9th Armored Division (United States)
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The 9th Armored Division (nicknamed "Phantom Division") was an armored division of the United States Army in World War II.
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[edit] History
The division was activated on 15 July 1942. It reached the United Kingdom in September 1943.
This information is totally erroneous. This author has apparently mixed his information with the 9th Division with the 9th Armored Division. The 9th ARMORED division didnt leave the United States until August of 1944. They were dubbed the "phantom division" by the Germans as a result of their participation in the Battle of the Bulge. This subsequent information should not be considered accurate.
The 9th Division was one of several real US Army divisions that participated in Operation Fortitude, the deception operation mounted by the US-British to deceive the Germans about the real landing site for Operation Neptune, the amphibious invasion of Northern France. The 9th was assigned to a camp on the British coastline opposite of the German defenses in Pas-de-Calais, ostensibly as part of the "First US Army Group" (FUSAG) under General Patton. While its members undertook training for the real invasion of the Normandy coast, the divisional headquarters was used to convey phony radio messages with the fake FUSAG HQ to make the Germans believe that an invasion of Pas-de-Calais by a massive army was the real intent of the Allies. The ruse was so successful that the German high command was completely fooled, and concentrated their reserves away from the Normandy Coast. In honor of their participation in this deception, the 9th was officially nicknamed the "Phantom Division."
The 9th Armored Division landed in Normandy late in September 1944, and first went into line, 23 October, on patrol duty in a quiet sector along the Luxembourg-German frontier. When the Germans launched their winter offensive, the 9th, with no real combat experience, suddenly found itself engaged in heavy fighting. The Division saw its severest action at St. Vith, Echternach, and Bastogne, its units fighting in widely separated areas. Its stand at Bastogne held off the Germans long enough to enable the 101st Airborne to dig in for a defense of the city. After a rest period in January 1945, the Division made preparations for a drive across the Rur river. The offensive was launched, 28 February, and the 9th smashed across the Rur to Rheinbach, sending patrols into Remagen. The Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen was found intact, and was seized by elements of the 9th Armored minutes before demolition charges were set to explode on 7 March 1945. The Division exploited the bridgehead, moving south and east across the river Lahn toward Limburg an der Lahn, where thousands of Allied prisoners were liberated. The Division drove on to Frankfurt and then turned to assist in the closing of the Ruhr Pocket. In April it continued east, encircled Leipzig and secured a line along the Mulde river. The Division was shifting south to Czechoslovakia when the war in Europe ended.
It was inactivated on 13 October 1945.
[edit] Units of the 9th Armored Division
- 2nd Tank Battalion
- 14th Tank Battalion
- 19th Tank Battalion
- 27th Armored Infantry Battalion
- 52nd Armored Infantry Battalion
- 60th Armored Infantry Battalion
- HHB, Division Artillery
- 3rd Armored Field Artillery Battalion
- 16th Armored Field Artillery Battalion
- 73rd Armored Field Artillery Battalion
- 89th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, Mechanized
- 509th Counter Intelligence Corps Detachment
- Headquarters Company, 9th Armored Division
- HHC, Combat Command A
- HHC, Combat Command B
- Headquarters, Reserve Command
- HHC, Division Trains
- 2nd Medical Battalion
- 131st Armored Ordnance Maintenance Battalion
- Military Police Platoon
- 9th Armored Engineer Battalion
- 149th Armored Signal Company
- 656th Tank Destroyer Battalion (attached 22 Feb 45 past 9 May 45)
- 811th Tank Destroyer Battalion (attached 14 Nov 44 to 8 Jan 45)
- 482nd AAA Automatic Weapons Battalion (attached 22 Nov 45 to 9 Jan 45; 22 Feb 45 to 9 May 45)
[edit] Descendant Units
The 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division was first constituted on 29 August 1917. It was organized in December 1927 as Headquarters, 3rd Brigade, an element of the 15th Cavalry Division. The Brigade demobilized on 15 July 1919. The Brigade was reconstituted on 10 August 1921, joining the newly constituted 1st Cavalry Division. Never officially reorganized, the Brigade remained on inactive status until its activation on 15 October 1940.
The Brigade was converted and redesignated as HHC, 9th Armored Division Trains, and the unit deployed to the European Theater where it received campaign participation credit for the operations in Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, and Central Europe. The unit was awarded two Meritorious Unit Commendations with streamers embroidered Europe 1944 and Europe 1945.
Following World War II, the unit returned to the United States and was inactivated. It remained inactive until 15 July 1963, when it was relieved from assignment to the 9th Armored Division, converted and redesignated as HHC, 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division.
