Speed and Power: The 4th AD’S Mobility Rolled Through Europe ARMOR Staff

.3ove, 4tn AU tanks on tne aetensive near Bastogne. w o w , tne face ot 4th AD s StiT Hobart Drew retiected the dtvisi0n.s frantic pace 50th Anniversarv - 4th Armored Division Speed and Power - The 4th AD’S Mobility Rolled Through Europe “Tlte accorirplislinteirts of this division Irave never been equaled. And that statenrent, I do not mean in this war; I itrean in the Ais-tory of waqare. Tltere has never been slicli a superb figlrtiiig otganizatioii ...“ -General George S. Pattoir Activated 50 years ago, April 15, 1941, at Pine Camp, N.Y., the 4th Armored Division trained in the United States for 32 months before shipping out for the European Theater. This training prepared it for fighting in any terrain and climate. The division trained in wintry northern New York State; came south for the Tennessee Maneuvers in fall, 1942; participated in the first California Maneuvers at the Desert Training Center; and was later stationed at Camp Bowie, Texas, before leaving through the port of Boston, Mass., on the way to England. Six months later in July, 1944, the unit’ entered combat in France after landing at Utah Beach. Led by its legendary and well-loved commander, MG John S. (“P”) Wood, it brought with it a remarkable esprit de corps. “We felt that we were destined for greatness, much the same feeling that a college football team must have when it senses the national championship,” said Albin F. Irzyk, a college football star who w e n t on to serve as a junior officer in the 4th AD when it landed at Normandy. ~~ ~~ World War II Campaigns of the 4th Armored Division Normandy Northern France Rhineland Ardennes-Alsace Central Europe c Irzyk fought with the 4th through five European campaigns, led the 8th Tank Battalion in the relief of 34 ARMOR - March-April 7997

Bastogne, and retired a brigadier general. In his tribute to the unusual qualities of his division, which appeared in the July-August 1987 issue of

ARMOR,

BG Irzyk credited Wood with inspiring his tankers with a winning spirit and a sense that they were something special. Although MG Wood was later relieved in December 1944 in a controversial and still mysterious incident, his troopers continued to think of him as their spiritual leader, and of themselves as Wood had inspired them in their long months of training. "He had taught us to believe in ourselves, to feel that we could do anything, that we were the very best, a different breed," Irzyk wrote. "rite sertsatiortal success of General Wood's 4th Anitored Divisiort Itad a- ploded the riiglttritare of static warfare that had Itaurtted the Americans so long in the Coteittiit ..." -0fJicial US. A m y History The 4th fought as it was trained. Arriving in France slightly more than a month after D-Day, when momentum had halted, and the Germans appeared to be containing the invasion, the 4th led a breakthrough to the critical town of Avranches, allowing the Allies to spill south into the Brittany Peninsula and opening the way east to LeMans, Chartres, and Paris. After securing several French seaports that had been important German U-boat bases, the 4th turned east and helped turn the stalemated war of position into a war of maneuver worthy of the Wehrmacht in 1940. Leaving Lorient, in Brittany, one combat command of the division slashed 264 miles in 34 hours. General Wood employed the division like cavalry, Irzyk remembered. As the southernmost unit of the XI1 Corps, itself the southernmost corps of Patton's Third Army, Wood used fighter-bombers to guard his flanks and moved quickly. Wood used mission-type orders, delivered to scattered units by jeep or spotter planes, to sketch his tactical intentions. Irzyk said it was not unusual to get a simple overlay with an arrow indicating direction and a crayoned goose egg indicating the objective. In a few cases, the division moved beyond its maps. The advance stopped near Luneville on September 13, 1944, when two columns of German armor jumped the 4th AD advance guard to begin the nine-day battle of Arracourt. The 4th'~ Shermans, outgunned by German Panthers, moved quickly for flank and rear shots, making up in maneuver and marksmanship what they lacked in sheer firepower. When it was over, World War II Commanders of the 4th Armored Division MG Henry Baird April 1941-May 1942 MG John S. Wood May 1942-December 1944 MG Hugh J. Gaffey December 1944-March 1945 MG William M. Hoge March 1945June 1945 BG Bruce C. Clarke June 1945July 1945 BG W. Lyn Roberts July 1945-September 1945 MG Fay 6. Prickett September 1945-Redesignation le German effort to stem the advance failed, although the 4th took heavy losses in some phases of the battle. Mud, rain, and terrain then forced a change in tactics. The speed of the early exploitation slowed, and the 4th slogged along in support of the infantry. By November, the tankers of the 4th AD were attacking and counterattacking against German armored units at Fonteny, Rodalbe, across the Saare River to Romelfing, Baerendorf, and Wolfskirchen. Then General Wood was relieved of command, replaced MG John S. Wood, the legendary wartime commander of the 4th AD, was widely credited with giving the men of the division a sense that they were special. He was relieved from command at the height of the division's early successes after Normandy. ARMOR - March-April 7997 35 by Patton's chief of staff, MG Hugh

J. Gaffey, and the morale of the division plummetted. The reason for the replacement of General Wood seems to be that he was tired and sick and needed a rest. And so did the division itselk it had lost hundreds of its most experienced soldiers in hard fighting and its equipment was worn. It was to rest and refit, replaced by the 12th AD after the battle of Bining on 5-6 December. About two weeks later, the call came again. "We were alerted for a move north where, according to confused reports which reached us, some sort of a German breakthrough had occurred," said BG Irzyk. The breakthrough, of course, was the German Ardennes offensive, intended to smash to the channel ports and cut the Allies in two. Now, the battle was against time as the 4th moved out over "It has been an honor and a privilege for this division to serve alongside the 4th Armored Division. If we are ever in a tight spot again, it is our hope that the 4th Armored Division will be sent to get us out...." -MG Maxwell D. Taylor, CG, 707st ABN Div. wintry roads, its lead combat command moved 161 miles in 22 hours. After linking up with the 10th AD in the Bastogne area, the 4th AD pushed toward the encircled city, fighting sharp actions in Martelange, Chaumont, and Bigonville, the last town taken the day before Christmas in the worst European winter in 20 years. CCR of the 4th AD pushed through Assenois to Bastogne and entered the city on the 27th. The next phase of the 4th'~ campaign in Europe was the push into Germany. The division breached the Siegfried Line defenses along Germany's western border in a drive toward Bitburg. The rapid advance halted at the west bank of the Kyll River at the end of February, and about a week later, continued again toward the Rhine. In this drive, the 4th AD covered 55 miles in 48 hours, becoming the easternmost division on the Western Front. The rapidity of the advance prevented German resistance from organizing, and kept alive the division's reputation for high speed in the exploitation. March was a series of quick drives and river crossings - over the Kyll, the Moselle, the Nahe, the Rhine, and the Main - as the spearhead division of Third Army plunged into Germany's heart. On the 4th of April, the battle-hardened men of the division came upon a new horror, the Ohrdruf Nord concentration camp, the first to be liberated by U.S. forces. The camp was south of Gotha, in Thurin-gia. "They had seen death many times, in many different forms, as well as every imaginable type of wound," Irzyk remembered. "But what they saw here shocked, stunned, and silenced them." On the move again, the 4th AD began its final drive of the war, through the villages and towns of Hesse and Thuringia toward the Czech border. But near Chemnitz (renamed Karl Marx Stadt after the war) the division received orders to stop, apparently as the result of an agreement between the Western Powers and their Soviet allies. This was as far east as any U.S. force would go in the European Theater. A final thrust took the 4th south to Czechoslovakia, where it was located at the end of the war. There, the men linked up with the Russians and later moved to designated areas for the early months of the occupation. In May, 1946, the division was redesignated the 1st Constabulary Brigade, responsible for keeping order in occupied Germany. Irzyk noted that the odometers of the 4th

AD'S

command post vehicles had registered more than 3,000 miles in their sweep across Europe. "No other division moved so fast, ranged so far, or covered so much ground," said Irzyk, noting that the combat miles covered by the battalions in the 295 days since Normandy nearly doubled the mileage of the command vehicles, which had only to keep up. According to "The History of the 4th Armored Division," the unit took more than 90,000 prisoners in 36 ARMOR - March-April 7991

"One of its heroes, Creighton Abrams, would later become the Army's Chief of Staff. Another, Bruce Clarke, later commanded both the 4th and 1st Armored Divisions, and U.S. Army Europe." 10 months of combat, killed 13,641 of the enemy and wounded 8,426 more. Three of its members earned Medals of Honor. Twenty-five were awarded DSCs and one the Distinguished Flying Cross. There were two Distinguished Service Medals, ten Legions of Merit, 802 Silver Stars, 3,031 Bronze Stars - and 2,796 Purple Hearts. The 4th was the only armored division to receive a Presidential Unit Citation as a division, and only the second division in the history of the Army to be so honored. One of its heroes, Creighton Abrams, would later become the Army's Chief of Staff. Another, Bruce Clarke, later commanded both the 4th and 1st Armored Divisions, and U.S. Army Europe. After the war, the unit was formally deactivated April 26, 1946, at Camp Kilmer, N.J. Then, in May, the division was redesignated as the 1st Constabulary Brigade, responsible for keeping order in occupied Germany. On May 20, 1949, the 1st Constabulary Brigade was deactivated; and concurrently converted and redesignated as Headquarters, 4th Armored Division. The 4th was reactivated on 15 June 1954, at Fort Hood, Tex., to serve as a peacekeeping force during the Cold War. The division participated in Exercise Blue Bolt, a test of armor power in the nuclear age, in March 1955. In 1956, the division's mission changed to a replacement training division for advanced artillery, infantry, and armor trainees - 25,000 4th Armored Division soldiers served with units worldwide. In 1957, the division was ordered to Germany to replace the 8th Infantry Division, the replacement unit for 2d AD, which returned to Fort Hood. Once again, the 4th would help preserve peace, this time as part ol the North Atlantic Treaty Organization shield. The division reformed under the Reorganization Objective Army Division (ROAD) plan in 1963. The 4th Armored Division deactivated on 10 May 1971 in Germany. Sources for this article include Order of Battle, US. Anny World War ZZ, by Shelby Stanton; Hisroc, of the 4th Amrored Division; "The Name Enough Division," by BG Albin F. Irzyk, Ret., in the July-August 1987 issue of ARMOR; and BG Irzyk's "The Mystery of Tiger Jack," which appeared in the January-February 1990 issue. ~ Below, 'a 4th Armored Division column of Sherman tanks moves along an autobahn past burning German vehicles as it drives into Germany during March, 1945. ARMOR - March-April 1991 37