The 48th Armored Division was a

division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

of the

United States Army National Guard The Army National Guard (ARNG), in conjunction with the Air National Guard, is an organized Militia (United States), militia force and a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States A ...

from September 1946 until 1968. Most of its units were part of the

Florida Army National Guard The Florida Army National Guard is Florida's component of the United States Army and the United States National Guard. In the United States, the Army National Guard comprises approximately one half of the federal army's available combat forces ...

and the

Georgia Army National Guard The Georgia Army National Guard is the Army National Guard component of the Georgia National Guard, administratively part of the Georgia Department of Defense. It consists of more than 11,100 citizen-soldiers training in more than 79 hometown ...

. From 1946 to 1955 it was an infantry division. During

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 opposing ...

the denotation 48th Infantry Division was a ' phantom division' created for Operation Quicksilver, part of Operation Fortitude South II.

History

48th Infantry Division patch, Ghost Division, WWII Era

48th Infantry Division (National Guard)

The 48th "Hurricane" Infantry Division was formed on 15 September 1946 of Florida and Georgia National Guardsmen. The division conducted its first annual training from 18 July to 1 August 1948 at Fort Jackson.

48th Armored Division (National Guard)

On 1 November 1955, the division was reorganized as an armored division The

124th Infantry Regiment The 124th Infantry Regiment is a parent regiment of the United States Army, represented in the Florida Army National Guard by the 1st Battalion headquartered in Miramar and 2nd Battalion at Orlando. The two Battalions are elements of the 53rd In ...

of the Florida ARNG was assigned on 5 July 1946 to the 48th Infantry Division. It was broken up on 1 November 1955 and its elements, the 124th Armored Infantry Battalion and the 154th Armored Infantry Battalion were both assigned to the 48th Armored Division. The 124th and 154th Armored Infantry Battalions were consolidated 15 April 1959 to form the 124th Infantry, a parent regiment under the Combat Arms Regimental System, to consist of the 1st and 2d Armored Rifle Battalions, elements of the 48th Armored Division. "To prepare for challenges in Western Europe, the new troop basis authorized the conversion of four National Guard infantry divisions to armored divisions." Georgia, and Florida agreed to convert and on 1 November 1955 the 48th Division was redesignated as an armored division. When the 51st Infantry Division was inactivated in 1963, some of its units, both from Florida and South Carolina, were assigned to the 48th Armored Division. On 1 October 1957 the 48th Armored Division headquarters was transferred from Macon, Georgia, to Jacksonville, Florida, as Major General Maxwell Snyder took command. When the Army National Guard experienced its next major reorganization in 1967, the 48th Armored Division was chosen for inactivation, which occurred on 1 January 1968. Soldiers and units in Florida were assigned to the 53d Infantry Brigade, predecessor to today's 53d Infantry Brigade Combat Team. The number "48" was carried on by the Georgia National Guard and is today the 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team.

Commanders

*Maj. Gen. Henry D. Russell, Georgia National Guard (3 July 1946 - 6 February 1951) *Maj. Gen. Joseph C. Hutchinson, Florida National Guard (7 February 1951 – 29 February 1952) *Maj. Gen. Joseph B. Fraser, Georgia Army National Guard (1 March 1952 - 1 August 1955) *Maj. Gen. Patrick E. Seawright, Georgia Army National Guard (1 August 1955 – 1 October 1957) *Maj. Gen. Maxwell C. Snyder, Florida Army National Guard (1 October 1957 - July 1962) *Maj. Gen. Benjamin Merritt, Georgia Army National Guard (July 1962 - )"Gone But Not Forgotten", The Florida Guardsman, (March 1963), 16b.

Notes

References

* Holt, Thaddeus. ''The Deceivers: Allied Military Deception in the Second World War''. Phoenix. 2005. * Hesketh, Roger. ''Fortitude: The D-Day Deception Campaign''. St Ermin's Press. 1999 * Harris, Tomás & Seaman, Mark. ''Garbo: The Spy Who Saved D-Day''. Public Record Office. 2000.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:048 48th Armored Division, U.S. Divisions of the United States Army National Guard Military units and formations established in 1946 Military units and formations disestablished in 1968 1968 disestablishments in Florida