CHAPTER 1
Beginning in the 1930s, U.S. military doctrine held that independent tank battalions were to be attached to infantry divisions to support troops by bringing mobile machine guns and light cannons to bear on enemy infantry targets. In June 1940 the 70th Independent Tank Battalion was formed at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland, under the command of Lt. Col. Stephen G. Henry. Shortly after, Henry was transferred to the Armored Force Headquarters at Fort Knox, Kentucky, to fulfill the need for officers familiar with armored unit operations; he was replaced by Maj. Thomas N. Stark, a former infantry officer. Because of materiel shortages plaguing the U.S. Army at the time, the unit was equipped with obsolete M2A2 light tanks when it began training in the summer of 1940. Later that summer, regular army officers were transferred to the 70th from other units, forming the core of the initial command structure. President Roosevelt reviewed the officers of the 70th at Fort Meade in September 1940.
The first draftees arrived in November 1940 and started basic training. In January 1941 Company A traveled to the Fort Indiantown Gap Military Reservation in Pennsylvania for qualification in various aspects of tank warfare. The company used up their annual ammunition allowance during this training, to the displeasure of the War Department, which was sensitive to the ammunition shortage. In early 1941, officers and enlisted men of the 70th attended the armored school at Fort Knox, where they trained in rapidly changing tank warfare strategies influenced by the exploits of the German forces in Europe. Since the 70th was one of the few qualified armored units, the battalion was constantly giving demonstrations on armored tactics. Among the observers was Gen. George C. Marshall, chief of staff of the U.S. Army and close confidant of President Roosevelt. It was not unusual for personnel of the 70th to transfer and form the core of other new units, including the 1st Tank Group at Fort Knox. The 70th was often involved in testing new military equipment being developed by the armor board.
It was customary to adopt distinctive insignia for new units in the U.S. Army. Various proposed insignia were developed and submitted to the U.S. Army for approval.
Company A proceeded to Fort Devens, Massachusetts, where it was attached to the 1st U.S. Infantry Division. It took part in extensive training exercises in the Carolina Maneuver Area (Fort A. P. Hill in Carolina County, Virginia) until 2 December 1941, when the company returned to Fort Devens. In October 1941 the 70th was redesignated a light tank battalion. On 8 December 1941, just after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, the newly promoted Colonel Stark, in a speech to the 70th, stated that the United States was at war. (It should be noted that the ranks of personnel in the 70th were elevated frequently due to wartime promotions.) The 70th was one of the few trained armored units and, upon the orders of the deputy chief of staff, Gen. Mark W. Clark, was given priority to receive ammunition, 37mm guns, and machine guns. At this time the 192nd and 194th Independent Tank Battalions were sent to defend the Philippines. If the 70th had been one of the battalions sent, its history would have stopped shortly afterward, since the 192nd and 194th were captured by the Japanese.
Training in the field continued with the 70th incorporating new vehicles and new doctrines in tank warfare. During 1940, truck and motorcycle transport were incorporated into operations performed by the 70th.
While on temporary duty in 1941, Lt. Lewis C. Taynton visited Fort Howard, the headquarters for the harbor defense of Baltimore, Maryland. During his tenure in the 70th, he used his photography skills to take many of the pictures used throughout this book.
Fort Howard was constructed in 1896 and at the time of Taynton’s visit was the home of Battery E, 4th U.S. Artillery. The fort was named after Revolutionary War colonel John Howard of the Maryland Continental Army. Douglas MacArthur commanded the fort from 1925 to 1928. During 1941, training of new conscripts was underway at the fort in preparation for possible involvement in World War II.
In 1941 Lieutenant Taynton went on temporary duty (TDY) to Sherman Field, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. There he underwent orientation on the role of bomber aircraft in the combat tactics that the United States was developing in anticipation of upcoming hostilities. Taynton was given detailed training on the B-18 (Bolo), which the military was using at the time. The Douglas Aircraft Company developed the B-18 to replace the Martin B-10 as the Army Air Corps’ standard bomber. The B-18 design was taken from the early DC-2 commercial transport. A total of 133 B-18s were contracted to be delivered to the U.S. Army Air Corps in January 1936. Several were destroyed during the Pearl Harbor raid. Because of inadequate engine power and defensive armament, the aircraft was relegated to training, transport, and shore-patrol duties.
In 1941 elements of the 70th traveled to Fort A. P. Hill (named after Confederate general Ambrose Powell Hill), at that time a newly developed military installation in Carolina County, Virginia. The 70th participated in practice maneuvers with II Corps and General Patton’s Task Force A in anticipation of the landings in North Africa. This was often referred to as the Carolina Maneuvers.
With the fall of France and the installation of the French Vichy government, which collaborated with Germany, there was concern as to whether or not the French fighter aircraft squadrons stationed on Martinique in the West Indies were friendly. The United States had sold P40 fighter aircraft to the French prior to the war, and some of these aircraft were stationed on Martinique. The 70th was alerted to prepare for an amphibious landing on the island and to neutralize the threat, if necessary. On 9 January 1942 the 70th, accompanied by the 1st Infantry Division and 1st Marine Raider Battalion, sailed out of New York Harbor, through U-boat infested waters off the coast, toward Martinique. The threat of an invasion, accompanied by saber rattling from politicians, convinced the French to capitulate, rendering the invasion unnecessary. (Vichy France, formed as a result of the Franco-German Armistice of 1940 and partially under German control, became totally under German control in 1943. After the U.S. landings in North Africa, French units there changed sides and joined the Allies.) The convoy turned around and made a practice landing off the Virginia Capes. At this time the 70th was using the M3 light tank, an upgrade from the M2A2 light tank. The vehicle was slightly larger and equipped with a 37mm cannon.
On 11 March 1942 elements of the 70th were transferred to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, for additional training with the 9th Infantry Division. Company C was transferred to Iceland to guard against a possible attack from the Germans. Colonel Stark was transferred to the Armored Force headquarters and was replaced by Maj. John C. Welborn. The obsolete M2A2 light tanks were exchanged for M3 light tanks.
Maj. Gen. Jacob Devers, chief of the Armored Force, visited the 70th Tank Battalion in early May 1942. General Devers later commanded the Allied force that landed in southern France in 1944 (Operation Dragoon). Company C, now stationed in Iceland, was redesignated the 10th Light Tank Company. (Part of the 10th Light Tank Company rejoined the 70th in England prior to the invasion of Normandy.)
In the summer of 1942, the 70th made several practice landings in Chesapeake Bay. Maj. Gen. George S. Patton visited the 70th in September 1942, giving one of his famous “tear the heart out of the enemy” speeches. New M5 light tanks arrived and were quite a change from the previous M3s. They had automatic transmissions that were easy to shift, two Cadillac V8 engines that ran well, and a newly introduced gun stabilizer that allowed the gunner to fire while in motion. Company A was attached to the 39th Infantry Regiment of the 9th Infantry Division. A reconstituted Company C was attached to the 60th Infantry Regiment, and Company B (less one platoon) was attached to the 47th Infantry Regiment. These elements were moved under strict surveillance and secrecy to separate bivouac areas on the Fort Bragg reservation. Pope Field was nearby and home to the newly formed elite airborne units. Despite the restrictions, many 70th tankers went into Fayetteville or Raleigh for R&R.
From September through November 1942, elements of the 70th loaded flatcars and moved from Fort Bragg to Fort Dix, New Jersey, in preparation for the invasion of North Africa. From Fort Dix they were transported to Staten Island and loaded onto transport ships, which sailed into the Atlantic. Among the ships transporting the 70th were the Thomas Stone and the Susan B. Anthony.
