1st Tank Battalion
1st Marine Tank Battalion | |
---|---|
Active | 1 November 1941–21 May 2021 |
Country | United States of America |
Branch | United States Marine Corps |
Type | Armor Battalion |
Role | Armor protected firepower and shock action. |
Part of | 1st Marine Division 1st Marine Expeditionary Force |
Garrison/HQ | Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms |
Nickname(s) | 1st Tanks |
Motto(s) | "Steel on Target" |
Engagements | World War II
|
The 1st Tank Battalion was an armor battalion of the United States Marine Corps which was based out of the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, California. It last fell under the command of the 1st Marine Division and I Marine Expeditionary Force. The unit was decommissioned in May 2021 as part of the service Force Design 2030 initiative which saw it move away from larger armor formations.[1]
Insignia
The coat of arms of the 1st Tank Battalion is a jousting shield of blue with a scarlet border and a large numeral "1" (in the 1st Marine Division font) in scarlet behind an M2A4 tank painted as used at Guadalcanal during World War II all behind a diagonal lightning bolt (striking from the shields upper left to the shields lower right). The crest is a Marine Corps emblem of silver and gold contained within a green laurel. A gold banner above the arms is inscribed "First Tank Battalion" and another below the arms inscribed "August-Guadalcanal-1942" in scarlet.
The battle of Guadalcanal began in August 1942 and was the first combat action of the battalion and the M2A4 tank was the first tank used by the battalion. Additionally, the battalion was the only American military unit to ever use the M2A4 tank in battle. The use of this tank memorializes the first combat action of the battalion. The jousting shield is a unique device of mounted and armored warriors and has the upper corner cut away to better wield one's weapons. The colors of the shield and the 1st Marine Division numeral "1" identify the battalion with its parent division. The lightning bolt represents speed, shock effect and firepower. The laurel, in the crest, is an award of honor, recalling the courage, valor and sacrifices of the battalion.
This coat of arms has existed in Marine Corps records—in varied forms—since at least 1970. Other variations exist, often placing the emblems from the coat of arms (the number "1", the tank and lightning bolt) on a differently shaped shield or on the diamond insignia of the 1st Marine Division, often substituting a more modern tank for the original and sometimes rearranging the emblems. This latter device (the number "1", tank, and lightning bolt upon the diamond insignia of the 1st Marine Division) is commonly used as the distinctive unit insignia (or DUI, a badge-type device) of the battalion.
(From "U.S. Marine Corps Ground Unit Insignia.")
Mission
To provide combat power to the 1st Marine Division in the form of amphibious and/or Maritime Preposition Forces; conduct operations ashore utilizing maneuver, armor protected firepower and shock action in order to close with and destroy the enemy.[2]
As an independent battalion, First Tank Battalion is responsible to the Commanding General, 1st Marine Division for providing armored assets as well as anti-armor systems and staff expertise in their employment.
History
The 1st Tank Battalion was activated on 1 November 1941 at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina and was attached to the 1st Marine Division. At this time, Headquarters and Service Company and Company B were organized. Company A had been in existence prior to this activation. This unit was originally activated on 1 August 1940 as the 3d Tank Company. It was reorganized and redesignated as Company A, 1st Tank Battalion, on 1 May 1941. Other companies of the battalion were later activated in early 1942.
World War II
After the outbreak of
Late that year the battalion moved to New Guinea to begin preparations for the Cape Gloucester, New Britain operation. 1st Marine Division units including the 1st Tank Battalion made an amphibious assault on Cape Gloucester the day after Christmas 1943. Battalion tanks were immediately committed to the drive to expand the beachhead; but progress was impeded, not only by the resistance of the Japanese but also by the torrential rains and the rough terrain. For the rest of the month and in early January, the Marines made heavy contact with Japanese forces.
Company B, which had been located on New Guinea, landed in the Arawe area of New Britain on 12 January 1944 to support Army forces there. Battalion units remained committed to the struggle for New Britain until Spring. By the beginning of May, however, all elements of the 1st Tank Battalion had been withdrawn from both New Britain and New Guinea and relocated to Pavavu Island in the Russell Islands.
The assault and capture of Peleliu in the Palau Group was the next combat mission for the battalion. On 15 September 1944, it participated in the initial landing on the island. The 1st Tank Battalion, during this campaign rendered conspicuous service in defeating the enemy. Bitter fighting for the battalion continued for another two weeks. On 2 October 1944, it was withdrawn and redeployed to the Russells.
The last campaign of the war for the 1st Tank Battalion was the assault on Okinawa. Beginning on 1 April 1945, the battalion was actively engaged in wresting control of the island fortress from the Japanese. The ferocity of the fighting during the battle is shown in the following losses of battalion tanks: 28 destroyed and 163 damaged.
The cessation of hostilities was followed by the deployment of the battalion to North China in early October for occupation duty in Tientsin. In January 1947, the battalion minus Company B was relieved of its responsibilities in China and ordered to Guam. Another transfer occurred four months later. This time the unit with the exception of Company A was returned to the United States. The battalion arrived at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California on 1 May 1947, where it remained for the following three years.
Korean War
Shortly after the
During WWII the 3rd Tank Battalion received 18 M4-A3R8 Shermans with coaxial flamethrowers that the Chemical Warfare Service: Flame Tank Group Seabees had produced. Postwar those tanks were dispersed between Hawaii and California. The Corps got nine of them together to form a flamethrowing platoon that was sent to Korea as a component of the 1st Tank Battalion.
Vietnam War
In March 1966 most of 1st Tank's
Gulf War and the 1990s
When
Iraq War
1st Tank Battalion participated in the
Afghanistan
On 1 January 2011 Company D, 1st Tank Battalion, deployed to Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan and was the first American mechanized unit to deploy with the M1A1 Main Battle Tank in the War in Afghanistan. These Tank Companies deployed in support of International Security Forces- Afghanistan. Company D deployed from Jan to Jul 2011, Company A deployed from Jan to Jul 2012, and Company D deployed from Jan to Jul 2013 as Tank Companies.[2] In this time Company C deployed as a route clearance company (Oct 2011 to May 2012), Company B with elements from H&S Company deployed as an advisory team (Jan 2012 to Jul 2012).
Decommissioning
1st Tank Battalion was officially decommissioned on 21 May 2021 at a ceremony held at MCAGCC 29 Palms, CA. The deactivation was part of a larger restructuring of the Marine Corps as part of the Commandant's Force Design 2030 initiative. The Marine Corps is divesting itself of larger, armor formations in order to create more expeditionary formations that can operate in the Indo-Pacific and provide long range precision fires in support of fleet maneuver.[1]
Notable former members
- G. Michael Hopf, a USA Today bestselling author of the post-apocalyptic series, THE NEW WORLD. Hopf was a member of Anti-Tank (TOW) Company, 1st Tank Battalion from 1989 to 1991 when the battalion was stationed at Las Flores, Camp Pendleton. He is a Gulf War veteran.
- Gunnery Sergeant Nick Popaditch, an Iraq veteran severely wounded in the Battle of Fallujah.
See also
References
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Marine Corps.
- Bibliography
- Rottman, Gordon L. (2002). U.S. Marine Corps World War II Order of Battle – Ground and Air Units in the Pacific War, 1939–1945. Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-31906-5.
- Department of the Army.
- Zaloga, Steven J. M3 & M5 Stuart Light tank 1940-45. Osprey/New Vanguard Publishing; 1999. ISBN 1-85532-911-5.
- Specific
- ^ a b Athey, Philip (26 May 2021). "Marine Corps deactivates its final active-duty tank battalion". Marine Corps Times. Sightline Media Group. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
- ^ a b [1] Archived 13 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Home Page
- ^ Zaloga, p. 15, 27 (Plate C)
- ^ Starry p. 53
- Web