628th Tank Destroyer Battalion The 628th Tank Destroyer Battalion was a tank destroyer battalion of the United States Army active during the Second World War . It was redesignated the 628th Tank Battalion after the end of the war , and today exists as the 103rd Armor Regiment . Early service . The battalion was formed in early 1941 as the 28th Infantry Division Provisional Antitank Battalion , and on 15 December was redesignated as the 628th Tank Destroyer Battalion , in line with the reorganization of the anti - tank force . During training , in 1943 , the battalion provided a cadre to form the nucleus of the 648th Tank Destroyer Battalion . The 628th remained in the United States until January 1944 , when it was shipped to the United Kingdom aboard the " Aquitania " . From 11 April to 5 July , it operated three marshaling camps in southern England , providing accommodation and administration for combat troops of the 1st and the 29th Divisions being prepared for the Normandy landings . France . The battalion landed in Normandy on 30 July , equipped with M10 Wolverine s . After a brief period in camp , it was attached to the newly arrived 5th Armored Division , and began operations on 2 August , with first contact with an enemy force on 4 August . In order to co - operate more closely with the 5th Armored , the battalion was split up , with one company going to each of the division ' s Combat Command s . The force moved south through Avranches and then southwest to Le Mans , before pushing north on 10 August to help close the Falaise Pocket . On 11 August a Panzer IV was destroyed , the first of the battalion ' s tank kills , and the same night , the rearguard of Company A encountered a German column , and in a close - range action accounted for eight vehicles and 240 enemy troops ; a sergeant of the company received both the Silver Star and the Croix de Guerre for this action , giving the battalion its first tank kill and its first combat decoration on the same day . The battalion headed eastwards on 15 August , briefly crossing the Eure River on the 17th . The commanding officer , Lt . Col . Hernandez , was killed on 20 August whilst observing indirect fire , and succeeded by his executive officer , Major Gallagher ; in the same action , two Panzer V tanks were destroyed for the loss of one M10 , the first tank destroyer lost in action by the battalion . After operating along the Seine for several days , the battalion withdrew southeast to rest on the 25th . On 27 , 5 August Armored was detached from the XV Corps and ordered to drive east to the Belgian border ; the battalion left camp on the 30th and , passing through Paris , arrived on the border late on the night of 2 September . The battalion was reorganized and attached in its entirety to Combat Command R , before the division moved south to Sedan and eastwards to Luxembourg , crossing the border on 9 September and arriving at the German border on the 11th . Siegfried Line . On the 13th , the division began to push against the Siegfried Line fortifications around Wallendorf , aiming to push through to Bitburg . The first elements of the battalion crossed onto German soil on the 13th , with the remainder of the battalion crossing on the 15th and establishing a command post six miles inside Germany . The battalion came under a strong counter - attack on the 17th , with Lt . Rennbaum of B Company receiving the Distinguished Service Cross for his work in evacuating his platoon under heavy fire . The 19th saw further intensification of the fighting , with artillery fire rising to the point where it was decided to withdraw all units back across the river into Luxembourg ; the last element of the battalion left Germany at 5 am on the 20th . In this final day of combat , eleven German tanks were definitely destroyed by the battalion , with a further seven probably destroyed but not confirmed . Through October and November 1944 , the battalion remained in defensive positions , moving northwards to Faymonville in eastern Belgium in early October . Throughout this time , it mostly carried out indirect fire missions ; Company C , attached to Combat Command B , was deployed for the attack on Aachen , but not committed to combat . The battalion moved eastwards into Germany , billeted near Kalterherberg , in late October ; shortly thereafter , on 1 November , the battalion was re - equipped with new M36 Jackson tank destroyers . In late November , Combat Command R , along with Company C , was detached from the 5th Armored to provide support to the 8th Infantry Division in the Battle of Hurtgen Forest ; on 3 December , Combat Command A , with Company A , was likewise attached to the 4th Infantry , with both very heavy fighting – at one point , Company C was reduced to only one M - 36 out of twelve able to operate . The battalion was strafed by ME - 109 s on the 3rd ; two were downed by anti - aircraft fire , the first aircraft the battalion had destroyed . On the 8th , plans were made to pull the battalion out of the line to prepare for a crossing of the Roer River , with companies B and C remaining in action for the time being . Battle of the Bulge . On 17 December , the scale of the German offensive in the Ardennes was becoming clear ; the battalion was immediately ordered to provide anti - paratroop patrols along the divisional supply lines , and on the 19th was detached from the 5th Armored and attached to the 78th Infantry Division in XIX Corps , north of the main offensive area . On 23 December , when it became apparent that the line north of the " bulge " was stable , the battalion was detached from the 78th Division and attached to 3rd Armored Division in VII Corps , deployed on the northern side of the German salient ; it arrived in place in the early afternoon of the 24th , and took up defensive positions . After a brief encounter with German infantry on the 24th , combat began in the early hours of Christmas Day ; a tank destroyer of Company B knocked out two Panther tank s at 25 yards range , causing the opposing force to withdraw and avoid the area . The battalion remained on the defensive until the 3rd Armored was withdrawn into reserve , and on 1 January was attached to the 82nd Airborne Division for eleven days to help clear the area west of the Salm River ; during this period , the battalion lost four M36s and fourteen men , destroying six tanks – including two Tiger II tanks . Advance into Germany . On 11 January the battalion was attached to the 75th Infantry Division , but left them on the 16th , without having made contact with the enemy , and moved into XVIII Airborne Corps Reserve . On 27 January the battalion was once again attached to its old partner , the 5th Armored Division , and joined them to rest and prepare for a crossing of the Roer River ; Company A was detached to join the divisional artillery , and during the four weeks of preparations fired two thousand rounds of indirect fire . On 23 February the attack began , with Company B crossing the Roer at Linnich on the 25th , and the remainder of the battalion following the next day . The division then swung northwards through the Rhineland , reaching the west bank of the Rhine on 10 March . From the 13th to the 29th , the battalion fired 1500 rounds of harassing fire at targets in the Ruhr , on the far bank . On 30 March the companies were assigned to combat commands in preparation for offensive operations , and crossed the river on the 31st , over a pontoon bridge at Wessel ; the final breakout had begun . On 2 April , the division bypassed Münster , arriving at the Wesser River shortly thereafter and pausing until 8 April , when the river was crossed at Hamelin . The division moved north - east , passing to the south of Hannover and reaching the River Elbe on the 11th . Whilst the division was consolidating its position on the west bank , intelligence reports suggested that the " Clausewitz " Panzer Division had broken out from the Berlin area , and was heading south in order to cut American supply lines and join up with other units in the Harz Mountains . In order to counter this threat , the division moved west , leaving Combat Command A ( with Company A ) to cover the Elbe . A divisional supply train was ambushed on the 16th , losing several vehicles ; among them was a truck from the battalion , carrying the unit standard . This , however , was recaptured the next day . On the 23rd , a Panzer V tank was knocked out , the fifty - sixth and final tank destroyed by the battalion . After two weeks of mopping - up operations , the region was deemed clear , and the companies reverted to battalion command on 25 April ; the following day , the battalion moved to take up occupation duties in the Peine region of Lower Saxony , where it was located at the end of the war . By the end of the war , the Battalion had accounted for 60 tanks and self - propelled guns , as well as 30 pieces of artillery and over a hundred other vehicles , with over 1200 enemy killed and 1500 prisoners taken . Later service . The battalion was inactivated on 14 November 1945 , becoming a reserve unit of the Pennsylvania National Guard . In May 1946 it was redesignated as the 628th Tank Battalion , under which title it saw service in Europe for three years during the 1950s . In 1959 it joined with elements of the 110th Infantry Regiment and the 108th and 166th Field Artillery Battalions to form the 103rd Armor Regiment , a parent regiment in the Combat Arms Regimental System .