| Tank Corps of the American Expeditionary Force | |
|---|---|
Patton in France in 1918 |
|
| Active | either 22 December 1917[1] or 26 January 1918 [2] to 11 November 1918 |
| Country | USA |
| Branch | Army |
| Part of | American Expeditionary Force |
| Commanders | |
| Commander | Samuel Rockenbach[3] |
The Tank Corps of the American Expeditionary Force was the mechanized unit that conducted American tank combat in World War I. An initial plan for 2,000 light Renault FT-17 tanks and 200 heavy British Mark VI tanks was changed to 20 battalions of 77 light tanks each and 10 battalions of 45 heavy tanks each.[4] A total of eight heavy battalions (the 301st to 308th) and 21 light battalions (the 326th to 346th) were raised, but only four (the 301st, 331st, 344th and 345th) saw combat.[5] Captain George S. Patton was the 1st officer assigned to the unit and setup a light tank school at Bourg, France.[1][6] The 326th and 327th Tank Battalions were organized at Patton's school, while the 301st Heavy Tank Battalion was raised at Camp Meade, Maryland, and transported to the British Tank School in Bovington, England, for training.[1]
The 326th and 327th Tank Battalions (later renamed the 344th and 345th[7] and organized into the 304th Tank Brigade), were the first into combat, beginning with the Battle of St. Mihiel (as part of the US IV Corps) on 12 September 1918, followed by the Meuse-Argonne Offensive (as part of the US V Corps) on 26 September.[5][6][8] The small French tanks they were equipped with found the going hard and many were lost or ran out of fuel crossing the battlefield – the Germans forewarned had largely retreated from the salient.[9]
The 331st Tank Battalion (organised into the 306th Tank Brigade) first saw action in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive (as part of V Corps) in November.[5]
The 301st, equipped with British Mark Vs, suffered large casualties in the Battle of St. Quentin Canal on 29 September as part of the British 4th Tank Brigade, under the control of the Australian Corps.[7][8] Some tanks were hit by shelling before the start line, others lost when crossing an unreported British minefield. Of their 34 tanks participating only 10 made rallying.[9]:451
The 301st then seized the village of Brancourt on 8 October, fought in the Battle of the Selle on 18 October, and participated in a night attack on 22–23 October in the vicinity of the Sambre Canal.[7]
The AEF Tank Corps was disbanded after the November 11, 1918, armistice and remaining tank corps personnel transferred to the United States, where the Tank Corps, National Army was disbanded with the National Army in 1920.