positions further to the west with which to blunt the attack. For their role at Rocherath, Companies A, B, and C of the 741st Tank Battalion were awarded the Presidential Unit Citation. Advance into Germany After the Battle of the Bulge, the battalion refitted and resupplied in the vicinity of Berg and Robertville, Belgium, still in support of the 2nd Infantry Division – A Company was attached to the 99th Infantry Division near Elsenborn, but it was soon returned to battalion control. Beginning on 15 January 1945, the battalion was gradually recommitted to combat operations in support of the 2nd Infantry Division as it once again began advancing eastward into Germany. In supporting the 2nd Infantry Division, the 741st Tank Battalion followed the division's path, entering Germany at Gemünd on 4 March 1945. It reached the Rhine at Bad Breisig on 10 March, and briefly guarded the bridge at Remagen from 12 to 20 March. The division took Göttingen on 8 April and Leipzig on 18 April. The battalion's tanks transported lead elements of the division some 200 miles from 1–3 May 1945 all the way to the Czech border, and had reached Plzeň, Czechoslovakia, by 6 May, two days before hostilities ended on 8 May. Post war The battalion was withdrawn to Germany and briefly took up occupation duties before returning to the United States. The unit arrived in New York on 25 October and was inactivated at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, on 27 October 1945. After several years as an inactive unit, on 1 February 1949, the battalion was redesignated as the 396th Heavy Tank Battalion and allotted to the U.S. Army Reserve. The battalion was activated at Spokane, Washington, on 5 March 1949 and assigned to the 96th Infantry Division. Despite the outbreak of the Korean War, the battalion was not called to active duty and, on 1 March 1952, was again redesignated as the 741st Tank Battalion and inactivated. Unit awards and decorations Presidential Unit Citation, 6–7 June 1944, War Department General Order 70–45. Belgian Fourragère: 13–19 December 1944 and 19–30 December 1944, Department of the Army General Order 43–50. Occupation Credit, 2 May – 4 June 1945, Germany. Notes Footnotes References Bibliography Anderson, Jr., Richard C. Cracking Hitler's Atlantic Wall: The 1st Assault Brigade Royal Engineers on D-Day. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2009. Anonymous. 741: D-Day to V-E Day (unofficial unit history). Paris: Éditions Paul