Tank Killers

by Harry Yeide

  612th Tank Destroyer Battalion8

  Activated on 25 June 1942 at Camp Swift, Texas, as a towed battalion. Arrived at Greenock, Scotland, on 15 April 1944. Landed in France beginning 14 June and committed in the vicinity of Cerisy. Fought at Vire during breakout in July and early August. Moved to Brittany and supported siege and capture of Brest in late August and September. Shifted to Belgium in October and supported operations against the Siegfried Line until December. Engaged Germans in Honsfeld, Belgium, area at outbreak of Battle of the Bulge. Converted to self-propelled battalion (M18s) beginning 29 December 1944. Joined attack through Monschau Forest in February 1945. Crossed Rhine River in March, participated in race through central Germany to Leipzig in April. Attached to: 9th Armored Division; 1st, 2d, 9th, 99th Infantry divisions.

  614th Tank Destroyer Battalion9

  Activated on 25 July 1942 at Camp Carson, Colorado. Reorganized as a towed battalion in May 1943. Arrived in England on 7 September 1944, landed at Utah beachhead beginning 8 October. Deployed to Metz and supported operations against the Siegfried Line nearby in November and December. Shifted to Hagenau Forest area. Continued to support operations against Siegfried Line fortifications until late March 1945. Performed occupation duties in early April, then joined race to Innsbruck, Austria, and Brenner Pass. Attached to: 95th, 103d Infantry divisions.

  628th Tank Destroyer Battalion10

  Established 15 December 1941 from the 28th Infantry Division Antitank Battalion (Provisional). Arrived at Greenock, Scotland on 6 February 1944, disembarked at Utah Beach on 30 July equipped with M10s. Committed to battle on 2 August near Perier, France. Participated in envelopment of Falaise Pocket. Dashed east to the Belgian border, arriving on 2 September. Helped liberate Luxembourg, began assault on the Siegfried Line on 13 September. Conducted artillery missions in October. Converted to M36s in November, then committed to fighting in the Hürtgen Forest in December. Shifted to Aachen sector on 8 December only to be ordered to the Ardennes during the Battle of the Bulge. Fought to eliminate Bulge in January 1945. Crossed Roer River beginning 25 February and reached the Rhine on 10 March. Crossed the Rhine on 31 March at Wessel. Slashed through Germany to the Elbe River by 11 April. Attacked back west to eliminate German pockets. Took up occupation duties on 26 April near Peine. Attached to: 82d Airborne Division; 3d, 5th Armored divisions; 75th Infantry Division.

  629th Tank Destroyer Battalion11

  Established 15 December 1941 at Fort Meade, Maryland. Arrived in Dorset, England, in January 1944 and disembarked at Omaha Beach on 2 July with M10s. Performed artillery missions in Caumont sector. Joined 30th Infantry Division in fighting at Mortain in early August, then supported reduction of the Falaise Pocket. Participated in V Corps parade through Paris on 29 August. Advanced to Luxembourg by early September and then supported operations in the Hürtgen Forest and against the Siegfried Line. Shifted to Ardennes sector on 24 December. Fought to eliminate the Bulge in January 1945. Joined renewed assault on Siegfried Line in February. Crossed Rhine River into Remagen bridgehead on 11 March and converted to the M36 that same month. Participated in operations against the Ruhr Pocket in April, then conducted road march south to Bavaria and reached the Isar River before ending offensive operations. Attached to: 82d Airborne Division; 5th Armored Division; 1st, 2d, 5th, 9th, 28th, 30th, 75th, 83d, 99th Infantry divisions.

  630th Tank Destroyer Battalion12

  Activated 15 December 1941 at Ft. Jackson, South Carolina. Disembarked in France from England on 24 July 1944 with towed guns and entered the line near Colombieres. Advanced across France with the 28th Infantry Division to Luxembourg. Supported operations against the Siegfried Line in September–October. Operated in the Hürtgen Forest in November. Shifted to the Ardennes sector with the 28th Infantry Division in late November, where located at start of German offensive in December. Shifted south to Colmar area in January 1945, where the 28th Infantry Division operated under French control. Returned north in mid-February only to redeploy south to the Saar region in mid-March, after which the battalion converted to the M36. Participated in the elimination of the Ruhr Pocket in April. Took up occupation duties at Zweibrücken on 28 April. Attached to: 17th Airborne Division; 13th Armored Division; 28th Infantry Division.

  631st Tank Destroyer Battalion13

  Activated 15 December 1941 at Camp Blanding, Florida. Reorganized as a towed battalion in December 1943. Arrived at Gourock, Scotland, on 5 August 1944 and at Utah Beach on 31 August. Performed rear-area duties in France, Luxembourg, and Germany for the duration of the campaign as part of Third Army.

  633d Tank Destroyer Battalion14

  Activated 16 December 1941 at Camp Forrest, Tennessee. Arrived at Le Havre, France, on 13 April 1945 equipped with M18s. Moved to Nürnberg, Germany, arriving on 3 May. Advanced to Pilsen, Czechoslovakia. Attached to 16th Armored Division.

  634th Tank Destroyer Battalion15

  Activated at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana, on 16 December 1941. Arrived in England on 10 January 1944. Landed at Utah Beach on 30 June equipped with M10s. Committed to battle on 10 July near Carentan. Participated in Cobra breakout in late July; widely separated elements helped capture Mayenne and defeat Mortain counteroffensive in early August. Raced east to Mons, Belgium. Supported operations against Siegfried Line and capture of Aachen, Germany, in October. Fought in Hürtgen Forest in November. Moved to Belgium in December, only to race south to Ardennes in late December. Crossed Roer River on 25 February 1945. Pushed to Rhine River at Bonn by 9 March. Crossed river at Remagen on 15 March and supported envelopment of the Ruhr Pocket. Drove east to Harz Mountains in early April. Drove 200 miles to Czechoslovak border by 28 April. Attached to: 1st, 4th, 83d Infantry divisions.

  635th Tank Destroyer Battalion16

  Established 15 December 1941 at Camp Robertson, Arkansas, from the 35th Infantry Division Antitank Battalion (Provisional). Arrived Liverpool, England, on 9 February 1944. Landed at Omaha Beach on 8 June. Advanced through northern France and Belgium. Operated in Roetgen-Aachen sector and Hürtgen Forest during autumn. Transferred to Belgium on 22 December during Battle of the Bulge. Returned to Aachen area in January and supported drive toward Rhine River near Cologne. Transferred to Seventh Army and again almost immediately to Third Army on 1 April 1945. Crossed Rhine at Mannheim and advanced through central Germany to Austria. Supported: 1st, 71st Infantry divisions; 4th Cavalry Group.

  636th Tank Destroyer Battalion17

  Activated on 15 December 1941 at Camp Bowie, Texas. Arrived at Oran, Algeria, on 13 April 1943. Landed at Paestum, Italy, beginning 13 September 1943. Elements performed artillery missions, guarded Fifth Army CP, and trained British troops on M10 and TD doctrine in October and November. Reentered line in Mignano sector in late November, where supported assault on San Pietro. Supported Rapido River crossing in January 1944. Entered Cassino sector in February. Transferred to Anzio beachhead in May. Entered Rome on 4 June. Landed in southern France on 15 August. First unit to enter Lyon and to reach the Moselle River in September. Engaged in the Vosges Mountain region beginning in October. Relieved 601st TD Battalion in Strasbourg in December. Battled German Northwind offensive in January and February 1945. Converted to M36 beginning late February. Struck Siegfried Line near Wissembourg in late March. Crossed Rhine with 14th Armored Division in April, dashed toward Nürnberg. Ended war in southern Bavaria near Tegernsee. Attached to: 14th Armored Division; 36th Infantry Division. 638th Tank Destroyer Battalion18

  Established 15 December 1941 at Camp Shelby, Mississippi. Arrived at Cherbourg, France, 7 September 1944 equipped with M18s. Entered the line near Prummern on 20 November and supported operations against the Siegfried Line. Shifted to the Ardennes sector around Rochefort, Belgium, on 22 December. Fought to reduce the Bulge during January 1945. Supported Roer River crossing in February. Crossed the Rhine River on 1 April. Advanced across Germany and reached the Elbe River near Wittenberg on 24 April. Attached to: 84th Infantry Division.

  643d Tank Destroyer Battalion
19

  Redesignated from the 43d Infantry Division’s Antitank Battalion (Provisional) on 3 December 1941 and activated at Camp Blanding, Florida, on 15 December. Arrived at Cherbourg, France, on 15 December 1944 equipped with towed guns. First engaged near Manhay, Belgium, on 22 December 1944. Crossed the Roer River on 24 February 1945. Re-equipped with M18s in March 1945, crossed the Rhine River at Wesel and the Elbe River en route to Zerbst. Withdrawn to take up occupation duties in the Harz Mountains.

  644th Tank Destroyer Battalion

  Redesignated from the 44th Antitank Battalion (Provisional) at Fort Dix, New Jersey, on 15 December 1941. Arrived at Gourock, Scotland, in January 1944. Landed at Utah Beach on 11 and 12 July equipped with M10s. Committed to battle south of Le Haye Du Puits with the 8th Infantry Division on 15 July. Participated in Cobra breakout beginning 26 July. Advanced into Brittany in August and helped capture Brest in early September. Moved to Luxembourg in late September. Fought in the Hürtgen Forest in November. Companies A and C moved to the northern Ardennes sector by early December and participated in the Battle of the Bulge, with Company B arriving late in the game. Joined in elimination of the Bulge in early 1945 and the Roer River offensive in February. Reached the Rhine south of Cologne in March. Crossed river at Remagen and supported the reduction of the Ruhr Pocket in April. Swung eastward to the Elbe River and rolled toward the Baltic coast with the 82d Airborne Division, stopping in Schwerin. Attached to: 82d Airborne Division; 3d Armored Division; 1st, 2d, 8th, 9th, 86th, 99th, 104th Infantry divisions; 102d Cavalry Group.

  645th Tank Destroyer Battalion20

  Activated on 15 December 1941 at Camp Barkely, Texas. Battalion arrived in Algeria on 27 May 1943. Landed at Paestum, Italy, on 9 September 1943. Participated in drive up the Italian peninsula, then shifted to Anzio beachhead in February 1944. Withdrawn for training in June 1944 to participate in Operation Dragoon. Landed on 15 August in southern France. Advanced to Vosges Mountains near Grandvillers by October. Joined assault on Siegfried Line in December near Bobenthal, Germany. Fought German Nordwind offensive in January 1945. Converted to M36 beginning late January. Attacked Siegfried Line again south of Sarreguemines in March, crossed the Rhine at Worms on 25 March. Helped reduce Nazi stand at Aschaffenburg at month’s end and capture Nürnberg in mid-April. Reached Munich on 29 April. Attached to: 36th, 45th Infantry divisions.

  648th Tank Destroyer Battalion21

  Activated on 6 March 1943 at Camp Bowie, Texas. Converted to a towed battalion in March 1944. Arrived in the United Kingdom by 19 December 1944. Committed to battle near Luneville, France, in February 1945. Began conversion to M18s in early April while near Landstuhl, Germany. Ended war in vicinity of Ingolstadt. Attached to: 36th, 70th, 86th Infantry divisions.

  654th Tank Destroyer Battalion22

  Activated on 15 December 1941 at Fort Benning, Georgia. Disembarked at Omaha Beach on 11 July 1944 with M10s. Committed to battle on 12 July near Fallot, France. Fought at Mortain in August, then advanced across France toward Nancy. Fought along border and crossed the Saar River in early December. Deployed to the Ardennes sector on 21 December. Shifted back south to Metz region in January 1945. Returned to Belgium in February and converted to the M36. Participated in the offensive across the Roer River and then across the Rhine on 24 March. Advanced to Tangerhutte and remained there until taking on military government duties in early May. Attached to: 5th, 30th, 35th, 75th Infantry divisions.

  656th Tank Destroyer Battalion23

  Activated on 3 April 1943 at Camp Bowie, Texas. Arrived in England in December 1944. Disembarked at Le Havre, France, on 6 February 1945 equipped with M18s. Entered the line near Friesenrath, Germany, on 28 February. Pushed toward Rhine River at Remagen and crossed into bridgehead beginning 7 March. Converted to the M36 late that month. Supported 9th Armored Division sweep to help encircle the Ruhr in early April and then dashed eastward to the Mulde River. Turned south and entered Czechoslovakia near St. Sedlo on 6 May. Attached to: 9th Armored Division; 78th Infantry Division.

  661st Tank Destroyer Battalion24

  Activated on 17 April 1943 at Camp Bowie, Texas. Arrived at Le Havre, France, on 21 January 1945 equipped with M18s. Committed to battle at Rocherath-Krinkelt, Belgium, on 16 February 1945. Fought along the Siegfried Line near Helenthal, Germany, in March. Crossed the Rhine on 27 March and advanced across Germany to Leipzig by 17 April, where the men saw their last fighting. Attached to: 28th, 69th, 106th Infantry divisions.

  679th Tank Destroyer Battalion25

  Activated on 26 June 1943 at Camp Hood, Texas, as one of several battalions with black enlisted personnel and mostly white officers. Converted to a towed battalion on 14 July. Disembarked at Le Havre, France, on 21 January 1945, then re-embarked at Marseilles on 1 March for transfer to Italy. Entered the line in IV Corps sector on 17 March. Supported assault on La Spezia in April and advanced to Genoa by early May. Attached to: 92d Infantry Division.

  691st Tank Destroyer Battalion26

  Activated on 15 December 1941 at Fort Bliss, Texas. Entered combat in September 1944 in Lorraine equipped with towed guns. Transferred to Ardennes sector in December. Shifted south again and joined operations in the Saar region in February and March 1945. Converted to the M36 beginning late that month. Advanced across Germany and reached Limbach on 24 April, where action all but ceased. Attached to: 17th Airborne Division; 6th Armored Division; 5th, 26th, 35th, 44th, 65th, 76th, 80th, 87th Infantry divisions; 2d Cavalry Group.

  692d Tank Destroyer Battalion27

  Activated on 10 April 1942 at Camp Gordon, Georgia. Converted to a towed battalion in March 1944. Arrived at Cherbourg, France, on 23 September 1944. Entered the line near Wustwezel, Belgium, circa 28 October. Fought along the Siegfried Line in the vicinity of Stolberg beginning in November. Occupied defensive positions along the Roer River during the Battle of the Bulge. Converted to the M36 in February 1945, supported the drive from the Roer to the Rhine River in late February and early March, and helped capture Cologne. After clearing more Siegfried Line fortifications, crossed the Rhine at Worms on 31 March. Raced across Germany in April and participated in the capture of Furth. Advanced to Munich by 30 April. Attached to: 42d, 63d, 104th Infantry divisions.

  701st Tank Destroyer Battalion28

  Activated on 15 December 1941 at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Attached to 1st Armored Division, which had provided most of cadre personnel. Arrived at Belfast, Northern Ireland, on 11 June 1942. Companies B and C and one platoon of Recon Company participated in Operation Torch landings 8 November near Oran. Advanced toward Tunisia beginning 16 November. Rest of battalion reached North Africa on 10 December. Actions in Tunisia, usually attached to the 1st Armored or 1st Infantry Division, included El Guettar, Faid Pass, Sidi Bou Zid, Sbeitla, Hill 609, and Mateur. Shipped to Italy in October 1943 and entered the line in the Pagnataro area. TDs operated largely as artillery. For much of early 1944, the battalion was attached to II or VI Corps in Cassino sector. Shipped to Anzio beachhead in February 1944. Supported 1st Armored Division during breakout in late May, entered Rome on 4 June. Pushed north to the Arno River, crossed river on 1 September, and reached Florence area. Spent winter training and firing artillery missions. Supported 10th Mountain Division drive into the Po River valley in April 1945. Entered Verona on 26 April. Attached to: 1st Armored Division; 1st, 3d, 9th, 34th, 45th, 88th, 92d Infantry divisions; 10th Mountain Division; British 78th Infantry Division; Brazilian Expeditionary Force.

  702d Tank Destroyer Battalion29

  The “Seven O Deuce” was activated 15 December 1941 at Fort Benning, Georgia. Equipped with T70s (M18s) before shipping to the United Kingdom, where the battalion arrived on 25 February 1944 only to be issued M10s. Landed at Omaha Beach on 11 June. Entered line at Livry on 2 July. Formed part of 2d Armored Division’s spearhead during Cobra breakout in late July. Fought at Mortain, established first contact with Canadians during encirclement of Falaise Pocket. Entered Belgium on 5 September and crossed German border near Gangelt. Fo
ught against Siegfried Line along Wurm River in October and November. Re-equipped with M36s in late November. Supported drive on Roer River. Moved to Ardennes in December. Crossed Roer River on 28 February 1945 and Rhine on 28 March. Participated in encirclement of Ruhr Pocket, reached Weser River on 4 April. Reached Elbe River near Magdeburg, after which took on occupation duties. Attached to: 2d Armored Division.

  703d Tank Destroyer Battalion30

  Activated on 15 December at Camp Polk, Louisiana. Landed in France on 1 July 1944. Saw first action near Hautes Vents on 13 July. Participated in Cobra breakout at end of month. Held in reserve during Mortain battle in August. Crossed the River Seine on 26 August, reached the Siegfried Line in the vicinity of Eschweiler, Germany, by 12 September. First battalion converted to M36s beginning 30 September. Fought along West Wall until mid-December, when transferred to Ardennes after launch of German offensive. Fought to reduce the Bulge in January 1945 and joined drive to Cologne in February and early March. Crossed Rhine River on 23 March near Honnef and participated in envelopment of the Ruhr. Slashed east to stop line at Dessau by 14 April. Attached to: 82d Airborne Division; 3d Armored Division; 1st Infantry Division.

  704th Tank Destroyer Battalion31

  Activated on 15 December 1941 at Camp Pine, New York. Arrived in the United Kingdom by April 1944. First battalion in the ETO to receive M18s, which occurred in May. Landed at Utah Beach on 13 July. Participated in Cobra breakout at end of month, advanced into Brittany. Raced east across France, passing north of Orleans, and crossed the Moselle River to Luneville in early September and remained in the general area through October. Fought in Morhange region in November and crossed the Saar River by month’s end. Deployed to Ardennes on 19 December. Fought around Bastogne in January 1945, then moved back south. Advanced into Germany near Sinz in February, fighting through Siegfried Line and into the Saar-Moselle triangle. Supported drive to Bitburg in March and reached Rhine by mid-month. Crossed the river on 24 March at Nierstein. Roared east to Gotha by 4 April, passed through Harz Mountains to Bayreuth in late April. Entered Czechoslovakia at Volyne on 6 May. Attached to: 101st Airborne Division; 4th Armored Division; 26th, 87th, 94th Infantry divisions; 6th Cavalry Group.