106th Infantry Division ( United States ) The 106th Infantry Division was a division of the United States Army formed for service during World War II . Two of its three regiments were overrun and surrounded in the initial days of the Battle of the Bulge , and they were forced to surrender to German forces on 19 December 1944 . The division was never officially added to the troop list following the Second World War , despite having been almost completely organized in Puerto Rico by 1948 ; subsequently , the War Department determined the division was not needed and deactivated the division headquarters in 1950 . Kurt Vonnegut served in this division and used his experiences during the Battle of the Bulge ( and captivity as a prisoner of war ) in his novel " Slaughterhouse - Five . " History . The 106th Infantry Division ' s Headquarters and Headquarters Company was constituted on paper on 5 May 1942 in the Army of the United States . It was actually activated on 15 March 1943 at Fort Jackson , South Carolina with a cadre from the 80th Infantry Division . Following Basic and Advanced Infantry Training , the Division moved on 28 March 1944 to Tennessee to participate in the Second Army # 5 Maneuvers . During World War II , the 106th Infantry Division relieved the 2nd Infantry Division in the Schnee Eifel on 11 December 1944 , with its 424th Infantry Regiment was sent to Winterspelt . The Ardennes - Alsace Campaign attack was thrown in force at the 106th on 16 December 1944 . The division ' s 422nd and 423rd Infantry Regiments were encircled and cut off from the remainder of the Division by a junction of enemy forces in the vicinity of Schonberg . They regrouped for a counterattack but were blocked by the enemy and lost to the Division on 18 December 1944 . The two Regiments surrendered to the Germans on 19 December 1944 . The rest of the Division , reinforced by the 112th Infantry Regiment of the 28th Infantry Division , withdrew over the Our River , and joined other units at Saint Vith . Along with the city of Bastogne to the south , St . Vith was a road and rail junction city considered vital to the German goal of breaking through Allied lines to split American and British forces and reach the Belgian port city of Antwerp . A scratch force of 106th Division personnel , in particular the division ' s 81st Engineer Combat Battalion , was organized and led by the 81st ' s 28 - year - old commanding officer , Lt . Col . Thomas Riggs , in a five - day holding action ( 17 – 21 December ) on a thin ridge line a mile outside St . Vith , against German forces vastly superior in numbers and armament ( only a few hundred combat - green Americans against many thousands of veteran Germans ) . For this action , the 81st Engineer Combat Battalion was later awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation for gallantry . The defense of St . Vith by the 106th has been credited with ruining the German timetable for reaching Antwerp , hampering the Bulge offensive for the Germans . The 81st and its allied units , including 168th Engineer Combat Battalion , all pulled back from St . Vith on 21 December 1944 , under constant enemy fire , and withdrew over the Saint River at Vielsalm on 23 December . The following day , the 424th Regiment , attached to the 7th Armored Division , fought a delaying action at Manhay until ordered to an assembly area . From 25 December 1944 to 9 January 1945 , the Division received reinforcements and supplies at Anthisnes , Belgium , and returned to the struggle , securing objectives along the Ennal - Logbierme line on 15 January after heavy fighting . After being pinched out by advancing divisions , the 106th assembled at Stavelot on 18 January for rehabilitation and training . It moved to the vicinity of Hunningen , 7 February 1945 , for defensive patrols and training . In March , the 424th advanced along the high ground between Berk and the Simmer River and was again pinched out at Olds on 7 March 1945 . A period of training and security patrolling along the Rhine River followed , until 15 March 1945 when the Division moved to St . Quentin for rehabilitation and the reconstruction of lost units . The division was reconstituted on 16 March 1945 when the 3rd Infantry Regiment ( the Old Guard ) and the 159th Infantry Regiment were attached to replace the two lost regiments . The division then moved back to Germany on 25 April 1945 , where , for the remainder of its stay in Europe , the 106th handled POW enclosures and engaged in occupational duties . In the meantime , the 422nd Infantry Regiment and the 423rd Infantry Regiment were reconstituted from replacements in France on 15 April 1945 , were attached to the 66th Infantry Division in training status , and were still in this status when the Germans surrendered on 8 May 1945 . At the end of the war the division had seen 63 days of combat . It had suffered 417 KIA , 1 , 278 WIA , and 53 died of wounds . It lost 6 , 697 personnel taken prisoner . Of that total , 6 , 500 POWs were eventually returned to American military control after being released at war ' s end . The remainder were listed MIA . Order of battle . Assigned units . 1942 ( " Triangular " ) Organization Honors . Campaign participation credit . World War II Decorations . Individual recognition . All infantry members who received the Combat Infantryman Badge were also later awarded the Bronze Star .