The 12th Armored Division was activated on 15 September 1942. Organization and initial training was at
Camp Campbell, Kentucky, and continued at
Camp Barkeley in
Abilene, Texas. The division consisted of approximately 11,000 soldiers, and was composed of tank, field artillery, motorized infantry battalions and other support units. The division adopted the nickname "The Hellcats," officially announced on February 1, 1943. It was the result of a contest open to all personnel in the division during training symbolizing its toughness and readiness for combat. While at Camp Barkeley, the 44th Tank Battalion was sent to the
Pacific Theater of Operations in March 1944 on a special mission and later distinguished itself as the first unit to enter
Manila. The 44th was replaced by the 714th Tank Battalion, which rejoined the division after having been previously reassigned in a reorganization in November 1943.
Walt Disney designed a logo for the 714th Tank Battalion.
Origin of Combat Units The 12th was originally organized as a heavy armored division with two armored regiments, the 43rd and 44th, and one armored infantry regiment, the
56th Armored Infantry Regiment. In November 1943, it was reorganized from a heavy division to a light division as part of a general streamlining of all armored divisions, except the
1st,
2nd and
3rd, which were already overseas.
Tank Battalions The original 43rd and 44th Armored Regiments were reorganized as the 23rd, 43rd, 44th, 714th and 779th Tank Battalions during the reorganization the division underwent while at the
Tennessee Maneuver Area in
Watertown, Tennessee, in November 1943. It was replaced by the 714th Tank Battalion, which rejoined the 12th AD. The 779th Tank Battalion was sent to the Philippines late in the war, but did not see any combat action. in
Wiltshire, UK. It crossed the
English Channel from
Southampton, arrived at
Le Havre, France, on 11 November 1944 and then traveled up the
Seine River to
Rouen to join the
Seventh Army under Lieutenant General
Alexander Patch. Advance elements met the enemy near
Weisslingen in
Alsace on 5 December, and the entire division moved against the
Maginot Line fortifications two days later. In its advance,
Rohrbach-lès-Bitche and towns surrounding
Bettviller were liberated by 12 December 1944, and
Utweiler, Germany was seized on 21 December. After a short period of rehabilitation and maintenance, the 12th rolled against the
Rhine bridgehead at
Herrlisheim that the Germans had established as part of their
Operation Nordwind offensive. In order to seal the
Battle of the Bulge, units of the Seventh Army were diverted north to assist the
Third Army in capturing
Bastogne. Due to this, the remainder of the Seventh Army, including the 12th Armored Division, was stretched thin holding a long front line with only eight divisions. German defenders repulsed two division attacks in the most violent combat in the history of the division, during 8 to 10 January and 16 to 17 January 1945. The division's attacks at Herrlisheim failed to use combined-arms tactics and were defeated in detail, resulting in two tank and two armored infantry battalions taking heavy losses. Poor tactics were compounded by terrain that was almost tabletop-flat, offering the German defenders excellent fields of fire. However, enemy counterattacks also failed, in part because of the firm leadership of the commander of
Combat Command B, Colonel Charles Bromley, who declared his headquarters expendable and ordered all personnel in the headquarters to prepare a hasty defense. In a lightning drive, the 12th effected junction with French forces at
Rouffach, on 5 February, sealing the
Colmar Pocket and ending German resistance in the
Vosges Mountains. Except for elements acting as a protective screen, the division withdrew to the
St. Avold area for rest and rehabilitation. The division was attached to the Third Army under General
George S. Patton Jr. from 17 March 1945 through its crossing of the Rhine on 28 March. disguising the fact that Patton had an additional armored division under his command. Thus the 12th was given the nickname the "Mystery Division". After assisting in the seizure of
Schweinfurt, the division continued toward
Nuremberg on 13 April, taking
Neustadt, then shifted south toward
Munich on 17 April. Elements of the 12th raced from
Dinkelsbühl to the
Danube, where they found the bridge at
Lauingen had been blown. Moving quickly they captured the bridge at
Dillingen intact before demolition men could destroy it. This bridge provided a vital artery for Allied troops flooding into southern Bavaria. The division spearheaded the Seventh Army drive, securing
Landsberg, on 27 April and clearing the area between the
Ammer and
Würm Lakes by 30 April. The 12th Armored Division is recognized as a liberating unit of the
Landsberg concentration camps near the Landsberg Prison, sub-camps of
Dachau concentration camp on 27 April 1945. On 29 April 1945, the 12th AD liberated
Oflag VII-A Murnau, a German Army POW camp for Polish Army officers interned north of the Bavarian town of
Murnau am Staffelsee during World War II. Elements crossed the
Inn River and the Austrian border at
Kufstein on 3 May. Under Lee's command were members of the German
Wehrmacht, who combined forces with 2 tanks from the 12th to fight the SS Commander and soldiers guarding the prisoners. For leading the successful rescue of these prisoners, Lee was promoted to captain and awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. The 12th Armored Division engaged in security duty around
Ulm It was deactivated on 3 December 1945, and on 17 December 1945, its battle flags were turned in at
Camp Kilmer, New Jersey.
POWs captured During its deployment the 12th Armored Division captured 72,243 enemy prisoners of war. and
Wernher von Braun. Nearly 8,500 Allied POWs, including 1,500 Americans, and an additional 20,000 non-military prisoners, were liberated by the 12th AD.
Casualties Total 12th Armored Division complement: 10,937 at end of 1944; 17,000 assigned to the division between activation and deactivation •
Total battle casualties: 3,527 •
Killed in action: 616 • Headquarters Company • Combat Command A • Combat Command B • Reserve Command • 23rd Tank Battalion • 43rd Tank Battalion • 44th Tank Battalion - detached and sent to the Pacific, replaced by the 714th Tank Battalion • 714th Tank Battalion - detached from the division to be a separate tank battalion and later returned to replace the detached 44th Tank Battalion • 17th Armored Infantry Battalion • 56th Armored Infantry Battalion • 66th Armored Infantry Battalion • 92nd Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron (Mechanized) • 119th Armored Engineer Battalion • 12th Armored Division Artillery • 493nd Armored Field Artillery Battalion • 494th Armored Field Artillery Battalion • 495th Armored Field Artillery Battalion • 12th Armored Division Trains • 152nd Armored Signal Company • 134th Armored Ordnance Maintenance Battalion • 82nd Armored Medical Battalion • Military Police Platoon • Band Coat of Arms
Awards • Campaigns: Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe. • Days of combat: 102 •
Distinguished Unit Citations: 1 - 92nd Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, Mechanized •
Meritorious Unit Citation: 3, to the 134th Ordnance Maintenance Battalion (with a star in addition); 82d Armored Medical Battalion; and 152d Armored Signal Company • Division authorized by France to incorporate Arms of the City of
Colmar in its division insignia for action in liberating the city.
Individual awards: •
Medal of Honor: 1 -
Edward A. Carter Jr. •
Distinguished Service Cross: 6 •
Silver Star: 198 •
Legion of Merit: 4 •
Distinguished Flying Cross: 3 •
Soldier's Medal: 12 •
Bronze Star Medal: 1,199 (does not include Bronze Stars issued to awardees of Combat Infantry Badges or Combat Medical Badges) •
Air Medal: 50 • Armed Forces Monument, Arlington, Virginia •
Don F. Pratt Memorial Museum, Fort Campbell, KY •
United States Holocaust Museum, Washington, DC • 50th Anniversary of World War II Memorial,
Herrlisheim, France (12th AD is the only Allied Military Unit recognized on the Monument) • Memorial to Liberation of France and Victory in World War II,
Colmar, France • Place de Col. Meigs plaque,
Rohrbach, France • US Memorial on Hill 351 (Mont de Sigolsheim),
Sigolsheim, France File:US Memorial on Hill 351 Sigolsheim DSC A 0184 sm.jpg|Monument at the top of Mont de Sigolsheim honors the American soldiers who fought for the liberation of Alsace at the site of the Battle of Sigolsheim in Dec. 1944. File:US Memorial on Hill 351 Sigolsheim inscription DSC A 0183 sm.jpg|In Appreciation (by the people of) Alsace to the 1st French Army of the Rhine and Danube and their American Comrades (who) liberated Alsace 1944–1945. The U.S. 21st Army Corps, U.S. 12th Armored Division, the U.S. 3rd, 28th, 75th, 36th, 45th, 63rd, 103rd Infantry Divisions. File:US Memorial on Hill 351 Sigolsheim insignias DSC A 0180 sm.jpg|The insignias of the U.S. Divisions that fought in Alsace are emblazoned on the Sigolsheim monument: the U.S. 21st Army Corps, U.S. 12th Armored Division (bottom row, 2nd from left), the U.S. 3rd, 28th, 75th, 36th, 45th, 63rd, 103rd Infantry Divisions. File:Place de Col Meigs 2010 thb.jpg|Place Colonel Meigs is located in
Rohrbach, France near where Lt. Col. Montgomery C. Meigs died while commanding the 23rd Tank Bn, 12th AD. He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star. File:LtCol Montgomery Meigs grave marker.jpg|Grave marker of Lt. Col Meigs, commander of the 23rd Tank Bn., 12th AD,
Lorraine American Cemetery,
Saint-Avold, Departement de la Moselle, Lorraine, France. Photo courtesy of
Command Sergeant Major Dwight "Andy" Anderson (ret),
American Battle Monuments Commission. File:Herrlisheim Memorial 1 sm.jpg|50th Anniversary of World War II Memorial,
Herrlisheim, France File:Herrlisheim Memorial 3 sm.jpg|Plaque on the 50th Anniversary of World War II Memorial,
Herrlisheim, France File:24-01-105-pow.jpg|Memorial at
Andersonville National Historic Site ==12th Armored Division Association==