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4th Armored Division
(no official nickname)
Looking for more information from military/civilian personnel assigned to or associated with the U.S. Army in Germany from 1945 to 1989. If you have any stories or thoughts on the subject, please contact me.

Occupation History

Cold War History

Page 2
Combat Comds
 Brigades
 Div Arty

Page 3
Div Trains
 DISCOM

2nd Sq, 4th Cav

144th Sig Bn

24th Engr Bn

504th Avn Bn

Welcome Booklets

Yearbook 1958

Pass-By 1961

Related Links
 
Division History - Occupation Period
Occupation Period
4th Armored Division Patch
Subordinate units remaining in Germany were redesignated as Constabulary units on 1 May 1946 (Webmaster Note: this table is still a DRAFT; still doing research on original duty stations of 4th Armd Div units in the April-May 1945 timeframe):
ORIG. DESIGNATION ORIG. STATION NEW DESIGNATION NEW STATION
Hq/Hq Co, 4th Armd Div HHT, 1st Con Bde Wiesbaden
Hq/Hq Co, Cbt Cmd "A" HHT, 2nd Con Bde Munich
Hq/Hq Co, Cbt Cmd "B" HHT, 3rd Con Bde Bad Cannstatt (Stuttgart)
8th Tank Bn Straubing 8th Con Sqdn
35th Tank Bn   35th Con Sqdn Füssen
37th Tank Bn Deggendorf 37th Con Sqdn Wetzlar
25th Cav Rcn Sq 25th Con Sqdn Regensburg
Straubing
10th Armd Inf Bn Kitzingen? 10th Con Sqdn
51st Armd Inf Bn Passau 51st Con Sqdn Passau
53rd Armd Inf Bn 53rd Con Sqdn Schwabach
22nd Armd FA Bn Neustadt? 22nd Con Sqdn Hammelburg?
66th Armd FA Bn   66th Con Sqdn Degerndorf
94th Armd FA Bn 94th Con Sqdn
 
TELEPHONE DIRECTORIES
 

1. HQ 4th Armd Div Telephone Directory, early 1946





 
Division History - Cold War Period

The Big Picture: 4th Armored Division, 1960s (YouTube)
1957 - 1971
COLD WAR - GERMANY
(Source: 52nd Anniversary, 1918 - 1970. The JAYHAWK Anniversary Issue, August 19, 1970.)
On June 15, 1954, the division was reactivated at Fort Hood, Tex.

In 1957 the division was ordered to Germany for the second time, and made the move in three days. The land was the same, but the mission was vastly different. The 4th Armored was now a peacetime force as part of the NATO shield. Former enemies were now trusted allies.

Today the 4th Armd Div, commanded by Maj. Gen. William W. Cobb, trains diligently to keep men and equipment in readiness. The Tank Crew Qualification Course, Mechanized Infantry and Scout Squad Proficiency Courses and Operational Readiness Tests are now the big challenges.

Apart from participation in the Command Post Exercises Certain Check and Front Centre '70, in which the brigades moved to field positions to test their command skills under combat conditions, there were a number of activities the Tankers enjoyed this past year.

In September, the 4th Armd Div band represented the US at the observance of the silver anniversary of the liberation of the Belgians during World War II, in Brussels. German-American Friendship Week was held throughout the division from April 26 through May 2, and from Goeppingen to Bamberg and Erlangen to Zirndorf, it was a week of bratwurst and beer, band concerts and bi-national athletic events.

Even in the line of duty, the 4th Armored has close ties with its host country, as numerous joint training exercises and marksmanship competitions are held with German Army units throughout the year.
 
1958
(Source: STARS & STRIPES, Feb 8, 1958)
Stuttgart Subarea Welcomes 4th Armd
Lots of Extra Work in Big Switch

STUTTGART, Germany (Special) -- The Stuttgart Subarea really had to hustle to roll out the welcome mat for the 4th Armd Div, which Gyroscoped into the subarea from Texas.

The 4th Armd Div moved into the area formerly occupied by the 8th Inf Div, which in turn moved into Northern Area Comd to take over the area formerly housing the 2d Armd Div, which Gyroscoped to the U.S.

According to Stuttgart Subarea officials, the major part of the logistical-support work involved in the movement of the 8th and the 4th divisions fell on personnel of the subarea here.

Extra Troops
To handle the sharp increase in the work, additional troops were assigned to the subarea. Sections most affected were transportation, billeting, quartermaster and engineer. The subarea's S4 section did the coordinating.

Posts involved in the 4th Armd Div move included Ulm, Leipheim, Heilbronn, Neckarsulm, Goeppingen, Schwaebisch Hall and Schwaebisch Gmuend, where 4th Armd soldiers and their families moved into quarters previously occupied by 8th Div personnel.

Timetables for various parts of the two-division switch were worked out at USAREUR Hq, subarea officials said, but these had to be coordinated with a host of smaller timetables set up in the subarea so that the movement could go off without a hitch.

'Biggest Fear'
"Our biggest fear," said Maj Howard C. Merrill, assistant S4, "was things we could not count on such as winter weather. We never knew when a blizzard or an ice storm would disrupt our plans. But luck was with us all the way."

Problems involved with moving troops without their dependents were nominal, officials said. The newly arrived soldiers came equipped with the same equipment the moving 8th Div troops had, they said, so that phase of the move was relatively easy.

The bigger problem came with the dependents, officials said, because no two families are exactly alike. All told, 1,000 housing units had to be changed.

Procedures had to be set up to move out the 8th Div dependents with a minimum of inconvenience, and plans had to be made to move the 4th Armd Div families in. And both plans had to be executed.

Each housing unit was equipped with about $20 in foodstuffs to help the new arrivals get settled in a hurry. The transportation section had its hands full with baggage.

One 4th Armd soldier noted that "I never saw any of the subarea troops, but my wife and I certainly appreciate what they did. The arrangement for myself and my family in getting together and settling down in our new quarters was swell."
 
Yearbook 1958
  Email from Michael Gushwa, author of the "2/5 FA Wiley Kaserne Neu-Ulm West Germany" website.

A few weeks ago somebody gave me a 4th Armored division yearbook from 1958 and I scanned it and put it on my website with my other book. It's got about 200 pages. Thanks

http://www.wiley2-5fa.com/new_page_10.htm
1960
(Sources: The 4th Armored Division, Welcome Booklet, 1960 or 1961, Germany)
ORGANIZATION (1961):

UNIT DESIGNATION

DUTY STATION  
HHC, 4th Armd Div Cooke, Göppingen Special Trps
HHC, CC "A" Wiley, Neu Ulm  
HHC, CC "B" Ferris, Erlangen  
HHC, CC "C" McKee, Crailsheim  
1st MTB, 35th Arm Ferris, Erlangen  
1st MTB, 37th Arm McKee, Crailsheim  
2nd MTB, 66th Arm Air Field, Illesheim
2nd MTB, 67th Arm Monteith, Fürth  
2nd Rcn Sq, 15th Cav O'Brien, Schwabach  
2nd ARB, 41st Inf Wiley, Neu Ulm  
2nd ARB, 50th Inf Ferris, Erlangen
2nd ARB, 51st Inf Ford, Ulm  
1st ARB, 54th Inf Wharton, Heilbronn  
HHB, 4th Armd DivArty Pinder, Zirndorf
2nd How Bn, 14th Arty Monteith, Fürth  
2nd Rkt How Bn, 16th Arty Bismarck, Schw. Gmünd  
1st How Bn, 22nd Arty Pinder, Zirndorf  
2nd How Bn, 78th Arty McKee, Crailsheim
24th Engr Bn Johnson, Fürth  
504th Avn Co Monteith, Fürth  
Det "C" McKee, Crailsheim  
Det "H" Cooke, Göppingen  
144th Sig Bn Cooke, Göppingen
46th Med Bn Wharton, Heilbronn  
126th Ord Bn Cooke, Göppingen  
"A" Company Nelson, Ulm supports CC "A"
"B" Company Monteith, Fürth supports CC "B"
"C" Company McKee, Crailsheim supports CC "C"
"D" Company Ferris, Erlangen  
4th QM Bn Cooke, Göppingen  
Division Band   Special Trps
404th MP Co Cooke, Göppingen Special Trps
504th Admin Co Cooke, Göppingen Special Trps
4th Armd Div Trains Cooke, Göppingen Special Trps
Div NCO Academy Wiley, Neu Ulm
Pass-By 1961
(Source: Letter from Murray Sunday, 66th Armor Bn)
  The 4th Armored Division held a full-scale pass-by in Area M North, Grafenwöhr Military Reservation, on 17 June 1961 in commemoration of the Division's Activation Day, Flag Day, Infantry Birthday, and Armed Forces Day.

The event represented an historical occasion, including two significant "firsts:"

-- First public viewing on the European continent of the mass of an entire US Armored Division since World War II.

-- First display of the flags of the 50 United States outside of the US.
More than 3000 tracked and wheeled vehicles were assembled, manned by more than 12,000 troops. Under a brilliant sky and for more than two hours -- tanks; armored personnel carriers; self-propelled howitzers; signal, engineer, and ordnance equipment; and wheeled vehicles of every type rolled past more than 3000 spectators and representatives of several press, radio, and television media in an impressive display of power.

Pass-By 1961
Grafenwöhr, Germany
 

1. 50 State flags

2. Aerial view of the pass-by

3. A unit mounted on jeeps and weapons carriers passes in front of the reviewing party
  
 
I spent 31 months in Illesheim, from 1960 to 1963. Was there when they built the Wall in Berlin. I remember the Sunday morning they called the Alert. We really thought the "balloon had gone up" and we were going to war. I remember to this day that chill that went through us all. Of course they didn't tell us what was going on for two or three days.

The time I spent in Illesheim wasn't as hard on me as it was for the guys from the big cities since I was from a small town in farmland Indiana. I enjoyed meeting a lot of good men and after almost 50 years I still wonder about them all.

I hope to hear from people who served in Illesheim and hope the web site keeps growing.
Murray Sunday

Your Army Reports: 4th Arm Div firepower demonstration at Graf, c. 1966 (YouTube)
(see report starting at 1:15 min into the program)
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION
(Source: Rolling Review, 23 April 1962)
Combat Command "A," Ulm
1st MTB, 37th Armor (Crailsheim) and 2nd ARB, 51st Inf (Ulm).

Combat Command "B," Erlangen
2nd MTB, 67th Armor (Fürth) and 2nd ARB, 41st Inf (Neu Ulm).

Combat Command "C," Crailsheim
1st MTB, 35th Armor (Erlangen), 2nd MTB, 66th Armor (Illesheim) (1), 2nd ARB, 50th Inf (Erlangen) and 1st ARB, 54th Inf (Heilbronn).

(1) 66th Armor, Illesheim, was transferred from Combat Command "B" to CC "C" in August 1961.

The US Army post at Illesheim was redesignated as Storck Barracks in Dec 1961. The facility was named in honor of Col Louis Storck, commanding officer of CCR, 4th Armd Div, who was killed in France during WWII.
1963
ROAD Reorganization
 
(Source: STARS & STRIPES, Sept 14, 1963)
On Sept 21 1963, the 4th Armd Div marked the formal completion of the division's reorganization and redesignation plan under the ROAD system. The reorganization began on May 1. A division review held at Monteith Barracks on Sept 21 marked the formal redesignation.

4th Armd Div is the fourth division in USAREUR to complete the reorganization of its combat capability structure under ROAD: Since January 1963, the 24th, 8th and 3rd Infantry Divisions have reorganized into mechanized divisions.

Under ROAD, the 4th Armed Division 's three combat commands were changed to brigades; Div Trains was reorganized into a support command; and the division's infantry battalions were mechanized (addition of armored personnel carriers).
1969/1970
(Source: Unit Day Issues of the Rolling Review)




 



Pages 8-9, ROLLING REVIEW, 1969



DUIs - 1950s-60s

CC "A"

CC "B"

CC "C"

TRAINS
  
NCO ACADEMY

4th AD NCO Academy DUI
 
24th Engineer Battalion
 
ADM Pltn, 24th Engr Bn
Who can provide details on the ADM Platoon?
2nd Squadron, 4th Cavalry
2nd Squadron, 4th Cavalry DI
 
(Source: Email from Paul Keats)
I arrived in Frankfurt in July, 1970, a month after graduating from Infantry OCS at Fort Benning.  I was assigned to the Seventh Army, 4th Armored Division and told to report to the 2nd Squadron, 4th Cavalry in Schwabach. The Commanding Officer was LTC Calvin R. Bean.  

I spent two years, first as platoon leader, 2nd Platoon A Troop; “A” Troop Executive Officer; Squadron Support Platoon Leader; and finally as S-1  Adjutant to LTC James Dozier (later, then Brigadier Gen. Dozier was captured by the Red Brigade in Naples, Italy and then released). 

As a member of the 2/4 Cav, I participated in several Reforger exercises, Tank Gunnery (M-551 Sheridans) at Grafenwoehr  and Hohenfels.  I also served at Camp Gates on the Czech border.  After I left the Squadron in April of 1972, the colors were retired and the unit was renamed 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment.  The 4th Armored Division had already become the 1st Armored Division, “Old Ironsides”.

The Crest you display was the one worn by members of the 2nd Sqdn, 4th Cavalry, headquartered in Schwabach.
Related Links:
The Fourth Armored Division - Guy Ries' site is focused on the history of the 4th Armored during WWII.
4th Armored Division Yearbook 1958 - the entire book (200 pages) is posted in the 2nd Bn, 5th FA Wiley Bks website.