- 12th Armored Division (United States)
Infobox Military Unit
unit_name=12th Armored Division
caption=12th AD Shoulder sleeve insignia
dates=15 Sep 1942 -3 Dec 1945
country=United States
allegiance=
branch=AUSType= [Pimpalicousnmen]
type=Armored Division
role=
size=
command_structure=
current_commander=
garrison=
ceremonial_chief=
colonel_of_the_regiment=
nickname=Hellcat Division
patron=
motto="Speed Is the Password"
colors=
march=
mascot=
battles=World War II
*Ardennes-Alsace
*Rhineland
*Central Europe
notable_commanders=
anniversaries=US Armor
previous=11th Armored Division ("Inactive")
next=13th Armored Division ("Inactive")The 12th Armored Division was an
armored division of theUnited States Army inWorld War II .History
The division was activated on
15 September 1942 .The 12th Armored Division landed at
Liverpool , England,2 October 1944 . It arrived atLe Havre ,France ,11 November 1944 . Advance elements met the enemy nearWeisslingen ,5 December , and the entire division moved against theMaginot Line fortifications 2 days later.In its advance,
Rohrbach and theBettviller area were liberated by12 December , and Utweiler, Germany, was seized21 December . After a short period of rehabilitation and maintenance, the 12th rolled against theRhine bridgehead atHerrlisheim that the Germans had established as part of theirOperation Nordwind offensive. German defenders repulsed two division attacks in the most violent fighting in the history of the 12th, during 8 to10 January and 16 to17 January 1945 . The division's attacks at Herrlisheim failed to use combined-arms tactics and were defeated in detail, resulting in two tank and two armored infantry battalions taking heavy losses. Poor tactics were compounded by terrain that was almost tabletop-flat, offering the German defenders excellent fields of fire. However, enemy counterattacks failed also, in part because of the firm leadership of the commander of Combat Command B, Colonel Charles Bromley, who declared his headquarters expendable and ordered all personnel in the headquarters to prepare a hasty defense. The division was subsequently relieved by the U.S. 36th Infantry Division. After recovering from the bruising experience at Herrlisheim, the 12th went over to the offensive and attacked south fromColmar . In a lightning drive, the 12th effected junction with French forces atRouffach , on5 February , sealing theColmar Pocket and ending German resistance in theVosges Mountains . Except for elements acting as a protective screen, the division withdrew to theSt. Avold area for rest and rehabilitation. The attack resumed,18 March 1945 .In a quick drive to the Rhine,
Ludwigshafen fell,21 March , and two other important river cities,Speyer andGermersheim , were secured on the 24th, clearing the Saar Palatinate. Maintaining the rapid pace, the 12th crossed the Rhine River at Worms,28 March , advanced towardWürzburg against light resistance, and captured that city. After assisting in the seizure ofSchweinfurt , the division continued towardNürnberg ,13 April , takingNeustadt , then shifted towardMunich ,17 April . Elements of the 12th raced fromDinkelsbühl to theDanube , taking the bridge at Dillingen before demolition men could wreck it. This bridge provided a vital artery for Allied troops flooding into southern Germany.The division spearheaded the Seventh Army drive, securing
Landsberg ,29 April , clearing the area between the Ammer and Wurm Lakes on the 30th, and moving deeper into the "National Redoubt." The 12th armored Division is recognized as a liberating element of theKaufering concentration camp s, arriving at several of the camps, on April 27-28, 1945."ushmm.org", [http://www.ushmm.org/lc_04/focus/pdf/airborne_101.pdf "Honoring American Liberators"] , 10 April 2007, retrieved 15 July 2008]Elements crossed the
Inn River and the Austrian border,3 May . The 12th was relieved by the 36th Infantry Division,4 May , and engaged in security duty until22 November 1945 , when it leftMarseille , France, for home. The 12th was nicknamed the "Hellcat Division" for its ferocious advance across Southern Germany.It was inactivated on
3 December 1945 at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey.Order of Battle
* 23rd Tank Battalion
* 43rd Tank Battalion
* 714th Tank Battalion
* 17th Armored Infantry Battalion
* 56th Armored Infantry Battalion
* 66th Armored Infantry Battalion
* 493rd Armored Field Artillery Battalion
* 494th Armored Field Artillery Battalion
* 495th Armored Field Artillery Battalion
* 92nd Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, Mechanized
* 119th Armored Engineer Battalion
* 82nd Medical Battalion, Armored
* 134th Armored Ordnance Maintenance Battalion
* 152nd Armored Signal CompanyReferences
* Oral History
* Book, "Our War for the World" (2002) (originally issued as "The Other Side of Time," 1987) by Brendan Phibbs, M.D., a combat surgeon in the 12th Armored Division, covers the division's experiences in Europe. The book has been called "one of the best five Allied memoirs of the World War II".External links
* [http://www.lonesentry.com/gi_stories_booklets/12tharmored/index.html Speed is the Password: The Story of the 12th Armored Division]
* [http://www.12tharmoredmuseum.com/ 12th Armored Museum] a museum celebrating the division
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