The division played important roles during World War II in the invasions of Germany, North Africa, and Sicily and in the liberation of France, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

During the Cold War, the division was primarily based at Fort Hood, Texas, and had a reinforced brigade forward stationed in Garlstedt, West Germany.

The division, which in February 1942 passed over to the command of Major General Willis D. Crittenberger, served with the First, Seventh, and Ninth Armies throughout the war.

The military police and band were tasked with headquarters defense of base operations under the banner of the 502d Adjutant General Company (502d AG).

[citation needed] Elements of the division were among the first U.S. military to engage in offensive ground combat operations in the European and Mediterranean theater during World War II.

The fighting in Sicily came to an end on 17 August, with the 2nd Armored Division having sustained relatively light casualties in the brief campaign, where it had gained its first Medal of Honor of World War II, belonging to Sergeant Gerry H. Kisters.

[10] At La Chapelle, a 2nd SS Panzer column was attacked at point blank range by 2nd Armored Division artillery.

[12] The 2nd Armored blunted Operation Lüttich, the German counterattack on Avranches, then raced across France with the rest of the First Army, reaching the Albert Canal in Belgium on 8 September.

Members of the division received 9,369 individual awards, including two Medals of Honor, twenty-three Distinguished Service Crosses, and 2,302 Silver Stars as well as nearly 6,000 Purple Hearts; among those receiving the Silver Star were Edward H. Brooks, Hugh Armagio, Stan Aniol, Staff Sergeant John J. Henry, William L. Giblin, Neil J. Garrison, Morton Eustis, son of William Corcoran Eustis, and Sgt Kenneth J.

In late 1957, it rotated back to the United States as part of Operation Gyroscope, being replaced in Germany by the 4th Armored Division.

While stationed in Germany in 1952 with the Seventh Army, the 2nd Armored Division was based at Stuttgart-Vaihingen under the command of General Williston Palmer.

During this time, Palmer enlisted the help of a young Corporal Samuel Adler from within his ranks to organize the Seventh Army Symphony Orchestra.

During the course of the next decade, the orchestra remained based with the 2nd Armored Division and the Seventh Army while supporting America's cultural diplomacy initiatives throughout Europe during the height of the Cold War.

The division included the "Fort Hood Three", a group of three enlisted men who refused to ship out when ordered to deploy to Vietnam in 1966.

Its primary mission was to prepare to conduct heavy armored combat against Warsaw Pact forces in defense of NATO.

To build and maintain combat skills, the division's maneuver brigades deployed almost annually to the National Training Center to face an opposing force modeling Soviet military weapons and tactics.

In 1975, the 2nd Armored Division's third brigade forward deployed to West Germany and was assigned to NATO's Northern Army Group (NORTHAG).

From 1975 through 1978, the brigade headquarters was located at Grafenwöhr, along with the rotating armor and artillery battalions and the supporting engineer and cavalry units.

At that time the Garlstedt kaserne (camp) was named after General Lucius D. Clay, revered by the German people for his role as the American military commander following World War II.

Brigadier generals who held the position included James E. Armstrong, George R. Stotser, Thomas H. Tait, William F. Streeter, John C. Heldstab, and Jerry R. Rutherford.

The division participated in numerous major NATO training exercises, including "Trutzige Sachsen" (1985), "Crossed Swords" (1986) and the "Return of Forces to Germany" (REFORGER) (1980 and 1987).

The division had a formal partnership with Panzergrenadierbrigade 32, a Federal Republic of Germany Bundeswehr mechanized infantry brigade headquartered in nearby Schwanewede.

The division also had informal relationships with Dutch, Belgian, and British NORTHAG forces, often conducting joint training activities at Bergen Hohne.

The invasion of Kuwait by Saddam Hussein in August 1990 caught the division in the midst of the post-Cold War drawdown of the U.S. Army.

[26] The Tiger Brigade, commanded by Colonel John B. Sylvester, deployed to Saudi Arabia and provided heavy armor support for United States Marine Corps forces in their attack into Kuwait.

The division's 4-3 FA battalion played a large role in the destruction of 50 enemy tanks, 139 APCs, 30 air defense systems, 152 artillery pieces, 27 missile launchers, 108 mortars, and 548 wheeled vehicles, 61 trench lines and bunker positions, 92 dug in and open infantry targets, and 34 logistical sites during combat operations.

Between the cease-fire and the official end of the war in April 1991, 2nd Armored Division (Forward) took part in security operations to ensure peace in Kuwait.

The unit returned to Fort Hood, Texas, in April 1991 and continued the inactivation that was interrupted when Iraq invaded Kuwait.

The unit was transferred as a whole to Fort Campbell, Kentucky, in August 1991 and became the 2nd Battalion of the 101st Aviation Regiment (part of the 101st Airborne Division).

All of the division's flags and heraldic items were moved to the National Infantry Museum at Fort Moore, Georgia following its inactivation.