Sixth Army (United States)
| Sixth Army | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Active | 1943–95 2008–present |
| Country |  United States of America |
| Branch |
 United States Army
|
| Type | Field army |
| Role | Component command |
| Nickname(s) | "Alamo Force" |
| Motto(s) | Born Of War |
| Engagements | World War II |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Walter Krueger Joseph Stilwell Robert M. Cannon |
| Insignia | |
| Flag |  |
| Distinctive unit insignia |  |
Sixth Army is a field army of the United States Army. The Army service component command of United States Southern Command, its area of responsibility includes 31 countries and 15 areas of special sovereignty in Central and South America and the Caribbean. It is headquartered at Fort Sam Houston.
The Sixth Army saw extensive service in the South Pacific during World War II, including in New Britain, New Guinea, and the Philippines. Postwar it served stateside training army forces till its inactivation during force reduction in 1995. The army was reactivated in 2007.
The Sixth United States Army was activated in January 1943, commanded by Lieutenant General Walter Krueger. Under the code name Alamo Force, it assumed control of the majority of US Army units involved in Operation Cartwheel, the campaign to isolate and neutralize the Japanese base at Rabaul in New Britain. Following the completion of Cartwheel, Sixth Army joined Australian Army and other US forces on the north coast of New Guinea. Similar in conception to the island hopping operations of the central Pacific, the object of the attacks was to land, establish a garrison and airfield which could support the next strike, and then move on.
In September 1944, Sixth Army was relieved from operations in New Guinea by the Eighth United States Army. On 20 October 1944, X Corps and XXIV Corps, under Sixth Army, invaded Leyte in the Philippines. By December, Leyte was secured, and the Sixth Army was relieved again by Eighth Army to prepare for the invasion of Luzon. As a prelude to that invasion, the island of Mindoro was invaded by the Western Visayan Task Force comprising the 19th and 503rd Regimental Combat Teams. Sixth Army took part in the Invasion of Lingayen Gulf on 9 January 1945 with the subordinate units of I and XIV Corps. Sixth Army units fought south until they met up those of Eighth Army advancing from around Manila. Sixth Army then continued to clear the north of Luzon until the end of the war. Sixth Army was to have provided the ground forces for the first phase of the invasion of Japan, but the surrender changed that.
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