What was Task Force Hogan?
A reinforced medium tank battalion with 3rd Battalion, 33rd Armored Regiment at its core. Commanded by the youngest Lieutenant Colonel in the Army, Samuel M. Hogan – 28 years old at the time – it fought from Normandy to the Elbe as part of the vaunted 3rd “Spearhead” Armored Division.
Who was Samuel M. Hogan?
- At 28, youngest Lieutenant Colonel in the US Army
- United States Military Academy (West Point) graduate, Class of 1938
- Commissioned into the horse cavalry, switched to tanks in 1941 when 3rd Armored Division was activated
- Commander, 2rd Battalion, 33rd Armored Regiment aka Task Force Hogan
What were some of Task Force Hogan's accomplishments?
- Only tank battalion in the path of BOTH major German offensives in the West (Operations Luttich and Watch on the Rhine)
- Cut off and surrounded-fought their way out of both encirclements
- Participated in closing all three of the major “pockets” Falaise, Mons and the Ruhr, trapping close to 500K enemy soldiers
- First unit (3rd Armored Division) to cross into Germany in wartime since Napoleon
- First unit to capture a major German city (Aachen)
- First use of flamethrowers for urban combat in the European theater
- Longest single-day advance against enemy resistance in history (90 miles)
What was the crew composition and positions inside of each Sherman tank?
What units were attached to Task Force Hogan during the war?
What became of the men of Task Force Hogan after the war?
