The
1st Battalion, 77th Armored Regiment was born on
25 April 1941 when A company, 73rd Medium Tank Battalion,
GHQ Reserve, was constituted in the Regular Army
of the United States. It was redesignated as Company
A, 753rd Medium Tank Battalion on 8 May 1941, and
officially activated on 1 June 1941 at FT Benning,
Georgia. The 753rd continued under this designation
throughout World War II.
During
World War II, the 753rd's first assignment was with
the 45th Infantry Division's amphibious assault
at Sicily. The battalion fought valiantly throughout
the Mediterranean Campaign. In all, the 753rd Medium
Tank Battalion participated in seven campaigns:
Sicily, Naples-Foggia, Rome-Arno, Southern France,
Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace and Central Europe.
On 20
March 1949 the 753rd was redesignated as Company
A, 77th Heavy Tank Battalion as an element of the
7th Infantry Division. During its tour with the
7th Infantry Division in Korea, the unit served
in six campaigns, twice receiving the Republic of
Korea Presidential Unit Citation. The battalion
was later inactivated on 10 November 1951 in Korea
and relieved from its assignment to the 7th Infantry
Division.
The unit
was once again redesignated on 19 February 1962
as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion,
77th Armor and assigned to the 5th Infantry Division.
1-77 Armor fought in Vietnam with the 1st Brigade,
5th Infantry Division. Consequently, 1-77 Armor
was the first unit of the 1st Brigade of the 5th
Infantry Division committed to combat in Vietnam.
By the time of its redeployment to the United States,
the 1st Battalion, 77th Armor had participated in
eight campaigns while in Vietnam.
The unit
was relieved from its assignment to the 5th Infantry
Division and reassigned to the 4th Infantry Division
at Fort Carson, Colorado on 21 March 1973. 1-77
was later inactivated on 15 December 1989.
On 05
April 1996, the "Steel Tigers" Battalion
was again activated in Schweinfurt, Germany as part
of the 2nd "Dagger" Brigade, 1st Infantry
Division (Mechanized) located in Conn
Barracks.
In 1997,
Task Force 1-77 joined NATO Peacekeepers in Bosnia
as part of Operation Joint Guardian, serving from
7 April to 12 October. Once again in July 1999,
the Steel Tigers made history by being the first
American Tank Battalion to roll into the Yugoslavia
Province of Kosovo in Operation Joint Guardian II,
serving in theater from 5 July to 12 December 1999.
They successfully served in peacekeeping operations
again from May to November 2002 as part of KFOR
4A.
The 1-77
Armor Battalion deployed in support of Operation
Iraqi Freedom II from February 2004 to February
2005. TF 1-77 was organized as a combined arms task
force, with elements from 1-26 IN, 1-18 IN, 1-7
FA, 9 ENG, and 2-108 IN (NYNG), and conducted full-spectrum
operations in one of the most highly-contested areas
in the Sunni Triangle. Steel Tiger tankers were
attached throughout the 2nd Brigade Combat Team
and rose to the challenge and defeated insurgents
from Bayji to Balad, in the Salah Ad Din province.
During Operation Baton Rouge, the Steel Tigers defeated
scores of anti-Iraqi forces and helped restore control
to the city of Samarra in a 24-hour, 5-day battle.
In January 2005, the Steel Tigers once again made
history by securing polling sites to allow the Iraqi
people the chance to vote in their first democratic
election.
The 1-77
Armor Battalion deployed in support of Operation
Iraqi Freedom 06-08 from August 2006 to November
2007. TF 1-77 was organized as a combined arms task
force, with elements from 1-26 IN, 1-18 IN, and
9 ENG and conducted full-spectrum operations in
one of the most highly-contested areas in Ramadi
in the Al Anbar province.
From the
ominous days prior to the start of World War II,
throughout three long and difficult conflicts and
right up through to today's challenging missions
in Iraq, the Steel Tigers have exemplified Armor's
basic mission: close with and destroy the enemy
by the use of mobility, firepower and shock effect.
On 17
March 2008, the 1st Battalion, 77th Armor "Steel
Tigers", 2nd “Dagger Brigade”,
1st Infantry Division was reflagged to the 3rd
Battalion 66th Armor "Black Knights"
were activated in Schweinfurt, Germany and assigned
to the 172nd "Blackhawk" Infantry Brigade.
Unit
history the way that the Center of Military History doesn't
record
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