A Summary History of the 3rd Armored Division

  View the Index of Military Histories 

"Spearhead"
(Original article written 7/10/08 by Jim Broumley)

The 3d Armored Division is a heavy mechanized division of the United States Army that served in World War Two, the Cold War defense of Western Europe, and the Persian Gulf War. The 3rd Armor Division was reduced to zero strength in 1992, but not inactivated.

The Third Armored Division was activated on April 15, 1941, at Camp Beauregard, Louisiana, and by June had moved to Camp Polk to begin training. The 3rd AD arrived in England on September 15, 1943, and conducted training in the Liverpool and Bristol Areas. By June 29th the first elements of the 3rd Armored Division entered combat in the Normandy area of France. The Spearhead Division was assigned to First Army for the duration of its WWII European service.

The 3d Armored Division entered combat as a whole on June 29, 1944, taking part in the hedgerow fighting. The Division broke out at Marigny and with the 1st Infantry Division swung south in an exploitation of the St. Lo break-through. In August 1944, the Division participated in the heavy fighting involved in closing the Falaise Gap, pocketing the German Seventh Army. Six days later, on August 25, 1944, the Spearhead Division had cut across the Seine River and was streaking through Meaux, Soissons, Laon, Mons, Namur, and Liege. The 3rd Armored Division breached the Siegfried Line with the capture of Rotgen, on September 12, 1944, and continued a slow advance against heavy resistance to the vicinity of Langerwehe.

At the start of the Battle of the Bulge, the 3rd Armor was shifted to Houffalize, Belgium, where it severed a vital highway leading to St. Vith, and in January 1945, participated in the reduction of the German salient west of Houffalize. After a brief rest, the Division returned to the front, crossed the Roer River into Duren, broke out of the Duren bridgehead, and drove on to capture Koln, Germany on March 6, 1945.

The Division began a thrust into the Rhineland of Germany on February 7, 1945. On March 31, 1945, the commander of the division, Major General Maurice Rose, famed as one of few commanding generals to frequent the front lines during combat, rounded a corner in his jeep and came face to face with a German tank. As he withdrew his pistol to surrender, the young German tank commander, apparently misunderstanding Rose's intentions, shot and killed the general.

The Division took Paderborn, assisted in mopping up the Ruhr pocket, crossed the Saale River, and after overcoming stiff resistance took Dessau. On April 11, 1945, the 3rd Armored discovered the Dora-Mittelbau concentration camp. The Division was first to arrive on the scene, reporting back to headquarters that it had uncovered a large concentration camp near the town of Nordhausen. Requesting help from the 104th Infantry Division, the 3rd A.D. immediately began transporting some 250 ill and starving prisoners to nearby hospital facilities.

As the war drew to a close in May of 1945, the 3d Armored Division consolidated near Dessau. The 3rd Armor performed occupation duty near Langen until it was inactivated on November 10, 1945. During the war, the 3d Armored Division participated in 231 days of combat. They had lost more tanks in combat than any other U.S. division. The Division's casualties included a total of 2,540 killed, 7,331 wounded, 95 missing, and 139 captured. Total battle and non-battle casualties came to 16,122.

With the Cold War starting to heat up, the 3rd Armored Division was reactivated on July 15, 1947, at Fort Knox, Kentucky as a training unit. In 1955 it was reorganized for combat and the next year shipped out to Germany once again. In the event of war in Europe, the 3d Armored Division's primary mission, along with other V Corps units, was to defend the well-known Fulda Gap between East and West Germany against numerically superior Warsaw Pact forces. At the peak of East/West tensions during the 1980s, as many as nineteen Soviet and East German divisions faced off against V Corps units in West Germany.

To prepare their defenses against an invasion, the Division's units frequently conducted field training at Hohenfels, Wildflecken, and Grafenwöhr training areas. The 3d Armored Division would also frequently take to the German countryside for training maneuvers, including what became an annually staged war game, REFORGER, which simulated an invasion of Western Europe by Warsaw Pact forces.

The most famous soldier in the 3rd Armored Division during the 1950s was Elvis Presley, assigned to Company A, 1st Battalion, 32nd Armor Regiment, Combat Command C at Ray Barracks in Friedberg. After his time in service, Elvis made the movie G.I. Blues, in which he portrays a 3rd Armored Division tank crewman with a singing career. Former Secretary of State, General Colin Powell also served in the 3d Armored Division and went on to command V Corps in Germany.

By 1990, the Iron Curtain over Eastern Europe collapsed, East and West Germany would soon be reunited, and the Soviet Army was being withdrawn back to the Soviet Union. With these events, the Cold War came to a peaceful conclusion, freeing U.S. army units in Europe for other deployments.

In November of 1990, VII Corps departed West Germany for Saudi Arabia to take part in Operation DESERT SHIELD and, later, in Operation DESERT STORM. Because the 3rd Armored Division was more advanced in its modernization process, and well-equipped with Abrams Tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles, they deployed with VII Corps to Southwest Asia.

On February 23, 1991, the 3d Armored Division crossed the Line of Departure into Iraq with the 1st Armored Division on their left and the 2nd Armored Cavalry on their right. The Iraqi Army was surprised by the VII Corps end run into Iraq. Most of the enemy forces were focused on defending the Kuwait border with Saudi Arabia. By the fourth day of the war, the Spearhead had advanced over 50 miles into Iraq and defeated all enemy forces they encountered, including divisions of the Iraqi Republican Guard. In the 100-hour Gulf War, 3AD destroyed hundreds of Iraqi tanks and vehicles, and captured more than 2,400 Iraqi prisoners, with 15 division troops killed between December 1990 and late February 1991.

Following Operation Desert Storm and the liberation of Kuwait, the Spearhead Division returned to Germany. Camp Doha emerged as the focal point for the U.S. Armed Forces in Kuwait. The threat of future aggression necessitated the presence of U.S. forces to maintain security and stability in the Gulf region. U.S. military forces began rotating into Kuwait to provide security assistance, conduct training exercises, and perform necessary contingency planning. Among the first U.S. Army units deployed to Camp Doha after the Persian Gulf War were the 3d Armored Division, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, and the 8th Infantry Division.

On January 17, 1992, the 3rd Armored Division officially ceased operations in Germany, with a ceremony in Frankfurt at Division Headquarters, Drake Kaserne. The division colors were then returned to the United States, with the 3d AD still officially active, since Army Regulations state that Divisional "Casing of Colors" cannot occur on foreign soil. Official retirement took place at Fort Knox, on October 17, 1992. At that time, the 3rd Armored Division was removed from the official force structure of the U.S. Army.

 View the Index of Military Histories

A Summary History of the 8th Infantry Division

 View the Index of Unit Histories

"The Pathfinder Division"
(Original article written 9/25/2008) 

The 8th Infantry Division was a mechanized infantry division in the United States Army. The 8th Infantry Division went by the nickname of the "Golden Arrow Division" and later, the "Pathfinder Division." Both monikers were born of the vertical gold arrow in the unit's shoulder patch. However, many soldiers referred to the wearers of an 8ID patch as "Crazy Eights." The 8th I.D. served proudly during World War I, World War II, in Europe during the Cold War, and in Operation Desert Storm. The 8th Infantry Division was deactivated in Germany in January 1992.

The 8th Infantry Division was formed in early January 1918 for service during World War I. By the time the 8th Division had trained up and deployed to France in November of the same year, the fighting was over. Subsequently, the Golden Arrow Division did not gain any combat experience during WWI. The troopers of the 8th Division returned to the United States and the unit was inactivated in January 1919.

The Pathfinder Division was called to serve again, this time during the buildup for WWII. The Division was activated on July 1, 1940, and deployed overseas on December 5, 1943. The Allies invaded France on D-day, June 6, 1944. After training in Ireland, the 8th Infantry Division landed on Utah Beach, Normandy, on July 4, 1944, and entered combat on the 7th. Fighting through the hedgerows, the 8th I.D. crossed the Ay River on July 26th and pushed through Rennes on August 8th, and continued their advance to attack Brest in September. The Crozon Peninsula was cleared by September 19th, and the Division drove across France to Luxembourg. The Pathfinder Division moved to the Hurtgen Forest on November 20th. Troopers of the 8th Infantry Division cleared Hurtgen on the 28th and Brandenburg on December 3rd.

Now the Golden Arrow Division pushed on to the Roer. That river was crossed on February 23, 1945, Duren taken on the 25th, and the Erft Canal was crossed on the 28th. The 8th Infantry Division reached the Rhine near Rodenkirchen by March 7, 1945, and maintained positions along the river near Koln. On April 6th the Division attacked northwest to aid in the destruction of enemy forces in the Ruhr Pocket, and by the 17th had completed its mission. The Division, under the operational control of the British Second Army, drove across the Elbe on May 1st and had penetrated to Schwerin when the war in Europe ended.

On May 2, 1945, as the Golden Arrow Division advanced into northern Germany, the 8ID encountered the Neuengamme concentration camp Wöbbelin subcamp, near the city of Ludwigslust. The SS had established Wöbbelin in early February 1945 to house concentration camp prisoners who had been evacuated from other Nazi camps to prevent their liberation by the Allies. Wöbbelin held some 5,000 inmates, many of whom suffered from starvation and disease. The sanitary conditions at the camp when the 8th ID arrived were deplorable. There was little food or water, and some prisoners had resorted to cannibalism. In the first week after liberation, more than 200 inmates died. The 8th Infantry Division was recognized as a liberating unit by the U.S. Army's Center of Military History and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1988.

During their service in WWII, the 8th Infantry Division spent 266 days in combat. Their total combat casualties numbered 13,986. Of that number, 2,852 were killed in action. The Pathfinder Division had fought in four campaigns and earned five unit citations. Troopers of the 8th Infantry Division were awarded 768 Silver Stars, 2 Distinguished Service Medals, 33 Distinguished Service Crosses, and 3 Medals of Honor.

The 8th Infantry Division was re-deployed to the United States and deactivated on November 20, 1945. However, the Golden Arrow Division would be needed again in Germany. The Division was re-activated for the Cold War and sent to Germany to replace the 9th Infantry Division in October of 1956. On December 14, 1957, having participated in NATO exercises and gone through the first of several reorganizations, the 8th Infantry Division Headquarters was stationed in Bad Kreuznach, West Germany.

From 1958 to 1973 the 8th Infantry Division, although mechanized, had an airborne infantry component. The original formation consisted of the 1st Airborne Battle Group with the 504th and 505th Infantry Regiments. In 1963, the Division reorganized to a structure that used brigades and battalions as maneuver elements. The 1-504th and 1-505th were replaced by the 1-509th and the 2-509th Infantry Regiments and were located at Lee Barracks in Mainz. Along with other elements, these two airborne battalions of the 509th made up the 1st Brigade (Airborne), and 8th Infantry Division (Mechanized). In 1973, the 1st Brigade's jump status came to an end. The 509th moved to Vicenza and was replaced in the 8th ID by the 2-28th and 2-87th Infantry.

The Pathfinder Division would stay in Germany for the remainder of the Cold War, as part of the United States Seventh Army and V Corps. The 8th Infantry Division, along with its brother units in the theater, was instrumental in the defense of Western Europe and the deterrence of communist aggression. The result of thousands of troopers' hard work in training and readiness was the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union, the freeing of Eastern European countries, and the reunification of Germany.

With the collapse of "the Wall" in 1989, it would seem that the need for large units of mechanized forces was over. For some Pathfinder Division units, their work was not done. During Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm, the following subordinate units of the 8th Infantry Division (Mechanized) deployed to Southwest Asia:

The 2-29th Field Artillery Battalion from Baumholder served as part of the VII Corps Artillery. The 12th Engineer Battalion from Anderson Barracks in Dexheim was deployed with the 3rd Armored Division. The 4-34th Armor out of Lee Barracks in Mainz deployed with the Ready First Combat Team. The 5th Battalion, 3rd Air Defense Artillery home based at McCully Barracks in Wackernheim deployed in support of the 3rd Armored Division. Also, TF 3-77 Armor from Mannheim deployed to Southwest Asia.

Most 8th Infantry Division soldiers had returned to home station by the end of May 1991. The 3-77 Armor redeployed in August of that year. With their mission completed in both Europe and Southwest Asia, the Golden Arrow Division prepared for deactivation. Their colors were cased on January 17, 1992.

The 8th Infantry Division's motto is "These are my credentials." Thousands of American soldiers during the 20th Century showed the world that their actions were in fact their credentials. Those veterans will always be proud that their service was with the Pathfinder Division.

 View the Index of Unit Histories

A Summary History of the 24th Infantry Division

View the Index of Unit Histories

The Victory Division
(Original Article by Jim Broumley, 9/22/10)

The United States Army's 24th Infantry Division has a special designation as the "Victory Division" from the Center for Military History. The 24th Infantry Division shoulder sleeve insignia is a green taro leaf bordered in yellow, superimposed on a red circle that is bordered in black. It symbolizes the Division's heritage in the Hawaiian Division. Soldiers of the 24th ID are veterans of the Pacific Theater in WWII, the Korean War, the Cold War, and the Persian Gulf. In their service to the country, they have lived up to the division motto of "First to Fight!"

On February 25, 1921, the Hawaiian Division was activated at Schofield Barracks on Oahu, Hawaii. The 21st and 22nd Infantry Brigades, assets of the WWI era 11th Infantry Division, were initially assigned to the Division. The Hawaiian Division, along with the Philippine Division and the Americal were the last three divisions in the army to be designated with a name rather than a number. In the late summer of 1941, as part of the reorganization of the army in the buildup for World War II, the Hawaiian Division was disbanded and its subordinate units were used to create two new divisions: the 24th Infantry Division and the 25th Infantry Division (Tropical Lightning). The 24th ID received the Hawaiian Division's shoulder sleeve insignia, which was created in 1921.

The 24th and 25th Divisions were organized under a new table of organization and equipment (TO&E) that created a three brigade, or "triangular," division. The 24th Infantry Division Headquarters was activated on October 1, 1941. The Division's three infantry regiments were the 19th and the 21st from the active army, and the 299th Infantry Regiment of the Hawaii National Guard. Also attached to the division were the 13th Field Artillery Battalion, the 52nd Field Artillery Battalion, the 63rd Field Artillery Battalion, the 11th Field Artillery Battalion, the 24th Signal Company, the 724th Ordnance Company, the 24th Quartermaster Company, the 24th Reconnaissance Troop, the 3rd Engineer Battalion, the 24th Medical Battalion, and the 24th Counter Intelligence Detachment.

The 24th Infantry Division was among the first divisions to see combat in World War II. Headquartered at Schofield Barracks on the island of Oahu, the 24th I.D. sustained minor casualties when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The division was tasked with the defense of northern Oahu, where it built an elaborate system of coastal defenses. In May 1943, the division was alerted for movement to Australia, and by September of that year, it had deployed to Camp Caves, near Rockhampton on the eastern coast of Australia. The 24th was part of the assault forces that landed on Dutch New Guinea, where it fought its way to the Hollandia airfield. After occupation duty in the Hollandia area, the 24th Infantry Division was assigned to the X Corps of the Sixth United States Army in preparation for the invasion of the Philippines. The 24th Division was among the assault forces on Leyte. From there the division went to Luzon and eventually formed an element of the assault forces in the Southern Philippines. During World War II the division adopted its nickname, "Victory Division." After serving in five campaigns and being decorated by the Philippine government, the 24th ID departed Mindanao on October 15, 1945, for occupation duty in Japan.

During World War II, members of the 24th Infantry Division won 3 Medals of Honor, 15 Distinguished Service Crosses, 2 Distinguished Service Medals, 625 Silver Star Medals, 38 Soldier's Medals, 2,197 Bronze Star Medals, and 50 Air Medals. The division itself was awarded eight Distinguished Unit Citations for actions during their participation in the Pacific Campaign.

During the post-war occupation, the Victory Division remained in mainland Japan. The 24th ID occupied Kyushu from 1945 until 1950. During this time, the US Army shrank from its wartime strength of 89 divisions to only 10 active. The 24th Infantry Division was one of four under-strength divisions on occupation duty in Japan. The Division retained the 19th, 21st, and 34th Infantry Regiments, but the formations were undermanned and ill-equipped due to the post-war drawdown and reduction in military spending.

After North Korea attacked South Korea on June 25, 1950, elements of the 24th Infantry Division were the first to arrive in Korea. On June 30, a 406-man infantry force from the 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, supported by a 134-man artillery battery (also from the 24th Infantry Division) was sent to South Korea. This battalion task force, known as Task Force Smith for its commander, Lieutenant Colonel Charles Smith, was lightly armed. Smith was ordered to delay the advance of North Korean forces while the rest of the 24th Infantry Division moved into South Korea. On July 4, the task force set up in the hills north of Osan and prepared to block advancing North Korean forces. The next day witnessed a column of North Korean tanks approaching the American position. The ensuing battle was a rout, as the Task Force's obsolescent weapons were no match for the North Koreans' T-34 Tanks and full-strength formations. Dozens of US soldiers were captured, and when US forces retook the area, some of the prisoners were discovered to have been executed. Task Force Smith suffered 20 killed and 130 wounded in action, approximately thirty percent of the unit. However, the task force was successful in delaying the North Korean forces' advance for seven hours. The Victory Division continued to fight a delaying action against overwhelming odds. The delay permitted the United Nations to build up its forces in the "Pusan Perimeter" around the port city. The 24th ID was awarded the Presidential Citation (Army) for its actions during this period. Over the next nineteen months, the 24th Infantry Division fought in seven campaigns and was twice decorated by the Republic of (South) Korea. In February 1952, the Victory Division returned to Japan where it served as part of the Far East reserve.

On July 27, 1953, an armistice was signed ending combat operations in Korea. During this same month, the 24th ID went back to Korea to restore order in prisoner-of-war camps. The 24th Infantry Division suffered 3,735 killed and 7,395 wounded during the Korean War. The Division remained on front-line duty after the armistice until October 1957, patrolling the 38th parallel in the event that combat would resume.

When the United States reduced and realigned its divisions in the Far East in 1957, the 24th Infantry Division left Korea, eventually replacing the 11th Airborne Division in Germany. While in Germany, in addition to its standard infantry mission, the 24th ID fielded airborne units for about two years. Elements of the 24th Infantry Division deployed to Beirut because of the Lebanon Crisis in 1958. 24th ID units also rotated to Berlin to reinforce the Berlin Brigade when East Germany began building the Berlin Wall in August of 1961. The Division was reorganized as a mechanized division under the Reorganization Objective Army Division (ROAD) TO& E in 1963. The Victory Division remained in Germany until 1969 when it redeployed to Fort Riley, Kansas, as part of the REFORGER (Return of Forces to Germany) program. As the Army withdrew from Vietnam and reduced its forces, the 24th Infantry Division was inactivated in April 1970 at Fort Riley.

In September 1975, the 24th Infantry Division was reactivated at Fort Stewart, Georgia, as part of the program to build a sixteen-division army. Because the Regular Army could not field a full division at Fort Stewart, the 24th ID had the 48th Infantry Brigade, Georgia Army National Guard, assigned to it as a round-out unit. Targeted for a NATO role, the Division was again reorganized and designated as a mechanized infantry division in 1979 and later fielded the M1 Abrams tank and the M2 Bradley fighting vehicle. The Division became a mainstay of the Cold War army for the next 15 years.

When the United Nations decided to halt Iraqi aggression into Kuwait in 1990, the 24th Infantry Division, as part of the Rapid Deployment Force, was deployed to Southwest Asia. Serving in the Defense of Saudi Arabia and Liberation and Defense of Kuwait campaigns, the Victory Division helped to arrest the Iraqi war machine. In the XVIII Airborne Corps' mission of envelopment, the 24th Infantry Division had the central role of blocking the Euphrates River valley to prevent the escape of Iraqi forces in Kuwait and then attacking east in coordination with VII Corps to defeat the armor-heavy divisions of the Republican Guard Forces Command. The 24th Infantry Division combined the usual mechanized infantry division components of an aviation brigade and three ground maneuver brigades plus combat support units. As a Rapid Deployment Force division, the 24th I.D. had extensive desert training and desert-oriented medical and water purification equipment. When the attack began, the 24th ID was as large as a World War I division, with 25,000 soldiers in thirty-four battalions. Its 241 Abrams tanks and 221 Bradley fighting vehicles provided the necessary armor punch to penetrate Republican Guard divisions. However, with 94 helicopters, and over 6,500 wheeled and 1,300 other tracked vehicles-including 72 self-propelled artillery pieces and 9 multiple rocket launchers, the Victory Division had given away nothing in mobility and firepower.

The 24th Infantry Division performed its Gulf War mission superbly. After the Iraqi forces were defeated, the UN mandated the US to withdraw from Iraq, ending the Gulf War. By the time of the ceasefire on February 28, 1991, the 24th Infantry Division advanced 260 miles and destroyed 360 tanks, and other armored personnel carriers, 300 artillery pieces, 1,200 trucks, 25 aircraft, 19 missiles, and over 500 pieces of engineering equipment. The division took over 5,000 Iraqi prisoners of war while suffering eight American soldiers killed, 36 wounded, and 5 non-combat casualties.

The Victory Division returned to Fort Stewart, Georgia in the spring of 1991. As part of the Army's reduction to a ten-division force, the 24th Infantry Division was inactivated on February 15, 1996.

In the wake of the Cold War, the US Army considered new options for the integration and organization of Active duty, Army Reserve, and Army National Guard units in training and deployment. The 7th Infantry Division and the 24th Infantry Division headquarters were designated for training National Guard units. The subordinate brigades of the divisions did not activate, so they could not be deployed as combat divisions. Instead, the headquarters units focused on full-time training. On June 5, 1999, the 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized) was once again activated, this time at Fort Riley, Kansas. The Victory Division then consisted of an active component headquarters at Fort Riley and three enhanced separate brigades of the National Guard: the 30th Heavy Separate Brigade at Clinton, North Carolina, the 218th Heavy Separate Brigade at Columbia, South Carolina, and the 48th Separate Infantry Brigade in Macon, Georgia. The 24th Infantry Division became the U.S. Army's first integrated active duty/National Guard division.

To expand upon the concept of Reserve and National Guard components, the First Army activated Division East and Division West, two commands responsible for reserve units' readiness and mobilization exercises. Division East was activated at Fort Riley. This transformation was part of an overall restructuring of the US Army to streamline the organizations overseeing training. Division East took control of reserve units in states east of the Mississippi River, eliminating the need for the Victory Division headquarters. The 24th Infantry Division was subsequently deactivated for the last time on August 1, 2006, at Fort Riley, Kansas. All of the 24th ID's flags and heraldic items were moved to the National Infantry Museum at Fort Benning, Georgia following its inactivation.

View the Index of Unit Histories