Description

743RD TANK BATTALION
• World War II •
208 pages scanned. Instant PDF download.

This is a digital download of a scanned copy of “The Combat Story of the 743d Tank Battalion,” written by Pfc. Wayne Robinson and printed in Frankfurt-on-Main in July 1945. It traces the battalion (code-named “Verify”) from its 1942 activation through D-Day at Omaha Beach, the Normandy hedgerows, the St. Lo breakthrough, the pursuit across France, the Siegfried Line, the Battle of the Bulge against the 1st SS Panzer Division, and the drive to the Elbe River at war’s end, closing with the battalion’s honor roll of dead.

Campaigns: Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe (1944–1945)

Commanders: Lt. Col. John S. Upham, Jr. (activation–D-Day, wounded on Omaha Beach), Lt. Col./Col. William D. Duncan (D-Day through V-E Day), Maj. Clarence L. Benjamin (Executive Officer), Maj./Capt. Vodra C. Philips (S-3, Plans and Operations)

Unit newspaper: unknown

CONTENTS

FOREWORD by Lt Col William D. Duncan, Commanding Officer
of the 743rd Tank Battalion
PART ONE
INVASION
I — Battle for a Beachhead
II — The Making of Veterans
III — Turnabout
PART TWO
GUARDING A LIFE LINE
I — Crossing the Vire
II — Green Death
III — The Epic Called St. Lo
IV — The Long, Hard Days
PART THREE
PURSUIT
I — Full Speed Ahead
II — Hello Belgium — Goodbye France
III — Into the Dragon’s Teeth
PART FOUR
SIEGFRIED LINE
I — The Wedge
II — Here a Town, There a Town
III — Attack to the Roer
IV — War is Waiting
PART FIVE
WAR IN THE SNOW
I — Down to the Bulge
II — Return Bout — 743rd vs 1st SS Panzer
III — Push South
PART SIX
END OF THE ENEMY
I — It’s Done With Bridges — and Guts
II — Watch on the Rhine
III — Race Toward Berlin
IV — Cease Fire — Secure Guns
PART SEVEN
“BY THEIR NAMES —”
I — “In The Highest Traditions . . .”
II — They Keep the Faith
III — Battalion Roster

“We Keep The Faith . . .”

— Battalion motto, 743rd Tank Battalion