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320:(Battle of the Bulge) on 16 December. Here, the 745th had a rare encounter with concentrated German armor supported with troops and showed their own combat experience in helping the 1st Infantry Division hold the northern shoulder of the Bulge and prevent the Germans from exploiting the road network behind them. Both the division and the tank battalion stayed in the line until the first week of February 1945 and restored the front to near its original position. The battalion finally received a much-needed three-day rest on 10 February, before preparing for the final assault into Germany.
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Tank platoons were regularly attached one per battalion within the infantry regiments. This task organization remained the same with little change throughout the rest of the war in Europe and permitted a level of mutual trust and understanding that enhanced the tank support of the infantry units.
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in late March, and the Harz Pocket in April. By this point, Germany was being overrun from east and west and organized resistance collapsed. The 745th raced through central
Germany encountering only occasional but still deadly resistance until it found itself with the 1st Infantry Division near
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at New York on 19 August 1943 and arrived at
Greenock, Scotland on 25 August. The battalion initially bivouacked near Swindon, Wiltshire, England, and began training for the amphibious assault that was sure to come. In December 1943, the battalion organized D Company, the battalion's light tank
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After the gruelling combat, the battalion was pulled out of the line along with the rest of the 1st
Infantry Division to refit and reconstitute. However, it was pulled back into the vicinity of Hergenrath, Belgium, directly in the path of the attacking Germans when they launched their
255:. The tankers observed the initial aerial bombardment on 25 July and began their assault to the south and west on the following day. The German lines began to crumble and, by 30 July, the battalion was pushing southeast. In the first week of August, near
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on 21 April 1944, an association which they would maintain throughout the war on the continent. The battalion moved from their marshalling area near
Weymouth, England, to embarkation craft from 31 May – 2 June 1944. It would join the assault force on
200:, Texas (near Brownwood) on 15 August 1942. Its initial cadre of officers and non-commissioned officers was drawn from the 191st Tank Battalion, with the remaining personnel drawn from the Army's induction system. It embarked for Europe aboard the
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to the north (which had itself been cut off by the retreating
Germans) and those of the 745th Tank Battalion supporting the 1st Infantry Division to the south, the German troops were mauled, and some 27,000 prisoners were taken.
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at about 1220 and B Company landing about 1500 on 6 June 1944. A and C Companies landed on 7 June. The other sections of the battalion joined the line tank companies on 27 June. The battalion was briefly relieved by the
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As the battalion moved into southern
Belgium at the beginning of September, the tanks played a key role in destroying elements of five German divisions retreating from the Belgian coast. Caught between the tanks of the
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271:, in which some 50,000 Germans were taken prisoner and another 10,000 were killed, the battalion raced northeast across France, at one point covering156 miles (251 km) in just over 24 hours.
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on 15 July and withdrawn from the line. After refit and reorganization, the battalion was reattached to 1st
Infantry Division on 19 July. The elements of the battalion were attached as follows:
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300:, Germany, by 11 September 1944, the battalion was engaged in bitter fighting for most of the next three months in helping the 1st Infantry Division take Aachen and clear the
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to the east of the city. Compounded by bad weather, fighting through the Hürtgen Forest was bitter and cost the battalion its highest casualties of the war.
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Tank of the 745th Tank
Battalion, attached to the 1st Infantry Division, U.S. First Army, rolls through former German block in Gladbach, Germany.
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World War II Order of Battle: An
Encyclopedic Reference to U.S. Army Ground Forces from Battalion through Division, 1939-1946
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184:. Unlike many independent tank battalions, which were attached to different units over time, the 745th was attached to the
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The battalion withdrew back into
Germany and briefly took up occupation duties centered on the historic town of
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Belgian Fourragère: 3–5 September 1944 and 28–30 December 1944, Department of the Army General Order 43 – 50.
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French Fourragère: 1 January – 30 April 1943 and 6 June 1944, Department of the Army General Order 43 – 50.
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The 745th Tank Battalion supported the 1st Infantry Division in the breakout from Normandy during
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528:. Washington, DC: U.S. Army Center of Military History. pp. 112–115, 130–132. Archived from
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332:, then moving south with the 1st Infantry Division to cross the Rhine on 15 March and expand the
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180:(6 June 1944). The battalion participated in combat operations throughout northern Europe until
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for the duration of its combat operations in the ETO. It was inactivated in October 1945.
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482:. Washington, DC: U.S. Army Center of Military History. pp. 556–8. Archived from
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before redeploying to the United States. They arrived in New York on 25 October 1945.
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with Task Force "O" for Operation Neptune, with the Reconnaissance Platoon hitting
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176:. It was one of five tank battalions (all independent) that landed in Normandy on
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511:. Washington, DC: U.S. Army Center of Military History. p. 309.
344:. They assisted the 1st Infantry Division in the envelopment of the
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began to pour eastward. After aiding in the encirclement of the
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The battalion jumped off on 25 February, reaching the Rhine at
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Battalion headquarters and A Company – 16th Infantry Regiment
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While in England, the battalion was first attached to the
463:"After action report, Jun–Dec 1944, 745th Tank Battalion"
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Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register
569:. U.S. Army Center of Military History. 14 December 1999
465:. Combined Arms Research Library (CARL) Digital Library.
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World War II Tank Battalion Structure - November 1944.
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Military units and formations disestablished in 1945
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Battalions of the United States Army in World War II
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442:: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
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651:1942 establishments in the United States
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600:. Department of the Army. p. 364.
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429:History of the 745th Tank Battalion
243:C Company – 26th Infantry Regiment
240:B Company – 18th Infantry Regiment
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525:The Ardennes: Battle of the Bulge
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29:15 August 1942 – 26 October 1945
324:V-E Day and post-war activities
166:European Theater of Operations
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505:McDonald, Charles B. (1993).
551:Stanton, Shelby L. (2006).
508:The Siegfried Line Campaign
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476:Blumenson, Martin (1993).
296:Reaching the outskirts of
162:independent tank battalion
89:Our Tracks Lead To Victory
192:Activation and deployment
164:that participated in the
140:Distinctive unit insignia
362:Rothenburg ob der Tauber
116:Normandy with Arrowhead
522:Cole, Hugh M. (1993).
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591:DA Pam 672-1 (1964).
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217:1st Infantry Division
186:1st Infantry Division
479:Breakout and Pursuit
338:9th Armored Division
277:3rd Armored Division
231:735th Tank Battalion
158:745th Tank Battalion
21:745th Tank Battalion
567:"63d Armor Lineage"
373:63rd Armor Regiment
340:had established at
318:Ardennes Offensive
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211:Invasion of France
170:United States Army
532:on 5 January 2018
432:. Nürnberg. 1945.
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357:by V-E Day.
355:Karlovy Vary
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174:World War II
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112:World War II
78:Part of
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379:Unit Awards
369:Camp Kilmer
346:Ruhr Pocket
263:of General
226:Omaha Beach
108:Engagements
625:Categories
392:References
334:bridgehead
261:Third Army
198:Camp Bowie
98:M4 Sherman
65:Tank/Armor
52:Allegiance
606:cite book
438:cite book
207:company.
122:Rhineland
102:M5 Stuart
94:Equipment
73:Battalion
135:Insignia
86:Motto(s)
573:24 July
536:8 March
490:8 March
342:Remagen
257:Mortain
182:V-E Day
160:was an
34:Country
298:Aachen
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26:Active
598:(PDF)
222:D-Day
178:D-Day
612:link
575:2019
538:2012
492:2012
444:link
351:Cheb
336:the
330:Bonn
156:The
70:Size
62:Type
56:Army
172:in
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