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Activated in April 1941 at Pine Camp, New York, the 4th Armored Division began with only a handful of soldiers and grew quickly as America prepared for war. After completing large-scale maneuvers in Tennessee and advanced desert training in California, the division sailed for England in early 1944 as part of General George S. Patton’s new Third Army.

The 4th would soon become one of Patton’s most celebrated units—fast, aggressive, decisive, and repeatedly placed at the tip of Third Army’s spear. Their combination of tank, armored infantry, artillery, and reconnaissance units formed a mobile force capable of sustained, rapid offensives across difficult terrain.

Breakout from Normandy and the Drive Across France

Landing on Utah Beach in July 1944, the 4th Armored moved into action during the breakout from Normandy. In August, they fought through Avranches and helped seal the German retreat from Brittany.

Through the fall of 1944, the division advanced across France and into the Lorraine region, engaging in fierce fighting around Arracourt, Lunéville, and Metz. Many of their principal combat elements—

• 37th Tank Battalion,
• 10th Armored Infantry Battalion,
• 94th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, and
• 25th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron

—would earn a reputation for speed and striking power that made the 4th Armored one of Patton’s favorite divisions.

Bastogne: The Division’s Most Famous Action

In December 1944, as the Germans launched their surprise Ardennes Offensive, the 4th Armored was ordered north toward Belgium. Patton tasked the division with a historic mission: break through and relieve the troops of the surrounded 101st Airborne Division in Bastogne.

Despite snow, ice, fog, and entrenched German resistance, the division pushed forward mile by mile. On December 26, 1944, tanks of the 37th Tank Battalion reached the southern edge of Bastogne—the first Allied unit to enter the city and break the siege. Fighting continued for days as attached infantry and armored infantry cleared German positions around the perimeter.

This action remains one of the division’s defining moments of the war.

The Final Push Into Germany

In 1945, the 4th Armored crossed the Rhine, swept across central Germany, and pushed into Czechoslovakia, where they ended the war in early May. Their final combat fatality occurred on May 3, 1945, just days before Germany’s surrender.

By the end of the war, the division had earned:

• Five campaign streamers (Normandy, Northern France, Ardennes-Alsace, Rhineland, Central Europe)
• Numerous unit commendations
• A lasting reputation as one of the U.S. Army’s most effective armored divisions

Photo Gallery

Photo 1 — Abrams tank “Thunderbolt VI”

Lt. Col. Creighton Abrams (right), commander of the 37th Tank Battalion, 4th Armored Division, points to the name “Thunderbolt VI” on his Sherman tank after the breakthrough to Bastogne, Belgium. Capt. McIntire and Capt. Brueland stand with him. January 1945.
U.S. Army Air Forces / National Archives (53032AC).

Photo 2 — Generals at Metz

General Omar Bradley (second from left) studies a situation map with senior commanders near Metz, Germany: General Leven Allen (12th Army Group), General John S. Wood (Commanding General, 4th Armored Division), General George S. Patton (Commanding General, Third Army), and General Manton S. Eddy (Commanding General, XII Corps). November 13, 1944.
U.S. Army / National Archives (63-540).

Photo 3 — Destroyed Tiger tank in Belgium

U.S. troops inspect a knocked-out German Tiger tank that had blocked 4th Armored Division tanks in a Belgian village until destroyed by two 500-lb bombs from Republic P-47 Thunderbolts. January 1945.
U.S. Army Air Forces / National Archives (55996AC).

Photo 4 — Advancing infantry near Bastogne

Infantrymen attached to the 4th Armored Division fire on German positions during the advance to relieve encircled airborne troops in Bastogne, Belgium. December 27, 1944.
U.S. Army Signal Corps / National Archives (111-SC-199295).

Four Men of the 4th Armored Division

For more reading on this incredible fighting unit, here are stories of four men I’ve researched from the 4th Armored Division:

• PFC Oscar B. Oakman, Battery A, 94th Armored Field Artillery Battalion: “The Last Man to Die”
• Private Nicasio C. Sifuentes, 10th Armored Infantry Battalion (COMING SOON)
• TEC5 Genaro A. Caruso, Troop C, 25th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron (COMING SOON)
• Technical Sergeant Samuel K. English, Platoon Sergeant (MOS 651), Camp Kilmer, NJ (COMING SOON)