![]() ![]() ![]() The Columbus, Ohio-native had always wanted to serve in the Army and enlisted at the age of 15 in 1944. Miller is a veteran of 22 years in the Army and Air Force. Leaders: 8 amazing facts about General Douglas MacArthur They trained at Knox and at the Desert Training Center in Bouse, Arizona. It had mostly men from Texas and Oklahoma. The 740th Tank Battalion was formed at Fort Knox, Kentucky, on March 1, 1943. It was the largest and bloodiest battle fought by U.S. For the Americans, out of 610,000 troops involved in the battle, 89,000 were casualties. It was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. When they heard audible dings from enemy bullets hitting the tank, the 82nd Soldiers scrambled off to take defensive positions. A few lucky Soldiers from the 82nd jumped on his tank to hitch a ride to avoid walking in the deep snow. Marching through four feet of snow was laborious. Miller remembers the snowfall was especially heavy. His tank had a 105mm gun.ĭuring much of the Battle of the Bulge his unit supported the 82nd Airborne Division. ![]() A few days later he crewed one of six Sherman tanks that formed the Assault Gun Platoon. Thus, a few restored tanks within their first one-half hour of combat had turned the tide of the German attack. With the three German tanks out of action, and the narrow road blocked, the attacking German column retreated. A third tank, a restored M-36, destroyed a third German tank. A second Sherman destroyed a second German tank. ![]() One M-1 Sherman tank fired and destroyed a German Panther. The 740th's three tanks faced the lead element of Battle Group Peiper and the 1st SS Panzer Division. They were ordered to Stoumont to stop the German advance.Īlso read: This is the massive Nazi sneak attack at the Battle of the Bulge Miller and the 740th worked throughout the night and by morning, three tanks and a tank destroyer rolled out the gate. However, upon arrival, there were no functional tanks.ĭepot personnel had left town in a hurry, leaving all of their equipment and tools behind. Miller was hopeful, as he believed tanks would be issued at the depot. At the beginning of the battle, the 740th was ordered to proceed to an ordnance depot in nearby Sprimont. When the German tank columns first approached, Miller and his fellow Soldiers were in Neufchateau, Belgium, but they had no tanks. ![]()
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