The 2nd Tank Destroyer Brigade was a
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division.
Br ...
of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. It was formed in November 1942 and undertook training in several locations across the United States. Due to the lack of a need for
tank destroyer
A tank destroyer, tank hunter, tank killer, or self-propelled anti-tank gun is a type of armoured fighting vehicle, armed with a direct fire artillery gun or missile launcher, designed specifically to engage and destroy enemy tanks, often wi ...
brigade headquarters the unit was disbanded in March 1944.
History
Role
The 2nd Tank Destroyer Brigade was formed at
Camp Hood in Texas as part of the
Tank Destroyer Center
A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine ...
on 24 November 1942, and was one of the two
tank destroyer
A tank destroyer, tank hunter, tank killer, or self-propelled anti-tank gun is a type of armoured fighting vehicle, armed with a direct fire artillery gun or missile launcher, designed specifically to engage and destroy enemy tanks, often wi ...
brigades established by the Army (the other being the
1st Tank Destroyer Brigade
The 1st Tank Destroyer Brigade was a United States Army brigade of World War II. It was formed in November 1942, and landed in France in July 1944. It took part in the campaign in Western Europe and was disbanded in November 1945. The 434th Field A ...
, which was also established at Camp Hood on 18 November 1942). The initial role of both brigades was to oversee the training of the large number of
tank destroyer battalions that had been formed.
At this time, US Army doctrine called for tank destroyers to primarily operate as concentrated
battalion
A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...
s during combat. These battalions were to be concentrated in
regiment
A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation.
In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...
-sized groups and brigades when needed to combat large forces of enemy
tank
A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engin ...
s. Combat experience in Europe demonstrated that tank destroyer brigades were not needed. Tank destroyers were usually parcelled out to other units, and were rarely concentrated in battalions. The thirteen tank destroyer group headquarters dispatched to Europe and North Africa never led massed units of tank destroyers, and nor did the 1st Tank Brigade after it was also sent there.
Deployments
The brigade was transferred to
Camp Forrest in Tennessee on 11 April 1943, where it was assigned to the
Second Army. From 19 April to 26 August it was at the
Tennessee Maneuver Area. The 1st Tank Destroyer Brigade returned to Camp Forrest, and remained there until 20 November 1943 when it was sent to
Camp Breckinridge
Morganfield is a home rule-class city in Union County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 3,285 as of the year 2010 U.S. census.
Name
The city was named for Revolutionary War General Daniel Morga ...
in Kentucky. It formed part of
XX Corps. The brigade was disbanded at Camp Breckinridge on 8 March 1944 as it was not needed.
See also
*
List of tank destroyer units of the United States Army
The United States Army raised a large number of tank destroyer units during World War II.
For most of the war US Army doctrine called for tank destroyers to primarily operate as concentrated tank destroyer battalions during combat. These battali ...
References
;Citations
;Works consulted
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*{{cite book , last1=Zaloga , first1=Steve , title=US Tank and Tank Destroyer Battalions in the ETO 1944-45 , date=2005 , publisher=Osprey , location=Oxford , isbn=978-1-84176-798-7
Tank destroyer brigades of the United States Army
Military units and formations established in 1942
Military units and formations disestablished in 1944