9th Armored Division

9th Armored Division Patch, green back. original, WW2.

It was formed on 15 July 1942 and notably participated in Operation Fortitude,

It landed in Normandy at the end of September 1944, and arrived at the front on 23 October 1944, on patrol in a quiet sector along the German-Luxembourg border.

When the Germans launched their winter offensive in the Belgian Ardennes on 16 December 1944, the 9th, with no experience of real combat, suddenly found itself engaged in intense fighting.

The Division had severe skirmishes at St. Vith, Echternach, and Bastogne, its units fighting in very remote areas.

ts position at Bastogne kept the Germans out of the city long enough to allow the 101st Airborne to prepare the defense of the city.

After a rest period in January 1945, the Division prepared to cross the Rur River in Operation Lumberjack. The offensive was launched on 28 February 1945 and the 9th crossed the Rur at Heimbach, then sent patrols into the town of Remagen.

On 7 March 1945, elements of the 9th found the Ludendorff Bridge still standing. When German demolition charges failed to destroy the bridge, they crossed, disarmed it and removed the remaining charges, which could have exploded at any time.

The Division exploited the bridgehead, south and east across the Lahn River towards Limburg, where thousands of Allied prisoners were liberated from Stalag XIIA.

The Division moved towards Frankfurt and then turned to assist in the encirclement of the Ruhr Pocket. In April it continued east, encircling Leipzig and securing a line along the Mulde River.

The Division was moved south to Czechoslovakia at the end of the war in Europe, which ended on 9 May 1945.