746th TANK BATTALION HISTORY, 9th ARMORED DIVISION  The history of a separate fighting unit like the 746th is a difficult task to write because of the structure of warfare that existed during World War II. Units were shifted from one Division to another depending on the necessities of the moment. Constantly shifting priorities mandated these separate units move to support infantry, fighting side- by- side to eliminate a stubborn foe.  Often these separate units lost their identities to the larger and more publicize Armor and Infantry divisions. The 746th Tank Battalion was activated on August 20, 1942 at Camp Rucker, Alabama.  The initial activating officers came from an existing unit, the 760th Tank Battalion; and the initial cadre of enlisted men came from the existing 70th Tank Battalion. In time, the Battalion grew to its assigned strength of 750 men through assignments of new personnel from the Armor School at Fort Knox, Kentucky and from various units throughout the country. ( Many of the young recruits were drawn from Texas and Louisiana).  The 746th underwent extensive training at Camp Rucker, Alabama until late summer of 1943.  It then moved to Camp Pickett, Virginia for final preparations for embarkation overseas. At the end of January 1944, the Battalion boarded the U.S.S Acquantia and sailed from New York to England.  There it was assigned to Headquarters, European Theater of Operations (ETO).  It was further assigned to the United States First Army and was based in Fairford, England.  At Fairford, the Battalion received advanced training for what everyone expected to be an assault on the European continent. The 746th Tank Battalion was committed into action with an assault landing in Normandy, France (Utah Beach) on D-Day, the 6th of June 1944.  The Battalion landed on Utah Beach between 0900 and 1100 hours.  As part of the 4th Infantry Division, it played and immediate role in the initial breakout to secure a beachhead.  Moving inland, the Unit teamed up with the 82nd Airborne, who had parachuted into Normandy during the night, and was instrumental in securing the town of St. Mere Eglise ( click here to see map ) . During the remainder of June and most of July, the Battalion fought its way through Normandy.  As was the case with most separate Tank Battalions during World War II, the 746th was attached to various front-line divisions to support infantry units.  During mid -June through early July, the Battalion was assigned to the 9th Infantry Division and participated in cutting off the Cotentin (Normandy) peninsula, thus entrapping all the German troops above the line at Barneville-sur-mer ( click here to see map ). Turning northward on the Peninsula, the 746th with infantry support, had a direct role in the capture of the great port city of Cherbourgh.  As part of the 9th, during the attack on Cherbough from 22- 26 June 1944, the Battalion fought side-by -side with elements of the 47th, 60th and 39th Infantry Regiments until the capture of Cherbough on 27 June 1944. From the 5th July - 16th July 1944, the Battalion was attached to the 83rd Infantry Division.  After the 16th of July, the Battalion, with its companies, platoons and service company,  was permanently assigned to the 9th Infantry Division;  which it supported during the remainder of the War in Europe. The month of July was a difficult time for the 746th as evidenced from the official combat tank loses: 44 tanks were destroyed that month. The Battalion participated in the St. Lo (France) breakout; after which, with the 9th Infantry Division, made a rapid pace drive across France and into Belgium.  The Battalion earned a Special  Belgium Order of The Day Citation for its actions during the 3rd - 13th September,  in crossing the Meuse River at Dinant on the Belgium border; thereby liberating Belgium territory in that zone. Some elements of the Battalion, with the 47th Combat Regiment,  liberated the Belgium town of Liege on the 9th of September before crossing the Seigfried Line on the 14th of September 1944,  near the German frontier town of Roetgen. The weather during October was the enemy of both sides.  Rainy weather mired down jeeps, tanks and the legs of men on the line.  The Battalion found itself stretched along a line from Mausback, northeast to Schevenhuette and turning south to the forest areas east of Roetgen and Lammersdorf. In late October 1944, orders were issued to relieve the 9th  from front line duty and to proceed to Camp Elsenborn, Belgium for a well deserved rest, less the 47th Combat Regiment.  At the same time the 9th became attached to the V Corps, while the 47th stayed with the VII Corps and continued the northern push  into the Huertgen Forest area.  The composition of the 47th Combat Regiment (C.R.) at this time consisted of the following:      47th Infantry Regiment      84th Field Artillery Battery      Co B 9th Medical Battalion      Co C 899th Tank Destroyer Battalion      Co A 746th Tank Battalion      Co D 87th Mortar Battalion       9th Signal Company      D battery 376th AAA . During early November, as part of the 47th  Combat Regiment, Co A of the 746th Tank Battalion participated in a coordinated offensive with the 104th Infantry Division to secure the Northern tip of the Huertgen Forest. This resulted in the capture of the towns of Schevenhuette, Gressenich , Huecheln, Langerwehe and the great fortress Castle of Frenzerberg,  located east of  the town of Weisweiler,  by the 28 of November (click here to see map ) . Winter was already bearing down on the soldiers and equipment and there was anticipation in the air that something was about to change.  On the 16th of December 1944, the Germans launched the counteroffensive action later known as the "Battle of the Bulge" (click here to see map ).  The Battalion had an active part in the Ardennes since they were positioned on the northern flank of the German penetration with the mission of containing the advance. This would also  prevent an  expansion of the movement toward the Meuse River and on to Brussels.   Elements of the Battalion assigned to the 47th Combat Regiment together with a host of other units were cast in the role of defending the Monschau-Elsenbron area against Germany's best.  The Battalion, for its role during the period from 20th December to 26th January 1945, in defending and repelling the German offensive, was awarded its second Special  Belgium Order of The Day Citation  by the Belgium Government. January and February 1945 were spent in Germany primarily in the battles of the Huertgen Forest, the capture of the famous Schammapuel (Schmidt) Dam, and the Roer River crossing.  This was all part of a giant pincer movement to close the Ruhr pocket aimed at closing down the German industrial capabilities and trapping thousands of enemy troops. In early March, the 47th Combat Regiment, with elements of the 746th Tank Battalion, was attached to the 9th Armor Division preparatory to moving south and across the Rhine.  The crossing of the Rhine occurred at the Ludendoff bridge(click here to see ) near the small town of Remagen. Thus, the Battalion became the first separate Tank Battalion to cross the Rhine and help establish a bridgehead.   For this action, Co. A  of the Battalion won a Distinguish Unit Citation. There was still heavy fighting ahead as the Germans were being pressed from the East as well as the West. But as April drew to a close, the fighting eased, and on May 8th the Germans signed the unconditional terms of surrender.  The Battalion was just a few miles from Berlin at that point in time. Shortly after the end of the war, the 746th was moved to Bavaria in Southern Germany.  There it performed occupation duty until October, at which time it returned to the United States.  On 26th of October 1945, the 746th Tank Battalion was inactivated at Camp Shanks, New York marking 38 months of proud and distinguished service to its country. CAMPAIGN STREAMERS World War II    Normandy (with arrowhead)    Northern France    Rhineland    Ardennes-Alsace    Central Europe DECORATIONS  Presidential Unit Citation (Army), Streamer embroidered REMAGEN BRIDGEHEAD (Co A, 746th Tank Bn    cited for period 8-19 Mar 1945) Meritorious Unit Commendation, Streamer embroidered EUROPEAN THEATER (Service Co, 746th Tank Bn    cited for period 6 June-31 Aug 1944)  Special Order of the Day of the Belgium Army Citation for action along the MEUSE RIVER (746th Tank Bn    cited for period 3-13 Sept 1944)  Special Order of the Day of the Belgium Army Citation for action in the ARDENNES (746th Tank Bn cited    for period 20 Dec 1944- 26 Jan 1945)

776th Tank Destroyer Battalion Combat History The 776th Tank Destroyer Battalion was activated at Fort Lewis, Washington, on 20 December 1941, as part of the newly formed 9th Armored Division. The unit which served as the basis for its formation was the Provisional Antitank Battalion of the National Guard’s 76th Field Artillery Brigade, which had been called into Federal service (on active duty) in April of the same year. At the time of formal activation, the 776th’s personnel were Guardsmen from the following units and areas: Headquarters Company: Battery G, 183rd Field Artillery Regiment; Pocatello, Idaho, as well as individual soldiers from Headquarters Battery, 76th Field Artillery Brigade and from the 183rd and 188th Field Artillery Regiments. Company A: Battery G, 188th Field Artillery Regiment; Minot, North Dakota. Company B: Battery H, 188th Field Artillery Regiment; Lisbon, North Dakota. Company C: Formed in January, 1942, consisting of personnel from the other companies within the battalion. Recon Company: Battery H, 183rd Field Artillery Regiment; Rexburg, Idaho. Initially, the battalion was equipped with truck-drawn 75mm guns of WWI vintage. In April, 1942, the Battalion was reequipped with half tracks mounting the same type of 75mm gun on which the Battalion’s soldiers were already highly trained. Additional equipment included 37mm antitank guns mounted on M1937 weapons carriers and .50-caliber machine guns. M3 Self-Propelled Gun. Nothing more than a half-track with a WWI-vintage 75mm field gun welded to the back deck, this was nevertheless an improvement over the truck-drawn 75s first issued to the 776th upon formation. (US Army Military History Institute) The Battalion departed Fort Lewis in late July 1942 for further training at Fort Hood, Texas. Fortunately for the soldiers of the Battalion, in November 1942, the M-10 Tank Destroyer was issued to the 776th to replace the primitive and obsolescent weapons with which they had previously trained. With its 76mm gun, the M-10 was, at that time, the most heavily armed armored vehicle possessed by the Western Allies, capable of outgunning all but the newest of German tanks or tank destroyers. Its men and equipment departed the New York Port of Embarkation on 14 January and arrived in Casablanca, French Morocco, eleven days later. In late February, the Battalion moved to Algeria, and in March, it was committed to combat in Tunisia. The 776th experienced its baptism of fire at the battle of El Guettar, the first major victory by the US Army against the Germans. Throughout the next two months, often attached to the 1st Armored Division, the 776th saw a great deal of action against the veterans of Army Group Afrika, as they took part in most of the important battles of the Tunisian campaign. The veterans of the 776th next saw combat in Italy, where they went ashore at Salerno in mid-September 1943. Attached to the 34th Infantry Division, the Battalion conducted extensive reconnaissance and countermine support for the infantry and indirect fire missions in reinforcement of the Red Bull Division field artillery. Subsequent Battalion operations in Italy included the fiercely-contested assault crossing of the Volturno River, the infamous and costly battle for San Pietro, the crossing of the Rapido, and the legendary battle for Cassino. After a brief period off the line in March/April, the 776th was attached to the 85th Infantry Division and participated the great drive on Rome. After the fall of Rome, the Battalion supported the 34th and 91st Infantry Divisions and the 1st Armored Division as the Fifth Army continued its offensive up the “boot” of Italy. In early September 1944, the Battalion was relieved from assignment to Fifth Army and ordered to embark from Naples for France, where it would be reassigned to the Seventh Army. Before the 776th left Naples, however, it was reequipped with the most powerful antitank weapon in the Allied inventory: the M36 “Slugger” tank destroyer, mounting a high velocity 90mm main gun. 776th TD Battalion Slugger, displaying its powerful 90mm main gun. (Informal History of the 776th TD Battalion)