Fact Sheet of the 7th Armored Division

TYPE OF DIVISION:  Army of the United States.

NICKNAME:  Lucky Seventh. (It has also been called the “Ghost Division,” because it haunted the Germans all the way across Europe; “Stonewall Seventh,” because of its defensive ability and “The Rattlesnake Division,” because the enemy never knew where it would strike next.

SHOULDER PATCH:  Triangular design divided into three areas: red (representing Field Artillery), blue (representing Infantry), and yellow (representing Cavalry).  Superimposed on three areas, in black, are a canon and the track of a tank.  A bolt of lightning, in red, is superimposed on these.  The division‘s number appears in the upper portion of the triangle..

SONGS:  “Song of the Seventh,“ by B. Dunferd; “The Seventh Attacks,“ by T/5 Ben Maugham.

ACTIVATION DATE:  1 Mar 1942.

INACTIVATION DATE:  9 October 1945 at Camp Patrick Henry VA..

COMPONENT UNITS:   Hq Co; Res Comd, CCA; CCB; 2nd, 14th and 19th Tank Bns; 9th Armored Engineering Bn; 89th Cav Rcn Sq (Mech); 149th Armd Signal Co; Division Artillery: 3rd, 16th and 73rd Armored Field Artillery BNs;  Division Trains: 2nd Armored Medical Bn, 131st Ordnance Maintenance Bn, MP platoon and Band.  27th, 52nd and 60th Armored Infantry Bns..

TRAINING UNDER ARMY GROUND FORCES:  Upon activation the Division was assigned to Camp Polk, LA, coming under the II Armored Corps.  During Sep and Oct 1942 the Division maneuvered in Louisiana and Texas under the Third Army.  Following these maneuvers the 7th returned to Camp Polk and was assigned to the III Armored Corps.  In March 1943, the Division moved to the Desert Training Center in California for five months of training and maneuvers.  It was assigned to Fort Benning GA in Aug 1943 under the Second Army.

DEPARTED U.S. FOR FOREIGN DUTY:  7 Jun 1944 from NYPE.

OVERSEAS TRAINING:  Trained at Tidworth Barracks in Wiltshire, England.

COMBAT DAYS (Div):  172..:  .

DATE ENTERED COMBAT:   DIVISION  14 Aug 1944.  FIRST ELEMENTS  13 Aug 1944

BATTLE CREDITS:  (Division)   Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes and Central Europe... 

RETURNED TO US:  Elements arrived in Boston, New York City and Newport News on 8 and 9 October 1945.

SUCCESSIVE COMMANDING GENERALS:   Major General Lindsay McD. Silvester from 1 March 1942 to November 1944; Major General Robert W. Hasbrouck from November 1944 to August 1945; Brigadier General Truman E Boudinet from September 1945 until the Division’s inactivation.

COMMENDATIONS:  General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of Allied Troops in the European Theater of Operations, sent a message to General Hasbrouck during the 7th‘s stand at St Vith which said: “The magnificent job that you are doing is having a great beneficial effect on our whole situation.  I am personally grateful to you and wish you would let all of your people know that if they continue to carry out their mission with the splendid spirit they have so far shown, they will have so served well their country.“

FOREIGN AWARDS:  Company D, 40th Tank Battalion awarded French Croix de Guerre for 17-22 December 1944 action at Geuvy, Belgium, per French decree 246, dated 15 July 1946.

CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR WINNER:  S Sgt Robert H. Dietz, Company A, 38th Armored Infantry Battalion for 29 March 1945 action near Kirchain, Germany, and Cpl Thomas J. Kelly, Company C, 48th Armored Infantry Battalion for 5 April 1945 action at Alemert, Germany.

COMBAT HIGHLIGHTS:  An offensive sweep across France during which it helped liberate such cities as Chartres, Chateau-Thierry, Rheims; a stonewall defense of St Vith during the German winter offensive, crossing of the Rhine River and reduction of the Ruhr pocket are all part of the combat record of the 7th Armored Division.  The Division debarked in France early in Aug 1944 and 16 August was attacking Chartres.  The city fell by 18 August.  The 7th then went on to take Dreux, Molun and Chateau-Thierry.  It was the first Allied unit to cross the Seine in this war, the crossing being made 24 August.  The 7th swept across the Marne, Aisne and Meuse Rivers, taking the city of Verdun by the end of August.  In September the Division drove toward Germany, by-passed the city of Metz and established a bridgehead over the Moselle River.   The 7th then shifted to Holland in October.  Here on 8 October it was assigned the task of protecting the vital right flank of the British-Canadian drive to clear the northern and western approaches to the strategically important port of Antwerp.  The Division‘s role was purely defensive.  On 27 October the Germans counterattacked in the 7th‘s sector near Meijel.  The battle raged bitterly for three days but, even though outnumbered, the 7th conceded little ground and killed a number of Germans.  It was credited with saving the campaign to clear the approaches of Antwerp.  The Division took a well-deserved rest during November.  On 1 December elements of the Division moved into Linnich, Germany, located on the banks of the Roer River, and soon the entire Division had crossed over the border and was waiting to strike deep into the heart of Germany.  On 16 December, however, the Division was sent to ST Vith, Belgium to help stem Von Rundstedt‘s winter offensive.  The 7th felt the weight of the enemy‘s thrust toward Liege, but its forces held firm.  Failing to penetrate the 7th's positions, the Germans by-passed the line it held.  Late in December the Germans tried once again to knock the 7th out of position at St Vith.  At length the Division withdrew across the Salm River.  On Christmas Eve the 7th was sent to plug a gap near Manhay and by the end of December, the Division had pushed the Germans out of Manhay and held firm. The enemy never returned.  After a short rest in January 1945 the 7th went back to St Vith and took that Belgium town without too much trouble.  During February and most of March 1945, the 7th rested and healed grievous wounds sustained during the winter offensive.  It went back into action 26 March 1945, breaking out of the Remagen bridgehead and driving on unchecked for five days.  It led the offensive over the Rhine and into the heart of the Reich, covering 148 miles in five days.  The Dill River was crossed and the great Eder Soo Dam north of Kirchain was taken.  The 7th then went in to help reduce the Ruhr pocket and capture thousands of Germans.  On 16 April, it negotiated for the surrender of the German panzer corps, resulting in the complete collapse of the eastern sector of the pocket.  In northern Germany the 7th crossed the Elbe and as the war neared its close swept to the Baltic Sea and a meeting with Russian Forces.  Division statisticians claim the 7th traveled 2260 miles during its combat career, destroyed 2653 enemy vehicles and captured 3517 enemy vehicles.  Prior to crossing the Rhine it had captured 9045 prisoners.  Upon returning to the US in October 1945, the Division was inactivated.
 

These Army Ground Forces Fact Sheets were prepared at the end of the war (1 March 1947) by The Information Section, Analysis Branch, Headquarters Army Ground Forces on each division.  They may be found in Record Group 407, Unit Records, for each division, under the file number 3 (Division #) - 0 at the National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Rd, College Park MD.