1 Reply Latest reply on Jan 25, 2022 8:15 AM by Rachael Salyer

Seeking report of actions of 894th Tank Destroyer Battalion

Lowell Silverman Jan 20, 2022 11:34 AM

I have been researching a battle involving the 894th Tank Destroyer Battalion during the breakout from Anzio on May 29, 1944. My work is hampered by the unfortunate face that the 894th T.D. documents from May and June 1944 are missing from the unit files in the WWII Operational Reports in RG 407. Apparently, they were checked out around 1950 and never returned. Intriguingly, I recently came across a document at the Ike Skelton Combined Arms Research Library Digital Library, entitled Training Memorandum Number 2: Lessons from the Italian Campaign, Headquarters Mediterranean Theater of Operations United States Army, dated March 15, 1945. The document is based on almost two dozen other reports, and contains tantalizing excerpts from a document entitled “Report of Actions of 894th Tank Destroyer Battalion,” dated June 10, 1944. The extracts suggest it is concerned with the exact time period in question.

It’s a bit of a long shot, but I was wondering if a copy of Training Memorandum Number 2 was in NARA’s collection, if it might have copies of the source records attached, or if a copy of “Report of Actions of 894th Tank Destroyer Battalion” might be elsewhere in the HQ MTOUSA records.

Re: Seeking report of actions of 894th Tank Destroyer Battalion

Rachael Salyer Jan 25, 2022 8:15 AM (in response to Lowell Silverman)

Dear Mr. Silverman,

Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!

We searched the National Archives Catalog and located the World War II Operations Reports, 1940-1948 in the Records of the General's Office, 1917-1985 (Record Group 407) that includes historical reports for December 1943 - August 1945 and general orders for 1944-1945 of the the 894th Tank Destroyer Battalion. The historical reports may contain the report you seek. For more information about these non-digitized records, please contact the National Archives at College Park - Textual Reference (RDT2) via email at archives2reference@nara.gov.

Next, we located the series Training Memorandums, 1943-1945 in the Records of Mediterranean Theater of Operations, United States Army (Record Group 492) that includes lessons learned during the Italian campaign. The series Memorandums, 9/20/1942-11/20/1945, the series Orders, Memorandums, and Bulletins, 1946-1947, and the series General Authorities, 1944 in Record Group 492 include training memorandums as well. These records have not been digitized. Please contact RDT2 for assistance with these records.

Plus, we located 13 additional series related to Anzio in the 1940s and 14 additional series related to the Italian campaign in the 1940s in various record groups that might be of interest to you. Please contact RDT2 for more information about these non-digitized records.

Due to the continued impact of COVID-19, you may experience a delay in receiving an initial acknowledgment as well as a substantive response to your reference request from RDT2. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and patience as we balance mission-critical work and the safety of our staff during the pandemic. Please check NARA’s web page about COVID-19 updates for the latest information.

We also searched WorldCat.org and located several resources related to the 894th Tank Destroyer Battalion that may be relevant to your research. We suggest that you contact your local public or university librarian for assistance with these and similar resources.

Finally, the US Army Center of Military History has multiple resources related to the 894th Tank Destroyer Battalion available online. We suggest that you contact them directly for additional assistance.

We hope this information is helpful. Best of luck with your research!
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