10/27/2026
Did you know???
4th Ranger Battalion
Formation: Formed in April 1943 in North Africa/Italy as Darby expanded the Ranger force alongside the 1st Battalion ("Darby’s Rangers").
Key Campaigns: Spearheaded Operation Husky (Sicily), Salerno, Italian mountain fighting along the Winter Line, and Anzio.
5th Ranger Battalion
Formation: Formed in 1943 to bolster the Ranger force for the liberation of Europe.
Key Campaigns: Landed on D-Day alongside the 2nd Battalion (helping coin the phrase "Rangers lead the way!"), the Battle of Brest, Hürtgen Forest, the Battle of the Bulge, and central Europe/Czechoslovakia.
6th Ranger Battalion
Origins: Formed in 1942 as the 98th Field Artillery Battalion and converted in 1943 to the 6th Ranger Infantry Battalion under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Henry A. Mucci. It was the only WWII Ranger battalion with the direct lineage of a prior unit.
Pacific Theater: Led the initial invasion of the Philippines in late 1944, securing Dinagat, Homonhon, and Suluan islands to open the Leyte Gulf, and participated in the Leyte and Luzon campaigns
Cabanatuan Raid: On January 30, 1945, the battalion—alongside the Alamo Scouts and Filipino guerrillas—executed the famous raid on the Cabanatuan POW camp, rescuing 511 Allied prisoners.
Operation Quicksilver: The 7th, 8th, 9th (and 10th) Ranger Battalions were fictitious units created as part of Allied deceptive order-of-battle displays to mislead German intelligence regarding troop strengths and locations prior to and during the Normandy invasion. They never had personnel, training, or combat histories
