The German Army called the 12th Armored Division the "Suicide Division"[1] for its fierce defensive actions during Operation Nordwind in France, and they were nicknamed the "Mystery Division"[2] when they were temporarily transferred to the command of the Third Army under General George S. Patton Jr., to cross the Rhine River.
The 12th Armored Division was one of only ten U.S. divisions (and only one of two U.S. armored divisions) during World War II that had African-American combat companies integrated into the division. The group was known as Company D. One of the African American soldiers, Staff Sergeant Edward A. Carter Jr. was awarded The Distinguished Service Cross for gallantry in combat during World War II, and was later awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously.[3][4]
History
The 12th Armored Division was activated on 15 September 1942.[5] Organization and initial training was at Camp Campbell, Kentucky, and continued at Camp Barkeley in Abilene, Texas. The division consisted of approximately 11,000 soldiers, and was composed of tank, field artillery, motorized infantry battalions and other support units.[6][7][lower-alpha 1]
In early 1943 the division adopted the nickname "The Hellcats", symbolizing its toughness and readiness for combat.[lower-alpha 2][8]
While at Camp Barkeley, the 44th Tank Battalion was sent to the Pacific Theater of Operations on a special mission and later distinguished itself as the first unit to enter Manila. The 44th was replaced by the 714th Tank Battalion.[9]
Walt Disney himself designed a logo for the 714th Tank Battalion.[10]
Origin of Combat Units
The 12th was originally organized as a heavy armored division with two armored regiments, the 43rd and 44th, and one armored infantry regiment, the 56th Armored Infantry Regiment.[11][12] In 1943, it was reorganized from a heavy division to a light division as part of a general streamlining of all armored divisions, except the 2nd Armored Division and the 3rd Armored Division.[13][14]
Tank Battalions
The original 43rd and 44th Armored Regiments assigned to the 12th AD were re-designated to become the 23rd, 43rd, 44th, 714th and 779th Tank Battalions during the reorganization the division underwent while at the Tennessee Maneuver Area in Watertown, Tennessee, in November 1943.[11] The 714th Tank Battalion was sent to Fort Jackson, SC and the 779th Tank Battalion went to Fort Knox, KY as separate tank battalions. The 44th Tank Battalion was detached from the 12th AD and sent to the Pacific Theater of Operations, where it distinguished itself as the first tank battalion to enter the city of Manila and liberated American and Allied civilian prisoners interred in the Santo Tomas Internment Camp.[15] It was replaced by the 714th Tank Battalion, which rejoined the 12th AD in November 1943. The 779th Tank Battalion was sent to the Philippines late in the war, but did not see any combat action.[13]
Armored Infantry Battalions
The 56th Armored Infantry Regiment (AIR) traced its historical origin back to the 17th Infantry Regiment of Maj. Gen. George Sykes' 2nd Division of the 5th Army Corps, of the Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War. During World War I, soldiers from the reconstituted 17th Infantry Regiment were used to form the 56th Infantry Regiment on 15 May 1917, which was involved in the battle around Metz in Alsace-Lorraine. On 7 July 1942, the unit was reactivated as the 56th Armored Infantry Regiment and assigned to the 12th Armored Division, which was activated as a division at Camp Campbell, KY on 15 September 1942. On 11 November 1943 while at Watertown, Tennessee, the 12th Armored Division was reorganized and the 56th Armored Infantry Regiment was reorganized to form the 17th, 56th and 66th Armored Infantry Battalions (AIB). The 1st Battalion of the 56th AIR became the 66th AIB and the 2nd Battalion of the 56th AIR became the 17th AIB of the 12th Armored Division. The 3rd Battalion of the 56th AIR became the 56th AIB. Companies G, H and I of the 56th AIR became Companies A, B and C of the 56th AIB.[11][lower-alpha 3]
The reconstituted 56th Armored Infantry Battalion saw service in the European Theatre during World War II, beginning back in the Alsace-Lorraine as an element of the 12th Armored Division fighting in 1944–1945 to liberate the same region of France from Nazi occupation as the 56th Armored Infantry Regiment had in World War I.
World War II
Combat chronicle
Campaign map showing the operations of the 12th Armored Division in Europe from 5 December 1944 to 5 May 1945
In its advance, Rohrbach-lès-Bitche and towns surrounding Bettviller were liberated by 12 December 1944, and Utweiler, Germany was seized on 21 December. After a short period of rehabilitation and maintenance, the 12th rolled against the Rhine bridgehead at Herrlisheim that the Germans had established as part of their Operation Nordwind offensive. In order to seal the Battle of the Bulge, units of the Seventh Army were diverted north to assist the Third Army in capturing Bastogne. Due to this, the remainder of the Seventh Army, including the 12th Armored Division, was stretched thin holding a 126 miles (203km) long front line with only eight divisions.[18]
German defenders repulsed two division attacks in the most violent combat in the history of the division, during 8 to 10 January and 16 to 17 January 1945. The division's attacks at Herrlisheim failed to use combined-arms tactics and were defeated in detail, resulting in two tank and two armored infantry battalions taking heavy losses. Poor tactics were compounded by terrain that was almost tabletop-flat, offering the German defenders excellent fields of fire. However, enemy counterattacks also failed, in part because of the firm leadership of the commander of Combat Command B, Colonel Charles Bromley, who declared his headquarters expendable and ordered all personnel in the headquarters to prepare a hasty defense.[lower-alpha 4][18]
The division was subsequently relieved by the U.S. 36th Infantry Division. The 12th Armored Division suffered over 1,700 battle casualties during the fighting in and around Herrlisheim. As a consequence, when African-American soldiers who were in non-combat positions were able to volunteer to become combat troops, Major General Roderick R. Allen was one of only ten division commanders who allowed them to join the combat ranks.[3] After recovering from the bruising experience at Herrlisheim, the 12th went over to the offensive and attacked south from Colmar, after being assigned to the French First Army under General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny.[19][20] In a lightning drive, the 12th effected junction with French forces at Rouffach, on 5 February, sealing the Colmar Pocket and ending German resistance in the Vosges Mountains. Except for elements acting as a protective screen, the division withdrew to the St. Avold area for rest and rehabilitation. The division was attached to the Third Army under General George S. Patton Jr. from 17 March 1945 through its crossing of the Rhine on 28 March.[16] The soldiers were ordered to remove their identifying unit insignias, and vehicle markings were painted over,[21] disguising the fact that Patton had an additional armored division under his command. Thus the 12th was given the nickname the "Mystery Division".[2] The attack resumed on 18 March 1945.
A light tank of the 12th Armored Division in Rouffach, 5 Feb. 1945Bailey bridge built over bombed out bridge at base of Marienberg Fortress in Würzburg by the 119th Armored Engineer Battalion of the U.S 12th Armored Division, April 1945Fortress Marienberg,14 June 2003
In a quick drive to the Rhine, Ludwigshafen fell on 21 March, and two other important river cities, Speyer and Germersheim, were secured on 24 March, clearing the Saar Palatinate. Maintaining the rapid pace, the 12th crossed the Rhine River at Worms on 28 March over pontoon bridges, advanced toward Würzburg, and captured that city along with elements of the famed 42nd Infantry Division (United States).[22][23] After assisting in the seizure of Schweinfurt, the division continued toward Nuremberg on 13 April, taking Neustadt, then shifted south toward Munich on 17 April. Elements of the 12th raced from Dinkelsbühl to the Danube, where they found the bridge at Lauingen had been blown.[24] Moving quickly they captured the bridge at Dillingen intact before demolition men could destroy it. This bridge provided a vital artery for Allied troops flooding into southern Bavaria.[25]
The division spearheaded the Seventh Army drive, securing Landsberg, on 27 April and clearing the area between the Ammer and Würm Lakes by 30 April. The 12th Armored Division is recognized as a liberating unit[26] of the Landsberg concentration camps near the Landsberg Prison, sub-camps of Dachau concentration camp on 27 April 1945. On 29 April 1945, the 12th AD liberated Oflag VII-A Murnau, a German Army POW camp for Polish Army officers interned north of the Bavarian town of Murnau am Staffelsee during World War II. [lower-alpha 5][27]
Elements crossed the Inn River and the Austrian border at Kufstein on 3 May.[1] The 12th Armored Division was relieved by the 36th Infantry Division on 4 May. On 5 May, Lieutenant (later Captain) John C. Lee Jr., Co. B, 23rd Tank Battalion, organized the rescue of VIP French prisoners from an Alpine castle in Tyrol during the Battle for Castle Itter.[28] Under Lee's command were members of the German Wehrmacht, who combined forces with 2 tanks from the 12th to fight the SS Commander and soldiers guarding the prisoners. For leading the successful rescue of these prisoners, Lee was promoted to captain and awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.[29]
The 12th Armored Division engaged in security duty around Ulm[21] until 22 November 1945, when it left Marseille, France, for home. Some members of the 12th attended the US Army University, in either Biarritz, France or Shrivenham, England during this time.[21][30]
It was deactivated on 3 December 1945, and on 17 December 1945, its battle flags were turned in at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey.[31]
POWs captured
12th AD soldier with German prisoners of war, April 1945. United States National Archives, Group 208 of the Records of the Office of War Information 1926 – 1951, National Archives Identifier: 535840
Nearly 8,500 Allied POWs, including 1,500 Americans, and an additional 20,000 non-military prisoners, were liberated by the 12th AD.[35]
War Crimes
During the liberation of Lippach on 22 April 1945, the 23rd Tank Battalion, 3rd Provisional company executed prisoners of war and raped over a dozen women in the village. see: Lippach massacre.[citation needed]
Casualties
Total 12th Armored Division complement: 10,937 at end of 1944;[36] 17,000 assigned to the division between activation and deactivation[37]
Meritorious Unit Citation: 3, to the 134th Ordnance Maintenance Battalion (with a star in addition); 82d Armored Medical Battalion; and 152d Armored Signal Company[1][41]
Division authorized by France to incorporate Arms of the City of Colmar in its division insignia for action in liberating the city.[1][42]
Monument at the top of Mont de Sigolsheim honors the American soldiers who fought for the liberation of Alsace at the site of the Battle of Sigolsheim in Dec. 1944.
In Appreciation (by the people of) Alsace to the 1st French Army of the Rhine and Danube and their American Comrades (who) liberated Alsace 1944–1945. The U.S. 21st Army Corps, U.S. 12th Armored Division, the U.S. 3rd, 28th, 75th, 36th, 45th, 63rd, 103rd Infantry Divisions.
The insignias of the U.S. Divisions that fought in Alsace are emblazoned on the Sigolsheim monument: the U.S. 21st Army Corps, U.S. 12th Armored Division (bottom row, 2nd from left), the U.S. 3rd, 28th, 75th, 36th, 45th, 63rd, 103rd Infantry Divisions.
Place Colonel Meigs is located in Rohrbach, France near where Lt. Col. Montgomery C. Meigs died while commanding the 23rd Tank Bn, 12th AD. He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star.
The Hellcat News, the newspaper of the 12th Armored Division, was first published in 1942 as an information sheet. Initial publication was part of the public relations duties of the Special Services unit of the 12th Armored Division while the division trained at Camp (later Fort) Campbell, Kentucky. In 1943, after the division was transferred to Camp Barkeley in Abilene, Texas, the division commander, Major General Carlos Brewer, assigned three men to Special Services to continue the newspaper.[48] The first official issue of the newspaper was published at Camp Campbell, Kentucky, although the byline reads "Somewhere in Tennessee". This was because Camp Campbell was in the Tennessee Maneuver Area[49] located on the Kentucky-Tennessee border between Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and Clarksville, Tennessee. Due to its close proximity to Clarksville, Tennessee, the War Department on 6 March 1942, designated Tennessee as the official address of the new camp. This caused a great deal of confusion, since the Headquarters was in Tennessee and the post office was in Kentucky. After many months of mail delivery problems, Colonel Guy W. Chipman requested that the address be changed to Camp Campbell, Kentucky. The U.S. War Department officially changed the address on 23 September 1942.[50]
The newspaper continued to be published by the division Special Services after transfer of the division to Camp Barkeley in Abilene, Texas, from February 1944 through the final issue published in the U.S during the war on 10 August 1944 (Vol. 2, No. 26), when the entire division was shipped to Europe to join the 7th Army in France. Publication resumed with Volume 3, Issue 1 on 18 May 1945, in Heidenheim, Germany, following cessation of combat operations in the ETO. The Special Services of the division published the first issues in Europe on a weekly basis when conditions permitted, until the deactivation of the division in 1946.[48] The Hellcat News is one of two U.S. military newspapers that has been continuously published since World War 2, the other being the older "Stars and "Stripes", which began publication on 9 November 1861 in Bloomfield, Missouri. The "Hellcat News" is the oldest U.S. Armed Forces divisional newspaper still being published since World War 2.
Content
Wartime publications contained division news stories, cartoons and photographs. The later editions of the 12th Armored Association contain information about former members of the division, organizational news including information about the yearly reunion, original cartoons, and photographs both from the war years and afterwards. A series relating the history of the division is also recounted in the newspaper. In addition, the president of the association and the secretary included messages of interest in most issues. These messages contain information about the division's Medal of Honor recipient, Staff Sergeant Edward A. Carter Jr. The Hellcat News is published by the 12th Armored Division Association. Archived copies of the Hellcat News from the first issue in 1943 through 2012 are available online through the West Texas Digital Archive.[51]
12th Armored Division Memorial Museum
12th Armored Division Memorial Museum
In October 2001 the 12th Armored Division Memorial Museum opened its doors to the public in Abilene, Texas, with the stated mission to serve as a display and teaching museum for the study of World War II and its impact on the American people.[52] "The Twelfth Armored Division Memorial Museum is located in Abilene, Texas, near (northeast of) the site of the former Camp Barkeley where the Division trained prior to being sent overseas into the European Theater of Operations. The Museum holds collections of the 12th Armored Division, World War II archives, memorabilia, and oral histories, along with selected equipment and material loaned or donated by others. The education plan focuses on expanding academic access to World War II historical materials, veterans, and their families; preserving the history of the 12th Armored Division for study, research, and investigations by future generations; providing training in public history professions, developing new education programs for students and establishing a technology bridge between the 12th Armored Division Historical Collection and the public."
As part of an ongoing venture to become a larger part of the West Texas community and the greater Abilene area, 12th Armored Division Memorial Museum has partnered with the West Texas Digital Archives,[53] providing access to copies of the "Hellcat News" from first edition to 2012.
This Website ("Humans of the 12th Armored") Accesses the Texas Archives from the Roster of the Veterans from the 12th Armored Museum Website: https://12th-armored.directory/
↑ Division complement at the end of 1944 was 10,937; a total of over 17,000 soldiers had been assigned to the 12th AD between 1942 and deactivation in 1946, including the 44th Armored Bn transferred to the Pacific Theater of Operations, casualties and replacement troops who saw service
↑ "In early 1943, Private Francis Beckman (493rd Armored Field Artillery Battery C) won a division contest to come up with a nickname, earning a three-day weekend pass."
↑ Since all of the Armored Infantry Battalions of the 12th Armored Division, the 56th, 66th and 17th Armored Infantry Battalions, trace their origins to the 56th Infantry Regiment during WW I and further, back to the 17th Infantry Regiment during the American Civil War, the heraldic shields of all three battalions display elements of their rich history. The origins from the 56th Infantry Regiment from WW I is represented by the crest of the City of Metz and the white cross pattée on a blue background seen in the battalion crests represents the 2nd Division of Gen. Sykes' V Corps to which the 17th Infantry Regiment belonged during the Civil War. The cross in the canton is surrounded by an embattled border (top of a wall), representing the 17th Infantry Regiment fighting at Fredericksburg during the Civil War when it suffered heavy casualties pinned down behind a wall at Marye's Heights. See: 56th Infantry Regiment (United States)#Coat of Arms of the 56th Infantry Regiment and derivative Armored Infantry Battalions
↑ "[On 19 Jan 1945, at] about 5 p.m., 400 German infantrymen supported by 17 tanks almost succeeded in attacking across the Zorn from Landgraben River. North of Herrlisheim, the Germans pushed across the Zorn and almost overran CCB's command post in Rohrwiller. As clerks and other personnel started to panic and prepared to evacuate the area, Colonel Bromley shouted out: "Stop this goddamn panic. We're not retreating anywhere. We're defending this command post; we're holding this line. We're soldiers; we have weapons; we're expendable."
↑ "Oflag VIIA was liberated by Troop B, 116th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron (MECZ), Combat Command A of the 12th Armored Division, XXI Corps of the American 7th Army, on 29 April 1945. According to 12 Armored Division records (Daily Journal) the camp was liberated at 16:55 in the afternoon. The 116th was the second squadron of the 101st Cavalry Group. Task Force 2 contained Co. A and/or B 66th Armoured (sic) Infantry, plus Co. C of the 43rd Tank Battalion and a platoon of light tanks from Co. D of the 43rd Tank Battalion."
The 36th Infantry Division ("Arrowhead") also known as the "Panther Division", the "Lone Star Division", "The Texas Army", and the "T-patchers", is an infantry division of the U.S. Army and part of the Texas Army National Guard. The 36th Infantry Division was first organized during World War I (1914–1918) from units of the Texas and Oklahoma National Guards. After the war, the division was reformed as an all-Texas unit, and was called to service for World War II (1937–1945) on 25 November 1940, was deployed to the European Theater of Operations in April 1943, and returned to the Texas National Guard in December 1945.
The 1st Infantry Division (1ID) is a combined arms division of the United States Army, and is the oldest continuously serving division in the Regular Army. It has seen continuous service since its organization in 1917 during World War I. It was officially nicknamed "The Big Red One" after its shoulder patch and is also nicknamed "The Fighting First". The division has also received troop monikers of "The Big Dead One" and "The Bloody First" as puns on the respective officially sanctioned nicknames. It is currently based at Fort Riley, Kansas.
The 2nd Armored Division was an armored division of the United States Army. The division played important roles during World War II in the invasions of Germany, North Africa, and Sicily and in the liberation of France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. During the Cold War, the division was primarily based at Fort Hood, Texas, and had a reinforced brigade forward stationed in Garlstedt, West Germany. After participation in the Persian Gulf War, the division was inactivated in 1995.
The 6th Armored Division was an armored division of the United States Army during World War II. It was formed with a cadre from the 2nd Armored Division.
The 10th Armored Division was an armored division of the United States Army in World War II. In the European Theater of Operations the 10th Armored Division was part of both the Twelfth United States Army Group and Sixth United States Army Group. Originally assigned to the Third United States Army under General George S. Patton, it saw action with the Seventh United States Army under General Alexander Patch near the conclusion of the war.
The 14th Armored Division was an armored division of the United States Army assigned to the Seventh Army of the Sixth Army Group during World War II. It remains on the permanent roll of the Regular Army as an inactive division, and is eligible for reactivation. The division is officially nicknamed the "Liberators".
The 20th Armored Division was an armored division of the United States Army that fought in World War II. It was activated on 15 March 1943 at Camp Campbell in Kentucky.
The 8th Infantry Division, ("Pathfinder") was an infantry division of the United States Army during the 20th century. The division served in World War I, World War II, and Operation Desert Storm. Initially activated in January 1918, the unit did not see combat during World War I and returned to the United States. Some units would serve in the American Expeditionary Force to Siberia. Activated again on 1 July 1940 as part of the build-up of military forces prior to the United States' entry into World War II, the division saw extensive action in the European Theatre of Operations. Following World War II, the division was moved to West Germany, where it remained stationed at the Rose Barracks in Bad Kreuznach until it was inactivated on 17 January 1992.
The 103rd Infantry Division was a unit of the United States Army that served in the U.S. Seventh Army of the 6th Army Group during World War II.
The 44th Infantry Division was a division of the United States Army National Guard from October 1920 to November 1945, when it was inactivated after Federal Service during World War II. A second 44th Infantry Division existed in the Illinois Army National Guard from 1946 until October 1954, when that division was disbanded after federal service during the Korean War.
The 31st Infantry Division ("Dixie") was an infantry division of the United States Army National Guard, active almost continuously from 1917 to 1968. Composed of men from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, Illinois, and Mississippi at various points in its existence, the division saw service in both World War I and World War II, and was mobilized during the Korean War, although it was not sent overseas in the latter.
The 28th Infantry Division ("Keystone") is a unit of the United States Army National Guard, and is the oldest division-sized unit in the Army. Some of the units of the division can trace their lineage to Benjamin Franklin's battalion, The Pennsylvania Associators (1747–1777). The division was officially established in 1879 and was later redesignated as the 28th Division in 1917, after the entry of America into the First World War. It is today part of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, Maryland Army National Guard, Ohio Army National Guard, and New Jersey Army National Guard.
The Colmar Pocket was the area held in central Alsace, France, by the German Nineteenth Army from November 1944 to February 1945, against the U.S. 6th Army Group during World War II. It was formed when 6th AG liberated southern and northern Alsace and adjacent eastern Lorraine, but could not clear central Alsace. During Operation Nordwind in December 1944, the 19th Army attacked north out of the Pocket in support of other German forces attacking south from the Saar into northern Alsace. In late January and early February 1945, the French First Army cleared the Pocket of German forces.
The 66th Armor Regiment is the oldest armored unit in the United States Army, tracing its lineage to the 301st Tank Battalion which served with distinction soon after it was formed in the First World War; the 301st trained at Camp Meade, Maryland, where then-Cpt. Dwight D. Eisenhower was an instructor. It has often been rumored that the 301st, the parent unit of the 66th, was first commanded by Col. George S. Patton, but this appears not to have been the case; while Patton was the first officer assigned to the Tank Corps, and while the 301st Tank Battalion was the first unit formed, Patton went nearly immediately to France to train Americans attached to Allied commands. The 301st was the only American heavy tank battalion to have seen action in the war. After the war, the 301st transitioned in the Regular Army to become the 66th Infantry Regiment by way of the 16th Tank Battalion.
The 68th Armor Regiment is an armored regiment of the United States Army. It was first activated in 1933 in the Regular Army as the 68th Infantry Regiment.
Herrlisheim is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. The town dates from the 8th century. Herrlisheim was the scene of very heavy fighting during Operation Nordwind, an offensive launched by the German Army during World War II that inflicted considerable damage to the town.
The 827th Tank Destroyer Battalion was a tank destroyer battalion of the United States Army active during the Second World War. It was activated in April 1942 as a segregated African American unit, deploying to Europe at the end of 1944 and attached to 12th Armored Division. It saw action during Operation Nordwind in January 1945, where elements of the battalion performed creditably. However, its overall combat record was marred by severe disciplinary problems and insufficient training. It was withdrawn in February, and assigned to rear-area duties; while it nominally remained active for the remainder of the war, it had been effectively disbanded.
The 56th Infantry Regiment was a regular infantry regiment in the United States Army. It originated from personnel of the 17th Infantry Regiment in 1917 and fought in the region of Metz during World War I. It was reconstituted in 1942 as the 56th Armored Infantry Regiment and incorporated into the newly formed 12th Armored Division from which the 17th, 56th and 66th Armored Infantry Battalions were formed.
Major General Roderick Random Allen was a senior United States Army officer, who commanded the 20th and 12th Armored Divisions during World War II. Under his command of the 12th AD, the division defended Strasbourg from recapture; it provided the armored contingent in the closure of the Colmar Pocket and the liberation of Colmar; it spearheaded General George Patton's drive to the Rhine; captured intact the remaining bridge over the Danube River and broke the German defense line; and played a major part in blocking the Brenner Pass, thereby trapping over a million German soldiers in Italy as the war ended. En route to the Brenner Pass it overran eleven concentration camps at Landsberg, Germany.
Major General Carlos Brewer was a United States Army officer who commanded the 12th Armored Division during World War II. After training the 12th Armored Division, he was not permitted to command the division in combat due to his age, so he requested his rank be reverted from major general to Colonel so that he could become an artillery officer in the European Theater of Operations (ETO). He innovated the method of field artillery targeting used in World War II, and implemented triangular organization of divisions.
↑ "The 12th Armored Division". ushmm.org. "The 12th Armored Division was recognized as a liberating unit by the United States Army Center of Military History and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1988."
↑ Harding, Stephen (2013). The Last Battle: When U.S. and German Soldiers Joined Forces in the Waning Hours of World War II in Europe. Da Capo Press. ISBN978-0-306-82209-4 "Among these were 14 French notables, including two former premiers, Édouard Daladier and Paul Reynaud; Gen.Maxime Weygand and Gen. Maurice Gamelin, both former commanders of the French Armies; Jean Borotra, international tennis star; Michael Clemenceau, son of the former French Prime Minister; Gen. Charles de Gaulle's sister Marie-Agnès Cailliau, right-wing leader François de La Rocque, and future Nobel Prize winner Léon Jouhaux. It is rumored that Heinrich Himmler was planning on using these VIPs as hostages to trade to secure his escape in the event that Germany lost the war."
↑ Mayer, John G (26 May 1945). "12th Men Free French Big-Wigs". Hellcat News (12th Armored Division Newspaper). Vol.3. West Texas Digital Archive. p.3. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
↑ "12th Armored Division Association - 12th Armored Division Association Official Site". 12tharmoreddivisionassociation.us. Archived from the original on 4 February 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2015. "One purpose of the organization, as stated in its constitution, was to "commemorate the memories of fallen comrades and enjoy the companionship of those still with us." The association assumed responsibility for continued publication of the "Hellcat News", the division newspaper started during the war. Today the paper continues to be published by the 12th Armored Association. In addition to veterans who were among the 17,000 soldiers who fought with the 12th Armored division, the association has members who are spouses and family (legacy members) of division veterans. The association elects a "Hellcat of the Year", which has been awarded every year since the first meeting of the association. Col. Richard A Gordon, (CCR) was elected as the first president of the association at its founding meeting. The first state-side reunion was held at the Hotel Commodore, New York City, 13–24 September 1947. Both annual national conventions and regional chapter meetings are announced in the "Hellcat News"."
Phibbs, Brendan (2002) Our war for the world: a memoir of life and death on the front lines in WWII. Lyons Press, Guilford, Conn. ISBN978-1585745357, originally published as: Phibbs, Brendan (1987, 1st ed.) The other side of time: a combat surgeon in World War II. Little, Brown, Boston. ISBN978-0316705103, a combat surgeon in the 12th Armored Division, covers the division's experiences in Europe. The book has been called "one of the best five Allied memoirs of the World War II".
Van Ells, Mark D. ed., (2009) The Daily Life of an Ordinary American Soldier in World War II: The Letters of Wilbur C. Berget. Edwin Mellen Press, Lewiston. ISBN978-0773449183.
Ferguson, John C. (2004, 1st ed.) Hellcats: The 12th Armored Division in World War II. (Military History of Texas Series). State House Press, Abilene, Tex. ISBN978-1880510889
Monroe-Jones, Edward (2010) Crossing the Zorn: The January 1945 Battle at Herrlisheim as Told by the American and German Soldiers Who Fought It. McFarland, Jefferson, N.C. ISBN978-0786447121
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
United States 
United States Army 
