The headquarters commanded by Colonel Frederic J. Brown, was a
nerve center designed to serve all of the various integral and attached
artillery battalions of the 3rd Armored Division. This centralized
control made possible a perfect synchronization of fire power from
self-propelled 105 mm pieces of the division's own 54th, 67th and
391st Armored Field Artillery Battalions, plus the tanks and tank-
destroyers which were frequently used for indirect fire on targets of
opportunity, and the larger 155mm guns of units like the frequently
attached 991st Armored Field Artillery Battalion.
The numerous separate battalions which were attached whenever the situation demanded more fire power, found that Colonel Brown's command was well organized. His communications system was so famous for its speed and dispatch that combat commanders often used artillery channels in preference to their own.
With their highly mobile, armored artillery pieces, the separate battalions played a decisive role in each succeeding action. Under Colonel Brown and Lt. Colonel Lawton F. Garner, executive, the division artillery headquarters insisted upon a maximum use of fire power. In so doing, it undoubtedly saved countless lives of American soldiers.
During the five western campaigns, this coordination of forces placed more than 500,000 shells on the enemy, a record which is believed to stand alone in the history of armored warfare.