pared to 166 tons for those in the infantry division. Besides, the 4th was the only motorized division authorized a full complement of equipment plus additional personnel and equipment to constitute a special task force. Its potential punch in combat, however, did not appear to justify the costs of shipping and logistical support. On 1 August 1943 the 4th reverted to the standard infantry division structure.[1]
The organization of the armored division had been in question for several months because of the imbalance between armor and infantry forces. Some options existed for improvement. Lt. Gen. Jacob L. Devers, Chief of the Armored Force, wanted to obtain a better balance at corps level by having one motorized and two armored divisions in a corps and by "armorizing" the motorized division.[2] McNair believed that the armored division was "so fat there is no place to begin."[3] He wanted either to increase the infantry or reduce the armor in the existing division, changes that would result in a sweeping reorganization of the unit.[4]
Eventually McNair directed the Reduction Board to cut the divisional armor, believing the use of tanks had changed since 1940. Both the British and the Germans had successfully used a division that fielded fewer tanks than the American armored division. The armored division was not free to roam at will, as first envisioned, because of improvements in antitank weapons. McNair saw it as a unit of opportunity to exploit a breakthrough, to take part in a pursuit, or to cover a withdrawal—all former cavalry missions. Therefore, the armored division could be smaller. Furthermore, McNair saw the need for fewer armored divisions in the total force, and with fewer armored divisions more separate tank battalions, which were needed to support infantry divisions, could be organized.[5]
Combat-experienced officers in the North African theater opposed a major reorganization of the armored division. In March 1943 the Fifth Army convened a review board, chaired by Maj. Gen. Ernest N. Harmon, the commander of the 2d Armored Division. The board recommended retention of the existing division structure with the addition of more infantry and the assignment of tank destroyer and antiaircraft artillery battalions. To simplify logistical and maintenance operations, the board wanted to reduce the types of vehicles within the division, recommending that motorcycles and amphibious trucks be replaced with 1/4-ton trucks and that obsolete tanks be removed. Since the 1st Armored Division had been used in piecemeal fashion on the Tunisian front and the 2d Armored Division was the only such division to gain experience as a divisional organization, the board believed that a major reorganization of the armored division was premature.[6]
After months of study and discussion, the War Department rejected the field recommendations and on 15 September 1943 published new armored division tables of organization that followed McNair's ideas (Chart 20). Three tank and three armored infantry battalions replaced the armored and infantry regiments. Each tank battalion included one light and three medium tank companies, and the
- ↑ Greenfield et al., Organization of Ground Combat Troops, pp. 337–39; Ltr, TAG to CGs, AGF and XIII Corps, 30 Jul 43, sub: Redesignation and Reorganization of the 4th Motorized Division, AG 322 (28 Jul 43) OB-I-GNGCT-M, AG Reference files, DAMH-HSO.
- ↑ Greenfield et al., Organization of Ground Combat Troops, p. 324.
- ↑ Ibid., p. 322.
- ↑ Memo, AGF for CofS, 7 Dec 42, sub: Organization of Armored Units, 320.2 (Armd Force) (R) (11–6–42), and Memo, WDGCT for CofS, 16 Jan 43, sub: Organizational of Armored Units, WDGCT 320 (12–7–42), both RG 407, NARA.
- ↑ Memo, WDGCT for CofS, 16 Jan 43, sub: Organization of Armored Units; Greenfield et al., Organization of Ground Combat Troops, pp. 319–26.
- ↑ Report of Proceedings of a Board of Officers, 27 Mar 1943, Memo, AGF for Requirements Section, and CG, AGF, undated, sub: Comments on Harmon Board report, both Ground AG Section, Project Decimal file 1942–1943, AGF 319.1, North African Binder, RG 337, NARA.
