U.S. 7th Armored Division
Encyclopedia
Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
of the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
in World War II.
Activation and organization
The division was activated on 1 March 1942, reorganized on 20 September 1943 and arrived in the United Kingdom in June 1944.Action in France
The Division landed on OmahaOmaha Beach
Omaha Beach is the code name for one of the five sectors of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, during World War II...
and Utah Beach
Utah Beach
Utah Beach was the code name for the right flank, or westernmost, of the Allied landing beaches during the D-Day invasion of Normandy, as part of Operation Overlord on 6 June 1944...
es, 13–14 August 1944, and was assigned to Third U.S. Army. The Division drove through Nogent-le-Rotrou
Nogent-le-Rotrou
Nogent-le-Rotrou is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France.It is a sub-prefecture and is located on the Huisne River, 56 kilometres west of Chartres on the RN23 and 150 kilometres south west of Paris, to which it is linked by both rail and motorway...
in an attack on Chartres
Chartres
Chartres is a commune and capital of the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France. It is located southwest of Paris.-Geography:Chartres is built on the left bank of the Eure River, on a hill crowned by its famous cathedral, the spires of which are a landmark in the surrounding country...
. The city fell on 18 August. From Chartres, the Division advanced to liberate Dreux
Dreux
Dreux is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France.-History:Dreux was known in ancient times as Durocassium, the capital of the Durocasses Celtic tribe. Despite the legend, its name was not related with Druids. The Romans established here a fortified camp known as Castrum...
and then Melun
Melun
Melun is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. Located in the south-eastern suburbs of Paris, Melun is the capital of the department, as the seat of an arrondissement...
, where they crossed the Seine
Seine
The Seine is a -long river and an important commercial waterway within the Paris Basin in the north of France. It rises at Saint-Seine near Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plateau, flowing through Paris and into the English Channel at Le Havre . It is navigable by ocean-going vessels...
River, 24 August. The Division then pushed on to bypass Reims
Reims
Reims , a city in the Champagne-Ardenne region of France, lies east-northeast of Paris. Founded by the Gauls, it became a major city during the period of the Roman Empire....
and liberate Château-Thierry
Château-Thierry
Château-Thierry is a commune in northern France about east-northeast of Paris. It is a sub-prefecture of the Aisne department in Picardy.-History:...
and then Verdun, 31 August.
The 7th halted briefly for refueling and then on 6 September drove on toward the Moselle
Moselle
Moselle is a department in the east of France named after the river Moselle.- History :Moselle is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
and made a crossing near Dornot
Dornot
Dornot is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France.-See also:*Communes of the Moselle department*Parc naturel régional de Lorraine...
. This crossing had to be withdrawn in the face of the heavy fortifications around Metz
Metz
Metz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place...
. The 7th then made attempts to cross the Moselle northwest of Metz but the deep river valley was not suitable terrain for an armored attack. Elements of the Division assisted the 5th Infantry Division in expanding a bridgehead east of Arnaville, south of Metz, and on 15 September, the main part of the Division crossed the Moselle there. The Division was repulsed in its attacks across the Seille River at and near Sillegny, part of an attack in conjunction with 5th Infantry Division that was also repulsed further north.
Support Operation Market-Garden
On 25 September 1944, the 7th was transferred to Ninth U.S. Army and began the march to the Netherlands where they were needed to protect the right (east) flank of the corridor opened by Operation Market-Garden. They were to operate in the southeast Netherlands, so that British and Canadian forces and the 104th Infantry Division could clear the Germans from the Scheldt EstuaryBattle of the Scheldt
The Battle of the Scheldt was a series of military operations of the Canadian 1st Army, led by Lieutenant-General Guy Simonds. The battle took place in northern Belgium and southwestern Netherlands during World War II from 2 October-8 November 1944...
in the southwest Netherlands and open the shipping lanes to the critical port of Antwerp, to allow Allied ships to bring supplies from Britain.
On 30 September, the 7th launched an attack from the north on the town of Overloon
Battle of Overloon
The Battle of Overloon was a Second World War battle between Allied forces and the German army which took place in and around the village of Overloon in the south-east of the Netherlands between 30 September and 18 October 1944. The battle, which resulted in an Allied victory, ensued after the...
, against significant German defenses. The attacks progressed slowly and finally settled into a series of counter-attacks reminiscent of World War I trench warfare. On 8 October, the Division was relieved from the attack on Overloon by the British 11th Armoured Division
British 11th Armoured Division
The 11th Armoured Division, known as The Black Bull, was a British Army division formed in 1941 during the Second World War. The Division was formed in response to the unanticipated success of German panzer divisions...
and moved south of Overloon to the Deurne – Weert area. Here they were attached to the British Second Army
British Second Army
The British Second Army was active during both the First and Second World Wars. During the First World War the army was active on the Western Front and in Italy...
and ordered to make demonstration attacks to the east, in order to divert enemy forces from the Overloon and Venlo
Venlo
Venlo is a municipality and a city in the southeastern Netherlands, next to the German border. It is situated in the province of Limburg.In 2001, the municipalities of Belfeld and Tegelen were merged into the municipality of Venlo. Tegelen was originally part of the Duchy of Jülich centuries ago,...
areas, where British troops pressed the attack. This plan succeeded, and the British were finally able to liberate Overloon.
On 27 October 1944, the main part of the 7th was in essentially defensive positions along the line Nederweert (and south) to Meijel to Liesel, with the demonstration force still in the attack across the Deurne canal to the east. The Germans launched a two-division offensive centered on Meijel, catching the thinly stretched 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron of the 7th Armored Division by surprise. However, the response by the 7th Infantry Division and by the British 8th Corps to which the Division was attached stopped the German attack on the third day and then from 31 October to 8 November gradually drove the enemy out of the terrain that they had taken. During this operation, at midnight on the night of 31 October – 1 November Gen. Robert Hasbrouck replaced Gen. Lindsay Silvester as Commanding General of the Division.
Refit and retraining
On 8 November 1944, the 7th was again transferred to the Ninth Army and moved south to rest areas at and east of MaastrichtMaastricht
Maastricht is situated on both sides of the Meuse river in the south-eastern part of the Netherlands, on the Belgian border and near the German border...
. Following an inflow of many replacements, they began extensive training and reorganization, since so many original men had been lost in France and Holland that a significant part of the Division was now men who had never trained together. At the end of November, the Division straddled the Dutch-German border with one combat command
Combat command
A Combat Command was a combined-arms military organization of comparable size to a brigade or regiment employed by armored forces of the U.S. Army from 1942 until 1963...
in Germany (in the area of Ubach, north of Aachen) and two in the Netherlands.
Elements of the Division were attached to the 84th Infantry Division for operations in early December in the area of Linnich
Linnich
Linnich is a town in the district of Düren in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the river Rur, approx. 10 km north-west of Jülich.-Economy:Linnich is the home of SIG Combibloc the specialist for aseptic carton packaging....
, Germany, on the banks of the Rur
Rur
The Rur , — not to be confused with the Ruhr — is a river which flows through portions of Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. It is a right tributary to the river Meuse...
(Roer). The 7th was preparing to drive into Germany when the Ardennes offensive
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...
began on 16 December 1944.
Battle of the Bulge
The Division was transferred to U.S. First Army and ordered to St. Vith, Belgium, a critical road and rail center needed by the Germans to supply their offensive. Over the course of almost a week, the 7th (along with elements of the 106th, the 28th Infantry Division and 9th Armored Division) absorbed much of the weight of the German drive, throwing the German time table into great disarry, before being forced to withdraw west of the Salm River on 23 December. The Division moved to the area of ManhayManhay
Manhay is a Walloon municipality of Belgium located in the province of Luxembourg.On 1 January 2007 the municipality, which covers 119.81 km², had 3,185 inhabitants, giving a population density of 26.6 inhabitants per km²....
, Belgium, and by the end of December had cleared the town of the enemy. They were then relieved by the 75th Infantry Division. After a brief rest in January 1945, the Division returned to positions near St. Vith, attacked, and re-captured the town on 23 January 1945.
Movement into Germany
In February 1945, now attached to U.S. First Army's V Corps, the division returned to Germany. In the first week of the month, Combat Command R was attached to 78th Infantry Division for attacks on Strauch, Simmerath, Steckenborn, and other towns in the area of the Huertgen Forest. The Division remained in the area of Steckenborn, Germany throughout the month, waiting for the flood waters to recede after the Germans destroyed major dams in the Allies' path. However, large contingents of men were sent back into Belgium and attached to Engineer Combat Battalions (e.g. most of the men of 38 AIB were attached to 1110 Engrs at Stavelot) from 12 to 27 February, for use as laborers in using logs to build a solid base for the torn-up roads through the Ardennes Forest.In March 1945, the 7th took part in two major breakthroughs with a two-week period during which they established and maintained an important defensive position. The first breakthrough came early in March when the Division, as part of the III Corps, pushed east from the Rur river to establish a defensive position along the west bank of the Rhine, south of Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
to Unkelbach. The second major breakthrough began 26 March when the Division, still under III Corps control, took part in an armored offensive intended to break the thin crust ringing the Remagen
Remagen
Remagen is a town in Germany in Rhineland-Palatinate, in the district of Ahrweiler. It is about a one hour drive from Cologne , just south of Bonn, the former West German capital. It is situated on the River Rhine. There is a ferry across the Rhine from Remagen every 10–15 minutes in the summer...
bridgehead and overrun the rich German farmland to the east and north and surround the Ruhr Pocket
Ruhr Pocket
The Ruhr Pocket was a battle of encirclement that took place in late March and early April 1945, near the end of World War II, in the Ruhr Area of Germany. For all intents and purposes, it marked the end of major organized resistance on Nazi Germany's Western Front, as more than 300,000 troops were...
in a double envelopment.
In April, the Division completed their part of the encirclement of the Ruhr Pocket and captured the critical Edersee Dam. They then attacked into the Ruhr Pocket, in order to reduce it. On 16 April the LIII Panzer Corps surrendered to the Division and the eastern sector of the pocket collapsed. The Division, after a brief rest, were then transferred once again to the British Second Army and moved north to the Baltic Sea. From this area, Lt. William A. Knowlton
William A. Knowlton
General William Allen Knowlton was a United States Army four star general, and a former Superintendent of the United States Military Academy...
led a force eastward to make contact with the Russians. The Division remained in this area until the war in Europe ended.
Occupation duty
The Division was then moved into the future Soviet zone of occupation, at Dessau, Germany. President Truman wanted one of his Armored Divisions parading in front of him on the 4 JulyIndependence Day (United States)
Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain...
in Berlin, and 2nd and 7th Armored were both prepared for the honor. When 2nd Armored was chosen for the parade, 7th Armored immediately moved southwest to the future American zone of occupation.
The Division then began to be gradually filled with more and more new faces, as the veterans were transferred elsewhere. The first large contingent of veterans left in mid July: these were low-point men who were headed back to the United States to begin training for the invasion of Japan. Other large groups of high-point men were transferred to other units that were going back home before 7th Armored.
Korean War activation
The division was reactivated in the early 1950s but was never sent to Korea. It was stationed at Camp RobertsCamp Roberts, California
Camp Roberts is a California National Guard post in central California, located on both sides of the Salinas River in Monterey and San Luis Obispo counties, now run by the California Army National Guard. It is named after Harold W. Roberts, a World War I Medal of Honor recipient...
, California for the duration of the conflict.
Division achievements
During its service during World War II, the division captured and destroyed a disproportionate number of enemy vehicles and took more than 100,000 prisoners.Enemy vehicles destroyed and prisoners captured
- Armored vehicles destroyed: 621;
- Armored vehicles captured: 89;
- Miscellaneous vehicles destroyed: 2,653;
- Miscellaneous vehicles captured: 3,517;
- Armament destroyed: 583 pieces;
- Armament captured (only pieces larger than 50mm included): 361;
- Prisoners taken: 113,041.
Division statistics
- Distance travelled 2260 miles (3,637.1 km);
- Gasoline consumed 3127151 gal
- Ammunition expended
- 105mm: 350,027 rounds
- 76mm: 19,209 rounds
- 75mm: 48,724 rounds
- .50cal: 1,267,128 rounds
- .45cal: 540,523 rounds
- .30cal: 9,367,966 rounds
Decorations awarded
- Distinguished Service CrossDistinguished Service Cross (United States)The Distinguished Service Cross is the second highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of the United States Army, for extreme gallantry and risk of life in actual combat with an armed enemy force. Actions that merit the Distinguished Service Cross must be of such a high degree...
9 - Silver Star Medal 351
- Bronze Star MedalBronze Star MedalThe Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration that may be awarded for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service. As a medal it is awarded for merit, and with the "V" for valor device it is awarded for heroism. It is the fourth-highest combat award of the...
888 - Meritorious Service MedalMeritorious Service Medal (United States)The Meritorious Service Medal is a military decoration presented to members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguished themselves by outstanding meritorious achievement or service to the United States subsequent to January 16, 1969...
1,047 - Purple Hearts 1,211
External links
- 7th Armored Division Association
- 7th Armored Division Document Repository
- 7th Armored Division Troops in the Battle at Baraque de Fraiture, Belgium ("Parker's Crossroads") 20–23 December 1944
- US Non-Airborne Troops in Holland in World War II
- 87th Cavalry Squadron Reconn
- Lucky Seventh – The Netherlands
- Fact Sheet of the 7th Armored Division WARNING: the information on this link is extremely flawed: the units listed are not at all the units of the 7th Armored Division, and the purported history of the Division has major gaps and errors