Seventh United States Army

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Not to be confused with
United States Army Europe
.

Seventh Army
Seventh Army Shoulder Sleeve Insignia
Active
  • 1943–March 1946
  • June 1946–1947
  • 1950–2010
Disbanded17 April 2010
Country United States
Branch Army
TypeField Army
RoleHeadquarters
Motto(s)Pyramid of Power
Colors   White and red
CampaignsWorld War II
Commanders
Notable
commanders
Insignia
Distinctive insignia
Flag

The Seventh Army was a United States army created during

European Theater
between 1942 and 1945.

Originally the

Operation Husky
.

After the conquests of

Operation Nordwind
, then completed its reduction of the region by mid-March.

In a lead role in

VE-Day, 8 May 1945.[1]

History

World War II

I Armored Corps in North Africa

The predecessor of Seventh Army was the I Armored Corps, which was activated on 15 July 1940 at Fort Knox, Kentucky. With the goal of stopping German expansion in Europe and Africa, it was decided that the first operation for United States Army forces would be to assist the British in driving German forces from North Africa. On 15 January 1942, Major General George S. Patton Jr. assumed command of I Armored Corps and began planning for the invasion of North Africa.

On March 6, 1943, following the defeat of the U.S. II Corps by the German Afrika Korps, commanded by Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel, at the Battle of Kasserine Pass, Patton replaced Major General Lloyd Fredendall as Commanding General of the II Corps and was promoted to lieutenant general.

The Seventh Army arm patch was approved on June 23, 1943: On a blue isosceles triangular background, a seven-stepped letter "A," steps in yellow with the center in scarlet.[2]

On 8 November 1942, General Patton was in command of the

Western Task Force (a temporary redesignation of I Armored Corps for tactical deception), the only all-American force landing for Operation Torch, code name for the Allied invasion of French North Africa
. I Armored Corps then began to drive east which complemented British forces driving from the west. The result was that Axis forces were trapped in Tunisia and were forced to surrender in May 1943.

Sicily and the Italian Peninsula

After succeeding in North Africa, Patton, now promoted to the rank of

Lieutenant General, became commander of the newly formed Seventh Army, which was formed at midnight on 10 July 1943 by the redesignation of the I Armored Corps. The Allied invasion of Sicily in July 1943, was conducted in conjunction with the British Eighth Army, commanded by General Sir Bernard Montgomery
, Patton's rival. Patton commanded the Seventh Army until early 1944.

View of Lieutenant General Patton's Seventh Army staff aboard SS Monrovia, en route to Sicily, June/July 1943.

The Seventh Army landed on several beaches in southern Sicily on 10 July 1943 and captured the Sicilian capital of

Italian Front, was assigned as commander and the Seventh Army began planning for the invasion of southern France
.

France, Germany, and back into Italy

The invasion was originally given the code name of "Operation Anvil", but was changed to "

Marseilles, Lyon, Toulon
and all of Southern France.

The Seventh Army then assaulted the German forces in the

Operation Nordwind New Year's offensive. Along with the French First Army, the Seventh went on the offensive in February 1945 and eliminated the Colmar Pocket. After capturing the city of Strasbourg, the Seventh went into the Saar, assaulted the Siegfried Line, and reached the River Rhine
during the first week of March, 1945.

In a lead role in

Vipiteno[1]
– once again on Italian soil.

In less than nine months of continuous fighting, the Seventh Army had advanced over 1,000 miles and for varying times had commanded 24 U.S. and Allied divisions, including the 3rd, 36th, 42nd, 44th, 45th, 63rd, 70th, 100th, and 103rd Infantry Divisions.

Cold War

External audio
audio icon You may listen members of the Seventh Army Symphony Orchestra broadcasting on the radio in Europe from 1956–2006 here on 7aso.org

The Seventh Army was inactivated in March 1946, in Germany, reactivated for a short time at

United States Army Europe (USAREUR).[3] For over a decade the Seventh Army Symphony Orchestra performed in support of the United States Army's cultural diplomacy initiatives throughout Germany and Europe in the aftermath of World War II (1952–1962).[4]

On 30 November 1966, the Seventh Army was relocated from Patch Barracks to

United States Army Europe
.

The Seventh Army was deactivated on 17 April 2010.

Commanding generals

Note - Starting in 1966, the commander of the United States Seventh Army has been "dual hatted" as the

Commanding General, United States Army Europe
.

References

  1. ^ a b Fifth Army History • Race to the Alps, Chapter VI : Conclusion [1] "On 3 May the 85th and 88th [Infantry] Divisions sent task forces north over ice and snow 3 feet deep to seal the Austrian frontier and to gain contact with the American Seventh Army, driving southward from Germany. The 339th Infantry [85th Division] reached Austrian soil east of Dobbiaco at 0415, 4 May; the Reconnaissance Troop, 349th Infantry [88th Division], met troops from [103rd Infantry Division] VI Corps of Seventh Army at 1051 at Vipiteno, 9 miles south of Brenner."
  2. ISBN 0-16-049994-1. Archived from the original
    (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  3. ^ "USAREUR Units & Kasernes, 1945–1989". www.usarmygermany.com. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  4. ISBN 978-0-520-24755-0
    "Seventh Army Symphony Orchestra (1952–1962) performing works by Roy Harris, Morton Gould and Leroy Anderson" on books.google.com

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Seventh Army (United States).
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