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M3 Self-Propelled Gun. Nothing more than a half-track with a WWI-vintage 75mm field gun welded to the back deck, this was nevertheless an improvement over the truck-drawn 75s first issued to the 776th upon formation. (US Army Military History Institute) The Battalion departed Fort Lewis in late July 1942 for further training at Fort Hood, Texas. Fortunately for the soldiers of the Battalion, in November 1942, the M-10 Tank Destroyer was issued to the 776th to replace the primitive and obsolescent weapons with which they had previously trained. With its 76mm gun, the M-10 was, at that time, the most heavily armed armored vehicle possessed by the Western Allies, capable of outgunning all but the newest of German tanks or tank destroyers. Its men and equipment departed the New York Port of Embarkation on 14 January and arrived in Casablanca, French Morocco, eleven days later. In late February, the Battalion moved to Algeria, and in March, it was committed to combat in Tunisia. The 776th experienced its baptism of fire at the battle of El Guettar, the first major victory by the US Army against the Germans. Throughout the next two months, often attached to the 1st Armored Division, the 776th saw a great deal of action against the veterans of Army Group Afrika, as they took part in most of the important battles of the Tunisian campaign. The veterans of the 776th next saw combat in Italy, where they went ashore at Salerno in mid-September 1943. Attached to the 34th Infantry Division, the Battalion conducted extensive reconnaissance and countermine support for the infantry and indirect fire missions in reinforcement of the Red Bull Division field artillery. Subsequent Battalion operations in Italy included the fiercely-contested assault crossing of the Volturno River, the infamous and costly battle for San Pietro, the crossing of the Rapido, and the legendary battle for Cassino. After a brief period off the line in March/April, the 776th was attached to the 85th Infantry Division and participated the great drive on Rome. After the fall of Rome, the Battalion supported the 34th and 91st Infantry Divisions and the 1st Armored Division as the Fifth Army continued its offensive up the “boot” of Italy. In early September 1944, the Battalion was relieved from assignment to Fifth Army and ordered to embark from Naples for France, where it would be reassigned to the Seventh Army. Before the 776th left Naples, however, it was reequipped with the most powerful antitank weapon in the Allied inventory: the M36 “Slugger” tank destroyer, mounting a high velocity 90mm main gun. | 
776th TD Battalion Slugger, displaying its powerful 90mm main gun. (Informal History of the 776th TD Battalion) | | 
