Original U.S. WWII 104th “Timberwolf” Division Enormous Captured German Banner Signed by 50 Members of Company H, 415th Infantry Regiment - Roughly 86 x 186”

Original Item. One-of-a-Kind. This is one of the most tremendous captured German flags/banners we have ever offered. This enormous roughly 86 x 186” German banner is signed by 50 soldiers of Company H, 415th Infantry Regiment, 104th (Timberwolf) Infantry Division with their ranks and addresses within the center swas on one side. The flag is marked with the unit:

Germany
Co. H. 415th Inf.
104th (Timberwolf)
Division
(By Howard)

This truly was a company-signed flag, as some of the signatures include 1st Sergeant Charles W. Geary(?), 2nd Lieutenant Ray L. Patchin, and Captain Harold F. Harfit (C.O.). This flag requires a great deal of research into these names, as the 415th Infantry Regiment was awarded campaign participation credit for the Northern France, Rhineland, and Central Europe campaigns. This flag was certainly captured in Germany as denoted by the unit marking. The 2nd and 3rd battalions were awarded a Presidential Unit Citation in 1945 for their work in Lucherberg.

This is an outstanding and very large flag which retains its full white header with hooks at the ends for mounting. This would be a fantastic basis for a glass table or to cover an entire wall. The swas itself has a staggering 60” diameter, wow!

An outstanding artifact, one of the greatest 104th ID pieces we’ve ever offered. Comes ready to frame and display!

The 104th ID in World War II

Before Organized Reserve infantry divisions were ordered into active military service, they were reorganized on paper as "triangular" divisions under the 1940 tables of organization. The headquarters companies of the two infantry brigades were consolidated into the division's cavalry reconnaissance troop, and one infantry regiment was removed by inactivation. The field artillery brigade headquarters and headquarters battery became the headquarters and headquarters battery of the division artillery. Its three field artillery regiments were reorganized into four battalions; one battalion was taken from each of the two 75 mm gun regiments to form two 105 mm howitzer battalions, the brigade's ammunition train was reorganized as the third 105 mm howitzer battalion, and the 155 mm howitzer battalion was formed from the 155 mm howitzer regiment. The engineer, medical, and quartermaster regiments were reorganized into battalions. In 1942, divisional quartermaster battalions were split into ordnance light maintenance companies and quartermaster companies, and the division's headquarters and military police company, which had previously been a combined unit, was split. The 104th Infantry Division was ordered into active military service on 15 September 1942 under the command of Major General Gilbert R. Cook, and was reorganized as the 104th Infantry Division at Camp Adair, Oregon. The division earned its nickname "Timberwolf Division" from its time in the northwest.

The 104th was the first U.S. Army division to be trained to fight in nighttime conditions. After training at Camp Adair, the division participated in the Oregon Maneuver combat exercise in the fall of 1943. On 15 October 1943, Major General Terry de la Mesa Allen Sr. took command of the division. He had previously commanded the 1st Infantry Division, "The Big Red One", in North Africa and Sicily and would command the 104th during most of its time in combat. On 7 December 1943, the division moved to, and began 13 weeks of desert training at Camp Hyder, Arizona. The division concluded training on 9 February 1944, and next moved to Camp Granite, California. One last move in March to Camp Carson, Colorado, aboard 24 trains was followed with a cross-county move to Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, arriving on 20 August 1944.

The 104th Infantry Division sailed for the Western Front on 27 August 1944. It landed in France on 7 September 1944. The division was assigned to III Corps of the Ninth United States Army, part of the Twelfth United States Army Group. The division then organized and assembled at Manche, France before heading into combat.

Joining the Battle of the Scheldt, the division moved into defensive positions in the vicinity of Wuustwezel, Belgium on 23 October 1944. The Timberwolves were then assigned to Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery's Anglo-Canadian 21st Army Group under the British I Corps, within the First Canadian Army, along with the U.S. 7th Armored Division, in order to clear out the Scheldt Estuary and open the port of Antwerp. While the U.S. 7th Armored Division was assigned static duty holding the right flank of the gains made during the failed Market Garden operation, the 104th Infantry Division was to participate in the First Canadian Army's taking of the Scheldt. The Timberwolves travelled across France by train and debarked near the Belgian-Dutch border and waited for word to take part in a new allied offensive, Operation Pheasant, taking the place of the experienced British 49th Infantry Division on the left flank and the Polish 1st Armored Division on the right.

The Americans were given responsibility for taking 22 miles of wet, low country from the Belgian border to the Meuse (Maas). The width of their front was approximately 8,000 yards. General Allen planned to employ all three of his regiments at the same time, shoulder to shoulder. The 104th began combat operations on 25 and 26 October and began to attack the Germans, who offered varying levels of resistance. Along the division's front, the Germans were spread thinly and did not have continuous lines of defense. However, they did possess deadly strong points and endeavored to make the Timberwolves' progress as time-consuming and costly as possible, making heavy use of mines, booby traps, and roadblocks. Despite this, the advance was steady, though paid for in the lives of the 104th Division soldiers. Conditions were rainy, chilly, wet, and muddy. Moisture seemed to grip everything and everyone. Sleet beat down on the troops, who went for days soaked to the skin and slimy with mud. On 30 October, after five days of continuous operations the division had pushed about 15 miles to within sight of the Mark River and had liberated Zundert, gained control of the Breda-Roosendaal Road, and overrun the Vaart Canal defenses. Leur and Etten fell as the division advanced to the Mark River, arriving there by 31 October. A coordinated attack over the Mark River at Standdaarbuiten on 2 November established a bridgehead and the rest of the division crossed the river. With the Allies firmly on the north side of the Mark River, German resistance collapsed. For the next two days, the Timberwolves pursued enemy remnants north to the Meuse. Zevenbergen was captured and the Meuse was reached on 5 November. That same day, General Allen received orders from the U.S. First Army, releasing it from Canadian control. While the bulk of the division moved near Aachen, Germany, elements remained to secure Moerdijk until 7 November, when they were relieved. During this time, the division was reassigned to VII Corps of the U.S. 1st Army, also part of the Twelfth Army Group. By 7 November, the fighting in the Netherlands cost the Timberwolves 1,426 casualties, including 313 killed and 103 missing. Montgomery and the Canadian commanders sent their congratulations, and General Allen disseminated copies of their letters to his regiments and wrote a personal letter of thanks to everyone in the division, concluding with his favorite motto, "Nothing in Hell must stop the Timberwolves!" As a result of the actions of the 104th and their Allied counterparts, the Scheldt Estuary was cleared. The Royal Navy took three weeks to sweep the estuary waters clear of mines, and in early December 1944, the port of Antwerp was open to Allied shipping.

While under American command on 16 November 1944, the division went on another offensive in support of Operation Queen, taking Stolberg and pushing on against heavy resistance. Eschweiler fell on 21 November and the enemy was cleared from the area west of the Inde River, including Inden by 2 December 1944. Lucherberg was held against enemy counterattacks on 3 December, and all strongholds west of the Roer River were captured by the 23rd. It took temporary command of the 60th Infantry Regiment of the 9th Infantry Division. During the Battle of the Bulge, the 104th actively defended its sector near Duren and Merken (in German only) from 15 December 1944 to 22 February 1945. During that time, it was reassigned to XIX Corps of the Ninth United States Army. It then moved across the Roer taking Huchem-Stammeln, Birkesdorf, and North Duren.

On 5 March, after heavy fighting, it entered Köln. After defending the west bank of the Rhine River, the division crossed the river at Honnef on 22 March 1945, and attacked to the east of the Remagen bridgehead. During this time, some of the division's assets fell under command of the 1st Infantry Division and the 3rd Armored Division.

After a period of mopping up and consolidation, it participated in the trap of enemy troops in the Ruhr pocket. The 104th repulsed heavy attacks near Medebach and captured Paderborn on 1 April 1945. After regrouping, it advanced to the east and crossed the Weser River on 8 April, blocking enemy exits from the Harz Mountains. On 11 April 1945 the Division was involved in the liberation of a large German concentration camp at Nordhausen. The division then crossed the Saale River and took Halle in a bitter five-day struggle from 15 to 19 April. The sector to the Mulde River was cleared by 21 April, and after vigorous patrolling, contacted the Red Army at Pretzsch on 26 April. The division took temporary command of assets from the 69th Infantry Division in early May.