46th Infantry Division (United States)

46th Infantry Division
46th Infantry Division shoulder sleeve insignia
Active	1947–68
Country	United States
Branch	United States Army
Type	Infantry
Size	Division
Nickname(s)	"Ironfist Division"
Commanders
Notable commanders	Leonard C. Ward

The 46th Infantry Division was a formation of the Michigan Army National Guard active between 1947 and 1968. It was initially headquartered at Lansing. Many of its units had previously been part of the 32nd Infantry Division. It was converted to the Reorganization Objective Army Division (ROAD) structure in March 1963. The Division's 2nd Brigade was assigned to the Selected Reserve Force, a higher-readiness component of the ARNG, in 1965.^[1] Virtually the entire division was involved in responding to the 12th Street riot in Detroit in July–August 1967.^[2]

The 1968 reductions of the Army National Guard, initiated by Defense Secretary Robert McNamara who felt that fifteen divisions were too many, reduced the division to the 46th Infantry Brigade, which was allocated to the 38th Infantry Division. In 1985 the Brigade, headquartered at Wyoming, Michigan, consisted of the 1–125 Infantry Regiment, the 3-126 Infantry, and the 1–225 Infantry Regiment.^[3]

Notes

2. "DMVA - The Tumultuous 1960s". Michigan.gov. Retrieved 2015-08-28.
3. Isby and Kamps, Armies of NATO's Central Front, Jane's Publishing Company, 1985, p.383

References

• Ngef.org
• Wilson, John B. (1997). Maneuver and Firepower: The Evolution of Divisions and Separate Brigades. Washington, DC: Center of Military History.