The United States Armored Division, 1944 to 1945
Divisional Troops
Divisional Headquarters
Headquarters Company
Signal Company
Military Police Platoon
Mechanized Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron
Combat Command Headquarters
Headquarters, Combat Command “A”
Headquarters, Combat Command “B”
Headquarters, Combat Command “C” or “R”
Armored
Three Medium Tank Battalions
Infantry
Three Armored Infantry Battalions – click on The United States Armored Infantry Battalion link for more detail.
Divisional Artillery
Headquarters and Headquarters Battery
Three Armored Artillery Battalions – each with eighteen 105-mm self-propelled howitzers, divided into three Batteries of six guns each.
Engineer Battalion
Headquarters and Headquarters Company
Three Companies
Armored Division Trains
Headquarters and Headquarters Company
Ordnance Maintenance Battalion
Medical
Medical Battalion
Points of note
The Armored Division was substantially reorganised in late 1943, resulting in what was sometimes referred to as the ‘light’ Armored Division.
Numerous changes were made. Firstly, the previous Regimental structure was discarded. Secondly, the number of Tank Battalions was reduced from six to three, each now with a mix of light and medium machines. The deleted Regimental Headquarters were replaced by two Combat Commands, each of which could control a mix of tank and infantry units, with a third, smaller, Combat Command Headquarters to oversee the Divisional reserve. Artillery and Engineers remained much the same, but the Reconnaissance unit was also overhauled.
There were three important exceptions to the above however, found in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Armored Divisions. All these formations were organised on the earlier 1942 model, and saw action as such in North Africa and the Mediterranean. When the newer Armored Divisions adopted the ‘light’ model, they retained the older organisation, 1st Armored reorganising in mid 1944 in Italy, but not 2nd and 3rd Armored. That should not be interpreted as saying their subunits still adhered to the older Battalion tables of organisation and equipment, which included obsolete items such as the 37-mm antitank gun. In reality, Battalions were most likely organised on the various 1943 structures, with the Armored and Infantry Regimental Headquarters standing in for the Combat Commands.
Return to...