This task organization remained the same with little change throughout the rest of the war in Europe and permitted a level of mutual trust and understanding that enhanced the tank support of the infantry units.

In the first week of August, near Mortain, with the 745th Tank battalion providing direct fire support, the 1st Infantry Division held the mouth of a narrow breach through which the now active Third Army of General George S. Patton began to pour eastward.

[1] After aiding in the encirclement of the Falaise Pocket, in which some 50,000 Germans were taken prisoner and another 10,000 were killed,[3] the battalion raced northeast across France, at one point covering156 miles (251 km) in just over 24 hours.

[1] As the battalion moved into southern Belgium at the beginning of September, the tanks played a key role in destroying elements of five German divisions retreating from the Belgian coast.

Compounded by bad weather, fighting through the Hürtgen Forest was bitter and cost the battalion its highest casualties of the war.

However, it was pulled back into the vicinity of Hergenrath, Belgium, directly in the path of the attacking Germans when they launched their Ardennes Offensive (Battle of the Bulge) on 16 December.

The 745th raced through central Germany encountering only occasional but still deadly resistance until it found itself with the 1st Infantry Division near Cheb, Czech Republic, and D Company as far forward as Karlovy Vary by V-E Day.

[1] The battalion withdrew back into Germany and briefly took up occupation duties centered on the historic town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber before redeploying to the United States.