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| 6th Armored Division | |
|---|---|
 6th Armored Division shoulder sleeve insignia | |
| Active | 1942–1945 1950–1956 |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| Type | Armor |
| Role | Armored warfare |
| Size | Division |
| Nickname | "Super Sixth"[1] |
| Engagements | World War II |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | BGCarlos Brewer MGWilliam H. H. Morris MGRobert W. Grow BGGeorge W. Read Jr. |
| U.S. Armored Divisions | ||||
|
The6th Armored Division ("Super Sixth"[1]) was an armoreddivision of theUnited States Army during World War II. It was formed with a cadre from the2nd Armored Division.
The 6th Armored Division was activated on 15 February 1942 atFort Knox,Kentucky. The major elements of the division originally were the68th and69th Armored Regiments and the50th Armored Infantry Regiment; the 68th Armored Regiment had originally been part of the1st Armored Division, while the 69th Armored Regiment had been part of the2nd Armored Division.Brigadier GeneralCarlos Brewer was assigned as the division's first commanding general.[2] It moved toCamp Chaffee on 15 March 1942 to make way for other Armored units, and then completed its assembly and unit training. The division then participated in theVIII CorpsLouisiana Maneuvers from 25 August 1942, and then returned to Camp Chaffee on 21 September 1942. The 6th AD then moved toCamp Young at theDesert Training Center on 10 October 1942, and participated in the first California Maneuvers.
The 6th AD then moved toCamp Cooke to continue its training, where it was reorganized in September 1943, losing its "heavy" organization of two armored regiments and one armored infantry regiment in favor of a "light" organization of three tank battalions and three armored infantry battalions. Maj. Gen.[3] Robert W. Grow assumed command of the Division at Camp Cooke, California in May 1943 and commanded the division through the war until 30 July 1945. The 6th AD then staged atCamp Shanks,New York on 3 February 1944, departed theNew York Port of Embarkation on 11 February 1944, and arrived in England on 23 February 1944.
After continuing its training in England, 6th AD landed onUtah Beach inNormandy on 19 July 1944 as a follow-on unit, and went on the offensive as separate combat commands in theCotentin Peninsula in support of the Normandy Campaign.
The division was composed of the following units:[4]
At the end of theNormandy Campaign, 6th AD assembled atLe Mesnil on 25 July 1944. 6th AD then passed through8th Infantry Division to clear the heights nearLe Bingard on 27 July 1944, and Combat Command A secured a bridgehead across theSienne (river) nearPont de la Roque on 29 July 1944, and overranGranville on 31 July 1944. 6th AD then returned toAvranches, where it relieved4th AD and secured the area bridges.
In mid-August in Europe, the 6th Armored Division moved down toLorient, where it was relieved by the94th Infantry Division in September. Elements of the division participated in theBattle for Brest (7 August - 19 September 1944).
The 6th then turned east and cut across France, reaching theSaar in November. It crossed theNied River on 11–12 November, against strong opposition, reaching the German border on 6 December, and established and maintained defensive positions in the vicinity ofSaarbrücken.
On 23 December, the division was ordered north ofMetz to take part in theBattle of the Bulge, and took over a sector along the south bank of theSauer. The 6th was heavily engaged in the battle forBastogne, finally driving the enemy back across theOur River into Germany by late January 1945.
After a short period of rehabilitation, the division resumed the offensive, penetrated theSiegfried Line, crossed thePrum, reached theRhine River atWorms on 21 March, and set up a counterreconnaissance screen along its west bank. The 6th crossed the Rhine atOppenheim on 25 March, drove on toFrankfurt, crossed theMain, capturedBad Nauheim, and continued to advance eastward, and surrounded and capturedMühlhausen on 4–5 April. After repulsing a light counterattack, it moved forward 60 miles to cross theSaale River and assisted in freeing Allied prisoners of war and the Germanconcentration camp atBuchenwald. The division raced on, took Leipzig, crossed theRiver Zwickau Mulde atRochlitz on 15 April 1945, and stopped, pending the arrival of theRed Army. Defensive positions along the Mulde River were held until the end of hostilities in Europe.
The division arrived atCamp Shanks, New York on 18 September 1945 and was inactivated.
The division was reactivated at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri on 5 September 1950 in response to the Korean War, and served as a training division until inactivation on 16 March 1956.
6th Armored Division (Training) organization at Fort Leonard Wood:
At the end of World War II, two 6th Armored Division G3 officers, MajorsPaul L. Bogen and Clyde J. Burk along with Aide-de-Camp Captain Cyrus R. Shockey, compiled aCombat Record of the Sixth Armored Division in the European Theatre of Operations 18 July 1944 – 8 May 1945. The official history by George F. Hofmann,The Super Sixth: History of the 6th Armored Division in World War II (1975, reprinted 2000)[6] has been called by World War II scholarMartin Blumenson, a "first-rate military history." He also noted that General Patton called the 6th AD one of the two best divisions in his Third Army.[7]
