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Description

M8 Armored Car of C Troop, 88th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, 8th Armored Division, entering the German town of Northheim, in the final days of WW2.

The 88th Cavalry Recon Squadron, Mechanized, was initially established as the 88th Armored Recon Battalion on April 1, 1942, the reconnaissance unit of the 8th Armored Division. Its primary mandate during its inception was the training of personnel in for other armored divisions. Transitioning to a standardized cavalry organization, the unit was re-designated the 88th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron in September 1943.

Subsequently, the squadron underwent a transatlantic deployment, arriving in the United Kingdom on November 19, 1944, and then making landfall in France on approximately January 7, 1945. Assigned with the 8th Armored Division to the Third Army, the squadron engaged in tactical familiarization in combat along the Siegfried Line. By late February, the division was reassigned north, leading the squadron to relocate to the northernmost extremity of the Ninth US Army line along the Roer River.

Throughout the last months of the war in Europe the squadron operated as part of the 8th Division with its cavalry troops often attached to support the combat command's of the division. The squadron crossed the Roer Rriver on February 28, the squadron expeditiously moved to the banks of the Rhine River. On March 27, it crossed the Rhine and participated in offensive operations into the Ruhr Pocket. Following the resolution of operations in the Ruhr pocket, the squadron shifted its operational focus southward in late April. Tasked with securing the southern flank of the Ninth Army in the Harz Mountains to facilitate the advance toward the Elbe River, the squadron continued to advance east into Germany throughout April. As German resistance crumbled in late April, the Squadron assumed occupation duties on April 23.

Description

M8 Armored Car of C Troop, 88th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, 8th Armored Division, entering the German town of Northheim, in the final days of WW2.

The 88th Cavalry Recon Squadron, Mechanized, was initially established as the 88th Armored Recon Battalion on April 1, 1942, the reconnaissance unit of the 8th Armored Division. Its primary mandate during its inception was the training of personnel in for other armored divisions. Transitioning to a standardized cavalry organization, the unit was re-designated the 88th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron in September 1943.

Subsequently, the squadron underwent a transatlantic deployment, arriving in the United Kingdom on November 19, 1944, and then making landfall in France on approximately January 7, 1945. Assigned with the 8th Armored Division to the Third Army, the squadron engaged in tactical familiarization in combat along the Siegfried Line. By late February, the division was reassigned north, leading the squadron to relocate to the northernmost extremity of the Ninth US Army line along the Roer River.

Throughout the last months of the war in Europe the squadron operated as part of the 8th Division with its cavalry troops often attached to support the combat command's of the division. The squadron crossed the Roer Rriver on February 28, the squadron expeditiously moved to the banks of the Rhine River. On March 27, it crossed the Rhine and participated in offensive operations into the Ruhr Pocket. Following the resolution of operations in the Ruhr pocket, the squadron shifted its operational focus southward in late April. Tasked with securing the southern flank of the Ninth Army in the Harz Mountains to facilitate the advance toward the Elbe River, the squadron continued to advance east into Germany throughout April. As German resistance crumbled in late April, the Squadron assumed occupation duties on April 23.