10th Armored Division

November 1, 1944, is a memorable day for the “Tigers” of the 10th Armored Division. On that day the outfit began five busy months of combat during which it bagged 30,000 prisoners and took 450 cities and towns.

The Tiger Division didn’t begin its overseas service until the war on the Western Front had been under way for three months, but the 10th got into action in time to establish its claim to three big “firsts”:

First Third Army division to enter Germany.

First Third Army division to capture a major German city—Trier.

First Third Army division to stop the Germans at Bastogne during the Ardennes breakthrough.

It was Combat Command B of the Tigers that held out at Bastogne, side by side with the 101st Airborne, while Germans attacking from all sides tried to crush the American forces wait-ing for relief to come through from the outside.

The Tigers first growled in anger in the Metz-Nancv area, and subsequently fought at the Siegfried and Maginot Lines, in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany. During 12 crowded days that ended with the seizure of Trier, the 10th Armored cleared a good deal of the Saar-Moselle triangle, earning special praise from General Patton, crossed the Saar, captured Saarburg, took a total of 65 towns, and rounded up 10,000 prisoners, including 4,500 at Trier alone.

Toward the end of the war in Europe, the Tigers were shifted to the Seventh Army and lashed deep into southern Germany. They captured Neustadt, helped the 63d Division take the famous city of Heidelberg, and at Uffing, in Bavaria, made an unexpected catch of 300 Germans, including a handful of colonels in civilian clothes, who were hiding in the town despite posted signs saying that it was a neutral zone.

On V-E Day the Tigers were in the western part of the sup-posedly impregnable Southern Redoubt, where the Germans had boasted they would make a last, unbeatable stand. But the Tigers were no longer surprised by German plans gone awry. They remembered their capture of Neuschwanstein Castle, for instance, collection point for millions of dollars’ worth of artistic loot the Nazis had stripped from all over Europe. At the castle, the 10th Armored came across a letter of directions from Hermann Goering, art-collector extraordinary, in which he ad-vised his subordinates that he would use the whole Luftwaffe, if necessary, to transport captured treasures to Germany. No wonder the German Air Force didn’t seem to know what it was doing.

The Tigers settled down for guard duty at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, scene of the 1932 winter Olympics.

From Fighting Divisions, Kahn & McLemore, Infantry Journal Press, 1945-1946.

"Tiger"

Chronology & Statistics

Activated 15 July 1942
Arrived ETO 23 September 1944
Arrived Continent (D+109) 23 September 1944
Entered Combat 1944
Days in Combat 124

Campaigns

Ardennes
Rhineland
Central Europe

Division Composition

Organic Units

Headquarters Company
Combat Command A
Combat Command B
Reserve Command
3d Tank Battalion
11th Tank Battalion
21st Tank Battalion
20th Armored Infantry Battalion
54th Armored Infantry Battalion
61st Armored Infantry Battalion
90th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron (Mechanized)
55th Armored Engineer Battalion
150th Armored Signal Company

10th Armored Division Artillery

419th Armored Field Artillery Battalion
420th Armored Field Artillery Battalion
423d Armored Field Artillery Battalion

10th Armored Division Trains

132d Ordnance Maintenance Battalion
80th Armored Medical Battalion
Military Police Platoon
Band

Commanding Officers

Division Commander

22 Sep 44 Maj. Gen. William H. H. Morris, Jr.

Artillery Commander

22 Sep 44 Col. Bernard F. Luebbermann
13 Apr 45 Col. Edward H. Metzger

Chief of Staff

22 Sep 44 Col. Basil G. Thayer
25 Feb 45 Lt. Col. Joseph A. McChristian
8 May 45 Col. Richard Steinbach

Assistant Chief of Staff G-1

22 Sep 44 Lt. Col. John F. Laudig

Assistant Chief of Staff G-2

22 Sep 44 Lt. Col. William E. Eckles

Assistant Chief of Staff G-3

22 Sep 44 Maj. John W. Sheffield
3 Dec 44 Lt. Col. Joseph A. McChristian
25 Feb 45 Lt. Col. John W. Sheffield
8 May 45 Lt. Col. Joseph A. McChristian

Assistant Chief of Staff G-4

22 Sep 44 Lt. Col. Clark Webber

Assistant Chief of Staff G-5

3 Oct 44 Maj. John M. Gregory
10 Jan 45 Capt. Leigh S. Plummer

Adjutant General

22 Sep 44 Lt. Col. Francis J. Malloh

Commanding Officer, Combat Command A

22 Sep 44 Brig. Gen. Kenneth G. Althaus
15 Dec 44 Brig. Gen. Edwin W. Piburn
25 Apr 45 Col. Thomas M. Brinkley
3 May 45 Col. Basil G. Thayer

Commanding Officer, Combat Command B

22 Sep 44 Col. William L. Roberts
5 Nov 44 Brig. Gen. Edwin W. Piburn
16 Dec 45 Col. William L. Roberts
18 Mar 45 Col. Basil G. Thayer
3 May 45 Col. Thomas M. Brinkley

Commanding Officer, Reserve Command

22 Sep 44 Col. Julian E. Raymond
6 Nov 44 Col. Wade C. Gatchell

Attached Units

Antiaircraft Artillery

796th AAA AW Bn (SP) 16 Oct 44-9 May 45

Armored

CC A (9th Armd Div) 20 Dec 44-26 Dec 44
Co A, 778th Tk Bn 19 Feb 45-3 Mar 45

Cavalry

94th Rcn Tr (94th Div) 19 Feb 45-20 Feb 45

Chemical

Co C, 81st Cml Mort Bn 11 Nov 44-2 Dec 44
2 secs, 161st Cml Co (SG) 1 Dec 44-4 Dec 44
162d Cml Co (SG) 22 Feb 45-3 Mar 45
2 secs, 81st Cml Co (SG) 3 Mar 45-9 Mar 45
Co C, 81st Cml Mort Bn (-1 plat) 3 Mar 45-9 Mar 45

Engineer

1 plat, 991st Engr Treadway Br Co 18 Nov 44-24 Nov 44
179th Engr C Bn 23 Feb 45-25 Feb 45
160th Engr C Bn 17 Mar 45-23 Mar 45
2d Plat, 997th Engr Treadway Br Co 17 Mar 45-23 Mar 45
Co B, 245th Engr C Bn 20 Mar 45-23 Mar 45
2827th Engr C Bn 8 Apr 45-15 Apr 45
2828th Engr C Bn 16 Apr 45-1 May 45

Field Artillery

Btry B, 244th FA Bn (155mm Gun) 29 Nov 44-2 Dec 44
193d FA Gp 20 Feb 45-24 Mar 45
689th FA Bn (155mm How) 20 Feb 45-24 Mar 45
274th FA Bn 20 Feb 45-24 Mar 45
776th FA Bn (155mm How) 20 Feb 45-24 Mar 45
141st FA Bn (155mm How) 3 Apr 45-14 Apr 45
194th FA Bn (8" How) 3 Apr 45-1 May 45
938th FA Bn (155mm How) 3 Apr 45-1 May 45
939th FA Bn (4.5" Gun) 3 Apr 45-1 May 45
59th Armd FA Bn 8 Apr 45-1 May 45
1 btry, 976th FA Bn (155mm Gun) 27 Apr 45-1 May 45

Infantry

358th CT (90th Div) 19 Nov 44-26 Nov 44
109th CT (28th Div) 22 Dec 44-26 Dec 44
376th CT (94th Div) 19 Feb 45-3 Mar 45
919th FA Bn (94th Div) (105mm How) 19 Feb 45-3 Mar 45
1st Plat, Co C, 319th Engr C Bn (94th Div) 19 Feb 45-3 Mar 45
417th CT (76th Div) 4 Mar 45-11 Mar 45
318th Inf (80th Div) 6 Mar 45-18 Mar 45
1st & 3d Bns, 318th Inf (80th Div) 19 Mar 45-22 Mar 45
3d Bn, 398th Inf (100th Div) 3 Apr 45-4 Apr 45
2d Bn, 324th Inf (44th Div) 19 Apr 45-21 Apr 45

Tank Destroyer

638th TD Bn (SP) -15 Oct 44
609th TD Bn (SP) 16 Oct 44-9 Mar 45