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There was probably not a better trained armored division on
the Allied side during World War II than the U.S. 3rd Armored.
It had experienced sub-tropical weather at Camp Polk, Louisiana;
desert heat on the Mojave Desert; a wet fall at Camp Pickett,
Virginia; winter maneuvers, including snow, at Indiantown Gap,
Pennsylvania; and had provided cadres for the 7th and 5th Armored
Divisions and more.
In combat, our entry into the continent was facilitated by
Allied command of the sea and air.
We were one of two "heavy" armored divisions, under
an old table of organization and, as Martin Blumenson said, possessed
three combat commands instead of two, 232 Medium tanks instead
of the 168 allotted a light armored division, and with attached
units numbered over 16,000 men instead of 12,000.
Throughout the war, we were a part of FIRST ARMY, of which
General Omar Bradley said, "It bore the brunt of the really
tough fighting. Man for man, unit for unit, they were superior
to any army on the Western Front."
Combat Command A at Villiers Fossard was briefly under V Corps,
and Combat Command B was, west of the Vire, under XIX Corps.
But, from the Normandy breakout on, except for a brief period
during The Bulge, we were under VII Corps, commanded by General
J. Lawton Collins, later Army Chief of Staff during the Korean
War. Of Collins, Bradley said, "He was the ablest of all
our five corps commanders."
Of our commander, Major General Maurice Rose, only division
commander in Europe killed in combat, General Collins said, "He
was the top armored commander in the army when he was killed."
Although we led FIRST ARMY, the 3rd Armored did not win the
war alone! We had help, including the 1st, 4th, 8th, 29th, 30th,
75th, 82nd Airborne, 84th and 104th Divisions, at one time or
another. Plus, when conditions were right, we were supported
by General Elwood A. Quesada's IX Tactical Air Command and its
P-47's. Also, from time to time, we had attached artillery units,
including the much remembered 991st Field Artillery Battalion
and its 155mm self-propelled guns.
Our men were trained and held individually responsible for
their weapons and vehicles, and we entered combat knowing the
capabilities of our leaders. Our closest connection with other
divisions were the 1st, 30th and 104th Infantry Divisions in
VII Corps, and we felt for the 9th and 29th Divisions and their
losses in the Huertgen Forest.
Our supply people brought munitions, POL [petroleum, oil,
lubricants], and rations no matter how swiftly we moved. Our
superb maintenance people would pick up and repair tanks left
unclaimed by other units. Our medics were caring; our skilled
engineers had a bridging column; our anti-aircraft units were
capable of tremendous firepower; and, to get to the nitty gritty,
our tankers and infantry knew their business.
And, if there was one word we knew the meaning of it was CHANGE
-- usually for the worst.
Somehow, although others had been in combat longer, we had
more casualties than any other U.S. armored division in World
War II. And it was said that we shot up more artillery shells
than any other division from the Normandy campaign onward, which
should have evened things up as to casualties - enemy casualties,
that is.
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