The 752nd Tank Battalion was an American independent tank battalion that participated in the

Mediterranean Theater of Operations The Mediterranean Theater of Operations, United States Army (MTOUSA), originally called the North African Theater of Operations, United States Army (NATOUSA), was a military formation of the United States Army that supervised all U.S. Army forc ...

with the

US Fifth Army The United States Army North (ARNORTH) is a formation of the United States Army. An Army Service Component Command (ASCC) subordinate to United States Northern Command (NORTHCOM), ARNORTH is the joint force land component of NORTHCOM.

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 ...

. The 752nd Tank Battalion officially formed on June 1, 1941. On 21 March 1943, while in

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

, the battalion was inactivated by General Orders Number 31, Fifth Army, and was reconstituted as the ''2642nd Armored Replacement Battalion''. Their role during this time was to train and prepare replacements for various armored units in North Africa. On 16 September 1943, however, the clerical error was discovered, the general order inactivating the battalion was rescinded, and the 752nd was reactivated as a combat battalion. The unit remained in

Tabarka Tabarka ( ar, طبرقة ') is a coastal town located in north-western Tunisia, close to the border with Algeria. Tabarka's history is a mosaic of Berber, Punic, Hellenistic, Roman, Arabic, Genoese and Turkish culture. The town is dominated b ...

and

Bizerte Bizerte or Bizerta ( ar, بنزرت, translit=Binzart , it, Biserta, french: link=no, Bizérte) the classical Hippo, is a city of Bizerte Governorate in Tunisia. It is the northernmost city in Africa, located 65 km (40mil) north of the cap ...

until they shipped to

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

on January 12, 1944 to join the Italian Campaign.

First Combat - May 23, 1944

The unit was part of the US Fifth Army attached to the 88th Infantry Division when it first engaged the enemy.

Attachments

During its time in the MTO, the 752nd was attached to the following units, either as a whole Battalion or individual companies: * US II Corps *

US IV Corps IV Corps was a corps-sized formation of the United States Army that saw service in both World War I and World War II. World War I The corps was first organized on 20 June 1918, during World War I as part of the American Expeditionary Forces. Un ...

* US 34th Infantry Division * US 85th Infantry Division * US 88th Infantry Division * US 442nd Infantry Regiment

References

{{reflist United States Army, "752nd Tank Bn" (1945). World War Regimental Histories. Book 60. http://digicom.bpl.lib.me.us/ww_reg_his/60
After action report, 752d Tank Battalion, 23 May 44 - 28 Aug 44, Oct 44 and Dec 44, Jan thru 3 May 45.
Tank battalions of the United States Army