military resistance had collapsed. The 70th advanced due east to Tauberbischofsheim on 30 March, then from there swung southeast. They took Rothenburg ob der Tauber on 18 April, and proceeded as quickly as possible with elements of the 4th Infantry Division along divergent routes to capture Ansbach and Crailsheim. The battalion suffered its last fatalities of World War II in Neuler on 22 April, but proceeded into Aalen by nightfall. They reached the Danube at Lauingen by 25 April, and proceeded through Wolfratshausen as far as Miesbach, some 15 km from the Austrian border before their combat mission was completed on 3 May. On 7 May 1945 the battalion road-marched to Ingolstadt briefly bivouacking there before moving to Rothenburg ob der Tauber on 18 May to take up occupation duties. Post World War II The battalion was inactivated 1 June 1946 while still in Germany. Two months later, on 1 August 1946, the battalion was reactivated at Fort Knox, Kentucky. The battalion served as part of the training cadre at the Armor Center and School at Fort Knox until it was alerted for combat deployment to Korea in July 1950. Korean War Deployment, defensive, and offensive At the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950, the 70th Heavy Tank Battalion was still performing its duties as a support unit for the Armor School at Fort Knox. The 70th was alerted for movement to San Francisco on 8 July and began preparations for deployment to Korea. The unit was severely understrength, both in terms of personnel and equipment. Some 250 men had to be transferred to the unit from other units on Fort Knox, from Fort Campbell, Kentucky and Fort Meade, Maryland. Additionally, the tanks underwent intensive maintenance and refit, receiving new track, replacement parts and, where parts could not be obtained normally, were even removed from display vehicles around the base. Some relatively new M4A3E8 Sherman tanks were supplied from Rock Island Arsenal and eventually delivered to the battalion when they reached Korea. Tactical training was conducted primarily at the platoon level, but still totaled only about 30 days by the time the battalion deployed. The 70th Tank Battalion embarked by rail on 17 July from Fort Knox, arriving at Camp Stoneman, California on 20 July. The battalion boarded the USNS General A. W. Brewster at Fort Mason, California on 23 July, with their vehicles and equipment loaded on