US 1st Armored Division WWII
Old Ironsides

The 1st Armored Division was formed on 7/15/1940 around the 7th Cavalry Brigade at Fort Knox, Kentucky. This was a reaction to the German Blitzkrieg in France and their Panzer Division Organization as well as British Doctrines in this area. Training was undertaken through 1941-42 with 1st deployment on 8 November 1942 at Oran, Algeria, North Africa, landing 1 Battalion of light tanks and other supporting units. The Division as a whole then deployed to Tunisia arriving in December and fought until May 1943 with the defeat of Axis Forces in North Africa. Inexperienced US Tank commanders found they had much to learn as their Cavalry Charge tactics proved suicidal against seasoned German forces with superior combined arms tactics and weapons.
With the conclusion of the North African Campaign, the battered 1st A D went into rest and refit mode until redeployed to Naples, Italy in October 1943. The Division took part in the Winter line battles in November 1943 before landing at Anzio in January 1944, Rome was entered in June 1944 and the Division moved North ending the War in the Po Valley in May 1945.

Components:
1st Armored Regiment
13th Armored Regiment
6th Armored Infantry Regiment
701st Tank Destroyer Battalion
27th Armored Field Artillery Battalion
81st Armored Recon Battalion
16th Armored Engineers Battalion
various Medical, Signals, Maintenance, and Supply Battalions