The 20th Engineer Battalion is a combat engineer battalion of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

, headquartered at

Fort Cavazos Fort Cavazos is a United States Army post located near Killeen, Texas. The post is currently named after Gen. Richard E. Cavazos, a native Texan and the US Army’s first Hispanic four-star general. The post is located halfway between Austi ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. It is assigned to the 36th Engineer Brigade and

III Armored Corps III Corps is a corps of the United States Army headquartered at Fort Cavazos, Texas. It is a major formation of the United States Army Forces Command. Activated in World War I in France, III Corps oversaw US Army divisions as they repelled s ...

. The battalion continues the lineage of the 20th Engineer Regiment. The 20th Engineer Regiment was formed in 1917 as the United States prepared to enter

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. It was established as a Forestry Regiment that grew to consist of 29 battalions and over 46,000 soldiers—the largest regiment in the

history of the United States Army The history of the United States Army began in 1775. The Army's main responsibility has been in fighting land battles and military occupation. The Corps of Engineers also has a major role in controlling rivers inside the United States. The Conti ...

. It conducted forestry and ancillary operations throughout France, from the Spanish and Swiss borders to the very front lines in Ardennes. The 20th Engineer Combat Regiment was activated in 1942 with two organic

combat engineer battalion An Engineer Combat Battalion (ECB) was a designation for a battalion-strength combat engineer unit in the U.S. Army, most prevalent during World War II. They are a component of the United States Army Corps of Engineers. Also known as "Combat ...

s. After assault landings in Morocco and Sicily, the regiment was reorganized. The 1st Battalion, 20th Engineer Regiment was renamed the 20th Engineer Combat Battalion as it prepared for assault landings on

Omaha Beach Omaha Beach was one of five beach landing sectors of the amphibious assault component of Operation Overlord during the Second World War. On June 6, 1944, the Allies of World War II, Allies invaded German military administration in occupied Fra ...

, for which it received a Presidential Unit Citation. The battalion fought across Normandy and northern France and then into Germany, with its final battles in Czechoslovakia. The 20th Engineer Battalion (Combat) conducted operations throughout Vietnam from 1966 to 1971. It was part of the defense of Saudi Arabia and participated in the assault into Iraq in 1990-1991 during the

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

. The 20th Engineers were deployed twice to Iraq and twice to Afghanistan as part of the War on Terrorism.

History

World War I

The 20th Engineer Regiment was organized with the mission to provide lumber for combat and support operations for the

American Expeditionary Force The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) was a formation of the United States Armed Forces on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during World War I, composed mostly of units from the United States Army, U.S. Army. The AEF was establis ...

and its allies, thereby earning the name "Lumberjacks".Carpenter, A. E., & Eiland, A. A. (2007). ''Chappie: World War II Diary of a Combat Chaplain''. Mead Pub. The US Forestry Service was largely in charge of recruiting for the regiment and was able to fill the first few battalions with men from within the Forestry Service and the civilian forestry industry. In November 1917, the first two battalions of the 20th Engineer Regiment arrived in

Saint-Nazaire Saint-Nazaire (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Loire-Atlantique Departments of France, department in western France, in traditional Brittany. The town has a major harbour on the right bank of the Loire estuary, near the Atlantic Oc ...

, France. As additional battalions flowed to France, the 6th Battalion of the 20th Engineers suffered a major catastrophe as ninety-one soldiers of the battalion were killed when their ship, the SS ''Tuscania'', was torpedoed by a German U-boat off the coast of Scotland. The regiment had battalions stationed throughout France, in some places immediately behind the front lines, and in other places as far away as the mountains near the Spanish border. The 20th Engineer Regiment was demobilized upon returning to the United States in 1919 after it helped re-construct French infrastructure.

World War II

The 20th Engineer Regiment was reactivated in 1940 at

Fort Benning Fort Benning (named Fort Moore from 2023–2025) is a United States Army post in the Columbus, Georgia area. Located on Georgia's border with Alabama, Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve compone ...

, Georgia, as the United States prepared to enter

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1942 the 20th Engineer Regiment sailed to the

French protectorate in Morocco The French protectorate in Morocco, also known as French Morocco, was the period of French colonial rule in Morocco that lasted from 1912 to 1956. The protectorate was officially established 30 March 1912, when List of rulers of Morocco, Sultan ...

where the 2nd Battalion carried out an assault landing on the beaches of

Fedala Mohammedia (), known until 1960 as Fedala (), is a port city on the west coast of Morocco between Casablanca and Rabat in the region of Casablanca-Settat. It hosts the most important oil refinery of Morocco, Samir Refinery, which makes it the cen ...

. The regiment cleared and secured local ports and then fortified the hotel where President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

and Prime Minister

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

met for the

Casablanca Conference The Casablanca Conference (codenamed SYMBOL) or Anfa Conference was held in Casablanca, French Morocco, from January 14 to 24, 1943, to plan the Allies of World War II, Allied European strategy for the next phase of World War II. The main disc ...

. The 20th Engineer Regiment marched across North Africa to join the command of General

Omar Bradley Omar Nelson Bradley (12 February 1893 – 8 April 1981) was a senior Officer (armed forces), officer of the United States Army during and after World War II, rising to the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. He wa ...

and the II Corps in the

French protectorate of Tunisia The French protectorate of Tunisia (; '), officially the Regency of Tunis () and commonly referred to as simply French Tunisia, was established in 1881, during the French colonial empire era, and lasted until Tunisian independence in 1956. T ...

. There the regimental commander ordered the use of a directional marker, the Wavy Arrow, as a symbol for 20th Engineer equipment and signage; the Wavy Arrow has continued to be used by the 20th Engineers through current-day operations. In Tunisia, the regiment cleared thousands of mines that the Germans had planted throughout the country. The 20th Engineer Regiment sailed from Tunisia with the 3rd Infantry Division on 6 July 1943. The regiment conducted a first wave assault landing on the beaches of Sicily and cleared lines of communication to complete the occupation of the island. After the fall of Sicily the 20th Engineer Regiment sailed to Scotland and was reorganized. The regimental headquarters was redesignated as Headquarters of the 1171st Engineer Group; the 1st Battalion, 20th Engineer Regiment was designated the 20th Engineer Battalion; and the 2nd Battalion, 20th Engineer Regiment was designated as the 1340th Engineer Battalion (now the 54th Engineer Battalion). The reorganized units then moved to England to prepare for the

invasion of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 ( D-Day) with the ...

. On

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

the 20th Engineers landed in the assault echelon of the 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, on

for which it was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation and the

French Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during Worl ...

. The battalion went on to fight across France, Belgium, and Germany in engagements such as the

Battle of Hürtgen Forest The Battle of Hürtgen Forest () was a series of battles fought from 19 September to 16 December 1944, between United States Armed Forces, American and Wehrmacht, German forces on the Western Front (World War II), Western Front during World War ...

and the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive or Unternehmen Die Wacht am Rhein, Wacht am Rhein, was the last major German Offensive (military), offensive Military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western ...

, and ended the war in Czechoslovakia. The 20th Engineer Battalion was preparing to travel to Asia to carry out an attack on the Japanese home islands when the war finally ended. The battalion was inactivated in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

, Germany on 30 March 1946.

The Cold War

The 20th Engineer Combat Battalion was reactivated on 18 September 1950, at

Fort Bragg Fort Bragg (formerly Fort Liberty from 2023–2025) is a United States Army, U.S. Army Military base, military installation located in North Carolina. It ranks among the largest military bases in the world by population, with more than 52,000 m ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. In 1956, it was transferred to

Fort Devens, Massachusetts Fort Devens is a United States Army Reserve military installation in the towns of Ayer and Shirley, in Middlesex County and Harvard in Worcester County in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. Due to extensive environmental contamination it was l ...

. In the wake of the Berlin Crisis, the 20th Engineer Battalion was deployed to Germany in 1961, with Company A stationed in Berlin to reinforce the Berlin Brigade. The battalion returned to Fort Devens, Massachusetts in 1963.

Vietnam War

The 20th Engineer Battalion was transported to

Cam Ranh Bay Cam Ranh Bay () is a deep-water bay in Vietnam in Khánh Hòa Province. It is located at an inlet of the South China Sea situated on the southeastern coast of Vietnam, between Phan Rang and Nha Trang, approximately 290 kilometers (180 miles) nor ...

, Vietnam in 1966. The battalion was attached to the

18th Engineer Brigade The 18th Engineer Brigade (Theater Army) was an engineer brigade of the United States Army. It was a subordinate unit of 21st Sustainment Command (Theater) and was last headquartered at Conn Barracks in Schweinfurt, Germany. Soldiers of the 18th ...

for most of the war. With its organic and attached special companies, the battalion constructed airfields and basecamps, conducted land clearing and route clearance operations, built roads and bridges, and supported Special Forces operations. On 20 August 1971, the 20th Engineer Battalion returned to the United States, to

Fort Campbell Fort Campbell is a United States Army installation located astride the Kentucky–Tennessee border between Hopkinsville, Kentucky and Clarksville, Tennessee (post address is located in Kentucky). Fort Campbell is home to the 101st Airborne Div ...

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

Desert Shield and Desert Storm

The 20th Engineer Battalion deployed to Saudi Arabia for

Operation Desert Shield , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

in October 1990. It conducted counter mobility and survivability operations for the

101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division (military), division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault military operation, operations. The 101st is designed to plan, coordinat ...

and XVIII Airborne Corps Artillery. In

Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

, the battalion attacked 300 miles into Iraq with the mission to support the

3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment The 3rd Cavalry Regiment, formerly 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment ("Brave Rifles") is a regiment of the United States Army currently stationed at Fort Cavazos, Texas. The regiment has a history in the United States Army that dates back to 19 M ...

and

French 1st Armored Division The 1st Armored Division () is a unit of the French Army formed during World War II that took part in the Liberation of France. The division was dissolved for the first time in 1946, and was recommissioned in 1948. It was dissolved again in 1999 ...

to secure the far western flank of the assault (the "big left hook"). During the attack, the 20th Engineers assaulted enemy fortifications, cleared areas of obstacles and unexploded ordnance, and built logistics bases. The battalion returned to

in April 1991.

Early 1990s reorganization

The 20th Engineers moved to

Fort Hood Fort Cavazos is a United States Army post located near Killeen, Texas. The post is currently named after Gen. Richard E. Cavazos, a native Texan and the US Army’s first Hispanic four-star general. The post is located halfway between Austi ...

to reorganize in June 1992 and became an organic part of the Engineer Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division. The battalion was deployed as the core of a task force to the

Boise National Forest Boise National Forest is a United States National Forest, National Forest covering of the U.S. state of Idaho. Created on July 1, 1908, from part of Sawtooth National Forest, it is managed by the United States Forest Service, U.S. Forest Se ...

, Idaho to fight forest fires in August 1994.

Korea

In 1995 he 20th Engineer Battalion headquarters and Company C were deployed in support of the 1st Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division and 2-8 Cavalry to the mountains of Korea to participate in Operation

Foal Eagle Foal Eagle () is a combined field training exercise (FTX) conducted annually by the Republic of Korea Armed Forces and the United States Armed Forces under the auspices of the Combined Forces Command. It is one of the largest military exercises ...

. The task force participated in simulated war games and reconnoitered key Korean infrastructure.

Kuwait

In February 1997, Company C along with the divisional cavalry squadron, was deployed to Kuwait on a mission to deter Iraqi aggression.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

The 20th Engineer Battalion was deployed to

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

as part of the NATO mission to conduct peacekeeping operations for

Operation Joint Forge The Stabilisation Force (SFOR) was a NATO-led multinational peacekeeping force deployed to Bosnia and Herzegovina after the Bosnian War. Although SFOR was led by NATO, several non-NATO countries contributed troops. It was replaced by EUFOR Alth ...

. It participated in civil infrastructure reconstruction and de-mining projects, and contributed to maintaining social order. The battalion worked with both

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

and non-NATO allied forces in operations such as bridge construction, route reconnaissance, and general mobility operations.

Iraq War

In 2004, the 20th Engineer Battalion was deployed to Iraq, first in support of the 1st Armored Division and later as a part of the 1st Cavalry Division. The battalion's area of operations was centered on the city of Baghdad. The 20th Engineers conducted combat patrols, helped re-construct civil infrastructure, and cleared areas of munitions. The unit returned to

in 2004, where it was relieved from the 1st Cavalry Division. The 20th Engineer Battalion was reorganized and assigned to the 36th Engineer Brigade in 2006. The battalion was transformed according to the Army's new concept of modularity: it consisted only of a multi-functional headquarters and a forward support company for combat service support. Separately numbered, specialized companies and detachments (sapper, route clearance, bridging, mobility augmentation, diving, etc.) were assigned to the battalion based on a specific mission. In late 2006, the 20th Engineer Battalion was again deployed to Iraq in support of the 1st Cavalry Division. This time the battalion carried out the mission under the command of the 1169th Engineer Group (

Alabama National Guard The Alabama National Guard is the National Guard of the U.S State of Alabama, and consists of the Alabama Army National Guard and the Alabama Air National Guard. (The Alabama State Defense Force is the third military unit of the Alabama Mil ...

), which functioned as the Engineer headquarters for the 1st Cavalry Division. Major missions of the battalion included route clearance, combat construction, rapid construction of forwarding operating bases during the

Surge Surge means a sudden transient rush or flood, and may refer to: Science * Storm surge, the onshore flow of water associated with a low-pressure weather system * Surge (glacier), a short-lived event where a glacier can move up to velocities 100 t ...

, and anti- IED operations. The battalion returned to

in November 2007. On November 5, 2009, an Arab terrorist shot, wounded, and killed soldiers at Fort Cavazos as they prepared to deploy to Afghanistan. Four soldiers were killed and eleven soldiers were wounded from the 20th Engineer Battalion.

War in Afghanistan

The 20th Engineer Battalion was deployed to Afghanistan in 2010 as part of the

International Security Assistance Force The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was a multinational military mission in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. It was established by United Nations Security Council United Nations Security Council Resolution 1386, Resolution 1386 ac ...

(ISAF), a component of the

North Atlantic Treaty Organization The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental transnational military alliance of 32 member states—30 European and 2 North American. Established in the aftermat ...

(NATO). The battalion was responsible for clearing routes and areas of explosive devices, primarily in the provinces of

Kandahar Kandahar is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city, after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118 in 2015. It is the capital of Kandahar Pro ...

Zabul Zabul (Pashto/Dari: ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the south of the country. It has a population of 249,000. Zabul became an independent province from neighbouring Kandahar in 1963. Historically, it was part of the Zab ...

, and

Helmand Helmand (Pashto/Dari: ; ), also known as Hillmand, in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, in the south of the country. It is the largest province by area, covering area. The province contains 18 ...

. They were visited by the

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) is the presiding officer of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The chairman is the highest-ranking and most senior military officer in the United States Armed Forces Chairman: appointment; gra ...

during their deployment. The battalion returned to Fort Cavazos in January 2011. The 20th Engineer Battalion was redeployed to Afghanistan in October 2012 as a multi-functional task force for conducting combat missions, clearing routes, and participating in construction missions. Many and diverse engineer companies, including National Guard units from

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, and

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, and an active-duty company from

Fort Campbell, Kentucky Fort Campbell is a United States Army installation located astride the Kentucky–Tennessee border between Hopkinsville, Kentucky and Clarksville, Tennessee (post address is located in Kentucky). Fort Campbell is home to the 101st Airborne Divi ...

, were assigned to the task force. The task force spent a considerable amount of time training engineers of the

Afghan National Army The Islamic National Army (, ), also referred to as the Islamic Emirate Army and the Afghan Army, is the army, land force branch of the Afghan Armed Forces. The roots of an army in Afghanistan can be traced back to the early 18th century when th ...

. The battalion returned to Fort Cavazos in July 2013. 2014-2019 the 20th EN BN deployed to Afghanistan, Romania, and the southern border mission.

Current and future

The 20th Engineers at Fort Cavazos train for major, near-peer land combat. Its companies have begun to receive modern equipment such as

M2 Bradley The M2 Bradley, or Bradley IFV, is an American infantry fighting vehicle that is a member of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle family. It is manufactured by BAE Systems Land & Armaments (formerly United Defense) and entered service in 1981, with fi ...

Engineer Fighting Vehicles and M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicles.

Decorations and awards

Campaign participation credit

Unit decorations

The 20th Engineer Battalion's decorations are as follows.

Publications

Veterans of World War 2, the 20th Combat Engineer Association of World War II, published a newsletter, ''The Wavy Arrow,'' until 2013. The 20th Engineer Battalion published their activities in Iraq in a monthly newsletter named ''Lumberjack Ledger''.

References

External links

*{{official website, https://www.20thengineers.com/, name=Unit historical website

020 020 is the national dialling code for London in the United Kingdom. All subscriber numbers within the area code consist of eight digits and it has capacity for approaching 100 million telephone numbers. The code is used at 170 telephone exch ...