This 1947 U.S. Army training film deals with the staging of tank battalions and shows a re-enactment of the U.S. 50th Tank Battalion preparing for battle. The film was made just after World War II and features many battle scenes and explosions. Some real. Some staged. The job of the 50th is to knock out a German communications center.
At time code 3:27 we see a flash back of the general briefing session the day before the attack begins. Lots of Generals and Colonels talking to troops, writing on blackboards and looking at maps. At time code 13:02 prep begins with troops and commanders studying more maps and driving to commandeered farm houses being used as command posts. At time code 18:34 the soldiers are out in the field scouting the objective.
At time code 29:06 the attack begins at 0-6 00, followed by various battle scenes; tanks rolling and firing, explosions, ground fire and troops engaged in rifle combat. In the end, the objective is met. The communications outpost is captured by the Allies.
The 50th Armored Division was a division of the Army National Guard from July 1946 until 1993. On 13 October 1945 the War Department published a postwar policy statement for the entire Army, calling for a 27-division Army National Guard structure with 25 infantry divisions and 2 armored divisions to accommodate the desires of all the states. Once the process of negotiation was complete, among the new formations formed, for the first time in the National Guard, were armored divisions, the 49th and 50th. The 50th Armored Division replaced the 44th Infantry Division within the New Jersey Army National Guard. New Jersey, which had supported part of the 44th Division before the war, now supported the 50th Armored Division, which became nicknamed the “Jersey Blues.” Therefore, most of its elements ‘inherited’ the history of the organic units of the old 44th, and elements of the new 44th perpetuated the history and traditions of former units in Illinois.
In a 1968 reorganization, the 48th and 49th Armored Divisions were disbanded but not the 50th, which from that point was joined by the 27th Armored Brigade from New York, the remnant of the 27th Armored Division. At this point, the division lost its ‘Jersey Blues’ nickname. Following efforts by Army Chief of Staff General Frederick C. Weyand to raise the readiness of the Army National Guard, the 50th Armored Division was reorganized as a bi-state division in New Jersey and Vermont. At the time, individual armor battalions in NJ and VT were issued 90-mm M48A1 and M48A3 medium tanks.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
