My dad, deceased, was 2nd Armored. He gave me his book, “Hell on Wheels, The 2nd Armored Division,” by Donald E. Houston. No book was he more proud of.
The 2nd Armored was Patton’s original division, and trained by him, he named it “Hell on Wheels.” That it was. I notice in the events of this day in the battle of the bulge, the 2nd Armored, Patton trained, on the northern flank closing the bulge, with Patton’s Third Army closing the bulge from the south. All playing important roles.
The battle of the bulge reveals how far reaching Patton’s influence was in US tank outfits. Beyond just his Third Army - which most associate him with. Not only the 2nd Armored, but the commander of the 3rd Armored division, the “Spearhead” division, was also a Patton trained officerr, a transfer from the 2nd Armored.
All played heroic roles in the bulge.
Both the Hell on Wheels division, the 2nd Armored, and the Spearhead division, the 3rd Armored, were on the northern flank closing the bulge, fighting alongside each other. Two of our finest armored divisions. I forgot to mention the 3rd Armored’s part in the fight.