divisions to finish what the 34th nearly accomplished on its own. After rest and rehabilitation, the 34th Division landed at the Anzio beachhead 25 March 1944. The division maintained defensive positions until the offensive of 23 May, when it broke out of the beachhead, took Cisterna, and raced to Civitavecchia and the Italian capital of Rome. After a short rest, the division, now commanded by Major General Charles Bolte, drove across the Cecina River to liberate Livorno, 19 July 1944, and continued on to take Monte Belmonte in October during the fighting on the Gothic Line. Digging in south of Bologna for the winter, the 34th manned the line opposite the German 65th Infantry Division. The Red Bull Division jumped off as part of the Spring 1945 offensive in Italy, 15 April 1945, and captured Bologna on 21 April after hard fighting against the 65th. Pursuit of the routed enemy to the French border was halted on 2 May upon the German surrender in Italy and the end of World War II in Europe. On 27 June 1944 the 16th SS-Panzer Grenadiers command post in San Vincenzo, Italy was overrun by the 1st Battalion of the 133rd Infantry Regiment. The command post was a town center apartment which had been commandeered, when the owners returned to their apartment they found a signed large leather-bound Stieler's Hand Atlas which had been left behind. The division participated in six major Army campaigns in North Africa and Italy. The division is credited with amassing 517 days of front-line combat, second only to the 654 days of fighting by the 32nd Infantry Division. One or more 34th Division units were engaged in actual combat for 611 days. Unit history Activated: 10 February 1941 (National Guard Division from North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota) Overseas: May 1942 Days of combat: 517 Distinguished Unit Citations: 3 Awards: Medals of Honor: 11 Distinguished Service Crosses: 98 Distinguished Service Medals: 1 Silver Stars: 1,153 Bronze Stars: 2,545 Legions of Merit: 116 Soldier's Medals: 54 Purple Hearts: 15,000 Foreign awards: French Croix de Guerre Casualties: Killed in action: 2,866 Wounded in action: 11,545 Missing in action: 622 Prisoner of war: 1,368 Total battle casualties: 16,401 Commanders: Major General Ellard A. Walsh (February–August 1941) Major General Russell P. Hartle (August 1941 – May 1942) Major General Charles W. Ryder (May 1942 – July 1944) Major General Charles L. Bolte (July