3rd Armored Division ( United States ) The 3rd Armored Division ( " " Spearhead " " ) was an armored division of the United States Army . Nicknamed the " Third Herd " , the division was first activated in 1941 , and was active in the European Theater of World War II . The division was stationed in West Germany for much of the Cold War , and participated in the Persian Gulf War . On 17 January 1992 in Germany , the division ceased operations ; in October 1992 it was formally deactivated as part of a general drawing down of forces at the end of the Cold War . World War II . Order of battle . The Third Armored Division was organized as a " heavy " armored division , as was its counterpart , the 2nd Armored Division aka " Hell on Wheels " . Later , higher - numbered U . S . armored divisions of World War II were smaller , with a higher ratio of armored infantry to tanks , based on lessons of the fighting in North Africa . As a " heavy " division , the 3rd Armored possessed two armored regiments totaling four medium tank battalion s and two of light tanks ( 18 companies ) instead of three tank battalions containing both ( 12 companies ) , 232 medium tanks instead of the 168 allotted a light armored division , and with attached units numbered over 16 , 000 men , instead of the normal 12 , 000 found in the light armored divisions . Each division type had an infantry component of three mechanized infantry battalions . The division ' s core units were the 36th Armored Infantry Regiment , the 32nd Armored Regiment , the 33rd Armored Regiment , the 23rd Armored Engineer Battalion , the 83rd Armored Reconnaissance Battalion , and the 143rd Armored Signal Company . During World War II , these were organized operationally into task forces known as Combat Commands A , B and R ( Reserve ) , as in the light divisions . In addition to the core units , a number of other units of various kinds were attached to the division during various operations . As with most American divisions in World War II , the 3rd Armored suffered heavy casualties , and by the end of the war replacement troops often outnumbered veterans in the line units . During 1944 and 1945 , the units comprising the Third Armored Division included : Training timeline . The division was activated on 15 April 1941 at Camp Beauregard , Louisiana . In June 1941 , it moved to Camp Polk Louisiana ( now Fort Polk ) . On 9 March 1942 , it came under Army Ground Forces and was assigned to the II Armored Corps . In July 1942 , it was transferred to Camp Young , CA and from August to October 1942 , took part in maneuvers at the Desert Training Center . It left Camp Young in January 1943 and moved to the Indiantown Gap Military Reservation , Pennsylvania . The 3rd AD arrived in the European Theatre on 15 September 1943 , conducting pre - invasion training in the Liverpool and Bristol areas . It remained in Somerset , England until 24 June 1944 , when it departed to partake in the Normandy operations . According to the book ' Plain Soldiering ' by N . D . G James which deals with the armed forces on Salisbury Plain the division ' s units , while in England from September 1943 until July 1944 , mainly in Wiltshire . The HQ was probably at Warminster with units in 5 Wiltshire villages and 3 villages in Somerset . There is a small memorial at Mere in Wiltshire . Into battle . The first elements of the 3rd Armored in France saw combat on 29 June , with the division as a whole beginning combat operations on 9 July 1944 . During this time , it was under the command of VII Corps and XVIII Airborne Corps for some time , and assigned to the First Army and the 12th Army Group for the duration of its career . The division " spearheaded " the US First Army through Normandy , taking part in a number of engagements , notably including the Battle of Saint Lô , where it suffered significant casualties . After facing heavy fighting in the hedgerows , and developing methods to overcome the vast thickets of brush and earth that constrained its mobility , the unit broke out at Marigny , alongside the 1st Infantry Division , and swung south to Mayenne . The engineers and maintenance crews took the large I - Beam Invasion barriers from the beaches at Normandy and used the beams to weld large crossing rams on the front of the Sherman tanks . They would then hit the hedgerows at high speed , bursting through them without exposing the vulnerable underbellies of the tanks . Until this happened , they could not get across the hedgerows . Ordered to help close the Falaise Gap and Argentan pocket which contained the German Seventh Army , the division finished the job near Putanges by 18 August . Six days later the outfit had sped through Courville and Chartres and was located at the banks of the Seine River . On the night of 25 August 1944 the crossing of the Seine by the division started ; once over , the 3rd slugged its way across France , reaching Belgium on 2 September 1944 . Liberated in the path of the division were Meaux , Seissons , Laon , Marle , Mons , Charleroi , Namur and Liege . It was at Mons that the division cut off 40 , 000 Wehrmacht troops and captured 8 , 000 prisoners . " Then the division began the first invasion of Germany since the days of Napoleon " is a claim often repeated and derives from 1947 U . S . Army literature that ignored earlier acts such as the 5th Armored Division ' s reconnaissance into Germany on 11 September 1944 , French troops entering the Saarland in September 1939 during the Saar Offensive , and the entry into Germany by imperial Russian troops in 1914 . Across the Rhine . On 10 September 1944 the Spearhead Division fired what it claimed was the first American field artillery shell of the war onto German soil . Two days later it passed the German border and soon breached the Siegfried Line , taking part in the Battle of Hurtgen Forest . The 3rd Armored Division continued fighting during the Battle of Bulge , far north of the deepest German penetration . Countering German attacks , it severed an important highway leading to St Vith . By late January 1945 , the German offensive had been checked , and the division began pushing its way into Germany . Advancing at a little better than half a mile a day against stiff resistance , the 3rd captured ten towns in January 1945 , took 2 , 149 prisoners and destroyed 61 armored dutyhead Death of a general . The division began a thrust into the Rhineland of Germany on 7 February 1945 . On 31 March , the commander of the division , Major General Maurice Rose , famed as one of few commanding generals to frequent the front lines during combat , rounded a corner in his jeep and found himself face to face with a German tank . As he withdrew his pistol to surrender , a young German tank commander , apparently misunderstanding Rose ' s intentions , shot the general . After Rose ' s death , the division pushed east and swept into the key city of Cologne in March 1945 . Beyond Cologne the division swept up Paderborn in its advance , to shut the back door to the Ruhr Pocket . In April , the division crossed the Saale River , north of Halle , and sped on toward the Elbe River . On 11 April 1945 , the 3rd Armored discovered the Dora - Mittelbau concentration camp . The division first arrived on the scene , reporting back to headquarters that it had uncovered a large concentration camp near the town of Nordhausen . Requesting help from the 104th Infantry Division , the 3rd immediately began transporting some 250 ill and starving prisoners to nearby hospital facilities . The last major fighting in the war for the division was the Battle of Dessau , which the division captured on 23 April 1945 after three days of combat . Following the action at Dessau , the division moved into corps reserve at Sangerhausen . Occupational duty near Langen was given the division following V - E Day , a role it filled until inactivation on 10 November 1945 . Combat statistics . The 3rd Armored Division had 231 days of combat in World War II , with a total of 2 , 540 killed , 7 , 331 wounded , 95 missing , and 139 captured . Total battle and non - battle casualties came to 16 , 122 . The 3rd Armored Division lost more tanks in combat than any other U . S . division . Combat Command A lost more tanks than any other unit in the 3rd Armored Division . The Cold War . The division was reactivated on 15 July 1947 at Fort Knox , Kentucky to act as training formation . In 1955 the 3d Armored Division was reorganized for combat and shipped to Germany the next year . It replaced the 4th Infantry Division under a program called Operation Gyroscope . The 3d Armored Division served in Cold War Germany from May 1956 to July 1992 , with the exception of the time spent in Desert Storm . In addition to its division headquarters in Frankfurt for many years ( including the 1963 ROAD conversion ) , the three main combat forces headquarters for the 3rd AD were , Ayers Kaserne at Kirch - Goens and Schloss Kaserne at Butzbach ( CCA / 1st Brigade ) , Coleman Kaserne at Gelnhausen ( CCB / 2nd Brigade ) , and Ray Barracks at Friedberg ( CCC / 3rd Brigade ) . According to Karl Lowe in his www . usarmygermany . com article , in 1976 the army wanted to move the 2nd Brigade ' s Home Station from Gelnhausen to Alsfeld , which lies in the Northern Advance Route for Soviet Forces out of the Fulda Gap . However the Germans wouldn ' t agree to a major share in building brigade facilities at Alsfeld , so the plan was dropped . The 3rd Armored ' s primary mission during the May 1956 to July 1992 period was , in the event of war , to defend the Fulda Gap against numerically superior Warsaw Pact forces alongside other NATO elements . In June 1962 USAREUR maxed out its Cold War troop strength ; that number was never achieved again . Also in June 1962 the nuclear warheads for the Davy Crocketts arrived in USAREUR ( 3rd AD combat maneuver battalions were issued Davy Crocketts ) . In late October 1962 during the Cuban Crisis there was no hotline between Washington and Moscow ; Soviet Forces , including those in the Group of Soviet Forces Germany ( GSFG ) , were placed on the highest alert level . Two of the five armies in the GSFG were positioned to advance through the Fulda Gap . These were the 8th Guards Army ( 3 motorized infantry divisions and one armored division ) and First Guards Tank Army ( 4 armored divisions and one motorized rifle division ) . To prepare their defenses against an invasion , the division ' s units frequently conducted field training at Hohenfels , Bavaria and at Wildflecken and Grafenwöhr U . S . Army training areas , conducting exercises of live fire , movement and communications . The division would also frequently take to the German countryside for training maneuvers , including what became an annually staged war game Reforger , which simulated invasion of Western Europe by Warsaw Pact forces . At the peak of 1980s East / West tensions , as many as nineteen Soviet and East German divisions faced off against Spearhead soldiers . Throughout the Cold War , the division headquarters company , 503d Adjutant General Co . and 503d M . P . Co . were based on Drake Kaserne , with 143rd Signal Bn . and other support units stationed across the street at Edwards Kaserne in Frankfurt , West Germany . A number of its subunits were based in other Kasernes throughout the German state of Hessen , notably Ayers Kaserne ( 50° 28 ' 32 . 44 " N 8° 38 ' 29 . 24 " E ) at Kirch - Goens and Schloss Kaserne at Butzbach ( CCA / 1st Brigade ) , Gelnhausen ( CCB / 2nd Brigade ) , Ray Barracks at Friedberg ( CCC / 3rd Brigade ) and Fliegerhorst near Hanau ( eventually converted to a Combat Aviation Brigade / 4th Avn Bde ) . The NCO Academy contained 2 companies : Co . ' A ' was assigned to the medieval castle at Usingen - Kransburg , while Co . ' B ' was located in Butzbach . The division itself comprised an average of 15 , 000 soldiers , organized into three combat commands ( CC ' s ) later renamed brigades ( ROAD reorganization in 1963 ) , organizations of comparable size to the World War II combat commands . These brigades were individually manned by at least one battalion each of infantry , armor , and artillery , and various supporting units , notably including medical , engineering , and aviation elements . The division was also assigned the dedicated 533rd Military Intelligence / CEWI ( Combat Electronic Warfare and Intelligence ) Battalion by 1980 , replacing the 503rd MI Company that previously supported the division intelligence staff . Most of the kasernes were located adjacent to or within German communities , leading to lively trade and interaction between soldiers and German civilians . A few , however , were somewhat remotely located , particularly Ayers Kaserne ( " The Rock " ) ( 50° 28 ' 32 . 44 " N 8° 38 ' 29 . 24 " E ) , where the 1st Brigade was stationed , outside Kirch - Goens . The most famous soldier in the 3rd Armored Division during the 1950s was Elvis Presley , assigned to Company A , 1st Medium Tank Battalion , 32nd Armor Regiment , Combat Command C at Ray Barracks in Friedberg . After his time in service , Presley made the movie G . I . Blues , in which he portrays a 3rd Armored Division tank crewman with little field duty but with a singing career . Colin Powell also served in this division . He was assigned to the 2d Armored Rifle Battalion , 48th Infantry , Combat Command B , Coleman Kaserne , Gelnhausen , between 1958 & 1960 . It started out with his first command assignment , as an Infantry Platoon Leader . By 1990 , Communism in eastern Europe collapsed , the two German states reunited , and the Soviet Army was being withdrawn back to the Soviet Union . With these events , the Cold War came to a peaceful conclusion , freeing U . S . Army units in Europe for other deployments . Desert Storm . In response to the changing cold war scenario , 3AD was instructed to begin selective standing down of various Division elements during the summer of 1990 . Some units , for example 3 - 5 ADA Battalion had turned in equipment or cross - leveled with other 3AD units by August 1990 , when momentous events in the Middle East developed . That month , Iraq invaded Kuwait , and soon after , President George H . W . Bush committed U . S . troops to the theater , first to defend Saudi Arabia , and then to eject Iraqi troops from Kuwait . Deployment of advance elements of 3AD began in December , with the remaining deploying units arriving by January . Units that had drawn down were replaced or augmented back to full strength . As an example , 3 - 5 ADA was replaced by the 8th Infantry Division ' s 5 - 3 ADA Battalion . Other units were attached to 3AD to bring it up to , and even beyond full strength . Redeployment and retraining . The 3rd Armored Division , then commanded by Major General Paul Funk , was one of four U . S . heavy divisions deployed with VII Corps . The division and its equipment were shifted from Germany to Saudi Arabia , with in some cases , Army National Guard and Army Reserve elements taking over some of their duties in Germany , while in others , kasernes were left virtually empty . This massive redeployment was possible only due to the Western victory in the Cold War , in which the 3rd AD helped to play an integral part by guarding the Fulda Gap . After redeployment , the division acclimated to the desert climate , and its troops faced new challenges in mobility , tactics and maintenance in a sandy and hot climate . Various National Guard and Army Reserve units were then attached to the division for the duration of the conflict , swelling the division ' s size to over 20 , 000 troops – 25 % larger than during its time in Germany . The majority of the division ' s troops never received Desert Battle Dress Uniform s due to a shortage , and fought instead in lightweight summer " woodland pattern " uniforms , covered by tanker suits or chemical warfare protective MOPP suits . Into battle . Finally , after months of training the division moved to the Line of Departure , alongside the 1st Armored Division on its left flank and the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment on its right flank . While the Iraqi Army concentrated much of its defenses in and around Kuwait itself , the 3rd AD and VII Corps launched a massive armored attack into Iraq , just to the west of Kuwait , taking the Iraqis completely by surprise . Scouts from 2nd Brigade crossed on the afternoon of the 23 February 1991 just after 1500 hours . Less than two hours later , they had penetrated several miles into Iraq and managed to capture over 200 prisoners . On 24 February , the official first day of action , the division as a whole swung into action as part of a coordinated attack by hundreds of thousands of allied troops . During the first day of battle , the " Third Herd " pushed 18 miles into Iraq , taking over 200 prisoners . By dawn of the second day , an additional 50 prisoners had been taken , with scouts reporting enemy reinforcements moving to meet the division . The second day . At 1115 hours of the second day , all elements of the division were finally across the line of departure . The day was marked by hard pushing to penetrate deep and fast , striking for an objective south of Basra . In the course of its drive , various elements of the division engaged the enemy , taking prisoners , skirmishing , sometimes bypassing enemy strongholds to gain ground , other time engaging in full scale battle . By nightfall of the second day , 3AD had driven 53 miles into Iraq , with dozens of enemy vehicles destroyed , hundreds of POWs captured , and was on the verge of achieving its first objective – an accomplishment that war planners had not anticipated . The third day . On the third day of combat , 26 February , the division closed in upon its objective and faced for the first time the Iraqi Republican Guard , a much stronger foe than the forces the division had first engaged , and less inclined to retreat or surrender . Opposing forces included the highly touted Republican Guard " Tawakalna " Division , the Iraqi 52nd Armored Division and elements of the 17th and the 10th Armored Divisions . The division engaged in full scale tank battles for the first time since World War II , and as one of the division ' s veterans states " There was more than enough action for everyone " . Action continued after nightfall , and by 1840 hours , the ground and air elements of the 3rd AD could report over 20 tanks , 14 APCs , several trucks and some artillery pieces destroyed . Unfortunately , that same evening , the 4th Battalion , 32d Armor lost the division ' s first casualties in a Bradley Fighting Vehicle to 25mm cannon fire – with two soldiers killed and three wounded . During the night , both darkness and sandstorms hampered soldiers ' visibility , but thermal sighting systems on board the M1A1 Abrams tanks and Bradleys allowed gunners to knock out Iraqi targets . The fourth and fifth days . By the fourth day , the division reached its objective , and pursued its now retreating enemy . The division turned east , into Kuwait , continuing to inflict heavy casualties and capture troops as it rolled forward , often hitting new units whose defensive berms and foxholes faced south from their northern flank , rendering their defenses ineffective . By nightfall , forces facing 3AD had been virtually eliminated , with their remnants in full retreat . By the fifth day of combat , the division had achieved all objectives and continued to push east to block Iraqi retreat from Kuwait , conducting mopping up operations . One hundred hours after the ground campaign started , President Bush declared a ceasefire . Spearhead . At the height of the battle , the 3rd Armored Division included 32 battalions and 20 , 533 troops . It was the largest coalition division in the Gulf War and the largest U . S . armored division in history . In its moving arsenal were 360 Abrams main battle tank s , 340 Bradley Fighting Vehicles , 128 self - propelled 155 mm howitzers , 27 Apache attack helicopters , 9 multiple - launch rocket systems , and more . Superior training , initiative and equipment had enabled the soldiers of the division to spearhead their way through the Iraqi Army , including opponents with Soviet - provided training and equipment . In the 100 - hour Gulf War , 3rd AD destroyed hundreds of Iraqi tanks and vehicles , and captured more than 2 , 400 Iraqi prisoners . Fifteen troops of the 3rd AD were killed between December 1990 and late February 1991 . In 1991 , Division Historian Dan Peterson , comparing the performance of the division in World War II and Desert Storm stated " History does always repeat itself . 3rd Armored Division was the Spearhead in both wars . " Following the war , 3rd Armored Division was one of the first units rotated to Camp Doha , Kuwait , providing protection to Kuwait as it rebuilt . Retirement . Following Desert Storm , a number of the division ' s units were transferred to the First Armored Division . On 17 January 1992 , the 3rd Armored Division officially ceased operations in Germany , with a ceremony in Frankfurt at Division Headquarters , Drake Kaserne . " Sir , this is my final salute . Mission accomplished , " said Maj . Gen . Jerry Rutherford , the division commander . Rutherford preceded the final salute to General Crosbie E . Saint , USAREUR Commander , with a loudly shouted " Spearhead ! " The division colors were then returned to the United States , with the 3rd AD still officially active , since Army Regulations state that Divisional " Casing of Colors " cannot occur on foreign soil . Official retirement took place at Fort Knox , on 17 October 1992 . In attendance at the ceremony were several former Spearhead commanding generals , and division veterans from all eras . In a traditional ceremony , Command Sgt . Major Richard L . Ross , holding the division color with battle streamers , passed it to General Frederick M . Franks , Jr . , and with that , the official retirement of the " Third Herd " was complete , and the 3rd Armored Division was removed from the official force structure of the U . S . Army . Reassignment . With the end of the Cold War , several of the division ' s overseas Kasernes were transferred to other units , particularly the 1st Armored Division . Over time , many were closed , fell into disrepair and were eventually demolished . Some 3rd Armored Units were also transferred to the 1st Armored , notably the 2nd Battalion , 3rd Field Artillery Regiment , later to become semi - famous as the unit portrayed in " Gunner Palace " . The 1st Battalion , 32nd Armor Regiment now resides at Fort Campbell , Kentucky as part of the 101st Airborne Division ( Air Assault ) . The unit was reorganized as the 1st Squadron , 32nd Cavalry Regiment , and is assigned to the 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 101st Airborne Division ( Air Assault ) as its organic Reconnaissance , Surveillance , and Target Acquisition ( RSTA ) element . The 1st Battalion , 33rd Armor Regiment is also calling Fort Campbell and the 101st Airborne Division ( Air Assault ) home . The 1st Battalion , 33rd Armor was reorganized as the 1st Squadron , 33rd Cavalry Regiment and is assigned to the 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the 101st Airborne Division ( Air Assault ) . 4th Squadron , 7th Cavalry is now part of 1st Brigade , 2nd Infantry Division . The following units joined the 1st Cavalry Division : Additionally , the lineage of the 122d Support Battalion ( Main ) from the Division Support Command was reactivated at Fort Bragg and assigned to the Combat Aviation Brigade , 82d Airborne Division as the 122d Support Battalion ( Aviation ) . Also , the 54th Support Battalion ( Main ) was reactivated on 16 September 1994 as the 54th Support Battalion ( Base ) of the 80th Support Group ( Area ) . Commanders . The 3rd Armored Division had thirty - nine commanders over the course of its history , many of whom went on to four star rank . In media and memory . Despite the division ' s impressive record and the important role it played during the war , it has been often overlooked by both historians and Hollywood , who have favored depictions and histories of units participating in D - Day , and in the siege of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge . Books , movies and other media that feature the Third Armored Division include :