Wednesday, January 21, 2009

On Wikipedia

The 808 TD Battalion now has an entry on Wikipedia. Here is the text of it:

"The 808th Tank Destroyer Battalion was a tank destroyer battalion of the United States Army active during the Second World War.
The battalion was activated on 27 March 1942. It deployed into Normandy on 19 September, equipped with towed 3" anti-tank guns. It first saw action six days later, on the 25th, when it was attached to the 80th Infantry Division. It was detached from the 80th on December 21st, and moved to participate in the Battle of the Bulge, where it protected the flank of XII Corps through to late January. Elements of the division fought with the 5th Infantry Division in late December.
In February 1945 it re-equipped with M36 Jackson tank destroyers, and was then attached to the 76th Infantry Division for the drive to the Rhine. In April it was transferred to 65th Infantry Division and pushed through southern Germany with Third Army. At the beginning of May it moved to Linz, and ended the war inside Austria."

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

June 13, 1944

According to the Chronology of World War II website, on June 13, 1944:

"On the Western Front... On the left of the Allied line, the British 2nd Army continues to attack. The 30th Corps regroups its forces. The 7th Armored Division is shift to the right flank and advances to Villers Bocage. A German counterattack forces the division to fall back. To the left, the US 1st Army makes progress towards St Lo and across the Cotentin. Pont l'Abbe is capture in the peninsula. A German counterattack, spearheaded by 17th Panzer Division, toward Carentan is held."

This was also the day that Grandpa landed on the beaches of Normandy.

A Short History of the 808 TD Battalion

This document is one of hundreds that I've received from the National Archives regarding the 808 TD Battalion. Please click on the pictures below to view the full-size (and readable) image.