| 13th Armored Division | |
|---|---|
 13th Armored Division shoulder sleeve insignia | |
| Active | 15 October 1942 – 15 November 1945 1947–52 |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| Type | Armor |
| Role | Armored warfare |
| Size | Division |
| Nickname | "The Black Cats" |
| Engagements | |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | MGJohn B. Wogan (1942–45) MGJohn Millikin (1945) |
| U.S. Armored Divisions | ||||
|
The13th Armored Division was an armoreddivision of theUnited States Army inWorld War II.
The division was constituted in theArmy of the United States on 9 June 1942 and activated on 15 October 1942 atCamp Beale, east ofMarysville, California. Durng training, the division adopted the nickname "Black Cats." The division landed atLe Havre, France, 29 January 1945. After performing occupation duties, the division moved toHomberg nearKassel to prepare for combat under theThird Army, 5 April. AtAltenkirchen, it was attached to theXVIII Airborne Corps and prepared for theRuhr Pocket operation. The attack jumped off at Honnef, 10 April. After crossing the riverSieg atSiegburg, the 13th pushed north toBergisch Gladbach, then towardDuisburg andMettmann by 18 April.
Shifting south toEschenau, the division prepared for Bavarian operations. Starting fromParsberg, 26 April, the 13th crossed theRegen river, then theDanube atMatting and secured the area nearDünzling. On the 28th, elements closed in atPlattling and crossed theIsar River. Moderate to heavy resistance was met during this drive through southern Germany. The division smashed intoBraunau am Inn, Austria, 2 May, and the command post was set up in the house whereAdolf Hitler was born. A bridgehead across the Inn was established atMarktl, but the river was not crossed as orders came to reassemble north ofInn River, 2 May.
Preparations were made for further advances when the war in Europe ended. The 13th remained in Germany until 25 June and left Le Havre, France, for home, 14 July 1945.
The division moved toCamp Cooke, California, after returning to the United States. It commenced training in amphibious operations, and the men were aware that it was an open secret that they were likely to participate in theinvasion of mainland Japan. After the Japanese surrender, it was inactivated on 15 November 1945.
On 20 August 1947, the 13th Armored Division was allotted to theOrganized Reserve (redesignated 25 March 1948 as the Organized Reserve Corps, and redesignated 9 July 1952 as the Army Reserve) and activated by reflagging it from the 19th Armored Division, which had been allotted to theSixth Army area of the Organized Reserve, specifically California, Oregon, and Arizona. The 13th Armored Division was inactivated on 1 March 1952, and withdrawn from the Army Reserve and allotted to theRegular Army on 25 February 1953.[1] In 1947, the 19th Armored Division was reflagged as the 13th Armored Division at California's request.[2] In 1952, the division was reflagged as the63rd Infantry Division in Los Angeles, California, and thus the 13th Armored Division was finally inactivated.
The division was composed of the following units:[3]
Campaigns
Individual Awards
