Anyone know the fine details of the combat action that won the 4th US Armored division this nickname?
Looks like there was the 94th Infantry Division so nicknamed too. "ROOSEVELT‘S BUTCHERS" SUPREME HEADQUARTERS, ALLIED EXPEDITIONARY FORCES(SHAFE) General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of all Allied Forces in Europe, ordered General George S. Patton, Jr., Commander of the Third Army to attack and take the key German town of Trier, the gateway to Berlin. Under Patton's command were five Armored Tank Divisions and nine Infantry Divisions with the 94th Inf. Div. being one of them. Most of this strength was concentrated in the VIII Corps and the XII Corps, which were engaged in closing the Battle of the Bulge. The 12th Armored Division was on its way to the Third Army but would not arrive in time to assist in reducing the Saar-Mosel Triangle (Saar-Mosel rivers). Only three Armored Divisions remained with the Third Army and the other two were transferred to the U.S. First Army. General Eisenhower ordered Patton not to use the armor unless a clear break-through had been made. That restriction placed the burden of the break-through right on the shoulders of the 94th Infantrymen. General Walker (Commander of the XII Corps, to which the 94th Div. was attached) however had managed to come up with a Tank Battalion (20 light tanks) to be attached permanently to the 94th Inf. Div. This unit, the 778th Tank Battalion, was of great assistance to the 94th in breaking through the remaining pillboxes and bunkers of the Siegfried Switch Line. By February 19th it was clear to the Corps and Div. Generals that the 94th, fighting as ever in snow, cold, sleet, rain and against fierce German opposition, had penetrated the Siegfried Switch Line. It was in the fighting in and around the town of Nennig that the 94th won its nickname of "Roosevelt's Butchers". As one after another German counter-attack was repulsed by the 376th Regiment (I Company was part of this 376th), the bodies of the German dead became a problem. Fortunately, the winter cold kept them refrigerated but there was no way to evacuate them. Finally we all piled them neatly in rows and in abandoned houses. "ROOSEVELT?S BUTCHERS"
Or the 2nd Armored Division. "Hedgerow penetration: The 17th Engineers used a tank with a bulldozer blade to go through hedgerows in France. But then the Germans would wait until the tanks would cross with infantry following on foot then fire on them. In order to counter this, the American forces started through the hedgerows with their main guns loaded with canister and pointed to the rear and to the flanks. As the tanks crashed through the opening , they fired parallel to the hedges, inflicting great casualties. For this the 2nd Armored was given the name of "Roosevelt's Butchers," a name which the division gladly accepted." 17th Engineers:
"How well they fought is shown by the names given the 4th: "The Rolling 4th," "Flying 4th," "Phantom 4th," "Ghost Division," "Fire Alarm Division." In cool military appraisal, the Germans first called them the "American Elite Fourth Armored Division." Later, Nazi propagandists dubbed them "Roosevelt's Highest Paid Butchers." "The 4th Armored: From the Beach to Bastogne" is a small booklet covering the history of the 4th Armored Division. This booklet is one of the series of G.I. Stories published by the Stars & Stripes in Paris in 1944-1945." Lone Sentry: The 4th Armored: From the Beach to Bastogne -- WWII G.I. Stories Booklet
Ah, so it was a common nickname. I'm actually pretty curious about what Gobbells was up to with this one...was he claiming that they were mercenaries?
I know Creighton Abrams was accused by German propaganda of being Jew, though he was not. Irritated, Abrams told American journalists that he wasn't one but they shouldn't let the Germans know it. If you can lay hands on Zaloga's American Tank Crew at World War II published by Osprey, part of their "Warriors" series, you will find that episode.
I've never heard of the 4th Armored Div with this nickname but- I have beentold by a Sergeant who served with them-that their nicky--was "Deeds Alone."
John Woods, the commander of the 4th Armored Division, decided early on that his command would forego having a sobriquet but instead "will be known by deeds alone," hence by deeds alone became an unofficial nickname of the division. Very appropriate for a unit with such an illustrous list of accomplishments.
