37th Armor Regiment ( United States ) The 37th Armor is an armor ( tank ) regiment of the United States Army . It is often remembered as the successor to the 37th Tank Battalion , led by then Lieutenant Colonel Creighton Abrams , during World War II . History . World War II . The 37th Armor was constituted 13 January 1941 in the Regular Army as the 7th Armored Regiment and assigned to the 4th Armored Division . It was activated on 15 April 1941 at Pine Camp ( now Fort Drum ) , New York . The 7th Armor was redesignated the 37th Armored Regiment on 8 May 1941 . The first filler personnel arrived at Pine Camp four days later , and two weeks after that a thirteen - week basic training cycle was begun . Training in the fundamentals of armor began , despite the fact that there were only twenty one tanks in the entire division . Many of the 37th Armored ' s key personnel were selected to cadre the 8th Armored Division . In October 1942 , the 37th Armored and the remainder of the 4th Armored Division moved to Tennessee for maneuvers . A month later the regiment moved again , all the way to the West Coast this time , establishing its command post near Freida , California . During this time , some of the lessons learned in combat in North Africa by the 1st Armored Division and 2nd Armored Division were taught to the 37th Armor . In early June 1943 orders came for the 37th Armor to dismount at Camp Bowie , near Brownwood , Texas . On 10 September 1943 , the 37th was reorganized in a new table of organization and equipment for most U . S . armored divisions . Its Headquarters and Headquarters Company , 1st Battalion , and D Company , 2d Battalion were reorganized as the 37th Tank Battalion , and remained assigned to the 4th Armored Division . 2nd Battalion ( less Company D ) was absorbed into the 37th Tank Battalion . 3d Battalion was reorganized and redesignated as the 706th Tank Battalion and relieved from assignment to the 4th Armored Division . 706th Tank Battalion spent the war as a separate battalion . Reconnaissance Company was redesignated and reorganized as Troop F , 25th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron , Mechanized , a separate element of the 4th Armored Division – hereafter separate lineage . Maintenance and Service Companies were disbanded , with the personnel and equipment distributed throughout the two battalions . Following the reorganization , the 706th Tank Battalion deployed from the San Francisco Port of Embarkation on 22 March 1944 and arrived at Hawaii on 29 April 1944 . From there , they deployed on LSTs in support of Admiral Chester Nimitz ' wing of the Pacific Island Hopping Campaign . 706th Tank Battalion was on Guam by 22 July 1944 ; on The Philippines by 23 November 1944 ; on Ie Shima by 16 April 1945 ; and on Okinawa by 25 April 1945 . The 37th Tank Battalion was now , along with the 35th Tank Battalion and 8th Tank Battalion , the nucleus of the " light " armored division . On 15 November 1943 , Major General John S . Wood announced to the 4th Armored Division that they would deploy overseas . On 11 December 1943 , the 37th moved northeast by train , unloading at Camp Myles Standish , Massachusetts , on 20 December 1943 . They sailed from the Boston Port of Embarkation on 29 December 1943 . They arrived in England on 8 January 1944 , and – after getting used to the local environment , and waiting for the D - Day success , they proceeded to France on 1944 - 07 - 11 as part of the follow - on force . Arrival in France , July 1944 . The 37th didn ' t participate in the D - Day landings . On 8 July 1944 , the 37th moved to Southern England and prepared for transport to France . Four days later it reached Normandy , but for the remainder of July 1944 , the 37th simply waited in reserve while the 4th Armored Division relieved elements of the weary 4th Infantry Division . Finally , the 37th was ordered to combat on 28 July 1944 , as the US First Army launched its breakout attack . The infantry divisions on both sides of the 4th Armored Division attacked and " pinched out " the division , then the 4th Armored Division attacked through the infantry lines and began to race for the neck of the Brittany peninsula . The 37th was traveling at the forefront of this move with Colonel Bruce C . Clark ' s Combat Command Alpha . The next day , Coutances fell , and then Avranches , at the northern edge of the neck of Brittany , fell on 30 July . On its way across Brittany , the 4th Armored resumed its working acquaintance with General Patton ' s Third Army , which became operational on 1 August 1944 . By 9 August 1944 the 37th was approaching Lorient , on the southern edge of Brittany . On 14 August 1944 the siege of Lorient was turned over to the 6th Armored Division and the 37th turned eastward with the rest of the Third Army , which was beginning its historic race across France . VII Corps was the southernmost corps of the Third Army , 4th Armored Division was on the VII Corps southern flank , and the 37th Tank Battalion was protecting the southern flank of the division . There was nothing south of the 37th except the Loire River and the Germans . The commander of the 37th , Lieutenant Colonel Creighton W . Abrams ( who later became commander of all U . S . Forces in Vietnam and then the Army Chief of Staff ) , in an odd move , detached a task force under Major Edward Bautz to blow the Loire River bridges between Blois and Tours , but they found upon arrival that their work had been done by the Wehrmacht . This task force then followed the Loire ' s northern bank , paralleling the advance of the main body . On 16 August 1944 a German column was sighted on the south bank . Major Bautz ' s tankers attacked this column , inflicting losses and driving the Germans back from the river . The 37th crossed the Seine on 25 August 1944 , and the Marne on 23 August 1944 . The Marne Canal was bridged and the town of Châlons was attacked from the east , to the consternation of the defending garrison , which was expecting an assault on the western edge of town . On 31 August 1944 , in a quick attack during a driving rainstorm , the 37th captured the bridge across the Meuse River at Commercy before the Germans could blow it up . The next day , the gasoline ration had run out , and the 37th ground to a halt . By this time , the 37th had advanced in seven weeks ( about the same amount of time it had taken the German Wehrmacht to conquer all of France ) , crossed three major rivers and was within one day ' s motor march of the German border , only seventy miles to the northwest . On 13 September 1944 , the M4 tanks of the 37th crossed the Moselle River . On 14 September 1944 they overran the rear command post of the 15th Panzer Grenadier Division at Arracourt and , in Valhey , caught the same division ' s forward echelon command post before it could retreat . It was at Valhey that Sergeant Joe Sadowski of Company A won his Medal of Honor . This non - commissioned officer from Perth Amboy , New Jersey was commander of the second tank column as the 37th rolled into the French town . Swinging north around a corner , Sadowski ' s M4 tank clattered into the village square , where a German armor - piercing round found its mark and set the Sherman afire against the town ' s water trough . Sadowski had his crew dismounted and took shelter behind a building after running a gauntlet of machine gun and small arms fire . The bow gunner was found to be missing , and a quick glance at the burning tank showed the gunner ' s hatch still closed tight . Sadowski . . . " ran back to his tank , clambered up the smoking front slope plate and tried to pry open the gunner ' s hatch with his bare hands . He stood on the smoking tank and strained at the hatch until he had been hit so many times he could no longer stand . He slid from his medium [ tank ] and died in the mud beside its tracks " . His father and mother were given his posthumous Medal of Honor . From 19 September through 22 September 1944 the Germans tried to push the 37th back across the Moselle River . At Moyenvic , the 37th saw one of the largest tank - to - tank engagements of the war , losing 14 Shermans while claiming to have knocked out 55 Panthers and Tigers . The German counterattack was unsuccessful . On 22 September 1944 the 37th ' s M4 tanks swept south again through Coincourt and Bures to the Rhine - Marne Canal . Counterattack followed counterattack as the desperate Wehrmacht tried to dislodge the 3rd Army from its position , but as the toll of Panthers mounted , the attacks dwindled in intensity and finally ceased . The 37th was relieved on 12 October 1944 by elements of the 26th ( Yankee ) Infantry Division . For its tenacity in the Moselle River valley , the 37th was awarded its second Croix de guerre with Palm by a grateful French Government ( its first coming in Normandy ) . The 37th ' s tankers were pulled off line for a rest after 87 straight days of combat . The 37th moved out in a downpour on 9 November 1944 to deprive Hitler of the industrial Saar River Valley . On 11 November 1944 the 37th was caught on the road and lost six tanks because they could not maneuver off - road due to the bottomless mud . On 8 December 1944 the 37th passed through the old French Maginot Line and took Singling . Two days later it was relieved again , by elements of the 12th Armored Division , and sent to the rear for another rest , although not so far back that elements of the battalion were not in intermittent contact with German forces . Battle of the Bulge . On 16 December 1944 , Shermans of Company A were the first 4th Armored Division vehicles to enter Germany when they chased several German tanks back into the woods near Rimling . The same day Company A entered the Reich , Hitler had played his last trump north of where the 4th Armored Division was resting from its five months in action . The German 5th Panzer Army , the last of the German strategic reserves , spearheaded the attack by Model ' s Army Group B that opened the " Battle of the Bulge " . Its objective was the port of Antwerp and allied depots nearby . On 18 December 1944 the 37th got its march order — to move north against the German penetration , which was causing alarm to the Allied High Command . On the same day the 101st Airborne Division was moved by truck to establish a strongpoint at the key road and rail junction of Bastogne , in Belgium . By the time the 37th arrived at the south flank of the German penetration , the 101st was cut off on all sides by the enemy drive . The 37th became a point of the 4th Armored Division ' s drive to relieve the paratrooper s in Bastogne . The 37th moved out in a feathery snowfall at 0600 hours on 22 December 1944 , attacking northward against German airborne troops . The 37th Tank and the 53d Armored Infantry Battalion s made up the 4th Armored Division ' s Combat Command B ( CCB ) . In a bloody engagement against German paratroopers wearing American uniforms , CCB took Bigonville . At 0200 Christmas morning CCB marched thirty miles west to the 4th Armored Division ' s left flank . At 0700 the 37th jumped off from Bercheaux and swiftly took Bauxles - Rosieres , Nives and Remoiville . At dawn on 26 December 1944 the 37th struck again , taking Remichampagne , and then seizing the high ground near Chochiment , only three miles from Bastogne . Announcing the plan to relieve the surrounded 101st Airborne Division , LTC Abrams , commanding the 37th , made the undramatic statement , " We ' re going in to those people now . " The lead vehicle in that attack was a Sherman tank named " Cobra King " and commanded by 1st Lt . Charles Boggess Jr . , of Greenville , Illinois . Boggess was the commanding officer of C Company , 37th Tank Battalion . There were but eight other tanks in Company C when the " move out " order came , but at 1515 hours all nine sets of sprockets turned , leading the 37th armored northward to the embattled 101st Airborne Division . Two towns lay between the 37th and Bastogne , Clochimont and Assenois , and they were both heavily defended by German troops . Beyond Assenois was a heavy wood , concealing the blockhouse s that enclosed the road to Bastogne . Company C ' s mission was to barge through these defenses in high gear , stopping for nothing and leaving the mopping up to the companies following , which were supported by the 53d Armored Infantry Battalion . At 1645 Lt . Boggess shook hands with 2nd Lt . Webster of the 326th Engineers , 101st Airborne Division and in twenty - five minutes Lt . Col . Abrams and his S3 , Capt . William Dwight , reported to BG Anthony C . McAuliffe , acting Commanding General of the 101st Airborne Division . The fight was not over . Lt . Boggess ' company now consisted of just four M4 Sherman tanks , and the rest of the 37th suffered similarly . By now the 37th was joined by elements of the 26th Infantry Division in fighting to hold the corridor open to Bastogne . Counterattack followed counterattack , until on 9 January 1945 , the German penetration had been pushed to the east of Bastogne . The shattered German forces began to withdraw to their homeland . For its relief of Bastogne the 37th was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation that members still wear today . On 10 January 1945 the 37th was attacking east of Bastogne when the order came to halt . After a masterful disengagement and an icy road march south to Luxembourg , the 37th again found itself in the Third Army reserve , ready to answer a fire call . Ardennes Counter - Offensive . In the rugged country of the Rhineland , it was mainly an Infantry war , but the 37th followed close behind the attackers , ready to knife through the West Wall when a breach was secured . Finally , on 22 February 1945 , General Patton uncorked his tanks and Outscheid , Mioderwinger , Baustert , Feilsdorf , and Koosbrisch quickly fell to the 37th , which was then with Combat Command B , attached to the 60th Infantry Division . On 25 February 1945 , Company B , with Company B of the 51st Armored Infantry Battalion , took the bridge over the Prum at Remesdorf . Companies C of the 37th and 51st took the high ground around Rittersdorf and established a base of fire while the combined A Companies of the two battalions took Rittersdorf and a bridgehead over the Nims River . More than 1 , 000 prisoners of war were taken in this action . In only four days the 37th had led the U . S . Third Army as it pierced the Siegfried Line . A German counterattack near Sefferweich was repulsed while the 37th caught its breath for the next venture . Farther north , the U . S . First Army was fighting its way into Cologne to set the stage for the dash to the Rhine . On 5 March 1945 the 37th ' s M4 tanks attacked through the 5th Infantry Division ' s bridgehead over the Kyll River and immediately cut across German combat zones to a distance of . On 16 March 1945 LT Joe Liese , the commanding officer of Company B , captured General von Rothenkirch , commanding general of the German 53d Army Corps " ( LIII . Armeekorps ) " . General von Rothenkirch was driving his car on an inspection tour near Putzberg , where he stumbled on Company B . By the afternoon of that day , the 37th was even past German artillery positions . Prisoners from the German 10th Woodchopping Battalion surrendered to the advancing tankers . The 37th sped on to Ochtendung , and captured a billeting party from the German Seventh Army rear command post . When almost to the Rhine , LT Liese ' s company overtook a German wheel column and , with assistance from artillery and light aircraft , shot it up badly . Then the 37th moved to the Rhine and took up positions overwatching the river . During the night , remnants of the Wehrmacht tried to get back across the Rhine . In doing so , numerous enemy vehicles stumbled into the 37th ' s position and were captured or destroyed . On 7 March 1945 the U . S . First Army thrust north from Cologne , pinning what was left of the German Seventh Army between it and the 4th Armored Division . It was in this drive that the U . S . 9th Armored Division captured the Remagen bridge intact . On 8 March 1945 Colonel Abrams left the 37th to command CCB and Major Bautz assumed command of the battalion . For the next two weeks the 37th was engaged in cleaning out the Palatinate , the triangle formed by the Saar , Rhine and Moselle Rivers . On St . Patrick ' s Day 1945 the 37th entered the Spa City of Bad Kreuznach , and on 21 March 1945 it returned to the banks of the Rhine at Worms . On 25 March 1945 the U . S . Third Army crossed the Rhine . The 5th Infantry Division crossed in United States Navy landing craft near Oppenheim before the Germans could fire a shot . When the east bank was secure , a pontoon bridge was quickly constructed , and by 0300 on 26 March 1945 , the 37th was across with the rest of the 4th Armored Division . The 37th advanced through the 5th Infantry Division perimeter ; by noon Company D ' s light tanks and Infantry from the 10th AIB captured a railroad bridge intact near Aschaffenburg over the Main River . Meanwhile , CCA ( Combat Command A ) had secured the Main crossing near Hanau . The 37th , with the rest of CCB , sideslipped west and followed CCA across the Main on 28 March 1945 . By dusk , the 37th ' s M4s were in Giessen , north of Hanau . The Frankfurt - Berlin Autobahn was the 4th Armored Division ' s axis of advance . The 37th reached Hersfeld ( today Bad Hersfeld ) the last day of March . On 2 April 1945 , under heavy air attack , the 37th crossed the Werra . Task Force Baum . In actuality , the entire 37th Tank Battalion did not reach Giessen the night of the 28th , for Company C and one platoon of Company D ' s tanks had been detached for a special mission called Task Force Baum . They reported on 26 March 1945 to CPT Abraham J . Baum . Besides elements from the 37th , it consisted of Company A , a reconnaissance platoon , and an assault gun platoon from the HQ Company 10th AIB – all in all 313 soldiers and 57 vehicles . Their mission was to liberate 1 , 500 American prisoners of war in OFLAG XIII - B , a POW - Camp for officers , located at Hammelburg , sixty miles behind German lines . The orders came directly from General Patton , who wanted to get his son - in - law , LtCol John K . Waters liberated . At 2100 hours on 26 March , Company B of the 37th and Company B of 10th Armored Infantry Battalion ( AIB ) punched a hole in the German line at Schweinheim . Through this hole went Task Force Baum " ( TF Baum ) " , which in turn found itself alone in the enemy area . On 27 March a weak radio transmission was monitored reporting enemy troops marshaling at Gemunden . As Gemunden was three quarter way to Hammelburg , it was an indication that TF Baum was well on its way . Messages later that afternoon told of losing four medium tanks , two officers and eighteen men wounded or killed . Then the messages petered out . On 29 March 1945 , 4th Armored Division headquarters reported " No news of Baum " . At 2000 hours that night Radio Berlin reported that a great victory had been achieved by the German army near Hammelburg ; later reports even claimed annihilation of the entire 4th Armored Division , which was known to the enemy as " Roosevelt ' s Butchers " . On 6 April 1945 , by which time the rest of the 37th was deep in Saxony , Company C and Company D ' s platoon reported missing in action and replacements for them and their equipment were requisitioned . Finally , on 9 April 1945 CPT Baum returned to American lines and the fate of the task force was determined . According to the 4th Armored Division history : " " . . . the task force battled through more than two German divisions to the Hammelburg Stalag . On the way , the column took 200 prisoners , including a general and his staff , destroyed enemy troop trains , shot up towns , knocked out German tanks , vehicles and uncounted Germans [ Removed racial slur — ed . ] . The light force suffered . Bridges were blown in front , both sides and behind the onrushing tanks . A span was blasted as American and German infantrymen fought on it . The task force smashed road blocks , raced down highways , sneaked on back roads and followed compass courses across country . " " " " When they reached their objective , half of Task Force Baum was left in fighting shape . The armored infantrymen who had not been wounded rode the remaining tanks . Wounded men lay on the gas cans in the half - track s and helped steady each other at the machine guns . The seriously wounded were left behind with the dead along the side of the road . " " Against ever - stiffening resistance by an enemy who thought an entire division had broken through the Main River defense line , CPT Baum ' s decimated column finally reached the stalag near dark on 27 March 1945 . After a fierce fight , the prisoners were released , armed , and mounted on the back decks of Company C ' s tanks for the ride back to friendly lines . CPT Baum directed the remnants of his force northeastward , but by now the area was swarming with German infantry and armor . By morning of the 28th all the task force ' s vehicles had been knocked out . The force then broke into groups of four or five and attempted to exfiltrate back to American lines . Thirty - five men finally made it . The rest were killed or captured . Of the 313 officers and men of Task Force Baum , 9 were killed , 32 were wounded , the rest were prisoners at one time or another . Only a few made it back to the US lines , to tell what had happened . Although they did not accomplish their mission , the tankers and infantry of TF Baum contributed a great deal to the Central Europe Campaign . No less than an entire German corps was diverted to seeking out and achieving the destruction of the two - company American task force . War ' s end . By April 1945 the 37th had driven deep into central Germany when it was relieved by elements of the 80th Infantry Division . The 37th then marched south and drove into Czechoslovakia , where they were when the war ended on 6 May 1945 . The 37th then participated in the task of disarming the Wehrmacht and set up shop in Bavaria as part of the occupation forces on 27 May 1945 . Cold War . On 11 December 1951 , while still on inactive status , the 37th was converted and again designated as the 37th Tank battalion . It was assigned to the 4th Armored Division on 25 February 1953 and then activated on 15 June 1954 with the rest of the division at Fort Hood , Texas . In April 1957 , the Army reinstated its regimental system . As a consequence , the history of the 37th Armor Battalion is now kept by individual battalions of the 37th Armor Regiment . Units . Battalions of a regiment are typically abbreviated as , for example , " 4 – 37 AR BN " , which is usually verbalized as " Four Three Seven Armor " ( but sometimes as " 4th of the 37th Armor " " ( archaic ) " ) . This would be the 4th Battalion of the 37th Armor " Regiment " , even though in the modern United States Army , regiments exist mostly for heraldic purposes , as opposed to operational purposes . 1st Battalion . 1 – 37 Armor was stationed at McKee Barracks in Crailsheim , Germany from Jan 1958 – June 1966 . During the period 1966 – 1969 , the Battalion moved to Hindenburg Kaserne in Ansbach , Germany . However , From 1969 – 1988 the battalion was stationed at Bismarck Kaserne in Katterbach , Germany . In 1988 , the Battalion moved to Rose Barracks in Vilseck , Germany . Following redesignation in 1996 , the battalion was stationed at Ray Barracks in Friedberg , Germany until Inactivation in April 2007 . In October 2008 the battalion was re - activated at Fort Bliss , Texas . 1 – 37 Armor inactivated on 1 / 11 / 2011 at Fort Bliss , Texas . The most recent 1 – 37 Armor called themselves the ' Bandits ' . The Cold War / Desert Storm era 1 – 37 AR from Vilseck , Germany was nicknamed " Dragon Battalion " . The 1 – 37 Armor Alumni Association conducts annual reunions with former soldiers and leaders of the battalion . History . Desert Storm . In a short six - month period during 1990 and 1991 , the 1st Battalion , 37th Armor , was alerted for deployment to Operation Desert Shield / Desert Storm , deployed all of its personnel and equipment over from an already forward deployed location , fought a major battle against a well equipped enemy over terrain they had never trained on and then redeployed the unit to its home station . The 1st Battalion 37th Armor ( 1st Armored Division ) from Rose Barracks , Vilseck , Germany , commanded by LTC Edward L . Dyer , was alerted for deployment to the Persian Gulf on 8 November 1990 . 1 – 37 Armor was the first brigade unit from Vilseck to deploy . 1 – 37 Armor was attached to the 3rd " Bulldog " Brigade from Warner Barracks in Bamberg , Germany , under their former commander , Colonel Daniel Zannini . A small advance party deployed on 14 December and the main body began departing on 26 December . By 30 December , the battalion had arrived in Saudi Arabia . Vehicles and equipment which had been shipped from ports in Europe began to arrive on 4 January and by 12 January all the equipment had arrived . When hostilities commenced on 15 January 1991 , the battalion was in the process of closing the last elements into TAA Thompson . The next month was spent task organizing , training , rehearsing , and preparing for the ground war . On 24 February , Task Force 1 – 37 crossed the line of departure as part of VII Corps ' attack against Iraqi forces . On 25 February , the battalion attacked and seized the division headquarters of the Iraqi 26th Infantry Division destroying four armored vehicles , eight air defense weapons and captured over forty Enemy Prisoners of War ( EPW ) . After attacking all day on 26 February , TF 1 – 37 , part of 3rd Brigade , 1st Armored Division , made contact with a brigade of the Tawalkalna Armored Division of the Republican Guard Forces Command ( RGFC ) which had established a defensive position to protect the flank of the RGFC and facilitate their escape from Kuwait . After a thirty - minute fire fight , TF 1 – 37 was ordered to assault the enemy position . The assault , conducted at night , in driving rain , resulted in the destruction of twenty - six T - 72 tanks , 47 armored personnel carriers ( mostly BMP ' s ) and a handful of other vehicles , as well as the capture of over one hundred EPWs . TF 1 – 37 suffered the loss of four M1A1 tanks destroyed reportedly by enemy fire , but more likely by AH - 64s from the adjacent 3rd Armor Division , and six personnel wounded in action . After consolidation and reorganization , the task force continued the attack throughout the night of 26 – 27 February , reestablishing contact with the RGFC at approximately 0530 , 27 February . The task force continued to attack , fighting numerous engagements with elements of multiple Iraqi divisions throughout the 27th and into the morning of the 28 February . At 0800 local time , 28 February , the task force established a hasty defensive position astride the Iraq - Kuwait border . During the last 28 hours of the attack , TF 1 – 37 destroyed an additional thirty - one tanks , thirty - one BMP s , numerous other APC s , air defense weapons and trucks , and captured over 200 EPWs . Four days after the cease fire , TF 1 – 37 moved nine miles ( 14 km ) further into Kuwait . Two missions were conducted to destroy additional enemy weapons , ammunition and equipment , bury enemy remains , and to recover the four M1A1 ' s which had been destroyed on 26 February . On 24 March , TF 1 – 37 moved back into Iraq and established a defensive position in the vicinity of the Rumayilah oil fields . For the next three weeks , task force missions centered on refugee assistance and security operations . On 10 April , TF 1 – 37 began movement to the Rear Assembly Area ( RAA ) in the vicinity of King Khalid Military City ( KKMC ) , Saudi Arabia . By 13 April , the task force had closed into the RAA and preparations began for the redeployment of the unit to Germany . On 16 August 1991 the 1st Brigade , 1st Armored Division was redesignated as the 3d Brigade , 3d Infantry Division . Global War on Terror . On 10 May 2003 , 1 - 37 Armor Battalion left Ray Barracks in Friedberg , Germany and deployed to Iraq . Upon arrival in Baghdad in early June , 1st Battalion quickly established their forward operating base ( FOB ) on Baghdad Island , a small peninsula on the Tigris River , and formerly a recreational resort and amusement park for the elite of Saddam Hussein ' s Regime . Over the course of the next eleven months , the soldiers of 1st Battalion conducted thousands of area security patrols , and several hundred operations ranging in size from a few dozen men to an enormous brigade level operation on Christmas Eve , 2003 which involved over 1000 soldiers from the 1st Brigade of the 1st Armored Division conducting a cordon and search operation of a large neighborhood in north central Baghdad . Upon receiving orders for a 90 day extension of their one year deployment in April 2004 , 1st Battalion moved to the south of Baghdad to the ancient city of Karbala , which had recently fallen to the control of members of the Mahdi Army , followers of the radical Shi ' ite cleric Muqtada al - Sadr . After several days of shaping operations , the battalion captured an abandoned hotel in the center of the city and began using it as a strong point from which to conduct operations . Over the next ten days , the battalion engaged in some of the most intense urban warfare experienced by a single unit of the US Army since World War II . After driving the remnants of the Mahdi Army from Karbala , the BN then engaged in several weeks of civil - military operations before returning to Baghdad to prepare for the trip home to Germany . 1st Battalion , 37th Armored was awarded their second Presidential Unit Citation for their actions in Karbala . The battalion was deactivated in April 2007 . On 27 October 2008 , 1st BN , 37th Armored was re - activated at Fort Bliss , Texas as part of 1AD ' s redeployment to the Continental United States ( CONUS ) . 1 – 37 Armor deployed once again to Iraq in November 2009 . As 1st Brigade , 1st Armored Division converted to a Stryker brigade , 1 – 37 Armor deactivated on 11 January 2011 . 2nd Battalion . The 2nd Battalion 37th Armored Regiment was a forward deployed tank battalion located in the Federal Republic of Germany . The unit was nestled in the rolling hills of the German State of Hessen , in the city of Friedberg . It occupied Ray Barracks along with 1st Battalion , 36th Infantry Regiment ; 501st Forward Support Battalion ; Headquarters , 1st Brigade ; and its sister battalion ; 1st Battalion , 37th Armored Regiment . As a member of the Ready First Combat Team , it was one of many units that make up the 1st Armored Division . On February 2007 , the " Iron Dukes " had returned from its second tour in Iraq , which they were deployed to the city of Tel Afar , and later to Ar Ramadi . The 2nd Battalion of 37th Armor regiment was deactivated on April 2007 . History . Cold War . Company B of the 37th Tank Battalion became the nucleus in April 1957 for the 2nd Medium Tank Battalion ( Patton ) 37th Armor " ( 2 – 37 AR ) " and the battalion was assigned to the 2nd Armored Division in Germany . When the division rotated to Fort Hood in early 1958 , the 2nd battalion found itself back in the USA , this time until July 1963 when it was assigned to Germany and the 4th Armored Division . In May 1971 the division was redesignated the 1st Armored Division . The 2nd Battalion continued its service in Germany as part of the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Armored Division . The battalion moved to Ferris Barracks , Erlangen , Germany in August 1971 . On 28 February 1983 the battalion was relieved from assignment to the 1st Armored Division and was assigned to the 1st Infantry Division ( Forward ) . The 2nd Battalion , 37th Armor then moved to Panzer Kaserne , Boeblingen , Germany . On 28 April 1987 the 2nd Battalion ' s colors moved to Rose Barracks in Vilseck , Germany to become part of the 1st Brigade of the 1st Armored Division . On 14 February 1991 , 2nd Battalion sent a company sized detachment to the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Desert Shield , forming a combined arms unit , supplementing 1st Armored Division . On 16 August 1991 the 1st Brigade , 1st Armored Division was redesignated as the 3d Brigade , 3d Infantry Division . On 15 February 1996 , the 2nd Battalion was deactivated at Rose Barracks in Vilseck , Germany . The colors remained cased until 27 February 1997 , when the 2nd Battalion was brought back into service at Ray Barracks , Friedberg , Germany as part of the 1st Brigade , 1st Armored Division . From March 1997 to September 1997 , the 2nd Battalion deployed to the Republic of Macedonia in support of the UN peacekeeping mission , Operation Able Sentry . The battalion then returned to Camp Able Sentry from May 2000 to December 2000 in support of Task Force 2A . Operation Iraqi Freedom - 2003 - Baghdad , Sadr City , Al Kut , Diwaniya , Kufa and Najaf Nicknamed " Iron Dukes " , the 2nd Battalion , 37th Armored Regiment was deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003 . The Iron Dukes spent 15 months in theater , engaging in fierce battles with the radical militia Al - Mahdi Army . The Iron Dukes were hand picked to become part of the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment ( ACR ) , based out of Ft . Polk , Louisiana . On 4 April 2004 , the Iron Dukes and the 2nd ACR were called to battle the Mahdi Army for 4 more months of intense urban combat . The first engagements with Muqtada al - Sadr ' s fighters took place in the north east sector of Baghdad known as Sadr City . The tanks of A , B and C company fought throughout the night to rescue the elements of the 1st Cavalry Division , who were pinned down with numerous casualties . Shortly after the uprising , the Iron Dukes and the 2nd ACR left Baghdad and headed south to the city of Al - Kut . After neutralizing insurgents in Al Kut , the Iron Dukes and elements of the 2nd ACR continued their fight west to the holy city of Najaf . Along the way the Iron Dukes were ambushed in the town of Diwaniya . Unable to adequately mount an offensive that would allow them to neutralize the enemy , The Iron Dukes continued on to Najaf , but would later return to rid the city of the insurgents that remained . The Iron Dukes and the 2nd ACR would then engage in intense fighting in the cities of Najaf , Kufa and Diwaniya . After fighting cross - country from city to city , much like the original 37th Armored Regiment of World War II , the soldiers of the Iron Dukes finally returned home after 15 months of war . ( July 2004 ) The Iron Dukes were awarded the Presidential Unit Citation and many soldiers of the battalion were decorated for valor . The Iron Dukes and the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment returned home two of the most decorated units of Operation Iraqi Freedom . Operation Iraqi Freedom 2006 – 2007 Task Force Duke , under the command of LTC John K . Tien , served as the main effort of 1st Brigade , 1st Armored Division . Deploying to Tal Afar in northern Iraq , the Iron Dukes served as the primary force transitioning with the 2nd Squadron , 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment in securing the city . 2 / 3 ACR had performed admirably in fighting to retake the city of Tal Afar from Taqfiri insurgents , mainly consisting of foreign fighters and Sunni citizens of Tal Afar , who had entered into open conflict with the majority Shia security forces in the city . With local Kurdish and poor southern - Iraq Shia army members and Turkomen Sunni citizens ( as well as Yazidis hired as interpreters ) , Tal Afar represented a very difficult counter - insurgent fight . The Iron Dukes worked to assist the capable mayor and assist the Iraqi Army in their development and eventual transition to leading the fight for security in Tal Afar . A / 2 - 37 operated from COP Alcatraz at a vital road junction near the heart of the Sunni population area . B / 2 - 37 " Battlecat " was at the granary in the southern portion of the city . B / 1 - 36 Infantry and C / 1 - 36 Infantry ( attached to the Dukes ) were at separate COPs on the eastern side of the city . C / 2 - 37 was outside the city to the east in an old Iraqi Army compound known as Fort Tal Afar , while the headquarters commanded the battalion from the Castle , an old Ottoman Empire castle - like facility sitting on dominant highground in the center of the city . Three Dukes were killed while serving in Tal Afar ( 1 from C / 2 - 37 and 2 from C / 1 - 36 Infantry ) , in addition to numerous Iraqi Army soldiers and local citizens . That fall , TF 1 – 37 Armor moved to Ar Ramadi ( under LTC Tedesco ) , Iraq , rejoining 1 / 1 AD , who had left in May . Extended for two extra months , the move to Ramadi essentially marked the half - way point for the battalion ' s deployment . Task Force Duke consisted of HHC , A and B Companies , 2 – 37 Armor , C / 1 - 36 Infantry , attached elements from the 16th Combat Engineer BN , and an artillery unit . C Company 2 - 37 Armor " Warlords " had been redeployed in country with 1 / 1 AD , and fell under operational control of 1 - 506 Infantry " Red Curahee " . They operated outside the city , along the highway running from Fallujah to Ramadi and on to Al Asad airbase , under the Marine Expeditionary Force . Under 1 - 506 Infantry , C / 2 - 37 Armor ( commanded by CPT Timothy J . Ferguson ) , operated out of Camp Corregidor in the eastern parts of Ar Ramadi . The company later fell under control of 1 - 9 Infantry " Manchu " , who relieved 1 - 506 Infantry in October 2006 . During this time period , C / 2 - 37 Armor participated in Operations Iron Stampede I and II , the Battle of Sofia , and the Battle of Ramadi . One Soldier of C / 2 - 37 Armor " Warlords " , was killed on 5 November 2006 , during combat operations in the Ma ' laab district . While being relieved in place by C Company 3 - 69 Armor " Chaos " , C / 2 - 37 continued to conduct operations in support of Operation Anbar Awakening , and the preparing stages for Operation Murfreesboro . C Company 2 - 37 Armor , finally rejoin its battalion upon redeployment back to Friedberg , Germany . In February , after transitioning with units from 3rd Infantry Division , the Dukes returned to Friedberg , where the colors were cased for a final time . 3d Battalion . History . 3 / 37 AR saw combat in the Persian Gulf War from 24 February 1991 through 4 March 1991 organized as Task Force 3 / 37th Armor , the Unit was composed of HHC , B , and C Companies , 3 / 37th Armor ; A and D Company , Second Battalion , Sixteenth Infantry ; First Platoon of B Company and Second Platoon of C Company , Second Battalion , Third Air Defense Artillery ; C Company , First Engineer Battalion ; and Ground Surveillance Radar Team B , One Hundred and First Military Intelligence Battalion . As part of the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Infantry Division and VII Corps main effort , Task Force 3 / 37th Armor breached the Iraqi defense on 24 February 1991 , clearing four passage lanes and expanding the gap under direct enemy fire . The Task Force then attacked 300 kilometers across southern Iraq into northern Kuwait , severing Iraqi lines of communication , and then drove north once again into Iraq to assist in the seizure of the City of Safwan , Iraq , and the securing of the Safwan Airfield ; the Scout Platoon ( HHC , 3 / 37 AR ) was part of the guard force under command of 1LT Craig Borchelt for the Coalition Forces - Iraqi Cease - Fire negotiations . During the operation , over fifty enemy combat vehicles were destroyed and over 1700 prisoners were captured . Throughout the Ground War , the soldiers performed with marked distinction under difficult and hazardous conditions . Their gallantry , determination , and Esprit de Corps guaranteed victory and maintained the finest traditions of the United States Army . 4th Battalion . The 4th Battalion is known as the " Thunderbolts " , a name taken from the name of LTC Abrams ' tank during World War II . History . 4 - 37 was stationed at Fort Knox Ky attached to the 194th Armor BDE during the 70 ' s . It supported the Armor school and roated as an alert unit for El Dorado Canyon . 4 – 37 AR saw combat in the Persian Gulf War as part of the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Infantry Division . Today , 4 – 37 Armor is at Ft . Bliss , Texas where they are responsible for evaluating the Future Combat Systems of the U . S . Army . They are part of 5th Brigade , 1st Armored Division .