The crews had trained with them for many months and knew them well. The men of the 1st knew their tanks were smaller than their medium counterparts, but they still tried to undertake the same missions. The other two battalions of the regiment used the larger M3 medium tank, standard organization for an armored unit at that time. The 1st Battalion was equipped with the M3 light tank, now commonly known as the Stuart, though during the war American tankers rarely if ever used this British-applied name. In May 1942, the unit shipped to Ireland and began training until its eventual movement to England and the selection of its parent division to take part in Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa. Regiment of Dragoons through various cavalry units until it finally became the 1st Armored Regiment in July 1940.
The 1/1 could trace its lineage back to the 1830s and the U.S. The 1st Battalion, 1st Armored Regiment (1/1) of the 1st Armored Division was one of the units destined to enter this crucible its initiation into combat included a number of smaller engagements that led to the first tank battle between a regular American armored unit and the panzers of the German Army (a small detachment of American tankers had in fact served with the British earlier in 1942 in order to gain experience). It was a tough period for the Army, but it was also a tempering one, a forge that would begin to shape and harden men into the weapons they needed to be to carry the fight from Tunisia to Germany itself. Many American soldiers would receive rude shocks about the true nature of modern combat, the inadequacies of some of their weapons and equipment, and the raw inexperience of not only themselves but their leaders as well. In the months to come it would be introduced to combat and would learn hard, expensive lessons along the way. Army entered the war in North Africa in November 1942, eager to engage the German and Italian armies and prove itself their equal.
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