The 83 rd Infantry Division, nicknamed Thunderbolt, first entered combat in Normandy in late June 1944. Generally fighting as part of Patton's Third Army, they were involved in major combat across Northern France and Europe. Their first action was as a part of Operation Cobra to breakout of the Normandy hedgerows. A soldier recalls his time with the U.S. 83rd Infantry as it blazed a trail of courage from the hedgerows of France to the Hürtgen Forest and the war's end at the Elbe. This article appears in: Spring 2015 By Susan Zimmerman The 83rd U.S. Infantry Division had been mobilized for World War I in September 1917.
83ème division d'infanterie américaine Ordre de bataille
The 83rd Infantry Division ("Thunderbolt" [1]) was a formation of the United States Army in World War I and World War II . World War I The division was activated in September 1917 at Camp Sherman, Ohio. Here's the story of the US 83rd Infantry Division that, being short of transport, used a wide variety of repainted German vehicles to race through Germany. O. 83rd Infantry Division was a formation of the United States Army in World War I and World War II. It participated in the Battle of the Bulge, and reduced the enemy salient in a bitter. July 21, 2015 2 Comments THE RAG-TAG CIRCUS THE 83rd INFANTRY DIVISION / THE THUNDERBOLT DIVISION I just finished Cornelius' Ryan's book, The Last Battle (he also wrote The Longest Day about Operation Overlord — the June 6th invasion of France in 1944).
Pin on BATTLE of the bulge of Hürtgen Forest
The Rag-Tag Circus, Stars and Stripes Author: Ernest Leiser. Document provided by Greg Chips; son of 1st Richard E. Chipps Subject: 83rd Infantry Division Created Date: 9/12/2011 12:35:33 PM 81st Infantry Division - "Wildcat"; This is today's 81st Regional Support Command. 83rd Infantry Division "Ohio" - "Ragtag Circus" - Ostensibly because of the vehicles the division commandeered from French and German sources, including a concrete mixer and fire truck, to transport troops into Germany during World War II. THE RAGTAG CIRCUS: The regiment's biggest problem was transportation. It had only enough trucks to move one battalion at a time and, as supply problems increased with the distance, ten of these trucks were detached to haul supplies.. Each team consisted of a battalion of infantry, a battery of field artillery, a platoon of medium tanks, a. A column of the 83rd U.S. Infantry Division prepares to move off. The 83rd was nicknamed the Ragtag Circus because of its use of any and all captured German vehicles. A quick coat of paint and away you go. The 83rd wanted to be the first to Berlin, and most of the time they were going faster and further than any other U.S. Division.
US Division with German tanks The RagTag Circus (83rd infantry
It was seventy years ago in early April 1945 that the US 83rd Infantry Division was given the nick-name "Rag-Tag Circus." Originally known as the Ohioan from when the division was originally activated in 1917 at which time it consisted of men from primarily from Ohio. After the division's effort of being first at the Rhine its commander. Major General Robert C. Macon's highly individualistic 83rd Infantry Division, the "Rag-Tag Circus," was going hell-for-leather toward the Elbe in its captured booty. Every enemy unit or town that surrendered or was captured subscribed its quota of rolling stock for the division, usually at gunpoint.
How the 83rd Infantry Division became known as the "Rag-tag Circus". "The American army seems to me as fine a collection of individual physical specimens as I have ever seen. But from the standpoint of military discipline it is a mob, pure and simple. The men appear slouchy, the officers to not stand out from the men in appearance and they do. 74K subscribers in the MilitaryHistory community. Military History related links - modern or ancient!
Famous photo of Two captured SdKfz 251 of the 83rd Infantry Division
THE RAGTAG CIRCUS - From Omaha Beach to the Elbe Ex-Regimental Commander, 329th Infantry. the 329th Infantry Regiment of the 83rd Infantry Division. The start was not propitious. Twenty-five National Guard and Reserve officers reported for duty to command the nineteen companies of the regiment, and to fill the few specialist vacancies.. World War II: The 83rd "Thunderbolt" Division of the U. S. Army Infantry crossed the English Channel to Normandy in June 1944. It fought through the Hedgerows, across France and into Germany, including the Battle of the Bulge. In March 1945, the 83rd received orders to turn east and race toward Berlin. The 83rd had. "The Rag-Tag Circus" Read More »
