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The 746th Tank Battalion was an independent tank battalion that participated in the European Theater of Operations with the United States Army in World War II. It was one of five tank battalions (all independent) which landed in Normandy on D-Day (6 June 1944). The battalion participated in combat operations throughout northern Europe until V-E Day. It served primarily as an attachment to the 9th Infantry Division, but fought alongside numerous other units as well. It was inactivated in October 1945. ==Organization== The 746th Tank Battalion followed the standard organization of a U.S. medium tank battalion during World War II.〔Zaloga, pp. 22-24〕 It consisted of a Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Service Company, three medium tank companies (Companies A, B, and C) and a light tank company (Company D). : *The Headquarters Company included the battalion headquarters staff, both officers and enlisted men; an assault gun platoon, consisting of three Sherman tank variants armed with a 105 mm assault gun; a mortar platoon, equipped with three half-track mounted 81 mm mortars; a reconnaissance platoon with five quarter-ton “peeps” (jeeps); and the headquarters tank section consisting of two tanks for the battalion commander and operations officer. At the time the 746th went into action at Normandy, the assault gun platoon was still equipped with standard M4 Sherman tanks. They did not receive the 105 mm assault gun equipped tanks until the first week of July 1944.〔CARL, AAR 746th Tank Bn, July 1944〕 The assault gun platoon, along with the line company assault guns consolidated into a second platoon, was periodically attached to the division artillery as an ad hoc artillery battery to provide supporting fires to the division artillery.〔CARL, AAR 746th Tank Bn, August 1944〕 On one instance in October 1944, this reinforced platoon was even attached to the gun company of the Infantry Regimental Combat Team which the battalion was supporting.〔CARL, AAR 746th Tank Bn, October 1944〕 : *The Service Company included a headquarters section; a maintenance platoon; and a large battalion supply and transportation platoon, with over thirty trucks to provide logistics for the battalion. : *Companies A, B, C, and D – the tank line companies, both medium and light, all followed the same table of organization. Each company consisted of a headquarters section which, along with a small headquarters staff also included two tanks for the company commander and executive officer; three five-tank platoons; and, in the medium tank companies, a single 105 mm assault gun. The medium tank companies were equipped with M4 Sherman tanks, while the light tank company was equipped with M5 Stuart tanks. While attached to the 9th Infantry Division for combat operations, normally Company A was attached to the 47th Infantry Regiment, Company B was attached to the 60th Infantry regiment, and Company C was attached to the 39th Infantry Regiment. The authorized assault gun was a medium tank until the real 105 mm gun-equipped tanks arrived in Normandy the first week of July 1944.〔 In August,1944, the company assault guns were consolidated into a second assault gun platoon under the control of the battalion assault gun platoon leader and attached to the division artillery for general fire support.〔 In October 1944, the assault guns were consolidated with the headquarters assault gun platoon and formed into three two-gun sections that supported each of the battalions of the Infantry regimental Combat Team which the battalion was supporting.〔 All four companies had their own maintenance section which included a M32 Tank Recovery Vehicle, built on a Sherman chassis. Because the Stuart carried a 4-man crew versus a 5-man crew on the Sherman, it had a somewhat smaller personnel strength than then medium tank companies. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「746th Tank Battalion (United States)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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