2nd Armored Division:  Although the 741st and 743rd tank battalions arrived before the Second Armored Division (2AD), the 2AD was the first armored division to land on the European continent. These two tank battalions had little success, with the 741st losing 27 of 29 tanks after they were released 6,000 yards offshore, and the 743rd losing half of their tanks by the second day of the invasion. On June 6, 1944, lead elements of the 2nd Armored Division boarded ships to traverse the channel. However, due to difficulties encountered by the 741st and 743rd battalions, the 2AD was not included in the initial wave.

Before reaching the shore, the Second Armored lost 66 men, 32 tanks, and 15 other heavy vehicles during their deployment on June 9. The 2AD conducted its initial operations in the Corentin Peninsula, which subsequently formed the right flank of the Operation Cobra attack. Around Roncey, the division surrounded and destroyed the majority of the armored equipment of the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich and the 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division Götz von Berlichingen.

Resources:

  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2nd_Armored_Division_(United_States).

  • Houston, Donald E. (1977). Hell on Wheels: The 2D Armored Division. Presidio Press, San Rafael, Calif.

  • Smith, S. (2003).  2nd Armored Division "Hell on Wheels." Compendium Publishing.  Hersham, Surrey, UK.

67th Armored Regiment: The regimental battalions and independent companies had been working on waterproofing the different vehicles prior to June 7. The regiment moved first on June 7, with the Reconnaissance Company departing Tidworth Barracks and Wiltshire County early in the afternoon. They reached a region north of Southampton, England, by 2230. The Third Battalion Headquarters and Company "G" relocated to a new location close to Portland, England, on the same day. The remainder of the Regiment arrived at the marshaling area on June 8. Other channel-crossing preparations were finished at this point. The loading of the LCTs and LSTs began on the 10th early in the morning.  The 67th Armored Regiment saw a spectacular display of hundreds of barrage balloons above the landing zone, the equipment casualties of the June 6 landing, and the blackened and burned hulls of M4 tanks as Omaha Beach came into view. The Regiment also observed a great deal of evidence indicating that the impenetrable German defenses had been breached.

Resource:

  • History 67th Armored Regiment. (1945). Georg Westerman, Brunswick, Germany.