US 1st Armored Division

"Old Ironsides", the nickname of this division, was thought up by its first commander, Major General Bruce R. Magruder, after he saw a picture of the U.S.S. Constitution, which was also called "Old Ironsides". The large 1 at the top represents the numerical designation of the division, and the insignia is used as a basis for most other sub-unit insignias.

Unit History

This unit's first major battle was in Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of Northwest Africa. It became the first Americann armored division to see combat in World War II. It cut through vicious Vichy French resistance, and eventually led the assault on Erwin Rommel's tank units. After long months of fighting, the battle was won by the Allies.

After the fall of Sicily, this unit, under the 5th US Army, invaded mainland Italy. It attacked the infamous Winter Line in November 1943. It then flanked the Axis armies at Anzio, fiercely advancing from its beachhead near Anzio, and finally, it liberated Rome on June 4, 1944. By then, it advanced through mountains (namely, the Po Valley), until the German forces surrendered on May 2, 1945.

After heavy training throughout the 1940s and 1950s, the division was deployed to Texas, Florida, and Georgia, in response to the Cuban Missile Crisis. It was the first division to receive the M48 Patton tank, and it received a visit from President John F. Kennedy. A few units fought in the Vietnam War, and were returned to the division after the war. The 3rd Brigade deployed to Chicago to restore order, after Martin Luther King's marches. At that time, the division was deployed in Fort Hood, Texas; however, it was moved to Germany in the 1970s.

It was then deployed into the Persian Gulf War, where it led the VII Corps' brutal flank attack, with the duty to destroy the elite Iraqi Republican Guard units. In 89 hours, the division moved 250 kilometers, destroyed 768 vehicles, and captured 1,064 prisoners of war, at the cost of 4 dead. It returned to Germany on May 8, 1991. It celebrated with a visit from the Vice President.

In 1995, the division deployed to the Balkans, in Operation Joint Endeavor, as the command element of Task Force Eagle, a powerful, multinational unit. It returned in late 1996 to Germany. In 1999, the unit was once again deployed, this time to Kosovo, for Operation Allied Force, and Operation Joint Guardian.

Afterwards, the unit trained heavily in Germany, with realistic opfor exercises. Some units were deployed into Iraq and other countries in the Middle East for the global War on Terrorism, although that was complicated by Turkey's refusal to allow American units to stage within its territory.

The division did not take part in the fighting in Iraq. It was part of the first wave of occupation reinforcements after the main fighting in the campaign was over.