Frederick T. Baird, Provo, Utah: an interview by Benjamin Bahlmann, August 30, 2002: Saving the Legacy tape nos. 528 & 527

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FREDERICK T. BAIRD 30 20 2 Northern Europe. Montgomery's British-Canadian 2P'1 Am1y Group wa in the north on the Allied left, in Holland. Omar Bradley 's l21 h Army Group held the Allied center and Dever's (Jh Army Group, composed of US Jlh Army and the French 1 ·r Army, was in the south on the Allied right facing the upper Rhine. Bradley 's 121 h Army Group was composed ofthe US l s1 Army and Patton'sfamous US 3rd Army. Mr. Baird joined the 9th Armored Division which was one of several divisions in the US 1st Army. The 91 h, like all World War II US armored divisions, was subdivided into three main tactical units called Combat Commands A, B, and R (reserve). Each combat command was composed of a tank battalion, an armored field artillery battalion (equipped with self-propelled 105mm howitzers), and a battalion of armored infantry (equipped with armored transports like half-tracks). Armored Divisions and their combat commands were designed for rapid movements. However, the tanks of a combat command could not move forward safely without infantry support and the infantry of a combat command could not move without tank support. Neither tanks nor infantry could move forward without fire from the self-propelled artillery protecting their flanks. In addition to the Combat Commands, armored divisions also had headquarters company, a battalion of mechanized cavalry, a MP battalion, an antitank battalion, an engineering battalion, a medical detachment and a signals company. The grh Armored Division landed in Normandy late in September 1944, and first went into line, 23 October doing patrol duty in a quiet sector along the Luxembourg­German frontier. When the Germans launched their winter offensive, the gth, with no real combat experience, suddenly found itself engaged in heavy fighting. The Division saw its severest action at St. Vith, Echternach, and Bastogne, but its Combat Commands fought in widely separated areas. Its stand at Bastogne held off the Germans long enough to enable the JOist Airborne to dig in for a defense of the city. After a rest period in 35