70th Tank Battalion (United States)

The 70th Tank Battalion was a tank battalion of the United States Army active during the Second World War and the Korean War

It was formed as an independent medium tank battalion in June 1940, equipped with M2A2 light tanks, and began training for amphibious operations. It received M3 light tanks in 1941, and was redesignated the 70th Light Tank Battalion.

econd World War service

The battalion sailed with the 1st Infantry Division on 9 January 1942 for the French island of Martinique in the West Indies because it "was probably the only tank battalion combat ready for this amphibious operation". [p.4, Jensen] In February 1942 Company C was detached and sent for garrison duty in Iceland, with a new Company C being formed in May. Company A was detached later in the year, and landed in North Africa as part of Operation Torch, attached to the 39th Regimental Combat Team.

The battalion landed in Sicily as part of Operation Husky in July 1943, and was withdrawn to England in November, where it re-equipped as a standard battalion with M4 Shermans. The former Company C (now designated as Company D) rejoined the battalion, giving it four tank companies.

The battalion suffered some of the first combat casualties of the US Army in the European Theatre when during Exercise Tiger on an early morning of 28 April 1944, German E-boats that had left Cherbourg on patrol spotted a convoy of 8 LSTs carrying vehicles and combat engineers of the 1st Engineer Special Brigade in Lyme Bay and attacked. [Jensen (1), [http://www.stripes.com/01/apr01/ed042201f.html] ]

On D-Day it landed on Utah Beach as part of the 4th Infantry Division, supporting the 8th Infantry Regiment led by Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. [as assistant division commander, [http://www.normandie44lamemoire.com/versionanglaise/fichesvillesus/lamadelaudous2.html] ] ; companies A and B used amphibious DD Sherman tanks. It fought in the northward drive to Cherbourg, and in the breakout from St.-Lo, through France and into Belgium, entering Germany on September 13th. It fought in the Hurtgen Forest in November, and moved to the Ardennes in December, fighting in the Battle of the Bulge. On March 29th 1945 it crossed the Rhine, and moved quickly through Germany, crossing the Danube on April 25th and ending the war near the Austrian border.

The battalion performed occupation duties until mid-1946, when it was deactivated; shortly thereafter, it was reactivated as a training unit at Fort Knox. In 1949, it was redesignated the 70th Heavy Tank Battalion and reduced to a three-company establishment.

Korean War service

On the outbreak of the Korean War, it was mobilised and equipped with M26 Pershings, before being shipped to Pusan. It fought in the Pusan Perimeter as part of the 1st Cavalry Division, and then fought northwards during the breakout, where Company C was the first unit to link up with the Inchon forces from the south. It saw service through the remainder of the fighting, ending the war on the ceasefire line near Seoul.

Cold War service

The battalion's lineage is perpetuated by the 70th Armor Regiment, which was formed from the 70th Battalion in 1963 under the Combat Arms Regimental System.

From 1960s to 1980s the 1st Battalion, 70th Armor served in Germany, based in Wiesbaden.

It currently has one active element, the 2nd Battalion, 70th Armor Regiment, which is part of the 1st Armored Division.

References

ources

* Lineage And Honors Information 70th Armor Lineage as of 20 April 1998 US ARMY [http://www.history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/lineages/branches/ar/070ar.htm]
* Lineage And Honors Information 2d Battalion, 70th Armor Lineage as of 20 April 1998 US ARMY [http://www.history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/lineages/branches/ar/070ar002bn.htm]
* Jensen, Marvin, "Strike Swiftly!: The 70th Tank Battalion from North Africa to Normandy to Germany", Presidio Press, Novato, CA, 1997 [http://www.questia.com/library/book/strike-swiftly-the-70th-tank-battalion-from-north-africa-to-normandy-to-germany-by-marvin-jensen.jsp]
* Jensen, Ron, [http://www.stripes.com/01/apr01/ed042201f.html Ceremony in England to honor hundreds killed in training exercise for D-Day] , Stars and Stripes, Sunday, April 22, 2001, accessed June 8, 2008

External sources

* [http://homepage.mac.com/yeide/Tank%20Battalion%20Histories.htm Soixante-Dix, Official official history of the 70th Tank Battalion.]
*Globalsecurity.org, [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/army/2-70ar.htm 2nd Battalion, 70th Armor]