741st Tank Battalion (United States) - Advance Into Germany

Advance Into Germany

After the Battle of the Bulge, the battalion refitted and resupplied in the vicinity of Berg and Robertville, Belgium, still in support of the 2nd Infantry Division, with A Company attached to the 99th Infantry Division near Elsenborn, but which was soon returned to battalion control. Beginning on 15 January 1945, the battalion was gradually recommitted to combat operations in support of the 2nd Infantry Division as they once again began advancing eastward into Germany. In supporting the 2nd Infantry Division, the 741st Tank Battalion followed the division’s path, entering Germany at Gemünd on 4 March 1945. They reached the Rhine at Bad Breisig on 10 March, and briefly guarded the bridge at Remagen from 12–20 March. The division took Göttingen on 8 April and Leipzig on 18 April. The battalion’s tanks transported lead elements of the division some 200 miles from 1–3 May 1945 all the way to the Czech border, and had reached Plzeň, Czechoslovakia, by 6 May, two days before hostilities ended on 8 May.