743rd Tank Battalion The 743rd Tank Battalion was an independent tank battalion that participated in the European Theater of Operations with the United States Army in World War II . It was one of five tank battalions ( all independent ) which landed in Normandy on D - Day ( 6 June 1944 ) . The battalion participated in combat operations throughout northern Europe until V - E Day . It was inactivated in November 1945 . History . Activation and Deployment . The 743rd Tank Battalion was activated at Fort Lewis , Washington on 16 May 1942 as the 743rd Tank Battalion ( Light ) , drawing its initial cadre from personnel transferred from the 757th Tank Battalion . It was redesignated as the 743rd Tank Battalion ( Medium ) in October 1942 . The battalion drew their medium tanks and trained the next year at Camp Young , California and Camp Laguna , Arizona . The 743rd embarked in New York on 17 November 1943 aboard the " Aquitania " and arrived at Monrock , Scotland on 25 November 1943 . Soon after its arrival in Great Britain , it was again reorganized in a new Table of Organization , with Companies A , B , and C organized as medium tank companies with M4 Shermans . When Company D was formed as the light tank company with cadre from the medium tank companies and the 10th Tank Company , the unit took on the combat organization in which it would fight on the Continent and was redesignated as the 743rd Tank Battalion on 2 December 1943 . D - Day Landings and Normandy . The battalion was selected to be one of the three tank assault battalions that would land with the first wave on D - Day . Companies B and C were selected to receive the amphibious dual drive ( DD ) tanks and began their special training in December 1943 . The battalion loaded into their assault craft on 2 – 3 June 1944 for the invasion landings . In the early hours of D - Day , 6 June , the three medium tank companies , the headquarters tank section , and the assault gun platoon launched in their LCT ' s . However , given the rough seas , the battalion commander decided not to launch the DD tanks into the water and all were brought directly ashore aboard the LCT ’ s . The tanks supported the 116th Infantry Combat Team of the 29th Infantry Division assault of Omaha Beach . The first tanks , from Company C , arrived on the beach at H - 6 : 4 minutes late , but ahead of the infantry assault forces . Enduring losses from enemy fire , artillery , mines , and even the rough surf , the tanks finally moved off the beach to the vicinity of Vierville - sur - Mer at about 2230 . As a testimony to their heroism on Omaha Beach nine of the battalion ’ s thirteen Distinguished Service Crosses awarded during World War II were awarded for actions on 6 June 1944 . In those first tumultuous days ashore in Normandy , the battalion ’ s services were needed everywhere . By 14 June , some or all of the battalion had been attached to the 29th Infantry Division , 1st Infantry Division , 30th Infantry Division , 3rd Armored Division , and had also provided support to the 5th Ranger Battalion . On 14 June the 743rd Tank Battalion was attached to the 30th Infantry Division , with whom they would remain for the remainder of the war in Europe , and supported the crossing of the Vire River on 7 July 1944 . On 24 – 25 July , located forward with the assault forces of the 30th Infantry Division near St . Lô , the battalion was among those bombed by friendly aircraft which dropped their bombs short of the intended targets . Although casualties were light inside their armored vehicles , the accompanying dismounted infantry suffered much heavier losses . Having begun the assault that created the breakout from Normandy , the battalion ’ s pace quickened and , on 19 – 20 August , road marched 123 miles in 18 hours . By 3 September they had reached Belgium , on 12 September had crossed into The Netherlands and within another week were even across the German border . Siegfried Line and Battle of the Bulge . Taking a brief respite from the dash across France and Belgium to refit and take on fuel , in October 1944 the battalion was again engaged in bitter fighting on the Siegfried Line to the north of Aachen , Germany . Fighting continued until the end of November when offensive operations were halted in preparation for a new assault to cross the Roer River . As the battalion caught its breath and recovered from the fighting , the offensive preparations were halted when the Germans counterattacked in the Ardennes on 16 December 1944 . On 18 December , the 743rd Tank Battalion withdrew into Belgium to the vicinity of Malmedy , where they continued to support the 30th Infantry Division , which had also been reoriented to repel the attack . The battalion was primarily engaged by elements of the elite 1st SS Panzer Division and in a very confused tactical situation fought a series of hotly contested engagements around Malmedy , Stavelot , La Gleize , and Stoumont . Although the situation had stabilized by Christmas , the battalion remained in contact but did not go back on the offensive with the 30th Division until 13 January 1945 . Advance into Germany . The battalion went into 30th Infantry Division reserve from 28 January to 3 February , at which time they road marched back into Germany , passing through Aachen and bivouacking near Röhe . Waiting for the floodwaters of the Roer River to recede , the battalion assaulted across the river on 23 February . On 6 March , the battalion was withdrawn from the line in preparation for crossing the lower Rhine River . Company C of the 736th Tank Battalion , equipped with DD tanks , was attached to the 743rd , and led the assault across the Rhine on 24 March , with all 17 DD tanks reaching the east bank of the river . Companies A and C of the 743rd followed on Bailey rafts , with the remainder of the battalion following across a pontoon bridge the next day . The Germans put up a spirited defense near the crossing , but resistance crumbled by 29 March , and the 743rd began the race across Germany , largely following spearhead advances by the 2nd Armored Division . On 13 April 1945 , the battalion liberated 2 , 141 concentration camp prisoners from a train abandoned outside the small town of Farsleben on the Magdeburg - Wittenberge rail line , about north of Magdeburg . The train had originated at Bergen - Belsen concentration camp and had been intended to bring the prisoners further into Germany where they could be exterminated before the advancing armies could catch up to them . However , the train was overrun anyway by the 743rd Tank Battalion . One M5 light tank , with its crew and 8 accompanying infantrymen provided security for the train and its liberated prisoners while the unit scrounged up provisions for them . With the assistance of the 823rd Tank Destroyer Battalion and other American units , food and lodging for the refugees were obtained from the surrounding German villages . Post War . Also on 13 April , the battalion reached the Elbe River , their " no advance " line . The battalion participated in one lastbattle as they supported the 30th Infantry Division in assaulting Magdeburg on 17 – 18 April . In this battle , the battalion suffered its final casualties of the war . The battalion immediately went into occupation duties , establishing an occupation government over 15 communities to the west of Magdeburg . The battalion was relieved at Magdeburg by British forces on V - E Day , 8 May 1945 , and moved to Quedlinburg to take up occupation duties there . Again relieved by the British at the end of May , the battalion again moved south to Mehltheuer and continued its military occupation duties . The battalion returned to the United States , landing at Boston on 26 November 1945 . The 743rd Tank Battalion was inactivated at Camp Myles Standish , Massachusetts , on 27 November 1945 .