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2/34 Armor - The Dreadnoughts Of Desert Storm

The Official Army

History Of 2/34 Armor

This is a copy of the official history of 2/34 Armor. It can also be viewed at the Official 2/34 Armor web site that is part of the Fort Riley web site.

http://www.riley.army.mil/Units/1BCT1ID/2-34AR.asp

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World War II - Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace and Central Europe.

Vietnam - Counter-offensive Phase II, Counter-offensive Phase III, Tet Counter-offensive, Counter-offensive Phase IV, Counter-offensive Phase V, Counter-offensive Phase VI, Tet 69 Counter-offensive, Summer-Fall 1969 and Winter-Spring 1970, Sanctuary Counter-offensive and Counter-offensive VII.

Persian Gulf War - Defense of Saudi Arabia and Liberation and Defense of Kuwait.

HISTORY

2-34 Armor can trace its origins to the 34th Armor Regiment, which was formed on 01 October 1941 at Ft. Knox, Kentucky. The 34th Armor was initially assigned to the 5th Armored Division. When the United States entered WW II after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the Division moved to Camp Cooke, California to defend the West coast against a possible Japanese invasion. When the invasion didn’t materialize, the 5th Armored moved to Camp Irwin, in the Mojave Desert, to train in desert operations for possible deployment to North Africa to battle Field Marshal Rommel's Afrika Korps.

In 1942, after months of training, the Division moved to McMinnville, Tennessee and began training on river crossings in preparation for a European theatre mission. Tankers that had been battling the dust and heat of the Mojave only weeks before were now encountering mud and snow as their main adversary. In July 1943, the division moved to Pine Camp, N.Y. to prepare for overseas movement. On 20 September 1945, the 772d loaded its Sherman and Stuart tanks on the “Sea Robin” and set sail for France. Arriving at La Harve on 08 February the Battalion began moving fast towards the front lines. On the 24th of March, the battalion was attached to the 44th Infantry Division. On the 27th, the battalion crossed the Rhine River and participated in the final push into Hitler’s thousand years Reich leading the Division’s attack on Mannheim, Germany. From 29 March to 30 April, the battalion moved rapidly across Germany destroying all resistance they encountered. By the end of the war, the 772d had halted its movement near the town of Tarrenz, Austria and began its occupation duties until 26 June. Due to its original affiliation with the 34th Armor Regiment, the battalion received its first Presidential Unit Citation for the heroic assaults on the Roar River dams in 1943. Returning stateside, the 772d was inactivated at Camp Shelby, Mississippi on 14 November 1945.

From 1945 to 1963, the battalion went through numerous redesignations and changes. On 01 October 1963, the 2d Battalion, 34th Armor was officially activated at Fort Irwin, California as part of the 4th Infantry Division. On 03 August 1966, the battalion was alerted for movement to the Republic of South Vietnam. Arriving at Vung Tau on 10 September, under the command of LTC Raymond Stailey, 2-34 began conducting limited operations with the 173d Airborne and 1st Infantry Division. In October, B company was attached to 1-4 Cavalry of the 1st Infantry Division where it would remain until the invasion of Cambodia in 1970. A & C companies participated in numerous operations in the III Corps area while still staying close to the battalion HQ located at Long Binh. In 1967, the Battalion began to participate in larger combined arms operations. Operation Junction City which began in the early part of March 1967, saw 2-34 conducting search and destroy operations as part of the 3rd Brigade 4th I.D. Task Force.

On March 21st, 2-34 Armor minus B Company, would again distinguish itself in combat near the former village of Soui Tre. Fire Support Base Gold, established only two days prior, had come under attack from the 272d VC Main Force Regiment consisting of over 1,100 soldiers. In a four-hour battle, during which the Dreadnaughts help turn an enemy victory into a defeat, 2-34 received its second Presidential Unit Citation. C Company would stay with the battalion for the remainder of 1967. On 01 August 1967, 2-34 was reassigned to the 25th I.D. On the eve of the TET Offensive, C Company would begin a series of moves that would take it away from the Dreadnaught area of operations, to the DMZ in the I Corps sector, over 800 miles away. For the remainder of their time in Vietnam, the “Fighting Aces” would be attached to various units including the 101st Airborne Division, 1st Cavalry Division, 23rd Infantry Division, 5th Infantry Division, and the 3rd Marine Division. A Company would remain with the Battalion HQ and conduct operations with the 25th I.D. until the Cambodia incursion. In May 1970, President Nixon ordered American units into the Cambodian sanctuaries in an attempt to destroy the communist supply lines and end the war. A, B, and D companies participated as part of TF Shoemaker of the 1st Cavalry Division. A Company was the first American ground unit into Cambodia. For their actions in the area known as the “Fishhook” the battalion minus C Company received its first Valorous Unit Award. In December 1970, 2-34 Armor returned stateside and was reassigned back to the 4th I.D., which was now stationed at Ft. Carson, Colorado.

Turning in their aging M48’s for M 60’s, the Dreadnaughts participated in numerous Reforger exercises, NTC rotations and occasional humanitarian assistance missions as part of the 3rd Bde, 4th I.D. (M). In 1987, the Dreadnaught battalion was reassigned to the 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division (M) at Ft. Riley, Kansas. For the next three years, the battalion would continue to train for combat. The M60A3 tank was replaced by the M1IP in 1989.

On 02 September 1990 war clouds again loomed on the horizon when Iraq invaded its smaller neighbor Kuwait in a border dispute over oil. For the third time in the last 45 years, the Dreadnaughts were on the move. Arriving in Saudi Arabia on 01 January 1991, the battalion under the command of LTC Fontenot, was ready. After arriving in Saudi Arabia, the battalion began training for desert combat and drew M1A1’s. Moving into a tactical assembly area, A and D companies were attached to 5-16 Infantry and HHC, B and C companies comprised TF 2-34 Armor. On 24 February, after weeks of preparation and training, TF 2-34 attacked North, leading the 1st I.D. Breaching the Iraqi obstacle belt, TF 2-34 conducted a passage of lines for the U.S. VII Corps and the 1st Armored Division (UK). Initial enemy resistance was light but on the evening of the 26-27 Feb. the Guard “Tawaklana” Division were completely destroyed. When the cease-fire went into effect, TF 2-34, acted as part of General Schwartzkopf’s guard force at Safwan. The Dreadnaughts were redeployed to Ft. Riley on May 8th, 1991. For their actions in Desert Storm, the Battalion received its second Valorous Unit Award.

Today the Dreadnaught Battalion continues as a living legacy to our predecessors who fought on the battlefields of Europe, the jungles of Vietnam, the desert sands of Iraq and most recently with the return of A Company from Bosnia. The soldiers of the 2d Battalion, 34th Armor remain ready as part of the 1st Infantry Division’s Devil Brigade to deploy, fight and win.

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