The 14th Armored Division was an armored division of the United States Army assigned to the Seventh Army of the Sixth Army Group during World War II. It remains on the permanent roll of the Regular Army as an inactive division, and is eligible for reactivation. The division is officially nicknamed the "Liberators". The troops of TF Hudelson took the brunt of the German advance which had penetrated to Bannstein by day-break. The Task Force was soon overrun or bypassed by the German divisions but it managed to delay and slow the German advance until substantial reinforcements could arrive and stem the German advance. By the fourth day of the German counter-offensive it had advanced 10 miles. With pressure building during the first day of the attack, aerial observation reported a strong regimental size element moving towards Bannstein. Reinforcements were sent to Baerenthal to reinforce the VI Corps left flank and the 14th Armored Division was ordered to establish blocking positions. On 2 January, the 45th Division along with the attached Task Force, occupied positions to block any further penetration by the Germans. This allowed for the relief of Task Force Hudelson and its return to division control.

The major fighting between 1 and 8 January occurred in the Vosges Mountains and two combat commands of the division were in almost continuous action against the German thrusts. With the failure of his attack in the Vosges, the enemy attempted to break through to Hagenau and threaten Strasbourg and the Saverne Gap by attacks at Hatten and Rittershoffen, two small villages located side by side on the Alsatian Plain. However, this, the strongest attack of Operation Nordwind, was halted by the 14th Armored in the fierce defensive Battle of Hatten-Rittershoffen which ranged from 9 to 21 January 1945.

Hatten and Rittershoffen

As the fighting in the VI Corps sector intensified, the Germans committed the 21st Panzer and the 25th Panzer Grenadier Divisions to the attack with a breakthrough to Hagenau. On 9 January, German armor was able to penetrate the center of the VI Corps sector. This caused Brooks, the Corps commander, to commit his final reserve force, the 14th Armored, in an effort to stop the German XXXIX Panzer Corps advance. Ordered to take up positions in the vicinity of Hatten and Rittershoffen, the 14th assumed command and control of units from the 242nd Infantry Regiment and the 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the 315th Infantry Regiment, 79th Infantry Division . With heavy fighting in and around the towns, success was measured in how many buildings were controlled by each side as the Americans controlled the western half of the villages and the Germans the eastern half. On 15 January, the Germans strengthened the forces in both villages with elements of the 20th Parachute Regiment from the 7th Parachute Division, and the 104th Infantry Regiment from the 47th Volksgrenadier Division. As the fighting raged, the 14th Armored found itself increasingly on the defensive with Combat Command A holding Rittershoffen and Combat Command Reserve defending positions in and around Hatten. Combat Command B took up defensive positions behind the Rittershoffen to Leiterswiller road.

The resupply of the division was becoming very difficult due to the constant reorganizing of forces, the evacuation of the wounded and the shrinking perimeter. Gasoline, of which almost was consumed in seven days, had to come from near Saverne away along icy roads in blackout conditions. Mortar ammunition had run out by 15 January and the Division's G-4 notified the advanced command post that no more might be available for two weeks. Instructions were given for all abandoned German 8 cm mortar ammunition to be picked up and a method was devised by the Division ammunition officer to use this in American 81 mm mortars. Artillery ammunition was strictly rationed after 15 January when 6,247 rounds of ammunition were expended out of a total of nearly 40,000 rounds for the entire seven days. In order to alleviate the shortage a convoy of twenty trucks were sent to Marseilles and returned loaded with ammunition dug out of the surf and the landing sites for the invasion of Southern France. Artillery was further handicapped by the shortage of telephone wire. Poor visibility hampered air operations on both sides for most days. On 15 January the first German jet propelled aircraft was seen in the area bombing a battery of the 499th Armored Field Artillery Battalion.

Heavy division organization

  • Division HHC (Headquarters and Headquarters Company)
  • CCA
  • CCB
  • 47th Armored Regiment
  • 48th Armored Regiment
  • 62nd Armored Infantry Regiment
  • 125th Armored Engineer Battalion
  • 154th Armored Signal Company
  • 94th Cavalry Recon Squadron
  • Service Company
  • HHB Division Artillery
  • 499th Armored Field Artillery Battalion
  • 500th Armored Field Artillery Battalion
  • 501st Armored Field Artillery Battalion
  • Division Trains
  • HHC
  • 84th Armored Medical Battalion
  • 136th Armored Maintenance Battalion
  • 14th Quartermaster Battalion

WWII Composition

The division was composed of the following units:

  • Headquarters Company
  • Combat Command A
  • Combat Command B
  • Reserve Command
  • 25th Tank Battalion
  • 47th Tank Battalion
  • 48th Tank Battalion
  • 19th Armored Infantry Battalion
  • 62nd Armored Infantry Battalion
  • 68th Armored Infantry Battalion
  • 94th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron (Mechanized)
  • 125th Armored Engineer Battalion
  • 154th Armored Signal Company
  • 14th Armored Division Artillery
  • 499th Armored Field Artillery Battalion
  • 500th Armored Field Artillery Battalion
  • 501st Armored Field Artillery Battalion
  • 14th Armored Division Trains
  • 136th Ordnance Maintenance Battalion
  • 84th Armored Medical Battalion
  • Military Police Platoon
  • Band

Attachments

  • 398th AAA AW Battalion (SP) (15 Nov 1944 – 12 May 1945)
  • 395th Quartermaster Truck Company
  • 636th Tank Destroyer Battalion (SP) (28 Mar 1945 – 23 April 1945)

Commanders

  • Major General Vernon Prichard (Aug 1942 – Sep 1944)
  • Major General Albert C. Smith (Sep 1944 to Inactivation)

Awards and statistics

Casualties

  • Total battle casualties: 2,690
  • Killed in action: 505
  • 1st Platoon, Company A, 48th Tank Battalion

Individual awards

  • Medal of Honor - 1 (Pfc. George B. Turner)
  • Distinguished Service Cross - 9
  • Silver Star - 273
  • Legion of Merit - 8
  • Soldier's Medal - 13
  • Bronze Star Medal - 3,024
  • Air Medal - 47

References

  • Official Website of the 14th Armored Division
  • See: Clarke and Smith, <U>From The Riviera To The Rhine </U> and <U>The Seventh Army Report of Operations in France and Germany, 1944–1945</U> for a definitive description of Operation Nordwind and the 14th Armored Division's actions.
  • See: Committee 1, Armor Officer Advance Course, The Armor School, <U>Battle of Hatten Rittershoffen: 14th Armored Division, 12–20 January 1945</U>,1950, Combined Arms Research Library, Fort Leavenworth, KS
  • See: After Action Report, 62nd Armored Infantry Battalion, 14th Armor Division, Jan thru Apr 1945, Combined Arms Research Library, Fort Leavenworth, KS
  • See: After Action Report, 47th Tank Battalion, 14th Armored Division, Dec 44 thru May 45, Combined Arms Research Library, Fort Leavenworth, KS
  • See: After Action Report, 48th Tank Battalion, 14th Armored Division, Nov 44 thru Apr 45, Combined Arms Research Library, Fort Leavenworth, KS
  • See: After Action Report, 84th Armored Medical Battalion, 14th Armored Division, Jan thru Apr 45, Combined Arms Research Library, Fort Leavenworth, KS