23 June 2024 Garand Picture of the Day

[Mark in Rochester]

[CINDERS]

Front Rt GI looks to have a wad of "Tabackie" in his mouth.

[Mark in Rochester]

It was formed in 1941 as a light tank battalion, originally as the 76th Tank Battalion and renumbered in May. It first saw combat in 1943, when it deployed to North Africa on 24 January and then into Italy following the Salerno landings on 17 September.

In 1944, two companies of the battalion were re-equipped with DD tanks, specialised M4 Shermans designed for amphibious landings. On 15 August, it landed near St. Tropez as part of Operation Dragoon, attached to the 3rd Infantry Division, and pushed north through France along the Rhone Valley. The division went into defensive positions on the Rhine after reaching Strasbourg on 26 November, and saw heavy fighting early in 1945 during the clearing of the Colmar Pocket. It crossed the Rhine on 26 March, where its DD tanks were used as part of an amphibious assault, and then pushed into southern Germany with the 3rd Infantry. The battalion ended the war near Salzburg, in Austria.

September 12, 1944, Zussman was serving as a second lieutenant, commanding tanks of the 756th Tank Battalion. On that day, during a battle in the city of Noroy-le-Bourg, France, Zussman repeatedly went forward alone to scout enemy positions and exposed himself to enemy fire while directing his tank's action, under Zussman's leadership 18 German soldiers were killed and another 92 were captured.[4]

On September 21, 1944, nine days after the battle at Noroy-le-Bourg, Zussman was killed by a German mortar bomb blast

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty on 7 October 1944, in Vagney, France. At 9 p.m. an enemy raiding party, comprising a tank and 2 platoons of infantry, infiltrated through the lines under cover of mist and darkness and attacked an infantry battalion command post with hand grenades, retiring a short distance to an ambush position on hearing the approach of the M-4 tank commanded by 2d Lt. Harris. Realizing the need for bold aggressive action, 2d Lt. Harris ordered his tank to halt while he proceeded on foot, fully 10 yards ahead of his 6-man patrol and armed only with a service pistol, to probe the darkness for the enemy. Although struck down and mortally wounded by machinegun bullets which penetrated his solar plexus, he crawled back to his tank, leaving a trail of blood behind him, and, too weak to climb inside it, issued fire orders while lying on the road between the 2 contending armored vehicles. Although the tank which he commanded was destroyed in the course of the fire fight, he stood the enemy off until friendly tanks, preparing to come to his aid, caused the enemy to withdraw and thereby lose an opportunity to kill or capture the entire battalion command personnel. Suffering a second wound, which severed his leg at the hip, in the course of this tank duel, 2d Lt. Harris refused aid until after a wounded member of his crew had been carried to safety. He died before he could be given medical attention.

Two officers of the battalion were awarded the Medal of Honor; Second Lieutenant Raymond Zussman and Second Lieutenant James L. Harris, both posthumously.