of First Army 1 July 1944: VII Corps 15 July 1944: VIII Corps 1 August 1944: XV Corps, Third Army, 12th Army Group 3 August 1944: VIII Corps 5 September 1944: VIII Corps, Ninth Army, 12th Army Group 10 September 1944: Ninth Army, 12th Army Group 21 September 1944: Third Army, 12th Army Group 11 October 1944: VIII Corps, Ninth Army, 12th Army Group 22 October 1944: VIII Corps, First Army, 12th Army Group 8 November 1944: Third Army, 12th Army Group 11 November 1944: VIII Corps, First Army, 12th Army Group 7 December 1944: VII Corps 20 December 1944: Attached, with the entire First Army, to the 21st Army Group 22 December 1944: XIX Corps, Ninth Army (attached to the British 21st Army Group) 26 December 1944: VII Corps, First Army (attached to British 21st Army Group), 12th Army Group 16 February 1945: XIX Corps, Ninth Army, 12th Army Group 8 May 1945: XIII Corps The Rag-Tag Circus During the rush to the Elbe river, wartime correspondents nicknamed the 83rd "The Rag-Tag Circus" due to its resourceful commander, Major General Robert C. Macon, ordering the supplementing of the division's transport with anything that moved, "no questions asked". The 83rd moved as fast as an armored task force in an assortment of hurriedly repainted captured German vehicles: Wehrmacht kubelwagens, staff cars, ammunition trucks, Panzers, motor bikes, buses, a concrete mixer, and two fire engines. Every enemy unit or town that surrendered or was captured subscribed its quota of rolling stock for the division, usually at gunpoint. These newly-acquired vehicles were quickly painted olive-green and fitted with a U.S. star before joining the 83rd. The division even seized and flew a German Bf 109. From the air the column bore no resemblance to either an armored or an infantry division. But for a number of U.S Army trucks interspersed among its columns, it might easily have been mistaken for a German convoy. U.S. Army Reserve Readiness Training Center The 83rd United States Army Reserve Readiness Training Center trains soldiers in leader, functional, and DMOSQ programs. Nicknames Nicknames: Thunderbolt Division, The Rag-Tag-Circus and the Ohio Division. See also Tony Vaccaro, a war photographer of the 83rd Infantry Division. Rick Fletcher, a war photographer of the 83rd Infantry Division. References 1944: Botho Henning Elster (German Wikipedia) – a surrender at Beaugency Notes References Further reading External links The Thunderbolt Across Europe Fact Sheet