The 747th Tank Battalion was an independent tank battalion that participated in the European Theater of Operations with the United States Army in World War II. It was credited with an assault landing at Normandy, landing the morning after the initial D-Day landings (D+1). The battalion participated in combat operations throughout northern Europe until V-E Day, primarily attached to the 29th Infantry Division. After the war it was briefly engaged in occupation duties. Redesignated the 747th Amphibian Tank Battalion on 10 July 1945, it was inactivated in March 1946.

The battalion was reactivated in December 1946 as a reserve unit. The unit was called into active military service as the 747th Amphibious Tank and Tractor Battalion at the start of the Korean War but did not deploy overseas. It was released from active duty in September 1953 and inactivated in January 1954. It was redesignated the 723rd Tank Battalion and activated in October 1954. While active, it served as the test unit for a maneuver exercise in conjunction with Operation Teapot Shot Apple-2 atomic testing in May 1955. The 723rd Tank Battalion was inactivated in September 1956.

Organization The 747th Tank Battalion followed the standard organization of a U.S. medium tank battalion during World War II.Zaloga, pp. 22-24 It consisted of a Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Service Company, three medium tank companies (Companies A, B, and C) and a light tank company (Company D).

The Headquarters Company included the battalion headquarters staff, both officers and enlisted men; an assault gun platoon, consisting of three Sherman tank variants armed with a short-barreled 105 mm assault gun; a mortar platoon, equipped with three half-track-mounted 81 mm mortars; a reconnaissance platoon with five quarter-ton "peeps" (jeeps); and the headquarters tank section consisting of two tanks for the battalion commander and operations officer. The assault gun platoon was sometimes attached to the division artillery of the division to which the battalion was attached, especially if the division had to revert to the defense or static positions.

The Service Company included a headquarters section; a maintenance platoon; and a large battalion supply and transportation platoon, with over thirty trucks to provide logistics for the battalion.

Companies A, B, C, and D – the tank line companies, both medium and light, followed nearly the same table of organization. Each company consisted of a headquarters section which, along with a small headquarters staff which included two tanks for the company commander and executive officer (the medium tank companies also had an assault gun assigned to the headquarters section, which was occasionally consolidated with the assault guns in the headquarters company to mass the firepower); and three five-tank platoons. The medium tank companies were equipped with M4 Sherman tanks, while the light tank company was equipped with M5 Stuart tanks. All four companies had their own maintenance section which included a M32 Tank Recovery Vehicle, built on a Sherman chassis. Because the Stuart carried a 4-man crew versus a 5-man crew on the Sherman, the light tank company had a lower personnel strength than then medium tank companies.

World War II history

Activation and deployment

The 747th Tank Battalion was activated at Camp Bowie, Texas on 10 November 1942 as the 747th Tank Battalion (Medium).Sawicki, pp. 306-307 The battalion embarked from New York on 11 February 1944 and arrived in England on 23 February 1944.

Normandy landings and breakout in France Although not part of the initial assault landings for Operation Overlord on 6 June 1944, the first elements of the battalion landed on Omaha Beach on D+1, 7 June, at 0700. Two platoons of Company C assisted in taking Vierville-sur-Mer by 1300. By afternoon most of battalion had landed and was attached to the 175th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division for an attack on Isigny-sur-Mer. Isigny was taken by 0300 on 9 June.CARL, AAR 747th Tank Bn, June 1944

Also upon landing on 7 June, two platoons of Company B were initially attached to 18th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, and advanced on Mandeville-en-Bessin. Similarly, Company D was attached to the 2nd Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, in order to advance along the axis Trévières – Cerisy-la-Forêt – – Saint-Georges-d'Elle. Although nominally attached to the 1st Infantry Division for the landings through 13 June, elements of the battalion had already also been attached to the 2nd Infantry Division and 29th Infantry Division, and by 15 June the battalion was attached solely to the 29th Infantry Division.Order of Battle of the U.S. Army, World War II, ETO, pp.5, 18, 124 Under 29th Infantry Division control, the battalion was placed in division reserve in the vicinity of Saint-Jean-de-Savigny until 10 July, allowing them to replace lost equipment and personnel and to perform maintenance on the equipment which had been in nonstop use their first week ashore in Normandy.CARL, AAR 747th Tank Bn, July 1944 This inactivity also reflected the fact that although the infantry and tanks had practiced the beach landings together, there had been no training to fight together once they moved inland.Yeide, pp. 72-89

After this extended period in reserve, the battalion supported the 29th Infantry Division as they advanced on Saint-Lô, with a platoon of Company C among the first units to enter the town on 18 July. During this advance the battalion discovered the difficulties of attacking in the famous Normandy bocage, and developed one of several hedgerow cutter tank attachments the forces in Normandy invented to penetrate the dense hedgerows. After this intense fighting the battalion again went into division reserve from 20–28 July. While in reserve, the battalion reorganized and transferred personnel within the battalion to fill critical positions, as well as conducting intense combined arms training with the infantry and engineers, and developing a more efficient hedgerow cutter similar to the "Rhino device" that was appearing in other tank units in Normandy at this time.

The battalion moved south of Saint-Lô to the vicinity of Saint-Samson-de-Bonfossé on 28 July. Despite not being committed into the line, the battalion was sporadically shelled and bombed from the air. On 1 August, the battalion supported the infantry attacks south from Saint-Lô and by 7 August had outflanked Vire to the west and were located near Saint-Germain-de-Tallevende. At St. Germain, they defended against fierce local counterattacks conducted by some of the most experienced German units on the Western front, including the 1st SS Panzer Division and the 116th Panzer Division, losing ten Shermans to Panzerfaust and antitank gunfire by 10 August. At this time, the light tanks from Company D were used for liaison and resupply missions for the infantry due to the large number of German infiltrators in the fluid combat situation. At least one light tank was lost behind friendly lines conducting this mission.CARL, AAR 747th Tank Bn, August 1944

On 17 August, the battalion was detached from the 29th Infantry Division and attached directly to V Corps and placed on two-hour alert to move. While in this status, the battalion continued to train with the 29th, stressing combined arms operations with their infantry and artillery counterparts. On 20 August, the battalion was attached to the 90th Infantry Division, moving first to Sées and Nonant-le-Pin. The battalion was then detached from the 90th on 23 August and reverted to V Corps control. Under corps control, the 747th then rushed forward to Limours by 25 August and took up positions near Sceaux on 27 August. On 28 August, the battalion was attached to the 4th Infantry Division, crossing the Seine and advancing to Neuilly-sur-Marne on 29 August.

Continuing a rapid advance to the north with the objective of Brussels, the battalion passed to the west of Villers-Cotterêts and Soissons and through Laon. North of Laon, the battalion began to encounter retreating Germans from the west. This resulted in several sharp engagements on 2–3 September around Le Hérie-la-Viéville, Guise, and Landrecies, destroying some 50 enemy vehicles (many of them horse-drawn) while suffering only light casualties. The battalion turned west toward Le Pommereuil to face the threat from the retreating Germans. While clearing the woods to the east of the town, the battalion took some 350 prisoners.CARL, AAR 747th Tank Bn, September 1944

With this threat under control, on 4 September Company A was detached from the battalion and joined the 22nd Infantry Regiment as they resumed the advance to the east, toward Rocroi. From there elements of Company A assisted in securing two bridgeheads across the Meuse River at Monthermé and Fumay on 5 September. On 6 September, the battalion was relieved from attachment to the 4th Infantry Division and reassembled in the vicinity of Rocroi.

After this rapid advance across France, the tanks were badly in need of repair. After closing on the assembly area near Rocroi, the battalion used the time to replace worn track and engines. This involved so many vehicles that the battalion had to create a "composite company" consisting of the serviceable tanks from all three medium tank companies to support offensive operations of the 4th Infantry Division. This composite company was attached directly to the 4th Infantry Division and spearheaded the drive toward Bastogne, reaching the town on 11 September. The next day, the composite company was split, with two platoons supporting the 12th Infantry Regiment as it pushed to Vielsalm and while the remaining platoon supported the 22nd Infantry Regiment as it drove toward and . By 14 September, all elements of the composite company had returned to an assembly area near , Belgium. The remainder of the battalion had repaired enough vehicles and found enough fuel to rejoin the composite company at its assembly area near Beho on the afternoon of 15 September. The pause, even while the two regiments of the 4th Infantry Division pushed forward, represented the end of the breakout and pursuit which had begun less than two months earlier in Normandy.MacDonald, Siegfried Line, pp. 52-53

Siegfried Line As soon as the 747th Tank Battalion had reassembled at Beho on 15 September, it was detached from the 4th Infantry Division and attached to the 28th Infantry Division. Companies B and C supported the 109th Infantry Regiment as they advanced on Harspelt and Sevenig across the Siegfried Line. German indirect fire and bad weather hindered the advance and after two days of fighting the Americans withdrew to their initial positions. On 17 September, the battalion was assigned to the 110th Infantry Regiment and attacked south from Eichenbusch early on 19 September. This time, resistance was lighter, and the Americans penetrated the Siegfried Line, with dozer tanks piling dirt over all pillbox openings, rendering nearly 40 pillboxes inoperable over the next three days. Resting briefly after these attacks, the battalion was once again attached on 26 September 1944 to the 29th Infantry Division, which had just returned to the Allied advance and was assigned to the XIX Corps after successfully reducing the German stronghold at Brest,MacDonald, Siegfried Line, p. 232 with orders to move into Holland, and then to Kinrooi, Belgium.