1st Arkansas Light Artillery, Service, Chattanooga Campaign
During the Siege of Chattanooga, in October and November 1863, the battery was assigned to Captain Henery C. Steeple's Artillery Battalion of A.P. Stewart's Division of Major General John C. Breckinridge's Corps, stationed on Missionary Ridge. Captain Humphreys resigned on October 15, 1863. Lieutenant John W. Rivers, who had risen from the ranks, was promoted captain, effective October 15, 1863. The battery continued to be referred to as Humphreys battery in some reports.


1st Arkansas Light Artillery, Service, Chattanooga Campaign
As events developed during the Battle of Missionary Ridge on November day, General Stewart received a flurry of orders to move his division back and forth across Missionary Ridge. About 2:00 p.m. Stewart was told to move his division toward the right, and during this movement, his Corps Commander General Breckinridge asked for a brigade and a battery to make a "reconnaissance towards Rossville"  Stewart dispatch Holtclaw with Clayton's Brigade, along with the 1st Arkansas Battery under [Captain] John W. Rivers.


1st Arkansas Light Artillery, Service, Chattanooga Campaign
The temporary commander of the division's artillery battalion, Captain T. J. Stanford, had accompanied Breckinridge, Holtzclaw and the Army of Tennessee's Chief of Artillery, Lieutenant Colonel James H. Hallonquist, on this reconnaissance south of the ridge with Rivers' Arkansas Battery. Upon reaching a point where it became impracticable to take the battery any further south, Stanford directed 1st Arkansas Battery to deploy about 600 yards to the left of the end of Brigadier General Marcellus A. Stovall's brigade "to impeded a flanking movement."


1st Arkansas Light Artillery, Service, Chattanooga Campaign
Rivers apparently fired on Union Brigadier General John Geary's division of the XII Army Corps for some time until the Federals gained the top of the ridge between the battery' s position and Stovall, necessitation the battery's removal. Union Brigadier General Peter J. Osterhaus' men of XVII Army Corps, had breached the confederate line and were moving north up the east side of the ridge. Osterhuau's men fired on the battery as it retreated, causing it to lose one gun.


1st Arkansas Light Artillery, Service, Atlanta Campaign
After the battles outside of Chattanooga, the artillery of the Army of Tennessee was greatly depleted in guns, ammunition and horses. The army withdrew to winterquarters near Dalton Georgia, where the temporary commander, Lieutenant General William Hardee attempted to rebuild the wreckage of the army. On December 6, 1863, five of the hardest hit batteries, Scogins, Massenburg's, Waters, Baxters and Rivers Batteries were stripped of their remaining horses and assigned to garrison duty at Atlanta.


1st Arkansas Light Artillery, Service, Atlanta Campaign
On February 16, 1864, Captain Rivers signed a voucher for clothing received at Dalton Georgia, including 75 Jackets and 75 Pants. The battery muster roll for March and April 1864 show the unit's station as Atlanta Georgia, and the comments on the roll state "the battery has been stationed at this place since last mustered the men have been sober and soldierly in their conduct."


1st Arkansas Light Artillery, Service, Atlanta Campaign
Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman invaded Georgia from the vicinity of Chattanooga, Tennessee, beginning in May 1864, opposed by the Confederate general Joseph E. Johnston. Johnston's Army of Tennessee withdrew toward Atlanta in the face of successive flanking maneuvers by Sherman's group of armies. In July, the Confederate president replaced Johnston with the more aggressive John Bell Hood, who began challenging the Union Army in a series of damaging frontal assaults.


1st Arkansas Light Artillery, Service, Atlanta Campaign
Atlanta was ringed with formidable earthworks, including which were armed with an array of guns including 6 and 12 pounder howitzers, Wiard rifles, 24 pounder rifles and several other heavy cannon brought north from the defenses at Mobile. These guns on Atlanta's perimeter were manned by a collection of six depleted batteries from the Army of Tennessee, including Rivers' Arkansas Battery. These batteries were placed under the command of the Georgia militia.


1st Arkansas Light Artillery, Service, Atlanta Campaign
Captain Rivers signed a requisition for fuel, 1st Arkansas Battery stationed at Atlanta Georgia, May 1864, and the battery strength was reported as 3 officers, 67 enlisted men.


1st Arkansas Light Artillery, Service, Atlanta Campaign
Hood's army was eventually besieged in Atlanta and the city fell on September 2, setting the stage for Sherman's March to the Sea and hastening the end of the war. Two members of Rivers battery were either capture or took the opportunity of the fall of the City of Atlanta to desert. Private Francis M. Brewer is recorded as being captured on September 2, 1864, at Atlanta and subsequently took the oath of allegiance to the Union and was released from prison camp at Camp Douglas, Illinois. Private John O. Brewer was listed as captured on September 3, 1864, at Atlanta and subsequently enlisted in the Union Army.


1st Arkansas Light Artillery, Service, Savannah Campaign
General William Tecumseh Sherman, victorious in the lengthy Atlanta Campaign, had refitted his army and recently departed from Atlanta on a march designed to reach the Atlantic Coast at Savannah. The right wing of Sherman's force was the Army of the Tennessee, commanded by Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard. Union cavalry under Brig. Gen. Judson Kilpatrick was ordered to threaten Macon in order to screen the movements of Howard's column. By demonstrating against Macon, Kilpatrick and his cavalry were able to pin down a significant number of Confederate troops in the city.


1st Arkansas Light Artillery, Service, Savannah Campaign
Unable and unwilling to leave the important industrial city undefended, Southern commanders were prevented from moving aggressively against General Sherman's main columns. This prevented them from attacking and harassing his main columns during the early stages of the March to the Sea when his units were strung out and his supply trains were vulnerable.


1st Arkansas Light Artillery, Service, Savannah Campaign
The Battle of Walnut Creek, or Second Battle of Dunlap Farm as it is also known, developed when Kilpatrick was ordered to sweep in close to Macon to screen the movements of Sherman's right column, which was starting its turn to the east after appearing to threaten Macon.


1st Arkansas Light Artillery, Service, Savannah Campaign
Kilpatrick's forces threatening Macon included the 10th Ohio Cavalry, 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry, 92nd Illinois Mounted Infantry, and the 10th Wisconsin Battery. The Confederate defenders at Macon included, among others, the 1st and 2nd Convalescent Regiments, from the hospital located there. General Howell Cobb, who commanded the Confederates in Macon, was blessed with an abundance of artillery, totaling 39 guns. The defense was lucky to have several battalions of artillery, known as the Reserve Artillery, Army of Tennessee, which were left by General Hood when he began his invasion of Tennessee after the fall of Atlanta.


1st Arkansas Light Artillery, Service, Savannah Campaign
The entire Reserve Artillery was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel J. H. Hallonquist. This force included the reserved artillery battalions of Waddell, Martian, and Palmer. Waddell's men had a full complement of ammunition for their guns, but not horses to pull them. Palmer's force had both ammunition and horses, while Martians battalion had a full complement of ammunition, but no horses; as a result most of the artilleryman fought as infantry. The artillery units included troops from Curry's, Bellany's, Guist's, Howell's, Plamers, Rivers, and Captain Edmund D. Baxter's Light Artillery Companies, deployed as infantry. These men were commanded by Captain Albrough.


1st Arkansas Light Artillery, Service, Savannah Campaign
The batteries of Rivers and Prichard were consolidated and the consolidated unit manned four twelve-pounder howitzers. Rivers' guns responded to an attack by at 3:30 p.m. by the Beebe's Battery. Confederate forces brought at least nine cannon into action, some of them firing from the heights at Fort Hawkins, Cobb's forces pounded the Federals on Dunlap's Hill.


1st Arkansas Light Artillery, Service, Savannah Campaign
Confederate reinforcements poured to the front. As fighting swirled around Dunlap's Hill, so named because it was part of the Dunlap Farm and the location of the Dunlap house, Kilpatrick launched a second attack against the Central of Georgia railroad trestle over Walnut Creek. This advance was quickly blunted by Confederate defenders. As a Confederate counterattack retook the guns on the crest of Dunlap's Hill, Kilpatrick decided that he had accomplished his mission and began to fall back. Confederate cavalry under General Joseph Wheeler was now on the field and shadowed the Union withdrawal.


1st Arkansas Light Artillery, Service, Savannah Campaign
The battery's muster rolls show that they remained on station a Macon Georgia through at least December 1864. Captain Rivers was still signing requisitions at Macon, Georgia, through April 20, 1865.


1st Arkansas Light Artillery, Service, Battles
The 1st Arkansas Light Artillery was involved in the following battles:


1st Arkansas Light Artillery, Service, Battles
In accordance with Confederate Adjutant and Inspector General's Office Order Number 131, Private John Campbell of the battery was recognized for courage and good conduct on the field for the Battle of Murfreesboro


1st Arkansas Light Artillery, Surrender
Confederate forces at Macon, Georgia, including the 1st Arkansas Light Artillery and Key's Arkansas Battery were surrendered on April 20, 1865, by Confederate General Thomas Howell Cobb to Union Brigadier General James Harrison Wilson.


1st Arkansas Light Artillery, Notes
This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Government document: ", National Park Service".


1st Arkansas Light Artillery Battery (Union)
The 1st Arkansas Light Artillery Battery (1863–1865) was an artillery battery that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Although Arkansas joined the Confederate States of America in 1861, not all of its citizens supported secession.


1st Arkansas Light Artillery Battery (Union), Organization
In January 1863, Denton D. Stark, then Adjutant of the 1st Regiment Arkansas Volunteer Cavalry (Union), was authorized to raise the first battery of Arkansas light artillery. By April 1 the battery was full but was not mustered into service until August 31. The men were principally residents of Benton, Washington, Madison, Crawford, Sebastian, Franklin, Johnson, and Sevier counties. The battery was stationed at Fayetteville, Arkansas during the period January–April 1863, and began moving to Springfield, Missouri on April 25.


1st Arkansas Light Artillery Battery (Union), Organization
It arrived on 4 May and remained on duty there until September 21, including an expedition from Springfield into Arkansas and Indian Territory from September 7 to 19. They were near Enterprise, Missouri on September 15. The battery returned to Fayetteville on September 21 and remained there until March 1864, attached to District of Southwest Missouri, Department Missouri, during that time.


1st Arkansas Light Artillery Battery (Union), Organization
In March 1864 it was placed under the command of 2nd Brigade, District of the Frontier, 7th Army Corps, Department of Arkansas, until January 1865, when it was placed under the command of Artillery, 3rd Division, 7th Army Corps, until February 1865. From then until it was disbanded, it was under the command of 1st Brigade, 3rd Division, 7th Army Corps.


1st Arkansas Light Artillery Battery (Union), Service
From 4 May to September 21, 1863, the battery was stationed at Springfield, Missouri, receiving while there guns and equipment. In September, Lieutenant Robert Thompson led one section of the battery in an expedition under Colonel M. Larue Harrison, through southwestern Missouri and northwestern Arkansas, in pursuit of Colonel Coffee's command, then raiding in that section of country, and proceeded thence to Fayetteville, Arkansas. Under Captain Stark, the remaining two sections left Springfield on September 21, 1863, for Fayetteville, first marching to Greenfield, Missouri, under Colonel Harrison, who was then in pursuit of General Shelby.


1st Arkansas Light Artillery Battery (Union), Service
Moving then to Fayetteville, on October 20 one section of the battery under Colonel Brooks engaged the rebels at Cross Timbers, Missouri. The battery remained at Fayetteville until March 19, 1864, when, by order of Brigadier General Thayer, it marched to Fort Smith, Arkansas. On March 23 it joined the expedition to Camden, forming a part of Colonel Adams’ brigade. It was present in the skirmish at Moscow, on April 13, with four guns in action, and relieved the 2nd Indiana battery, under fire from rebel artillery.


1st Arkansas Light Artillery Battery (Union), Service
Leaving Camden on April 28 with the retreating force under General Steele, it reached Little Rock on 3 May, and moved thence with the frontier division of the Army of Arkansas to Fort Smith. In October 1864, one section of the battery, under Lieutenant Mayes, was sent with other troops in pursuit of Colonel Gano, who had captured a supply train between Fort Scott and Fort Smith, making a forced march to Cabin Creek, north of Fort Gibson, where they came up with the retreating rebel force; however the enemy escaped without an engagement. The battery occupied Fort No. 2, at Fort Smith, until August 30, 1865, when it was mustered out.


1st Arkansas Light Artillery Battery (Union), Service
The group participated in fighting at Cross Timbers on October 15 and 20, 1863. It moved to Fort Smith on March 19, 1864, then participated in General Steele's expedition to Camden (March 23 – May 3, 1864); it was near Prairie d'Ann from April 9 to 13, near Van Buren on April 12, near Camden on 15 April 15, near Poison Springs on April 18, and near Jenkins' Ferry, Saline River, on April 30. The group departed for Fort Smith on 3 May, arriving 16 May. It participated in the action at Prior Creek on September 18, 1864. It remained on garrison duty at Fort Smith and at Fort Gibson until it mustered out in August 1865.


1st Arkansas Light Artillery Battery (Union), Mustered out of service
The 1st Arkansas Light Artillery Battery mustered out on August 30, 1865.


1st Arkansas Mounted Rifles
1st Arkansas Mounted Rifles (1861–1865) was a Confederate States Army cavalry regiment during the American Civil War. The unit was formed as a mounted infantry regiment, but was dismounted in the spring of 1862 and remained dismounted for the remainder of the war. The unit participated in the earliest battles in the western theater at Wilson's Creek and surrendered with the remnants of the Army of Tennessee in North Carolina in April 1865.


1st Arkansas Mounted Rifles, Formation
At the outbreak of the Civil War, Arkansas, formed some 48 infantry regiments, and a number of cavalry units. With the exception of the 3rd Arkansas Infantry Regiment, all of the Arkansas units would sign one year enlistments, thus leading to assignments in what was referred to as the "western theater", due to most of the large scale battles being fought in the east. The 1st Arkansas Mounted Rifles would sign one year enlistments, then later would sign a "three year or the duration of the war" extension.


1st Arkansas Mounted Rifles, Formation
First organized in Little Rock, Arkansas, on June 16, 1861, the regiment was initially commanded by Colonel Thomas J. Churchill. The regiment was composed of the following volunteer companies:


1st Arkansas Mounted Rifles, Battles
The regiment was first attached to General Benjamin McCulloch's Brigade. By August, they were on the move toward Springfield, Missouri, where they first saw action in the Battle of Wilson's Creek. It reported 45 killed, 161 wounded, and 2 missing at Wilson's Creek. Following that battle, the regiment was dispatched to Indian Territory to battle the Native American pro-Union Cherokee soldiers. They served in that capacity from September through October 1861.


1st Arkansas Mounted Rifles, Battles
On March 6, 1862, the regiment was engaged during the Battle of Pea Ridge, as part of Colonel Louis Hébert, Brigade of Brigadier General Benjamin McCulloch's Division of Major General Earl Van Dorn's Army of the West. The McNair's Brigade reconsolidated at Van Buren, Arkansas, then marched overland to Des Arc where the regiment was transported by steamboat to Memphis in an attempt to unite the Army of the West with the Confederate Army of Mississippi to attack Grant at Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee, but arrived too late for the Battle of Shiloh. Just before departing Arkansas, the regiment was dismounted and fought the remainder of the war as infantry. The regiment deeply resented being forced to give up their horses and continuously requested to be allowed to resume their place as a mounted command.


1st Arkansas Mounted Rifles, Battles
In early May 1862 the Confederate forces underwent an army-wide reorganization due to the passage of the Conscription Act by the Confederate Congress in April 1862. All twelve-month regiments had to re-muster and enlist for two additional years or the duration of the war; a new election of officers was ordered; and men who were exempted from service by age or other reasons under the Conscription Act were allowed to take a discharge and go home. Officers who did not choose to stand for re-election were also offered a discharge. The reorganization was accomplished among all the Arkansas regiments in and around Corinth, Mississippi, following the Battle of Shiloh.


1st Arkansas Mounted Rifles, Battles
In June 1862, the regiment was in camp near Tupelo, Mississippi, along with other Arkansas regiments. Dozens of Arkansas soldiers died of disease in the camp hospital during this period, and many more were discharged for disability.


1st Arkansas Mounted Rifles, Battles
During the Kentucky Campaign, McNair's brigade was assigned to Churchill's Division, under the overall command of General Kirby Smith. General Smith pushed rapidly into the bluegrass region of Kentucky, and defeated the Union army at the Battle of Richmond. In the desperate battle that occurred there, McNair's brigade turned the enemy's right and contributed to the rout that followed. The 1st Arkansas Mounted Rifles, (dismounted), reported 23 casualties at the Battle of Richmond.


1st Arkansas Mounted Rifles, Battles
On November 4, 1862, Colonel McNair was commissioned brigadier-general. His brigade included the following Arkansas units, the 1st and 2nd Arkansas Mounted Rifles (dismounted), 4th and 13th Arkansas Infantry Regiments, 4th Arkansas Infantry Battalion, and Humphreys' battery of artillery. On the same day, Henry Gaston Bunn was elected Colonel of the 4th Arkansas as the replacement for Brigadier General McNair.


1st Arkansas Mounted Rifles, Battles
During the Battle of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, on December 21, 1862, McNair's brigade took part in the brilliant charge of McCown's division, which, aided by the Divisions of Withers and Cheatham, drove the Federal right a distance of between three and four miles, bending it back upon the center, until the line was at right angles to its original position. The 4th Arkansas lost another 79 casualties at Murfreesboro. In accordance with Confederate Adjutant and Inspector General's Office Order Number 131, ten soldiers of the regiment were recognized for courage and good conduct on the field for the Battle of Murfreesboro The regiment reported a total of 9 killed, 82 wounded and 4 missing during the Battle of Murfreesboro.


1st Arkansas Mounted Rifles, Battles
In June, 1863, McNair’s Brigade was reassigned to Walker's (later French's) division of the Army of the Department of Mississippi and Eastern Louisiana, under the overall command of General Joseph E. Johnston who was assigned the mission of organizing a force to attempt to relieve General Pemberton’s besieged army at Vicksburg. Johnston had been gathering troops at Jackson, intending to relieve pressure on Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton's beleaguered garrison. Johnston cautiously advanced his 30,000 soldiers toward the rear of Grant's army surrounding Vicksburg. In response, Grant ordered Sherman to deal with Johnston's threat.


1st Arkansas Mounted Rifles, Battles
By July 1, 1863, Johnston's force was in position along the Big Black River. Sherman used the newly arrived IX Corps to counter this threat. On July 5, the day after the surrender of Vicksburg was made official; Sherman was free to move against Johnston. Johnston hastily withdrew his force across the Big Black River and Champion's Hill battlefields with Sherman in pursuit. Sherman had with him the IX Corps, XV Corps, XIII Corps, and a detachment of the XVI Corps. On July 10 the Union Army had taken up position around Jackson. The heaviest fighting in the Siege of Jackson came on July 11 during an unsuccessful Union attack, which resulted in heavy casualties. Instead of risking entrapment, Johnston chose to evacuate the state capital and withdrew on July 16. Sherman's forces occupied the city the following day.


1st Arkansas Mounted Rifles, Battles
In the aftermath of the Vicksburg Campaign most of Johnston’s army was transferred back to the Army of Tennessee. At the Battle of Chickamauga, McNair's was one of the eight brigades which, under Lieutenant General James Longstreet's direction, rushed through the gap in the Federal line and put one wing of the Union army to rout. In the battle McNair was wounded and the brigade as a whole suffered heavy casualties. Of the 254 soldiers who saw action at Chickamauga, forty-two percent were disabled. . Following McNair's injury, Colonel Daniel H. Reynolds of the 1st Arkansas Mounted Rifles assumed command of the Brigade. Reynolds would lead the brigade for the remainder of the war.


1st Arkansas Mounted Rifles, Battles
Following the Battle of Chickamauga, NcNair's Brigade. now under the command of Colonel Reynolds, moved back to central Mississippi to oppose General Sherman's Meridian Campaign. Sherman organized an expedition of 20,000 men to move into central Mississippi to break up Confederate rail communications and other infrastructure near Meridian Mississippi, and solidify Union control of the Mississippi River. The Meridian campaign was a "dress rehearsal" for the style of war against infrastructure that Sherman, as well as some of these very troops, would later practice in Georgia.


1st Arkansas Mounted Rifles, Battles
To counter the threat, Confederate President Jefferson Davis ordered troops to the area from other localities, including McNair's Brigade. The Confederate commander in the area, Lieutenant General Leonidas Polk, consolidated a number of commands in and around Morton, Mississippi, but failed to stop Sherman's moves. Meridian was essentially destroy by Sherman and most of Polks forces were transferred to the Army of Tennessee in time to oppose Sherman's Atlanta Campaign. Colonel D. H. Reynolds was promoted to brigadier general on March 12, 1864, retroactive to March 5, 1864.


1st Arkansas Mounted Rifles, Battles
Through the summer and fall of 1864 the 1st Arkansas Mounted Rifles (dismounted) and the rest of their brigade, participated in the Atlanta Campaign through Georgia as a part of the force attempting to stop Sherman. After the fall of Atlanta, the 4th Arkansas along with the rest of the army, now under the command of General John Bell Hood, moved back to Tennessee, where they fought at the Battle of Franklin and the Battle of Nashville. The unit is entitled to the following Campaign Participation Credits: The unit is entitled to the following Campaign Participation Credits:


1st Arkansas Mounted Rifles, Battles
After the Battle of Nashville, Tennessee, the Arkansas regiments of Reynolds' Brigade marched via Bainbridge, Alabama, Tuscumbia, Iuka and Corinth to Tupelo, Mississippi, where they went into camp on January 10, 1865. They departed Tupelo on January 30 and marched to West Point, Mississippi. From West Point they traveled by rail to Selma, Alabama. From Selma they traveled by steamboat to Montgomery, then by rail to Columbus, Georgia. From Columbus they marched via Macon and Milledgeville to Mayfield, Georgia. From Mayfield they traveled by rail to Augusta, Georgia. From there they marched to Newberry, South Carolina. On March 19, 1865, they fought their last major engagement at the Battle of Bentonville, North Carolina. They then marched to Smithfield, North Carolina, where the entire brigade was consolidated into a single understrength regiment, the 1st Consolidated Mounted Rifles on April 9, 1865.


1st Arkansas Mounted Rifles, Consolidation and Surrender
On April 9, 1865, the depleted Arkansas regiments of D. H. Reynolds' Brigade, Walthall's Division, Confederate Army of Tennessee, were consolidated into a single regiment the 1st Arkansas Consolidated Mounted Rifles, at Smithfield, North Carolina. The companies of the consolidated regiment were consolidated from the following Arkansas regiments:


1st Arkansas Mounted Rifles, Consolidation and Surrender
The 1st Arkansas Consolidated Mounted Rifles surrendered with the Army of Tennessee at Greensboro, North Carolina, April 26, 1865. The 1st Arkansas Consolidated Mounted Rifles was paroled on May 1, 1865, at Jamestown, North Carolina.


1st Arkansas Mounted Rifles, Consolidation and Surrender
After the surrender, the men were offered free rail transportation (where available) in the direction of their homes, by what was left of the Southern railway companies. Most of the men traveled by rail, where they could. A large number of men were killed or seriously injured in a railroad accident at Flat Creek Bridge, Tennessee, on May 25, 1865.


1st Arkansas Mounted Rifles, Roll of Honor
Ten soldiers were cited on the Confederate Roll of Honor for their actions at the Battle of Murfreesboro.


1st Arkansas Mounted Rifles (Consolidated)
The 1st Arkansas Consolidate Mounted Rifles (1865) was a Confederate Army cavalry regiment during the American Civil War.


1st Arkansas Mounted Rifles (Consolidated), Organization
On April 9, 1865, the depleted Arkansas regiments of D. H. Reynolds' Brigade, Walthall's Division, Confederate Army of Tennessee, were consolidated into a single regiment the 1st Arkansas Consolidated Mounted Rifles, at Smithfield, North Carolina. The companies of the consolidated regiment were consolidated from the following Arkansas regiments:


1st Arkansas Mounted Rifles (Consolidated), Surrender
This regiment surrendered with the Army of Tennessee at Greensboro, North Carolina, April 26, 1865. The 1st Arkansas Consolidated Mounted Rifles was paroled on May 1, 1865, at Jamestown, North Carolina.


1st Armored Brigade (People's Republic of China)
The  1st Armored Brigade (formerly the  1st Tank Division , then  1st Armored Division ) is an Armored formation of People's Liberation Army of the People's Republic of China. The brigade now serves as the armored element under the 65th Army in the Beijing Military Region.


1st Armored Brigade (People's Republic of China), Formation
The Tank Division, 4th Field Army(Chinese: 四野战车师) was activated on February 1949 in Tianjin, from Special Troops Tank Command, 4th Field Army.


1st Armored Brigade (People's Republic of China), Formation
In May 1949 the division was renamed as 1st Tank Division(Chinese: 战车第1师). In December 1950 the division was re-organized as 1st Tank Brigade(Chinese: 坦克第1旅, note the change on Chinese characters). By then the brigade was composed of:


1st Armored Brigade (People's Republic of China), Formation
On November 3, 1950, the brigade was renamed as 1st Tank Division(Chinese: 坦克第1师). Its regiments were not affected.


1st Armored Brigade (People's Republic of China), Korean War
From March 1951 to November 1952 the division entered Korea to take part in the Korean War as a part of People's Volunteer Army(CPA). From January to October 1953 the division spent its second deployment to Korea. After that the division moved to Fengtai, Beijing.


1st Armored Brigade (People's Republic of China), After Korea
In February Artillery Regiment was renamed as Howitzer Artillery Regiment. On May 13, 1958 Motorized Infantry Regiment was renamed as Mechanized Regiment.


1st Armored Brigade (People's Republic of China), After Korea
In 1959 the division moved to Changping, Beijing. Soon after it further moved to Jixian, Tianjin in 1962.


1st Armored Brigade (People's Republic of China), After Korea
In December 1962 Howitzer Artillery Regiment was renamed as Artillery Regiment.


1st Armored Brigade (People's Republic of China), After Korea
In August 1969 402nd Tank Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment from 197th Army Division was attached and renamed as 3rd Tank Regiment.


1st Armored Brigade (People's Republic of China), After Korea
In August 1970 3rd Tank Regiment was detached and transferred to 79th Infantry Division as Tank Regiment, 79th Infantry Division. In September Mechanized Regiment was re-organized and renamed as 3rd Tank Regiment.


1st Armored Brigade (People's Republic of China), After Korea
During Sino-Vietnamese War in 1979, 130mm Self-Propelled Rocket Artillery Battalion (equipped with Type 70 130mm) from Artillery Regiment, 1st Tank Division was put under command of 124th Army Division, 42nd Army Corps for the infiltration in Cao Bằng region.


1st Armored Brigade (People's Republic of China), After Korea
On January 1983 the division was put under command of 66th Army Corps.


1st Armored Brigade (People's Republic of China), After Korea
In the 1980s the division was equipped with Type 59-2 medium tanks, becoming the only Type 59-2 unit in PLA ground force.


1st Armored Brigade (People's Republic of China), After Korea
In July 1985 the division was attached to Tianjin Security District following 66th Army Corps' disbandment.


1st Armored Brigade (People's Republic of China), After Korea
In 1989 the division actively took part in the enforced martial law and the crackdown on protests in Beijing. In the morning on June 5, 1989, a tank column from 1st Tank Division was departing from the Tiananmen square to move to Jianguomen area was temporarily stopped by a young man, now famous as the Tank Man. Allegedly the division commander, General Xu Qingren was sitting in the leading tank and ordered the stop until the tank man was taken away.


1st Armored Brigade (People's Republic of China), After Korea
In April 1996 the division was attached to 24th Army.


1st Armored Brigade (People's Republic of China), After Korea
In October 1998, the division was renamed as 1st Armored Division(Chinese: 装甲第1师). The Armored Infantry Regiment was disbanded and absorbed into tank regiments which became armored regiments.


1st Armored Brigade (People's Republic of China), After Korea
In 2003 the division was attached to 65th Army following 24th Army's disbandment.


1st Armored Brigade (People's Republic of China), "Division to Brigade"
In late 2011 it split into two: the division main body re-organized into 1st Armored Brigade, while half of its battalions reorganized into 195th Mechanized Infantry Brigade.


1st Armored Brigade (People's Republic of China), "Division to Brigade"
In April 2017 the brigade was deactivated and absorbed into 70th Combined Arms Brigade.


1st Armored Brigade (South Korea)
The 1st Armored Brigade (Korean: 제1기갑여단) is a military formation of the Republic of Korea Army. The brigade is subordinated to the V Corps.


1st Armored Brigade (South Korea), History
The headquarters of the 1st Armored Brigade Command was used by the 7th Infantry Division, USFK (Camp Kaiser). Camp Kaiser withdrew and the brigade took over the site on 25 May 1977.


1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division
The 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division is an Armored Brigade Combat Team of the Minnesota Army National Guard. It is part of the 34th Infantry Division.


1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, Early history
The lineage of Headquarters, 1st ABCT, dates back to the American Civil War. A volunteer militia unit, the Stillwater Guards, had been enrolled into Minnesota’s organized militia, and in 1861 was called to federal service as Company B, 1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment. The 1st Minnesota Regiment was reorganized as 1st Battalion, Minnesota Volunteer Infantry in 1864. In February 1865, the battalion was again reformed as the 1st Minnesota Infantry Regiment. The regiment was mustered out in July 1865, following the end of the war.


1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, Spanish–American War
In 1883, the Minnesota National Guard organized a new Stillwater unit, Company K, 1st Infantry Regiment. This unit served in the Philippines during the Spanish–American War when the regiment was federalized as the 13th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry.


1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, Spanish–American War
In 1912, Company K, 1st Infantry Regiment was re-designated Company K, 3rd Infantry Regiment. The unit was called to federal service in 1916 during the Pancho Villa Expedition.


1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, World War I
Company K was called to federal service and reorganized in 1917 as Battery F, 125th Field Artillery. The 125th Field Artillery deployed to France and participated in World War I by providing individual replacements to other units. The regiment was demobilized at Camp Dodge, Iowa in 1919. In 1921 a post-World War I reorganization of the National Guard caused Battery F to be reconfigured as Headquarters, 1st Battalion, 135th Infantry Regiment and Howitzer Company, 135th Infantry.


1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, World War II
The 1st Battalion Headquarters was re-designated in 1925 as Company A, 135th Infantry, and in 1939 Howitzer Company was reorganized as Company D, 135th Infantry. Companies A and D were activated for World War II and served in the European Theater from February, 1941 to November, 1945.


1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, Korean War
In 1946, the 135th Infantry was moved from the 35th Infantry Division to the 47th, and Companies A and D were reorganized as Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 135th Infantry and Antitank Company, 135th Infantry.


1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, Korean War
In 1948, Antitank Company was re-designated Heavy Mortar Company, 135th Infantry. In 1951 Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion and Heavy Mortar Company were called to federal service with the 135th Infantry, which was organized with the 45th Infantry Division during the Korean War. They were released from federal service in 1954.


1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, Late 20th century
In 1959, the 1st Battalion Headquarters and Heavy Mortar Company were consolidated as Headquarters Company, 1st Battle Group, 135th Infantry Regiment, 47th Infantry Division. The 1st Battle Group Headquarters was reconfigured in 1963 as Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 135th Infantry. In 1968, the 1st Battalion Headquarters was re-designated Headquarters, 1st Brigade, 47th Infantry Division.


1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, Late 20th century
In 1991, the 47th Division was reflagged as the 34th Division, and the 1st Brigade, including its Headquarters, was reallocated to the 34th Infantry Division.


1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, 21st century
Since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, units and individuals of 1st Brigade, 34th Division have participated in operations including homeland defense missions, the war in Iraq and the War in Afghanistan.


1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, 21st century
In 2006, the Army’s conversion to modular brigades led to 1st Brigade’s reorganization as 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team.


1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, 21st century
From 2009 to 2012 the 1st ABCT deployed to Southwest Asia and conducted security operations in Kuwait and Iraq as part of Operation New Dawn.


1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, 21st century
In 2017, 1/34th ABCT was planned to be in the Ready state for deployment, having spent two years preparing for its National Training Center rotation 16-07.


1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, 21st century
As of 2020, 1/34 ABCT was once again sent to the National Training Center in Ft. Irwin, CA to become certified for deployment. This was an extra challenge due to the 2020 COVID-19 global outbreak but the brigade still excelled in their training.


1st Armored Car Squadron (United States Marines)
The 1st Armored Car Squadron was a unit of the United States Marine Corps which was intended to utilise armored cars in combat. The unit was formed in 1916 in Philadelphia under Marine Captain Andrew B. Drum, falling under the Headquarters of the then-new 1st Marine Regiment.


1st Armored Car Squadron (United States Marines)
Inspired by the British Army's use of the Rolls-Royce Armoured Car, Franklin Roosevelt (then Assistant Secretary of the Navy) purchased two vehicles from the Armor Motor Car Company of Detroit. These were tested, and six more King Armored Cars were acquired and assigned to the squadron.


1st Armored Car Squadron (United States Marines)
The unit never saw combat, and was disbanded at Quantico in May 1921.


1st Armored Division (France)
The 1st Armored Division (French: 1re Division Blindée, 1re DB) is a unit of the French Army formed during World War II that took part in the Liberation of France.


1st Armored Division (France)
The unit was dissolved for the first time in 1946, and was recomissioned in 1948. It was  dissolved again in 1999 as a consequence of the professionalization of the French Military.


1st Armored Division (France)
The 1st Mechanised Brigade (1re BM), created on July 1, 1999, inherited traditions of the 1re DB. The 1re BM was again dissolved on July 21, 2015.


1st Armored Division (France), Motto and designation
The Latin motto of the division, Nomine et Virtute Prima, translates literally to "La première par le nom et la valeur" in French, and "The first by name and valor" in English. The choice of the insignia, the cross of Saint Louis by général Jean Touzet du Vigier, derives from Tunisia, the place where the unit was formed and also where King Louis IX of France was laid to rest in 1270.


1st Armored Division (France), Motto and designation
The division is known and referred to as "division Saint-Louis".


1st Armored Division (France), Motto and designation
The division was cited three times during the Second World War.


1st Armored Division (France), History, 1943–1946
In 1943, Free-French armed forces were formed in exile in French Colonies of North Africa under the command of General De Gaulle. The units were equipped with modern equipment provided by the United States, and the program anticipated the constitution of several armed divisions. Following the arrival of equipment in North Africa from the US, only three divisions were constituted, each comprising the following units:


1st Armored Division (France), History, 1943–1946
This division was organised on American lines, in three Combat commands. The three French divisions were organised in this way for the duration of their 1944-1945 operations.


1st Armored Division (France), History, 1943–1946
Within this context, the 1st Armored Division (1st DB) was formed on May 1, 1943. The division was heir to the Light Mechanised Brigade (French: Brigade Légère Mécanique, BLM) which was engaged in combat in Tunisia. On January 28, 1943, General Jean Touzet du Vigier (promoted on December 25, 1942) took command of this unit as it was being formed. He had left the command of the BLM to général Brossin de Saint-Didier and installed his command post in Mascara, which was the training center for armored brigades.


1st Armored Division (France), History, 1943–1946
When first established, 1st DB consisted of a reconnaissance regiment, the 3rd Chasseurs d'Afrique, of Constantine; two tank regiments, the 2nd and 5th Chasseurs d'Afrique, Oran and Maison Carrée; and a fourth Chasseurs d'Afrique regiment, the 9th, which was equipped with tank-destroyers. Adding to these four formations, were one mounted regiment, the 2nd Zouaves, of Oran, the 68th Artillery Regiment, of Tunisia; the 88th Engineer Battalion, recently created at Port-Lyautey, and the 38th FTA group, of Ténès. During May 1943, the transmission and service companies joined, and in August, the train and a squadron group reinforced them. Then, the 2nd Chasseurs d'Afrique was divided (doubled) to form 2nd Tank-Cuirassiers Regiment, a regiment that Général du Vigier commanded in 1940. The latter had just been promoted to a divisional general on August 25, and all the forces which were under his disposition were grouped around Mascara.


1st Armored Division (France), History, 1943–1946
The 2nd Zouaves Regiment disappeared and was replaced, as the infantry of the division, by three independent battalions, belonging to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Zouaves, forming a demi-brigade. The division became part of the First Army (then designated Army B) and which would participate in the amphibious assault on Provence. The initial embarkation commenced in Oran and Mers-el-Kébir at the end of the month of July 1944, after several manoeuvres. The Naval ships lifted anchors on August 10 and 11. The disembarkment should have taken lieu between Saint-Tropez and Saint-Raphaël. At the dawn of August 15, an enormous naval fleet was assembled north-west of Corsica steering and heading north.


1st Armored Division (France), History, 1943–1946
The operations of the 1st Armored Division throughout the course of World War II comprised three phases:


1st Armored Division (France), History, 1943–1946, From the Mediterranean to Vosges, August 15 to November 13, 1944
Throughout the course of the first phase operations, the CC1 was engaged in battle, then the entire division complemented by the VI Corps, fought in the siege of Toulon, Marseille and the liberation of Provence. The unit reached the Rhône in a series of rapid advances then regrouped, west of the river, for fifteen days. After disembarking, the Division engaged in an advance of 600 kilometers, which would bring them to the footsteps of the Vosges, following an uninterrupted series of combat engagements, which lead to the liberation of Saint-Étienne, Lyon, Anse et Villefranche, Chalon-sur-Saône, Chagny, Beaune, Dijon and Langres.


1st Armored Division (France), History, 1943–1946, From the Mediterranean to Vosges, August 15 to November 13, 1944
Next began the hardships of a slow and difficult climb into the valleys of the Vosgues, in the mud and the rain and snow. After 54 days of marching towards Le Thillot, liberating  Mélisey, Servance, Haut-du-Them-Château-Lambert, Ramonchamp, Cornimont, Travexin, Fresse, la Chevestraye, Recolonges, la Chapelle de Ronchamp, colline de Bourlémont, the division finally entered the Trouée de Belfort on October 18, 1944.


1st Armored Division (France), History, 1943–1946, From the Mediterranean to Vosges, August 15 to November 13, 1944
Following this first phase operations, the 1st DB was mentioned in dispatches for its combat performance.


1st Armored Division (France), History, 1943–1946, Combat for Alsace November 14, 1944 to February 9, 1945
During the course of the second phase of combat, the 1st  DB was the first to penetrate Alsace and the first to reach Rhin. Advancing on November 14 from the high valley of Doubs, the 1st DB mounted an offensive on Belfort. With the division operating under the command of the 1st Army Corps (général Béthouart), it manoeuvred to Héricourt along the French and Swiss border and captured Delle on November 18.


1st Armored Division (France), History, 1943–1946, Combat for Alsace November 14, 1944 to February 9, 1945
The next day, the CC3 was in Alsace and, at 1800, the tank platoon of Lieutenant Loisy was able to raise its standard on the banks of the Rhine, at Rosenau. The latter was part of the 4th squadron of the 2nd African Chasseur Regiment. This officer would meet his end on the November 23, when his tank was hit by an anti-tank launcher during the attack on Caserne Lefebvre at Mulhouse. On the 20 November, Colonel Caldairou entered the city.


1st Armored Division (France), History, 1943–1946, Combat for Alsace November 14, 1944 to February 9, 1945
Nevertheless, despite the success resulting from the rendezvous of the 1st and 2nd Army Corps in the region of Burnhaupt, Colmar remained well protected. For the next two months, the division held a defensive sector in the snow at Dollar, south of what would be later referred to as the Colmar Pocket. On January 20, the 1st Army relaunched an assault on the two northern and southern flanks of the pocket, in the middle of a snow storm. Following a three-week struggle, Alsace was liberated and Colmar seized on February 2.


1st Armored Division (France), History, 1943–1946, Combat for Alsace November 14, 1944 to February 9, 1945
The division, which had engaged in combat since December 5 under the orders of général Sudre, following an annoying delay in two minefields, achieved a breakthrough which led to the capture of Chalampé on February 9 in the morning. Accordingly, the division completed its role in the  campaign of France, which started on August 15, 1944 and which ended six months later on the Rhine.


1st Armored Division (France), History, 1943–1946, Combat for Alsace November 14, 1944 to February 9, 1945
Following this second phase of operations, the 1st DB was again mentioned in dispatches for its combat performance.


1st Armored Division (France), History, 1943–1946, February 10 – May 7, 1945
At the beginning of the third phase, since April 5, the CC2 was in Germany. Combat engaged with the 9th Colonial Infantry Division, the path throughout the Forêt-Noire was cleared, to deliver to the 1st Army the important routes. Later to the turn, the CC3 combat engaged supporting the colonials. Following a march on Kehl and Offenburg, they made way south to apprehend Fribourg on April 21. They rejoined the division on the 28 south-west of Ulm. The 1st Armored Division crossed the Rhin on April 17.


1st Armored Division (France), History, 1943–1946, February 10 – May 7, 1945
Général Sudre regrouped means at the exception of CC3 around Freudenstadt, and while acting with the cadre of the 1st Army Corps, his unit mounted the assault. The division accordingly made way to Danube by Rottweil and Horb, crossed the river on April 21 at Matulheim and Tuttlingen, and while engaging Stockach, pushed back all along the Danube by Sigmaringen until Ulm which was apprehended in liaison with the American 7th U.S. Army arriving from the North. The 1re DB apprehended Immenstadt on April 30 and  reached the same day the Austrian frontier to occupy Aach and Oberstdorf.


1st Armored Division (France), History, 1943–1946, February 10 – May 7, 1945
With only the field of mountains in plain sight, the division opened the way for the infantry and regrouped around de Biberach. First in the Rhin, first in Danube, the division with the Cross of Saint-Louis reached objectives following a sequence of successful event combat engagement series. The division played a decisive role towards the final campaign. The CC2 in Forêt-Noire, the CC3 in the fields of Bade, then the entire division engaged in combat until May 7.


1st Armored Division (France), History, 1943–1946, February 10 – May 7, 1945
Following this ultimate and third phase operations, the 1e DB was cited for a third time at the orders of the armed forces.


1st Armored Division (France), History, 1943–1946, End of the war
Following the cessation of hostilities, the 1ere DB joined Palatinat, around Landau. The division remained there for two months. The division sent to Berlin the first detachment in charge of representing France, on July 1, composed of : a squadron of the 3rd African Chasseur Regiment, a squadron of the 9th, 2 companies of the 1st and 3rd Zouaves, and a train detachment. On September 5, the headquarter staff of the division garrisoned at Trèves. The 1re DB, with reduced effectif by the demobilization, returned to France and garrisoned, October 1945 to March 1946 in the zones of Bourges, Châtellerault, Nantes and Angoulême. The division was dissolved on March 31, 1946.


1st Armored Division (France), History, 1943–1946, Composition in 1944
The 1re DB which disembarked in Provence in August 1944 was composed of 73% Europeans and 27% Indigènes.


1st Armored Division (France), History, 1943–1946, Organization of the mounted Zouaves battalions
The infantry of the 1re DB was constituted of three mounted Zouaves battalions (French: bataillons de zouaves portés, BZP) organized within the following:


1st Armored Division (France), History, 1943–1946, Organization of the mounted Zouaves battalions
One BZP was assigned to each of the three CC which composed the 1e Armored Division. The effectif was almost 800 men (Pied-Noirs, Metropolitan French and Maghrebis) and consisted of 3 combat companies with almost 180 to 200 men each. Each company consisted of three combat sections (platoons) of almost fifty men mounted by 5 half-tracks (armed with machine guns, mortars and cannon 57 anti-tank).


1st Armored Division (France), History, 1943–1946, Organization of the mounted Zouaves battalions
Different and various circumstances governed combats of St-Loup-de-la-Salle, on September 6, 1944, almost 30 kilometers east of Tailly. The entire BZP endured the heavy attack. In other circumstances, road combats were also expected, which led the Zouave to often progress through mounting tanks. Nevertheless, Zouaves also often mounted assaults by themselves. Such various governing circumstances were taking place on September 9 in front of Nuits-St-Georges. A company of the 3rd BZP was ordered to apprehend Nuits-Saint-Georges. Tanks were occupied in Beaune and could not provide fire support. The resistance was strong and companies without rear support endured heavy losses.


1st Armored Division (France), History, 1943–1946, Organization of the mounted Zouaves battalions
As tanks were made available again, assaults were relaunched. These were, briefly evoked, the types of various circumstances in which the BZPs conducted battle. Losses were heavy. The infantry accompanying the 1e DB endured killed in action and wounded, 1700 men out of 2400, the initial effectif. Almost 72% of the effective. Losses were compensated by reinforcements sent from North Africa as well as numerous volunteers who engaged as villages and cities were being liberated.


1st Armored Division (France), History, 1948 to 1999
In 1951, the general headquarter staff garrisoned at Trèves in Germany. The division was part of the French Forces in Germany (French: Forces françaises en Allemagne, FFA).


1st Armored Division (France), History, 1948 to 1999
From 1993 to 1999, the 1re Division Blindée was part of the Eurocorps.


1st Armored Division (France), History, 1999–2015
On July 1, 1999, the 1st Armored Division became the 1st Mechanised Brigade (1re BM). The general headquarter staff garrisoned at Châlons-en-Champagne. The 1re BM was dissolved on July 21, 2015.


1st Armored Division (France), History, Since 2016
The 1st Division was recreated on July 1, 2016. Interarm, the division is formed of three brigades as well French units of the Franco-German Brigade and is part of the Scorpion Force alongside the 3rd Division and units stationed in outre-mer and overseas.


1st Armored Division (France), Composition 2019
The 1st Division is based in Besançon and is subordinated to the Commandement des Forces Terrestres (CFT). The division counts 25000 men in :


1st Armored Division (France), Composition 2019
Only the French units of the Franco-German Brigade are listed below.


1st Armored Division (United States)
The 1st Armored Division, nicknamed "Old Ironsides," is a combined arms division of the United States Army. The division is part of III Corps and operates out of Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. It was the first armored division of the United States' Army to see battle in World War II. Since World War II, the division has been involved in the Korean War, Cuban Missile Crisis, Persian Gulf War, Iraq, Afghanistan, and several other operations. The division has also received numerous awards and recognition.


1st Armored Division (United States), Insignia
The division was nicknamed "Old Ironsides" by its first commander, Major General Bruce Magruder, after he saw a picture of the frigate USS Constitution, also nicknamed "Old Ironsides". The large "1" at the top represents the numerical designation of the division and the insignia is used as a basis for most of the other sub-unit insignias.


1st Armored Division (United States), Insignia
In January 1918, the Tank Corps of the United States Army was established under Colonel Samuel Rockenbach. At his direction, First Lieutenant J. P. Wharton designed the original coat of arms: a triangle on a shield surrounded by a wreath and a silver dragon. The triangle itself is an old heraldic element of armorial design known as a pile, representing the head of a spear. There was no shoulder patch in 1918.


1st Armored Division (United States), Insignia
The 7th Cavalry Brigade (mechanized) contributed the other part of the present-day Armor shoulder patch. The brigade formed out of the 1st Cavalry Regiment in Marfa Texas, on 16 January 1933 under General Daniel Van Voorhis, then Colonel of the Cavalry. The 7th Cavalry Brigade included the 13th Cavalry and had been organized specifically to develop the new armored force concept while training in the emerging modern war-fighting tactics.


1st Armored Division (United States), Insignia
Colonel George F. Linthwaite (then a newly enlisted Private) joined the 13th Cavalry regiment in 1933. Major General Robert W. Grow (then a Major and brigade adjutant) was instructed to develop a shoulder patch for the new armored force. Grow announced to the brigade that a contest would be held to design the new Armored force patch. A three-day weekend pass was awarded to the designer of the winning entry.


1st Armored Division (United States), Insignia
Linthwaite won the contest: he designed a circular patch, four inches in diameters, with a solid yellow-gold background to symbolize the Cavalry heritage. On the face of the patch, he drew a stylized black tank track with a drive and idler sprockets to symbolize mobility. In the center of the track at a slight diagonal, he placed a single cannon barrel, also in black, to symbolize firepower. Finally, to symbolize the striking power of the new armored force, he added a diagonal lightning bolt in red, extending across the total design and full diameter of the patch.


1st Armored Division (United States), Insignia
In 1940, Major General Adna R. Chaffee Jr. was promoted to lead the newly created Armor Forces which had evolved from the old 7th Cavalry Brigade and were preparing for the looming war in Europe. Chaffee wanted a patch for this new Armored Force. He chose to combine the 7th Brigade patch with the triangle from the World War I crest. The tri-colors, with blue for infantry, red for artillery, and yellow for cavalry – represented the three basic components of the mechanized armed force. In 1940 the War Department officially designated the now-familiar patch worn by soldiers of all United States Army Armored Divisions.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, World War II
On 15 July 1940, the 1st Armored Division, largely an expanded and reorganized version of the 7th Cavalry Brigade, was activated at Fort Knox under the command of Major General Bruce Magruder. The 1st Cavalry Regiment was re-designated as the 1st Armored Regiment and the 13th Cavalry Regiment was re-designated as the 13th Armored Regiment under the 1st Armored Brigade, 1st Armored Division. For more than two years after its activation, the 1st Armored Division trained at Fort Knox and the division pioneered and developed tank gunnery and strategic armored offensives while increasing from 66 medium-sized tanks to over 600 medium and light armored vehicles.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, World War II, Training
On 15 July 1940 the division was trained at Fort Knox, Kentucky. It was a new experiment in a self-supporting, self-sustaining blitzkrieg force. It had never been carried out before and the troops necessary for this kind of force were drawn from a variety of army posts.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, World War II, Training
When the organization was completed, the division had tanks, artillery, and infantry. In direct support were tank destroyer, maintenance, medical, supply and engineer battalions, but bringing the division up to its full quota of tanks, guns, and vehicles was difficult. Although new equipment was received almost daily, the division had only nine outdated medium tanks primarily armed with  guns until March 1941. Most of the division attended the Armored Force School at Knox to train in using their newly acquired tanks, half-tracks, and guns.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, World War II, Training
The division left in September 1941 for three months to participate in maneuvers in Louisiana. The division returned to Fort Knox the day before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Training took on a new intensity. The division was reorganized, and all tanks, both medium and light were put into two armored regiments, the 1st and 13th. A third armored field artillery battalion, the 91st, was formed, and the 701st Tank Destroyer Battalion was organized and attached to the division.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, World War II, Training
At Fort Knox, the division participated in the Technicolor short movie The Tanks Are Coming (as the "First Armored Force"). It deployed to participate in the VII Corps Maneuvers on 18 August 1941. Once the maneuvers concluded, the 1st Armored Division then moved on 28 August 1941 and arrived at Camp Polk for the Second Army Louisiana Maneuvers on 1 September 1941. They then moved to Fort Jackson on 30 October 1941 to participate in the First Army Carolina Maneuvers. The 1st AD returned to Fort Knox on 7 December 1941 but started to prepare for deployment overseas instead of returning to garrison.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, World War II, Training
The 1st Armored Division was ordered to Fort Dix on 11 April 1942 to await their deployment overseas. The division's port call required them to board the RMS Queen Mary at the New York Port of Embarkation at the Brooklyn Army Terminal on 11 May 1942. They arrived in Northern Ireland on 16 May 1942 and trained on the moors until they moved on to England on 29 October 1942. The division was now commanded by Major General Orlando Ward.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, World War II, Combat operations
A volunteer squadron of three M3 Grant crews from the 1st Armored Division, commanded by Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. and placed under British command, fought in the Battle of Gazala in June 1942, becoming the first Americans to engage the Germans on land in the war.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, World War II, Combat operations
Alerted for the invasion were the 1st Battalion of the 1st Armored Regiment, the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 13th Armored Regiment, nearly all the 6th Armored Infantry Regiment, the 27th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, "B" and "C" Companies of the 701st Tank Destroyer Battalion, and detachments of the 16th Armored Engineer Battalion, the Supply Battalion, the Maintenance Battalion, 47th Armored Medical Battalion, and the 141st Signal Company.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, World War II, Combat operations
The unit proper's first contact with an enemy was as part of the Allied invasion of Northwest Africa, Operation Torch, on 8 November 1942. Elements of the division became part of the Northern Task Force and became the first American armored division to see combat in World War II. Combat Command B (CCB) of the division landed east and west of Oran under the command of Brigadier General Lunsford E. Oliver and entered the city on 10 November 1942.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, World War II, Combat operations
On 24 November 1942, CCB moved from Tafraoui, Algeria to Bedja, Tunisia, and raided the Djedeida airfield the next day and conquered the city on 28 November 1942. CCB moved southwest of Tebourba on 1 December 1942, engaged with German forces on El Guessa Heights on 3 December 1942, but its lines were pierced on 6 December 1942. CCB withdrew to Bedja with heavy equipment losses between 10 and 11 December 1942 and was placed in reserve. CCB next attacked in the Ousseltia Valley on 21 January 1943, and cleared that area until 29 January 1943 when sent to Bou Chebka, and arrived at Maktar on 14 February 1943.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, World War II, Combat operations
Combat Command A (CCA) fought at Faïd Pass commencing on 30 January 1943, and advanced to Sidi Bou Zid, where it was pushed back with heavy tank losses on 14 February 1943, and had elements isolated on Djebel Lessouda, Djebel Kasaira, and Garet Hadid. Combat Command C (CCC), which was formed on 23 January 1943 to raid Sened Station on 24 January, advanced towards Sbeita and counterattacked to support CCA in the Sidi Bou Zid area on 15 February 1943, but was forced to retreat with heavy losses.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, World War II, Combat operations
The division withdrew from Sbeita on 16 February 1943, but by 21 February 1943 CCB contained the German attack toward Tébessa. The German withdrawal allowed the division to recover Kasserine Pass on 26 February 1943 and assemble in reserve. The division moved northeast of Gafsa on 13 March 1943 and attacked in heavy rains on 17 March 1943 as CCA took Zannouch, but became immobilized by rain the next day.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, World War II, Combat operations
The division drove on Maknassy on 20 March 1943, and fought the Battle of Djebel Naemia on 22–25 March 1943, and then fought to break through positions barring the road to Gabès between 29 March and 1 April 1943. It followed up on the withdrawing German forces on 6 April 1943 and attacked towards Mateur with CCA on 27 April 1943, which fell after fighting on Hill 315 and Hill 299 on 3 May 1943.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, World War II, Combat operations
The division, now commanded by Major General Ernest N. Harmon, fought the Battle for Djebel Achtel between 5 and 11 May 1943 and entered Ferryville on 7 May 1943. With the British forces taking Tunis and Americans in Bizerte, the Axis forces in Tunisia surrendered between 9 and 13 May 1943. The division was reorganized in French Morocco and began arriving in Naples, Italy on 28 October 1943.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, World War II, Combat operations
After the Allied invasion of Sicily, the 1st Armored Division, which was part of the American Fifth Army, invaded mainland Italy. It participated in the attack on the Winter Line in November 1943, flanked the Axis armies in the landings at Anzio, and passed through the city of Rome and pursued the retreating enemy northward until mid-July 1944. At that point, Harmon was replaced by Major General Vernon Prichard, who led the 1st AD for the rest of the war. Three days after Prichard took command, the division was reorganized based on experiences in the North Africa Campaign.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, World War II, Combat operations
The change was drastic: it eliminated the armored and infantry regiments in favor of three separate tank and infantry battalions, disbanded the Supply Battalion, and cut the strength of the division from 14,000 to 10,000. The result of the reorganization was a more flexible and balanced division, with roughly equivalent infantry and tank battalions. These forces could be combined or custom-tailored by the command to meet any situation. The additional infantry strength would prove particularly useful in future campaigns in the largely mountainous combat of the Italian campaign. The division continued in combat to the Po Valley until the German forces in Italy surrendered on 2 May 1945. In June, the division moved to Germany as part of the occupation forces.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, World War II, Casualties
During the war, the Old Ironsides division captured 41 towns and cities and 108,740 prisoners. 722 division soldiers were awarded the Silver Star and another 908 received the Bronze Star. The division received 5,478 Purple Hearts. Two division soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor during World War II: Private Nicholas Minue and Second Lieutenant Thomas Weldon Fowler.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, World War II, Casualties
The 1st Armored Division flag returned to the New York Port of Embarkation on 24 April 1946 and was deactivated at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey on 25 April 1946. The component headquarters and units which remained in Germany were retasked and renamed as a component of the United States Constabulary.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, After World War II
As part of the Korean War buildup of American forces, the 1st Armored Division was reactivated at Fort Hood, Texas on 7 March 1951. The division became one of the first divisions in the Army to integrate black soldiers throughout the ranks, and was also the only combat-ready armored division in the continental United States and the first to receive the M48 Patton tank. Training for nuclear war became a major theme in the mid-1950s. The 1st Armored Division participated in tests of the "Atomic Field Army" at Fort Hood and in Operation Sagebrush, the largest joint maneuver conducted since World War II. The 1st Armored Division moved to its new base of operations at Fork Polk, Louisiana after completing the exercise in February 1956.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, After World War II, Cuba
At the end of the 1950s, the Army's focus on a nuclear battlefield waned and it experienced years of reduced budgets. The 1st Armored Division reverted into a training cadre for new inductees after being reduced in size and moved back to Fort Hood.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, After World War II, Cuba
In 1962, the 1st Armored Division was brought back to full strength and reorganized. Brigades replaced combat commands and the division's aviation assets doubled. Intense training followed the reorganization. In October 1962 the 1st Armored Division was declared combat-ready just before the Cuban Missile Crisis. The division deployed from Fort Hood, Texas to Fort Stewart in response to the Soviet stationing of missiles in Cuba. The entire operation took 18 days.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, After World War II, Cuba
In the following six weeks, the 1st Armored Division conducted live-fire training and amphibious exercises on the Georgia and Florida coasts. One highlight was a visit from President John F. Kennedy on 26 November 1962. Shortly thereafter, tensions eased and the division returned to Ft. Hood.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, After World War II, Vietnam
Although the 1st Armored Division did not participate as a division in the Vietnam War, there were two units, Company A, 501st Aviation and 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry, that served in Vietnam. Both earned Presidential Unit Citations, and 1-1 Cavalry received two Valorous Unit Awards and three Vietnamese Crosses of Gallantry. Neither unit was officially detached from the 1st Armored Division thus veterans of both units may wear the division's patch as a combat patch. In 1967 the 198th Infantry Brigade was formed from three of the division's infantry battalions and deployed from Fort Hood to Vietnam. After the war, two of the three battalions, 1-6 Infantry and 1-52 Infantry, returned to the 1st Armored Division.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, After World War II, Vietnam
In early April 1968, when rioting broke out in many American cities following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., the 3rd Brigade was deployed on 6 April to assist in restoring order during rioting in Chicago.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, After World War II, West Germany
In the early 1970s, American forces withdrew from Vietnam and the Army was heavily restructured: the 1st Armored Division was rumored to be on the list of units to be deactivated. Veterans of the division organized a letter-writing campaign to "save" the 1st Armored Division.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, After World War II, West Germany
As part of the Army's post-Vietnam reorganization, the 1st Armored Division was moved to West Germany in 1971 and replaced the 4th Armored Division in the Bavarian city of Ansbach. The Division headquarters remained in Ansbach, with brigade units in the neighboring towns of Bamberg, Illesheim, Fürth (Nuremberg), Schwabach, Katterbach, Crailsheim, Erlangen and Zirndorf for the next twenty years, as part of VII Corps, itself part of NATO's Central Army Group.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, After World War II, West Germany
1st Battalion, 51st Infantry (Mech), at Crailsheim, part of the 1st Brigade, was deactivated on 16 June 1984 as a result of the division's conversion to the Division 86 force structure. Under the Division 86 structure, each heavy division decreased by one infantry battalion, while remaining infantry battalions gained one additional rifle company.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, After World War II, West Germany
On 16 April 1986, the Aviation Brigade, 1st Armored Division, was activated in Germany.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, After World War II, West Germany
In April 1987, 6th Battalion, 43rd Air Defense Artillery (Patriot) moved to a newly built Urlas Kaserne (located near Bismarck & Katterbach Kaserne) assigned to the 1st Armored Division.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, After World War II, West Germany
On 16 November 1987, the 501st Combat Aviation Battalion was deactivated and re-flagged as 2nd Battalion, 1st Aviation Regiment at Katterbach Kaserne, Federal Republic of Germany, under the 1st Armored Division.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, Persian Gulf War
In August 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait. On 8 November 1990, the 1st Armored Division was alerted for deployment to the Middle East to provide an offensive option should Saddam refuse to withdraw from Kuwait. This alert changed the division's focus, from "building down" in Europe to "building up" in Southwest Asia.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, Persian Gulf War
Division leaders and soldiers began focusing on planning, training and unit deployment. Planning focused on the challenge of logistics, as the division had to be shipped to Saudi Arabia in a logical order to support the buildup for combat operations.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, Persian Gulf War
Commanders and their staff rapidly integrated new equipment into their units to be deployed to the Persian Gulf region. The division also prepared to receive new units: 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division replaced 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division. Round-out units such as the 312th Support Center (RAOC) composed of reservists from throughout Germany, also joined the division. Other units, such as the 54th and 19th Engineer battalions, the 218th Military Police Company, and the 7th Support Group, joined the 1st Armored Division in Kuwait.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, Persian Gulf War
Units concentrated on preparing vehicles for overseas movement while undergoing individual and unit training, including gunnery, in the few weeks available before deployment. The division qualified 355 tanks and 300 Bradley crews on Tables VII and VIII, conducted division artillery howitzer section gunnery, fired modified Vulcan Table VIII and qualified Stinger and Chaparral crews. Battle drill rehearsals and wargaming seminars were also part of the rigorous training agenda.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, Persian Gulf War
The division transported equipment by rail, wheeled convoy, and rotary-wing self-deployment. These movements unavoidably occurred on short notice or in bad weather, and posed challenges to coordination and logistics. The first trains departed for port the last week of November 1990 and continued to so until the second week of December 1990. Within two months 17,400 soldiers and 7,050 pieces of equipment were moved to Saudi Arabia for Operation Desert Shield/Storm.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, Persian Gulf War, Battle damage assessment
Four division soldiers were killed in action and 52 wounded in action during the Gulf War


1st Armored Division (United States), History, The Balkans
On 18 December 1995, under the command of Major General William L. Nash, the division deployed to northeastern Bosnia as the command and major traoop contributing element of Task Force Eagle, a peace enforcement, multinational unit. The 1st Armored Division returned in late 1996 to Germany.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, The Balkans
In 1999, the unit deployed to Kosovo for Operation Allied Force and Operation Joint Guardian. The unit trained heavily afterwards in the Hohenfels and Grafenwöhr Training Areas in Germany, with realistic OPFOR (Opposition Forces) exercises.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, The Balkans
In 2000, the 1st Armored Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team trained at the Grafenwoehr Training Area (GTA). In February 2000, 1st Armored Division Headquarters announced the closure of military facilities in Bad Kreuznach and its subsequent move to Wiesbaden scheduled for June 2001. The 1st Armored Division trained at HTA and GTA in three separate exercises in March 2001. Ready First participated in Mountain Guardian III at Hohenfels as a mission rehearsal exercise for Kosovo.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, The Balkans
The 1st Armored Division's command and control elements conducted a warfighter exercise in the GTA between 21 March and 17 April 2001. The 1st Armored Division took command of Task Force Falcon in Kosovo as Brigadier General Randal Tieszen accepted the colors from 1st Infantry Division's Brigadier General Ricardo Sanchez. The 1st Armored Division celebrated its 60th birthday at home and abroad in Kosovo on 15 July 2001. Major General George W. Casey, Jr. traveled to Boston Harbor in August 2001 where he connected with Commander Bill Foster of the USS Constitution.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, Iraq
In the months building up to the March 2003 invasion of Iraq, two battalions of the 1st Armored Division's 3rd Brigade were deployed to support Operation Iraqi Freedom. The 2–70 Armor and 1–41 Infantry battalion task forces augmented the 82nd Airborne Division, the 3rd Infantry Division, and the 101st Airborne Division throughout the campaign to oust Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. These units spearheaded the U.S. assaults in As Samawah and Karbala and later occupied the southern area of Baghdad. The 1st Battalion, 13th Armor followed shortly behind towards the end of March 2003.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, Iraq
In May 2003, the division deployed to Iraq and assumed responsibility for Baghdad, under command of Major General Ricardo Sanchez, relieving the 3d Infantry Division. The 1st Brigade, under Colonel Michael Tucker and after July 2003 under Colonel Peter Mansoor, assumed responsibility for the Rusafa and Adhamiya districts of central Baghdad. The division was scheduled to return to Germany in April 2004 but was extended in country an additional 3 months in order to oppose an uprising of Shia militia led by Moqtada Al Sadr.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, Iraq
During the extension Task Force 1–37 Armor ("Bandits") fought Sadr's forces in Karbala while Task Force 2–37 AR ("Dukes") along with elements of 2–3 FA ("Gunners") fought in Diwaniya, Sadr City, Al-Kut, and Najaf. Task Force 1–36 IN ("Spartans") became the Combined Joint Task Force 7 Operational Reserve and conducted operations along Route Irish from Baghdad International Airport to the Green Zone in support of the 1st Cavalry Division. Forces from the 2d Brigade fought in Kut. During its 15-month deployment, the division lost 133 soldiers.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, Iraq, Ready First
The division's 1st Brigade deployed again to Iraq in January 2006 under the command of Colonel Sean B. MacFarland after months of intensive training in Grafenwöhr and Hohenfels, Germany. Many of the soldiers who fought with units like 1–36 Infantry ("Spartans"), 2–37 Armor ("Iron Dukes"), and 1–37 ("Bandits") during the invasion of Iraq returned for a second tour. Most of the 1st BCT was initially deployed to Northern Iraq in Nineveh province concentrating on the city of Tal' Afar. In May 2006, the main force of the 1st Brigade received orders to move south to the city of Ramadi in volatile Al Anbar Province.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, Iraq, Ready First
Since 2003, Al Anbar served as a base of operations for the Sunni insurgency and al Qaeda. Ramadi, its capital, had neither a government nor a police force when the brigade arrived. Most military strategists inside and outside of the Bush administration believed that the war in Anbar had already concluded unsuccessfully. Al Qaeda in Iraq publicly announced Ramadi as the capital of their new caliphate and the city alone averaged more than twenty attacks per day; the province was statistically the most dangerous location in the country, and the insurgency enjoyed free rein throughout much of the province.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, Iraq, Ramadi
When the 1st Brigade arrived in Ramadi in June 2006 with more than 70 M1 Abrams tanks and 84 Bradley fighting vehicles, many locals believed the brigade was preparing for a Fallujah-style block-by-block clearing assault on the city and many insurgents fled the city. Following Colonel H.R. McMaster's "Clear, Hold, Build" strategy, the brigade developed a plan to isolate the insurgents, deny them sanctuary, and build Iraqi security forces.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, Iraq, Ramadi
The 1st Brigade moved into some of Ramadi's dangerous neighborhoods and built four of what would eventually become eighteen combat outposts starting in July 2006. The soldiers brought the territory under control and inflicted many casualties on the insurgents. On 24 July, the Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) launched a counterattack, initiating 24 assaults, each with about 100 fighters, on American positions. The insurgents failed in all of their attacks and lost about 30 men.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, Iraq, Independence Day
Simultaneous with combat operations, the brigade worked on the "hold" portion of clear, hold, build. Lieutenant Colonel Tony Deane, commander of Task Force 1-35 Armor, approached Sheik Abdul Sattar Bezia al-Rishawi of the Abu Risha tribe in an attempt to recruit his tribesmen to the police force.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, Iraq, Independence Day
In his book A Chance in Hell that focuses on the operation in Al Anbar, Jim Michaels wrote that the US had a flawed view on civil government which ignored the tribal history of Iraq. "The tribal system embraced elements of democracy. The sheik may not be elected," wrote Michaels," but nor is he born into his job. Sheiks are generally selected by a group of elders[...] Throughout history, ignoring the tribes [in Iraq] has never been a smart move. Sheiks have wielded power for thousands of years and survived countless efforts to blunt their influence in the name of modernity."


1st Armored Division (United States), History, Iraq, Independence Day
To facilitate Sheik Sittar, Colonel MacFarland's deputy, Lieutenant Colonel Jim Lechner, and his police implementation officer, Marine Major Teddy Gates, changed the location for Iraqi Police recruiting. They wanted a more secure location close to Sattar's house, as this would enable them to build a police station north of the Euphrates River in an area where many potential recruits lived. Having already had his father and three brothers killed by AQI, Sattar appreciated the idea. The residents' response was overwhelming by standing in line to serve as IP's at the next recruiting drive.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, Iraq, Independence Day
In August, the new Jazeera police station north of the river, manned mostly by Abu Ali Jassim tribe members, was attacked and the sheikh of the tribe was killed. AQI hid the sheikh's body so it was not found for several days, a violation of Islam's strict burial rules that call for interment within 24 hours.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, Iraq, Independence Day
The attack on the station killed several Iraqi police and created many burn casualties. MacFarland offered to evacuate the police to Camp Blue Diamond, an American Army camp outside of Ramadi, while they repaired the station. But the Iraqis refused to abandon their post and instead put their flag back up and resumed patrolling that same day.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, Iraq, Awakening
With the locals outraged by AQI's disregard of Islamic funeral laws, the charismatic Sattar stepped forward to continue the push toward working with the Americans. On 9 September 2006, he organized a tribal council, attended by more than 50 sheiks as well as MacFarland, where he officially declared an "Anbar Awakening". It would convene an Awakening Council dedicated to driving the AQI out of Ramadi and establish rule of law and local governance. The Anbar Awakening was realized with Sittar as its leader.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, Iraq, Awakening
McFarland, speaking later about the meeting, said, "I told them that I now knew what it was like to be in Independence Hall on 4 July 1776 when the Declaration of Independence was signed." While attacks remained high through October 2006, the Awakening and Sittar's influence began to spread. The AQI, realized it was losing its influence over the citizens and launched a counterattack on the Sufia tribal area on 25 November. The attack was intended to terrorize and insult the Sufia tribe, though with the 1st BCT's M1A1 tanks reinforcing tribal defenders, the AQI was repelled and the relationship between the Sufia tribe and the 1st Armored Division improved.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, Iraq, Awakening
By early 2007, the combination of tribal engagement and combat outposts was defeating AQI's in Ramadi and throughout the province. President George W. Bush, in his 23 January 2007 State of the Union speech referred to Al Anbar as a place "where al Qaeda terrorists have gathered and local forces have begun showing a willingness to fight them."


1st Armored Division (United States), History, Iraq, "The Gettysburg of this war"
By February 2007, contact with insurgents dropped almost 70 percent in number since June 2006 as well as decreasing in complexity and effect. By the summer of 2007, fighting in Al Anbar was mostly over. Frederick Kagan, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, called Al Anbar "the Gettysburg of this war, to the extent that counterinsurgencies can have such turning points," writing "Progress in Anbar and throughout the Sunni community has depended heavily on a skillful balance between military force and political efforts at the local level."


1st Armored Division (United States), History, Iraq, "The Gettysburg of this war"
The tactics, techniques, and procedures used by 1st BCT were groundbreaking at the time but came to serve as the philosophical basis for the surge in Iraq. In nine months, 85 soldiers, sailors, and Marines were killed, and over 500 were wounded.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, Iraq, Division Headquarters redeploys
In September 2007, amid a national debate about troop levels in Iraq and, more broadly, about the US strategy in Iraq, the 1st Armored Division Headquarters was re-deployed to Iraq. General David Petraeus' surge strategy was in effect, with major counterinsurgency operations across the country. "This is a pivotal and historic time for the 1st AD, for the forces in Iraq and for the nation," said Brig. Gen. James C. Boozer, a deputy commanding general for 1st AD at the time of the division's deployment. The division began its deployment the same day Petraeus delivered his Report to Congress on the Situation in Iraq, concluding that "the military objectives of the surge are, in large measure, being met."


1st Armored Division (United States), History, Iraq, Division Headquarters redeploys
The division, commanded by then-Major General Mark Hertling, conducted a relief in place with the 25th Infantry Division and assumed command of Multi-National Division North, headquartered in Tikrit, Iraq, on 28 October 2007, just as MacFarland's Anbar Awakening was pushing AQI out of Anbar. At the time in northern Iraq, enemy attacks averaged 1,800 a month, the Iraqis had little trust in their central government, and the unemployment rate was high.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, Iraq, Division Headquarters redeploys
Hertling assumed responsibility for all Coalition forces in Northern Iraq. Multi-National Division North was composed of five maneuver brigade combat teams, a combat aviation brigade, a fires brigade, and an engineer brigade. The division had responsibility includes the Iraqi provinces of Ninawa, Kirkuk (formerly at Tamin), Salah ad Din, and Diyala along with Dahuk, and As Sulaymaniyah. The area included the critical cities of Tal Afar, Mosul, Bayji, Tikrit, Kirkuk, Samarra, Balad, Baqubah, Dahuk, and Sulaymaniah. Arbil province remained aligned as a separate Multi-National Division, North-East. The division area of operations included ethnic fault lines between Arabs and Kurds, religious fault lines between Sunni and Shia Muslims, numerous tribal regions, and the complexities involving significant former regime elements.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, Iraq, Division Headquarters redeploys
The 1st Armored Division immediately applied a mix of lethal and non-lethal counterinsurgency tactics, as maneuver battalions partnered with State Department officials and provincial reconstruction teams. Commanders applied a focused lethality, protecting the Iraqi population while killing insurgents in large volumes.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, Iraq, Division Headquarters redeploys
The division transferred responsibility to Headquarters 25th Infantry Division on 8 December 2008 and returned to Wiesbaden Army Airfield (later renamed Lucius D. Clay Kaserne) in Germany.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, Iraq, Division Headquarters redeploys
On 17 April 2013, US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel announced the deployment of elements of the 1st Armored Division headquarters to Jordan in response to the crisis in Syria. The elements from the 1st Armored Division joined forces in Jordan and provided command and control in cooperation with Jordan forces, which was used to establish a joint task force headquarters that provided command and control for chemical weapons response, humanitarian assistance efforts, and stability operations. The 1st Armored Division planners in Jordan are facilitating the exchange of information with the Jordanian Armed Forces.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, Move to Fort Bliss
In 2005 the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) commission decided to move the 1st Armored Division to Fort Bliss, Texas no later than 2012. As part of the current Army-wide transformation, several division units were deactivated or converted to other units. The 1st Armored Division officially uncased its colors at Fort Bliss on 13 May 2011.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, Move to Fort Bliss
The division's colors were officially moved from Germany to Fort Bliss on 13 May 2011. On 25 June 2013, Army force restructuring plans were announced. As part of the plan, the division deactivated its 3rd Brigade Combat Team following its 2014 deployment to Afghanistan. The 4th BCT was reflagged as the 3rd Brigade Combat team in April 2015.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, Move to Fort Bliss
The 1st Armored Division's Sustainment Brigade deployed 200 of its soldiers to Afghanistan on 11 May 2015.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, Operation Freedom's Sentinel
In late December 2016, ArmyTimes reported that about 1,500 soldiers from the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team and about 800 soldiers from the 16th Combat Aviation Brigade to Afghanistan as part of Operation Freedom's Sentinel. In March 2017, Stars and Stripes reported that, according to an Army statement, 200 soldiers from the 1st Sustainment Brigade will deploy throughout Afghanistan to lead logistical operations, particularly providing supply, to support the US counter terrorism mission and Afghan-led operations against the Taliban.


1st Armored Division (United States), History, Operation Inherent Resolve
In March 2017, Stars and Stripes reported that 400 soldiers from the division's headquarters element will deploy to Iraq in summer 2017, where it led the coalition's ground efforts as part of Operation Inherent Resolve.


1st Armored Division (United States), Structure
The division has been reorganized under the new modular design after moving to Fort Bliss, in which the deployable unit of maneuver is a brigade rather than a division. It consists of a division headquarters battalion, three armored brigade combat teams, a combat aviation brigade, a sustainment brigade, and a division artillery, field artillery battalions are assigned to their respective brigade combat teams.


1st Armored Division (United States), Structure
The division's 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team was deactivated after leaving Afghanistan in spring 2015, and its maneuver battalions were reassigned to the remaining three brigade combat teams; subsequently the division's 4th Armored Brigade Combat Team was re-flagged as 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team.


1st Armored Division (United States), Commanders, Current
Major General Sean C. Bernabe assumed command of the 1st Armored Division on 30 September 2020. Deputy commander Brigadier General Matthew L. Eichburg had been serving as the interim commanding officer since 28 July 2020.


1st Armored Division (United States), Order of battle, 1940
The first order of battle for the 1st Armored Division was:HHC, 1st Armored Division


1st Armored Division (United States), Order of battle, 1940
On 15 April 1941 the division sent a cadre to form the 4th Armored Division at Pine Camp, New York.


1st Armored Division (United States), Order of battle, 1943
The division was reorganized on 15 September 1943. Its new composition was:


1st Armored Division Artillery (United States)
The 1st Armored Division Artillery (DIVARTY) is the divisional artillery command for the 1st Armored Division at Fort Bliss, Texas. The DIVARTY has served with the division in World War II and the first Persian Gulf War, and in peacetime at Fort Hood, Fort Bliss, Fort Polk and Germany. The DIVARTY was inactivated in 2007 as part of transformation to modular brigade combat teams, but was reactivated in 2014 to provide fire support coordination and mission command for the training and readiness of field artillery units across the division.


1st Armored Division Artillery (United States), History, Cold War
1988 saw a major reflagging in the 1st Armored DIVARTY, with 1st Battalion, 22nd Field Artillery reflagging as 2nd Battalion, 1st Field Artillery; 2nd Battalion, 78th Field Artillery reflagging as 3rd Battalion, 1st Field Artillery; and 6th Battalion, 14th Field Artillery reflagging as 6th Battalion, 1st Field Artillery. The DIVARTY also contained a target acquisition battery (Battery B, 25th Field Artillery) and a separate MLRS battery (Battery A, 94th Field Artillery). The DIVARTY focused its training on three objectives:


1st Armored Division Artillery (United States), History, Cold War
The DIVARTY Interdiction and Counterfire Exercise (ICE) exercised multi-battalion mass live fires, while Exercise Ironstar focused on support to maneuver forces. During 1989, the DIVARTY continued ICE and Ironstar, as well as a conducting a Battle Command Training Program (BCTP) with the division.


1st Armored Division Artillery (United States), History, Post Cold War
During 1990, the DIVARTY executed another ICE and participated in REFORGER 90. In late 1990, the DIVARTY deployed to Saudi Arabia in support of Operation Desert Shield, closing on 21 January 1991. As task organized for the conflict, the DIVARTY, commanded by COL Vollney B. Corn, consisted of its organic headquarters; 2nd Battalion, 1st Field Artillery; 3rd Battalion, 1st Field Artillery; Battery A, 94th Field Artillery (MLRS); and Battery B, 25th Field Artillery (Target Acquisition) (B/25th FA). In addition, the 2nd Battalion, 41st Field Artillery was attached from the 3rd Infantry Division Artillery and the 4th Battalion, 27th Field Artillery was attached from the 210th Field Artillery Brigade.


1st Armored Division Artillery (United States), History, Post Cold War
After participating in the 100-hour ground conflict and post-conflict stability operations, the DIVARTY redeployed to Germany in early May. As part of post-Cold War draw down, in 1991-1992, the 1st Armored DIVARTY inactivated its battalions, and reflagged the 8th Infantry Division Artillery, assuming command of the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery; and 2nd, 4th and 6th Battalions, 29th Field Artillery, in addition to Battery C, 333rd Field Artillery replacing B/25th FA as the divisional target acquisition battery.


1st Armored Division Artillery (United States), History, Post Cold War
During the divisional BCTP, the DIVARTY successfully tested an "artillery combat team" concept, employing an MLRS battalion and cannon battalion with a Bradley mechanized infantry security company, Stinger missile teams, and target acquisition radars under the control of the DIVARTY assault command post. The DIVARTY focused its training on artillery maneuver, gunnery and integration of fires. During 1993, the 6th Battalion, 29th Field Artillery upgraded its MLRS launchers to include ATACMS capability.


1st Armored Division Artillery (United States), History, Post Cold War
During 1994, the DIVARTY revised its Mission Essential Task List to focus on Operations Other Than War (OOTW) while continuing its training focus on artillery maneuver, gunnery and integration of fires. The DIVARTY was the first active division artillery to field the Initial Fire Support Automated System (IFSAS). As part of continued force reductions across the Army, the 2nd Battalion, 29th Field Artillery redeployed from Germany to Fort Lewis, Washington with the 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division, the brigade it habitually supported.


1st Armored Division Artillery (United States), History, Post Cold War
In 1995, the DIVARTY continued its training focus on artillery maneuver, gunnery and integration of fires. In July, the 6th Battalion, 29th Field Artillery inactivated, ending the U.S. Army's occupation of Strassburg Kaserne in Idar-Oberstein. To continue MLRS support to the division, the DIVARTY reactivated Battery A, 94th Field Artillery in May 1995. The 1994 focus on OOTW proved fortuitous, when the DIVARTY deployed with the division to Bosnia in December 1995.


1st Armored Division Artillery (United States), History, Post Cold War
The DIVARTY was task organized for the operation with its organic headquarters; 2nd Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery; 4th Battalion, 29th Field Artillery; Battery A (MLRS), 94th Field Artillery; and Battery C (Target Acquisition), 333rd Field Artillery. The addition of two additional target acquisition batteries: Battery A, 25th Field Artillery (from the 41st Field Artillery Brigade) and Battery B, 25th Field Artillery (from the 1st Infantry Division Artillery) raised the DIVARTY's operational strength to over 2,300. The DIVARTY continued operations in Bosnia, including weekly howitzer platoon displacements and 2-gun raids to maintain fire support for maneuver operations. The DIVARTY also supported various multi-national units and conducted partnered training with the Nordic-Polish Brigade, a Russian mortar battery and a Turkish 155mm howitzer battery.


1st Armored Division Artillery (United States), History, Post Cold War
In 1997, the DIVARTY redeployed from Bosnia and executed a re-training program of command post exercises, including Operation Victory Strike, a corps BCTP focused on high intensity conflict. The battalions also conducted field artillery live fires and multinational exercises and demonstrations. The 4th Battalion, 29th Field Artillery reflagged as the 4th Battalion, 27th Field Artillery and Battery C, 333rd Field Artillery reflagged as Battery C, 25th Field Artillery. The DIVARTY returned to Bosnia in the fall and winter of 1997.


1st Armored Division Artillery (United States), History, Post Cold War
The DIVARTY Headquarters remained deployed to Bosnia through June 1998, controlling two fire support elements for two brigades and an organic firing battery, as well as two firing batteries from 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment and additional Army National Guard elements. The two cannon battalions fielded the M109A6 Paladin howitzer, with 4th Battalion, 27th Field Artillery completing training in May and 2nd Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery completing training in July. The DIVARTY then again returned to training for high intensity conflict, participating in Operation Rolling Steel 98, the largest maneuver rights exercise in Germany since 1990.


1st Armored Division Artillery (United States), Lineage & honors, Campaign participation credit
World War II: Tunisia; Naples-Foggia; Rome-Arno; Anzio; North Apennines; Po Valley


1st Armored Division Artillery (United States), Lineage & honors, Campaign participation credit
Southwest Asia: Defense of Saudi Arabia; Liberation and Defense of Kuwait