On April 15, 1941, the 3rd Armored Division was activated at Camp Beauregard, LA. Over the next 2 years, the Division entered training exercises in various states while they prepared for duty in the European Theater of operations. After receiving all of their armor and the men were prepared, the Division boarded transports in New York on September 5, 1943. They arrived in England on September 15th and began preparations for the invasion of Northern France.

The 3rd Armored Division landed at Omaha Beach on June 24, 1944 and began their drive inland. On June 29, they liberated the town of Villiers-Fossard.

On August 6, 1944, the German forces launched Operation Luttich, a massive counter attack near the villiage of Mortain. The objective was to split the First and Third Armies. The German attack was only partially successful. They did capture the villiage from the American forces, but could not drive the 30th Infantry Division from the hills surrounding Mortain. Over the next few days, the 30th Infantry Division held out against tremendous odds while relief forces were readied.

While the Germans were pre-occupied with driving the 30th Infantry Division from the hills, the Army under General Omar Bradley launched Operation Totalize, the total encirclement of the German forces attacking at Mortain. With the 3rd Armored Division in the lead and Infantry in support, the Americans began destroying the German units wholesale. The operation was a complete success and the entire German Army Group B was encircled and all of its soldiers were either killed or captured. The Germans had sent their strongest divisions into the attack at Mortain. Because of the bravery of the 30th Infantry Division and the successful counterattack led by the 3rd Armored Division, those divisions no longer posed a threat to the Allied advance.

From Mortain, the 3rd Armored Division was moved to assist in defeating the German counter attack in the Ardennes (Battle of the Bulge). On December 23, 1944 the 3rd Armored Division was linked to the 82nd Airborne Division at the Baraque de Fraiture crossroads. These crossroads stood on one of the highest summits in the Ardennes. Coming at them was the 2nd SS Panzer Division which had already punched through one Allied boundry. Fortunately, the 2nd SS Panzer encountered fuel problems and was having difculty maintaining its forward momentum. This gave the Allies the opportunity to reinforce the 3rd Armored and the 82nd Airborne Divisions. Despite these reinforcements, the order given was still "hold as long as you can."

Despite these reinforcements, the Germans managed to drive the defenders from the crossroads. The American forces were badly outnumbered and were forced to withdraw. Their lines remained intact however and they were able to consolidate and prepare a new defensive line. Over the next few days, elements of the 3rd Armored Division would be detailed for shoring up other defensive lines such as those surrounding St. Vith. Wherever the tanks of the 3rd Armored Division were sent, the line held.

As the Allied forces went on the offensive, elements of the 3rd Armored Division drove defending German units from the town of Grandmenil and regained control of the road leading to Manhay. Throughout the remainder of the Battle of the Bulge, elements of the 3rd Armored Division were parceled out into smaller task forces and added crucial weight to the Allied defeat of the German forces.

After several key victories in Belgium, the 3rd Armored Division crossed into Germany. Again the 3rd Armored Division was at the tip of the spear in capturing Cologne on March 7, 1945. After crossing the Rhine at Honnef, the 3rd Armored Division captured the towns of Paderborn, Nordhausen, Dessau, and others. When Germany surrendered, the 3rd Armored Division began its journey home and was disbanded shorty thereafter.

In 1947, the 3rd Armored Division was reactivated at Fort Knox, KY and acted as the primary Training Division for the Army's Armored Forces. In 1955, the Division was reorganized into a combat command as prepared for transfer to Germany. In May of 1956, the first elements of the 3rd Armored Division arrived in Germany to replace the 4th Infantry Division. The 3rd Armored Division was dispersed around the towns of Frankfurt, Hanau, Gelnhausen, Budingen, Friedburg, Butzbach, and Kirch G?ns. This dispersement put the 3rd Armored Division astride the Fulda Gap. The invasion route used throughout time as a primary invasion route into Western Europe. For the next 40 years, the men and tanks of the 3rd Armored Division stood ready to stop any invasion by Communist forces from Eastern Europe. When the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, the men of the 3rd Armored Division prepared to stand down.

In 1990, the 3rd Armored Division was called upon again, this time to help liberate Kuwait from the Iraqi forces. The 3rd Armored Division was transferred to Saudi Arabia. Because of some logistical problems, the 3rd Armored did not receive much needed parts until it was almost too late to participate in the advance. In February of 1991, the 3rd Armored was moved into Southern Iraq to hold the line and defend against any Iraqi counter-attack. When the war was over, the 3rd Armored Division pulled back and took up defensive positions in Kuwait. They held those positions for the next 3 months when they were releived by Kuwaiti and United Nations forces.

In May of 1991, the 3rd Armored Division returned to their bases in Germany. Over the next few years the 3rd Armored Division was disbanded and its sub-units were transferred to other units. Today, many of them are the tip of the spear for Infantry Divisions and stand ready to lead the way into battle in true Spearhead fashion.