11th Armored Division (United States)

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name=11th Armored Division


caption=11th Armored Division shoulder sleeve insignia
dates=1942 - 1945
country=United States of America
status=Inactive
branch=AUS
type=
role=
size=Division
command_structure=
current_commander=
garrison=
ceremonial_chief=
colonel_of_the_regiment=
nickname= "Thunderbolt"
patron=
motto=
colors=Red, Blue and Yellow
march=
mascot=
battles=World War II *Battle of the Bulge
notable_commanders=
anniversaries=US Armor
previous=10th Armored Division ("Inactive")
next=12th Armored Division ("Inactive")The 11th Armored Division was an armored division of the United States Army in World War II.

History

The division was activated on 15 August 1942. It arrived in England 12 November 1944 and prepared for combat with two months' training on the Salisbury Plain. The division landed in Normandy, 16 December 1944, assigned to contain the enemy in the Lorient Pocket, but the Von Rundstedt offensive resulted in a forced march to the Meuse and the defense of a 30-mile sector from Givet to Sedan, 23 December. Launching an attack from Neufchâteau, Belgium, 30 December, the 11th defended the highway to Bastogne against fierce assault.

The division acted as spearhead of a wedge into the enemy line, and its junction with the First Army at Houffalize, 16 January 1945, created a huge trap. After the liquidation of the Bulge, the Siegfried Line was pierced, Lützkampen falling 7 February, Grosskampenberg on the 17th, and the key point, Roscheid, 20 February.

After a brief rest, the division crossed the Prum and Kyll Rivers, taking Gerolstein and Nieder Bettingen against violent opposition. Andernach and Brohl fell 9 March, in the sweep to the Rhine. In the swing southward to clear the Saar-Moselle-Rhine pocket, the Moselle River was crossed at Bullay and the Worms Airport captured, 21 March.

After rest and maintenance, the division drove across the Rhine at Oppenheim, took Hanau and Fulda, and headed for the Thuringian Forest, reaching Oberhof, 3 April. The offensive raced through Bavaria, Coburg falling on the 10th, Bayreuth on the 14th.

In the final drive, the division crossed the Regen river, 24 April, overran Grafenau and Freyung, and plunged toward the Danube, seizing Rohrbach, Neufelden, and Zwettl. The enemy put up its last fanatical resistance along the approaches to Linz, Austria, but the 11th entered that city, 5 May. Pushing onward, elements contacted Soviet forces, 8 May, the first unit of the Third Army, to meet the Russian armies. The war in Europe officially ended 9 May, and the division was placed on occupational duty until inactivation on 31 August.

External links

* [http://www.lonesentry.com/gi_stories_booklets/11tharmored/index.html Thunderbolt: The Story of the 11th Armored Division] (WWII unit history booklet)
* [http://www.11tharmoreddivision.com/index.html The 11th Armored Division Association]
* [http://www.battleofthebulge.org/fact/fact_sheet_of_the_11th_armored_di.html Fact Sheet of the 11th Armored Division] from http://www.battleofthebulge.org