U.S. ‘Combat Command C’ AKA ‘Hell On Wheels’ Wooden Plaque Dated 1956 with 29 Unit Badges. MISC 865. U.S. ‘Combat Command C’ AKA ‘Hell On Wheels’ Wooden Plaque Dated 1956 with 29 Unit Badges. MISC 865. Miscellaneous

When the 3d Armoured Division was activated in 1941, and again in 1955, the division was organised into three Combat Commands designated by letter from A to C. Each Combat Command was constituted of a mixture of the armour, infantry, and artillery units of the division to constitute a self-sufficient fighting unit. In 1963, the US Army reorganised the Armoured Divisions (ROAD) converting the Combat Commands into Brigades designated by number from 1 to 3. Each brigade had its own Headquarters and Headquarters Company which served as the home for its cadre. The Division maintained this structure until it was deactivated in 1992. There were many nicknames given to the Combat Commands and Brigades over the years. The concept of the combat command was developed by General Adna Chaffee during the 1930s. Chaffee's concept envisaged combined arms mechanized units with no formal structure. When the first U.S. armoured divisions were organised a few years later, Chaffee's concepts for the combat command were incorporated into the divisional structure. The combat command was a flexible organisation that did not have dedicated battalions. Instead, tank, armoured infantry, and armoured field artillery battalions, as well as smaller units of tank destroyers, engineers, and mechanised cavalry were assigned as needed in order to accomplish any given mission. During U.S. Army reorganisation in the 1960s, the term combat command fell out of favour and was replaced by the designation brigade. While flexible, this task-force organisation lacked the high cohesion characteristic of traditional regiments that always kept the same group of battalions together. The organisation of the combat command contrasted with that of the infantry, who employed reinforced infantry regiments with permanently assigned infantry battalions. This type of infantry organisation was called a team. Use of combat commands was first specified in Armoured Force Tentative Table of Organisation A, for armoured divisions, dated December 22, 1941. The initial organisation envisioned two combat command headquarters at the disposal of the armoured division. The combat command headquarters themselves were small, fielding only five light tanks and 56 men. Revisions to this structure in 1943 resulted in a headquarters of three light tanks and 99 men. The 1943 structure also allowed for three combat command headquarters in an armoured division. Within the armoured division, the combat commands were named "A", "B", and later, "R" (for Reserve). Thus, historical accounts of U.S. armoured divisions of this period refer to "Combat Command B" or "CCB" and so forth. During the latter stages of World War II in Europe, armoured divisions tended to fight with CCA and CCB, while moving worn-out battalions into CCR for rest and refit, though this was not always the case. In 1954, CCR was re-designated "Combat Command C" (CCC).The combat command proved to be the forerunner of modern U.S. Army organisational structure for divisions. In the early 1960s, divisions were restructured as part of the Reorganisation Objective Army Division (ROAD), in which all divisions, including infantry, were organized with three brigades which also did not have dedicated battalions and could be assigned as many battalions as needed for a mission. With the transition to ROAD divisions, the term combat command was no longer employed by the U.S. Army. 43 ½ cm high and 37 ½ cm wide this hardwood plaque has a central plate with ‘COMBAT COMMAND ‘B’ APRIL 1956 MAY’ surrounded by a wreath adorned with 7 enamel unit badges along with 10 more badges, a number ‘2’ all within a brass triangle. The commands nickname is below ‘HELL ON WHEELS’. The plaque is decorated with some of the units that made up the command including: 11 Airborne Division recon Cor, 1452nd Armed Signal Cor, 9th Infantry Division Recon Cor, 14th Armoured Cavalry, 4th Medical Battalion and the 32nd Sign Cor amongst many more. This is a real piece of history that demands further investigation. The price includes UK delivery. MISC 865.