at
Ray Barracks, 1958 The division was reactivated on 15 July 1947 at
Fort Knox,
Kentucky as a training formation. In 1955, the 3rd Armored Division was reorganized for combat and was shipped to Germany the next year. It replaced the
4th Infantry Division under a program called
Operation Gyroscope. It was the first U.S. armored division to be stationed east of the Rhine in the Cold War. The division, headquartered at
Frankfurt am Main, served in Cold War Germany for approximately 36 years, from May 1956 to July 1992, with the exception of time spent in
Saudi Arabia and
Iraq during the leadup to and fighting of the
Gulf War. exit ramp.
Colin Powell also served in the division. He was assigned to the 2nd Armored Rifle Battalion, 48th Infantry, Combat Command B, Coleman Kaserne, Gelnhausen, between 1958 and 1960. His first Army command assignment was infantry platoon leader. The 3rd Armored's primary mission between May 1956 to July 1992 was, in the event of war, to defend the
Fulda Gap alongside other
NATO elements and if ordered, use tactical nuclear weapons against numerically superior
Warsaw Pact forces. The Division Artillery's (DIVARTY)
333rd Field Artillery Regiment was equipped with
MGM-52 Lance surface-to-surface
tactical nuclear missiles in case conventional firepower was not enough to stop advancing Warsaw Pact forces if an invasion took place.
USAREUR maxed out its Cold War troop strength in June 1962; that number was never achieved again. Also in June 1962, the nuclear warheads for U.S.
Davy Crockett devices arrived in Europe (3rd AD combat maneuver battalions were issued Davy Crocketts). In late October 1962, during the
Cuban Missile Crisis, Soviet Forces, including those in the
Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSFG), were placed on the highest alert level, as there was no way to communicate between
Washington and
Moscow. Two of the five armies in the GSFG were positioned to advance through the
Fulda Gap – the
8th Guards Army, containing three motor rifle divisions and one tank division, and
1st Guards Tank Army, containing four tank divisions and one motor rifle division. From 1963 onwards,
Reorganization Objective Army Division (ROAD) changes meant organizational changes within the 3rd AD's three combat commands and a name changeover to "brigades" (e.g. Combat Command A became 1st Brigade). To prepare their soldiers for a potential invasion by the
Warsaw Pact, the 3rd Armored Division's units frequently conducted field training, including exercises of live fire, movement and communications, in
Bavaria at
Hohenfels Training Center,
Wildflecken Training Center, and
Grafenwöhr Training Center. Throughout its time in Cold War Germany, beginning in mid-1956, the division would also frequently take to the German countryside for training maneuvers, including, beginning in January 1969, what became an annually staged war game called
Reforger (REturn of FORces to GERmany), which simulated an invasion of Western Europe by Warsaw Pact forces. Throughout the Cold War, the division headquarters company, the 503rd Administrative Company, 503rd Adjutant General Company, 503 MI Company and 503rd MP Company were based at Drake
Kaserne in
Frankfurt, with 143rd Signal Battalion and other support units stationed across the street at Edwards Kaserne in Frankfurt, West Germany. A number of its subunits were based in other Kasernes throughout the German state of
Hessen, notably Ayers Kaserne (50° 28' 32.44" N 8° 38' 29.24" E) at Kirch-Goens and Schloss Kaserne at
Butzbach (CCA/1st Brigade),
Gelnhausen (CCB/2d Brigade), Ray Barracks at
Friedberg (CCC/3rd Brigade) and Fliegerhorst near
Hanau (eventually converted to the division's Aviation Brigade base). The NCO Academy contained two companies: Co. A was assigned to the
medieval castle at Usingen-Kransberg, while Co. B was located in Butzbach. The division itself was of comprised an average of 15,000 soldiers organized into three combat commands (CCs) of comparable sizes to the World War II combat commands. These brigades were manned by at least one battalion each of infantry, armor, and artillery, and various supporting units, including medical, engineer, and aviation elements. Most of the kasernes were located adjacent to or within German communities, leading to lively trade and interaction between soldiers and German civilians. A few, however, were somewhat remotely located, particularly Ayers Kaserne ("The Rock")(50° 28' 32.44" N 8° 38' 29.24" E) outside
Kirch-Goens, where the 1st Brigade was stationed. Throughout the summer of 1990, in response to the winding down of the Cold War, 3AD was instructed to begin selective standing down of various division elements. Some units, for example the 3rd Battalion, 5th Air Defense Artillery, were turning in equipment and cross-leveling with other 3AD units when momentous events in the Middle East developed in August 1990. That month,
Iraq invaded Kuwait, and soon after, President
George H. W. Bush committed U.S. troops to the theater, first to defend
Saudi Arabia, and then to eject Iraqi troops from
Kuwait. Deployment of advance elements of 3AD began in December, with the remaining deploying units arriving by January. Units that had drawn down were replaced or augmented back to full strength. As an example, 3–5 ADA was replaced by the 8th Infantry Division's 5th Battalion, 3rd Air Defense Artillery. Other units were attached to 3AD to bring it up to, and even beyond, full strength. The division and its equipment were shifted from Germany to Saudi Arabia, with
Army National Guard and
Army Reserve elements taking over some of their duties in Germany, while in others, kasernes were left virtually empty. This massive deployment was made possible by the end of the Cold War.
Deployment order of battle For Desert Storm, the division consisted of:
Second day At 1115 hours on the second day of the invasion, all elements of the division finally moved across the line of departure. The day was marked by hard pushing to penetrate deep and fast for an objective south of
Basra. In the course of its drive, various elements of 3AD engaged the enemy, taking prisoners, skirmishing, sometimes bypassing enemy strongholds to gain ground, and other times engaging in full-scale battle. Action continued after nightfall, and by 1840 hours, the ground and air elements of the 3rd AD reported over 20 tanks, 14
APCs, several trucks and some artillery pieces destroyed. That same evening, the 4th Battalion, 32nd Armor lost the division's first casualties, with two soldiers killed and three wounded to 25mm cannon fire and the
Bradley Fighting Vehicle they were in destroyed. During the night, both darkness and sandstorms hampered soldiers' visibility, but
thermal sighting systems onboard the
M1A1 Abrams tanks and Bradleys allowed gunners to continue to knock out Iraqi targets. The 3rd Brigade, 3AD had also captured 2,500 enemy prisoners. The division was now pushing east to block the Iraqi retreat from Kuwait and conduct mopping up operations. The 3rd AD served at the
Battle of 73 Easting and the
Battle of Norfolk. Only three of its M1A1 Abrams tanks were damaged during combat operations. The 3rd Armored Division suffered 15 soldiers killed between December 1990 and late February 1991. Seven soldiers were killed in action and another 27 were wounded during combat operations. Following the war, 3rd Armored Division was one of the first units rotated to
Camp Doha, Kuwait, providing protection to Kuwait as the country was rebuilt. ==Inactivation==