10th Armored Division (United States)

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name=10th Armored Division


caption=10th Armored Division shoulder sleeve insignia
dates=1942 - 1957
country=United States of America
status=Inactive
branch=AUS
type=
role=
size=Division
command_structure=
current_commander=
garrison=
ceremonial_chief=
colonel_of_the_regiment=
nickname= "Tiger"
patron=
motto=
colors=Red, Blue and Yellow
march=
mascot=
battles=World War II *Battle of the Bulge
notable_commanders=
anniversaries=US Armor
previous=9th Armored Division ("Inactive")
next=11th Armored Division ("Inactive")

The 10th Armored Division (nicknamed "Tiger Division") was an armored division of the United States Army in World War II.

History

The division, which served under General George S. Patton's Third Army, was activated on 15 July 1942, at Fort Benning, Georgia. The 10th Armored Division entered France through the port of Cherbourg, 23 September 1944, and put in a month of training at Teurtheville, France, before entering combat. Leaving Teurtheville, 25 October, the Division moved to Mars-la-Tour, where it entered combat, 1 November, in support of the XX Corps, containing enemy troops in the area. In mid-November it went on the offensive, crossed the Moselle at Mailing, and drove to the Saar River, north of Metz. The Division was making preparations for the Third Army drive to the Rhine when it was ordered north to stop the German winter offensive, 17 December. The 10th held defensive positions against heavy opposition near Bastogne, Noville, and Bras. Resting briefly in early January, the 10th moved out again to defensive positions east of the Saar, south of the Maginot Line. On 20 February 1945 the Division returned to the attack, and took part in the clearing of the Saar-Moselle triangle. The Division then attacked north and captured Trier, 15 March. Driving through Kaiserlautern, it advanced to the Rhine, crossed the river at Mannheim, 28 March, turned south, captured Oehringen and Heilbronn, crossed the Rems and Fils Rivers, and reached Kirchheim, meeting waning resistance. The Division crossed the Danube, 23-25 April, and took Oberammergau. On April 27, the 10th Armored Division, along with the 103rd Infantry Division, liberated the Landsberg-Dachau concentration subcamp. In May, the 10th drove into the famed "Redoubt," and had reached Innsbruck when the war in Europe ended.

The division was inactivated on 13 October 1945, at Camp Patrick Henry, Virginia. It was reactivated as a reserve unit in 1946, and deactivated for the final time in 1957.

External links

* [http://www.tigerdivision.com/ TigerDivision.com]
* [http://www.lonesentry.com/gi_stories_booklets/10tharmored/index.html Terrify and Destroy: The Story of the 10th Armored Division]
* [http://10tharmoredwest.com/10thstory.html 10th Armored Division Veterans Western Chapter: The Story of the 10th Armored Division]