Early Service
The battalion was activated in July 1941, as the 73rd Provisional Anti-Tank Battalion, to take part in the Louisiana maneuvers that summer as part of the 2nd Provisional Anti-Tank Group. The battalion was formed from AT batteries from the 141st and 166th Field Artillery Regiments, as well as personnel from the 190th Field Artillery Regiment; the 141st was drawn from the Louisiana Army National Guard, with the 166th and 190th coming from the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. In December 1941, it was formally converted to a tank destroyer unit, becoming the 773rd Tank Destroyer Battalion.
It remained in the United States until January 1944, when it was shipped to the United Kingdom aboard the liner Aquitania. Through April and June it operated three marshaling camps in southern England, providing accommodation and administration for combat troops being prepared for the Normandy landings.
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