The 5th Armored Division ("Victory") was an

armored Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or f ...

formation Formation may refer to: Linguistics * Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes * Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes Mathematics and science * Cave formation or speleothem, a secondar ...

of the

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 ...

active from 1941 to 1945 and from 1950 to 1956.

History

The 5th Armored "Victory" Division was activated on 10 October 1941, and reached the United Kingdom in February 1944.

Combat chronicle

The division landed at

Utah Beach Utah, commonly known as Utah Beach, was the code name for one of the five sectors of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944 (D-Day), during World War II. The westernmost of the five code-named la ...

on 24 July 1944 under the command of Major General

Lunsford E. Oliver Major General Lunsford Errett Oliver (March 17, 1889 – October 13, 1978) was a senior United States Army officer, who commanded the 5th Armored Division during World War II. Early life and military career Lunsford Errett Oliver was born on ...

, and moved into combat on 2 August, driving south through

Coutances Coutances () is a Communes of France, commune in the Manche Departments of France, department in Normandy (administrative region), Normandy in north-western France. History Capital of the Unelli, a Gauls, Gaulish tribe, the town was given the n ...

Avranches Avranches (; nrf, Avraunches) is a commune in the Manche department, and the region of Normandy, northwestern France. It is a subprefecture of the department. The inhabitants are called ''Avranchinais''. History By the end of the Roman period, t ...

, and Vitré, and across the

Mayenne River The Mayenne () is a long river in western France, principally located in the French region of Pays de la Loire. Together with the river Sarthe and its tributary the Loir it forms the Maine, which is a tributary to the Loire. Geography Its sou ...

to seize the city of

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Man ...

, 8 August. Turning north, the division surrounded the Germans in

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

by advancing, through

Le Mêle-sur-Sarthe Le Mêle-sur-Sarthe (, literally ''Le Mêle on Sarthe'') is a commune in the Orne department in north-western France. Twin towns – sister cities Le Mêle-sur-Sarthe is twinned with: * Faringdon, United Kingdom ''(since 1990)'' * Königstein ...

liberated on 11 August, to the edge of the city of Argentan on 12 August—8 days before the Argentan-Falaise Gap was closed. Turning Argentan over to the

90th Infantry Division 90th Division may refer to: ;Infantry * 90th Division (1st Formation)(People's Republic of China), 1949–1950 * 90th Division (2nd Formation)(People's Republic of China), 1950–1952 * 90th Light Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) * 90th Infantry Divi ...

, the 5th Armored advanced 80 miles to capture the

Eure River The Eure (; ) is a river between Normandy and Centre-Val de Loire in north-western France, left tributary of the Seine. It is long. It rises at Marchainville in the Orne department and joins the Seine near Pont-de-l'Arche. Two departments ar ...

Line at

Dreux Dreux () is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France. Geography Dreux lies on the small river Blaise, a tributary of the Eure, about 35 km north of Chartres. Dreux station has rail connections to Argentan, Paris and Granvi ...

on 16 August. Bitter fighting was encountered in clearing the

Eure Eure () is a department in Normandy in Northwestern France, named after the river Eure. Its prefecture is Évreux. In 2019, Eure had a population of 599,507.Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributarie ...

corridor, the second big trap in France. The 5th passed through Paris 30 August to spearhead

V Corps 5th Corps, Fifth Corps, or V Corps may refer to: France * 5th Army Corps (France) * V Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * V Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Ar ...

drive through the

Compiègne Forest Compiègne (; pcd, Compiène) is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. It is located on the river Oise. Its inhabitants are called ''Compiégnois''. Administration Compiègne is the seat of two cantons: * Compiègne-1 (with 19 c ...

, across the

Oise Oise ( ; ; pcd, Oése) is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise. Inhabitants of the department are called ''Oisiens'' () or ''Isariens'', after the Latin name for the river, Isara. It had a population of 829,419 ...

Aisne Aisne ( , ; ; pcd, Ainne) is a French department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. It is named after the river Aisne. In 2019, it had a population of 531,345.Somme Rivers, and reached the Belgian border at Condé, 2 September. The division then turned east, advancing 100 miles in 8 hours, and crossed the

Meuse The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a t ...

Charleville-Mézières or ''Carolomacérienne'' , image flag=Flag of Charleville Mezieres.svg Charleville-Mézières () is a commune of northern France, capital of the Ardennes department, Grand Est. Charleville-Mézières is located on the banks of the river Meuse. ...

, 4 September. Racing past Sedan, it liberated

Luxembourg City Luxembourg ( lb, Lëtzebuerg; french: Luxembourg; german: Luxemburg), also known as Luxembourg City ( lb, Stad Lëtzebuerg, link=no or ; french: Ville de Luxembourg, link=no; german: Stadt Luxemburg, link=no or ), is the capital city of the Lu ...

on the 10th and deployed along the German border. The reconnaissance squadron of the division sent a patrol across the German border on the afternoon of 11 September to be the first of the Allies to cross the enemy frontier. On 14 September, the 5th penetrated the

Siegfried Line The Siegfried Line, known in German as the ''Westwall'', was a German defensive line built during the 1930s (started 1936) opposite the French Maginot Line. It stretched more than ; from Kleve on the border with the Netherlands, along the west ...

at Wallendorf, remaining until the 20th, to draw off enemy reserves from

Aachen Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th- ...

. In October it held defensive positions in the

Monschau Monschau (; french: Montjoie, ; wa, Mondjoye) is a small resort town in the Eifel region of western Germany, located in the Aachen district of North Rhine-Westphalia. Geography The town is located in the hills of the North Eifel, within the ...

-Hofen sector. The division entered the Hurtgen Forest area in late November and pushed the enemy back to the banks of the

Roer River The Rur or Roer (german: Rur ; Dutch and li, Roer, , ; french: Rour) is a major river that flows through portions of Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. It is a right (eastern) tributary to the Meuse ( nl, links=no, Maas). About 90 perc ...

in very heavy fighting. On 22 December it was withdrawn to

Verviers Verviers (; wa, Vervî) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Ensival, Heusy, Lambermont, Petit-Rechain, Stembert, and Verviers. It is also the ...

and placed in 12th Army Group reserve. Crossing the Roer on 25 February 1945 the 5th spearheaded the XIII Corps drive to the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

, crossing the Rhine at

Wesel Wesel () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the Wesel district. Geography Wesel is situated at the confluence of the Lippe River and the Rhine. Division of the city Suburbs of Wesel include Lackhausen, Obrighove ...

, 30 March. The Division reached the banks of the

Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repu ...

at Tangermunde, 12 April—45 miles from Berlin. On 16 April, the 5th moved to Klotze to wipe out the Von Clausewitz Panzer Division and again drove to the Elbe, this time in the vicinity of Dannenberg. The division mopped up in the Ninth Army sector until

VE-day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945, marking the official end of World War II in Europe in the Easter ...

Casualties

*Total battle casualties: 3,075Army Battle Casualties and Nonbattle Deaths, Final Report (Statistics and Analysis Branch, Office of the Adjutant General, 1 June 1953) *Killed in action: 833 *Wounded in action: 2,442 *Missing in action: 41 *Prisoner of war: 22

Composition

The division was composed of the following units: * Headquarters * Headquarters Company * Combat Command A * Combat Command B * Combat Command Reserve * 10th Tank Battalion * 34th Tank Battalion * 81st Tank Battalion * 15th Armored Infantry Battalion * 46th Armored Infantry Battalion * 47th Armored Infantry Battalion * Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 5th Armored Division Artillery ** 47th Armored Field Artillery Battalion ** 71st Armored Field Artillery Battalion ** 95th Armored Field Artillery Battalion * 85th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron (Mechanized) * 22nd Armored Engineer Battalion * 145th Armored Signal Company * Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 5th Armored Division Trains ** 127th Armored Maintenance Battalion ** 75th Armored Medical Battalion ** Military Police Platoon ** Band

Attachments

* 628th Tank Destroyer Battalion (attached 2 August 1944 – 19 December 1944, 28 January 1945 – 9 May 1945) * 629th Tank Destroyer Battalion (attached 29 August 1944 – 14 December 1944) * 771st Tank Destroyer Battalion (attached 17 April 1945 – 24 April 1945) * 387th AAA Automatic Weapons Battalion (attached 1 August 1944 – 25 March 1945, 28 March 1945 – 9 May 1945) * 202d Field Artillery Battalion (attached 2 August 1944 – 25 August 1944) The division's losses included 570 killed in action, 2,442 wounded in action, and 140 who died of wounds. The division was inactivated on 11 October 1945, reactivated in 1950 at

Fort Chaffee Fort Chaffee Joint Maneuver Training Center is an Army National Guard installation in western Arkansas, adjacent to the city of Fort Smith. Established as Camp Chaffee in 1941, renamed to Fort Chaffee in 1956, Fort Chaffee has served as a United ...

, AR, and inactivated for the final time in 1956.

Commanders

*MG Jack W. Heard (1941–1942) *BG Sereno E. Brett (1942 – February 1943) *MG

(February 1943 – May 1945)

References

External links

from http://www.battleofthebulge.org

{{Army Divisions (United States) 05 Armored Division, U.S. 05 Military units and formations established in 1941 Military units and formations disestablished in 1956 1941 establishments in the United States 1956 disestablishments in the United States