Patton's Vanguard: The United States Army Fourth Armored Division

747 Pages·2009·12.25 MB·English

by  Fox

PATTON'S VANGUARD
PATTON'S VANGUARD
The United States Army
Fourth Armored Division
Don M. Fox
FOREWORD BY MARTIN BLUMENSON

Acknowledgments
Of all the resources utilized in the preparation of this work, none is more
important than the men of the Fourth Armored Division. While conducting my
research, I came in contact with several veterans, either face-to-face, via the
telephone, or through written correspondence. I would like to thank the
following men who took time out of the twilight of their lives to share their
experiences:
There are several other people who deserve special recognition for their
contributions. First, I would like to extend my warmest thanks to Evelyn Irzyk
and Marion Leach. Both of these women welcomed me into their homes and
were kind enough to let me steal their husbands away from them for many hours
of conversation.
Thanks are also given to Kay Besedick, who made available the art of her
late husband, Frank. He served on the operations staff of the Fourth Armored
during the war and created most of the illustrations for the division's official
history. Kay's daughterin-law, Susan, went the extra mile to make Frank's art a
part of this project.
I have long admired the writing of Martin Blumenson. The quality of his
life's work has earned him a spot among a very select group of military
historians. His foreword is an invaluable addition to this work, not only because
of his stature, but also because of his incredible knowledge of the subject. I am
extremely grateful to him.
Colonel John S. Wood, Jr., provided a valuable and unique perspective from
the vantage point of both soldier and son, and I greatly appreciate his help.
To David Wissolik, Ph.D., my thanks for his invitation to quote from Men of
the 704th (Buchanan, Richard R., et al., eds.), for which he was an editor.
The reader of a unit history of this sort can have a tough time following the
action without the aid of quality maps, and I am thankful that I had the
opportunity to work with Jason Petho. His maps will no doubt enable the reader
to navigate their way across Europe with the Fourth Armored Division.
Many of the veterans mentioned above reviewed portions of the manuscript
at various stages of its development, and I extend my thanks to each of them.
But none performed the task as exhaustively as Al Irzyk and Jimmie Leach. I
owe both of these men a great debt for their edits, corrections, commentary, and
encouragement.
Jamie Leach played a critical role. Had he not taken the time to pass on my
initial correspondence to his father, I might have stumbled coming out of the
blocks, and never recovered. Thank you, Jamie, for embracing a request from a
total stranger.
I owe a special expression of thanks to James Kelly, whose father, Lt. Earl J.
Kelly, served with the 10th Armored Infantry Battalion. His contribution
regarding Lt. Charles Gniot provided a poignant ribbon with which to wrap the
history of the Fourth Armored Division.
Nelson Wertz is the nephew of Corporal Lester Cussins, a member of the
51st Armored Infantry Battalion killed in action on November 9, 1944, at the
town of Fonteny. Nelson was kind enough to hunt down several documents for
me at Carlisle Barracks.
I would also like to acknowledge the professional work of Jim Parker at
Double Delta Industries, Inc., who conducted a search of the National Archives
for many of the photographs in the book.
To help ensure that my narrative was hitting the mark with a broad audience,
I enlisted several friends to read early versions of the manuscript. I would like to
thank David Parks, Steven Wyckmans, Todd Willoughby, and Jim Puff for their
feedback and encouragement. In a similar vein, my appreciation goes out to
many members of the Blitzkrieg Wargaming Club (too many to mention here)
who offered words of support during the project.
Last, but absolutely not least, I must give immense thanks to my wife,
Stephanie, and my sons, Alex and Andrew. During the two years I spent working
on this project, I was often "missing in action" under my own roof. It wasn't
always easy, but the fact that I was able to finish this work stands as testimony to
their patience and support.
Contents
Acknowledgments v
List of Terms and Abbreviations ix
Foreword by Martin Blumenson 1
Preface 3
Introduction: Name Enough 7
1 Birth 11
2 Baptism 34
3 Breakout and Pursuit 56
4 The Encirclement of Nancy 101
5 A Legend Is Born 126
6 Rest 167
7 Back on the Offensive 174
8 The Relief 221
9 Pressing Toward Germany 233
10 The Battle for Singling 242
11 Recuperation 263
12 The Stage Is Set 270
13 Out of the Mist 284
14 Patton to the Rescue 295
15 Task Force Ezell 311
16 Nuts! 325
17 The Arlon-Bastogne Highway 336
18 Bigonville 358
19 Chaumont 370
20 Breakthrough 397
21 Widening the Corridor 417
22 Hitler's Last Gamble 427
23 The Aftermath 447
Epilogue 457
Appendix A: The Units and Their Commanders 461
Appendix B: U.S. Armored Division-Organization and Weapons 463
Bibliography 465
Military Unit Index 471
General Index 477