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151st Field Artillery Regiment

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First Section of Battery B, 151st Field Artillery Battalion

The First Section of Battery B, 151st Field Artillery Battalion, learns to use a British 25-pounder howitzer in Northern Ireland, June 1942. This is the weapon they fired in North Africa. Front row, from left: Donald Reynolds, Frank Ruebl, Glenn Wishert, Louis Dobbleman, James O’Neil. In back: William Brisley, Lawrence Swanson, Alfred Wilson, John Anderson. Used with the permission of the Minnesota Military Museum, Camp Ripley.

The 151st Field Artillery is one of the oldest, most decorated units in the Minnesota National Guard. Its performance in combat during World War I as part of the Forty-second “Rainbow” Division, and during World War II with the Thirty-fourth “Red Bull” Division, drew high praise from senior Army commanders and remains a source of pride to the soldiers in its ranks.

The 151st traces its beginnings to the Civil War. Organized at Fort Snelling in 1864 as the First Regiment of Heavy Artillery, Minnesota Volunteers, it took charge of heavy guns surrounding Chattanooga, Tennessee. After the war, it emerged as a light artillery battery in Minnesota’s fledgling National Guard. In 1893, it became the First Battalion of Artillery, consisting of Battery A in St. Paul and Battery B in Minneapolis. By 1913 it had grown into a regiment—the First Minnesota Field Artillery—with a First Battalion in St. Paul and Second Battalion in Minneapolis. Each battalion had three firing batteries.

Border attacks in 1916 by Mexican revolutionaries prompted President Wilson to activate the National Guard. The First Minnesota Field Artillery went to Camp Llano Grande on the southern tip of Texas. For seven months, it trained and patrolled the border along the Rio Grande.

It was activated again when the US entered Europe’s stalemated “Great War” in April 1917. The Army re-designated the regiment as the 151st Field Artillery and assigned it to a newly-created Forty-second “Rainbow” Division, made up of National Guard units from all parts of the country (thus the name “Rainbow”).

Commanded by Colonel George E. Leach of Minneapolis, the 151st shipped to France, where it fired French 75mm guns in six campaigns: Lorraine 1918, Champagne 1918, Champagne-Marne, Aisne-Marne, St. Mihiel, and the climactic Meuse-Argonne. An armistice was signed on November 11, 1918, ending the war. Although the entire Minnesota National Guard had been called up, the 151st—nicknamed the “Gopher Gunners”—was the only Minnesota National Guard unit to see combat. It received a tumultuous hero’s welcome upon returning home to Minnesota in May 1919.

The regiment became part of the Thirty-fourth Infantry Division when it was reconstituted in 1921. In February 1941, with Europe already at war, the Thirty-fourth Division was activated for a year of precautionary training at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana. Enlistments were extended for the duration when the US entered World War II that December. The Army restructured its infantry divisions and the regiment’s First Battalion was re-designated as the 151st Field Artillery Battalion; its Second Battalion became the 175th Field Artillery Battalion.

The new battalion embarked from New York harbor with other elements of the Thirty-fourth Division on January 15, 1942, becoming the very first contingent of American troops to sail for Europe in the war. After training in Northern Ireland, the unit proceeded to the battlefields of Tunisia. From mid-February to mid-May 1943, it fired British 25-pounder howitzers against German forces until the enemy withdrew from North Africa.

In September 1943, the battalion was temporarily attached to the Thirty-sixth Infantry Division to aid in establishing a beachhead at Salerno, Italy. After rejoining the Thirty-fourth, it provided artillery support—now using US M2 105mm howitzers—for the tough Italian campaigns that followed: Naples-Foggia; Anzio; Rome-Arno; North Apennines; and, finally, Po Valley. The war in Europe ended in May 1945. By the time the 151st got back to the US in November, its battle-hardened soldiers had spent over four years and eight months on active duty.

When war swept over Korea in the summer of 1950, the US immediately dispatched troops to aid the South Koreans. The 151st, as part of the Forty-seventh “Viking” Infantry Division, was sent in January 1951 to Camp Rucker, Alabama. For two years it trained replacements for combat units in the Far East Command.

Few National Guardsmen were activated to fight in Vietnam (1964‒73), although some units, including the 151st, were designated as a Selected Reserve Force (SRF). They received additional training and prepared for deployment on short notice, but the call never came.

After the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the Guard became an operational force of the Army rather than a strategic reserve. This meant that for most National Guard soldiers, deployments became the “new normal” due to on-going conflict in the Middle East. The First Battalion, 151st Field Artillery, deployed to Iraq for a year in 2005‒2006 and to Kuwait and Iraq in 2009‒2010.

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Collins, Louis A. ”History of the 151st Field Artillery, Rainbow Division." St. Paul: Minnesota War Records Commission, 1924.

Center of Military History, Department of the Army. Lineage and Honors certificate, April 30, 2012, 151st Field Artillery Regiment (First Minnesota Heavy Artillery).
https://history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/lineages/branches/fa/0151fa.htm

Miller, Ronald L. History of the Minnesota National Guard Field Artillery 1864‒1988. Unpublished manuscript in the archives of the Minnesota Military Museum, Little Falls.

“Mobilization Tracker.” Spreadsheet showing statewide unit mobilizations, September 11, 2001–December 11, 2015. Provided to the author by the Minnesota National Guard.

Smith, Leland. History of the Minnesota Militia and National Guard. Unpublished manuscript in the archives of the Minnesota Military Museum, Little Falls.

Vojta, Francis J. The Gopher Gunners: A History of Minnesota’s 151st Field Artillery. Minneapolis: Burgess Publishing, 1995.

Related Images

First Section of Battery B, 151st Field Artillery Battalion
First Section of Battery B, 151st Field Artillery Battalion
Gunners of the First Battalion of Artillery
Gunners of the First Battalion of Artillery
 First Battalion of Artillery Band
 First Battalion of Artillery Band
Members of Battery B of Minneapolis, First Battalion of Artillery
Members of Battery B of Minneapolis, First Battalion of Artillery
Battery D, Second Battalion, First Minnesota Field Artillery
Battery D, Second Battalion, First Minnesota Field Artillery
First Minnesota Field Artillery gun crew
First Minnesota Field Artillery gun crew
Artillerymen of the 151st Field Artillery
Artillerymen of the 151st Field Artillery
151st Field Artillery crossing the Sauer River
151st Field Artillery crossing the Sauer River
Gopher Gunners” in Nicollet Avenue parade
Gopher Gunners” in Nicollet Avenue parade
Color bearers of the 151st Field Artillery on parade
Color bearers of the 151st Field Artillery on parade
Fort Snelling-Mendota Bridge
Fort Snelling-Mendota Bridge
151st Field Artillery departing for Camp McCoy
151st Field Artillery departing for Camp McCoy
Members of Battery D, 151st Field Artillery
Members of Battery D, 151st Field Artillery
Battery F, 151st Field Artillery
Battery F, 151st Field Artillery
Scene during the invasion of Italy at Salerno Bay
Scene during the invasion of Italy at Salerno Bay
Fire Direction Center
Fire Direction Center
Gun Crew of the 151st Field Artillery
Gun Crew of the 151st Field Artillery
Lt. Col. Scott St. Sauver and Command Sgt. Major Erik Arne
Lt. Col. Scott St. Sauver and Command Sgt. Major Erik Arne
Crewmen from Ortonville’s C Battery, First Battalion, 151st Field Artillery
Crewmen from Ortonville’s C Battery, First Battalion, 151st Field Artillery

Turning Point

On July 25, 1918, during the two-week battle for the Chateau Thierry Salient, Minnesota’s tenacious “Gopher Gunners” fire 8,452 rounds in one day, helping to cement an Allied victory that becomes the turning point in the war.

Chronology

1864

The First Regiment of Heavy Artillery, Minnesota Volunteers, is organized at Fort Snelling. It takes charge of heavy guns surrounding Chattanooga, Tennessee.

1872

Irish Catholics in St. Paul form a militia artillery unit called the Emmet Guards. Other units follow and, after a series of consolidations, the First Battalion of Artillery emerges in 1893 consisting of Battery A in St. Paul and Battery B in Minneapolis

1913

The unit expands to become a regiment and is renamed as the First Minnesota Field Artillery. It has a First Battalion in St. Paul and a Second Battalion in Minneapolis.

1916

Mexican revolutionaries attack US border towns. President Wilson calls up the National Guard and sends the regiment to Camp Llano Grande near Mercedes, Texas. For seven months it trains and patrols the border along the Rio Grande.

1917

The regiment is called up for World War I. Renamed the 151st Field Artillery, it becomes part of the Forty-second “Rainbow” Division, one the first American divisions sent to France.

1918

The regiment engages in heavy, sustained combat as part of the American Expeditionary Force, helping the Allies achieve victory in November. After the Armistice, it marches into Germany to perform duties in the Army of Occupation.

1921

The reconstituted regiment becomes an element of the Thirty-fourth Division. Colonel George E. Leach continues as the regiment’s commander while also serving as the new mayor of Minneapolis.

1941

The possibility of war looms on the horizon. The Thirty-fourth Division, which includes the 151st, is activated on February 10 and sent to Camp Claiborne, Louisiana, for precautionary training. The US enters World War II in December.

1942

The division is restructured and the regiment becomes the 151st Field Artillery Battalion. On January 15, it sails for Belfast, Northern Ireland, on the first American troop ship destined for the European Theatre.

1945

After two and a half years of combat in North Africa and Italy, the 151st enjoys a hard-earned victory when Germany surrenders in May. Its men return to the US on November 3 and the battalion is unceremoniously deactivated.

1946

The National Guard reconstitutes the battalion and assigns it to a new, Minnesota-based Forty-seventh “Viking” Infantry Division.

1951

The battalion is called up during the Korean War and goes to Camp Rucker, Alabama, with the rest of the Forty-seventh Division. Although it stays stateside as a unit, many of its members ship out to Korea as replacements.

1965

Now designated as the First Battalion, 151st Artillery, the unit becomes part of a Selected Reserve Force (SRF). It receives extra training and prepares for mobilization to Vietnam on short notice, but the call never comes.

1991

Gunners of the 151st once again wear a Red Bull shoulder patch. On February 10—exactly fifty years after its activation for World War II—the Forty-seventh Division is renumbered and becomes the Thirty-fourth Division.

2005

The unit deploys to Iraq for one year in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom; in 2009 it deploys to Kuwait and Iraq for another year, still in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.