The 75th Infantry Division was activated at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri on 15 April 1943. After taking part in the Third Army maneuvers in Louisiana, the 75th moved to Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky in the Spring of 1944. The Division departed for Europe that Fall and saw initial combat Christmas Eve in the Ardennes Forest of Belgium during the bitter fighting of the Battle of the Bulge. The Division participated in the Ardennes-Alsace, Rhineland and Central Europe campaigns, suffering 8,016 casualties, including 936 killed in action, and captured 20,630 prisoners during 94 days in combat.