The 2nd Armored Division ("Hell on Wheels") is the armored division of the United States Army. This division played an important role during World War II in the North African and Sicilian invasions as well as the liberation of France, Belgium, and the Netherlands as well as the German invasion. During the Cold War, the division was primarily based in Fort Hood, Texas, and had a reinforced brigade stationed in West Germany. After participating in the Persian Gulf War, the division was deactivated in 1995. The units were later moved to the 4th Infantry Division.
Video 2nd Armored Division (United States)
World War II
The 2nd Armored Division was formed at Fort Benning, Georgia on July 15, 1940. Originally commanded by Maj. Gen. Charles L. Scott, with Colonel George S. Patton, Jr. who is in charge of the training. Scott was promoted to lead the I Armored Corps in November of that year, which put Patton, now a brigadier general, as division commander. The division, which in February 1942 was forwarded to the command of Major General Willis D. Crittenberger, served with the First, Seventh, and Ninth Forces throughout the war.
The 2nd Armored is held as a "heavy" armored division, having two armored regiments of four medium tanks and two light tank battalions of three companies respectively. Together with the 3rd Armored Division, the organization maintained its organization throughout World War II-14 other US armored armored armored divisions as "lightweight" armored divisions, had three tank battalions, each consisting of three medium tank companies and one light tank company. Both types have an infantry component of three mechanical battalions, although the heavy division maintains the organization of "armored infantry".
The core unit of this division is the 41st Steel Infantry Regiment, the 66th Armored Regiment, the 67th Armored Regiment, the 17th Armored Battalion, the 82nd Armored Recovery Battalion, and the 47th armored armored company, 142. The 82nd Armored Reconnaissance Battalion is known as the "eye and ears" of the 2nd Armored Division.
The 2nd Armored Division has three artillery battalions: (14, 78, and 92). The division also has supporting units, including the Armament Maintenance Battalion 2, 2nd Supply Battalion, 48th Armored Medical Battalion, and a military police platoon and band. Military and band police were assigned to base operations defense base under the banner of 502d Adjutant General Company (502d AG).
Open front in North Africa
The elements of the division were one of the first US military to be involved in offensive ground offensive operations in European and Mediterranean theaters during World War II. The 2nd Armored Division, now commanded by Major General Ernest N. Harmon, served in North Africa along with the 1st Armored Division. They were part of the Western Torch Operations Task Force, which landed in Casablanca in Morocco France on November 8, 1942. The rest of Torch's American components were the 1st, 3rd, 9th, and 34th Infantry Divisions. However, the 2nd Armored Division did not see much action in North Africa and instead remained in French North Africa on garrison and training duties. In April 1943, Major General Harmon released the division order to Maj. Gen. Hugh Joseph Gaffey. Training in amphibian operations began as a preparation for amphibian landing in Sicily.
Husky Operation
As the reserve forces of the Western Husky Operation Task Force, codenamed for the Allied Sicilian invasion, this division landed on July 10, 1943 to support the 1st Infantry Division at the Battle of Gela. After that, the next division acted on the second landing at Licata, Sicily on July 21 after the 3rd known 3rd Infantry Landfall landing on July 10. The 2nd Armored, operating in close proximity to the 82nd Airborne Division parade troop, then fought the Sicilian capital, Palermo. Along the way the Armored Division II captured thousands of Italian prisoners of war (POWs). The battle in Sicily ended on August 17, with the 2nd Armored Division having relatively light casualties in a short campaign, where it had obtained its first Medal of Honor of War II, owned by Sergeant Gerry H. Kisters. During the campaign, the division was under the command of the US Seventh Army, under Lieutenant General George S. Patton, who had been a former division commander.
Soon after, the 2nd Armored Division was sent to England, in preparation for the Allied invasion of Normandy, and remained there until June 1944. In April the division received a new commander, Major General Edward H. Brooks, a World War veteran I decorated. , replacing Major General Gaffey.
Invasion of Normandy
The division then landed in Normandy, on Omaha Beach on June 9, 1944, three days after the initial Normandy landings, and operated on the Cotentin Peninsula and later formed the right wing of Operation Cobra's attack. This division encompasses the Waffen SS Das Reich division and the 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division of GÃÆ'¶tz von Berlichingen around Roncey. In the process of Das Reich and Division of the 17th SS Panzergrenadier GÃÆ'¶tz von Berlichingen lost most of their armored equipment. It blunted the German attack on Avranches, then drove across France with the rest of the Third Army, reaching the Albert Channel in Belgium on 8 September. It crosses the German border near Sittard, Sept. 18 to take on a defensive position near Geilenkirchen. On October 3, the Division, now commanded by Major General Harmon, launched an attack on the Siegfried Line from Marienberg, broke through, crossed the Wurm River and confiscated Puffendorf 16 November and Barmen 28 November.
The Rhine campaign
The division held a position at Roer when ordered to help withstand the German Ardennes offensive. The division fought in eastern Belgium, which dumped an American stripe race in the German Fifth Force. The division helped reduce the Bulge in January, fought in the Ardennes forest in deep snow, and cleared the area from Houffalize to the Ourthe River from the enemy. The 2nd German Panzer Division was on its original mission to the Meuse River. The Panzer Division's mechanical units eventually ran out of fuel at Celles, where they were destroyed by the US 2nd Armored Division and 29th British Armored Brigade. After resting in February, the division, now commanded by Major General Isaac D. White, drove across the Rhine on 27 March, and was the first American division to reach the Elbe at Schonebeck on 11 April. It was stopped on Elbe, April 20, on orders. In July the division entered Berlin - the first American unit to enter the German capital. During World War II, the 2nd Armored Division took 94,151 prisoners of war, freed 22,538 Allied Powers, shot down or destroyed on enemy enemy ground 266, and destroyed or captured thousands of enemy tanks and countless other equipment and supplies.
Members of the Division received 9,369 individual awards, including two Medal of Honor, twenty-three Distinguished Service Crosses, and 2,302 Silver Stars and nearly 6,000 Purple Hearts; Among those who received the Silver Stars were Edward H. Brooks, Hugh Armagio, Stan Aniol, Staff Sergeant John J. Henry, William L. Giblin, Neil J. Garrison, Morton Eustis, son of William Corcoran Eustis, and Kenneth E. White ( HQ, 2nd Armored Division, GO No. 46 (1943)). The division is twice quoted by the Belgian government and the division army for the next 50 years wearing fourragere from Croix de Guerre Belgium.
Victim
- The total number of battle victims: 5,864
- Killed in action: 981
- Injured in action: 4,557
- Not in action: 60
- Prisoner of war: 266
Maps 2nd Armored Division (United States)
Cold War and Vietnamese service
After a brief period of occupation, the division returned to Fort Hood, Texas, in 1946 to train and rebuild. The 2nd Armored Division returned to Germany to serve as part of NATO from 1951 to 1957.
Infantry 1/50; 2/1 Cavalry; 1/40 Field Artillery; and 1/92 Field Artillery fought in the war in Vietnam, but not the Division as a whole. The divisions included "Fort Hood Three", a group of three enlisted men who refused to ship when ordered to deploy to Vietnam in 1966.
The majority of the divisions will spend much of the next 35 years based in Fort Hood and the division remains on active service during the Cold War. Its main mission is to prepare for a heavy armored battle against Warsaw Pact forces in the defense of NATO. This division forms a key component of the US military plan to move the 'ten divisions within ten days' to Europe in the event of a Soviet threat to NATO. This division practiced this task many times during Reforger Rehearsals from 1967 to 1988. To build and retain combat skills, division maneuvers brigades deployed almost yearly to the National Training Center to face the forces opposed to Soviet military weapons and tactics.
However, with the end of the Cold War, the US military began to lower its combat unit. The 2nd Armored Division is scheduled to disable in the spring of 1990.
2nd Armor Division (Forward)
In 1975, the second batch of the 2nd Armored Brigade was deployed to West Germany and assigned to NATO's Northern Army Group (NORTHAG). The Brigade received additional aircraft units, engineers, military, medical, and logistical intelligence and re-designated as the 2nd Armored Division. The main mission of the unit in case of conflict with the Warsaw Pact is to secure airfields and staging areas for the deployment of the Corps III of the United States, or to deploy directly to the Inter-German Border (IGB) and establish a blocking position as part of NATO combat troops.
From 1975 to 1978, the Brigade headquarters were in GrafenwÃÆ'¶hr, along with a rotating battalion and rotating artillery, as well as support and cavalry engineer units. Two rotating infantry battalions are based in Hohenfels and Vilseck. The six-month rotation continued until 1978, immediately before moving to a permanent facility in northern Germany.
The 2nd Armored Division (Forward) is based in a new military facility near the village of Garlstedt in the northern city of Bremen. The facility cost nearly $ 140 million to build, half of which was paid by the Federal Republic of Germany. The Brigade has about 3,500 troops and about 2,500 dependents of families and other civil servants. The German government built a family home in the town near Osterholz-Scharmbeck. In addition to troop barracks, motor pools, indoor firing range, repair and logistics facilities, and local training areas, the facilities at Garlstedt include troop medical clinics, post exchanges, libraries, cinemas, and joint/non-commissioned officers of club officers/enlisted. Division soldiers and family members receive radio and TV broadcasts from The American Forces Network (AFN) - Europe via AFN Bremerhaven affiliated station located in the nearby port city of Bremerhaven. In April 1986, Burger King's restaurant opened in kaserne.
The Brigade was officially designated as the 2nd Armored Division during the ceremony at GrafenwÃÆ'¶hr, FRG on July 25, 1978. The Garlstedt facility was officially handed over to the United States by the German government in October. At that time Garlstedt kaserne (camp) was named after General Lucius D. Clay, adored by the Germans for his role as an American military commander after World War II. His son, a retired Army general, attended the ceremony.
The brigadier general in charge of the 2nd Armored Division (Forward) has a unique command. In addition to the heavy brigade commander, he also serves as Commander, Corps III (Maju), headquartered in Maastricht, the Netherlands, and as commander of all US Army troops in Northern Germany, including the military community Garlstedt and Bremerhaven. In the case of deployment of the 3rd Corps and/or 2nd Armored Division of the United States, the division commander will return to his job as assistant division commander for the 2nd Armored Division operation. This contingency was practiced during REFORGER exercises in 1980 and 1987. As a result of this diverse and demanding work, the 2nd Armored Division command (Front) was regarded as a major task for brigadier brigadier generals, equivalent to perhaps only the Berlin Brigades. for high visibility and the potential for progress to higher rankings. Brigadier generals who held that position included James E. Armstrong, George R. Stotser, Thomas H. Tait, William F. Streeter, John C. Heldstab, and Jerry R. Rutherford.
The brigade's subordinate combat unit originally consisted of the 3rd Battalion of the 41st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Battalion of the 50th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Battalion, 66th Steel Regiment (Iron Knight), Battalion 1, Field Artillery Regiment 14th, and Troop C, 2nd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment. In October 1983, as part of a military regiment alignment program, the 2-50 Infantry were redesigned as 4-41 Infantry and 1-14 Field Artillery as 4-3 Field Artillery. Other subordinate brigade units eventually included 498 Support Battalions, Company D, Battalion Engineer 17, and 588 Military Intelligence Companies. The Brigade also has a military police platoon and flight detachment. In 1986, under the Army's COHORT unit plan and retention, 3-41 Infantry returned to Fort Hood and was replaced by Infantry 1-41. In 1988, 4-41 Infantry returned to Fort Hood, Texas and was replaced by 3-66th Armor (Burt Knights, named Captain James M. Burt who was awarded the Medal of Honor as commander of the company in the 66th Steel Regiment at the Battle of Aachen during the War World II). Now an armored brigade, the Armored 2 Division (Maju) fielded a tank of 116 M-1A1 Abrams and nearly 70 M2/3 Bradley Fighting Vehicles.
The Brigade was originally deployed to Germany with M60 Patton tanks and armored personnel carriers M113. 4-3rd Field Artillery has a self-propelled howitzer M109 155 mm. In 1984, 2-66th AR was transferred to the main M1 Abrams tank. In 1985, 3-41 IN and 4-41 IN were diverted to the M2 Bradley Horse Riding; also, C/2-1 Cavalry was replaced by air cavalry troops, D/2-1 Cavalry, armed with AH-1S Cobra attack helicopter.
This division participated in NATO's major drills, including "Trutzige Sachsen" (1985), "Crossed Swords" (1986) and "Return of Forces to Germany" (REFORGER) (1980 and 1987). The subordinate unit division uses firearms and NATO maneuvers at the Bergen-Hohne Training Area for cannon and maneuver training and each year the division is overall spread south to GrafenwÃÆ'¶hr and Hohenfels (both in Bavaria) training areas for crew members and annual units of cannon qualification and maneuvering. The 2nd Armored Division (Advanced) developed a reputation for excellence during this deployment, particularly in tank crew cannon.
The tank company from 2-66, and then 3-66, Armor competed in the NATO tank bi-annual tank competition, the Troops of the Canadian Army, or "CAT," as part of the NORTHAG team. C Company, 2-66th first contested for the trophy in 1983. And while the West German tank platoon won the competition that year in Bergen Hohne, 2-66th shocked the competition by performing well with its old M60A1 tank, which uses optical surveillance technology from the era of World War II. This shows the value of local course knowledge on pure technology. C Company, 2-66 contested for the trophy again in 1985, and D Company, 2-66 were part of the NORTHAG team in 1987. In 1989 Company C, 3-66th Armor won the competition directly. Participation in "CAT" is a source of great pride amongst the 2AD tankers (FWD).
The division has an official partnership with Panzergrenadierbrigade 32, a mechanical infantry brigade of the Federal Republic of Germany Bundeswehr based in Schwanewede nearby. The division also has an informal relationship with Dutch, Belgian and English NORTHAG troops, often conducting joint training activities at Bergen Hohne.
Gulf War
The invasion of Kuwait by Saddam Hussein in August 1990 captured the division in the midst of the post-Cold War of the US military. The second brigade of this division can not be used as a whole, it's in the middle of disable. Some units such as A1.92, MLRS units, as well as several others are attached to the 1st Division brigade, known as the "Tiger Brigade", for war, and ordered by Colonel John B. Sylvester, deployed to Saudi Arabia independently and participated in Operation Desert Storm by providing heavy weapon support for US Marine Corps (USMC) forces in their attack on Kuwait. It was spearheaded by 3-41 Straight Battalion and Stalwart Task Forces. It was presented at the Kuwait International Airport Battle. The Tiger Brigade is credited with destroying or capturing 181 enemy tanks, 148 APC, 40 artillery, 27 a emplacements AA, and 263 Iraqi soldiers killed with an additional 4,051 captured.
The 3rd division Brigade, based in Germany, was deployed to Saudi Arabia in the fall of 1990 and acted as the third maneuver brigade of the 1st Infantry Division of Fort Riley, KS. One of the brigade battalion troops, the 1-41 Infantry Task Force, was the first coalition troops to breach the Saudi border on 15 February 1991 and conduct ground combat operations in Iraq engaged in direct and indirect fire fighting with the enemy on 17 February 1991. It was involved in a six-hour battle to clear Iraq's initial defense position. Originally it was commissioned to conduct reconnaissance surveillance and surveillance missions against Iraqi surveillance units. The Brigade served in the Battle of 73 Easting with the 1st Infantry Division (Mechanical) along with the Second Layer Cavalry Regiment. They are responsible for destroying Iraq's 18th Brigade and the 9th Armored Brigade of the Tawakalna Guard of the Mechanical Infantry Division and the 26th Infantry Division of Iraq. They played a key role in the destruction of the 12th Armored Division which destroyed no less than 80 combat vehicles. The Brigade destroyed 60 Iraqi tanks and 35 infantry vehicles along the IPSA pipeline. This is known as the Battle of Norfolk. By the dawn of the third day of ground campaigning, the 2nd Armored Division (Hands) had a hand in the destruction of four Iraqi tanks and a mechanical brigade and two divisions. Between the ceasefire and the official end of the war in April 1991, the 2nd Armored Division (Maju) took part in security operations to ensure peace in Kuwait. The division was then transferred to Saudi Arabia, where some of its troops established and managed three refugee camps near Raffia, Saudi Arabia. Division relief workers processed more than 22,000 Iraqi refugees between April 15 and May 10. After changing the camps to the Saudi Arabian government, the unit was moved to Germany.
The helicopter battalion attack division, Battalion 1, 3rd Flight Regiment, was deployed from Fort Hood to Saudi Arabia in the fall of 1990 attached and with support from the 1st Cavalry Division (also based in Ft. Hood). The battalion was equipped with a McDonnell Douglas AH-64 Apache attack helicopter. The battalion participated in many airstrikes along the border area during the air part of the campaign. The units provided included missions as ground troops advanced to Iraq. 1st Battalion, the 3rd Flight Regiment was withdrawn to Saudi Arabia after a ceasefire, with two staging squads in Kuwait to prove refueling and rearm the service for battalion aircraft if hostilities returned. The unit returned to Fort Hood, Texas in April 1991 and resumed disrupted disabling when Iraq invaded Kuwait. This unit was disabled on September 16, 1991 and the regimental flag was transferred to the 3rd Battalion relative unit, the 3rd German Flight Regiment. This unit was moved entirely to Fort Campbell, KY in August 1991 and became the 2nd Battalion of the 101st Flight Regiment (part of the 101st Airborne Division).
Inactivation
After the Gulf War, the division underwent a series of inactivation and redesignation. Due to the restructuring of the US Army after the end of the Cold War, the division was ordered out of active duty rolls, ending more than 50 years of ongoing service. On his return to Fort Hood in 1991, Tiger Brigade and 1st Battalion of the 3rd Flight Regiment, all remaining from the US-based division, redesigned as the 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, and 2nd Battalion , 101 Flight Regiment respectively. On September 1, 1991, the 2nd Armored Division, in Germany, officially became the 2nd Armored Division after the 2nd Armored Division major elements at Fort Hood were disabled. SGT Michael L. Anderson is the last member of the 2nd Armored Division. He is the 74F who is responsible for cutting orders for all remaining members of the Armored Division Headquarters II. On September 1, 1991, he intercepted the final order for himself and his commanding officer. During the summer and fall of 1992, the 2nd Armored Division was attenuated. Lucius D. Clay Kaserne was returned to the German government and later became the home of the German Army Logistics and Supply School ( Logistikschule der Bundeswehr ) and the seat of
In December 1992, the 5th Infantry Division (Mechanical) at Fort Polk, Louisiana, was redesigned as the 2nd Armored Division. In 1993, the unit was transferred to Fort Hood. In December 1995, the 2nd Armored Division was re-designed, this time as the 4th Infantry Division (Mechanical), stationed at Fort Carson, CO. It officially ended the history of the 55th anniversary of the 2nd Armored Division. Some units historically associated with the 2nd Armored Division, including the battalions of the 66th Steel Regiment and 41st Infantry Regiment, currently function as part of the 4th Infantry Division in Fort Carson, Colorado, the Armored Division into -1 at Fort Bliss, Texas, and 172th Infantry Brigade in GrafenwÃÆ'¶hr, Germany.
The name Lucius D. Clay was later reused for Wiesbaden Army Airfield.
Although it was inactive, the division was identified as the fifth highest priority inactive division in the scheme of the Historical Line of the US Military Historical Center due to its many awards and long history. All division flags and repeating items were transferred to the National Infantry Museum in Fort Benning, Georgia after inactivation. If the US Army decides to activate more divisions in the future, the center is likely to suggest the first new division is the 7th Infantry Division, the second is the 9th Infantry Division, the third is the 24th Infantry Division, the fourth became the 5th Infantry Division and the fifth became 2d Armored Division.
Commander
In popular culture
Shares have been displayed in:
Movies
- Fury (film 2014) -According to the man from the 66th Steel Regiment in the last days of World War II
TV
- Band of Brothers-In "Carentan" episode, this division is featured in Battle of Bloody Gulch
Video Games
- Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30-The division is displayed at the final level of "No Better Places to Die" at the Battle of Bloody Gulch
See also
- Rhino tank
General H. R. McMasters served as Lieutenant in the 66th Armor (Ft. Hood) in the late 1980s.
References
- "Quote Award from Storm Storm/Shield Valorous Unit". Washington, D.C.: US Army Center of Military History . Retrieved December 26 2014 . Ã,
- Donald E. Houston, Hell on Wheels , (Presidio Press, 1977) ISBN 0-89141-273-5
- E. A. Trahan, History of the Second United States Armored Division (1946)
- Steven J. Zaloga, "M1 Abrams VS T-72 Ural" (2009)
- Stephen A. Bourque and John W. Burdan, "The Road to Safwan" (2007)
- John B. Wilson, "Maneuver and Firepower: Division and Separate Brigade Evolution" US Army Military History Center (1998)
- 2nd Armored Division "Hell on Wheels" by Steven Smith
- Westwell, Ian (2001). First Infantry Division 'Big Red One' . Spearhead # 6. Hersham, Surrey: Ian Allen. ISBN: 9780711029231.
- US Tank Battles in France 1944-45 by Steven Zaloga
Note
The nickname "Hell on Wheels" is given by Germany
External links
- Contemporary units
- 2 Armored pages
- GlobalSecurity.org page on 2AD
- The Order of the 2AD Battle Army in The Order of Battle of the United States Army of World War II is reproduced in the United States Army Military Historical Center
- 2nd Armored Division (Home)
- History
- NATO Reinforcement: 2nd Armored Division Placement (Advanced) in Northern Germany
- Hell On Wheels War Against the Axis (map)
- Historical record operation from 2nd US Armored Division
- Lt. Houcek. Operation Elbe with 2d Armored Division and 83rd Infantry Division . European Operations Theater. United States Military History Center History History Manuscript Collection 8-3.1 star. Ã,
- 2nd Armored Division (Forward) as part of Corps 1 (NL) covering strength, 1985-1989
- Short film Large Image: Division in Europe available for free download on the Internet Archive
- AFN Bremerhaven
- Lineages
- 66 Armor Lineage and Honors
- Genealogy and Prize Armor
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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