6th Armored Division (United States)

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The 6th Armored Division ( German  6th US Armored Division ) was a unit of the American armed forces .

History of unity

Normandy

The division experienced its first deployment during Operation Overlord when it landed in Normandy in the summer of 1944. The division, which comprised around 250 armored vehicles that were 'brand new', was on the second when the Americans attempted to break out ( Operation Cobra ) Day, July 26, 1944, intended for use. The day before it was preceded by the motorized 79th Infantry Division , which had already largely cleared the road from the north along the Atlantic coast. Since the 4th Armored Division, advancing to the east, was able to 'smash' the last of the armored SS units, the Sixth made rapid progress across the Bridge of Coutances . On July 29 and 30, 1944, their commander, Lieutenant General George S. Patton , whose 3rd Army was in the gathering , drove them south.

“The 4th Panzer Division reached Avranches on July 30th towards evening and, fanning out of Avranches, won a bridgehead over the Selune at Pontaubault. The Americans were in Brittany. "

- Chester Wilmot : The Struggle for Europe, p. 416.

“Patton smuggled through 7 divisions in 72 hours on this one road.” The disorderly arriving sub-units were sent after the bridge in the roundabout in three different, marked directions and were able to regroup. The 6th Panzer Division headed west towards Brittany and advanced towards the port city of Brest.

“The 6th Panzer Division was halfway there on August 4th, but had been held up by Middelton (Major General, Commander of VIII Corps) who had ordered its commander, Major General GW Grow, to be a combat command since the previous afternoon sent back to silence a nest of resistance at Dinant. Patton was furious when the column stopped on August 4th and said to Grow, 'Don't bother with this or any other stop order unless it comes from me. ... '"

- Wilmot : Europa, p. 421f.

Patton ordered Middelton back to the headquarters, who could hardly influence the further operations in the Battle of Brittany .

Brittany

However, the division could no longer catch up with the lost 24 hours and thus no longer directly capture the port city. The Germans were able to successfully defend Brest until September 18, 1944.

As a longer siege was foreseeable, Brest was given up as a supply port for the time being and the 6th US Armored Division was ordered in two batches to Lorient on August 12 to replace the 4th US Armored Division there. The VIII Corps then began sending three infantry divisions to capture the Brest fortress on the second attempt. These were the 2nd , 8th and 29th Infantry Divisions .

Task Force B of the 6th US Armored Division advanced 180 kilometers from Brest to Vannes on August 13 and 14 , in order to relieve the units of the 4th US Armored Division that had been relocated to the east. On August 15, the entire US 6th Armored Division had arrived at Lorient. The front line enclosed the fortress Lorient and the Quiberon Peninsula in the east and in the west up to the Daoulas Peninsula. Since Lorient also had to be besieged (it lasted until May 10, 1945) armored troops were no longer needed. The US 6th Armored Division was relieved on September 10th by the 94th Infantry Division , which continued the siege, and moved east to the 3rd US Army.

The US 6th Panzer Division was involved in the defense of the Ardennes offensive from December 1944 .

Commanders

Major General William HH Morris February 1942 to May 1943
Major General Robert W. Grow May 1943 to April 29, 1945
Brigadier General George W. Read April 30 to May 31, 1945
Major General Robert W. Grow June 1, 1945 to June 30, 1945
Brigadier General George W. Read July 1 to September 18, 1945

literature

  • Chester Wilmot : "The Struggle for Europe". Gutenberg Book Guild, Atrium-Verlag 1955. Original edition “The Struggle for Europe”, London 1953, translated by Hans Steinsdorff.

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ The affected section of the front was from the German LXXXIV. Army Corps, which formed the left wing of the German 7th Army. The three American attack wedges severed it and its only rapid formations, the 2nd SS Panzer Division and the 17th SS Panzer Grenadier Division , got caught up in their own counter-attack from Coutances from the east and north. See: Wilmot: Europa, p. 414.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Wilmot: Der Kampf um Europa, Gutenberg Book Guild, Atrium-Verlag, Zurich 1955, p. 421.
  2. ↑ Wilmot: Europa, p. 422