2nd Armored Division

Okay, thanks @ Zodiak and Cas. This pic you have is showing more details than the one i have.

 

i have a question: Did all units make reports about what tank/ halftrack etc. was lost or damaged and what happend to their crews ? Is this possible to trace ?

 

Zelich: where is this located?
I am interested in the photos. Is it posible to receive it too?
I can publish it on Back to Normandy (even big files as attachment for collectors)
Hope to hear
Fred

 

Fred,

Just PM me with your Email and I'll be happy to send you any pix you're interested in. Zelich is spelled Zielitz on German maps and is just north of Magdeburg. I've gotten bits and pieces of that story over the last few years from various sources. The SS troops in charge of that train left to "fight the Americans" (they probably just deserted) and left a squad or platoon of Finnish soldiers in charge, ordering them to kill the inmates if capture was imminent. Instead, the Finns flagged down the first Americans they saw; a company of tanks (2nd Armored) with Old Hickory soldiers riding along.

 

Cas, I missed this thread completely. The pictures of the light tanks are interesting--the one shows it was "A" Company and can't make out the numbers on the other. If that was the 67th Regiment, it was my brother's outfit. Great pictures, Thanks for posting. I never heard back about the stuff I sent--if you want more, let me know. Dave

 

I'm so sorry Dave, I thought I replied on your mail, keep on sending, I'll sent you some stuff back.

 

Cas, I'm sure you did answer, no apology necessary. I have to use my wife's computer to scan because my laptop has something wrong and I don't check her mail all the time. I'll see what else I can gleen on Holland--just didn't want to flood you with stuff you don't need.
Where did you get the pictures of the 2nd Armored? I know it's a chance in a million, but I'd give anything to find a picture with my brother and his tank.
Thanks so much for your input on the forum. Dave

 

Well Dave,

I aquired these photo's by a strange coincidence. My last job was in Valkenburg aan de Geul where these photo's were taken as an employee of a company beloning to the city counsel, since my name is the same as the youngest son of the mayor, I got these photo's for from the archives burned on a CD, since the head of archives thought I was the mayors son, when he found out I wasn't he gave me the photo's anyway for free...

I'll see if I got some more photo's with tanks, I'll check my books, do you have any more info on your brothers tank ? Type or number or so ?

 

He was in "A" Company of the 67th Armored Regiment from N. Africa to Berlin so he was always in the "light tanks" M5A1, like the one you have pictured with A Company on the side. An old friend of my brothers, who went through the war with him in the same company, said it wasn't unusual to have several tanks shot up throughout the war for a tank crew--especially the light tanks and especially going through the Siegfried line and at the Bulge--also at Puffendorf (said he didn't think he was going to make it there.) So guess a tank was rather temporary, like a demolition derby car.
If you have more pictures, please post them--I copied the others and put them in my brothers book.
Thanks Dave

 

Brothers book Dave ? Any chance you're publishing it or just for personal reasons / private use ?

 

I'm afraid there are enough poorly written books on the market without any contribution from me. It's a very detailed and accurate (as possible) description of my brothers life, growing up in a large family during the depression and dust bowl in the middle west, military service in WWII, Berlin Airlift, and his death at 28 in 1950 while in the Air Force. Just in case someone in the family wants to know who this guy was and what he went through. In my next life (?) I hope to be blessed with the ability of Cornelius Ryan or Max Hastings but I missed the boat on this go-around. It may never get read but I"m am having fun doing this so all is not wasted.

 

CORRECTION

In an earlier post, I wrote of the 2nd Armored liberating a slave train north of Magdeburg. Since then, I've found some amplifying information. In fact, it was not the 2nd Armored, it was the 743rd Tank Battalion, a unit integral to the 30th Division. The Finnish soldiers described as guarding the train in other reports, were in fact among the prisoners of the train (Finland had repudiated Germany and Finnish troops in the Reich had been rounded up and interned). A few of these Finns escaped and brought back a unit of the 743rd, with accompanying infantry. A dozen or so SS guards fled, but most of them were rounded up or killed in the next few hours.

There were about 2,500 people on the train. About 75% were Jews, and the rest were interned civilian foreign nationals, including 33 Americans.

This amplifying info comes from "The View From the Turret: The 743rd Tank Battalion During WWII" by William Folkestad.

 

Since this is a 2nd Armored Thread I'll share a film clip that was just sent to me--enjoy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdx8S4gB3Xc

 

Hello Fred -
thx for posting and sharing this side. When I checked some of the positions of 2nd Armored Division I guess I find a little mistake: on 11th of april parts of 2 Armored Division should be in Hornburg. This is correct, but on the map Hornburg is shown near pHanover - that´s not correct.Hornburg is nearly 30 miles south-east from the position on the map (near Wolfenbüttel).
I am born 10 miles eastward from Hildesheim - the region the 2nd Armored Division captured at the beginning of april 1945. I will post a situation map dated on 11-04-45 soon. But thanks very much for sharing your side - very good job!

 

here the map I promised ... I uncircled "Hornburg" and the "X" shows the place I was born and raised ... View attachment 18418

Does anyone here has this book:The Army Almanac: A Book of Facts Concerning the Army of the United States, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1950. There should be informations about the 2nd Armored Divisionfrom page 510-592 (I am especially interested in the period from 1st of april till end of war.

 

This book: Hell on Wheels: The 2d Armored Division: Donald Houston: 9780891412731: Amazon.com: Books

Looks to be very comprehensive at 496 pages.

Also, this site: http://www.oldhickory30th.com/

Has extremely comprehensive reports on just about every action of the 30th infantry and 2nd armored. Look under the "reports" tab. The 2nd and 30th were linked under the XIX Corps, so you'll almost certainly find some very specific info about Hornburg if you search through all those PDF files.

 

Thank you for you correction. I don't know how this happened, but is corrected now. If there is more to tell or photos I will be very glad with it.

 

Hello Fred -
no problem - the side is very well structered and it´s really interesting. Here some pictures of 2nd Armored Division in April 1945 in the area of Hildesheim (there was a newspaper articles about the 2nd Armored Division last year). View attachment 18420

 

I put the photos at the HQ of 2nd Armored Division near Soder (April 10th) and Elze (April 6th in a distance less than 25 kilometres from Hildesheim) . Very nice photos. Thank for that!

 

Hello all,
I realize that this thread is almost a year old but...
I just came across this forum while searching for information relating to my grandfather's unit. He was in the 2nd Armored Division, 67th Armored Regiment, 2nd Battalion (I think), B Company. My grandpa luckily wrote home nearly every day while deployed and my grandma saved all of the letters. Needless to say they're mostly flowery without much description of what they're doing. I've also found an "after action report" thats in pdf form, nearly 200 pages that details the movements from England through France and into Germany (can't attach b/c its size but could email if interested). What I am most interested in finding (and still have to finish reading the after action report) is an account of his group assisting in the liberation of a concentration camp. I remember and am confirmed by my dad that my grandpa had been in a camp and had talked about pushing over one of the buildings to get more people out. I can't find anything relating to his company assisting in any liberation, but wondered if it could have been credited to another company that they were attached to?
Thanks so much!
Dee