Robert T. Frederick

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Robert T. Frederick : biography

March 14, 1907 – November 29, 1970

Under the code name Rugby Force, the unit jumped on August 15, 1944 into the Argens Valley between Le Luc and Le Muy, behind the Massif des Maures, a key piece of terrain which overlooked the Allied landing beaches near St. Tropez and St. Raphaël. Having successfully blocked German forces from reaching the invasion beaches, the 1st Airborne Task Force linked up with the 36th Infantry Division on August 17, 1944. It then moved up the French Riviera coastline, taking Cannes unopposed on August 24, 1944 and linking up with Frederick’s old unit, the 1st Special Service Force. The 1st Special Service Force had initially been tasked to seize several small islands off the French Riviera and then moved onshore, where it was attached to the 1st Airborne Task Force on August 22 (replacing the British 2nd Independent Parachute Brigade). The task force then fought on to the French-Italian border, where it took up defensive positions. The task force was dissolved on November 23, 1944 (and the 1st Special Service Force was disbanded on December 5).

Major General Frederick was given command of the 45th Infantry Division in December 1944, becoming (with James M. Gavin) at the age of 37, the youngest divisional commander in Europe. He led the division through the end of the war. The 45th saw heavy combat in French Alsace from December 1944 through February 1945, and was pulled from the line to rehabilitate on February 17. In mid-March, it was assigned to XV Corps for Operation Undertone (15. – 24. March 1945), the drive into Germany. The division crossed the Rhine and advanced to the Main. Moving along the Main into Bavaria, the division participated in heavy fighting in Aschaffenburg from March 28 to April 3 and then drove to Nuremberg, taken in heavy fighting from April 16–20. Moving south, the division crossed the Danube on April 26, and opened up the path for the 20th Armored Division to drive on Munich. Reaching Munich on April 29, the division shifted from combat to occupation.

After a period of occupation duty, the 45th Infantry Division prepared to return to the United States and Major General Frederick relinquished command in September 1945. From 1 November 1945 to 19 August 1947 he was commandant of the Coast Artillery School, and presided over its move from Fort Monroe to Fort Winfield Scott. After a period of staff duty and recuperation (he had been wounded eight times), Major General Frederick was assigned to Allied occupation forces in Austria, commanding the U.S. Sector, of the Vienna Inter-Allied Command in 1948. From February 28, 1949 to October 10, 1950, he commanded the 4th Infantry Division, which had been reactivated as a training division at Fort Ord, California in 1947. In October 1950, the division was redesignated the 6th Infantry Division, and Frederick continued as its commanding general until 1951.

In 1951, Frederick returned to Europe to take command of the Joint U.S. Military Aid Group, Greece (JUSMAG Greece). He retired on disability in March 1952. In the 1968 film The Devil’s Brigade, which chronicled the formation, training and combat in Italy of the 1st Special Service Force, Robert T. Frederick was played by actor William Holden. Frederick died on November 29, 1970 in Stanford, California.

V-42 combat knife

The V-42 combat knife was designed in part by the commanding officer of the Devil’s Brigade, Lt. Colonel Robert T. Frederick. This knife was the trademark weapon of the Devil’s Brigade, and its members were trained extensively in the use of this knife. The profile of this knife is the one pictured on the crest of the US Army Special Forces and Canada’s JTF2.