This Military Service Page was created/owned by
SPC Steven Ryan (LoneWolf)
to remember
Abrams, Creighton W., Jr. (26th Army Chief of Staff), GEN.
If you knew or served with this Soldier and have additional information or photos to support this Page, please leave a message for the Page Administrator(s) HERE.
Contact Info
Home Town Springfield
Last Address Washington, DC
Date of Passing Sep 04, 1974
Location of Interment Arlington National Cemetery (VLM) - Arlington, Virginia
Creighton Williams Abrams Jr. (Sep 15, 1914, Springfield, Massachusetts - Sep 4, 1974, Washington, D.C.) was a United States Army general who commanded military operations in the Vietnam War from 1968-72 which saw U.S. troop strength fall from 530,000 to 30,000.
He served as Chief of Staff of the United States Army from 1972 until shortly before his death in 1974. In honor of Abrams, the U.S. Army named the XM1 main battle tank after him as the M1 Abrams.
He graduated from West Point in 1936 and served with the 1st Cavalry Division from 1936 to 1940, being promoted to first lieutenant in 1939 and temporary captain in 1940.
He became an armored officer early in the development of that branch and served as a tank company commander in the 1st Armored Division in 1940.
During World War II, he served with the 4th Armored Division, initially as regimental adjutant (June 1941 - June 1942) then as a battalion commander (July 1942 - March 1943), and regiment executive officer (March 1943 - September 1943) with the US 37th Armor Regiment.
A reorganization of the division created a new battalion, the 37th Tank Battalion, which he commanded until March 1945 when he was promoted to command Combat Command B of the division. During this time he was promoted to the brevet ranks of Major (March 1943) and Lieutenant Colonel (September 1943).
During much of this time his unit was at the spearhead of the 4th Armored Division and the Third Army, and he was consequently well known as an aggressive armor commander. By using his qualities as a leader and by consistently exploiting the relatively small advantages of speed and reliability of his vehicles he managed to defeat German forces who had the advantage of superior armor, superior guns and better trained troops.
He was twice decorated with the Distinguished Service Cross, second only to the Medal of Honor, for actions on September 9, 1944 and December 26, 1944.
On April 23, 1945, Will Lang Jr. wrote a biography called "Colonel Abe" for Life (magazine).
Abrams was known as an aggressive and successful armor commander. General George Patton said of him, "I'm supposed to be the best tank commander in the Army, but I have one peer: Abe Abrams. He's the world champion."
His unit was frequently the spearhead of the Third Army during WWII. Abrams was one of the leaders in the relief effort which broke up the German entrenchments surrounding Bastogne and the 101st Airborne Division during the Battle of the Bulge.
He was noted for his concern for soldiers, his emphasis on combat readiness, and his insistence on personal integrity.
Following the war he served on the Army General Staff (1945 - 1946), as head of the department of tactics at the Armored School, Fort Knox (1946 - 1948), and graduated from the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth (1949).
He was briefly promoted to (temporary) Colonel in 1945 but reverted to Lieutenant Colonel during WWII demobilization.
He commanded the 63d Tank Battalion, part of the 1st Infantry Division, in Europe (1949 - 1951). He was again promoted to Colonel and commanded the 2d Armored Cavalry Regiment (1951-1952).
These units were important assignments due to the Cold War concern for potential invasion of western Europe by the Soviet Union. He then attended and graduated from the Army War College in 1953.
During his tenure in Germany he was on the cover of Time Magazine on October 13, 1961. He was to grace the covers again on April 19, 1968, and February 15, 1971.
Due to his service in Europe and his War College tour, he joined the Korean War late in the conflict. He successively served as chief of staff of the I, X, and IX Corps in Korea (1953-1954).
Upon return from Korea he served as Chief of Staff of the Armor Center, Fort Knox (1954-1956). He was promoted to Brigadier General and appointed Deputy Chief of Staff for Reserve Components at the Pentagon (1956-1959).
He was Assistant Division Commander of 3rd Armored Division (1959 - 60) and then commanded the division (1960 - 62) upon his promotion to Major General.
He was then transferred to the Pentagon as deputy Chief of Staff for Operations (1962 - 63), then was promoted to lieutenant-general and commanded V Corps in Europe (1963 - 1964).
He was promoted to General in 1964 and appointed Vice Chief of Staff of the Army (he was seriously considered as a candidate for Chief of Staff at that time).
Due to concerns about the conduct of the Vietnam War, he was appointed as deputy to General William Westmoreland, head of the Military Assistance Command in Vietnam, in May 1967. He succeeded Westmoreland as commander on June 10, 1968.
His tenure of command was not marked by the public optimism of his predecessors, who were prone to press conferences and public statements.
Following the election of President Richard Nixon he implemented the Nixon Doctrine referred to as Vietnamization. Vietnamization was designed to wind down U.S. involvement in Vietnam, and have South Vietnam responsible for executing the war.
Troop strength under Abrams decreased from 535,000 in December 1968 to 140,000 in December 1971 to 30,000 combat troops at the end of 1972. Abrams was in charge of the Cambodian Incursion in 1970. Although it occurred before he assumed total command, he bore the brunt of fallout from the My Lai massacre in March 1968.
He was appointed Chief of Staff of the United States Army in June 1972 but was not confirmed by the Senate until October 1972 due to political repercussions involving disobedience by one of his subordinate commanders. (It has also been reported that Congress held up the confirmation to question the administration's war in Cambodia.)
He served in this position until his death due to complications from lung cancer surgery in September 1974. During this time he began the transition to the all-volunteer Army.
He was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1914. His father was a railway mechanic and farmer.
Abrams married Canadian Julia Abrams (1915 - 2003) in 1936. She founded the "Arlington Ladies" and devoted a great deal of her time to humanitarian causes. They had three daughters and three sons. The sons all became Army officers, and all of the daughters married Army officers.
Survivors include three sons, retired Army Brigadier General Creighton Williams Abrams III of Springfield, retired Army General John Nelson Abrams of Annandale and Army Lieutenant Colonel Robert Bruce Abrams of Texas; three daughters, Noel Bradley of Buffalo, Jeanne Daley of Annandale and Elizabeth Doyle of Nashville; two sisters; 19 grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.
He converted to Roman Catholicism while serving in Vietnam.
Abrams is buried with his wife in Section 21 of Arlington National Cemetery.
WWII - European Theater of Operations/Rhineland Campaign (1944-45)/Siege of Bastogne
From Month/Year
December / 1944
To Month/Year
January / 1945
Description The Siege of Bastogne was an engagement in December 1944 between American and German forces at the Belgian town of Bastogne, as part of the larger Battle of the Bulge. The goal of the German offensive was the harbour at Antwerp. In order to reach it before the Allies could regroup and bring their superior air power to bear, German mechanized forces had to seize the roadways through eastern Belgium. Because all seven main roads in the Ardennes mountain range converged on the small town of Bastogne, control of its crossroads was vital to the German attack. The siege lasted from December 20–27 when the besieged American forces were relieved by elements of General George Patton's Third Army.
Initial combat at Noville[edit]
On 19–20 December, the 1st Battalion of the 506th PIR was ordered to support Team Desobry (Maj. William R. Desobry), a battalion-sized tank-infantry task force of the 10th Armored Division assigned to defend Noville[7] located north-northeast of both Foy and of Bastogne just 4.36 mi (7.02 km) away. With just four M18 tank destroyers of the 705th Tank Destroyer Battalion to assist, the paratroopers attacked units of the 2. Panzerdivision, whose mission was to proceed by secondary roads via Monaville (just northwest of Bastogne) to seize a key highway and capture, among other objectives, fuel dumps — for the lack of which the overall German counter-offensive faltered and failed. Worried about the threat to its left flank in Bastogne, it organized a major combined arms attack to seize Noville. Team Desobry's high speed highway journey to reach the blocking position is one of the few documented cases wherein the legendary top speed of the M18 Hellcat (55 mph (89 km/h)) was actually used to get ahead of an enemy force as envisioned by its specifications.
The attack of 1st Battalion and the M18 Hellcat tank destroyers of the 705th TD Battalion together destroyed at least 30 German tanks and inflicted 500-1,000 casualties on the attacking forces in what amounted to a spoiling attack.[citation needed] A Military Channel expert historian[who?] credited the M18 tank destroyers with 24 kills, including several Tiger tanks, and believes that, in part, their ability to "shoot and scoot" at high speed and then reappear elsewhere on the battlefield and therefore appear to be another vehicle entirely played a large part in confusing and slowing the German attack, which subsequently stalled, leaving the Americans in possession of the town overnight. The 3rd Battalion was ordered forward from a reserve position north of Bastogne to ease the pressure on 1st Battalion by occupying a supporting position in Foy to the south.
The heavy losses inflicted by the tank-destroyers induced the German commander into believing the village was being held by a much stronger force[7] and he recoiled from further attacks on the village, committing a strategic error while seeking tactical advantage — significantly delaying the German advance and setting the stage for the Siege of Bastogne just to the south. This delay also gave the 101st Airborne Division enough time to organize defenses around Bastogne. After two days, the 2nd Panzer Division finally continued on its original mission to the Meuse River. As a consequence of its involvement at Bastogne, and its failure to dislodge the airborne forces, the column ultimately ran out of fuel at Celles, where it was destroyed by the U.S. 2nd Armored Division and the British 29th Armoured Brigade.
By the time the 1st Battalion pulled out of Noville on the 20th, the village of Foy half-way to Bastogne center had been captured from the 3rd Battalion by a separate attack, forcing the 1st Battalion to then fight its way through Foy. By the time 1st Battalion made it to the safety of American lines, it had lost 13 officers and 199 enlisted men, out of about 600 troops, and was assigned as the division reserve. Team Desobry lost a quarter of its troops and was reduced to just four medium tanks when it passed through the lines of 3rd Battalion.
Battle
19–23 December 1944
The 101st Airborne formed an all-round perimeter using the 502nd PIR on the northwest shoulder to block the 26th Volksgrenadier, the 506th PIR to block entry from Noville, the 501st PIR defending the eastern approach, and the 327th GIR scattered from Marvie in the southeast to Champs in the west along the southern perimeter, augmented by engineer and artillery units plugging gaps in the line. The division service area to the west of Bastogne had been raided the first night, causing the loss of almost its entire medical company, and numerous service troops were used as infantry to reinforce the thin lines. CCB of the 10th Armored Division, severely weakened by losses to its Team Desobry (Maj. William R. Desobry), Team Cherry (Lt. Col. Henry T. Cherry), and Team O'Hara (Lt. Col. James O'Hara) in delaying the Germans, formed a mobile "fire brigade" of 40 light and medium tanks (including survivors of CCR 9th Armored Division and eight replacement tanks found unassigned in Bastogne).
Three artillery battalions were commandeered and formed a temporary artillery group. Each had twelve 155 mm (6.1 in) howitzers, providing the division with heavy firepower in all directions restricted only by its limited ammunition supply. Col. Roberts, commanding CCB, also rounded up 600+ stragglers from the rout of VIII Corps and formed Team SNAFU as a further stopgap force.
As a result of the powerful American defense to the north and east, XLVII Panzer Corps commander Gen. von Lüttwitz decided to encircle Bastogne and strike from the south and southwest, beginning the night of 20/21 December. German panzer reconnaissance units had initial success, nearly overrunning the American artillery positions southwest of Bastogne before being stopped by a makeshift force. All seven highways leading to Bastogne were cut by German forces by noon of 21 December, and by nightfall the conglomeration of airborne and armored infantry forces were recognized by both sides as being surrounded.
The American soldiers were outnumbered approximately 5-1 and were lacking in cold-weather gear, ammunition, food, medical supplies, and senior leadership (as many senior officers, including the 101st's commander—Major General Maxwell Taylor—were elsewhere). Due to the worst winter weather in memory, the surrounded U.S. forces could not be resupplied by air nor was tactical air support available due to cloudy weather.
However, the two panzer divisions of the XLVII Panzer Corps—after using their mobility to isolate Bastogne, continued their mission towards the Meuse on 22 December, rather than attacking Bastogne with a single large force. They left just one regiment behind to assist the 26th Volksgrenadier Division in capturing the crossroads. The XLVII Panzer Corps probed different points of the southern and western defensive perimeter in echelon, where Bastogne was defended by just a single airborne regiment and support units doubling as infantry. This played into the American advantage of interior lines of communication; the defenders were able to shift artillery fire and move their limited ad hoc armored forces to meet each successive assault.
The 26th VG received one panzergrenadier regiment from the 15th Panzergrenadier Division on Christmas Eve for its main assault the next day. Because it lacked sufficient troops and those of the 26th VG Division were near exhaustion, the XLVII Panzer Corps concentrated its assault on several individual locations on the west side of perimeter in sequence rather than launching one simultaneous attack on all sides. The assault—led by 18 tanks carrying a battalion of infantry—pierced the lines of the 327th's 3rd Battalion (officially, the 1st Battalion, 401st Glider Infantry), and advanced as far as the battalion command post at Hemroulle.
However, the 327th held its original positions and repulsed infantry assaults that followed, capturing 92 Germans. The panzers that had achieved the penetration divided into two columns, one trying to reach Champs from the rear, and were destroyed in detail by two companies of the 1st Battalion 502nd PIR under Lt. Col. Patrick F. Cassidy and four tank destroyers of the 705th Tank Destroyer Battalion.
Allied control of Bastogne was a major obstacle to the German armored advance, and the morale of Allied forces elsewhere on the Western Front was boosted by news of the stubborn defense of the besieged town.