WWII " 5TH ARMORED DIV. " THE VICTORY DIVISION IN EUROPE UNIT HISTORY W/ Maps RARE
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| Reference Number: Avaluer:529491 | Country/Region of Manufacture: United States |
Some overall wear and the map has a tear overall in really good condition. please see pictures.Story of the Fifth Armored Division102 page illustrated paperback with foldout mapattached at backUnstated print dateI BELIEVE IT WAS PRINTED IN 1945Printed in the printing and publishing house:Englehard – Reyhersche Hofbuchdrucleei, Gotha, (Germany). Founded1641 ___________________________________________________________________________________ This book has been... censored and may be mailed home. Itwas prepared and published by the public relations office, fifth armoreddivision. The division landed at Utah Beach on 24 July 1944 under thecommand of Major General Lunsford E. Oliver, and moved into combat on 2 August, driving south through Coutances, Avranches, and Vitré, and across the MayenneRiver to seize the city of Le Mans, 8 August. Turning north, the divisionsurrounded the Germans in Normandy by advancing, through Le Mêle-sur-Sartheliberated on 11 August, to the edge of the city of Argentan on 12 August—8 daysbefore the Argentan-Falaise Gap was closed.Turning Argentan over to the 90th Infantry Division, the 5thArmored advanced 80 miles to capture the Eure River Line at Dreux on 16 August.Bitter fighting was encountered in clearing the Eure-Seine corridor, the secondbig trap in France. The 5th passed through Paris 30 August to spearhead V Corpsdrive through the Compiègne Forest, across the Oise, Aisne, and Somme Rivers, and reached the Belgian border at Condé, 2 September.The division then turned east, advancing 100 miles in 8 hours, andcrossed the Meuse at Charleville-Mézières, 4 September. Racing past Sedan, itliberated Luxembourg City on the 10th and deployed along the German border. Thereconnaissance squadron of the division sent a patrol across the German borderon the afternoon of 11 September to be the first of the Allies to cross the enemyfrontier. On 14 September, the 5th penetrated the Siegfried Line at Wallendorf, remaining until the 20th, to draw off enemy reserves from Aachen.In October it held defensive positions in the Monschau-Hofensector. The division entered the Hurtgen Forest area in late November andpushed the enemy back to the banks of the Roer River in very heavy fighting. On22 December it was withdrawn to Verviers and placed in 12th Army Group reserve.Crossing the Roer on 25 February 1945 the 5th spearheaded the XIIICorps drive to the Rhine, crossing the Rhine at Wesel, 30 March. The Divisionreached the banks of the Elbe at Tangermunde, 12 April—45 miles from Berlin. On16 April, the 5th moved to Klotze to wipe out the Von Clausewitz PanzerDivision and again drove to the Elbe, this time in the vicinity of Dannenberg.The division mopped up in the Ninth Army sector until VE-day. The division consisted of these units:19415th Armored Brigade HHC31st Armored Regiment (Light)34th Armored Regiment (Light)81st Armored Regiment (Medium)65th Field Artillery Regiment (Armored)58th Field Artillery Battalion (Armored)85th Armored Reconnaissance Battalion46th Infantry Regiment (Armored)Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 5th Armored Division22d Engineer Battalion (Armored)75th Medical Battalion (Armored)145th Signal Company (Armored)21st Ordnance Battalion (Armored)19th Quartermaster Battalion (Armored) 1944–4510th Tank Battalion34th Tank Battalion81st Tank Battalion15th Armored Infantry Battalion46th Armored Infantry Battalion47th Armored Infantry BattalionHHB Division Artillery47th Armored Field Artillery Battalion71st Armored Field Artillery Battalion95th Armored Field Artillery Battalion85th Cavalry Reconnaissance Battalion, Mechanized505th Counter Intelligence Corps DetachmentHeadquarters and Headquarters Company, 5th Armored DivisionHHC, Combat Command AHHC, Combat Command BHeadquarters, Reserve CommandHHC, Division Trains75th Medical Battalion, Armored127th Armored Maintenance BattalionMilitary Police Platoon22d Armored Engineer Battalion145th Armored Signal Battalion628th Tank Destroyer Battalion (attached 2 August 1944 – 19December 1944, 28 January 1945 – 9 May 1945)629th Tank Destroyer Battalion (attached 29 August 1944 – 14 December1944)771st Tank Destroyer Battalion (attached 17 April 1945 – 24 April1945)387th AAA Automatic Weapons Battalion (attached 1 August 1944 – 25March 1945, 28 March 1945 – 9 May 1945)202d Field Artillery Battalion (attached 2 August 1944 – 25 August1944)The division's losses included 570 killed in action, 2, 442 woundedin action, and 140 who died of wounds. The division was inactivated on 11 October 1945, reactivated in1950 at Fort Chaffee, AR, and inactivated for the final time in 1956.
