12th Armored Division ( United States ) The 12th Armored Division was an armored division of the United States Army in World War II . History . The division was activated on 15 September 1942 . The same day , the 56th Infantry Regiment was reconstituted in the Regular Army as the 56th Armored Infantry . The regiment was assigned to the division on 7 July 1942 . Activated 15 September 1942 at Camp Campbell , Kentucky . The 56th Armoured Infantry Regiment was broken up on 11 November 1943 , and elements reorganized and redesignated as elements of the 12th Armored Division as follows - The 12th Armored Division landed at Liverpool , England , 2 October 1944 . It arrived at Le Havre , France , 11 November 1944 . Advance elements met the enemy near Weisslingen in Alsace on 5 December , and the entire division moved against the Maginot Line fortifications 2 days later . In its advance , Rohrbach - lès - Bitche and the Bettviller area were liberated by 12 December , and Utweiler , Germany , was seized 21 December . After a short period of rehabilitation and maintenance , the 12th rolled against the Rhine bridgehead at Herrlisheim that the Germans had established as part of their Operation Nordwind offensive . German defenders repulsed two division attacks in the most violent fighting in the history of the 12th , during 8 to 10 January and 16 to 17 January 1945 . The division ' s attacks at Herrlisheim failed to use combined - arms tactics and were defeated in detail , resulting in two tank and two armored infantry battalions taking heavy losses . Poor tactics were compounded by terrain that was almost tabletop - flat , offering the German defenders excellent fields of fire . However , enemy counterattacks failed also , in part because of the firm leadership of the commander of Combat Command B , Colonel Charles Bromley , who declared his headquarters expendable and ordered all personnel in the headquarters to prepare a hasty defense . The division was subsequently relieved by the U . S . 36th Infantry Division . After recovering from the bruising experience at Herrlisheim , the 12th went over to the offensive and attacked south from Colmar . In a lightning drive , the 12th effected junction with French forces at Rouffach , on 5 February , sealing the Colmar Pocket and ending German resistance in the Vosges Mountains . Except for elements acting as a protective screen , the division withdrew to the St . Avold area for rest and rehabilitation . The attack resumed , 18 March 1945 . In a quick drive to the Rhine , Ludwigshafen fell , 21 March , and two other important river cities , Speyer and Germersheim , were secured on the 24th , clearing the Saar Palatinate . Maintaining the rapid pace , the 12th crossed the Rhine River at Worms , 28 March , advanced toward Würzburg against light resistance , and captured that city . After assisting in the seizure of Schweinfurt , the division continued toward Nürnberg , 13 April , taking Neustadt , then shifted toward Munich , 17 April . Elements of the 12th raced from Dinkelsbühl to the Danube , taking the bridge at Dillingen before demolition men could wreck it . This bridge provided a vital artery for Allied troops flooding into southern Germany . The division spearheaded the Seventh Army drive , securing Landsberg , 29 April , clearing the area between the Ammer and Wurm Lakes on the 30th , and moving deeper into the " National Redoubt . " The 12th Armored Division is recognized as a liberating element of the Kaufering concentration camp s , arriving at several of the camps , on 27 – 28 April 1945 . Elements crossed the Inn River and the Austrian border , 3 May . The 12th was relieved by the 36th Infantry Division , 4 May . On 5 May , it rescued VIP French prisoners from a German camp during the Battle for Castle Itter . It engaged in security duty until 22 November 1945 , when it left Marseille , France , for home . The 12th was nicknamed the " Hellcat Division " for its ferocious advance across Southern Germany . It was deactivated on 3 December 1945 at Camp Kilmer , New Jersey . Awards . Campaigns : Rhineland , Ardennes - Alsace , Central Europe . Days of combat : 102 Distinguished Unit Citations : 1 . Individual Awards : Medal of Honor - 1 ; Distinguished Service Cross - 2 ; Distinguished Service Medal - 1 ; Silver Star - 225 ; Legion of Merit - 8 ; Distinguished Flying Cross - 4 ; Soldier ' s Medal - 11 ; Bronze Star Medal - 1 , 453 ; Air Medal - 63 .