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November 14, 2023:WE'RE BACK!!!
A few years ago I attempted to hand over the reins of this web site to a new crew. That transition unfortunately did not succeed. Even worse, I lost access to the site and have been unable to update it since before COVID. Ths week, thanks to help from my old hosting service Micro Support Group Inc., I have finally regained access to super6th.org which has been floating through the Ethernet as a zombie site.
While it will take a long time to refurbish this site and bring out of the 1990s into the 21st century, at least I can now start to perform some long overdue maintenance, and even add some new content.
This starts now with the addition of the first new Sixer battalion history in several years:
Combat History of the 128th Armored Ordnance Maintenance Bn.
This PDF was scanned by Laura Hart, daughter of the late Lt. (later Capt.) Robert E. Callaway. This history is unusual in that it was written by each of the five different units constituting the battaltion: Battalion HQ; HQ Company; A Company; B Company; and C Company. Each author covers the same period, but with a unique perspective. It's a very readable account.
The 6th Armored Division was one of General George S. Patton's famous Third Army divisions during World War II in Europe. Its post-war alumni association disbanded at its final reunion in Louisville, KY in September, 2000.
The 6th Armored Division was created February 15, 1942 at Fort Knox, Kentucky and was made up almost entirely of citizen draftee soldiers. Its training stations were Camp Chaffee, Ark., Louisiana Maneuvers, the Mojave Desert, and Camp Cooke, CA. It arrived in England in February 1944 and landed at Utah Beach on July 18, 1944. During the next 9 1/2 months, the 6th Armored fought in five major European campaigns of World War II:
In 1947 the Sixth Armored Division Association was organized to perpetuate the memory of 1,274 fallen comrades, to assist in promoting an everlasting peace, and to serve as a medium of contact among the men who served in the division. Its first reunion was held in 1948 in Louisville, KY. On September 12-17, 2000 its 53rd and final reunion occured in Louisville.
If you've ever heard about Patton's Third Army, or watched the movie "Patton", or if you've ever heard about the period known as "The Battle of the Bulge", "The Ardennes Campaign", or sometimes just "Bastogne", you know about the Super Sixth. If you've ever heard about "The Breakout" from Normandy hedgerow country a month and a half after D-Day, or Patton's race across France, or the Third Army's 90-degree turn to the north to the Battle of the Bulge, or the crossing of the Siegfried line, or the liberation of Buchenwald, then you probably know more about the 6th Armored Division than you realize.
Praise by a former enemy is a high honor, and after World War II German Major General F. W. von Mellenthin wrote in Panzer Battles (Copyright 1956, University of Oklahoma Press):
"I think that Patton would have done better if the 4th and 6th Armored Divisions had been grouped together in a single corps, reinforced possibly by the French 2nd Armored Division. These were all very experienced formations and ably commanded...combined as a tank army under one commander, these three armored divisions might well have achieved a decisive breakthrough."
He also praised the 6th's performance at Han-sur-Nied, calling it "a dashing coup-de-main".
has been reprinted by Battery Press, for the first time in 25 years. The reprint differs from the original edition in only the following details: Chapter XVI, covering the post-war Association, was very out-of-date and has not been included in the reprint; the dust jacket was not reprinted; and the 6th Armd. patch in the front matter was reproduced in black and white, not color. They are selling this book for 49.95, plus shipping and handling.
Dr. Hofmann has a very limited supply of these books which he is making available at a discount price of $39.50, including shipping and handling. To order, send your check for $39.50 to:
Make checks payable to: George F. Hofmann, Ph.D.
69th Tank Battalion -- Distinguished Unit Citation, for Bastogne (Company C cited).
9th and 50th Armored Infantry Battalions -- French Croix de Guerre with Palm, for Brest, France.
212th Armored Field Artillery Battalion -- French Croix de Guerre with Silver Gilt Star, for Lan Froicourt, France.
231st Armored Field Artillery Battalion -- French Croix de Guerre with Silver Gilt Star, for Han-sur-Nied, France.
86th Cavalry Reconnaisance Squadron -- Distinguished Unit Citation, for action at Eder River, Germany (Troop D cited), and Prum River, Germany (Troop A cited).
25th Armored Engineer Battalion -- Distinguished Unit Citation, for action at Wardin, Belgium, and Prum River, Germany (3rd platoon, Company C cited).
777th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion -- French Croix de Guerre with Silver Gilt Star, for Avranches, France.
Medal
of Honor RecipientsRank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company A, 9th Armored
Infantry Battalion, 6th Armored Division.
Place and date: Near Bastogne, Belgium, 11 January 1945.
Entered service at: Roanoke, Va.
Born: 11 September 1918, Chatham, Va.
G.O. No.: 18, 13 February 1946.
Citation: He charged 30 yards through hip-deep snow to knock out a machinegun and its 3-man crew with grenades, saving his platoon from being decimated and allowing it to continue its advance from an open field into some nearby woods. The platoon's advance through the woods had only begun when a machinegun supported by riflemen opened fire and a Tiger Royal tank sent 88mm. shells screaming at the unit from the left flank. S/Sgt. Gammon, disregarding all thoughts of personal safety, rushed forward, then cut to the left, crossing the width of the platoon's skirmish line in an attempt to get within grenade range of the tank and its protecting foot troops. Intense fire was concentrated on him by riflemen and the machinegun emplaced near the tank. He charged the automatic weapon, wiped out its crew of 4 with grenades, and, with supreme daring, advanced to within 25 yards of the armored vehicle, killing 2 hostile infantrymen with rifle fire as he moved forward. The tank had started to withdraw, backing a short distance, then firing, backing some more, and then stopping to blast out another round, when the man whose single-handed relentless attack had put the ponderous machine on the defensive was struck and instantly killed by a direct hit from the Tiger Royal's heavy gun. By his intrepidity and extreme devotion to the task of driving the enemy back no matter what the odds, S/Sgt. Gammon cleared the woods of German forces, for the tank continued to withdraw, leaving open the path for the gallant squad leader's platoon.
BEYER, ARTHUR O.
Rank and organization: Corporal, U.S. Army, Company C, 603d Tank Destroyer
Battalion.
Place and date: Near Arloncourt, Belgium, 15 January 1945.
Entered service at: St. Ansgar, lowa.
Born: 20 May 1909, Rock Township, Mitchell County, lowa.
G.O. No.: 73, 30 August 1945.
Citation: He displayed conspicuous gallantry in action. His platoon,
in which he was a tank-destroyer gunner, was held up by antitank, machinegun,
and rifle fire from enemy troops dug in along a ridge about 200 yards to
the front. Noting a machinegun position in this defense line, he fired
upon it with his 76-mm. gun killing 1 man and silencing the weapon. He
dismounted from his vehicle and, under direct enemy observation, crossed
open ground to capture the 2 remaining members of the crew. Another machinegun,
about 250 yards to the left, continued to fire on him. Through withering
fire, he advanced on the position. Throwing a grenade into the emplacement,
he killed 1 crewmember and again captured the 2 survivors. He was subjected
to concentrated small-arms fire but, with great bravery, he worked his
way a quarter mile along the ridge, attacking hostile soldiers in their
foxholes with his carbine and grenades. When he had completed his self-imposed
mission against powerful German forces, he had destroyed 2 machinegun positions,
killed 8 of the enemy and captured 18 prisoners, including 2 bazooka teams.
Cpl. Beyer's intrepid action and unflinching determination to close with
and destroy the enemy eliminated the German defense line and enabled his
task force to gain its objective.
Well, that would be because this site WAS originally created in 1996 with Notepad.
This is an all-volunteer, spare-time activity. Family & job take priority over upgrading the appearance of a free, personal web site. If I'm going to devote four hours to this site on a weekend, and I can either upload a new scanned document, or make the home page pretty, the content will win every time.
When (if) I retire, I'll devote some time to the appearance of the site. In the meantime, benefit from the content here, and try to ignore the retro ambience.
If this is your first visit to the Sixth Armored Division home page, please spend some time and explore. I've put a lot of information on this site: maps, excerpts from official histories, personal stories from Division veterans, etc.
Personal
Stories from veterans of the Super Sixth.
Color
campaign map of the 6th Armored. Medium-res copies available for downloading.
Information
about the 212th AFA and 6th Armored Division veterans' associations.
Unofficial
Home Page of the 212th AFA.
Notes
about Division Commander Maj. Gen. Robert W. Grow (from 212th AFA History).
Personal
notes about this web site
-- General George S. Patton, in a speech to Third Army troops in England,
1944
Version researched by
Charles M. Province for "The Unknown Patton".
NOTE: Remove the question mark and use common sense when reconstructing the email address below when sending mail.
This page is maintained by Bruce Frederick, ?super6th at verizon period net,
son of 212th FA veteran Lt. Arthur M. Frederick, deceased.
I am not a veteran.
