714th tank battalion. 714th Tank Battalion M4 (105) Sherman inverted and missing its turret while sporting at least two lateral penetrations near Herrlisheim : DestroyedTanks 2022-12-12
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The 714th Tank Battalion was a United States Army tank battalion that saw active service during World War II. The unit was activated in 1942 and trained at Fort Knox, Kentucky before being deployed to Europe in 1944.
The 714th Tank Battalion was attached to the 83rd Infantry Division, also known as the "Thunderbolt Division," and saw action in some of the most iconic battles of the war. The unit participated in the liberation of Paris in August 1944 and fought in the Battle of the Bulge in December of that year. The 714th Tank Battalion also played a key role in the Allied crossing of the Rhine River in March 1945 and the subsequent liberation of the Netherlands.
One of the most notable actions of the 714th Tank Battalion during the war was the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp in April 1945. The unit was among the first to enter the camp and provide assistance to the survivors. This event was a pivotal moment in the history of the 714th Tank Battalion and one that will forever be remembered by the members of the unit.
In total, the 714th Tank Battalion suffered over 500 casualties during the war and was awarded three campaign stars for its service in Europe. The unit was deactivated in 1945 after the end of the war, but its legacy lives on through the veterans who served in it and the history it helped shape.
The 714th Tank Battalion played a crucial role in the Allied victory in World War II and will always be remembered as a key component of the Thunderbolt Division. Its service and sacrifice will always be honored and remembered as a testament to the bravery and determination of the men and women who served in it.
Herrlisheim: What Became of the 12th Armored Division's Lost Battalion
The 12th Armored Division Graves Registration Report of 23 February indicated that the tanks inside the town had been destroyed by panzerfausts--infantry antitank rockets--and the tanks to the east by high-velocity cannons, a conclusion that was buttressed by the many antitank positions later found in the area littered with 75-mm. This Museum is located in Abilene and serves as a display and teaching museum for the study of World War II and its impact on the American people. We're defending this command post; we're holding this line. Retrieved 25 June 2015. The new VI Corps positions behind the Moder River greatly reduced the frontage Brooks' units would have to hold, but surrendered no great advantage to the advancing Germans. The group was known as Compnay D.
Seventh Army moves toward the front line near the border between France and Germany while a truckload of German prisoners heads in the opposite direction. The Seventh Army could not be strong everywhere, and the Germans probably could have penetrated Brooks' lines almost anywhere on the long VI Corps front without, however, achieving decisive results. If Hitler could not take Antwerp in the north, then Himmler was determined to present him with Strasbourg in the south. These units, considered inferior in maintenance and training to their counterparts in armored divisions, were usually quickly rotated between different infantry units, not only within a single division but among other divisions as well. On the night of 20-21 January those units of the VI Corps north of the Haguenau forest pulled back, moving southwest toward the Moder River. On March 26-27, the 784th Tank Battalion crossed the Rhine River and drove deep into Germany, the Shermans often carrying squads of 35th Division infantrymen. The wounded were piling up at the aid stations and battalion command posts.
714th Tank Battalion M4 (105) Sherman inverted and missing its turret while sporting at least two lateral penetrations near Herrlisheim : DestroyedTanks
Months of fighting had cost them 724 killed and 2,416 wounded in combat. In this photo of a desolate road near Herrlisheim, a destroyed vehicle sits where it was booby trapped by the Germans. Casualties were light, and the battle went according to plan. He reported several destroyed tanks in the eastern section of Herrlisheim and, flying east of the town, spotted 4 or 5 more and then 12 to 15 others, dug in and deployed in a circle for all-around defense, some painted white and others burned black. That evening German radio broadcasts boasted that an American lieutenant colonel and 300 of his men had been taken prisoner at Herrlisheim and 50 American tanks captured or destroyed. U LTRA, nevertheless, performed a valuable function, enabling its users to verify the welter of often conflicting information that poured in during the battle from POW reports and other conventional sources.
See de Lattre, History, pp. In Herrlisheim the new 12th Armored Division too often separated its infantry and armor, particularly in street fighting. Like other Americans, the tankers reacted with relief when they learned of the dropping of the atomic bombs and the end of World War II. But it has been such a privilege to meet and become friends with other Hellcats. The account of the action is based on the following sources: Seventh Army Historical Office, Interv Rpts, "12th Armored Division at Herrlisheim" interviews with members of the 17th AIB and the 43d Tank Bn, 12th AD ; ibid.
Operations were limited to sending out patrols, repulsing enemy probes, and engaging in sharp artillery duels. With the exception of the 11th Panzer Division, Hitler agreed to commit all of the ZAHNARZT forces to Alsace, but insisted that the 10th SS Panzer Division be employed east of the Haguenau forest, along the Rhine, to link up with Army Group Oberrhein's forces in the Gambsheim bridgehead; the remainder of the reserves could be used in whatever way the field commanders thought best. The attacking forces briefly managed to penetrate the new VI Corps lines in three places, but were promptly ejected by 14th Armored and 42d Infantry Division counterattacks. On the 20th, the end was near. We have been trying since January 2021 to find out when the other Oral Histories will be added 187 are missing , but so far have not gotten very far. A quick discussion between the tank and infantry company commanders determined that their force could not hold the town, and the tanks radioed back for permission to withdraw. Nevertheless, the bridgehead was cleared by February 11, and American troops finally occupied Herrlisheim.
These tanks were reported to be deployed in a circular defensive formation. Although badly battered by this date, the Seventh Army and its two corps were still intact and functioning well. In December 1945 they were shipped back to the United States, wondering after all they had experienced what kind of welcome they could expect to receive. Staff Sergeant Charles F. Herrlisheim was not a good place for a new armored division.
Handbook of Texas Online. Nicholas Novosel, skirted east --524-- of the town; and the 66th Armored Infantry Battalion, reinforced by elements of the 23d Tank Battalion and more artillery, made another attempt at the woods to the south. Although the armored infantry began to clear the town in house-to-house fighting, the Americans were unable to contact anyone because of the radio problem. But so far no American had entered Herrlisheim. By September 1944, the division was at Camp Shanks, New York, preparing to go overseas.
One message from the battalion operations officer reported incoming German antitank fire. Christmas Day, 1944, proved busy for the 56th Armored Infantry Battalion holding a sector of the front line. Shortages of personnel and equipment could not completely explain the marginal German showing. They knocked out one German tank at point-blank range and began shouting in an attempt to locate the infantrymen. Because of an intervening wall, the enemy tanks could not fire down into the sheltering Americans, but they continued to fire at the buildings.
