6th Infantry Division (United States)
1917-1994 United States Army formation
The 6th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the United States Army active in World War I, World War II, and the last years of the Cold War. Known as "Red Star", it was previously called the "Sight Seein' Sixth". The six points of the star refer to the unit's numerical designation.
World War I
On 17 November 1917, the War Department directed that the 6th Division be organized with a cadre from Regular Army units stationed at Camp Forrest, Georgia, Forts Leavenworth and Riley, Kansas, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, Vancouver Barracks, Washington, and other posts. The division headquarters was established at Camp McClellan, Alabama. Division units commenced training at their respective posts; the 11th and 12th Infantry Brigades and the division trains at Camp Forrest, while the division artillery moved to the training center at Camp Doniphan, Oklahoma, in April. In May and June, the division headquarters, 12th Infantry Brigade, 16th and 17th Machine Gun Battalions, 6th Field Signal Battalion, and 6th Train Headquarters and Military Police moved to Camp Wadsworth, South Carolina. In May and June 1918, 15,000 Selective Service men arrived from Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Wisconsin to complete the division.
Subordinate Units:
Headquarters, 6th Division
11th Infantry Brigade
51st Infantry Regiment (formed with a cadre from the 11th Infantry in June 1917)
52nd Infantry Regiment (formed with a cadre from the 11th Infantry in June 1917)
17th Machine Gun Battalion
12th Infantry Brigade
53rd Infantry Regiment (formed with a cadre from the 6th Infantry in June 1917)
54th Infantry Regiment (formed with a cadre from the 6th Infantry in June 1917)
18th Machine Gun Battalion
6th Field Artillery Brigade
3rd Field Artillery Regiment (75 mm)
11th Field Artillery Regiment (155 mm) (formed with a cadre from the 6th Field Artillery in June 1917)
78th Field Artillery Regiment (75 mm) (formed from the 20th Cavalry in June 1917)
6th Trench Mortar Battery
16th Machine Gun Battalion
318th Engineer Regiment
6th Field Signal Battalion
Headquarters Troop, 6th Division
6th Train Headquarters and Military Police
6th Ammunition Train
6th Supply Train
6th Engineer Train
6th Sanitary Train
20th, 37th, 38th, and 40th Ambulance Companies and Field Hospitals
The division went overseas in June 1918, and saw 43 days of combat in the Geradmer sector, Vosges, France, 3 September-18 October 1918, and during the Meuse-Argonne offensive 1–11 November 1918. Casualties totalled 386 (KIA: 38; WIA: 348).
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “6th Infantry Division (United States)” as 1917-1994 United States Army formation. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as 1917-1994 United States Army formation. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 10, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q900835. VIAF identifies the subject as 144777572. The Library of Congress control number is n88057075. 2 of 7 selected statements include explicit references; 5 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1917 and 1918.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “6th Infantry Division (United States)”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow 6th Infantry Division (United States) primary sources, 6th Infantry Division (United States) archive and Infantry research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “6th Infantry Division (United States)”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “6th Infantry Division (United States)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.