1.
United States Army
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The United States Armed Forces are the federal armed forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, from the time of its inception, the military played a decisive role in the history of the United States. A sense of unity and identity was forged as a result of victory in the First Barbary War. Even so, the Founders were suspicious of a permanent military force and it played an important role in the American Civil War, where leading generals on both sides were picked from members of the United States military. Not until the outbreak of World War II did a standing army become officially established. The National Security Act of 1947, adopted following World War II and during the Cold Wars onset, the U. S. military is one of the largest militaries in terms of number of personnel. It draws its personnel from a pool of paid volunteers. As of 2016, the United States spends about $580.3 billion annually to fund its military forces, put together, the United States constitutes roughly 40 percent of the worlds military expenditures. For the period 2010–14, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute found that the United States was the worlds largest exporter of major arms, the United States was also the worlds eighth largest importer of major weapons for the same period. The history of the U. S. military dates to 1775 and these forces demobilized in 1784 after the Treaty of Paris ended the War for Independence. All three services trace their origins to the founding of the Continental Army, the Continental Navy, the United States President is the U. S. militarys commander-in-chief. Rising tensions at various times with Britain and France and the ensuing Quasi-War and War of 1812 quickened the development of the U. S. Navy, the reserve branches formed a military strategic reserve during the Cold War, to be called into service in case of war. Time magazines Mark Thompson has suggested that with the War on Terror, Command over the armed forces is established in the United States Constitution. The sole power of command is vested in the President by Article II as Commander-in-Chief, the Constitution also allows for the creation of executive Departments headed principal officers whose opinion the President can require. This allowance in the Constitution formed the basis for creation of the Department of Defense in 1947 by the National Security Act, the Defense Department is headed by the Secretary of Defense, who is a civilian and member of the Cabinet. The Defense Secretary is second in the chain of command, just below the President. Together, the President and the Secretary of Defense comprise the National Command Authority, to coordinate military strategy with political affairs, the President has a National Security Council headed by the National Security Advisor. The collective body has only power to the President
2.
Fort Lewis
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Fort Lewis is a United States military facility located 9.1 miles south-southwest of Tacoma, Washington, under the jurisdiction of the United States Army Joint Base Garrison, Joint Base Lewis–McChord. It was merged with the United States Air Forces McChord Air Force Base on February 1,2010 into a Joint Base as a result of Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommendations of 2005. Joint Base Lewis-McChord is a training and mobilization center for all services and is the only Army power-projection base west of the Rocky Mountains and its geographic location provides rapid access to the deep water ports of Tacoma, Olympia and Seattle for deploying equipment. Units can be deployed from McChord Field, and individuals and small groups can use nearby Sea-Tac Airport. The strategic location of the base provides Air Force units with the ability to conduct combat, the Joint Base Garrison operates the installation on behalf of the warfighting units, families and extended military community who depend on JBLM for support. 627th Air Base Group Provides command and control and administrative oversight to the Airmen who perform installation support duties on behalf of the garrison, JBLM Soldiers receive medical care through on-base Madigan Healthcare System facilities such as Madigan Army Medical Center, the Okubo Clinic, and the Nisqually Clinic. JBLM Airmen receive medical care at the McChord Clinic as well as Madigan Army Medical Center, JBLM has more than 25,000 soldiers and civilian workers. The post supports over 120,000 military retirees and more than 29,000 family members living both on and off post, Fort Lewis proper contains 86,000 acres, the Yakima Training Center covers 324,000 acres. JBLM Main & North have abundant high-quality, close-in training areas, additional training space is available at the Yakima Training Center in eastern Washington, including maneuver areas and additional live fire ranges. In 2009, the former Fort Lewis Regional Correction Facility was remodeled and renamed the Northwest Joint Regional Correctional Facility, the facility houses minimum and medium security prisoners from all branches of the U. S. Also adjacent to the post is Camp Murray, Fort Lewis, named after Meriwether Lewis of the Lewis and Clark expedition, is one of the largest and most modern military reservations in the United States. Consisting of 87,000 acres of land cut from the glacier-flattened Nisqually Plain. A portion of the land was taken from the Nisqually tribes reservation. In 1927, Pierce County passed another bond measure to establish an airfield just north of Fort Lewis. The airfield, called Tacoma Field, opened in 1930 and was renamed McChord Field in 1940, McChord Field separated from Fort Lewis when the U. S. Air Force was created in 1947 and was subsequently renamed McChord Air Force Base. The two bases operated independently of one another for more than 60 years before merging in 2010. Fort Lewis began as Camp Lewis in 1917 when the citizens of Pierce County voted by an eight to one margin to bond themselves for $2 million to buy 68,721 acres of land and they donated the land to the federal government for military use. The only stipulation was that the tract be used as a permanent army post, Captain David L. Stone and his staff arrived at the camp site 26 May 1917, and a few days later the initial construction began
3.
World War I
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World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history and it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the worlds great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war, Italy, Japan, the trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. Within weeks, the powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, after the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, in November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, Romania joined the Allies in 1916, after a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives. By the end of the war or soon after, the German Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, national borders were redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created, and Germanys colonies were parceled out among the victors. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, the League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict. This effort failed, and economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation eventually contributed to World War II. From the time of its start until the approach of World War II, at the time, it was also sometimes called the war to end war or the war to end all wars due to its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. In Canada, Macleans magazine in October 1914 wrote, Some wars name themselves, during the interwar period, the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries. Will become the first world war in the sense of the word. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, when Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany
4.
91st Division (United States)
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The 91st Infantry Division was an infantry division of the United States Army that fought in World War I and World War II. From 1946 until 2008, it was part of the United States Army Reserve and it was briefly inactivated from 2008 until 2010 when it was elevated back to a division size element as the 91st Training Division. Constituted on 5 August 1917 at Camp Lewis, Washington, near Tacoma, in September 1918, the divisions first operation was in the St. Mihiel Offensive in France. Twelve days before the end of World War I, the division, as part of the VII Corps of the French Sixth Army, the division was awarded separate campaign streamers for its active role in the Lorraine, Meuse-Argonne and Ypres-Lys campaigns. In 1919, the 91st was inactivated at the Presidio of San Francisco, after being reconstituted in 1921 as part of the Organized Reserves, the division then served as an administrative control center for the next 21 years. After initial training at Camp White, the participation in the Oregon Maneuver combat exercise in the fall of 1943. Then, the division, now under Major General William G. Livesay, there, on the Italian Front, the 361st Regimental Combat Team was detached to participate in the battles for Rome and the Arno River. It became the first formation of the U. S, fifth Army to reach the river. In September 1944, the crossed the Sieve River, outflanked the famous Gothic Line. For its part in combat, the division was awarded the North Apennines, Po Valley, the division returned to the United States where it was inactivated at Camp Rucker, Alabama, in December 1945. Two members were awarded the Medal of Honor during the war, Roy W. Harmon, awards, MH-2, DSC-2, DSM-1, SS-528, LM-33, SM-43, BSM-4,152. S. In 1959, the division was reorganized and redesignated as the 91st Division, in 1993, the division was again reorganized and redesignated as the 91st Division and again in 1999 as the 91st Division. Its previous headquarters were at Parks Reserve Forces Training Area, Dublin, in its 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommendations, the Department of Defense recommended relocating the 91st Division to Fort Hunter Liggett. The four brigades of the 91st Division were redesignated as brigades, 1st Brigade is now 5th Brigade. 2nd Brigade is now 5th Armored Brigade, 3rd Brigade is now the 402nd Field Artillery Brigade. 4th Brigade is now 191st Infantry Brigade, the 91st Division moved its headquarters to Fort Hunter Liggett on 1 May 2009. The 91st Division was reorganized and re-designated as the 91st Training Brigade on 1 October 2009, the 91st Training Brigade was re-designated as the 91st Training Division on 1 October 2010. William Borders, Army Catholic Chaplain, was awarded the Bronze Star for Valor and he later became the Archbishop of Baltimore
5.
Division (military)
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A division is a large military unit or formation, usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. Infantry divisions during the World Wars ranged between 10,000 and 30,000 in nominal strength, in most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, in turn, several divisions typically make up a corps. In the West, the first general to think of organising an army into smaller units was Maurice de Saxe, Marshal General of France. He died at the age of 54, without having implemented his idea, victor-François de Broglie put the ideas into practice. He conducted successful practical experiments of the system in the Seven Years War. The first war in which the system was used systematically was the French Revolutionary War. It made the more flexible and easy to manoeuvre. Under Napoleon, the divisions were grouped together into corps, because of their increasing size, napoleons military success spread the divisional and corps system all over Europe, by the end of the Napoleonic Wars, all armies in Europe had adopted it. In modern times, most military forces have standardized their divisional structures, the peak use of the division as the primary combat unit occurred during World War II, when the belligerents deployed over a thousand divisions. With technological advances since then, the power of each division has increased. Divisions are often formed to organize units of a particular type together with support units to allow independent operations. In more recent times, divisions have mainly been organized as combined arms units with subordinate units representing various combat arms, in this case, the division often retains the name of a more specialized division, and may still be tasked with a primary role suited to that specialization. For the most part, large cavalry units did not remain after World War II, in general, two new types of cavalry were developed, air cavalry or airmobile, relying on helicopter mobility, and armored cavalry, based on an autonomous armored formation. The former was pioneered by the 11th Air Assault Division, formed on 1 February 1963 at Fort Benning, on 29 June 1965 the division was renamed as the 1st Cavalry Division, before its departure for the Vietnam War. After the end of the Vietnam War, the 1st Cavalry Division was reorganised and re-equipped with tanks, the development of the tank during World War I prompted some nations to experiment with forming them into division-size units. Many did this the way as they did cavalry divisions, by merely replacing cavalry with AFVs. This proved unwieldy in combat, as the units had many tanks, instead, a more balanced approach was taken by adjusting the number of tank, infantry, artillery, and support units. A panzer division was a division of the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS of Germany during World War II
6.
11th Airborne Division (United States)
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The 11th Airborne Division was a United States Army airborne formation, first activated on 25 February 1943, during World War II. Consisting of one parachute and two infantry regiments, with supporting troops, the division underwent rigorous training throughout 1943. Held in reserve in the United States for the first half of 1944, upon arrival it entered a period of intense training and acclimatization, and by November was judged combat-ready. The 11th Airborne saw its first action on the island of Leyte in the Philippines, in January 1945 the division took part in the invasion of Luzon. The two glider infantry regiments again operated as infantry, securing a beachhead before fighting their way inland. The parachute infantry regiment was held in reserve for several days before conducting the divisions first airborne operation, on 30 August 1945 the division was sent to southern Japan as part of the occupation force. Four years later it was recalled to the United States, where it became a training formation, one parachute infantry regiment was detached for service in the Korean War, but on 30 June 1958 the division was inactivated. It was briefly reactivated on 1 February 1963 as the 11th Air Assault Division to explore the theory and practicality of helicopter assault tactics, the divisions personnel and equipment were transferred to the newly raised 1st Cavalry Division. S. Infantry division of World War II, the division initially remained in the United States for training, which in common with all airborne units was extremely arduous to befit their elite status. The washout rate was high, but there was never a shortage of candidates, before training was complete a debate developed in the U. S. Army over whether the best use of airborne forces was en masse or as small, compact units. The 82nd Airborne Division had been inserted by parachute and glider and had suffered high casualties, Eisenhower reviewed the airborne role in Operation Husky and concluded that large-scale formations were too difficult to control in combat to be practical. Lieutenant General Leslie J. However, other high-ranking officers, including the Army Chief of Staff George Marshall, Marshall persuaded Eisenhower to set up a review board and to withhold judgement until the outcome of a large-scale maneuver, planned for December 1943, could be assessed. When Swing returned to the United States to resume command of the 11th Airborne in mid-September 1943, as the 11th Airborne Division was in reserve in the United States and had not yet been earmarked for combat, the Swing Board selected it as the test formation. The 11th Airborne, as the force, was assigned the objective of capturing Knollwood Army Auxiliary Airfield near Fort Bragg in North Carolina. The force defending the airfield and its environs was a team composed of elements of the 17th Airborne Division. The entire operation was observed by Army Ground Forces commander Lt. Gen. McNair, the transport aircraft were divided into four groups, two of which carried paratroopers while the other two towed gliders. Each group took off from a different airfield in the Carolinas, the four groups deployed a total of 4,800 troops in the first wave. The exercise was judged by observers to be a great success, McNair, pleased by its results, attributed this success to the great improvements in airborne training that had been implemented in the months following Operation Husky
7.
17th Airborne Division (United States)
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The 17th Airborne Division was an airborne infantry division of the United States Army during World War II, and was commanded by Major General William M. Miley. It was officially activated as a division in April 1943 but was not immediately sent to a combat theater. However, after the end of Operation Market Garden the division was shipped to France, the 17th gained its first Medal of Honor during its time fighting in the Ardennes, and was then withdrawn to Luxembourg to prepare for an assault over the River Rhine. The division then advanced through Northern Germany until the end of World War II, there, it was officially inactivated in September 1945, although it was briefly reactivated as a training division between 1948 and 1949. The Allied governments were aware of the success of these operations and this decision would eventually lead to the creation of five American and two British airborne divisions, as well as many smaller units. The 17th Airborne Division was activated on 15 April 1943 at Camp Mackall in North Carolina, once activated, the division remained in the United States for training and exercises. As the division, like all airborne units, was intended to be an elite formation, as the division trained, a debate developed in the U. S. Army over whether the best use of airborne forces was en masse or as small compact units. On 9 July 1943, the first large-scale Allied airborne operation–the Allied invasion of Sicily –was carried out by elements of the U. S. 82nd Airborne Division and the British 1st Airborne Division. The U. S. 82nd Airborne Division had been deployed by parachute and glider and had suffered high casualties, leading to a perception that it had failed to achieve many of its objectives. General Eisenhower had reviewed the role in Operation Husky, and had concluded that large-scale formations were too difficult to control in combat to be practical. However, other high-ranking officers believed otherwise, notably the U. S. Army Chief of Staff and he persuaded Eisenhower to set up a review board and to withhold judgement on the effectiveness of divisional-sized airborne forces until a large-scale maneuver could be tried in December. When Swing returned to the United States to resume command of the 11th Airborne Division in mid-September 1943, the objective for the 11th as the attacking force was to capture Knollwood Army Auxiliary Airfield near Fort Bragg in North Carolina, after which the maneuver was named. The defending forces were to try to defend the airport and the surrounding area, the entire operation would be observed by Lieutenant General McNair. His observations and reports to the U. S, War Department, and ultimately General Eisenhower, would do much to decide the success or failure of the exercise. These airborne troops then seized the Knollwood Army Auxiliary Airfield from the troops and secured the area in which the rest of the division landed. The exercise was judged to be a success by those who observed it. Due to the success of the units of the 11th Airborne Division during the exercise, the division also participated in the Second Army maneuvers in the Tennessee Maneuver Area from 6 February 1944. It finished its training on 27 March 1944, and transferred to Camp Forrest on 24 March 1944, the division staged at Camp Myles Standish on 12 August 1944 before departing Boston Port of Embarkation on 20 August 1944
8.
82nd Airborne Division
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The 82nd Airborne Division is an airborne infantry division of the United States Army, specializing in parachute assault operations into denied areas. Based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, the 82nd Airborne Division is part of the XVIII Airborne Corps, the 82nd Airborne Division is the U. S. Armys most strategically mobile division. Some sources consider the 82nd Airborne Division the most highly trained light infantry division in the world, recently the 82nd Airborne has been conducting operations in Iraq. The 82nd Airborne has been assigned to advise and assist Iraqi Security Forces, since its initial members came from all 48 states, the unit acquired the nickname All-American, which is the basis for its famed AA shoulder patch. Famous soldiers of the division include Sergeant Alvin C, York, General James M. Colonel Chris Gibson, Brigade Commander 325 Airborne Infantry, New York Congressman. The 82nd Division was first constituted on 5 August 1917 during World War I in the National Army and it was organized and formally activated on 25 August 1917 at Camp Gordon, Georgia. The division consisted entirely of conscripted soldiers. The citizens of Atlanta held a contest to give a nickname to the new division, Major General Eben Swift, the commanding general, chose All American to reflect the unique composition of the 82nd—it had soldiers from all 48 states. The bulk of the division was two infantry brigades, each commanding two regiments, the 163rd Infantry Brigade commanded the 325th Infantry Regiment and the 326th Infantry Regiment. The 164th Infantry Brigade commanded the 327th Infantry Regiment and the 328th Infantry Regiment and it sailed to Europe to join the American Expeditionary Force, commanded by General John Pershing, on the Western Front. William P. Burnham, who had commanded the 164th Brigade, led the division during most of its training. In early April, the division embarked from the ports in Boston, New York and Brooklyn to Liverpool, England, on 16 June it moved by rail to Toul, France to take position on the front lines in the French sector. Its soldiers were issued French weapons and equipment to simplify resupply, the division was briefly assigned to I Corps before falling under the command of IV Corps until late August. It was then moved to the Woëvre front, in the Lagney sector, the division relieved the 26th Division on 25 June. Though Lagney was considered a defensive sector, the 82nd Division actively patrolled and raided in the region for several weeks, from there it moved to the Marbache sector in mid-August, where it relieved the 2nd Division under the command of the newly formed US First Army. There it trained until 12 September, when the division joined the St. Mihiel offensive, once the First Army jumped off on the offensive, the 82nd Division engaged in a holding mission to prevent German forces from attacking the right flank of the First Army. On 15 September, the 328th Infantry, in order to protect the 90th Divisions flank, resumed the advance, and reached Vandières, on 17 September, the St-Mihiel Operation stabilized, and the 90th Division relieved the 82nds troops west of the Moselle River. During this operation, the division suffered casualties from enemy artillery
9.
1st Armored Division (United States)
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The 1st Armored Division—nicknamed Old Ironsides—is a combined arms division of the United States Army. The division is part of III Corps, with its base of operations in Fort Bliss in El Paso and it was the first armored division of the U. S. Army to see battle in World War II. Major General Robert P. White assumed command of the 1st Armored Division on 15 June 2016, the division command group consists of, Commanding General, Major General Robert P. White Deputy Commanding General, Brigadier general Frazer Lawrence. Deputy Commanding General, Brigadier general Jeffery Broadwater, Deputy Commanding General, Brigadier general Daniel Walrath. Chief of Staff, Colonel Charles D. Costanza, Command Sergeant Major, Command Sergeant Major Danny Day. Since relocating to Fort Bliss, Texas, the division has been reorganized under the new design, in which the deployable unit of maneuver is a brigade. The division consists of three brigade combat teams, an aviation brigade, a division artillery brigade, and a sustainment brigade. After the spring of 2015, 3rd IBCT deactivated after redeploying from Afghanistan, Magruder, after he saw a picture of the frigate USS Constitution, which is also nicknamed Old Ironsides. The large 1 at the top represents the numerical designation of the division, in January,1918, the Tank Corps of the United States Army was created with Colonel S. D. At his direction, a Lt. Wharton designed the coat of arms which was a triangle on a shield with a surrounding wreath. The triangle itself is an old heraldic element of design known as a pile. There was no shoulder patch in 1918, only this unit crest, the 7th Cavalry Brigade contributed the other part of the present day Armor shoulder patch. The brigade formed out of the 1st Cavalry Regiment at Marfa Texas, on Jan 16,1933 under General Van Voohris, the 7th Cav Bde included the 13th Cavalry. The 7th Cavalry Brigade had been organized specifically to develop the new armored force concept, Colonel George Linthwaite joined the 13th Cavalry regiment in 1933. Major General Robert W. Grow was instructed to develop a patch for the new armored force. Major Grow announced to the brigade that a contest would be held to design the new Armored force patch, a three-day pass was to be the reward for the designer of the winning entry. Private Linthwaite designed a patch which was 4” round and had a solid yellow-gold background to symbolize the Cavalry heritage, on the face of the patch he drew a stylized black tank track with drive and idler sprockets to symbolize mobility. In the center of the track at a diagonal, he placed a single cannon barrel, also in black
10.
2nd Armored Division (United States)
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The 2nd Armored Division was an armored division of the United States Army. The division played an important role during World War II in the invasions of North Africa and Sicily and the liberation of France, Belgium, and the Netherlands and the invasion of Germany. During the Cold War, the division was based at Fort Hood, Texas. After participation in the Persian Gulf War, the division was deactivated in 1995 and its units were later transferred to the 4th Infantry Division. The 2nd Armored Division was formed at Fort Benning, Georgia on 15 July 1940 and it was originally commanded by Major General Charles L. Scott, with Colonel George S. Patton, Jr. in charge of training. Scott was promoted to command the I Armored Corps in November of that year, the division, which in February 1942 passed over to the command of Major General Willis D. Crittenberger, served with the First, Seventh, and Ninth Armies throughout the war. The 2nd Armored was organized as an armored division, having two armored regiments of four medium tank and two light tank battalions of three companies each. Both types had a component of three mechanized battalions, although the heavy divisions maintained an armored infantry regiment organization. The 82nd Armored Reconnaissance Battalion was known as the eyes and ears of the 2nd Armored Division, the 2nd Armored Division had three artillery battalions. The division also had support units, including the 2nd Ordnance Maintenance Battalion, 2nd Supply Battalion, the 48th Armored Medical Battalion, the military police and band were tasked with headquarters defense of base operations under the banner of the 502d Adjutant General Company. Elements of the division were among the first U. S. military to engage in ground combat operations in the European and Mediterranean theater during World War II. The 2nd Armored Division, now commanded by Major General Ernest N. Harmon and they were part of the Western Task Force of Operation Torch, which landed at Casablanca in French Morocco on 8 November 1942. The remainder of Torchs American component were the 1st, 3rd, however, the 2nd Armored Division did not see much action in North Africa and instead remained in French North Africa on garrison and training duties. In April 1943 Major General Harmon relinquished command of the division to Major General Hugh Joseph Gaffey, Training in amphibious operations began in preparation for an amphibious landing at Sicily. Afterwards, the next went into action in the second landing at Licata. The 2nd Armored, operating closely with paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division, along the way the 2nd Armored Division captured thousands of Italian prisoners of war. During the campaign the division came under the command of the U. S, Seventh Army, under Lieutenant General George S. Patton, who had been a former commander of the division. Soon afterwards the 2nd Armored Division was sent to England, in preparation for the Allied invasion of Normandy, in April the division received a new commander, Major General Edward H. Brooks, a decorated veteran of World War I, replacing Major General Gaffey
11.
3rd Armored Division (United States)
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The 3rd Armored Division was an armored division of the United States Army. Unofficially nicknamed the Third Herd, the division was first activated in 1941, the division was stationed in West Germany for much of the Cold War, and participated in the Persian Gulf War. On 17 January 1992, in Germany, the division ceased operations, in October 1992, it was formally deactivated as part of a general drawing down of forces at the end of the Cold War. The 3rd Armored Division was organized as an armored division, as was its counterpart. Later, higher-numbered U. S. armored divisions of World War II were smaller, with a ratio of armored infantry to tanks. Each division type had a component of three mechanized infantry battalions. During World War II, these were organized operationally into task forces known as combat commands A, B and R, in addition to the core units, a number of other units of various kinds were attached to the division during various operations. In June 1941, it moved to Camp Polk Louisiana, on 9 March 1942, it came under Army Ground Forces and was assigned to the II Armored Corps. In July 1942, it was transferred to Camp Young, CA and from August to October 1942 and it left Camp Young in January 1943 and moved to the Indiantown Gap Military Reservation, Pennsylvania. The 3rd AD arrived in the European Theatre on 15 September 1943 and it remained in Somerset, England until 24 June 1944, when it departed to partake in the Normandy operations. The HQ was probably at Warminster with units in 5 Wiltshire villages and 3 villages in Somerset, There is a small memorial at Mere in Wiltshire. The first elements of the 3rd Armored in France saw combat on 29 June, with the division as a whole beginning combat operations on 9 July 1944. During this time, it was under the command of VII Corps and XVIII Airborne Corps for some time, and assigned to the First Army and the 12th Army Group for the duration of its career. The division spearheaded the US First Army through Normandy, taking part in a number of engagements, notably including the Battle of Saint Lô, where it suffered significant casualties. The engineers and maintenance crews took the large I-Beam Invasion barriers from the beaches at Normandy and they would then hit the hedgerows at high speed, bursting through them without exposing the vulnerable underbellies of the tanks. Until this happened, they could not get across the hedgerows, ordered to help close the Falaise Gap and Argentan pocket which contained the German Seventh Army, the division finished the job near Putanges by 18 August. Six days later the outfit had sped through Courville and Chartres and was located at the banks of the Seine River. On the night of 25 August 1944 the crossing of the Seine by the division started, once over, liberated in the path of the division were Meaux, Soissons, Laon, Marle, Mons, Charleroi, Namur and Liege
