Talk:745th Tank Battalion

Coat of arms vs. Distinctive unit insignia
On 6 June 2014 (nice date to check the article--thanks!) Mwinqu2 deleted what I had improperly labelled the "coat of arms." Nice eye for detail. Mwinqu2 you are absolutely right it was "NOT" the coat of arms, but the distinctive unit insignia. However, in the future, rather than delete anonymously, please next time lets talk first. We could have moved it where it was supposed to be and correctly labelled it, which I have now done. It is most assuredly the correct DUI (I have a couple of real ones). For what it's worth, I also have a copy of that book (you will note it is extensively referenced) and am aware of the coat of arms depicted in it. From all research I have conducted into it, its design deviates significantly from the standards used by the US Army Institute of Heraldry and was thus never approved by the Institute. It thus remains an unofficial coat of arms and is therefore not included in the article. Bilhartz (talk) 04:09, 30 September 2014 (UTC)

1st Infantry Division infobox
I also deleted the 1st Infantry Division infobox that Dodgerblue777 added on 27 June 2014. It more appropriately belongs on the 1st Inf Div article page. For what it is worth the infobox is woefully short of detail. According to the Order of Battle of the United States Army World War II: European Theater of Operations: Divisions there are four (!) pages of attachments to the division over the course of the war in Europe. That does not include combat operations in North Africa or Sicily, nor any detachments of the 1st Inf Div organic units. That kind of detail would overwhelm the 745th article. Let's please stick to the subject of the article and not unnecessarily broaden the scope. Thanks. Bilhartz (talk) 04:09, 30 September 2014 (UTC)

1st Infantry Division infobox redux
I have deleted the 1st Infantry Division infobox that Dodgerblue777 reposted on 16 February 2020. The 745th Tank Battalion was never assigned to the Big Red One. It was only attached. There is a distinct difference between being assigned permanently as an "organic" unit (such as the 16th Infantry Regiment was/is) and being operationally attached temporarily, whether it is for a day or for a year. The 745th was an attachment. That it was never detached did not make it an organic unit to the 1st ID. The 1st ID table of organization and equipment, like every other infantry division in World War II, did not have any organic tank or tank destroyer units. These units were typically assigned to Armies, and many of them were assigned to Armored Groups, a nominal headquarters which had almost no operational control over the assigned tank battalions. I appreciate Dodgerblue777's enthusiasm for the 1st ID (I wore the Big Red One on my sleeve for nearly four years), but we want to be assiduously correct in Wikipedia to define the 745th relationship with the division. Let's please not get into a revert war over this. I will be happy to take it up with the WikiProject Military history/United States military history task force to arbitrate. Thanks. Bilhartz (talk) 20:21, 20 February 2024 (UTC)