1st Armored Division (United States)

1st Armored Division
Shoulder badge of the 1st US Armored Division
Lineup	1940
Country	United States
Armed forces	United States Armed Forces
Armed forces	United States Army
Type	Armored Division
structure	3 heavily armored combat brigades
Insinuation	III. US Corps
Location	Fort Bliss , Texas
Nickname	Old Ironsides
motto	Iron Soldiers!
Butcher	World War II Vietnam War Gulf War II Iraq War
Commanders
list of	Commanders
insignia
Identification symbol

The 1st Armored Division ( German  1st US Panzer Division ; nickname Old Ironsides ) is a large unit of the US Army with headquarters in Fort Bliss , Texas .

history

Second World War

North africa

The Old Ironsides was part of Operation Torch and landed in Algeria with the destination Oran . Despite strong French troops from the Vichy regime , the Allied forces were able to put down all resistance within three days and thus secure the bridgehead . They then marched towards Tunisia , where they encountered forces from the Axis powers . Rough conditions and poor road conditions prevented the possibility of taking Tunisia quickly and thus cutting off Rommel's supply lines.

In January 1943 the division was subordinated to the II Corps and was commissioned to defend central Tunisia against enemy forces. A month later, she met armored German units at the Kasserine Pass . In the battle of the Kasserin Pass , she suffered heavy losses and withdrew. The Tunisian campaign ended in May 1943 with the surrender of the Africa Corps .

The fallen on April 28, 1943 Corporal (Private) Nicholas Minue (1st Company, 6th Armored Infantry) received for his bravery posthumously the Medal of Honor .

Italy

An M24 tank of the division in Vergato , Italy (April 14, 1945)

The occupation of Sicily in the summer of 1943 paved the way for an Allied invasion of mainland Italy. As part of the 5th Army under Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark , the 1st Panzer Division broke enemy resistance on September 9 with an assault landing near Salerno , thus preparing the way to Naples for the advancing troops. The city fell on October 1st and the Allies moved towards the Volturno River.

In November, the unit attacked the infamous Gustav Line . Although the line could be broken, the Allied advance on Monte Cassino came to a standstill. In order to restart the advance, an amphibious landing was carried out at Anzio on January 23, 1944 , during which the 1st US Armored Division was able to push back several German counter-attacks. The division led the breakout from the bridgehead in the direction of Rome on May 23; Rome itself was liberated on June 4, 1944.

The persecution of the Germans continued to the north of the Apennines , where rough mountains and winter weather now stood between the Allies and the vastness of the Po plain. They penetrated the lowlands in April 1945 and finally forced the German troops in Italy to surrender on April 23, 1945 .

In June 1945 the 1st Panzer Division was relocated to the American Zone of Occupation in Germany , but returned to the USA in April 1946, where it was deactivated at Camp Kilmer in New Jersey . Only some sub-units of the division remained in Germany as part of the US constabulary there .

Korean War

The success of the new Soviet T-34 tanks and the outbreak of the Korean War brought new momentum to the development of the armored force. As part of the US armed forces set up for Korea, the 1st Armored Division was reactivated in Fort Hood , Texas on March 7, 1951. It was now the first division in which black soldiers were integrated in all ranks. It was still the only combat-ready armored division on the American mainland and the first to receive the new M48 Patton tanks. Training for nuclear war became a major topic in the mid-1950s. The Old Ironsides took part in tests on the "Atomic Field Army" at Fort Hood and in Operation Sagebrush , the largest combined maneuver since World War II. Upon completion of the exercise, the division moved to Fort Polk , Louisiana , their new home base.

Cuban Missile Crisis

At the end of the 1950s, at a time of tight budgets, the US Army's main interest in the nuclear battlefield disappeared. The 1st Panzer Division , now again stationed in Texas, became a pure training unit for training new cadets .

The beginning of the 1960s marked the introduction of many military innovations. Important changes in the organization, the doctrine and the introduction of new (large) equipment, among other things, showed the government's determination to be ready to fight anytime, anywhere. In 1962 the 1st Panzer Division was reorganized. Brigades took over from combat commands and the army aviation unit assigned to the division was doubled in strength. Intensive training followed the reorganization. In October 1962, shortly before the Cuban Missile Crisis , the 1st Panzer Division was declared ready to fight.

In response to the stationing of Soviet missiles in Cuba, the Old Ironsides were relocated to Fort Stewart , Georgia. The entire operation only took 18 days.

The division spent the next six weeks doing real-fire drills and amphibious landing drills in the swamps of Georgia and Florida. A highlight was the visit by US President John F. Kennedy on November 26, 1962.

Shortly afterwards the situation eased and the 1st Panzer Division was relocated to Fort Hood.

Vietnam War

Although the division did not take part in the Vietnam War as a whole , two units of the division, A Company, 501st Army Aviators and 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry fought there. Both were awarded Presidential Unit Citations , the cavalry even received two awards for bravery and three Vietnamese crosses of honor. Neither of the two units was officially released from the division, so the veterans are allowed to wear the badge of the Old Ironsides .

In addition, three infantry battalions from the division's brigades were formed into the 198th Independent Brigade and sent to Vietnam. Two of the three battalions were reintegrated into the division after the war, the 1st Battalion of the 6th Infantry Regiment and the 1st Battalion of the 52nd Infantry Regiment.

1968 was a year of civil unrest. After the assassination of Martin Luther King , street battles broke out in some inner cities. The 3rd Brigade was moved to Chicago to restore public safety and ensure its continuity.

In the early 1970s, all US forces were withdrawn from Vietnam and the US army was massively restructured. According to rumors, the 1st Panzer Division should be deactivated again. Veterans, however, organized a letter campaign to save the Old Ironsides .

On May 10, 1971, the division left their home in Fort Hood to be transferred to Germany. The 4th US Armored Division, which had been stationed in Göppingen and Franconia , was replaced there. The stationing locations were with the

• Headquarters and headquarters company in Ansbach
• 1st Brigade in Vilseck
• 2nd Brigade in Erlangen
• 3rd Brigade in Bamberg
• 4th Brigade in Katterbach near Ansbach, with the Cavalry in Schwabach
• DISCOM (Division Support Command) in Fürth
• DIVENG (Engineers Division) in Fürth
• DIVARTY (Artillery Division) in Zirndorf
• MI Bn (Military Intelligence) in Ansbach
• ADA (Air Defense Artillery) in Schwabach

Operation Desert Storm

After Iraqi troops marched into Kuwait, the unit was placed on alert in November 1990 and relocated to the Middle East. In less than two months, the division moved 17,400 men and 7,050 pieces of equipment by sea, rail and air to Saudi Arabia to take part in Operation Desert Storm . The 1st Brigade of the Division remained in Germany and was replaced by the 3rd Brigade of the 3rd US Infantry Division .

On May 8, 1991, the division returned to the Hindenburg barracks in Ansbach. The unit celebrated its triumph with a visit from the US Vice President and participation in victory parades in New York and Washington .

However, many of the combat troops did not return to Germany, but instead relocated, in accordance with the Pentagon's withdrawal plans, back to locations in the United States, where they were deactivated. In the following years all locations of the division in Middle Franconia were given up and the division was reorganized. They partially took over barracks of the completely withdrawn 8th US Infantry Division and the 3rd US Armored Division in Hesse . The headquarters was set up in Bad Kreuznach , but after this location was given up, it was later relocated to Wiesbaden .

Task Force Eagle

On December 14, 1995, the 1st Panzer Division was ordered to Bosnia-Herzegovina as part of Operation Joint Endeavor . This task force, known as Task Force Eagle , gained full control of its operational area during a handover ceremony with the United Nations at Eagle Base, Tuzla on December 20, 1995. After building the historic bridge over the Sava River on December 31 In 1995, the Old Ironsides , until then supported by troops of the US Corps V, were reinforced by Polish, Turkish, Russian, Danish, Estonian, Finnish, Icelandic, Latvian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Swedish and other American troops.

Task Force Eagle oversaw the ceasefire, demarcation between ethnic groups, disarmament of soldiers and the delivery of heavy weapons to designated depots. The unit also supported and monitored the first democratic national elections.

TF Eagle Force structure in December 1995: The National Support Element in Taszár in Hungary:

• 21st Theater Army Area Command
  • Logistics support element, 19th Transportation Company, 27th Transportation Battalion
  • 266th Finance Command, 29th Area Support Group, 51st Ordnance Battalion, 95th Military Police Battalion
  • 28th Transportation Battalion, 191st Ordnance Battalion, 330th Rear Tactical Operations Center, Civil Affairs Support: 16th Corps Support Group
• 1st Personnel Command
• 30th Medical Brigade
• 7th Signal Brigade

Lines of Communication Opening Forces:

• • 502d Engineer Company
  • 586th Engineer Company
  • 535th Engineer Company
  • a 1st Cavalry security unit
  • Two companies of middle bridge girders

Strike Force:

• 4th (Aviation) Brigade headquarters
  • 2-227th Aviation Battalion
  • 3-1st Aviation Battalion
  • 7-227th Aviation Battalion
  • A Company, 5-159th Aviation Battalion
  • 236th Medical Company

Initial Entry Force (Task Force Eagle):

• 1st Armored Division
• 3-325th Infantry (Airborne) Combat Team
• 67th Medical Detachment
• A Battery, 25th Field Artillery
• Parts of the US Air Force

1st Brigade Combat Team (BCT):

• • 1st Brigade headquarters
  • 3-5th Cavalry (Infantry)
  • 4-67th Armor
  • 2-3d field artillery
  • C Troop, 333d Target Acquisition Battery
  • 23d Engineer Battalion
  • 501st Forward Support Battalion
  • Combat support and combat service support elements

2d Brigade Combat Team (BCT):

• • 2d Brigade headquarters
  • 4-12th Infantry
  • 2-15th Infantry
  • 2-68th Armor
  • 3-4th Cavalry
  • 4-29th Field Artillery
  • B Troop, 25th Target Acquisition Battery
  • 40th Engineer Battalion
  • 47th Forward Support Battalion
  • Combat support and combat service support elements

Rear Division (also known as “Follow-On Sustainment Forces”):

• • A Battery, 94th Field Artillery (Multiple-Launch Rocket System)
  • 18th Military Police Brigade
  • 205th Military Intelligence Brigade
  • 22d signal brigade
  • Engineer Brigade
  • 16th Corps Support Group
  • 30th Medical Brigade
  • Division troops

On November 10, 1996, command was transferred to the releasing 1st US Infantry Division , and the Old Ironsides returned to their locations in Germany.

Kosovo

In April 1999, the 1st Armored Division was ordered to move its soldiers to Albania as part of Operation Allied Force in response to the ethnic cleansing in Kosovo . The soldiers of the Old Ironsides first entered Kosovo as part of Operation Joint Guardian . The mandate was to monitor the UN Security Council resolution and bring peace back to the region. On June 20, 2000, the division took command of the multinational East Brigade as a US contingent.

Iraq war

Officer of the 1st AD (right) next to two Iraqi soldiers while securing a search for weapons at Jazirah , Iraq 2008

On March 4, 2003, the unit was relocated to the USCENTCOM region and formed, along with brigade -size units from the 82nd Airborne Division , 3rd US Infantry Division , 1st US Cavalry Division , 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment and the 124th Infantry Brigade Task Force 1st Armored Division .

More than 39,000 soldiers were concentrated in the task force and were under the command of the division. The units secured suburbs of Baghdad and tried to restore and ensure stability and security.

assignment

Depending on the order, the 1st US Armored Division provides the full range of combat readiness and command of the ground forces in the theater of war assigned to it or the territorial area of ​​responsibility of the higher regional command to which it was subordinated .

organization

OrBat 1st Armored Division

The division is based in Fort Bliss , Texas .

• Staff and staff battalion
• 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team
• 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team
• 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team
• 1st Armored Division Artillery
• 1st Armored Division Combat Aviation Brigade
• 1st Armored Division Sustainment Brigade

M1A1 Abrams of the Old Ironsides during a maneuver in the Taunus

Nickname and badge

A few months after the commissioning of the Division in Fort Knox on 15 July 1940 started the first division commander, Major General Bruce R. Magruder , with looking for a nickname for the new Armored Division . He wrote a competition in which over 200 suggestions were made, including such as "Fire and Brimstone" or "Kentucky Wonders". On a painting of the USS Constitution that Magruder bought during a ship's preservation collection, he noticed the ship's nickname and noted the parallels between the warship's history and the fledgling division. Thereupon he ended the competition, and the 1st Panzer Division was given the name Old Ironsides, derived from that ship, on the same day .

The badge of the 1st Panzer Division is in distinctive colors, which are characteristic of US armored divisions. The badge is derived from the symbol of the US Army's tank troops in World War II ; a triangle in the colors yellow, blue and red, which represents the different branches of arms within the division: the cavalry , the infantry and the artillery .

On the triangle is the symbol of the former 7th Mechanized Cavalry Brigade , the predecessor of the Old Ironsides . The armored chain symbolizes mobility and protection through armor, the cannon the firepower and the lightning the speed of operations to be carried out. These are the three main characteristics of the armored force. The Arabic numeral at the top of the triangle indicates the first armored division. The nickname Old Ironsides , officially approved by the Department of the Army , appears below the triangle and is an integral part of the badge.

guide

Command Group

The command group of the divisional headquarters consists of Commander Major General Mark P. Hertling , his deputies Brigadier General James C. Boozer, Sr. (Operations) and Brigadier General Raymond A. Thomas III (Logistics), the Chief of Staff and Command Sergeant Major, Roger P. Blackwood Division.

List of commanders

Surname	Beginning of the appointment	End of appointment
Robert P. White	June 2016
Stephen Twitty	August 2014	June 2016
Sean MacFarland	May 2013	August 2014
Dana JH Pittard	May 2011	May 2013
Terry A. Wolff	May 2009	May 2011
Mark Hertling	May 2007	May 2009
Fred D. Robinson, Jr.	July 2005	May 2007
Martin E. Dempsey	July 2003	July 2005
Ricardo S. Sánchez	July 2001	July 2003
George W. Casey Jr.	July 1999	July 2001
Larry R. Ellis	May 1997	July 1999
William L. Nash	January 1995	May 1997
William G. Carter II	July 1993	January 1995
William M. Boice	May 1991	July 1993
Ronald H. Griffith	August 1989	May 1991
Frederick M. Franks, Jr.	July 1988	August 1988
Edwin S. Lealand, Jr.	July 1986	July 1988
Dave R. Palmer	June 1985	July 1986
Crosbie E. Saint	October 1983	June 1985
Thomas F. Healy	November 1981	October 1983
John C. Faith	September 1979	November 1981
Glenn K. Otis	January 1978	August 1979
William L. Webb, Jr.	August 1975	January 1978
Rolland V. Heiser	March 1974	August 1975
Adrian St. John, Jr.	August 1972	March 1974
James V. Gallway	May 1971	August 1972
James C. Smith	March 1971	May 1971
William R. Desobry	February 1970	March 1971
John K. Boles	April 1968	February 1970
Richard G. Stilwell	August 1967	April 1968
George Ruhlen	June 1965	July 1967
Harvey Jablonsky	March 1963	May 1965
Ralph E. Haines Jr.	February 1962	May 1963
Roy Lassetter, Jr.	May 1961	February 1962
Roland H. Del Mar	August 1960	May 1961
Franklin F. Wing	May 1959	August 1960
Delk M. Oden	December 1957	May 1959
Edward G. Farrand	March 1957	December 1957
Robert L. Howze Jr.	June 1955	February 1957
William S. Biddle	October 1953	May 1955
Lelander L. Doan	April 1953	June 1953
Bruce C. Clarke	March 1953	April 1953
Hobart R. Gay	February 1946	April 1946
Roderick R. Allen	August 1945	February 1946
Vernon Prichard	July 1944	May 1945
Ernest N. Harmon	April 1943	July 1944
Orlando Ward	March 1942	April 1943
Bruce Magruder	July 1940	March 1942

References

See also

• Foreign military bases in Germany

Web links

Commons : 1st Armored Division (United States)  - Collection of images, videos, and audio files

• Homepage of the 1st US Armored Division

Individual evidence

1. ↑ history.army.mil
2. ^ On order, 1st Armored Division deploys to a designated theater, conducts full spectrum operations in support of the regional combatant commander and redeploys to home station. Archived from the original on February 3, 2007 ; Retrieved May 16, 2008 .