The 32nd 'Red Arrow' Veteran Association
	Organization of the 32nd Division When it was created, during World War I in 1917

The 32nd Division was created by combining the Michigan and Wisconsin National Guard. Wisconsin provided about 15,000 soldiers and Michigan provided 8,000. Later 4,000 National Army troops (selectees or draftees) from Wisconsin and Michigan were assigned to the Division before it left for France.

Before being activated for World War I, the Michigan and Wisconsin National Guard were organized in accordance with pre-war US Regular Army units. At that time, the General Staff of the War Department envisioned "triangular" infantry brigades of three infantry regiments each, with three such brigades in a division (plus artillery, engineer, signal, supply and medical units). Each rifle company had 3 officers and 150 men.

In the spring of 1917, however, General John 'Blackjack' Pershing (the commander of the A.E.F. in France) and his staff made a trip to France to observe the tactics and formations in use by the Allies. Based on his observations, Gen. Pershing decided that reorganizing US units into massive "square" divisions, also known as "Pershing Divisions", might be able to provide enough muscle to break the stalemate of trench warfare. Each "square" division was built around four powerful infantry regiments of 3,720 enlisted men each. There would be two such regiments, plus a machine gun battalion, in an infantry brigade (2 infantry brigades per division). Each infantry brigade would be supported by a regiment of light (75mm) artillery; a 3rd regiment (155mm howitzers) and a trench mortar battery would complete the division's brigade of artillery. All of this, plus an additional machine gun battalion, a combat engineer regiment, a signal battalion and a division train (consisting of military police, ammunition train, supply train, engineer train, sanitary train) gave each division an authorized strength of 991 officers and 27,114 men (each rifle company consisted of 7 officers and 250 men, pre-war rifle companies had 3 officers and 150 men).

63rd Brigade Headquarters - BG Louis C. Covell (formerly CO of 1st Michigan Brigade)
    125th Infantry Regiment - COL John B. Boucher
    126th Infantry Regiment - COL Joseph P. Westnedge
    120th Machine Gun Battalion - MAJ David E. Cleary (formerly CO of 3rd Batallion, 31st Michigan Infantry)

64th Brigade Headquarters- BG Charles R. Boardman (formerly CO of 1st Wisconsin Brigade)
    127th Infantry Regiment - COL Wilbur M. Lee (formerly CO of 2nd Wisconsin Infantry)
    128th Infantry Regiment - COL John Turner (formerly CO of 3rd Wisconsin Infantry)
    121st Machine Gun Battalion - MAJ Frank H. Fowler (formerly CO of 1st Batallion, 3rd Wisconsin Infantry)

119th Machine Gun Battalion - MAJ Percy C. Atkinson (formerly CO of a batallion of the 6th Wisconsin Infantry)
107th Engineer Regiment - COL P. S. Bond, USA
107th Field Signal Battalion - MAJ William Mitchell Lewis (formerly CO of 1st Wisconsin Signal Batallion)
32nd Military Police Company

57th Field Artillery Brigade - BG William G. 'Bunker' Haan, USA
    119th Field Artillery Regiment - MAJ Chester B. McCormick
    120th Field Artillery Regiment - COL Carl Penner (formerly CO of 1st Wisconsin Cavalry)
    121st Field Artillery Regiment - COL Philip C. Westfahl (formerly CO of 1st Wisconsin Field Artillery)
    107th Trench Mortar Battery
    107th Mobile Ordinance Repair Shop

107th Train Headquarters - COL Robert B. McCoy (formerly CO of 4th Wisconsin Infantry)
    107th Supply Train
    107th Sanitary Train
    107th Ammunition Train
    107th Engineer Train
    107th Motor Supply Truck Unit

The following units were attached to the 32nd Division in France:

147th Field Artillery Regiment
    Organic to the 41st Division - attached to the 57th Field Artillery Brigade from 24 June 1918 to 8 April 1919

158th Field Artillery Brigade
    322nd Field Artillery
    323rd Field Artillery
    324th Field Artillery
    308th Trench Mortar Battery
    308th Ammunition Train
    Organic to the 83rd Division - attached to the 32nd Division from 26 September 1918 to April 1919

The 127th and 128th Infantry Regiments and 121st Machine Gun Battalion of the 64th Infantry Brigade were formed from the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Wisconsin Infantry Regiments (1st Wisconsin Brigade) plus some soldiers from the 57th Depot Brigade.

4th, 5th, and 6th Wisconsin Infantry Regiments (2nd Wisconsin Brigade) functioned as the 57th Depot Brigade. From this brigade the various new units of the new Division were organized in accordance with the “Tables of Organization, 1917”.

The 57th Field Artillery Brigade was formed from the 1st Wisconsin and 1st Michigan Field Artillery Regiments and 1st Wisconsin and 1st Michigan Cavalry Regiments plus some soldiers from the 57th Depot Brigade.
    119th FA, composed largely of Michigan artillery and cavalry troops
    120th FA, made up almost entirely from troops of the 1st Wisconsin Cavalry
    121st FA, the heavy artillery regiment of the 57th FA Brigade, formed from the 1st Wisconsin Field Artillery

The 107th Engineer Regiment was formed from the 1st Wisconsin and 1st Michigan Engineer Battalions plus some soldiers from the 57th Depot Brigade.

Whole companies were transferred from the 57th Depot Brigade to make up the 107th Trains, 32nd Military Police Company and 119th Machine Gun Battalion.

The 107th Sanitary Train was formed from Wisconsin Ambulance Companies Nos. 1 and 2, Michigan Ambulance Company No. 2, Wisconsin Field Hospitals Nos. 1 and 2 and Michigan Field Hospital No. 1.

The 107th Field Signal Battalion was formed from the 1st Wisconsin and 1st Michigan Field Signal Battalions.

In reorganization of the Division it was the policy to preserve original company organizations, but some consolidation was necessary to bring the companies up from the formerly prescribed strength of 150 men to the new “Tables of Organization, 1917” strength of 250 men.

Sources include:

The 32nd Division in the World War
The Minute Man in Peace and War