December 29, 200817 yr Find Army Times article here. Sherman with major role at Bastogne found Staff report Posted : Monday Dec 29, 2008 7:12:48 EST Army historians have identified a World War II-era tank on display at Rose Barracks, Vilseck, Germany as being the first tank to enter American lines 64 years ago in relief of besieged 101st Airborne Division soldiers during the Battle of the Bulge. Called the “Cobra King,” the M4 Sherman tank was used by the 4th Armored Division’s C Company, 37th Tank Battalion to break the German encirclement of U.S. forces at Bastogne, Belgium on Dec. 26, 1944. Army historians from U.S. Army Europe and the Patton Museum at Fort Knox, Ky., used serial numbers and registration numbers to verify the tank’s identity. The tank was built in mid-1944 at the Detroit Tank Arsenal, and is one of only 254 “Jumbo” models of the M4 to come off the arsenal’s assembly lines. Because of its historical importance, USAREUR officials expect the tank will be displayed at the National Museum of the Army after construction of that facility is completed at Fort Belvoir, Va. The relief of Bastogne signaled the defeat of the Germany Army in the Battle of the Bulge, a desperate attempt by Hitler to split Allied forces in central Europe by launching a mammoth armored offensive through the hilly and wooded Ardennes region of Belgium and Luxemburg. The Bulge, or Ardennes Offensive, was the biggest battle in Army history, involving an army group of 800,000 soldiers. While a stunning victory, it resulted in the deaths of some 19,000 soldiers.
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