Formation and North Africa
The battalion was formed in 1941 as the 1st Infantry Division Provisional Antitank Battalion, and on December 15, was redesignated as the 601st Tank Destroyer Battalion, in line with the renaming of the anti-tank force. It deployed to Europe with the 1st Division in 1942, and landed in North Africa as part of Operation Torch. The battalion then saw service in the Tunisia Campaign as an independent unit, equipped with M6 Fargo tank destroyers.
On March 23, it was engaged at the Battle of El Guettar, where it broke up an attack by strong elements of the 10th Panzer Division, destroying 37 tanks and receiving the Presidential Unit Citation. This has the interesting distinction of being the only time a battalion would fight in the way envisaged by the original "tank destroyer" concept, as an organized independent unit opposing an armored force in open terrain.
Read more about this topic: 601st Tank Destroyer Battalion
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