U.S. 2nd Armored Division
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The 2nd Armored Division of the United States Army —nicknamed Hell on Wheels— played an important role in the breakout of the Battle of Normandy in World War II. The division was deactivated in 1991; confusingly, the 5th Infantry Division was redesignated as "2nd Armored Division" in 1992, then became the 4th Infantry Division in December 1995.
History
The 2nd Armored was formed at Fort Benning, Georgia on July 15, 1940, originally commanded by Major General Charles L. Scott, with Colonel George S. Patton in charge of training. Scott was promoted to command the I Armored Corps in November of that year, which put Patton, now a brigadier general, in command of the division.
Through World War II, the 2nd Armored's core units included the 41st Armored Infantry Regiment, the 66th Armored Regiment, the 67th Armored Regiment, the 17th Armored Engineer Battalion, the 82nd Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, and the 142nd Armored Signal Company. It also had the normal divisional artillery formation, along with an organic divisional train. It served with the First and Ninth Armies, and was assigned to the 12th Army Group throughout the war.
Elements of the division participated in Operation Torch, landing at Casablanca on November 8, 1942, but the whole division first went into action in the Operation Husky landing at Gela in Sicily, July 10, 1943 and fighting through to Palermo.
The division then landed in Normandy on June 9, 1944, operated in the Cotentin Peninsula and later formed the right flank of the Operation Cobra assault. It blunted the German attack on Avranches, then raced across France with the rest of the Third Army, reaching the Albert Canal in Belgium on September 8. It crossed the German border at Schimmert, 18 September to take up defensive positions near Geilenkirchen. On 3 October, the Division launched an attack on the Siegfried Line from Marienberg, broke through, crossed the Wurm River and seized Puffendorf 16 November and Barmen 28 November. The Division was holding positions on the Roer when it was ordered to help contain the German Ardennes offensive. The Division fought in eastern Belgium, blunting the German Fifth Panzer Army's penetration of American lines. The Division helped reduce the Bulge in January, fighting in the Ardennes forest in deep snow, and cleared the area from Houffalize to the Ourthe River of the enemy. After a rest in February, the Division drove on across the Rhine 27 March, and was the first American Division to reach the Elbe at Schonebeck on 11 April. It was halted on the Elbe, 20 April, on orders. In July the Division entered Berlin-the first American unit to enter the German capital city.
The division returned to Camp Hood (later Fort Hood) in Texas in 1946. It served NATO in Germany from 1951 to 1957, and several of its battalions participated in Vietnam. The 1st Tiger Brigade participated in Operation Desert Storm by providing heavy armor for USMC forces in their attack into Iraq. Another of its brigades, the 3rd was attached to the 1st Infantry Division. The 2nd Brigade could not be deployed as it was in the middle of deactivating.
External links
- 2nd Armored Division page (http://www.2ndarmoredhellonwheels.com/)
- GlobalSecurity.org page on 2AD (http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/army/2ad.htm)
- Grunts.net page on 2AD (http://www.grunts.net/army/2ndamr.html)
- Army Order of Battle of 2AD (http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/documents/eto-ob/2AD-ETO.htm)
References
- Donald E. Houston, Hell on Wheels, (Presidio Press, 1977) ISBN 0-89141-273-5
- E. A. Trahan, A History of the Second United States Armored Division (1946)