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After fifty years of honored service to the
nation, beginning in 1941, the 3rd Armored Division (3AD) was
inactivated, or retired, in 1992 following the end of the Cold
War. Budget cuts by the U.S. Defense Department did what no armed
enemy could ever do.
The 3AD, of course, was not the primary reason
for the U.S. victory in WWII in Europe, or in the Cold War, or
in Gulf War I. In each case, the 3AD was a single cog in a vast
and complex U.S. military machine. But one tough and most special
cog it was.
Of the fifteen U.S. armored divisions in Europe
in World War II, the 3AD saw the most combat, inflicted the most
damage, and took the most casualties. Under legendary commander
Maj. Gen. Maurice Rose, it became known as the "Spearhead"
Division of the American First Army.
During four decades of the Cold War, the Division
was NATO's primary point-guard for the critical Fulda Gap in
West Germany. As one historian wrote, the 3AD "stood eyeball-to-eyeball
against the forces of the Soviet Union."
And in 1990-91, the Division left its German bases for action
in Operation Desert Storm of the Persian Gulf War, attacking deep into Iraq as a lead element
of the U.S. VII Corps. The 3AD was, at that time, and remains
to this day, the largest U.S. division ever assembled.
Yet, is the 3AD really gone forever? Is the era permanently fading
for the massive, self-contained division with combined armor,
infantry, artillery, and aviation? No one can say for sure. But,
given the unexpected twists and turns of world geopolitics and
as yet unpredictable new military challenges, the Spearhead colors
stand ready to ride again -- in, no doubt, an even more powerful
and more flexible, high-tech form.
The 3AD may be retired, but its enduring legacy and long colorful
history has few equals among all U.S. military units, past and
present. This foundation and website is dedicated to that legacy
and that history, and to the veterans who served with Spearhead
-- over 40,000 soldiers in WWII & early occupation of Germany;
over 220,000 in the Cold War with the defense of Western Europe;
and 22,533 during the Gulf War's Operation Desert Storm of 1991.
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