5th Armored Division (United States)

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Shoulder patch of the United States Army 5th Armored Division.

The 5th Armored Division was a unit of the United States Army that consisted of armored fighting vehicles and mechanized infantry which was in active service during World War II.

[edit] History

The 5th Armored Division was activated on October 10, 1941, and reached the United Kingdom in February 1944.

The division landed at Utah Beach on July 24, 1944 under the command of Major General Lunsford E. Oliver, and moved into combat on August 2, driving south through Coutances, Avranches, and Vitré, and across the Mayenne River to seize the city of Le Mans, 8 August. Turning north, the Division forged the steel ring around the Germans in Normandy by advancing to the edge of the city of Argentan on 12 August—8 days before the Argentan-Falaise Gap was closed.

Turning Argentan over to the 90th Infantry Division, the 5th Armored advanced 80 miles to capture the Eure River Line at Dreux on 16 August. Bitter fighting was encountered in clearing the Eure-Seine corridor, the second big trap in France. The 5th passed through Paris 30 August to spearhead V Corps drive through the Compiègne Forest, across the Oise, Aisne, and Somme Rivers, and reached the Belgian border at Condé, 2 September.

The Division then turned east, advancing 100 miles in 8 hours, and crossed the Meuse at Charleville-Mézières, 4 September. Racing past Sedan, it liberated Luxembourg City on the 10th and deployed along the German border. The reconnaissance squadron of the Division sent a patrol across the German border on the afternoon of 11 September to be the first of the Allies to cross the enemy frontier. On 14 September the 5th penetrated the Siegfried Line at Wallendorf, remaining until the 20th, to draw off enemy reserves from Aachen.

In October it held defensive positions in the Monschau-Hofen sector. The Division entered the Hurtgen Forest area in late November and pushed the enemy back to the banks of the Roer River in very heavy fighting. On 22 December it was withdrawn to Verviers and placed in 12th Army Group reserve.

Crossing the Roer on 25 February 1945 the 5th spearheaded the XIII Corps drive to the Rhine, crossing the Rhine at Wesel, 30 March. The Division reached the banks of the Elbe at Tangermunde, 12 April—45 miles from Berlin. On 16 April, the 5th moved to Klotze to wipe out the Von Clausewitz Panzer Division and again drove to the Elbe, this time in the vicinity of Dannenberg. The Division mopped up in the Ninth Army sector until VE-day.

The division consisted of these units:

1941

5th Armored Brigade HHC
31st Armored Regiment (Light)
34th Armored Regiment (Light)
81st Armored Regiment (Medium)
65th Field Artillery Regiment (Armored)
85th Armored Reconnaissance Battalion
58th Field Artillery Battalion (Armored)
46th Infantry Regiment (Armored)
Headquarters
Headquarters Company, 5th Armored Division
22nd Engineer Battalion (Armored)
75th Medical Battalion (Armored)
145th Signal Company (Armored)
21st Ordnance Battalion (Armored)
19th Quartermaster Battalion (Armored)

1944-45

10th Tank Battalion
34th Tank Battalion
81st Tank Battalion
15th Armored Infantry Battalion
46th Armored Infantry Battalion
47th Armored Infantry Battalion
HHB Division Artillery
47th Armored Field Artillery Battalion
71st Armored Field Artillery Battalion
95th Armored Field Artillery Battalion
85th Cavalry Reconnaissance Battalion, Mechanized
505th Counter Intelligence Corps Detachment
Headquarters
Headquarters Company, 5th Armored Division
HHC, Combat Command A
HHC, Combat Command B
Headquarters, Reserve Command
HHC, Division Trains
75th Medical Battalion, Armored
127th Armored Maintenance Battalion
Military Police Platoon
22nd Armored Engineer Battalion
145th Armored Signal Battalion
628th Tank Destroyer Battalion (attached 2 August 1944 - 19 December 1944, 28 January 1945 - 9 May 1945)
629th Tank Destroyer Battalion (attached 29 August 1944 - 14 December 1944)
771st Tank Destroyer Battalion (attached 17 April 1945 - 24 April 1945)
387th AAA Automatic Weapons Battalion (attached 1 August 1944 - 25 March 1945, 28 March 1945 - 9 May 1945)