Men of Armor - The History of B Company, 756th Tank Battalion in World War II

Part One: Beginnings, North Africa, and Italy

Jeff Danby

• Publisher: Casemate
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9781636240138
• eBook ISBN: 9781636240145
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: African History
• Index: History

After the shocking fall of France in June 1940, the U.S. Army embarked on a crash program to establish a new armored force. One of the units formed was the 756th Tank Battalion (Light), activated at Fort Lewis in June 1941. Because of severe equipment shortages, the new battalion trained without tanks for several months, but by early 1942 were equipped with new M3 light tanks. While companies A and C took part in Operation Torch, B was withheld for lack of cargo space in the transport ships and rejoined the battalion two months later in north Africa. The units undertook reconnaissance missions following the landings in Salerno. In December 1943 the battalion was ordered to upgrade to a medium tank (Sherman) unit. Given less than a month to reorganize and train in M4s, the battalion was sent into the Mignano Gap on January 11, 1944 and supported the 34th Infantry Division in the capture of Cervaro and Monte Trocchio. Later in January, B Company supported the troops of the 100th Battalion on bloody but ill-fated attempts to cross the Rapido river – finally at the third attempt the battalion established a secure bridgehead across the Rapido. During the next two days the nearby town of Caira was also captured, opening a clear avenue for an attack on Cassino. Based on decades of research, and hours of interviews with veterans of the 756th Tank Battalion, Jeff Danby's vivid narrative puts the reader in the turret of B Company's Shermans as they ride into battle.

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Half-Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• List of Maps
• Dedication
• Introduction: The Research Behind Men of Armor
• The Setting
• Chapter 1 Origins: June 1940 to June 1941
• Chapter 2 Formation: June 1941 to December 1941
• Chapter 3 Preparing for a New Kind of War: December 1941 to May 1942
• Chapter 4 California and a Captaincy: May 1942 to January 1943
• Chapter 5 North African Foothold: January 1943 to February 1943
• Chapter 6 Border Watchers: February 1943 to May 1943
• Chapter 7 Tunisia: April 1943
• Chapter 8 Bizerte Bystanders: May 1943 to 15 September 1943
• Chapter 9 Italy: 16 September 1943 to 22 November 1943
• Chapter 10 Reorganized: 23 November 1943 to 10 January 1944
• Chapter 11 The Gates of Hell: 11 January 1944 to 21 January 1944
• Chapter 12 The Rapido River: 21 January 1944 to 26 January 1944
• Chapter 13 Attack: 27 January 1944
• Chapter 14 Bridgehead: Evening 27 January 1944 to 29 January 1944
• Chapter 15 Caira: Evening 29 January 1944 to 30 January 1944
• Chapter 16 The Barracks: 31 January 1944 to 1 February 1944
• Wilkinson’s Odyssey: Part One
• Appendix 1 Glossary, Phonetic Alphabet, and Military Clock
• Appendix 2 U.S. Army Grades (Officers and Enlisted) of World War II
• Appendix 3 U.S. Army Organization of WWII Combat Infantry Units
• Appendix 4 B Company, 756th Tank Battalion (L) Roster of 1 June 1941
• Appendix 5 B Company, 756th Tank Battalion Roster from 10 January to 27 January 1944
• Appendix 6 Table of Organization for U.S. Army Tank Company (Light), March 1942
• Appendix 7 Table of Organization for U.S. Army Tank Company (Medium), September 1943
• Appendix 8 Vehicle Chart for U.S. Army Tank Battalion (Medium), September 1943
• Appendix 9 Table of Organization for U.S. Army Tank Battalion (Medium), 1943
• Appendix 10 756th Tank Battalion (L) Cadre Orders, June 1941
• Appendix 11 B Company 756th Tank Battalion, 1 June 1941 Morning Report
• Appendix 12 B Company, 756th Tank Battalion, Record of Events, December 1941
• Appendix 13 756th Arrival at Cassino Document
• Appendix 14 Yellow Orders from 756th HQ for 27 January 1944
• Appendix 15 29 January 1944 B Company Morning Reports
• Special Acknowledgments
• Bibliography
• Endnotes