2nd Armored Division

Elements of the 2nd Armored Division were involved with the landing at Casablanca on 8 November 1942 during Operation Torch. The whole Division saw its first World War II action in Gela, Sicily during Operation Husky in July 1943. The 2nd AD fought their way to Palermo.

Following the Sicily Campaign, the Division moved to England and then landed in Normandy on 9 June1944 three days after the initial D-Day landings. The 2nd was in operations on the Cotentin Peninsula as some divisions swung south and west following D-Day as the Allies secured the areas from Normandy to Cherbourg and Brest. The 2nd AD formed the right flank of the Allies in Operation Cobra and stopped the Germans at Avranches. Under Third Army command, the 2nd moved east across France into Belgium in September and crossing the German border later that month. In October, they attacked the Siegfried Line, breaking through and crossing the Wurm River in November.

The Division was at the Roer River, when the German's Ardennes Offensive began. The 2nd fought the German Fifth Panzer Army in the Battle of The Bulge. When the Bulge had been closed, the Division, after a short rest drove east and at the end of March crossed the Rhine River.

The 2nd AD was the first American Division to reach the Elbe River in early April. While located along the Elbe World War II in Europe ended along with the fighting for the 2nd Armored Division.

Nickname: Hell on Wheels