5th Armored Division (United States)
| 5th Armored Division | |
|---|---|
5th Armored Division shoulder sleeve insignia
|
|
| Active | 1941–45 1950–56 |
| Country |
 United States
|
| Branch |
 United States Army
|
| Type | Armor |
| Role | Armored warfare |
| Size | Division |
| Nickname(s) | Victory |
| Engagements | |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Lunsford E. Oliver |
| Insignia | |
| Distinctive Unit Insignia |  |
| U.S. Armored Divisions | |
|---|---|
| Previous | Next |
| 4th Armored Division (Inactive) | 6th Armored Division (Inactive) |
The 5th Armored Division ("Victory") was an armored formation of the United States Army active from 1941 to 1945 and from 1950 to 1956.
The 5th Armored "Victory" Division was activated on 10 October 1941, and reached the United Kingdom in February 1944.
The division landed at Utah Beach on 24 July 1944 under the command of Major General Lunsford E. Oliver, and moved into combat on 2 August, driving south through Coutances, Avranches, and Vitré, and across the Mayenne River to seize the city of Le Mans, 8 August. Turning north, the division surrounded the Germans in Normandy by advancing, through Le Mêle-sur-Sarthe liberated on 11 August, to the edge of the city of Argentan on 12 August—8 days before the Argentan-Falaise Gap was closed.
Turning Argentan over to the 90th Infantry Division, the 5th Armored advanced 80 miles to capture the Eure River Line at Dreux on 16 August. Bitter fighting was encountered in clearing the Eure-Seine corridor, the second big trap in France. The 5th passed through Paris 30 August to spearhead V Corps drive through the Compiègne Forest, across the Oise, Aisne, and Somme Rivers, and reached the Belgian border at Condé, 2 September.
...
Wikipedia