World War I

Under the command of Colonel John Campbell McArthur, a Regular Army officer, the 326th Infantry Regiment was officially activated as one of the four regiments of the 82nd Infantry Division on August 29, 1917, nearly five months after the American entry into World War I, at Camp Gordon, near Atlanta, Georgia. The other regiments of the 82nd Division were the 325th, 327th and 328th Infantry Regiments, together with supporting units. Being part of a National Army division, the 326th was composed of large numbers of conscripts (or "draftees") who had been called up for military service, most of whom had no previous military experience whatsoever. However, the only personnel actually assigned to the regiment were a small cadre of Regular Army soldiers charged with the task of preparing for the thousands of young draftees who would soon be flooding the camp.

The 326th, and its sister unit, the 325th Infantry, both of which were part of the 164th Infantry Brigade, were members of the 82nd Division that was, initially, composed of officers and enlisted men from what most would consider the "Deep South". However, this changed a few weeks into the training program. The War Department issued orders instructing the 82nd Division to send all of its soldiers, minus a 783-man training cadre, to other camps to create new units. Leaders watched as their soldiers departed, to be replaced by draftees from all regions of the United States. It was noted by the division commander, Major General Eben Swift, that the 82nd Division was now made up of soldiers from every state in the union. It is from this fact that the 82nd Division received its nickname of "The All American Division" and is represented by the "Double A" patch worn on members of the 82nd Airborne Division today. The 82nd Division soon began training hard for eventual deployment overseas.

In April 1918, the regiment received orders to move to Camp Upton, New York in preparation for embarkation to France. Their short stay at Camp Upton reflected a growing crisis for the Allied forces on the Western Front. The German Army's Spring Offensive, launched on March 21, 1918, was a desperate attempt to win the war then and there, before the strength of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) on the Western Front, then consisting of only a few divisions, became overwhelming. The Germans had made gains of over 45 miles in France. Other attacks along the Somme, Lys, and Aisne Rivers had stretched the British and French Armies, both, after nearby four years of war, critically short of manpower, to their absolute limits.

Upon their arrival at the French port of Le Havre, on May 17, 1918 the regiment began sending small detachments into the lines to accustom the men to the brutal realities of trench warfare. On June 9, 1918, Captain Jewett Williams of the 326th Infantry was killed in action. He was the regiment's first casualty of World War I.

Men of the 326th Infantry Regiment moving towards German trenches at Choloy, France, July 25, 1918.

The regiment's first combat assignment was to relieve the 101st Infantry Regiment of the 26th "Yankee" Division in the Toul sector in France where they would enter the line as part of the 82nd Division under the control of the French Seventh Army. On August 4, the regiment engaged in the 82nd Division's first offensive action of the war. The 326th went "over the top", advancing behind an artillery barrage to capture 3 German machine guns, inflict 73 casualties, and secure the information needed by higher headquarters. Shortly after this action the regiment was relieved and moved to form part of the Marbache defense sector.

The 326th had its first encounter with the deadly mustard gas used by the Germans on September 12. They endured a night-long barrage of explosive and chemical artillery and persistent strafing by German aircraft. When the sun rose the next morning the soldiers looked out onto a contaminated wasteland. Although the attack on Saint-Mihiel was unsuccessful, the 326th Infantry held its ground and accomplished its mission. The regiment soon received replacements for the casualties sustained and trained in preparation for the next offensive.

The Meuse-Argonne Offensive was the last major offensive of the war, and the largest launched by the AEF on the Western Front during the war. It was, in addition, the largest battle ever fought in the U.S. Army's history, involving well over 1.2 million American soldiers. The offensive was designed to penetrate the German lines and disrupt their logistical base. This was preparatory to further offensive operations involving the actual invasion of Germany. Through ten days of battle, the regiment, sustaining heavy casualties, was able to punch a hole in the German Army's last line of defense. With their removal, the Allied forces had a clear shot at continuing to advance into Germany. The 326th Infantry Regiment, as an integral part of the 82nd Division, shared the distinction of serving in active operations longer, and without relief, than any other regiment in the AEF.

The 326th remained in France, in the Prauthoy area, after the Armistice with Germany was signed on November 11, 1918 at 11:00am. After occupation duties, the regiment returned to the United States in April 1919, and was demobilized at Camp Mills, New York.

Interwar period

The 326th Infantry Regiment was reconstituted as an Organized Reserve unit on 24 July 1921, assigned to the 82nd Division, and allotted to the IV Corps Area. The regimental headquarters was initiated at Marietta, Georgia, on 14 January 1922, the 1st Battalion at Rome, Georgia, the 2nd Battalion at Augusta, Georgia, and the 3rd Battalion at Atlanta, Georgia. The entire regiment was relocated in 1927 to Atlanta. The personnel of the regiment typically held their Inactive Training Period meetings at the Chamber of Commerce Assembly Hall or the Courtland Street Armory, and conducted summer training most years with the 22nd Infantry Regiment at Camp McClellan, Alabama, Fort McPherson, Georgia, or Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, or with the 8th Infantry Regiment at Fort Moultrie, South Carolina. As and alternate form on summer training, supervised infantry Citizens Military Training Camps at Fort Screven, Georgia, Camp McClellan, or Fort Moultrie. The primary ROTC "feeder" schools were North Georgia College and the University of Georgia.^[1]

World War II