This website was setup to collect information about the brave soldiers who served in the 13th Armored Division during WWII. This website is a work in progress. New information is added as it is received.  So, check back often to see what is new.

The 13th Armored landed at Le Havre, France, 29 January 1945. After performing occupation duties, the Division moved to Homberg near Kassel to prepare for combat under the Third Army, 5 April.

At Altenkirchen, it was attached to the XVIII Corps and prepared for the Ruhr Pocket (also known as the Rose Pocket) operation.. The attack jumped off at Honnef, 10 April. After crossing the Sieg River at Siegburg, the 13th pushed north to Bergisch Gladback, then toward Duisburg and Mettmann by 18 April.

Shifting south to Eschenau, the Division prepared for Bavarian operations. Starting from Parsberg, 26 April, the 13th crossed the Regen River, then the Danube at Matting and secured the area near Dunzling. On the 28th, elements closed in at Plattling and crossed the Isar River. Moderate to heavy resistance was met during this drive through southern Germany.

The Division smashed into Brannau, Austria, 2 May, and the command post was set up in the house where Hitler was born. A bridgehead across the Inn was established at Marktl, but the river was not crossed as orders came to reassemble north of Inn, 3 May. Preparations were made for further advances when the war in Europe ended.

The 13th remained in Germany until 25 June and left Le Havre, France, for home, 14 July 1945.

Assignments in the ETO

13th Armored Division trained at Camp Beale, California

[Nota Bene: These combat chronicles, current as of October 1948, are reproduced from The Army Almanac: A Book of Facts Concerning the Army of the United States, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1950, pp. 510-51

ABOUT US

This site was set up to capture the history of the 13th Armored Division of the 3rd Army during World War II and facilitate communication among 13th Armored Division veterans, families and friends. This is an information site only. As the service men and women who served so gallantly in the 13th Armored Division age, we want to preserve their history and contribution to maintaining our freedoms for the coming generations. Please feel free to submit your veteran’s history, or read and experience the stories of others who served in the Black Cats
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