The 712th tank battalion is the best tank battalion in the u. The 751st tank battalion was activated at fort benning, georgia, on june 1, 1941. So i got hold of the official history of 739th medium tank battalion, special mine exploder by capt richard g schneider, and an after action report for the 739ths a company for the period december 1944 to february 1945. The companys filing status is listed as inactive and its file number is 69536283. Reading what equates to an oral history takes some forbearance. Home world war ii operational documents after action report, 712th tank battalion.
The 712th tank battalion was an independent tank battalion, not permanently as. Very soon after the redesignation the battalion moved from camp gordon to ft. After action report, 716th tank battalion, 9 jan 45 thru 8. The organization of ground combat troops us army center of. History of the us marine corps in wwii vol iii central. In early 1942, the battalion moved from fort knox to camp gordon, near augusta. The battalion returned to merkers, and mason moved his command post from leimbach to merkers. December 25, 2016 fellow author and historian aaron elson wrote the armored fist, a history of the 712th tank battalion. A handful of light tank battalions were kept on the books. The battalion participated in combat operations throughout northern europe until ve day. An oral history of the 712th tank battalion in world war. Schematic sketch of japanese tank action in 3d marines.
After action report, 712th tank battalion, july 44 mar 45. Those with a link will take you to a battalionpublished history. Separate tank battalions were military formations used by the united states army during world. Abmc headquarters 2300 clarendon blvd, suite 500 arlington, va 22201 phone. The story of lieutenant jim flowers and the first platoon, company c, 712th tank battalion, on hill 122. The fourth tank was commanded by jule braatz, a recently married 26. A 712th tank battalion veteran of pattons third army returned home after the second world war, but for over fifty years rarely speaks of his wartime experiences. My uncle wilfred minielli was a member of the 749th tank battalion in world war ii. Brothers in arms is the actual, heroic account of the 761st tank battalion, an africanamerican armored unit that fought in world war ii. It was then moved to fort knox, kentucky, where the battalion was training when the japanese attacked pearl harbor on december 7, 1941.
Redesignated from the 44th antitank battalion provisional at fort dix, new jersey, on 15 december, 1941. Landed at utah beach on 11 and 12 july equipped with m10s. The fourth tank was commanded by jule braatz, a recently married 26yearold sergeant from wausau, wisconsin. Eckard of hickory, nc was a member of company a of the 712th tank battalion. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading they were all young kids. Genealogy wwii louvre building travel world war ii buildings viajes family tree diagram. I have done the same for many years, but have never seen someone quite like aaron so dedicated to preservation of wwii history, through oral history. He also has two websites where, among other things, he sells oral histories, interviews hes conducted with veterans over twentyplus years. The armored fist isnt about the tanks themselves but the soldiers in them like billy wolfe who wrote in high school that i may get specialized training from uncle sam that might be my lifes work. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading tanks for the memories.
The 712th tank battalion, activated 20 sep 1943, received 5 campaign stars for combat in normandy, northern france, ardennes, rhineland, and central europe. An oral history of the 712th tank battalion in world war ii, by aaron c. World war ii oral history, books about world war ii, world. Ellis tank slid into a bomb crater with four feet of water and flipped over. The scene he described on omaha beach typified his battalions first hours in combat. It was one of five tank battalions all independent that landed in normandy on dday 6 june 1944. So the reader has to pay a little more attention to follow who is speaking, and the time, place and events theyre speaking of. The stories and anecdotes range from descriptions of life in the horse.
European history world history american war american history george patton old blood happy stories jewish men newspaper headlines. Formed from 67th infantry medium tanks at fort meade, maryland, on 15 june 1940 under lt. Tanks for the memories is the book that turned him into an oral historian. Co,rank,name,hometown,state,status,cemetery,dod,lct,tank officers,105 a,1st lt. Photographical journey through the allied snipers of world war ii. An oral history of the 712th tank battalion in world war ii kindle edition by elson, aaron. The 712th was one of the independent tank battalions that operated in the eto during wwii, and was cadred from the 10th armored division in mid 1943.
The book chronicles the lives of young black men from all over the united states who registered for the draft or volunteered in the united states army in 1942. Us army units book 2 boxes 127489 33rd armored regiment. Once upon a tank in the battle of the bulge reflections of a tank company commander four marines a to trio plus one a dday tapes sampler and his book on the 712th tank battalion tanks for the memories as pacifist has stated the audio quality does vary greatly from disc to disc, but overall, the audio is usually fairly good. The companies that the 712th tank battalion were associated with.
World war ii operational documents arrow after action report, 712th tank battalion, july 44 mar 45. An oral history of the 712th tank battalion in world war ii. Battle of the, 19441945, campaigns, history, regimental histories, tank warfare, united states, united states. Japan, this book recounts the engineer role in the campaigns in north. Buffington,columbus junction,ia,kia,normandy,7291944 a. The 741st waged a grueling war that began on dday when twentyseven of its amphibious tanks sank and hapless crewmen perished in the frigid water. The 712th tank battalion in the second world war elson, aaron on.
July 3, 1944 712th tank battalion oral history audiobooks. The document the training and combat history of company d, 19th tank battalion, from may 1943 to july 1945. The original tanks for the memories was published in. While that gives the preferred organisation for both, it doesnt say for certain what they actually used in action. This book tells you the history of the 712th tank battalion.
The story is not complete because he normally recorded information only from veterans of a and c companies. A little further round the hill at the water pumping station there is one to the 712th tank regiment, and finally at plessislastelle there is a monument to the 90th. The 712th tank battalion was activated on september 20, 1943, at camp. The battalion came ashore on omaha beach on june 30, 1944, and was attached over the next. The book itself is in fair condition, but is complete and has a complete roster listing of every member of the 712th tank battalion along with several photographs taken during the war. The 745th tank battalion was an independent tank battalion that participated in the european theater of operations eto with the united states army in world war ii. I recently read the armored fist a unit history of the us 712th independent tank battalion in wwii. In the beginning history of the franks stratagem 1861 early civil war tactics and the battle for the potomac aussie soldier prisoner of war into the valley of death.
Personal experience of a battalion operations officer. Mcclintock served with the 741st tank battalion in world war ii. Insignias of the divisions, army corps and armies to which the 712th was assigned during combat. The series of historical studies of the army ground forces, 194245, of. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. I scanned the images and text and created word documents for the pages, which i took to. The standard tank battalion three medium tank companies and one light tank company essentially superceded the medium tank battalion. I thought it would be a good idea to preserve the content for my three nephews, so they would know more about their grandfather. Allied snipers in 15 extraordinary photographs during wwii. Steven zaloga notes that the reason is obscure, and i can do no better than that. Ii operational documents arrow after action report, 712th tank battalion.
Read, highlight, and take notes, across web, tablet, and phone. Somebody that wasnt there, he would think that youre making that story up. Separate tank battalions were military formations used by the united states army during world war ii, especially in the european theater of operations. The reason they dont talk is they couldnt get the picture over to somebody that wasnt there. Contains monthly after action reports for the period july 1944. This book, the third in a projected fivevolume series, continues the comprehensive history of marine corps operations in world war ii. The story of the 4th maine volunteer infantry in the fight for the devilrsquo. Utah beach, normandy region, france june 1944 photo 1 photo 1 shows duplex drive dd tanks amphibious tanks equipped with propellers and canvas water skirts for floatation. Hill 122 the battle of mont castre and le plessislastelle. These battalions were temporarily attached to infantry, armored, or airborne divisions according to need, though at least one battalion 745th tank battalion spent the entire war in europe attached to one division. At a little after noon on july 3, 1944, the five medium tanks in the first platoon of a company of the 712 th tank battalion were heading toward their first combat assignment, outside the village of pretot. This incident, reported in the 709th tank battalion book 335 days in combat, is not the same as i witnessed. His was the first tank unit to land in south korea in early july 1950. These are the memories of the men who fought in, and supported the tanks of the 712th tank battalion almost 70 years ago, and memories do not unfold in a structured timeline of sequential events.
The registered agent on file for this company is dale s albee and is located at 403a red blanket rd, prospect, or 975369719. Home world war ii operational documents after action report, 716th tank battalion, 9 jan 45 thru 8 feb 45, 18 mar 45 thru 8 feb 45. One of the events described in detail in the book is the battle for the town of pfaffenheck in between the rhine and moselle rivers in march of 1945. France, luxembourg, belgium, germany czechoslavakia. Elson html at items below if any are from related and broader terms.
This book tells the true history of the 712th tank battalion. The north shoulder and his series of the battle of the bulge books, focusing on the northern shoulder and northern center of the battle. It is a wonder now what seemed so desirable about such a status but when on 20 sept. Pdf tanks for the memories download full pdf book download. When they entered combat somewhere south of osan, covering the withdrawal, they had no armor piercing or he ammunition for their main guns, only practice rounds, which fragmented well for antipersonnel use, but were hopeless against the north. The training and combat history of company d, 19th tank.
Breakout and pursuit army center of military history. He left a copy of the history of the 745th tank battalion. It may have merged with another organization or ceased operations. This organization has not appeared on the irs business master file in a number of months. Mason then provided for the defense of the merkers area and the various mine entrances with his first and third battalions, elements of the 712th tank battalion, and the 773d tank destroyer battalion and numerous antiaircraft guns. The 712th tank battalion landed in france three weeks after dday and spent 11 months in combat. He began to record what members of the battalion told him about the battalion. The corps of engineers us army center of military history. Hill 122 the battle of mont castre and le plessislastelle page 2. The unit shipped out on january 2, 1944, and arrived at gourock, scotland, in january, 1944.
1348 467 1349 958 720 1358 111 1153 631 200 1441 1300 692 648 335 1336 215 592 1431 1305 390 917 480 1136 1418 196 346 717 140 1190 403 892 736 655 2 1 1017 280 949 720 1015