • MG Phillip E. Gallagher: September 3, 1944 – April 1, 1945
  • BG Thomas J. Camp

See also

References
  1. Order of Battle of the United States Land Forces in the World War. Vol. 3, Part 2. Washington, DC: Center of Military History, United States Army. 1988. pp. 643–644 – via Google Books.
  2. Wilson, John B. (1997). Maneuver and Firepower: The Evolution of Divisions and Separate Brigades. Washington, DC: Center of Military History.
  3. http://usacac.army.mil/cac2/cgsc/carl/download/csipubs/OrderOfBattle/OrderofBattle1.pdf US Army Order of Battle 1919-1940 page 288
  4. McGrath, 'The Brigade,' page 166
  5. http://usacac.army.mil/cac2/cgsc/carl/download/csipubs/OrderOfBattle/OrderofBattle1.pdf US Army Order of Battle 1919-1940 page 285
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