743rd Tank Battalion

Last updated

743rd Tank Battalion
Active1942–45
CountryFlag of the United States (23px).png  United States
BranchFlag of the United States (23px).png  United States Army
TypeTank/armor
Size Battalion
Motto(s)"We Keep the Faith"
Equipment M4 Sherman
M5 Stuart
Campaign credit World War II
  • Normandy with Arrowhead
  • Northern France
  • Rhineland
  • Ardennes-Alsace
  • Central Europe
Insignia
Distinctive unit insignia 743rd Tank Battalion WWII Insignia.png

The 743rd Tank Battalion was a US Army independent tank battalion in the European theater during World War II. It was one of five tank battalions (all independent) which took part in the initial landings of the Invasion of Normandy (6 June 1944). The battalion participated in combat operations throughout northern Europe until the end of the war in Europe. It was inactivated on 27 November 1945.

Contents

History

Activation and deployment

The 743rd Tank Battalion was activated at Fort Lewis, Washington on 16 May 1942 as the 743rd Tank Battalion (Light), drawing its initial cadre from personnel transferred from the 757th Tank Battalion. It was redesignated as the 743rd Tank Battalion (Medium) in October 1942. The battalion was equipped with medium tanks and trained the next year at Camp Young, California and Camp Laguna, Arizona. [1]

The 743rd embarked in New York on 17 November 1943 aboard the Aquitania and arrived at Monrock, Scotland on 25 November 1943. [2] [3] Soon after its arrival in Great Britain, it was reorganized in a new table of organization: Companies A, B, and C organized as medium tank companies with the M4 Shermans. Company D was subsequently formed as the light tank company of the unit with a cadre from the medium tank companies and the 10th Tank Company, [note 1] [4] and was redesignated the 743rd Tank Battalion on 2 December 1943. [3] [5]

Battle of Normandy

The battalion was selected to be one of the three tank assault battalions that would land with the first wave on D-Day. Companies B and C were given amphibious dual drive (DD) variant of the Sherman tank (16 in each) and began their special training in December 1943. [5]

The battalion loaded into their assault craft on 2–3 June 1944 for the invasion landings. In the early hours of 6 June, the three medium tank companies, the headquarters tank section, and the assault gun platoon launched in their LCTs. However, given the rough seas, the battalion commander decided not to launch the DD tanks into the water to "swim" ashore and all were landed on to the shore from the LCTs. [6] [7]

The tanks supported the 116th Infantry Combat Team of the 29th Infantry Division assault of Omaha Beach from Dog Green to Easy Green sectors. The first tanks, from Company C, arrived on the beach at H-6: 4 minutes late, but ahead of the infantry assault forces. Landing opposite the Vierville defences, Company B lost all its officers bar one and half its DD tanks; the other companies landing to the east fared better. Enduring losses from enemy fire, artillery, mines, and even the rough surf, the tanks finally moved off the beach to the vicinity of Vierville-sur-Mer at about 2230. [6] [7] Nine of the battalion's thirteen Distinguished Service Crosses awarded during World War II were awarded for actions on Omaha Beach on 6 June 1944. [8] [9] As an independent unit, the battalion was used to support other formations; by 14 June, some or all of the battalion had been attached to the 29th Infantry Division, 1st Infantry Division, 30th Infantry Division, 3rd Armored Division, and had also provided support to the 5th Ranger Battalion. [7] [10] [11]

On 14 June the 743rd Tank Battalion was attached to the 30th Infantry Division, with whom they would remain for the remainder of the war in Europe, and supported the crossing of the Vire River on 7 July 1944. On 24–25 July, located forward with the assault forces of the 30th Infantry Division near St. Lô, the battalion was among those hit when Allied aircraft dropped their bombs short of the intended targets. Although casualties were light inside their armored vehicles, the accompanying infantry suffered much heavier losses. [12] [13] Having begun the assault that created the breakout from Normandy, the battalion's pace quickened and, on 19–20 August, road marched 123 miles in 18 hours. By 3 September they had reached Belgium, on 12 September had crossed into The Netherlands and within another week were across the German border. [14]

Siegfried Line and Battle of the Bulge

Taking a brief respite from the dash across France and Belgium to refit and take on fuel, in October 1944 the battalion was again engaged in bitter fighting on the Siegfried Line to the north of Aachen, Germany. Fighting continued until the end of November when offensive operations were halted in preparation for a new assault to cross the Roer River. [15] [16] As the battalion caught its breath and recovered from the fighting, the offensive preparations were halted when the Germans counterattacked in the Ardennes on 16 December 1944.

On 18 December, the 743rd Tank Battalion withdrew into Belgium to the vicinity of Malmedy, where they continued to support the 30th Infantry Division, which had also been reoriented to repel the attack. The battalion was primarily engaged by elements of the elite 1st SS Panzer Division and in a very confused tactical situation fought a series of hotly contested engagements around Malmedy, Stavelot, La Gleize, and Stoumont. [17] [18] Although the situation had stabilized by Christmas, the battalion remained in contact but did not go back on the offensive with the 30th Division until 13 January 1945. [19]

Advance into Germany

Survivors from Bergen-Belsen concentration camp first experience freedom as their abandoned train is liberated by the 743rd Tank Battalion. Prisoners shipped eastward by train from Bergen-Belsen concentration camp freed by members of the 743rd Tank Battalion near Farsleben, Germany, 13 April 1945.jpg
Survivors from Bergen-Belsen concentration camp first experience freedom as their abandoned train is liberated by the 743rd Tank Battalion.

The battalion went into 30th Infantry Division reserve from 28 January to 3 February, at which time they road marched back into Germany, passing through Aachen and bivouacking near Röhe. Waiting for the floodwaters of the Roer River to recede, the battalion assaulted across the river on 23 February. [20] [21]

On 6 March, the battalion was withdrawn from the line in preparation for crossing the lower Rhine River. Company C of the 736th Tank Battalion, equipped with DD tanks, was attached to the 743rd, and led the assault across the Rhine on 24 March, with all 17 DD tanks reaching the east bank of the river. Companies A and C of the 743rd followed on Bailey rafts, with the remainder of the battalion following across a pontoon bridge the next day. [22] [23] The Germans put up a spirited defense near the crossing, but resistance crumbled by 29 March, and the 743rd began the race across Germany, largely following spearhead advances by the 2nd Armored Division. [24]

On 13 April 1945, the battalion liberated 2,141 concentration camp prisoners [25] from a train abandoned outside the small town of Farsleben on the Magdeburg-Wittenberge rail line, about 12 miles (19 km) north of Magdeburg. The train had originated at Bergen-Belsen concentration camp and had been intended to bring the prisoners further into Germany where they could be exterminated before the advancing armies could catch up to them. [26] However, the train was overrun by the 743rd Tank Battalion. One M5 light tank, manned by Sgt. (later Lieut.) George C. Gross, its crew and eight accompanying infantrymen provided security for the train and its liberated prisoners while the unit scrounged up provisions for them. With the assistance of the 823rd Tank Destroyer Battalion and other American units, food and lodging for the refugees were obtained from the surrounding German villages. [26] [27]

Post war

Also on 13 April, the battalion reached the Elbe River, their "no advance" line. The battalion participated in one last battle as they supported the 30th Infantry Division in assaulting Magdeburg on 17–18 April. In this battle, the battalion suffered its final casualties of the war. [26] [28]

The battalion immediately went into occupation duties, establishing an occupation government over 15 communities to the west of Magdeburg. The battalion was relieved at Magdeburg by British forces on V-E Day, 8 May 1945, and moved to Quedlinburg to take up occupation duties there. Again relieved by the British at the end of May, the battalion again moved south to Mehltheuer and continued its military occupation duties. [3] [29] [30]

The battalion returned to the United States, landing at Boston on 26 November 1945. [3] The 743rd Tank Battalion was inactivated at Camp Myles Standish, Massachusetts, on 27 November 1945. [3]

Unit awards and decorations

Notes

Footnotes
  1. ↑ The 10th Tank Company was itself formed from Company C of the 70th Tank Battalion in February 1942.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Omaha Beach</span> WWII amphibious landing zone in France

Omaha Beach was one of five beach landing sectors of the amphibious assault component of Operation Overlord during the Second World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sword Beach</span> Allied D-Day landing zone, 6 June 1944

Sword, commonly known as Sword Beach, was the code name given to one of the five main landing areas along the Normandy coast during the initial assault phase, Operation Neptune, of Operation Overlord. The Allied invasion of German-occupied France commenced on 6 June 1944. Stretching 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) from Ouistreham to Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer, the beach proved to be the easternmost landing site of the invasion after the abortion of an attack on a sixth beach, code-named Band. Taking Sword was to be the responsibility of the British Army with sea transport, mine sweeping and a naval bombardment force provided by the British Royal Navy as well as elements from the Polish, Norwegian and other Allied navies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Aachen</span> Battle on the Western Front of World War II

The Battle of Aachen was a battle of World War II, fought by American and German forces in and around Aachen, Germany, between 12 September and 21 October 1944. The city had been incorporated into the Siegfried Line, the main defensive network on Germany's western border; the Allies had hoped to capture it quickly and advance into the industrialized Ruhr Basin. Although most of Aachen's civilian population was evacuated before the battle began, much of the city was destroyed and both sides suffered heavy losses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">14th Armored Division (United States)</span> Military unit

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".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gold Beach</span> Code name for one of the zones for amphibious landings in Northern France on D-Day, 6 June 1944

Gold, commonly known as Gold Beach, was the code name for one of the five areas of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, during the Second World War. Gold, the central of the five areas, was located between Port-en-Bessin on the west and the Lieu-dit La Rivière in Ver-sur-Mer on the east. High cliffs at the western end of the zone meant that the landings took place on the flat section between Le Hamel and La Rivière, in the sectors code-named Jig and King. Taking Gold was to be the responsibility of the British Army, with sea transport, mine sweeping, and a naval bombardment force provided by the Royal Navy as well as elements from the Dutch, Polish and other Allied navies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3rd Canadian Division</span> Canadian Army formation

The 3rd Canadian Division is a formation of the Canadian Army responsible for the command and mobilization of all army units in the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, as well as all units extending westwards from the city of Thunder Bay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">278th Armored Cavalry Regiment</span> Military unit

The 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment, previously the 117th Infantry Regiment, is an armored brigade combat team of the Tennessee Army National Guard with headquarters in Knoxville, Tennessee. It is the only National Guard Armored Cavalry Regiment and one of only two in the entire US Army order of battle, the other being the active duty 11th ACR. The unit traces its lineage from the volunteer militias of Eastern Tennessee and has participated in conflicts from the Revolutionary War to the Global War on Terror.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">30th Infantry Division (United States)</span> Military unit

The 30th Infantry Division was a United States Army unit of the National Guard that served in World War I and World War II. It was nicknamed the "Old Hickory" division, in honor of President Andrew Jackson. The Germans nicknamed this division "Roosevelt's SS". The 30th Infantry Division, involved in 282 days of intense combat over a period from June 1944 through April 1945, was regarded by a team of historians led by S.L.A. Marshall as the American infantry division that had "performed the most efficient and consistent battle services" in the European Theater of Operations (ETO). In the present day, the division's lineage continues as 30th Armored Brigade Combat Team, part of the North Carolina National Guard. The unit's most recent combat deployment was in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DD tank</span> British WWII amphibious swimming tank

DD or duplex drive tanks, nicknamed "Donald Duck tanks", were a type of amphibious swimming tank developed by the British during the Second World War. The phrase is mostly used for the Duplex Drive variant of the M4 Sherman medium tank, that was used by the Western Allies during and after the Normandy Landings in June 1944.

The 741st Tank Battalion was an independent tank battalion that participated in the European Theater of Operations with the United States Army in World War II. The battalion participated in combat operations throughout northern Europe until V-E Day. It was one of five tank battalions that landed in Normandy on D-Day. It landed on Omaha Beach supporting the 1st Infantry Division, but was attached to 2d Infantry Division on 15 June 1944, which it supported for most of the remainder of the war. The battalion played a key role in blunting the northern flank of the German attack during the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944. The 741st Tank Battalion advanced as far as Plzeň, Czechoslovakia by the end of the war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">79th Armoured Division (United Kingdom)</span> Military unit

The 79th Armoured Division was a specialist armoured division of the British Army created during the Second World War. The division was created as part of the preparations for the Normandy invasion on 6 June 1944, D-Day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">11th Armoured Division (United Kingdom)</span> British armoured division

The 11th Armoured Division was an armoured division of the British Army which was created in March 1941 during the Second World War. The division was formed in response to the unanticipated success of the German panzer divisions. The 11th Armoured was responsible for several major victories in the Battle of Normandy from in the summer of 1944, shortly after the Normandy landings, and it participated in the Allied advance from Paris to the Rhine, the Rhine crossing in March 1945. It was disbanded in January 1946 and reformed towards the end of 1950. In 1956, it was converted into the 4th Infantry Division.

The 70th Armor Regiment is an armored (tank) unit of the United States Army. It was constituted as the 70th Tank Battalion in July 1940, an independent tank battalion intended to provide close support to infantry units. In this role, it saw action in the Mediterranean and European Theater of Operations, making assault landings and fighting with the 9th Infantry Division in North Africa, and with the 1st Infantry Division in Sicily. The battalion supported the 4th Infantry Division on Utah Beach during the D-Day landings in France, and fought with the 4th Infantry Division through the remainder of World War II. The 70th Tank Battalion was one of the first three tank battalions to deploy to Korea in the Korean War, where it saw significant action, primarily with the 1st Cavalry Division.

The 3rd Shock Army was a field army of the Red Army formed during the Second World War. The "Shock" armies were created with the specific structure to engage and destroy significant enemy forces, and were reinforced with more armoured and artillery assets than other combined arms armies. Where necessary the Shock armies were reinforced with mechanised, tank, and cavalry units. During the Second World War, some Shock armies included armoured trains and air–sled equipped units.

The 745th Tank Battalion was an independent tank battalion that participated in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) with the United States Army in World War II. It was one of five tank battalions that landed in Normandy on D-Day. The battalion participated in combat operations throughout northern Europe until V-E Day. Unlike many independent tank battalions, which were attached to different units over time, the 745th was attached to the 1st Infantry Division for the duration of its combat operations in the ETO. It was inactivated in October 1945.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">747th Tank Battalion (United States)</span> Military unit

The 747th Tank Battalion was an independent tank battalion that participated in the European Theater of Operations with the United States Army in World War II. It was credited with an assault landing at Normandy, landing the morning after the initial D-Day landings (D+1). The battalion participated in combat operations throughout northern Europe until V-E Day, primarily attached to the 29th Infantry Division. After the war it was briefly engaged in occupation duties. Redesignated the 747th Amphibian Tank Battalion on 10 July 1945, it was inactivated in March 1946.

The 746th Tank Battalion was an independent tank battalion that participated in the European Theater of Operations with the United States Army in World War II. It was one of five tank battalions which landed in Normandy on D-Day. The battalion participated in combat operations throughout northern Europe until V-E Day. It served primarily as an attachment to the 9th Infantry Division, but fought alongside numerous other units as well. It was inactivated in October 1945.

The 735th Tank Battalion was an independent tank battalion that participated in the European Theater of Operations with the United States Army in World War II. The battalion entered combat in Normandy in July 1944 with the 5th Infantry Division and fought across France with the 95th Infantry Division. When reattached to the 5th Infantry Division, the 735th Tank Battalion played a key role in the reduction of the fortifications of Metz. The battalion was also attached to the 26th Infantry Division during the Battle of the Bulge and fought the last several months of the war attached to the 87th Infantry Division. It was inactivated in October 1945.

The 30th Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in May, 1942, based on the 1st formation of the 238th Rifle Division, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. It would soon after help provide the headquarters cadre for the 7th Guards Rifle Corps along with its "sister" 29th Guards Rifle Division. However, it was not assigned as a unit to the Corps until August when it joined 33rd Army of Western Front and saw extensive fighting, while also suffering extensive casualties, in the summer campaign against the German 3rd Panzer Army in the southern sector of the Rzhev salient. After leaving 7th Guards Corps the division was reassigned to several other armies in the Front until April, 1943 when it joined the 15th Guards Rifle Corps in 30th Army, which became 10th Guards Army the next month; it would remain under these commands for the duration of the war. The division took part in Operation Suvorov, Western Front's summer offensive towards Smolensk, and after the liberation of that city was involved in several unsuccessful drives on the Belarusian city of Orsha. By December the 30th Guards had been redeployed to 2nd Baltic Front and during the summer and fall of 1944 it took part in the offensives through the Baltic states, winning a battle honor for its part in the liberation of Riga. For the rest of the war the division remained in Latvia helping to contain the German forces trapped in the Courland Peninsula, eventually coming under command of Leningrad Front. In mid-1946 it was converted to the 30th Separate Guards Rifle Brigade.

The 85th Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in April 1943, based on the 2nd formation of the 118th Rifle Division, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. Late during the conflict it became known as one of the "Latvian Guards" rifle divisions due to its role in the liberation of that state.

References

  1. ↑ Robinson, pp.13–15
  2. ↑ Robinson, pp.15–16
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 741st Tk Bn Unit Journal
  4. ↑ Jensen, p.10
  5. 1 2 Robinson, p.16
  6. 1 2 Robinson, p.19
  7. 1 2 3 "S-3 Journal 743rd Tank Battalion June–September 1944", Companies A, B, and C journals, June 1944.
  8. ↑ Robinson, p.27
  9. ↑ "S-3 Journal 743rd Tank Battalion June–September 1944", June 1944
  10. ↑ Robinson, pp.34–47
  11. ↑ Sterne, Gary (2014). The Cover-up at Omaha Beach. Skyhorse Publishing. p. 134. ISBN   9781629143279.
  12. ↑ Robinson, pp.61–65
  13. ↑ "S-3 Journal 743rd Tank Battalion June–September 1944", July 1944
  14. ↑ "S-3 Journal 743rd Tank Battalion June–September 1944", August 1944, September 1944
  15. ↑ Robinson, pp.96–115
  16. ↑ "S-3 Journal 743rd Tank Battalion October–December 1944", October 1944, November 1944
  17. ↑ Robinson, pp.124–130
  18. ↑ "S-3 Journal 743rd Tank Battalion October – December 1944", December 1944
  19. ↑ Robinson, pp.131–133
  20. ↑ Robinson, pp.144–149
  21. ↑ "S-3 Journal 743rd Tank Battalion January – May 1945", January 1945, February 1945.
  22. ↑ Robinson, pp.153–155
  23. ↑ "S-3 Journal 743rd Tank Battalion January – May 1945", March 1945.
  24. ↑ Robinson, pp.156–162
  25. ↑ "Manifest List-Names of those Liberated at Farsleben Germany, April 13th, 1945". Derived from files at Gedenkstätte Bergen-Belsen
  26. 1 2 3 "S-3 Journal 743rd Tank Battalion January – May 1945", April 1945.
  27. ↑ Robinson, pp.162–163
  28. ↑ Robinson, pp.163–167
  29. ↑ Robinson, pp.167–170
  30. ↑ "S-3 Journal 743rd Tank Battalion January–May 1945", May 1945.
  31. 1 2 3 4 5 6 DA Pam 672-1, p.363
  32. ↑ DA Pam 672-1, p.363, Chg. 2, p.1

Bibliography

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.