4th Armored Division ( United States ) The 4th Armored Division of the United States Army was an armored division that compiled a distinguished career in the European theater of World War II . Unlike many other World War II U . S . armored divisions , the 4th never adopted an official divisional nickname or slogan . Legend says their unofficial nickname came to be when the original commander , traditionally permitted to nickname a unit , replied that " Fourth Armored Division " was " Name Enough " . History . The division was activated on 15 April 1941 by cadre of the 1st Armored Division , and was fitted out as a full armored division in 1942 under the command of Major General John S . Wood . The 4th AD deployed to the United Kingdom in early 1944 in preparation for the invasion of France . After training in England from January to July 1944 , the 4th Armored Division landed at Utah Beach 11 July and entered combat 17 July . As part of the VIII Corps exploitation force for Operation Cobra , the 4th secured the Coutances area on 28 July . The division then swung south to take Nantes , cutting off the Brittany Peninsula , 12 August 1944 . Turning east , it drove swiftly across France north of the Loire , smashed across the Moselle 11 – 13 September , flanked Nancy and captured Lunéville , 16 September . It fought several German panzergrenadier brigades in the Lorraine area including the SS Panzergrenadier Brigade 49 and SS Panzergrenadier Brigade 51 at this time , defeating a larger German force through superior tactics and training . After maintaining a defensive line , Chambrey to Xanrey to Hénaménil , from 27 September to 11 October , the division rested briefly before returning to combat 9 November with an attack in the vicinity of Viviers . The 4th cleared Bois de Serres , 12 November , advanced through Dieuze and crossed the Saar River , 21 – 22 November , to establish and expand bridgehead and took Singling and Bining , then Baerendorf 24 November , before being relieved 8 December . Two days after the Germans launched their Ardennes Offensive , the 4th Armored entered the fight ( 18 December 1944 ) , racing northwest into Belgium , covering 150 miles in 19 hours . The division attacked the Germans at Bastogne , helping to relieve the besieged 101st Airborne Division . Six weeks later the division jumped off from Luxembourg City in an eastward plunge that carried it across the Moselle River at Trier , south and east to Worms , and across the Rhine , 24 – 25 March 1945 . Advancing all night , the 4th crossed the Main River the next day , south of Hanau , and continued to push on . Lauterbach fell 29 March , Creuzburg across the Werra on 1 April , Gotha on 4 April , and by 12 April the division was across the Saale River . Pursuit of the enemy continued and by 6 May the division had crossed into Czechoslovakia , established a bridgehead across the Otava River at Strakonice , with forward elements at Pisek . It was reassigned to the XII Corps on 30 April 1945 . The division ' s first commander was Major General John Shirley Wood , ( known as " P " Wood to his contemporaries , the " P " standing for " Professor " ) who took over the division in 1942 and trained it for two years before he led it into battle . to combat . The British military armor theorist and historian , Capt . Basil H . Liddell Hart , once referred to General Wood as " the Rommel of the American armored forces . " Like Rommel , Wood commanded from the front , and preferred staying on the offensive , using speed and envelopment tactics to confuse the enemy . General Wood often utilized a light Piper Cub liaison aircraft flown by his personal pilot , Maj . Charles " Bazooka Charlie " Carpenter , to keep up with his rapidly - moving division , sometimes personally carrying corps orders from headquarters directly to his advancing armored columns . The 4th Armored was later commanded by Major General Hugh Gaffey , and Major General Archibald R . Kennedy . One of its most famous members was Creighton Abrams , who commanded the 37th Tank Battalion , then Combat Command B ( CCB ) . Abrams later rose to command all U . S . forces in Vietnam and served as U . S . Army Chief of Staff in the 1970s . The current U . S . M - 1 tank is named after him . Postwar Service . After a tour of occupation duty , the division returned to the United States for inactivation . Most of its elements , however , remained as occupation forces after redesignation as the United States Constabulary . The Division was reactivated in 1954 at Fort Hood Texas and was deployed to Germany in 1957 with headquarters in Göppingen . It appears to have been part of VII Corps for most of this period . On 30 June 1958 Combat Command " A " was at Wiley Barracks , New Ulm , It comprised 2nd MTB , 66th Armored Regiment ( Leipheim ) , 2nd Armored Rifle Battalion , 41st Infantry ( Neu Ulm ) , and 2nd Armored Rifle Battalion , 51st Infantry Regiment . CCB was at Ferris Barracks , Erlangen , comprising the 1st MTB , 35th Armour Regiment ( Ferris Bks , Erlangen ) , 2nd Medium Tank Battalion , 67th Arm ( Fürth ) , 2nd ARB , 50th Inf ( Ferris Bks , Erlangen ) , and 2nd Rcn Sq , 15th Cavalry . CCC was at McKee Barracks , Crailsheim . It comprised 1st MTB , 37th Arm ( McKee Bks , Crailsheim ) and 1st ARB , 54th Infantry . The division remained in Germany until final inactivation in May 1971 , when it was redesignated the 1st Armored Division .