Tank Battalions of the U.S. Army is easily the most comprehensive publication of its kind to ever appear in print. This volume documents the history, heraldry, and honors of the 417 tank battalions which have existed since World War I. The information about the majority of the battalions appearing in this volume have never before appeared in print. The tank battalion of World War II was a decisive tactical combat force with the ability to move rapidly over extended distances and engage promptly upon contact. The armor-protected firepower, mobility, and shock action of the tank battalion, together with extensive and flexible communications, provided them with the capabilities for independent engagement of large enemy formations. Following a rather modest introduction during the last great battles of World War I, the armor formations of the United Sates proved their worth less than three decades later in Europe; in the Saar-Moselle triangle; in the Ardennes; at Bastogne; at the Ludendorff Bridge over the Rhine; and finally the sweep in multiple columns across Germany to the Elbe and into Czechoslovakia and Austria Today only a handful of these battalions exist as elements of Armor Regiments; the rest have been inactivated, redesignated or disbanded. This volume tells you what happened to them and provide other interesting facts you probably never knew about the Tank Battalions of the U. S. Army. -- jacket flap.

Includes index.

The tank battalion -- Tank battalion lineages, heraldry, and honors -- Appendix 1. Coats of arms and distinctive insignia -- Appendix 2. Campaign streamers -- Appendix 3. Glossary of lineage terms -- Tank battalions of World War I -- Divisional assignment of tank battalions.