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A Short History of the 1st Armored Division
"Old Ironsides"
The 1st Armored Division, nicknamed "Old
Ironsides," is the oldest and most recognizable armor division in the
United States Army. It was the first armored division to see combat in World
War II. The Division is currently home-based at Fort Bliss, Texas, and is part
of the US III Corps.
As part of the mechanization of the U.S. Army and the buildup
for WWII, cavalry and reconnaissance units were brought together to form the
1st Armored Division at Fort Knox, Kentucky on July 15, 1940. Major General
Bruce R. Magruder was the Division's first commander, serving in that capacity
from July 1940 until March 1942. General Magruder is also responsible for
the Division's famous nickname. In 1941, General George S. Patton Jr. had just
named his 2nd Armored Division "Hell on Wheels." The 1st Armored
Division needed a nickname too, so General Magruder held a contest to find a
suitable name. Approximately two hundred names were submitted including
"Fire and Brimstone" and "Kentucky Wonders." The General
chose to study them over the weekend but none of the suggestions appealed to
him. It happened that General Magruder had just bought a painting of the U.S.S.
Constitution during a drive for funds for the preservation of that famous
fighting ship, which is nicknamed "Old Ironsides." General Magruder
was impressed with the parallel between the development of the tank and the
Navy's "Old Ironsides" spirit of daring and durability. He decided
the 1st Armored Division should also be named "Old Ironsides."
The 1st Armored Division boarded the Queen Mary at the New
York Port of Embarkation, Brooklyn Army Terminal on May 11, 1942. Five days
later the soldiers of the Division landed in Northern Ireland and trained on
the moors. On October 29, 1942, Old Ironsides moved to England to depart for
North Africa.
The 1st Armored Division's first contact with an enemy was as
part of the Allied invasion of North Africa, Operation Torch on November 8,
1942. The Allies did receive unexpected, and heavy, resistance from
Vichy-French units; however, the invasion forces suppressed all resistance in
the beachhead area within three days. Old Ironsides then advanced toward
Tunisia. The soldiers of the Division learned hard lessons about armored
warfare and the harsh conditions of North Africa.
In January of 1943 Old Ironsides was part of II Corps and
received the mission of defending central Tunisia against an Axis
counterattack. In February the 1st Armored Division met with a superior German
armored force at Kasserine Pass. The Division sustained heavy losses in
personnel and equipment and was forced to withdraw. Old Ironsides was battered
but kept in mind its lessons learned. The Germans outran their supply lines and
faced determined Allied resistance. After three more months of hard fighting,
the Allies could finally claim victory in North Africa. Old Ironsides was
reorganized in French Morocco and then moved to Naples, Italy on October 28, 1943,
to support the Allied effort there.
As part of General Mark Clark's U.S. Fifth Army, the 1st
Armored Division took part in the attack on the infamous Winter Line in
November of 1943. Old Ironsides then flanked the Axis forces in the landings at
Anzio and moved on to participate in the liberation of Rome on June 4, 1944. The
1st Armored Division continued to serve in the Italian Campaign until German
forces in Italy surrendered on May 2, 1945. In June of 1945, Old Ironsides was
moved to Germany as part of the U.S. Army occupation forces.
In the drawdown of forces after WWII, the 1st Armored
Division was deactivated on April 25, 1946. With the success of the Russian-made T-34 tank by the enemy at the outset of the Korean War in 1950, there was
a renewed enthusiasm for armored forces in the U.S. Army. As part of the new
buildup of forces, Old Ironsides was re-activated on March 7, 1951, at Fort
Hood, Texas, and was the first U.S. Army unit to field the new M48 Patton tank.
Although the 1st Armored Division did not participate as a
division in the Vietnam War, two of their subordinate units did. Company A,
501st Aviation and 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry served with distinction. Both
units earned Presidential Unit Citations and 1-1 Cavalry received two Valorous
Unit Awards and three Vietnamese Crosses of Gallantry. Neither unit was
officially detached from the 1st Armored Division. Veterans of both units may
wear the Old Ironsides as a combat patch. Also, in 1967 three Old Ironsides
infantry battalions were formed into the 198th Infantry Brigade and deployed to
Vietnam. Two of those battalions, 1-6th Infantry and 1-52nd Infantry, were
returned to the 1st Armored Division.
As Vietnam wound down, the United States turned its attention
back to the Cold War in Europe. The 1st Armored Division was moved to Germany
in 1971, home-based in the West German city of Ansbach. The Division remained
in Germany for the next twenty years as part of the American forces committed
to a NATO defense of Europe.
In November of 1990, Old Ironsides was alerted for deployment
to the Middle East in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. In less than
two months the Division moved 17,400 soldiers and 7.050 pieces of equipment by
rail, sea, and air to Saudi Arabia in support of Operation Desert Shield. On
February 24, 1991, the 1st Armored Division crossed into Iraq to begin
Operation Desert Storm as the leading unit in VII Corps' main flanking attack.
Its mission was to destroy the elite Iraqi Republican Guards Divisions. In an
89-hour blitz across the desert, Old Ironsides traveled through 250 kilometers
of enemy territory. They destroyed 768 tanks, armored personnel carriers, and
artillery pieces. The 1st Armored Division also captured 1,064 prisoners of war.
Old Ironsides returned to Ansbach, Germany on May 8, 1991. Their triumph was
celebrated by a visit from the Vice President of the United States and
participation in victory parades in Washington D.C. and New York City.
The 1st Armored Division was called to serve once again, this
time in the Balkans. Old Ironsides was ordered to Bosnia-Herzegovina and part
of Operation Joint Endeavor on December 14, 1995. The 1st Armored Division was
relieved by the 1st Infantry Division and returned to Germany in November of
1996.
In 1999, Old Ironsides was deployed again. This time 1st
Armored Division was supporting Operations Allied Force and Joint Guardian.
Operation Allied Force took Old Ironsides soldiers to Albania in response to
the ethnic cleansing and fighting there. Operation Joint Guardian was to uphold
the United Nations Security Council resolution to bring peace back to the
Kosovo region.
The 1st Armored Division began its participation in the
global war on terrorism when it received deployment orders to the U.S. Central
Command on March 4, 2003. By April 15th Old Ironsides was moving out to
participate in Operation Iraqi Freedom. During their 15-month deployment, Task
Force 1st Armored Division was the largest division-based task force in U.S.
Army history. Units serving with the Task Force included brigade-sized elements
from the 82nd Airborne Division, the 3rd Infantry Division, the 1st Cavalry
Division, the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, the 124th Infantry Battalion, the
18th and 89th Military Police Brigades and the 168th MP Battalion. At its
height, more than 39,000 soldiers were part of Task Force 1st Armored Division.
The Division took responsibility for Baghdad in April of 2003. Old Ironsides
was scheduled to return to Germany in April of 2004, but their tour was
extended by three months to defeat a Shia militia led by Moqtada Al Sadr.
The Division's 3rd Brigade was deployed to Iraq once again
for Operation Iraqi Freedom III in January of 2005, this after only eight
months at home. They were attached to the 3rd Infantry Division as part of Task
Force Baghdad. The 2nd Brigade Combat Team (BCT) deployed to Kuwait in November
2005 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom IV. Old Ironsides' 1st Brigade
deployed again to Iraq in January 2006.
In 2005, the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) commission
determined that the 1st Armored Division should leave its home bases in
Germany and move to Fort Bliss, Texas. While it took several years to
accomplish the movement, Old Ironsides' division headquarters uncased its colors
in May 2011.
Like their naval namesake, the 1st Armored Division carries with it the traditions and military values for which Old Ironsides has been known for over half a century. They also are the standing armor division of the United States Army, on the cutting edge of technology and tactics, and remain relentlessly strong today. Both active soldiers and veterans are proud to wear the 1st Armored Division patch and say, "I was with Old Ironsides."
