stories or thoughts on the subject, please contact me. A third, less likely, route involved travelling up through the Danube River valley through neutral Austria. With such an eventuality in mind, weapons were evolved such as nuclear tube and missile artillery, the nuclear recoilless gun/tactical launcher Davy Crockett, Special Atomic Demolition Munitions, the AH-64 Apache attack helicopter, and A-10 ground attack aircraft. [9][10] Occupational duty near Langen was given to the division following V-E Day, a role it filled until inactivation on 10 November 1945. [33], The 3rd AD served at the Battle of 73 Easting and the Battle of Norfolk. With the end of the Vietnam War and the draft, the 1970’s brought new challenges to the division. Rutherford preceded the final salute to General Crosbie E. Saint, USAREUR Commander, with a loudly shouted "Spearhead!". . Created in 1941, the 3rd Armored Division landed on the Normandy beaches of France in late June 1944, just weeks after D-Day (June 6), the massive Allied invasion of western Europe. TTY: 202.488.0406, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, DC, The Holocaust and World War II: Key Dates, Wannsee Conference and the "Final Solution", Documenting Numbers of Victims of the Holocaust and Nazi Persecution, Gleichschaltung: Coordinating the Nazi State, War Refugee Board: Background and Establishment, Holocaust Survivors and Victims Resource Center. Also located in Wildflecken was the 108th Military Intelligence (MI) Btn, to which Delta Company Rangers was assigned – the Rangers' mission was to strike at the supply lines and command structures of any invading Soviet forces. The division itself was of comprised an average of 15,000 soldiers organized into three combat commands (CCs) of comparable sizes to the World War II combat commands. personnel assigned to or associated with the U.S. Army The 3rd Armored Division (also known as "Spearhead", 3rd Armored, and 3AD) was an armored division of the United States Army. This coincided with the 1951 upgrade of the U.S. Army's mostly administrative and occupation responsibilities in Germany to a combat army via the arrival of four combat divisions from the United States. 3rd Brigade, Friedberg 200 meters further Army Photo [31][32] The division was now pushing east to block the Iraqi retreat from Kuwait and conduct mopping up operations. Support Command Prior to that time, 3rd Armd Div's air support was provided by twelve aviation sections scattered throughout the division area, each attached to a major command or unit. Casualty figures for the 3rd Armored Division, European theater of operations: "Spearhead" was adopted as the nickname of the 3rd Armored Division in recognition of the division's role as the spearhead of many attacks during the liberation of France in 1944. Testing speed, mobility and striking power, the 3d Armored Division wound up the active year by moving to the field for FTX "Sabre Knot." personnel assigned to or associated with the U.S. Army In April, the division crossed the Saale River north of Halle and sped on toward the Elbe River. c. For details of the operation of the supply and transport battalion, see FM 10-50. After a five-year tour in Germany, the division redeployed to Fort Lewis, Washington in May 1956. View the list of all donors. When properly augmented, the battalion provides bath unit support on an area In the infantry divisions, corps or Training consists of firing tank gunnery tables for qualifications, 4.2-inch mortar firing, artillery service practice, gas chamber exercises, qualification and familiarization firing of small arms and automatic weapons, RSOPs for artillerymen, and company, troop, battery and battalion FTXs. a. The armored divisions gained 261 personnel spaces, whereas the overall infantry division strength was reduced by 3,000. 3rd Armored Shermans firing 75mm high-explosive rounds as artillery southeast of Stolberg, Germany, on Nov. 16, 1944. 1st Brigade, Kirch-Göns The division turned east into Kuwait, continuing to inflict heavy casualties and capture troops as it rolled forward, often hitting Iraqi units whose defensive berms and foxholes faced south from their northern flank, rendering their defenses ineffective. Units were redesignated to align units in the continental U.S. with units stationed overseas. Blues made later that year was based partly upon his experiences and there are scenes featured that are from the division areas. Frankfurt. At the time, I was curator of the 3rd Cavalry Museum at Ft. Bliss, Texas, but as an Army sergeant, I was scheduled for another tour in Germany with the 3rd Armored . From June 1945 until July 1946, reconnaissance and security along the border between the U.S. and Soviet zones of occupation in Germany in the area north and south of Fulda was the mission of elements of the U.S. 3rd and 1st Infantry Divisions. USAREUR maxed out its Cold War troop strength in June of 1962; that number was never achieved again. Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara visited the Division October 5 that year, and was escorted by General Pugh. 1st Bn, 33rd Arm (1st MTB reorg/redes 1st Bn, 1 Oct 1963) [36] Seven soldiers were killed in action and another 27 were wounded during combat operations. Transportation for logistic support operations. Requesting help from the 104th Infantry Division, the 3rd immediately began transporting some 250 ill and starving prisoners to nearby hospital facilities. [34][35] The 3rd Armored Division suffered 15 soldiers killed between December 1990 and late February 1991. [38], The 1st Battalion, 32nd Armor was reflagged and is now stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky as part of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). h. Limited purchasing and contracting. 45th Medical Battalion 45th Armored Medical Battalion sign at Gibbs Kaserne, 1957 (Webmaster's collection) This in turn did much to compel the Soviets to honor their commitment[which?] Six days later, the outfit had sped through Courville and Chartres and was approaching the banks of the Seine River. Community In 1957 the division’s combat arms battalions were redesignated according to the Combat Arms Regimental System (CARS). d. Bath facilities when properly augmented and, when practical, clothing exchange service. Highlights of 1963 began in May when Colonel Arthur L. West, Jr., was named Assistant Division Commander for Maneuver, replacing Brigadier General Kelsie E. Reaves who was reassigned to the Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the Pentagon, Washington, D.C. Nicknamed the Third Herd, the division was first activated in 1941, and was active in the European Theater of World War II. We trained with the unit at Ft Knox and arrived in Hanau, FRG on June 10, 1956. 1. He was briefed on CCA's mission by, then, Colonel Arthur L. West, Jr., the Command's commanding officer. If you have any Combat Command A became 1st Brigade). [29], At 1115 hours on the second day of the invasion, all elements of the division finally moved across the line of departure. Books, movies and other media that feature the Third Armored Division include: On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Looking for more information from military/civilian In the course of its drive, various elements of 3AD engaged the enemy, taking prisoners, skirmishing, sometimes bypassing enemy strongholds to gain ground, and other times engaging in full-scale battle. With help from the 104th Infantry Division, the 3rd immediately began transporting some 250 prisoners to nearby hospitals. Medical units normally furnish support on an area basis. In April, it advanced eastward into Thuringia and continued the push east . These activities supplement normal garrison training, which includes company tactical training, heliborne operations, landmine warfare, river crossing techniques, tank gunnery refresher training and subcalibre gunnery instruction. Hope this helps a little bit in filling in some on the bits and pieces. 1963 The medical battalion is assigned to the support command. Following its unglamorous inactivation at the end of World War II, the 3d Armored Division was again called to service in the summer of 1947. If you have any [10], After Cologne, the division swept up Paderborn in its advance to shut the back door to the Ruhr Pocket. Downtown Frankfurt has changed (to say the least), but not Spearhead's former Division Headquarters. In March 1945, the 3rd Armored Division advanced into Germany, capturing the city of Cologne and crossing the Rhine River. (1) As an non-color bearing unit (NCBU), 503rd Admin wore the 3rd Armored Division DUI (2)The 503rd Administration Company was located at Drake Kaserne, Frankfurt (STATION LIST, 31 Dec 1966). Combat Comds The defense of the Fulda Gap was a mission of the U.S. V Corps. [9], The first elements of the 3rd Armored saw combat on 29 June in France, with the division as a whole beginning combat operations on 9 July 1944. In response to the quantitative superiority of the Soviet forces, the U.S. deployed Atomic Demolition Mines for many years in the Fulda Gap. It was named for Lt Kenneth W. Coleman, a Black soldier who was assigned to the 761st Tank Battalion, and who was killed in combat in the autumn of 1944 in NW Europe. The 3rd Armored Division (also known as "Spearhead", 3rd Armored, and 3AD) was an armored division of the United States Army. The regimental alignments meant that Spearhead soldiers would primarily rotate between Ft. With this ceremony, the 3rd Armored Division was removed from the active duty force structure of the U.S. In the movie he wears the insignia of a specialist five rather than sergeant's stripes. In a sharp curve one of the tanks went straight These brigades were manned by at least one battalion each of infantry, armor, and artillery, and various supporting units, including medical, engineer, and aviation elements. [3], The majority of the division's troops never received Desert Battle Dress Uniforms due to equipment shortages, and fought instead in lightweight summer "woodland pattern" uniforms covered by tanker suits or chemical warfare protective MOPP suits. In attendance at the ceremony were several former Spearhead commanding generals and division veterans from all eras. the small town of Burgbernheim, between Ansbach and Würzburg. In 1956 the Division left Brooklyn Army Terminal and sailed for Germany to relieve the 4th Infantry Division as the first division to participate in ” Operation Gyroscope”, an Army program of rotating entire divisions as opposed to individual soldier replacements. Schloss Kaserne, Butzbach. The two replaced divisions returned to the United States. Deployment of advance elements of 3AD began in December, with the remaining deploying units arriving by January. Only three of its M1A1 Abrams tanks were damaged during combat operations. The unit continues to add to its roster of noteworthy achievements. In the infantry divisions, corps or Division During the Vietnam Era while the army was bled white through a ten year war of attrition, the Spearhead Division continued to train for its mission to defend in the Fulda Gap. Each Spearheader has ample opportunity to practice his skills, from mortar and artillery forward observers, to parachute packers. It severed a vital highway leading to St. Vith and later reached Lierneux, Belgium, where it halted to refit. Throughout its time in Cold War Germany, beginning in mid-1956, the division would also frequently take to the German countryside for training maneuvers, including, beginning in January 1969, what became an annually staged war game called Reforger, which simulated an invasion of Western Europe by Warsaw Pact forces. The current Spearhead Museum had its origins in a reply to a form "welcome letter" I received from the 3rd Armored Division Command Sergeant Major in 1979. The supply and transportation battalion (2) is responsible for supplying the division and its attachments with all items of supply except class V, medical supplies and equipment, aircraft parts and supplies, cryptographic materiel, water, repair parts, and airdrop equipment. 3rd Armored Division This was the furthest advance into Germany by any Allied force at that point in the war. 34 talking about this. b. The destroyed tank was evemtually loaded onto a railway flatcar The castle was first mentioned in 1216, the gate dates back to around 1500. b. He came from the XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where he had commanded Corps Artillery since November 1962. The 3rd Armored Division (" Spearhead " [1]) was an armored division of the United States Army. It also provides a graves registration collection point in the division support area. f. Graves registration service, when properly augmented. On 9 March 1942, it came under the jurisdiction of the Army Ground Forces and was assigned to the II Armored Corps. Strategists on both sides of the Iron Curtain understood the Fulda Gap's importance, and accordingly allocated forces to defend and attack it. Secretary McNamara, dressed in field clothing, spoke to many Division officers and enlisted men as they went about their daily tasks. The medical battalion (1) provides division level medical service to the division to include - In real life Presley was promoted to sergeant near the end of his tour in Germany without the prospect of attending the 3d Armored Division Non Commissioned Officer Academy. i. Unofficially nicknamed the "Third Herd," the division was first activated in 1941 and was active in the European Theater of World War II. [9], The division was the "spearhead" of the First Army through the Normandy Campaign, taking part in a number of engagements, most notably in the Battle of Saint-Lô, where it suffered significant casualties. The headquarters and support company ambulances and clearing station normally operate in the division support area to support division troops and the support command. "Sabre Knot" was the largest maneuver since FTX "Brandywine." The three medical companies are capable of operating ambulance and clearing stations in support of the brigades. In July 1942 it was transferred to Camp Young, CA and from August to October 1942, took part in maneuvers at the Desert Training Center there. The NCO Academy contained two companies: Co. A was assigned to the medieval castle at Usingen-Kransberg, while Co. B was located in Butzbach. 144th Ord. [29], By the fifth day of combat, 28 February, the division had achieved all of its original objectives. The Secretary terminated his visit by flying to Division Artillery's field command post where he was briefed on the command's mission. The 3rd Armored Division styled itself as "America's first choice for the Fulda Gap." In July 1960 the V Corps commander said he was dissatisfied with the available intelligence information in . [19][20], Colin Powell also served in the division. On May 12th Combat Command A arrived as the first major element of the division. It also provides a graves registration collection point in the division support area. 3rd ARMORED DIVISION Frankfurt am Main, Germany Drake Kaserne Public Information Office (PIO) Staff of 1965-1968 >> For Introduction << Unauthorized personnel welcome. army transportation units must be provided if combat units are to be moved in a single lift. The division colors were then returned to the United States with the 3rd AD still officially active, since Army regulations state that a Divisional "Casing of the Colors" cannot occur on foreign soil. His movie G.I. On April 11, 1945, the 3rd discovered the Dora-Mittelbau concentration camp. In addition, the battalion provides - The Division was headed to areas south of the city, where it began 5 . [15], The division's last major fighting in the war was the Battle of Dessau, which the division captured on 23 April 1945 after three days of combat. [29] Less than one hundred hours after the ground campaign started, President Bush declared a ceasefire. He received the Silver Star. On 1 July 1955, 19th Armor Group was replaced by 4th Armor Group. 3rd Armored Division 'Germany' Community Send message Hi! was also responsible for chemical and nuclear ammunition for the Fulda Gap sector, operating not only ASP #3 but multiple Forward Storage and Transportation Sites. stories or thoughts on the subject, please contact me. that day in a nearby train station ("Steinach bei Rothenburg"). [32][36], In 1991, Division Historian Dan Peterson, comparing the performance of the division in World War II and Desert Storm, stated, "History does always repeat itself. The supply and transport battalion provides and operates distribution points for classes I and III supplies in the brigade trains areas as well as in the division support area. POST UNIT & YEARS YOU SERVED IN 3AD The 3rd AD/Spearhead division was a massive, self-contained division with combined armor, infantry,. basis. Major Richard L. Ross, holding the division color with battle streamers, passed it to General Frederick M. Franks, Jr., completing the official inactivation of the division. – Gulf War – 100-Hour Storm", "History of the 3rd Armored Division | Spearhead", "United States Army 3rd Armored Division (Spearhead) | City of Grove Oklahoma", "Commanders of the 3d Armored Division 1941–1992", "Lieutenant General Frederic Joseph Brown, Jr. 1905–1971", "Rolling Thunder: The True Story of the 3rd Armored Division DVD", Association of 3rd Armored Division Veterans. The Fulda Gap (German: Fulda-Lücke), an area between the Hesse-Thuringian border (the former Inner German border) and Frankfurt am Main, contains two corridors of lowlands through which tanks might have driven in a surprise attack by the Soviets and their Warsaw Pact allies to gain crossing(s) of the Rhine River. The mayor of Gelnhausen strongly objected. The Fulda Gap route was less suitable for mechanized troop movement than was the North German Plain, but offered an avenue of advance direct to the heart of the U.S. military in West Germany, Frankfurt am Main, which as indicated in its name, is on the Main River, a tributary of the Rhine River. Operation of division clearing stations with a limited short-term holding capacity. On 24 February, the official first day of action, the division as a whole swung into action as part of a coordinated attack by hundreds of thousands of Coalition troops. The three medical companies are capable of operating ambulance and clearing stations in support of the brigades. Later on in World War II, higher-numbered U.S. armored divisions were made smaller, with a higher ratio of armored infantry to tanks, based on lessons learned from fighting in North Africa. Beginning in 1975, the Soviet Union's strategy for attacking Western Europe involved the use of operational manoeuvre groups to outflank NATO defensive positions such as the Fulda Gap.[13]. Occupied by the 4th Infantry Division (4th ID) from 1951 to 1956, the 3rd Armored Division (3rd AD) from Fort Knox, Kentucky, moved into the Coleman . Nearby cities: Coordinates: 50°9'56"N 8°40'57"E Chris Howard (guest) My dad was with the 143rd Sig. [9], The 3rd Armored Division, then commanded by Major General Paul Funk, was one of four U.S. heavy divisions deployed with VII Corps to the Gulf Region. "[37], Following the war, 3rd Armored Division was one of the first units rotated to Camp Doha, Kuwait, providing protection to Kuwait as the country was rebuilt. in Germany from 1945 to 1989. Limited capability for rigging supplies and equipment for resupply by air. Main telephone: 202.488.0400 A realistic description of U.S. concepts for the defence of the gap is contained in Bundeswehr University Munich, "The History of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: The Joint Chiefs of Staff and National Policy, Volume VI, 1955–56", by Kenneth W. Condit, (Washington: GPO, 1992), Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Chapter One: Early Post-War Border Operations – 1945–1946", "Chapter Three: Transition Into a Tactical Force – 1950–1952", "German & US generals discuss Fulda Gap defense", United States Army Center of Military History, 14th Cav at US Army Germany (History) site, 11th Cav at US Army Germany (History) site, From Fulda Gap button, one of 5 limited Fulda Gap pages at 1st Battalion 33rd Armor site, Fulda Gap Big Picture from Decker's 1st Bn, 33rd Armor site, 1st Bn 68th Armor at Wildflecken was a Fulda Gap screening force, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fulda_Gap&oldid=1115719386, Military operations involving the Warsaw Pact, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles lacking in-text citations from April 2012, All articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases, Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from February 2019, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2018, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 12 October 2022, at 21:14. They would then hit the hedgerows at high speed, bursting through them without exposing the vulnerable underbellies of the tanks. The mission of 1-68 Armor was to establish a defensive line across part of the Gap, providing a shield behind which other V Corps units could advance and defend. The newly reorganized 3d Armored Division was given the task of being combat ready by 1 May 1956. (1) The 503rd S&T Battalion was modified from the type supply and transportation battalion defined in FM 54-2 by the addition of Detachment "C," an airfield support unit for the division. The 3rd Armored also commanded three armored infantry battalions. The deployment of the 3rd Armored Division and the 8th Infantry Division to V Corps remained stable until the end of the Cold War. Courtesy of 3ad.com. 67th Armor tank in a field exercise. [citation needed], Official Inactivation took place at Fort Knox, on 17 October 1992. Another reorganization initiative called Division 86 added an Aviation Brigade to the organic Spearhead organization as well as substituting a battery of the Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) in place of the General Support (GS) 8-inch howitzer battalion. The following is a summary of US Cold War history in Germany from the 1950s. [citation needed]. Each medical company can operate two clearing stations for displacement and short duration operations. Units that had drawn down were replaced or augmented back to full strength. [3], "Sir, this is my final salute. c. For details of the operation of the supply and transport battalion, see FM 10-50. [5] until 1972, the 14th Armored Cavalry Regiment (ACR) patrolled the Fulda Gap. The barracks were named in honor of First Lieutenant Bernard J. Ray, Company F, 8th Infantry Regiment, who was awarded the Medal of Honor after his death. The Seventh Army troop list of 30 June 1956 [9] shows 4th Armor Group attached to V Corps, along with the U.S. divisions, 2d Armored Div, 3d Armored Div, and 10th Infantry Div. Also in June 1962, the nuclear warheads for U.S. Davy Crockett devices arrived in Europe (3rd AD combat maneuver battalions were issued Davy Crocketts). From 1815, the area appeared of minimal strategic importance, as it lay deep within the borders of the German Confederation and (from 1871) of the German Empire, and German military planning presumed any war would be effectively lost long before an enemy reached that far into the homeland. We would like to thank Crown Family Philanthropies and the Abe and Ida Cooper Foundation for supporting the ongoing work to create content and resources for the Holocaust Encyclopedia. Appropriately the division headquarters traveled on the USNS Maurice Rose, named for our famous WW II Commander who was killed in action leading the Spearhead Division near Paderborn. and its attachments with all items of supply except class V, medical supplies and equipment, aircraft parts and supplies, cryptographic materiel, water, repair parts, and airdrop equipment. Various National Guard and Army Reserve units were attached to the division for the duration of the conflict, swelling the division's size to over 20,000 troops – 25% larger than during its time in Germany. After the 1963 ROAD reorganization, the 4th Armor Group was inactivated, and the 3rd Infantry Division headquartered at Würzburg was reassigned to VII Corps. [4] The U.S. Constabulary as a headquarters was subsequently drawn down, but individual constabulary regiments were retitled armored cavalry regiments. The 3d Armored Division established its presence on Kasernes in Frankfurt, Hanau, Gelnhausen, Budingen, Friedberg, Butzbach, and Kirch Göns. V Corps, Frankfurt, West Germany [7] 3rd Armored Division, Frankfurt 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized), Fort Carson, Colorado ( Operation Reforger unit) 8th Infantry Division (Mechanized), Bad Kreuznach V Corps Artillery, Frankfurt 41st Field Artillery Brigade, Babenhausen 42nd Field Artillery Brigade, Giessen 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fulda The 3rd Armored Division's shoulder sleeve insignia. [9] The three main combat forces headquarters for the 3rd AD were (1) Ayers Kaserne at Kirch-Goens and Schloss Kaserne at Butzbach (The forces at these Kasernes initially formed Combat Command "A" [CCA] of the 3rd Armored Division), (2) Coleman Kaserne at Gelnhausen (CCB/2d Brigade); and (3) Ray Barracks at Friedberg (CCC/3rd Brigade). 3rd Bn, 36th Inf (3rd ARB reorg/redes 3rd Bn, 1 Sept 1963) (1) Soviet military reductions precipitated the draw-down of the U.S. Armed Forces, eventually spelling the end of the mighty Spearhead Division, but not before the division carried out one more mission in the sands of the Arabian Desert as part of the U.S. VII Corps during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Designed to foster esprit de corps and a sense of continuity, USARS was meant to give soldiers recurring assignments with different battalions of the same regiment. From 1947 until 1951, the 1st Infantry Division was the sole U.S. division in Germany, although the various Constabulary units taken together were equivalent in size to another division. It left Camp Young in January 1943 and moved to the Indiantown Gap Military Reservation in Pennsylvania. On the night of 25 August 1944, the division began the crossing of the Seine; once completed, the 3rd moved across France, reaching the Belgian border on 2 September 1944.
