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Title: War against Germany: Europe and adjacent areas pictorial record
Author: Kenneth Hunter
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WAR AGAINST GERMANY: EUROPE
AND ADJACENT AREAS PICTORIAL RECORD ***
_UNITED STATES ARMY IN WORLD WAR II_
Pictorial Record
THE WAR AGAINST GERMANY:
EUROPE AND ADJACENT
AREAS
CENTER OF MILITARY HISTORY
UNITED STATES ARMY
WASHINGTON, D.C., 1989
First Printed 1951--CMH Pub 12–3
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government
Printing Office
Washington, DC 20402-0001
UNITED STATES ARMY IN WORLD WAR II
Kent Roberts Greenfield, General Editor
_Advisory Committee_
James P. Baxter
President, Williams College
Henry S. Commager
Columbia University
Douglas S. Freeman
Richmond News Leader
Pendleton Herring
Social Science Research Council
John D. Hicks
University of California
William T. Hutchinson
University of Chicago
S. L. A. Marshall
Detroit News
E. Dwight Salmon
Amherst College
Col. Thomas D. Stamps
United States Military Academy
Charles S. Sydnor
Duke University
Charles H. Taylor
Harvard University
_Office of the Chief of Military History_
Maj. Gen. Orlando Ward, Chief
Chief Historian Kent Roberts Greenfield
Chief, World War II Division Col. Thomas J. Sands
Editor-in-Chief Hugh Corbett
Chief, Pictorial Section Capt. Kenneth E. Hunter
... to Those Who Served
Foreword
During World War II the photographers of the United States armed forces
created on film a pictorial record of immeasurable value. Thousands
of pictures are preserved in the photographic libraries of the armed
services but are little seen by the public.
In the narrative volumes of UNITED STATES ARMY IN WORLD WAR II, now
being prepared by the Office of the Chief of Military History of the
United States Army, it is possible to include only a limited number
of pictures. Therefore, a subseries of pictorial volumes, of which
this is one, has been planned to supplement the other volumes of the
series. The photographs have been especially selected to show important
terrain features, types of equipment and weapons, living and weather
conditions, military operations, and matters of human interest. These
volumes will preserve and make accessible for future reference some
of the best pictures of World War II. An appreciation not only of the
terrain upon which actions were fought, but also of its influence on
the capabilities and limitations of weapons in the hands of both our
troops and those of the enemy, can be gained through a careful study of
the pictures herein presented. These factors are essential to a clear
understanding of military history.
This book deals with the European Theater of Operations, covering the
period from the build-up in the United Kingdom through V-E Day. Its
seven sections are arranged chronologically. The photographs were
selected and the text written by Capt. Kenneth E. Hunter; the editing
was done by Miss Mary Ann Bacon. The written text has been kept to a
minimum. The appendixes give information as to the abbreviations used
and the sources of the photographs.
Washington, D. C. ORLANDO WARD
6 February 1951 Maj. Gen., USA
Chief of Military History
Contents
_Section_ _Page_
I. THE BUILD-UP IN THE UNITED KINGDOM AND THE
AIR OFFENSIVE, EUROPE 1
II. NORMANDY CAMPAIGN 73
III. NORTHERN FRANCE CAMPAIGN 147
IV. RHINELAND CAMPAIGN: 15 SEPTEMBER 1944–15 DECEMBER
1944 211
V. ARDENNES-ALSACE CAMPAIGN 261
VI. RHINELAND CAMPAIGN: 26 JANUARY 1945–21 MARCH
1945 325
VII. CENTRAL EUROPE CAMPAIGN 379
APPENDIX A: LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 439
APPENDIX B: ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 440
INDEX 443
SECTION I
The Build-up in the United Kingdom and the Air Offensive, Europe[1]
The build-up of the United States Army in the United Kingdom, from
January 1942 until June 1944, with the huge amounts of supplies
necessary to equip and maintain the forces and to prepare for the
invasion of northern Europe was a tremendous undertaking. It involved
the transportation of men and supplies across the Atlantic during a
time when the German submarine menace was at its peak. The United
States Navy played a vital role in transporting men and supplies and
in protecting the convoys while en route. During this period the
administrative task was enormous since facilities for quartering and
training such large forces and for storing supplies and equipment
had to be provided within the limited area of the United Kingdom.
In October 1942 some of the units stationed in the United Kingdom
were sent to the Mediterranean for the invasion of North Africa. The
build-up continued after this, well-trained units arriving from the
United States. As the time for the invasion of France approached,
battle-tested units from the Mediterranean theater were transferred
to England to prepare for their part in the assault. In spite of
the limited terrain available, large-scale maneuvers and realistic
amphibious operations were conducted. In the early spring of 1944 joint
exercises of the ground, sea, and air forces which were to make the
attack in Normandy were held along the southern coast of England. The
last of these exercises was held in early May, the units then moving to
the staging areas and embarkation points for the invasion.
While the ground forces were being equipped and trained the Allied
air forces bombed the fortress of Europe. The Royal Air Force Bomber
Command carried out the air assault by night and the United States
Eighth Air Force by day. The first U. S. participation in the bombing
of Europe from British bases was on 4 July 1942, when American crews
flew six British bombers. During the fall of 1942 the Eighth Air Force
prepared the Twelfth Air Force for the invasion of Africa, and it was
not until the beginning of 1943 that U. S. bombers began to attack
Europe from England in large-scale raids. From that time on the attacks
on Germany continued with increasing intensity and shattering power
until, in February 1944, the German Luftwaffe attempted to sweep the
U. S. bombers from the skies over Europe. After a battle of one week’s
duration over important industrial cities of Germany, the Luftwaffe was
beaten and supremacy of the air was in Allied hands where it remained
until the end of the war.
[Illustration: NORTHERN IRELAND
U. S. TROOPS arriving in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The first
U. S. troops to cross the Atlantic after the declaration of war
by the United States went to Northern Ireland in January 1942.
In the same month the Special Observer Group was replaced by
Headquarters, United States Armed Forces in the British Isles.
Shortly thereafter the center of concentration was transferred
from Ireland to England and the rapid build-up of personnel
commenced. Logistical planning began in April 1942. This
build-up of men and supplies was to become one of the greatest
logistical undertakings in military history. Supplies were
shipped from the United States in ever increasing quantities
until, during the month of June 1944, approximately 1,000,000
long tons were received in the United Kingdom.]
[Illustration: NORTHERN IRELAND
U. S. TROOPS marching through the streets of a town in Northern
Ireland escorted by a British sergeant. The first U. S. troops
to arrive in Ireland were 18 officers and 18 enlisted men, the
advance party for the first contingent. By 1 June 1944 there
were 1,562,000 U. S. troops in the United Kingdom. During the
early months after the United States’ entry into World War II a
large part of the equipment was similar to that of World War I.
In the succeeding months much was done to improve all types of
equipment and many of the changes may be seen in the pictures
that follow in this volume.]
[Illustration: NORTHERN IRELAND
TRAINING IN IRELAND, FEBRUARY 1942. Before leaving the United
States members of the U. S. armed forces normally had completed
their training, but to keep the men at the peak of their
fighting fitness programs in firing, field exercises, and
special problems were begun under varying weather and terrain
conditions. Men in their late teens or early twenties made the
finest soldiers as they had stamina and recuperative power
far beyond that of older men. This physical superiority often
determined the issue in heavy and prolonged fighting.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
INFANTRY MAN WITH WEAPONS. Soldier is holding a .45-caliber
Thompson submachine gun M 1928A 1; from left to right are:
60-mm. mortar M 2, British antitank gun, .30-caliber U. S. rifle
M 1 with bayonet M 1 attached, .30-caliber Browning machine
gun M 1919A 4, hand grenades, .45-caliber automatic pistol M
1911A 1, .30-caliber U. S. rifle M 1903 with grenade launcher
M 1 attached, .30-caliber Browning automatic rifle M 1913A 2,
and 81-mm. mortar M 1 (top). Infantryman has just completed an
obstacle course (bottom).]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: SCOTLAND
SOLDIERS LAND FROM AN ASSAULT BOAT during a training exercise
in Scotland, July 1942. The base of fire of a rifle platoon was
its automatic weapons. The riflemen concentrated their fire on
the impact area blocked out by the automatic weapons. The base
of fire of a U. S. rifle squad in World War II was the Browning
automatic rifle (BA R). The man in right foreground is armed
with this weapon. The two men behind the soldier with the BA R
are armed with .30-caliber U. S. rifles M 1.]
[Illustration: GERMANY
TWO TYPES OF U. S. HEAVY, FOUR-ENGINED BOMBERS. Consolidated
B-24 Liberators on a bombing mission over Europe (top); Boeing
B-17 Flying Fortresses dropping bombs on enemy installations in
Bremen, Germany, while flak bursts around them (bottom). The
first U. S. air unit to engage in combat over Europe was a light
bombardment squadron. Flying British planes, six U. S. crews
joined six RAF crews in a daylight attack against four airdromes
in the Netherlands on 4 July 1942. On 17 August twelve B-17’s,
accompanied by four RAF Spitfire fighter squadrons, attacked the
marshalling yards at Rouen, France, and successfully completed
the first U. S. attack over Europe. From these small beginnings
the number of planes taking part in the raids grew until the
average per raid in 1943 was 570 heavy bombers, a figure that
was to be almost doubled in 1944.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
THREE TYPES OF ESCORT FIGHTER PLANES over England. From top to
bottom: Lockheed P-38 Lightning, North American P-51 Mustang,
Republic P-47 Thunderbolt. P-47’s were the first to join the
British Spitfires in providing escort for heavy bombers, the
P-38 was available in small numbers in October 1943, and the
P-51 began to appear in January 1944. At first the 47’s flew top
cover, but before long they began to drop down and engage the
enemy fighter planes. As the war progressed the escort opened
out more and more until it became a huge net to envelop the
enemy.]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
A BRITISH POLICE SERGEANT gives road direction to a U. S. first
sergeant during a march. By the end of June 1944 there was a
total of 140,656 Negro personnel in the European Theater of
Operations assigned to both combat and service units. The M 1
helmet worn by the sergeant was standardized on 9 June 1941,
and mass production began shortly thereafter, it replaced the
earlier M 1917A 1 helmet shown in preceding pictures.]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
MEMBERS OF THE FIRST OFFICER CANDIDATE SCHOOL (OCS) in the
United Kingdom decontaminating a building that has been
subjected to mustard gas (top). Machine gun training at OCS
(bottom). Qualified enlisted men were selected from units
stationed in the British Isles and sent to this school where,
upon the successful completion of the courses of instruction,
they were commissioned second lieutenants in the Army of the
United States. The first class began in September 1942 and there
were in all seven classes, each lasting for approximately three
months. The OCS in England graduated and commissioned a total of
472 men.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
A FIGHTER PILOT, Standing beside his plane in England, wearing
an oxygen mask and helmet equipped with earphones. Over his
leather flying jacket is a life preserver. A number of young
men from the United States joined the Canadian and British
air forces before America’s entry in the war. When the U. S.
declared war these pilots were transferred to the U. S. air
force. The strength of the U. S. air force in 1940 was about
43,000 men and 2,500 planes. In early 1944 there were 2,300,000
men and 80,000 aircraft.]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
INTERIOR OF A B-17 showing two .50-caliber Browning machine
guns. These planes were highly complex machines, well armed,
with machine guns in front, rear, sides, top, and bottom. The
man in the picture is working on the gun turret which protruded
beneath the fuselage. The tank on top of this turret was for
oxygen.]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
AN ORDNANCE SPECIALIST in the repair of optical equipment cleans
a pair of field glasses, England, September 1942. Ordnance
responsibility extended to “everything that rolls, shoots,
is shot, or is dropped from the air.” Its complete catalogue
contained 35,000 separate items, ranging from watch springs and
firing pins to 20-ton howitzers and 40-ton tanks.]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
A REPAIRED M 3 MEDIUM TANK is given final check by Ordnance
personnel. Every tank, gun, or vehicle, damaged either by an
accident or later in combat, which could be repaired meant
one less new tank to be supplied. As the war progressed the
medium tank underwent changes as did a great deal of other U.
S. equipment. It became lower so as to present a more difficult
target, the riveted hull was replaced by a welded or cast hull,
and toward the end of the war the suspension system was changed.
These, and other mechanical changes, with the addition of better
armament and armor, made the vehicle a more formidable fighting
machine, better able to combat enemy tanks.]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
PARATROOPERS having their parachutes inspected before taking
off for a practice jump, England, October 1942. These troops
were equipped with specially designed clothing and equipment
including helmets with a new type fiber liner and chin strap,
jump suits with large pockets that could be securely fastened,
and boots that laced higher up the leg and which had reinforced
toes and stronger ankle supports.]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
SOLDIER BEING TRAINED in the correct method of attack when armed
with a knife. Note the difference between the uniform worn by
the infantryman here and that worn by paratroopers on opposite
page.]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
AN ENGINEER COMPANY AT WORK ON AN AIRFIELD in England. By 1
June 1944 a total of 129 airfields was available in the United
Kingdom for the Eighth and Ninth Air Forces. In addition there
were 3 base air depots, 7 combat crew and replacement centers,
2 reconnaissance and 1 photographic reconnaissance fields,
19 troop carrier fields, 11 advance landing grounds, and 2
miscellaneous fields. Living quarters for more than 400,000 air
force personnel had to be furnished, plus many thousands of
square feet of space for storage.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
B-17 LANDING, after having dropped two flares to indicate that
it has wounded crew members aboard, while two medical crews
stand by to give first aid to the wounded (top). During raids
over enemy territory crew members were sometimes wounded by flak
or gunfire from enemy fighter planes. A crew member receiving
medical attention as soon as his plane lands (bottom). In this
case blood plasma is being administered. Blood plasma, which is
whole blood minus the corpuscles, was given to those who had
lost blood or were in shock. The plasma increased the volume of
blood and kept the blood stream going. When casualties arrived
at a hospital whole blood was administered to replace the blood
lost and also to relieve shock before further treatment was
begun.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
ENLISTED MEN OF THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT operating caterpillar
tractor cranes to unload a crated gun carriage (half-track)
which weighed approximately 20,000 pounds. The Ordnance
Department maintained a large depot at Tidworth, England.]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
BOMBS BEING UNLOADED at a U. S. Air Corps Ordnance Depot in
England. After being stacked the bombs were covered with
camouflage nets such as those behind tractors at left center of
picture. Facilities for storing bombs in any other manner were
limited. These stacks became common sights along the country
lanes and roads in England during the war years. (1,000-pound
bombs; crawler-type revolving crane on tractor mounting with
diesel engine.)]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
MEDIUM M3 TANKS in an Ordnance Depot, England (top). Combat
tracked vehicles temporarily stored before being issued to the
using units (bottom). After a vehicle arrived in the United
Kingdom there was much to be done before it could be issued to
the using unit. Tanks were received from the United States with
about 500 items of accessory equipment, including small arms,
radio, tools, gun sights, and other incidentals, packed in
waterproofed containers; many were coated with a rust-preventive
compound. The job of preparing an M 4 tank took approximately
fifty working hours. Accessories were unpacked, cleaned, tested,
and installed; the motor and all mechanical components were
checked and tuned. When a vehicle left the Ordnance depot it was
completely supplied, including ammunition and rations.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
A 105-MM. HOWITZER MOTOR CARRIAGE M 7 on maneuvers in England,
March 1943. This was an open-top, lightly armored vehicle and
was the principal artillery weapon of an armored division.]
[Illustration: NORTH ATLANTIC
U. S. NAVY PLANE attacks and sinks a German submarine in the
North Atlantic, June 1943. The sinking of a British liner
without warning by a German submarine off the coast of Scotland
on 3 September 1939 opened the battle of the Atlantic, which
continued until 14 May 1945 when the last U-boats surrendered at
American Atlantic ports. Enemy submarines, traveling alone or in
wolf packs, sank many Allied ships but by the middle of 1943 the
menace had been reduced to a problem. This was accomplished by
the use of the interlocking convoy system that provided escort
protection along the important convoy routes, small escort
aircraft carriers and destroyer escorts, and planes, from which
hunter-killer groups were formed to seek out and destroy the
U-boats.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: SCOTLAND
LIGHTERS PULL ALONGSIDE THE QUEEN ELIZABETH to unload U. S.
troops in Scotland (top). Representatives of the American Red
Cross serving refreshments to Waacs who have just arrived in
Scotland (bottom). On one trip the Queen Elizabeth carried a
record load of 15,028 troops. Between December 1941 and June
1944 the Queen Mary and the Queen Elizabeth transported a large
portion of the total number of troops to the United Kingdom,
running alone through seas in which their great speed was their
chief protection against enemy submarines.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
BOMBS TUMBLE FROM THE BAYS OF AN OVERTURNED B-24 BOMBER. The
plane was caught in a heavy flak belt while on a mission over
Germany. During 1943 the enemy became much more aggressive
as he shifted his fighters from the Russian front and the
Mediterranean theater to western Europe. The German day fighters
continually harassed U. S. heavy bombers, sometimes following
them far out to sea on their withdrawal.]
[Illustration: NORTH SEA
A ROYAL AIR FORCE SEA RESCUE LAUNCH picking up the crew of a
B-17 which crashed into the North Sea while returning to its
base in England after a bombing raid over Germany. The crew
members are in rubber boats and are flying a kite to which is
attached the aerial of a short wave radio used to signal and
give their position to the rescue craft. Many bombers were shot
down over enemy territory and their crews captured, killed, or
wounded; others were badly damaged and crashed into the North
Sea on their return; while still others managed to return to
their bases even though damaged. Many crews of the planes forced
down at sea were rescued in the manner shown here.]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
SOLDIERS PLACING A BANGALORE TORPEDO under barbed wire during a
training problem in England, August 1943. When fired, the charge
would explode and clear a path through the obstruction. This
method was not only faster than cutting through the wire, but
also did not expose the men unnecessarily to enemy fire.]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
MEMBERS OF AN AIRBORNE DIVISION loading a ¼-ton 4x4 truck into
a British Horsa glider (top). By removing the tail section,
the glider could be unloaded in approximately seven minutes.
Airborne infantrymen in a U. S. glider (bottom). In this
picture men are armed with .30-caliber U. S. rifles M 1903A 3;
.30-caliber U. S. rifles M 1; .45-caliber Thompson submachine
gun M 1; 2.36-inch rocket launcher M 1A 1; and .30-caliber
Browning automatic rifle M 1918A 2. Machine guns, mortars, and
light artillery weapons were dropped by parachutes and brought
in by gliders along with other supplies which made the airborne
troops a compact fighting unit.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
AERIAL VIEW OF SCHWEINFURT, GERMANY, October 1943. This city
was the center of the ball-bearing factories, one of the
target priorities picked for destruction by the strategic
air force. The order of these priorities was as follows: (1)
submarine construction yards and bases, (2) aircraft industry,
(3) ball-bearing industry, (4) oil industry, (5) synthetic
rubber plants, and (6) military transport vehicle industry. The
Schweinfurt raid had considerable significance at this time
because the Americans were still trying to prove the feasibility
of daylight precision bombing. This crucial raid was made by a
force of 228 heavy bombers and there ensued one of the greatest
battles in Eighth Air Force history. From the German frontier
at Aachen, where the fighter escort had to leave the bombers
because of limited gasoline capacities, to Schweinfurt and
return wave after wave of enemy fighters attacked the bombers.]
[Illustration: GERMANY
BOMBS STRIKING THE BALL-BEARING FACTORIES at Schweinfurt,
Germany, October 1943. Flak over the target was intense but good
visibility enabled the bombers to make an accurate run and more
than 450 tons of high explosives and incendiaries were dropped
in the target area. Heavy damage was inflicted on the major
plants. The cost to the attackers was also severe. Sixty-two
bombers were lost and 138 were damaged. Personnel casualties
were 599 killed and 40 wounded. Such losses could not be
sustained and deep penetrations without escort were suspended.
Schweinfurt was not attacked again for four months and the
Germans were given a chance to take countermeasures, which they
did with great energy and skill.]
[Illustration: GERMANY
HEAVY BOMBERS ON A MISSION over southwestern Germany, December
1943. Planes at upper level are Boeing B-17’s; those at
lower level are Consolidated B-24’s. After the Schweinfurt
raid unescorted bomber raids were discontinued until 1944
when long-range fighters equipped with wing tanks were able
to provide fighter escort for the B-17’s and B-24’s as far
as Berlin. By 1944 the Luftwaffe, although still offering
a formidable defense, basically had decayed and was very
vulnerable to Allied air power that was being concentrated
against it. By April 1944 the Allies had achieved air
superiority which permitted full-scale air attacks on Germany,
an indispensable prerequisite for the invasion of Normandy.]
[Illustration: GERMANY
B-17’s DROPPING BOMBS OVER BREMEN, December 1943. Control of
the air started with an attack on the Focke-Wulf plant at
Bremen in April 1943, but the main attacks did not get under
way until that summer. On six successive days in late July
Allied air forces attacked the German aircraft industry so
successfully that the production rate started downward. It was
not until February 1944 that the decisive air battle came,
when for a period of six days of perfect weather a continuous
assault on the widely dispersed German aircraft-frame factories
and assembly plants seriously reduced the capabilities of the
Luftwaffe. Subsequent attacks affected the entire aircraft
industry and it never fully recovered.]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
BRITISH FIRE FIGHTERS combating a fire started by bombs during
a German night attack over London, February 1944. The Battle
of Britain began in August 1940 and continued on a large scale
through October. During the air blitz over England the Luftwaffe
suffered irreparable losses from which its bombardment arm never
recovered, even though smaller attacks were carried out until
late in the war. In daytime raids over England during the Battle
of Britain from August to October 1940, the Germans lost 2,375
planes and crews, while the British lost 375 pilots.]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
A BRITISH SPITFIRE FIGHTER chasing a German V-bomb over England.
Only fast low-level ships, such as the British Spitfire or the
U. S. P-47 or P-51, were good at this type of pursuit since the
robot bombs averaged well over 300 miles per hour. These bombs,
launched from sites along the invasion coast of France and the
Low Countries, caused considerable damage in England and in
addition were a demoralizing factor in that one never knew when
or where they would strike. The launching sites were placed
on the list of targets for the Allied air forces, but because
these sites could be easily moved and camouflaged they were
not completely destroyed until the invasion forces took over
the areas in which they were located. The first of the V-bombs
appeared over England on 13 June 1944.]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
MEMBERS OF AN ENGINEER UNIT operating multiplex machines in the
process of preparing maps from aerial mosaics. Relief and other
features were plotted from photographic diapositives, contained
in the conical shaped holders on the beam in background of lower
picture, to sheets on which control and check points have been
plotted. In these two photographs contours are being drawn on
the maps by use of the multiplex machine. Contrary to general
opinion, France was not a well-mapped country. During World
War I detailed maps showed primarily trench fortifications and
special small areas. The Engineers were responsible for making
maps, which required the services of highly trained personnel.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
MEMBERS OF AN ENGINEER TOPOGRAPHICAL BATTALION preparing maps
of Europe prior to the invasion of France. In 1944 more than
125,000,000 maps giving more complete details than those shown
here were printed for the invasion alone. An average of 867
tons of maps was shipped each month from the United States. In
addition, 3,695,750 salvaged enemy maps were used for reverse
side printing. Large-scale maps showing beach and underwater
obstacles on the American and British assault beaches were
produced by the U. S. Army Engineers in preparation for the
invasion.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
ANEMOMETER AND WIND DIRECTION INDICATOR being checked by an
enlisted man of a weather section. Improvements in weather
forecasting, instrument bombing technique and equipment, and
operating procedures had advanced so much that whereas in 1942
U. S. bombers could operate on an average of only six days per
month, in the last year of the war they averaged twenty-two days.]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
MEMBERS OF A FIGHTER GROUP being briefed before taking off on a
mission England, 1944]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
WACS WORKING IN THE COMMUNICATIONS SECTION of the operations
room at an air force station. No opportunity was overlooked to
replace men with personnel of the Women’s Army Corps both in the
United States and overseas, Wacs were given many technical and
specialized jobs to do, as well as administrative and office
work. The Medical Corps employed the largest number of Wacs
in technical jobs, but other technical services such as the
Transportation Corps, Signal Corps, Ordnance Department, and
Quartermaster Corps had many positions that could be performed
by women as efficiently as by men.]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
MAIL FOR UNITS STATIONED IN ENGLAND being sorted. The handling
of the mails through the Army Post Office (APO) was a function
of the Adjutant General’s Department. Mail normally was
delivered to the armed forces with the least possible delay as
it was an important morale factor for men stationed away from
home. During the last week of May 1944 an artificial delay of
ten days was imposed on the forwarding of all American mail to
the United States and elsewhere, and the use of transatlantic
telephone, radio, and cable facilities was denied to American
personnel. British mail was strictly censored by the military
authorities from April 1944 until the invasion on 6 June 1944.
These precautionary measures were taken to assure the secrecy
of the coming invasion. In addition, a block was also placed on
diplomatic correspondence of all countries except the United
States, Great Britain, and the USSR.]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
ARTILLERY UNITS TRAINING IN ENGLAND. A liaison plane flying
over a battery of 105-mm. howitzers M 2A 1 (top). A 155-mm. gun
firing (bottom).]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
155-MM. GUNS AND 105-MM. HOWITZERS (top and bottom respectively)
stored in England, 1944. After about 2,250 rounds had been
fired, the barrel of the 155-mm. gun had to be replaced; in
howitzers the number of rounds was higher.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
DIESEL LOCOMOTIVES, TANK CARS, AND FREIGHT CARS lined up in
England to be used on the Continent after the invasion (top).
Caterpillar tractors and bulldozers stored at an Engineer depot
to be used after the invasion of France (bottom).]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
20 GROSVENOR SQUARE, LONDON, U. S. Headquarters of the European
Theater of Operations (top). U. S. enlisted men passing Number
10, Downing Street, residence and office of the Prime Minister
of Great Britain (bottom). During the period of the build-up
in the British Isles, activities and plans were formulated
for the large and small units scattered throughout the United
Kingdom in a group of buildings located near the American
embassy in London. This group of buildings housed the offices
of the personnel whose task it was to co-ordinate the activity
and training of units and, in addition, to handle the problems
relating to the build-up of supplies for the invasion.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
A COLUMN OF HALF-TRACKS advancing along a road during the
training period in England (top). The second, third, and fourth
vehicles in the picture are 75-mm. gun motor carriages M 3.
This was the first standardized U. S. self-propelled antitank
weapon used in World War II, and provided high mobility for the
75-mm. gun. It was replaced in March 1944 by the 76-mm. motor
gun carriage M 18, and in September 1944 was declared obsolete.
Temporarily stored half-tracks (bottom). These vehicles were
used as gun and howitzer motor carriages, antiaircraft gun
carriages and personnel carriers.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
ARMORED UNITS PARTICIPATING IN MANEUVERS in England. In the
spring of 1944 intensified training was given to all units which
were to take part in the invasion of Normandy. Light tank M 5A 1
(top), medium tank M 4A 1 (bottom). The U. S. tank was designed
as a weapon of exploitation to be used in long-range thrusts
deep into the enemy’s rear where it could attack his supply
installations and communications. This required great endurance,
low consumption of gasoline, and ability to move long distances
without a break-down.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
MEN OF A SERVICE SQUADRON SALVAGING A FUEL TANK from the wing of
a P-51. These tanks helped to make the bomber escort planes into
long-range planes which gave fighter protection to the heavy
bombers. The tanks, the fuel from which was consumed first, were
dropped when empty and the plane then used gasoline from its
permanent tanks.]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
P-51’S IN FORMATION. Each plane in this formation has
two wing tanks attached.]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
A MEDICAL BATTALION QUARTERED IN TENTS, Cornwall, England
(top). A U. S. hospital installed in Quonset huts (bottom). The
hospital plan in the United Kingdom called for over 90,000 beds
in existing installations, conversions, and new constructions.
The program was later increased by 30,000 beds by using tents
for the hospital units.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
U. S. ARMY NURSE, wearing a helmet and fatigue uniform,
preparing an intravenous injection; a kerosene lamp provides
illumination. Hospital personnel worked under conditions
similar to those they might encounter upon their arrival on the
Continent after the invasion. Army nurses gave widely varying
types of skilled service, some of them in field hospitals and
others in the general hospitals farther behind the lines. World
War II was the first war in which nurses received full military
benefits and real instead of relative officer rank. There were
more than 17,000 Army nurses in the ETO in May 1945.]
[Illustration: NORTHERN IRELAND
FIRING GERMAN WEAPONS. In order to become familiar with German
weapons and to learn the capabilities of enemy arms, U. S.
infantrymen fired them during training in Northern Ireland in
the spring of 1944. The men in the top picture are firing a
German standard dual-purpose machine gun (7.92-mm. M. G. 34).
The soldier in the bottom picture is firing a German rifle
(7.92-mm. Karbiner 98K--Mauser-Kar. 98K) which was the standard
shoulder weapon of the German Army and very similar to the U. S.
rifle M1903.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
MEMBERS OF AN ARMORED INFANTRY REGIMENT firing U. S. weapons
during training in England. In 1941 the Ordnance Department
began its experiments with the rocket launcher, which resulted
in the invention of the 2.36-inch rocket launcher (bazooka).
This was the first weapon of its type to be used in the
war. Designed originally as an antitank weapon, it was used
effectively against machine gun nests, pillboxes, and even
fortified houses. It required only a two-man team--a gunner and
a loader--and as it weighed only a little more than a rifle it
could be carried everywhere (top). The crew of a 60-mm. mortar
M2 firing at a simulated enemy position (bottom).]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
AN ENLISTED MAN ON GUARD DUTY at a rail junction in Wales where
American-made locomotives were stored. The United States shipped
1,000 locomotives and 20,000 railroad cars to the United Kingdom
for use on the Continent after the invasion. In addition, 270
miles of railroad were constructed in England to facilitate
movements. The Transportation Corps was responsible for the
movement of men and supplies by land and water, and for the
operation and supply of a great deal of this equipment. Since
much of the railroad equipment in Europe had been destroyed
or damaged by preinvasion bombing by the Allied airforces,
locomotives and cars had to be supplied by both the United
States and the United Kingdom for use in Europe.]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
AN LST ARRIVES IN PLYMOUTH, England, carrying an LCT(6) as
deckload, after crossing the Atlantic under its own power (top).
The LCT was unloaded by sliding it over the side of the LST into
the water (bottom). A great many landing craft were needed to
mount the coming invasion. These were built in the United States
and the United Kingdom.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
OUTDOOR STORAGE OF FIELD WIRE which was to be used after
the invasion of France by the Signal Corps for telephone
communications. The large rolls contained one mile of wire
while the smaller ones had a half-mile capacity (top). The
Quartermaster Corps, after salvaging shoes, supervised the
rebuilding of them in English shoe factories and returned the
remade shoes to troops in the field. Bottom picture shows shoes
before and after being rebuilt.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
MEN OF A QUARTERMASTER UNIT STORING FIELD RATIONS in a warehouse
in England, March 1944 (top). The U. S. Army was unquestionably
better fed than any other in history. However, food in combat
can never be the same as that in garrison or cantonment, since
field rations must be nonperishable, compact, and easily carried
by the individual soldier. Combat rations were improved as the
war progressed and C rations were supplied in a more varied
assortment. Engineer construction supplies stored in England in
preparation for the invasion of Normandy (bottom). The large
rolls of wire netting were to be used on the invasion beaches to
make improvised roadways for vehicles.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
PARATROOPERS MAKING A MASS JUMP during their training in
England. In practice jumps prior to the drop into Normandy there
were numerous casualties. The injured were quickly cared for and
the experience showed airborne medics what they could expect
during the actual invasion.]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
REPUBLIC P-47 FIGHTER PLANES (top) and Boeing B-17 heavy bombers
(bottom) lined up on an airfield in England before being issued
to the units who will fly them over the Continent against the
enemy.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
ENGINEERS CONSTRUCTING A PONTON BRIDGE in England during the
training period (top). Members of an antiaircraft artillery unit
receiving instruction from a British officer while training with
a 40-mm. automatic antiaircraft gun M1 (bottom).]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
GUN CREW OF AN ANTIAIRCRAFT ARTILLERY GROUP operating a 90-mm.
gun M1 near the coast of England, April 1944. In order to cope
with the latest developments in the fields of high-altitude
bombing, a 90-mm. antiaircraft gun with longer range, greater
muzzle velocity, and a larger effective shell-burst area was
introduced.]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
EXHAUST STACKS AND AIR-INTAKE VENTS being installed on a medium
tank M4 (top). After the installation was completed, the tank
was tested off the coast of England (bottom). In addition to
stacks, the tanks were further waterproofed by sealing all
unvented openings with tape and sealing compound to render the
hull watertight. Special attachments permitted rapid jettisoning
of any waterproofing equipment which might interfere with
satisfactory operation of the vehicles when on shore. These
methods were first successfully used in the invasion of North
Africa in November 1942. All vehicles which were to be driven
ashore in Normandy under their own power, through water, and in
the face of enemy fire, were waterproofed. Ordnance inspectors
checked the vehicle in the marshalling yards a few hours before
the tanks were loaded for the invasion.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
LCT(R) FIRING ROCKETS DURING A TEST in Portsmouth Harbor,
England (top). Close-up of the rocket launchers (bottom). These
ships converted from landing craft, tank, were equipped to fire
as many as 1,000 rockets.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
LANDING MANEUVERS. During late April and early May 1944 these
were held for the invasion troops. Infantrymen landing from an
LGI(L) (top). A combination gun motor carriage M15A1 landing on
the beach from an LCT (bottom). This was a highly mobile weapon,
capable of a concentration of rapid fire, and designed for
antiaircraft defense.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
WATERPROOFED TANK RECOVERY VEHICLE M31 being loaded on an LCT
during training along the English coast (top). For camouflage
purposes, the normal appearance of the tank was retained as far
as possible. A simulated turret without cupola was used and
dummy 75-mm. and 37-mm. guns were mounted in place of the real
guns. Actual armament was limited to two .30-caliber machine
guns. A half-track 81-mm. mortar carrier M21 maneuvering on
a road in England (bottom). The mortar could be used on the
vehicle or separate from it.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
BOAT-LANDING DRILL during a training exercise, Slapton Sands
near Weymouth, Devon, England, May 1944. The infantrymen shown
here have their equipment as complete as it will be during the
actual invasion landings. They are descending ladders into an
LCVP. Standing with his back to the camera at the top of the
ladder is an officer, identified by the broad white vertical
stripe painted on the back of his helmet. Noncommissioned
officers had a similar horizontal stripe painted on their
helmets.]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
MEN AND TRUCKS ON THE UPPER DECK OF AN LST near Slapton Sands in
May 1944. As D Day drew nearer loading exercises and amphibious
operations were practiced by the invasion troops. The greatest
advantage the United States was to have in equipment over the
Germans was the multiple-drive motor equipment, principally the
¼-ton truck and the 2½-ton truck. Shown in the picture are:
¼-ton 4×4 truck, ¾-ton 4×4 weapons carrier truck, 1½-ton 6 × 6
personnel and cargo truck and 2½-ton 6×6 truck.]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
AMPHIBIAN TRUCKS CARRY SUPPLIES ASHORE from a coaster under the
protection of a smoke screen during landing maneuvers (top).
A 2½-ton amphibian truck hitting the beach during maneuvers
(bottom). These versatile trucks proved invaluable in bringing
supplies to the beaches during the early stages of landing and
during the build-up after the invasion of Normandy. During
one of the amphibious exercises, which were made as realistic
as possible, two LST’s were sunk by German E-boats. In other
respects the training was successful and valuable lessons were
learned.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
LCVP’S CIRCLING NEAR THE MOTHER SHIP while waiting for the
signal to land on the beach during landing operation training at
Slapton Sands (top). Members of an armored unit being briefed at
a marshalling area (bottom). At the conclusion of the training
exercises in May all the assault, follow-up, and build-up troops
moved from their camps to marshalling areas for final staging.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
MEN AND EQUIPMENT BEING LOADED INTO LST’S (top) and LCVP’s
(bottom) during the first days of June 1944 at one of the
“hards” (paved strips running to the water’s edge) in southern
England for the invasion of Normandy. The training given the
assault forces during the amphibious exercises was so thorough
that the final loadings for the invasion were accomplished with
a minimum of delay and confusion and resembled another exercise
more than the real thing. Two and one-half years after the first
U. S. troops sailed for the United Kingdom, the training and
preparation was completed and the large invasion force of U. S.
and Allied troops was to receive its real test in battle against
the enemy.]
[Illustration]
NORMANDY CAMPAIGN
[Illustration: NORMANDY
The American and British Invasion Beaches and the Allied Advance
during the Normandy Campaign 6 June 1944 to 24 July 1944]
SECTION II
Normandy Campaign
On 6 June 1944 the Allied military forces invaded northern France.
After long study of the German strength, including coastal defenses and
the disposition of enemy troops, the Allied commanders selected the
beaches along the Bay of the Seine for the assault landings. The two
beaches to be used by troops of the First U. S. Army were given the
names of Utah and Omaha. Those on which the British and Canadians of
the British Second Army were to land were named GOLD, SWORD, and JUNO.
The assault began at 0200 on 6 June when airborne troops were dropped
behind the beaches with the mission of securing exits from the beaches.
Planes of the Allied air force bombed the coastal defenses and shortly
after sunrise the Navy began shelling the beach defenses. At 0630 the
first troops landed on the beaches of Normandy. The sea was rough and
the assault forces met varying degrees of enemy opposition, but the
beachheads were secured and the assault and follow-up troops moved on
to accomplish their missions. The U. S. forces landing on Utah Beach
moved northwest to clear the northern portion of the Cotentin Peninsula
and capture the port of Cherbourg. Those landing on Omaha Beach
advanced southward toward Saint-Lô. The troops of the British Second
Army were to advance in a southeast direction from Caen.
The enormous build-up of men and material began immediately after the
assault. This operation was made most difficult because of the lack
of port facilities, but before the invasion plans had been made for
the construction of artificial harbors. The plans were quickly put
into effect and the harbors were almost completed when a summer gale
struck the Channel coast destroying most of the construction work. By
using amphibian trucks and Rhino ferries, and by drying out LST’s, the
build-up over open beaches progressed much faster than was anticipated
and men and supplies were poured into France in ever increasing
numbers.
While the beachheads were expanded and the build-up continued, the
infantry and armored units fought their way through the hedgerow
country toward their objectives. The fighting was slow and costly
as enemy opposition stiffened in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent
the Allied advance. With the capture of Cherbourg and Saint-Lô the
initial missions of the U. S. forces were completed and the forces
were then assembled in preparation for the drives south and west from
the beachhead toward Avranches and the Brittany Peninsula. The British
forces were to push southward from Caen exploiting in the direction of
Paris and the Seine Basin. These attacks were scheduled to begin on 19
July 1944 but because of bad weather the supporting aerial assault was
delayed and the breakout of Normandy did not get under way until 25
July.
[Illustration: ENGLAND
FULLY EQUIPPED PARATROOPER, armed with a Thompson submachine
gun M1, climbing into a transport plane to go to France as the
invasion of Normandy gets under way. At approximately 0200,
6 June 1944, men of two U. S. airborne divisions, as well as
elements of a British airborne division, were dropped in vital
areas to the rear of German coastal defenses guarding the
Normandy beaches from Cherbourg to Caen. By dawn 1,136 heavy
bombers of the RAF Bomber Command had dropped 5,853 tons of
bombs on selected coastal batteries lining the Bay of the Seine
between Cherbourg and Le Havre.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
A MARTIN B-26 MEDIUM BOMBER flying over one of the invasion
beaches, early on D-Day morning. All planes which supported the
invasion operations, with the exception of the four-motored
bombers, were painted with three white and two black stripes
for identification purposes. At dawn on D-Day the U. S. Air
Forces took up the air attacks and in the half hour before the
touchdown of the assault forces (from 0600 to 0630) 1,365 heavy
bombers dropped 2,746 tons of high explosives on the shore
defenses. This was followed by attacks by medium bombers, light
bombers, and fighter bombers. During the 24 hours of 6 June
Allied aircraft flew 13,000 sorties, and during the first 8
hours alone dropped 10,000 tons of bombs.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
GUN CREW ALERT aboard the cruiser USS Augusta, as landing craft
approach the coast of France during the invasion, 6 June 1944.
The three landing craft nearest the Augusta are an L C T(6), an
L B V, and an L B K. While the Allied air forces were bombing
installations along the invasion beaches the Allied sea armada
drew in toward the coast, preceded by its flotillas of mine
sweepers. Bad weather conditions and high seas had driven the
enemy surface patrol craft into their harbors, and the 100-mile
movement across the English Channel was unopposed. By 0300 the
ships had anchored in the transport areas some thirteen miles
off their assigned beaches, and the loading of troops into
landing craft and the forming of the assault waves for the dash
to the beaches began. At 0550 the heavy naval support squadrons
began a 45-minute bombardment which quickly silenced the major
coast-defense batteries.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
OMAHA BEACH ON 6 JUNE 1944. From Grandcamp, cliffs extend
eastward to Arromanches-les-Bains with only two breaks, one in
the Vierville-Colleville region which was the V Corps area.
The Aure River behind Omaha Beach is a serious obstacle for a
distance of ten miles from its mouth, near Isigny. Between the
Vire and Orne Rivers the area is covered to a depth of forty
miles inland by bocage (land divided into small fields by
hedges, banks, and sunken roads). Observation was limited, and
vehicle movement was restricted to the roads. The highlands that
extend across the invasion front, with a depth up to twenty-five
miles, are broken with steep hills and narrow valleys. Although
narrow, the roads in this area are generally good. Vital initial
objectives were the towns of Carentan, Saint-Lô, Bayeux, and
Caen.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
U. S. TROOPS WADING ASHORE FROM AN L C V P at Omaha Beach during
the assault. Elements of two U. S. infantry divisions, with
engineer troops and tanks of an armored unit, made the first
landings. The beaches selected for these landings were about
7,000 yards in length. From the beach the ground curves upward
and is backed by bluffs that merge into the cliffs at either end
of the sector. H Hour was at 0630 6 June. The mission of V Corps
was to secure a beachhead in the area between the Vire River and
Port-en-Bessin, from which troops would push southward toward
Caumont and Saint-Lô, conforming to the advance of British
Second Army to the east.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
INFANTRYMEN WADING ASHORE FROM AN LCT(6) (top). Troops leaving
an LCVP to wade ashore (bottom). Half-tracks and 2½-ton
amphibian trucks can be seen on the beach, and in the background
men marching in columns start southward toward the bluffs. On
the shelf the enemy strung barbed wire and planted mines. Lanes
had to be cleared through these obstacles before the infantry
could advance. Beyond this strip containing obstacles, the enemy
laid out firing positions to cover the tidal flat and the beach
with direct fire, both plunging and grazing, from all types of
weapons. The men landing were fired upon from these positions,
which for the most part had escaped destruction during the
prelanding bombardment.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
SURVIVORS OF AN LCVP which sank off Omaha Beach coming ashore in
an LCR(S). The high seas added to the difficulties in getting
ashore. Landing craft were in some instances hurled onto the
beaches by the waves and some of the smaller ones were swamped
before reaching shore. Others were flung upon and holed by the
mined underwater obstacles. Some of the assault troops were
swept off their feet while wading through the breakers. Of these
some were drowned and those who reached the beach were often
near exhaustion. Because of the rough seas many of the men were
seasick during the crossing and arrived on the beach with their
combat efficiency temporarily impaired by the experience.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
ARMY MEDICS ADMINISTERING BLOOD PLASMA to a survivor of a sunken
landing craft on Omaha Beach. D-Day casualties for the V Corps
were in the neighborhood of 3,000 killed, wounded, and missing.
The two assaulting regimental combat teams lost about 1,000 men
each. The highest proportionate losses were taken by units that
landed in the first few hours, including engineers, tank troops,
and artillerymen. The D-Day casualties of V Corps were much
higher than those suffered by VII Corps, where the assaulting
seaborne division lost 197 men, including 60 lost at sea.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
WOUNDED U. S. TROOPS OF V CORPS, waiting to be evacuated, take
shelter under the cliffs near the beach in the Colleville area
(top). Some German troops and laborers rounded up on Omaha
Beach (bottom). The assault troops reached the line of the
Bayeux-Carentan road on 7 June. The following day U. S. forces
established contact with the British on the American left flank.
On 9 June U. S. divisions advanced rapidly south and west
reaching the Caumont-Forêt de Cerisy-Isigny line by 11 June.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
MEMBERS OF A SHORE FIRE CONTROL GROUP operating Signal Corps
radios. Man at left is operating an SCR 284, while the second
man operates the hand generator GN 45; man at right is using a
hand-held radio set, “handie-talkie” SCR 536 (top). An enlisted
man looks up a number before placing a telephone call on a field
telephone EE 8 (bottom). The function of the Signal Corps was to
furnish radio, wire, and messenger communications. Often Signal
Corps personnel went inland, sometimes ahead of the infantry, to
observe and correct the fire from the naval guns offshore.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
UTAH BEACH, 6 JUNE 1944. In the VII Corps zone the smooth and
shallow beaches in the vicinity of Saint-Martin-de-Varreville
are backed by sand dunes that extend inland 150 to 1,000 yards.
Behind the sand dunes the low ground had been inundated for a
width of one to two miles, restricting travel from the beaches
to four easily defended causeways. Farther inland the Merderet
River, running parallel to the coast, and the Douve River, from
which the ground rises northward to the hills around Cherbourg,
restrict traffic to the established roads. Sainte-Mère-Eglise,
Saint-Sauveur, and Barneville are key points on the road nets
leading to Cherbourg. Southeast of Utah Beach the Douve and
Vire Rivers flow into the shallow, muddy Carentan estuary which
marked the boundary between VII and V Corps.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
ASSAULT TROOPS LANDING ON UTAH BEACH ON D-DAY (top). Men and
equipment along Utah Beach on D Day (bottom). The mission of
VII Corps was to assault Utah Beach on 6 June 1944 at H Hour,
0630, and to capture Cherbourg with a minimum delay. The
troops, landing just west of the Vire estuary, encountered less
opposition than any other Allied forces on D Day.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
INFANTRYMEN RESTING ALONG THE SEA WALL and beginning to move
inland, 6 June (top). Advancing southward through the inundated
low ground (bottom). Fortunately, the first elements landed
considerably south of the designated beaches in areas less
thickly obstructed and where enemy shore defenses were less
formidable than those opposite the intended landing beaches.
While airborne troops seized the causeways through the inundated
low ground to prevent enemy reinforcements from reaching the
beach, the seaborne assault troops struck northwest toward
Montebourg, on the road to Cherbourg.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
AN ENEMY SHELL HITS THE BEACH where U. S. troops are advancing.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
GERMAN CASEMATED FORTIFICATION inland from the beach (top);
destroyed enemy gun emplacement (bottom). During 1943 the
Germans had developed heavy frontal defenses at all the
principal harbors from Den Helder to Brest. As the invasion
threat grew, Cherbourg and Le Havre were further strengthened,
while heavy guns were installed to block the entrance of the Bay
of the Seine. Between the ports stretched a line of concrete
defense positions and coastal and flak batteries. A program of
casemating the coastal guns and strengthening the defense posts
was still in progress on 6 June. The beaches were mined and
obstacles were placed in the water offshore and on the beaches,
but there was no secondary defense line behind the coastal
defenses which the Germans thought would stop the invading
troops.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
MEMBERS OF THE FOLLOW-UP DIVISION aboard an LCI(L) headed for
Utah Beach on D Day. Other LCI’s in the background have barrage
balloons flying overhead. These balloons were attached by cables
to ships crossing the Channel so as to keep low-flying enemy
strafing planes away from the craft.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
A MEMBER OF AN ENGINEER UNIT using a mine detector SCR 625. The
ground outlined with white tape had not been cleared of enemy
mines and enemy signs were used to mark the mined areas. Army
and Navy demolition teams, following the assault infantry, found
the beach less thickly obstructed than expected, and Utah Beach
was cleared in an hour. Engineers prepared exits from the beach
by clearing lanes through the mine fields.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
GLIDERS BEING TOWED BY C-47 TRANSPORTS over the English Channel
carrying reinforcements for the airborne divisions, 7 June
(top). A British Horsa glider wrecked while landing (bottom).
Six thousand six hundred men of one of the two U. S. airborne
divisions were scattered over an area 25 miles by 15 miles in
extent, and 60 percent of their equipment was lost. In general,
however, these men accomplished their mission successfully.
Other gliders were flown in on 6 June but suffered considerable
casualties. (CG4A WACO.)]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
GLIDERS AND TOW PLANES CIRCLING before the gliders are cut loose
for a landing, 7 June. On the ground are gliders which landed
the previous day, many which were wrecked in landing. While one
airborne division of the U. S. forces held the exits to Utah
Beach and stuck southward toward Carentan, the other airborne
division, despite heavy shelling in the Sainte-Mére-Eglise area,
also established contact with the infantry troops pushing inland
from Utah Beach early on 7 June.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
AN LCT(5) LOADED WITH REINFORCEMENTS moving toward the beach on
7 June. In left center is an LCT(R); at right center is an LBV.
In the background supply ships wait to discharge their cargoes
(top). U. S. Air Force glider pilots in an LCVP on their way to
a larger ship which will take them back to England (bottom).
After landing their gliders the pilots made their way to the
beach to await shipping to return them to their bases.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
AMPHIBIAN TRUCKS (DUKW’s) bring supplies ashore on Utah Beach,
8 June (top). Men and supplies come ashore; on the beach are
LCT’s (bottom). Between 7 and 12 June the Allies concentrated
their efforts on joining the beachheads into one uninterrupted
lodgement area and on bringing in men and supplies.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
A RAILROAD BRIDGE ACROSS THE SEINE destroyed by bombers of the
Allied air force. Even though hampered by poor flying weather
during the first week after D Day, the Allied air force bombed
bridges across the Seine and Loire Rivers. This seriously
hindered the movement of enemy troops and supplies, and trains
had to be constantly rerouted in an attempt to reinforce the
Germans trying to hold the assault forces in the area of the
beachheads.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
WRECKED TRAIN. Three trains were held up on this single track,
in the vicinity of Chartres, when fighter bombers knocked
cars off the track. With the track thus blocked the movement
of trains was stopped and much of the undamaged rolling stock
later fell into Allied hands. Within an arc extending from the
Pas-de-Calais through Paris to the Brittany Peninsula, 16,000
tons of bombs were dropped on coastal batteries, 4,000 tons on
airfields, and 8,500 tons on railway targets between 6 and 11
June.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
TRÉVIÈRES AND THE SURROUNDING AREA showing the bocage type of
terrain. U. S. forces advancing inland from the Omaha beachhead
were checked by the enemy in the Formigny-Trévières area on
7 June. Formigny was cleared on 8 June. On the same day the
U. S. troops held their positions north and east of Trévières
and patrolled the outskirts of the town. The town was shelled
by navy guns in the late afternoon. The approach to Trévières
from the high ground just north of the Aure River was strongly
defended and the enemy forces continued to hold out in this area
until 10 June when the attacking U. S. forces outflanked and
captured the town. The fall of Trévières marked the end of enemy
resistance north of the Forêt de Cerisy.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
U. S. GUN CREW FIRING A 3-INCH ANTITANK GUN M5 at a house in
which enemy troops are holding out (top). In the advance of the
Allies from Utah Beach toward Cherbourg the enemy was often cut
off in small groups and surrounded. The enemy groups in many
cases would refuse to surrender, even though they were cut off
from their own forces, and had to be eliminated one group at a
time. A 90-mm. gun M1 of an antiaircraft battery firing near
Vierville (bottom). Though enemy air attacks were not a serious
threat to the Allies and very little opposition was encountered,
antiaircraft batteries were always on the alert.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
MULTIPLE GUN MOTOR CARRIAGE M16 with its four .50-caliber
machine guns firing at the enemy in support of an infantry
advance (top). This vehicle was a weapon of an antiaircraft
artillery unit, but the lack of enemy air activity in Normandy
made possible its use in other roles. U. S. artillerymen
emplacing a 155-mm. howitzer M1 in a camouflaged position
(bottom).]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
FORMATION OF DOUGLAS A-20’s over France. The infantry and
armored attacks were, when possible, preceded by concentrated
air attacks. Employing carpet bombing methods, thousands of
tons of bombs were dropped. Fragmentation bombs were used to
break enemy resistance without causing extensive cratering
which would hinder the advance of tanks. Although these attacks
were temporary in effect, the results greatly aided the initial
ground attack. Casualties to the enemy were few, but he was
stunned by the weight of the bombing and considerable confusion
ensued.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
ENGINEERS LAYING WIRE MATTING in the construction of a landing
strip near Sainte-Mère-Eglise (top). A Republic P-47 Thunderbolt
bursting into flames after crash landing on the strip; still
attached to underside of the wing are rockets which were not
fired (bottom). An important factor in insuring the success of
the Allied close-support operations lay in the establishment
of landing strips in Normandy, from which fighter planes could
operate. Work began as soon as a footing was obtained on shore
and by 9 June planes were operating from these strips.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
A QUARRY NEAR OMAHA BEACH used by engineer units to supply rock
and stone for the construction of roads. The tremendous amount
of traffic on the roads in Normandy, as men and supplies were
brought into France over the beaches required the services of
many engineer units to keep the roads in good repair. Most of
the roads leading to the beaches were not hard surfaced but were
constructed of rock and gravel.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
ENLISTED MEN PREPARE TO LAUNCH A BARRAGE BALLOON over one of
the beaches in Normandy. Balloons were attached to cables and
by means of winches could be raised or lowered to the desired
altitude. These balloons were used to protect ships and beach
installations from low-flying enemy aircraft. When the balloons
were in position the enemy would not fly low over the beaches
for fear of running into the cables which kept the balloons in
place.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
MEDICAL CORPS MEN TREATING AN ENLISTED MAN for a wrist wound.
When casualties entered a battalion aid station within a few
hundred yards of the front, they were immediately screened and
sorted. Wounds were redressed, and perhaps morphine or other
drugs were given when available. Those whose wounds permitted
were evacuated to the rear, while those whose wounds did not
permit further evacuation were held, treated, given plasma, and
then moved farther back.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
AN EVACUATION HOSPITAL with a 750-bed capacity, Normandy, 24
July (top). Army surgeons perform an operation out-of-doors
(bottom). In World War II the number of deaths per hundred
casualties was one half of that during World War I. Responsible
for this reduction was the surgical skill and painstaking care
rendered by personnel of the Medical Corps aided by better
surgery, the sulfa drugs, penicillin, plasma, and whole blood.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
ENEMY PRISONERS, taken during the first days of fighting,
awaiting transportation to England. During the first week
following the invasion landings the Germans lost some 10,000
men as prisoners. The enemy forces that manned the static beach
defenses were largely Russians and other non-Germans, but were
under German officers. Of the German troops, many companies were
found to be composed of men either under 20 or over 45 years
of age. Many of these were of low medical categories and their
morale was not of the best.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
A MILITARY POLICEMAN studying French aboard a transport while
waiting for the landing craft which will carry him to the
beach in Normandy. In addition to handling informational and
recreational activities of all kinds, the Special Services
Division of the Army Service Forces distributed pocket-sized
soldier guides to the customs and languages of the countries
where members of the armed forces served. The Army, recognizing
that the strain created by war must be counteracted by healthy
diversional activities, arranged motion pictures and USO shows,
and distributed books, magazines, and athletic and other
recreational equipment to members and units of the armed forces.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
CARENTAN. The approach to Carentan from the east is blocked
by the Vire-Taute Canal. U. S. forces advancing to secure the
bridge on the road from Isigny met with enemy resistance from
the houses and hedgerows on the east bank and it was not until
midnight of 10 June that the enemy was driven out and defensive
positions were established by U. S. troops. Other U. S. troops
moved along the Bassin à Flot and crossed the canal on 12 June,
moving rapidly into the center of Carentan which by then was
ringed by attacking troops. This trap was closed too late to
capture most of the German defenders, who escaped to the south
during the night of 11–12 June.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
U. S. TROOPS MOVING INTO CARENTAN, 12 June (top). A 105-mm.
howitzer M3 firing at enemy positions during the fighting at
Carentan (bottom). During the night of 11–12 June, Carentan
was set ablaze by artillery and naval gunfire, and early on
the morning of 12 June U. S. troops entered the town. Its fall
marked the effective junction of the two U. S. beachheads and
the linking up of the two corps of the First U. S. Army.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
U. S. PARATROOPERS PATROLLING THE STREETS OF CARENTAN in a
captured German Volkswagen (1. Pkw. K. 1 (typ 82)) (top).
Airborne troops in a jeep towing a British 6-pounder Mark III
antitank gun in Carentan (bottom). The enemy counterattacks
against the U. S. forces in Carentan were unsuccessful in their
attempts to recapture the city, but were persistent enough to
limit the U. S. advance to gains measured in hundreds of yards.
However, on 17 June 1944 U. S. troops reached the west coast in
the vicinity of Barneville, cutting the German forces into two
groups, one south of the Carentan-Barneville line, the other in
the Cherbourg area.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
DOUGLAS A-20’S DROPPING BOMBS on a probable flying bomb
launching site. The first flying bombs fell on England during
the night of 12–13 June 1944, and the regular attacks began
three days later. The smallness, the effective nature of
camouflage, the comparative mobility, and the ease with which
the V-1 launching sites could be repaired made effective bombing
attacks on them difficult.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
PART OF A GERMAN ROCKET INSTALLATION captured by U. S. troops.
Many of these flying bomb sites were captured by the Allies as
they advanced. Although the air force had destroyed some by
bombing, most of the sites were taken by advancing troops and
destroyed.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
A PORTION OF THE ARTIFICIAL HARBOR AT OMAHA BEACH. This harbor
was in the Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer area of Omaha Beach and was
known as “Mulberry A.” Breakwaters were formed by sinking ships
and concrete caissons, and steel bridging formed causeways to
the beach. The harbor, construction on which began on 7 June
1944, was designed to provide moorings for seven Liberty ships
and twelve coasters at one time. By 19 June it was 90 percent
completed.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
ENGINEERS LAYING STEEL MATTING on Omaha Beach at the exits
of the causeway which extend to the piers of the artificial
harbor (top). Vehicles moving from one of the piers over the
causeway to the shore (bottom). These floating causeways to the
beach rose and fell with the tide. The artificial harbors were
constructed to facilitate the unloading of the large numbers of
men and material.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
DAMAGE TO THE ARTIFICIAL HARBOR AND LANDING CRAFT caused by
the storm. The greatest detriment to the Allied build-up was
not the enemy, but the weather. From 19–22 June 1944 one of
the worst summer gales in Channel history hit the Bay of the
Seine. Unloading operations were virtually stopped, the floating
steel caissons broke free and sank, the concrete caissons moved
or were broken up, and the beach was strewn with hundreds of
stranded and damaged craft. The line of sunken ships remained
fairly well intact, but as a whole the artificial harbor was
destroyed and useless.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
A TRUCK ON THE BEACH (2½-ton) and one starting down the ramp of
an LST (1½-ton). After the storm wrecked the artificial harbors
emergency measures, such as using 2½-ton amphibian trucks to
bring men and supplies ashore and “drying out” landing ships
and coasters, were employed. By “drying out” the vessels (as
in picture) and unloading directly on the beaches, unloading
operations were carried out.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
TRUCKS FULLY LOADED with men and supplies leaving a Rhino ferry
and being helped ashore by a bulldozer (top). A ¾-ton weapons
carrier rolling through the surf toward the beach under its
own power (bottom). All the vehicles which made these landings
through the surf had been waterproofed before leaving England.
Since they were able to travel only a short distance on land
under their own power when waterproofed, the waterproofing
material was removed soon after the vehicles landed.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
TRUCKS AND AMPHIBIAN TRUCKS (each is a 2½-ton truck) on a beach
in Normandy. In spite of the damage caused by the storm, by 26
June Omaha Beach was discharging 122 percent of its planned
cargo capacity. By this time 268,718 men, 40,191 vehicles,
and 125,812 tons of cargo had been discharged over Omaha
Beach alone. By 1 July the Allied commanders were not as much
worried about a German counterattack that would threaten the
beachhead as about the possibility that the enemy might bring in
sufficient reserves to create a stalemate in Normandy. More room
was needed by the Allies to bring in men and supplies to support
a sustained drive toward the Seine.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
UNIT ADVANCING TOWARD CHERBOURG stops to inspect a German
multipurpose gun (8.8-cm. Flak). When the enemy retreated from
the vicinity of Montebourg he destroyed the gun by splaying the
barrel. This multipurpose weapon emerged as the most publicized
artillery piece of the German Army during the North African
campaign. It was primarily an antiaircraft gun adaptable to
antitank and general artillery use. In its role as an antitank
gun it was fitted with a shield. In its mobile form it was towed
on four wheels, usually with an 8-ton half-tracked tractor.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
RESULTS OF ARTILLERY FIRE AND BOMBINGS in Montebourg (top).
A 155-mm. howitzer M 1 firing on the defenses of the city of
Cherbourg (bottom). On 19 June Montebourg fell to the U. S.
forces and Valognes was taken the following day. The advance on
Cherbourg was continued by three U. S. infantry divisions. An
attack on Cherbourg was launched on the afternoon of 22 June,
after an 80-minute air and artillery bombardment of the outer
defenses, but the enemy at first fought back with determination.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
HILL 171 AREA BOIS DU MONT DU ROC
THE BOIS DU MONT DU ROC AREA. On 22–23 June the U. S. troops
launched an attack from the valley to seize Hill 171. The
critical enemy defense areas at Flottemanville-Hague and Hill
171 were closely pressed and before dark on 23 June the area of
Hill 171 was reached and 400 enemy prisoners were taken. The
Flottemanville-Hague defenses were bombed by Allied planes and
the defenses were taken by the ground forces shortly thereafter.
The enemy’s fortified line protecting Cherbourg was then broken
and the U. S. troops were ready for the final drive to the city.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
FORTIFICATIONS AROUND CHERBOURG DAMAGED by Allied shelling and
bombardment. The German defenders refused to surrender the city
to the attacking U. S. forces, and on 22 June a co-ordinated
attack was launched by the attackers, supported by aircraft of
the tactical air forces and heavy artillery fire. However, no
real break-through was achieved by this bombardment and the U.
S. troops resorted to the methodical reduction of the strong
points. It was not until 24 June that the main defenses cracked,
and the next day the three attacking infantry divisions,
supported by heavy naval bombardment, reached the outskirts of
the city.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
TWO U. S. INFANTRYMEN ROUTING A SNIPER during street fighting in
Cherbourg (top). German prisoners taken in Cherbourg (bottom).
By 25 June U. S. forces were fighting in the streets of the
city while the Germans demolished the port facilities. At 1500
on 26 June the German commanders surrendered. The Arsenal
held out until the following morning and fanatical groups had
to be eliminated one by one. A certain number of the enemy
still remained to be rounded up in the northwest corner of the
Cotentin Peninsula, but on 1 July all resistance in the northern
Cotentin came to an end.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
A MEMBER OF AN ENGINEER UNIT, operating a bulldozer, clears a
street in Cherbourg (top). Members of an Engineer unit stationed
in Cherbourg take time out to prepare a meal in the doorway
of a house (bottom). C and K rations were generally issued to
troops in combat. Where there was more time for the preparation
of food, troops were given the “10 in 1” ration which contained
more variety than the C and K rations. When units were more
permanently settled regular messes were set up, but during
the early days on the Continent just after the invasion, and
while the supply situation was still critical, troops resorted
to eating rations that could be more easily transported and
prepared.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
FORT DU ROULE ARSENAL AREA
A PORTION OF CHERBOURG showing the inner harbor and docks. Fort
du Roule, built high and secure into a steep rock promontory
which stands immediately back of the city, dominated the entire
harbor area. It was primarily a coastal fortress but was also
defended against a ground attack. The P-47’s which bombed the
fort did little damage to the subterranean tunnels housing the
big guns. The fort was finally taken by infantry troops armed
with machine guns, mortars, grenades, pole charges, and rifles.
The fort surrendered in sections and it was not until late on
25 June that the complete surrender was accomplished. After the
rest of the city had been taken the Arsenal still held out.
This structure, partially protected by a moat, was high-walled
and well-armed. On 27 June the Arsenal surrendered bringing to
an end all organized resistance in the city. With the fall of
the city every effort was made to clear the harbor and repair
docking facilities as quickly as possible.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
THE FIRST SHIP-TO-SHORE GASOLINE LINE, put in operation at
Cherbourg. During the assault phase the Allied forces relied on
canned gasoline, but by 3 July bulk supply was being introduced
by ship-to-shore pipeline which brought in part of the large
quantities of gasoline necessary to the Allied forces.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
ORDNANCE MEN CUTTING ANGLE-IRON with acetylene torches (top). An
M5 light tank equipped with a hedgerow cutter (bottom). During
the fighting in Normandy armored vehicles found the hedgerows a
serious obstacle which they could neither cross over nor break
through. An enlisted man of an Ordnance unit in Normandy devised
the method of attaching to the front of tanks rake-like cutters
improvised from heavy angle-iron salvaged from the underwater
beach obstacles which the Germans had placed to wreck landing
craft. During a period of 48 hours maintenance companies of
the Ordnance Department turned out 300 of these cutters, which
enabled the tanks to open passageways through the hedgerows of
Normandy, and play an important part in the advance leading to
the break-through at Saint-Lô.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
.30-CALIBER BROWNING MACHINE GUN M1919A4 being fired through an
opening in a hedgerow by an infantryman. The July offensive,
one of the most difficult and bloody phases of the Normandy
Campaign and known as the Battle of the Hedgerows, was conducted
from 7 to 20 July 1944. Four U. S. Army corps, ultimately
employing twelve divisions, were involved in the effort. German
reinforcements stiffened, particularly in the hills protecting
Saint-Lô, and the U. S. forces in the Cotentin Peninsula fought
their way southward, alongside the U. S. troops east of the Vire
River, to win ground for mounting the attack which was to break
through the German defenses at the end of the month of July.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
A 3-INCH GUN MOTOR CARRIAGE M10 moving along a road near
Saint-Fromond. While the British Second Army battled furiously
against enemy armored strength to the east, the First U. S. Army
struggled forward on both sides of the Vire River in their drive
on Saint-Lô. The advance was laborious because of the nature of
the terrain and the poor weather conditions. The enemy rallied
to prevent any break-through to Saint-Lô, and the British
redoubled their efforts in the Caen area where the Germans had
most of their 900 tanks.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
TWO GERMAN PANTHERS, heavy tanks (Pz. Kpfw.-7.5-cm. Kw. K.
42-L/70), knocked out on a road near Le Désert (top). A
damaged German self-propelled assault gun (Stu. G. IV with
Stu. K. 40-L/48) near Périers (bottom). During the fighting in
the Saint-Lô area the German forces included two corps with
elements of no less than twelve divisions, including two armored
divisions. The losses sustained by the enemy armored units
removed the possibility of a further large-scale counterattack
west of the Vire River.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
GERMAN PANTHER (top). U. S. medium tanks M4A1 pass German medium
tanks (Pz. Kpfw. IV) which were knocked out in the July fighting
near Saint-Lô (bottom). In hedgerow fighting tanks were expected
to give great assistance, by their fire power, in dealing with
hedgerow strong points but there was always the problem of
getting them through the embankments fast enough to maintain
their support to the infantry.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
ARMY MEDICAL AID MEN preparing to evacuate wounded (top). U.
S. troops along a sunken road during the advance to Saint-Lô
(bottom). The U. S. losses during this campaign totaled nearly
11,000 killed, wounded, and missing. The Germans, as a result of
the action, were prevented from regrouping and wore down their
last immediate reserves for use against a break-through.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
AN INFANTRY PATROL picking its way through the blasted ruins of
Saint-Lô (top). Allied and German shelling and Allied aerial
bombing reduced Saint-Lô to ruins (bottom). The original
objectives of the July offensive were not attained except for
the capture of Saint-Lô on 18 July 1944 and the high ground
suitable for launching the break-through attempt. The ground won
was sufficient to give the troops more room and better jump-off
positions which they needed to break out of Normandy.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
SAINT-LÔ IN RUINS after the capture of the city by the U. S.
forces. It was shelled both by the attacking Allied forces who
needed the area to stage troops who were to break out of the
hedgerow country of Normandy, and by the enemy forces who were
trying to prevent the U. S. troops from taking the city.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
INFANTRYMEN RESTING IN THEIR FOXHOLE. Rain, which continued for
6 days, delayed the air bombardment and in turn the advance
of the First Army which had scheduled an attack for 19 July
1944. During this period the men were compelled to huddle in
their foxholes under the dripping hedgerows in conditions of
extreme discomfort, while the enemy, also entrenched behind the
natural defenses of the country, was alert to every movement.
The low-lying country became a sea of mud, stopping further tank
operations during this period.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
JEEP SPLASHING THROUGH A FLOODED ROAD IN NORMANDY. The rains,
which held up the advance, flooded the dirt roads which by
this time were in a bad state of repair from the heavy traffic
and shelling. On the front of the jeep is an iron bar used
to cut thin strands of wire that the enemy strung across the
roads level with the heads of the occupants of vehicles, which
traveled with tops and windshields down.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
INFANTRYMEN FIRING FROM A HEDGEROW. The man in the foreground
is shown about to fire a fragmentation grenade using a U. S.
rifle .30-calibre M1 with a grenade launcher M7 (top). Grenade
has just been fired (bottom). The terrain through which the
Allied troops fought was favorable to the defense. In the close
bocage countryside, dotted with woods and orchards and with
fields divided by tree-topped embankments where armor could not
well be employed, the infantry had to wage a grim struggle from
hedgerow to hedgerow and from bank to bank, harassed by snipers
and machine gun posts. On 24 July the troops of the U. S. First
Army were waiting for the weather to clear sufficiently for an
air attack before they attempted to break out of Normandy in the
area of the Périers-Lessay-Saint-Lô road.]
[Illustration]
NORTHERN FRANCE CAMPAIGN
[Illustration: NORTHERN FRANCE
The Allied Advance during the Northern France Campaign 25 July
1944 to 14 September 1944]
SECTION III
Northern France Campaign[2]
On 25 July 1944 the Allied forces fighting in Normandy were able to
begin the offensive to break out of Normandy and carry to the German
frontier. Preceding the ground attack planes of the Allied air forces
dropped more than 3,390 tons of bombs on enemy positions on a narrow
front in the vicinity of Saint-Lô. The air attack’s crushing power and
its paralyzing effect on the German forces opened the way for a rapid
and powerful drive by Allied armored and infantry units. Cities were
captured in quick succession and the enemy troops were forced to flee
in a disorderly retreat.
The armored spearheads led the way out the Brittany Peninsula which
was quickly occupied, with the exception of the fortresses of the port
cities which were to continue to fight until after the German borders
had been reached. While part of the U. S. forces were overrunning the
Brittany Peninsula, the major portion turned toward the east in the
direction of Paris, and British and Canadian troops moved southward
from Caen along the road to Falaise. The battle of the Falaise-Argentan
pocket was a disastrous defeat for the German forces who were trying to
prevent the Allies from moving eastward. During the fighting in this
area elements of two German armies were so disorganized and destroyed
that their effectiveness was greatly impaired.
Paris surrendered on 25 August and by the 27th all enemy resistance
ceased there. The advance continued toward the eastern borders of
France, where the Allies stopped their rapid drive, and though a few
further advances were made, 14 September 1944 found them consolidating
their positions along the Moselle River and northward in Belgium and
Holland. The major port cities of Le Havre and Antwerp, which were
badly needed by the Allies as ports of entry for men and materials,
were captured.
INTRODUCTION
During the Northern France Campaign the expanding Allied forces
reorganized. The Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force,
moved to the Continent of Europe. The 21 Army Group was made up of the
British Second and the Canadian First Armies. The 12th Army Group,
composed of the First and Third U. S. Armies, became operational. In
August 1944 Allied forces invaded southern France and moved northward
to join those in northern France. This force, made up of the U. S.
Seventh and French First Armies, made a junction with the northern
group on 11 September. Also during this period the U. S. Ninth Army
became operational and took over the reduction of the Brittany
fortresses.
[Illustration: FRANCE
MEDIUM TANK M4A1, equipped with a hedgerow cutter, breaking
through a hedgerow. The build-up was continuing generally as
anticipated and the destruction of the enemy forces progressed.
On 23 July 1944 the Canadian First Army became operational
on the left flank of the Allied line. The Third U. S. Army
had begun moving to the Cotentin Peninsula on 5 July and was
proceeding on the right flank of the Allied line.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
75-MM. HOWITZER MOTOR CARRIAGES M8, partially concealed by a
hedgerow, preparing to fire on enemy positions near Marigny
(top). M5 light tanks pass through the streets of Coutances
(bottom). The first attack was launched on a narrow front across
the Périers road west of Saint-Lô. This attack was supported
by heavy artillery and aerial bombardment. While the spearhead
units advanced in the direction of Coutances, the rest of the
First U. S. Army was to exert strong pressure and harass any
attempted enemy withdrawal. Marigny was taken on 26 July and,
though the enemy resisted stubbornly while trying to keep a
corridor open for the withdrawing German forces, Coutances fell
on 28 July.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
ENGINEERS WEARING CAMOUFLAGE SUITS clean out a street in Canisy
(top). Infantry troops set up a 57-mm. antitank gun M1 (bottom).
Advances south from Saint-Lô reached Tessy-sur-Vire on 28 July,
while another attack farther east met with severe resistance in
the vicinity of Forêt de Cerisy. In the British-Canadian sector
the advance had been halted by a strong enemy belt of antitank
guns, dug-in tanks, and mortars.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
MAIL CALL AT THE FRONT (top). The receiving of mail was always
an important morale factor and every effort was made to get it
to the men as quickly as possible. Infantrymen reading German
propaganda leaflets during a rest period (bottom). German planes
dropped propaganda leaflets in an attempt to discourage the
Allies in their advances. These had little effect on the troops
and the advances continued with all possible speed.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
PRISONERS TAKEN BY THE ALLIES during the early part of August.
Many of the men of the enemy forces were non-Germanic, some
were Russians or members of Russian units who had been captured
by the Germans on the eastern front and sent to Normandy as
part of the enemy defense units. As the enemy retreat began to
degenerate into a disorderly rout many prisoners were taken, and
on 28 July 4,500 were captured.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
FRENCH WOMAN, returning to her home after the German withdrawal,
passes a knocked out self-propelled antitank gun (Pz. Jaeg. 38
with 7.5-cm. Pak. 40/3). Many of the civilians left their homes
and towns during the fighting and returned afterwards, often
to find that they had lost their homes during the artillery
shelling and aerial bombing. However, in some cases the civilian
population stayed in the towns during the fighting.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
MOTOR COLUMN ADVANCING ALONG A ROAD near Coutances. On 29 July
U. S. armored divisions trapped an enemy column about seven
miles southeast of Coutances. Fighter bombers came in and
attacked the closely jammed columns of vehicles destroying 137
tanks and over 500 other vehicles.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
AN ARMORED COLUMN led by a light armored car M8 stops for a few
minutes during its advance to Avranches (top). An M4 medium tank
moving through a street in Avranches (bottom). On 30 July an
armored division closely followed by an infantry division closed
in on Cranville. Another armored division entered Avranches and
secured two bridges across the Sée River. The break-through was
completed by 31 July, the area between Granville and Avranches
was cleared of enemy pockets of resistance, and the U. S. forces
struck southward in the direction of Villedieu.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
ARMORED VEHICLES FIRING ON ENEMY TROOPS during the advance
southward (top). Tanks and trucks of a French armored division
in the assembly area after landing and before starting south to
join the U. S. forces (bottom). On 1 August 1944, as the U. S.
forces poured around the crumpled German flank at Avranches, a
major revision was effected in the organization of the Allied
forces. The Third U. S. Army became operational and at the same
time the 12th Army Group headquarters also became operational
and assumed command of the First and Third U. S. Armies. The 21
Army Group was at this time made up of the British Second and
the Canadian First Armies.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
SÉE RIVER
AVRANCHES AND THE SURROUNDING COUNTRY. After the fall of the
city the Allied drive gained momentum and the advancing troops
swept out of Normandy. Turning toward the east and the west in
two attacks, the Allies drove to the German frontier and the tip
of the Brittany Peninsula.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
AMMUNITION BEING UNLOADED at an Ordnance dump after it had
been brought inland from the beach (top). During the advance
of the Allies south following the breakout from Normandy a
maximum effort was required to keep all the using units supplied
with ammunition. Tankers of an armored unit reloading their
.30-caliber ammunition belts during the drive southward (bottom).]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
A BULLDOZER (tractor, earth moving crawler, diesel) pulling
a jeep from a crater (top). Engineers using a truck-mounted
revolving crane swing a section of a treadway bridge into place
over the Vire River near Pontfarcy (bottom).]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
INFANTRYMEN TAKING A BREAK, their M1’s leaning against the wall
of a destroyed building. The Third U. S. Army drove southward
from Avranches on 1 August with the mission of clearing the
Brittany Peninsula and securing the ports. The attacks were
spearheaded by armored divisions against only scattered
opposition and by 3 August Loudéac was reached, infantrymen were
closing in on the fortress of Saint-Malo, armored units were
striking toward Vannes and Nantes, and Rennes had been captured.
The 21st Army Group and First U. S. Army met dogged enemy
resistance, but Mortain was occupied by the latter.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
AN INFANTRYMAN USING HIS HELMET AS A BASIN while washing at
a town pump. The weather during this period was hot and dry;
inland from the coast there was little fog. The advancing men
took every opportunity during the rapid advances to stop for a
quick wash.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
AN M4A1 MEDIUM TANK rolls through a battered French village.
After the rapid advances through the Brittany Peninsula, U. S.
forces were left in front of the main port cities to contain the
enemy. The Third U. S. Army turned eastward driving with strong
armored forces on the general axis of Laval-Le Mans-Chartres.
The terrain that would be encountered in a drive to the Seine
would be favorable for the use of armor, and the weather was
expected to be good. On 4 August Mayenne was captured and
contact with First U. S. Army units was established. During the
next five days the drive to the east continued for a distance of
85 miles and the cities of Angers and Le Mans were taken.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
INFANTRYMEN FIGHTING IN HEDGEROWS near Mortain. Shortly after
midnight on 7 August a German counterattack struck the U. S.
infantry division in the area of Mortain. By morning, when the
enemy had penetrated the First Army line some three or four
miles, Allied aircraft equipped with rockets attacked the enemy.
Three U. S. divisions were quickly shifted to the area and for
the next three days a fierce battle raged as the Germans tried
to cut the corridor through which the Third Army was advancing
onto the plains of western France. On 11 August, Mortain was
re-entered by the First Army.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
U. S. ARTILLERY OBSERVATION POST near Barenton, between Mortain
and Domfront. After the failure of the German counterattack in
the vicinity of Mortain the only alternative for the enemy was
to retreat, and a gradual withdrawal was made toward the Seine
River. During this period two simultaneous battles were fought:
one by First Army troops and those of 21 Army Group around the
Falaise-Argentan pocket, the other by the Third Army which was
driving hard to the Seine River.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
INFANTRYMEN OF THE FIRST ARMY advancing in the vicinity of
Sourdeval against the withdrawing enemy forces. The Canadian
First Army advancing southward along the Caen-Falaise road
was to join forces with the U. S. troops advancing eastward.
The Germans put up a strong defense against the Allied troops
advancing to encircle them.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
AN M 4 MEDIUM TANK, rolling into Dreux, passes a German
antitank gun (7.5-cm. Pak. 40). On 14 August the Third Army was
ordered to leave sufficient forces to hold Argentan and to take
advantage of the enemy’s disorganization by continuing the main
advance to the east. Advances were made against Dreux, Chartres,
and Orléans. On 15 August Dreux was captured and on 17 August
the First Army took over at Argentan. On 18 August the Third
Army forces swung north to seize crossings of the Seine River
below Paris and to begin the deep encirclement of the German
troops south of the river.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
TWO TYPES OF U. S. TRACKED VEHICLES, each mounting a 105-mm.
howitzer. 105-mm. howitzer motor carriage M7 (top); medium tank
M4A3 with 105-mm. howitzer (bottom).]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
CONVOY CARRYING GASOLINE ALONG RED BALL HIGHWAY. These are
4–5-ton trucks (tractors) towing 2,000-gallon semitrailers
(top). A 12-ton truck towing a 45-ton trailer loaded with
ammunition, stops along Red Ball Highway (bottom). With the
resistance offered by the retreating enemy at a minimum during
this period, fuel was a more vital requisite than ammunition.
Approximately a million gallons of gasoline were needed at the
front every day to enable the armored columns to maintain their
headlong rate of advance.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
MILITARY POLICEMAN DIRECTS TRAFFIC ON RED BALL HIGHWAY. The
three essential supplies were food, ammunition, and gasoline,
and to get these to the armored spearheads as quickly as
possible a system known as the Red Ball Express was instituted.
By this, a circular one-way traffic route was established across
France from the beachheads to the fighting zone and back again.
All civilian and local military traffic was prohibited the use
of the Red Ball Highway, and along it the convoys swept at high
speed day and night.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
RAILROAD EQUIPMENT BEING UNLOADED FROM A SEATRAIN at Cherbourg.
Motor convoys could not handle the vast quantities of supplies
needed to maintain the Allied fighting forces and it was
necessary to supplement these convoys with rail transportation.
The first scheduled run was made between Cherbourg and Carentan
on 11 July 1944, using mostly salvaged French equipment. As soon
as the Cherbourg port facilities were sufficiently restored,
equipment was brought over from England and put into service.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
DESTROYED RAILROAD EQUIPMENT. So greatly had the French
railroads suffered that over 900 locomotives and a third of
the rolling stock used had to be supplied from Allied sources
in England. In addition to replacing locomotives and cars,
bridges had to be constructed, wrecked trains had to be cleared,
and tracks had to be replaced. Damage by Allied bombings at
every major junction and marshalling yard had to be repaired.
These tasks fell to men of the Corps of Engineers and the
Transportation Corps.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
AN INFANTRYMAN ARMED WITH AN M 1 RIFLE looks at two
German rocket launchers left behind by the enemy (8.8-cm.
Racketenpanzerbuchse). The German weapon was of larger caliber
and was heavier than the U. S. rocket launcher but similar in
appearance and operation.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
SIGNAL CORPS MAN OPERATING A SWITCHBOARD BD71. This small
switchboard weighed approximately fifty pounds, had six
lines, and was used with headset HS30, ear plugs, and chest
set microphone. The set was generally used by regiments and
smaller units. When the break-through came at the end of July
1944 the speed of the advances imposed a heavy strain on the
communications personnel. Spearhead units relied mostly on radio
communications, but a line net of great complexity was required
in the rear areas to cope with the amount of traffic involved.
Civilian communications were of limited value because of the
lack of maintenance during the years of war destruction, and
within four months of D Day the Allies laid over 100,000 circuit
miles of telephone line.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
A PORTION OF THE CITY OF FALAISE which was occupied on 17
August by Canadian First Army troops who had pushed down the
Caen-Falaise road. This city on the northeast corner of the
Falaise pocket was on the north corner of the encirclement in
which the German troops were trapped.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
A PORTION OF THE CITY OF ARGENTAN, the southeast corner of the
Falaise pocket. On 12 August the Third Army armored divisions
were at Argentan and Ecouché with infantry divisions in support.
The enemy struggled to escape from the pocket through the gap
between Falaise and Argentan and concentrated on removing his
armored units, leaving the infantry to hold off the Allies.
A considerable part of eight armored divisions managed to
escape from the closing Allied pincers but left behind a great
proportion of their equipment. On 20 August the trap was closed
on more than seven infantry divisions and parts of two armored
divisions. By 22 August the enemy in the pocket had been
eliminated.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
INFANTRYMEN PICKING THEIR WAY THROUGH DEBRIS and rubble
in Domfront in pursuit of the fleeing enemy. When the
Falaise-Argentan pocket was closed, Allied divisions inside the
pocket pressed in on the remnants of the German divisions.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
INFANTRYMEN FIRING ON THE ENEMY during the house-to-house
fighting in Saint-Malo (top). Infantrymen prepare to fire on
enemy positions in Saint-Malo with their .30-caliber Browning
machine gun M1917A1 (bottom). During the rapid advances to the
east, the fighting on the Brittany Peninsula was still going on.
On 17 August the last Germans in the citadel of Saint-Malo had
been captured, and the U. S. division taking the city was moved
to the southeast to cover the Loire flank west of Tours.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
THE HARBOR AT SAINT-MALO. In the strongly defended forts in and
around the harbor stubborn groups of Germans held out against
the U. S. attacking forces.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
SWABBING OUT THE BARREL OF AN 81-MM. MORTAR M 1 before firing.
During the battle of the Falaise-Argentan pocket U. S. artillery
poured shells of all calibers into the pocket, and Allied
aircraft hammered the Germans relentlessly.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
PREPARING TO FIRE A 60-MM. MORTAR M2. The intense artillery
fire and aerial bombing littered the countryside with all types
of German vehicles and equipment. German commanders were able
to control only small groups of their troops, so great was the
confusion.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
INFANTRYMEN, ARMED WITH CARBINES M1 AND RIFLE M1, discuss the
action in which they have taken part (top). Engineers of an
armored division relax in a French town during the advance of
the U. S. troops (bottom). In the battle of the Falaise-Argentan
pocket the Allies did not accomplish the utter destruction of
the German forces in Normandy, but the enemy troops were broken
as an effective fighting force and the way across France was
open. During this period enemy losses included 70,000 killed and
captured.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
MEN AND VEHICLES ADVANCING TOWARD PARIS (3-inch gun motor
carriage M10). Mopping-up the Falaise-Argentan pocket was
assigned to troops of the 21 Army Group, while the First Army
forces moved eastward. The Third Army was again moving eastward,
and by the evening of 25 August the Allies held most of the
Seine River west of Paris. On 15 August the Seventh U. S. Army
invaded southern France and moved northward to join forces with
the Allies in northern France.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
240-MM. HOWITZER M1 FIRING on one of the Brittany fortresses
(top). Cannoneers sight their 105-mm. howitzer M3, from a
camouflaged position, during the seige of Brest (bottom). By
25 August only the three fortresses of Brest, Lorient, and
Saint-Nazaire still offered resistance. A co-ordinated attack
was launched on Brest by three infantry divisions supported by
artillery of all calibers.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
INFANTRYMEN AND AID MEN ADVANCE ON BREST. In this area the
Germans blew up pillboxes to avoid their capture and some of the
U. S. attackers were killed or wounded in the blasts.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
A PORTION OF THE HARBOR AT BREST. This city on the Atlantic
Ocean, with its good docks and harbors, was desirable as a
supply port of entry. The enemy forces held out here until 18
September 1944, at which time the Allies had moved so far to
the east that the distance from Brest to the front lines was
too great to make Brest an important landing point. Also the
port was so badly damaged during the fighting that it became
practically useless.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
MEMBERS OF THE FRENCH RESISTANCE FIGHTING in the streets of
Paris. The Allies had originally intended to bypass Paris so
as to avoid its destruction in an assault. On 19 August 1944
fighting between the Germans and the French Forces of the
Interior broke out in the city. The French were soon in need of
relief, because of the shortage of ammunition, and Allied forces
were shifted to take the city. Meeting with little resistance,
a French armored division and a U. S. infantry division entered
the city and by noon on 25 August the German commander formally
surrendered.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
PARISIANS SCATTER as a German sniper fires at them during the
celebration of the Allied entry into Paris (top). U. S. troops
march down the Champs Elysées during a victory parade in Paris
(bottom). The last German resistance ceased in Paris on 27
August, and the next day the city was turned over to a French
general who was to be the military governor.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
AN 8-INCH GUN M1 BEING TOWED INTO POSITION by a high-speed
18-ton M4 tractor (top). The crew of an 8-inch howitzer fires
on the enemy across the Seine River (bottom). The Canadian
First Army cleaned up the enemy pockets west of the Seine by 31
August, and the U. S. forces regrouped to pursue the enemy east
of the river and begin their drive toward Germany.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
TOWED 155-MM. GUNS M 1 CROSS A BAILEY BRIDGE over the Seine. U.
S. troops advanced northeast from the Seine River bridgeheads to
take Reims and Châlons-sur-Marne.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
3-INCH GUN AND .50-CALIBER MACHINE GUN of an M10 tank destroyer
fire on enemy troops trying to destroy a Marne River bridge.
On 26 August Château-Thierry was captured. On 28 August
Châlons-sur-Marne was taken and the following day Reims fell.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
AN M4A1 TANK passes a burning German vehicle. By 30 August
Saint-Dizier was reached and on 31 August the ground east of the
Meuse River near Commercy was seized while Verdun was captured
and the Meuse River crossed in that area. At the end of August
the drives of the First and Third U. S. Armies were slowed down
by lack of fuel.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
ENGINEERS LAYING A GASOLINE PIPELINE in France. In an effort to
transport fuel to the front-line units of the Allies, three fuel
pipelines were laid across France. This also relieved the road
traffic which became more and more congested as the number of
Allied troops in France increased.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
MEDICAL AID MEN MOVE UP UNDER FIRE to give first aid to a
wounded infantryman (top). A wounded German is given medical aid
by U. S. soldiers (bottom), by 3 September first army troops had
cleared most of the army’s zone south of the Belgian border.
On that day the remnants of twenty disorganized divisions were
trapped before they could reach the Belgian border and 25,000
men were quickly liquidated. The British entered Brussels on 3
September and were also closing in on Le Havre, one of the major
port cities on the coast.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: BELGIUM
A LIGHT ARMORED CAR M8 ENTERING BELGIUM. On 1 September 1944,
Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF), was
established at Versailles and assumed the active direction of
the 12th and 21 Army Groups. During this period the main problem
was that of supplying the racing armored columns since the only
points of entry were the beaches and Cherbourg, a distance too
far removed from the Allied forces advancing to the German
frontier. By early September supply trucks were traveling 600 to
900 miles in round trips to carry fuel, ammunition, and rations
to the combat units.]
[Illustration: BELGIUM
75-MM. HOWITZER MOTOR CARRIAGES M8 in Belgium (top). 155-mm. gun
motor carriage M12 firing in Belgium (bottom). In spite of the
shortage of supplies the pursuit of the enemy continued between
4 and 14 September 1944, with the greatest Allied gains being
made on the northern front. On 4 September the British forces
captured the port city of Antwerp, one of the greatest prizes
of the war. On 12 September the city of Le Havre surrendered.
These two cities were of extreme importance because of their
port facilities and their nearness to the battle front. In both
harbors the enemy had carried out measures to render the ports
useless, but they were not too badly damaged to prevent repair.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
LIGHT ARMORED CAR M8 of a reconnaissance unit stops during its
drive through Belgium toward the border of the Netherlands
(top). Advancing infantrymen ride on a 3-inch gun motor carriage
M10 (bottom). By 14 September 1944 the sustained drive of the
First Army had stopped and the Germans were fighting on their
own soil for the first time in many years.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
INFANTRYMEN MOVING AN ASSAULT BOAT down to the banks of the
Moselle River at Dornot (top); crossing the Moselle (bottom).
Efforts to obtain enough gasoline were generally unavailing and
most of the units of the Third Army were halted at the Moselle.
On 5 September a crossing was made north of Nancy while on 8
September another was made below Metz. The Germans made numerous
counterattacks and occupied the forts around Metz, determined to
hold the line in this area.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
BOEING B-17 FLYING THROUGH HEAVY FLAK over Germany en route to a
target (top). The Heinkel aircraft factory during an air attack
(bottom).]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
MARTIN B-26’S RETURNING FROM A MISSION along the German border
in support of the Third Army’s ground attack. The medium bomber
in the upper foreground of the above picture had operated in the
ETO for some time, as is shown by the dark-painted fuselage. The
plane in the lower foreground has an unpainted fuselage which
enabled it to attain higher speeds.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
INFANTRY MEN CROSS THE MOSELLE as a ¼-ton truck carries wounded
men to the rear (top). M4A1 medium tank fording a canal
(bottom). On 10 September an attack was launched to secure
bridgeheads over the Moselle below Epinal, which was reached on
14 September. The city of Nancy fell on 15 September.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
INFANTRYMEN ADVANCING in the outskirts of Brest. While the Third
Army was battling a determined enemy on the Moselle, U. S.
forces were still trying to reduce the fortress of Brest. On 5
September the Ninth U. S. Army became operational in France and
assumed the task of eliminating the remaining fortresses on the
Brittany Peninsula.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
AN 8-INCH GUN M1 FIRING ON GERMAN INSTALLATIONS in Brest.
Artillery units attacking Brest were reinforced, mostly with
medium and heavy caliber guns and, after sufficient ammunition
had been accumulated, a strong attack was launched on 8
September by three infantry divisions.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
90-MM. GUN MOTOR CARRIAGE M36 firing at an enemy pillbox in
Brest (top). 76-mm. gun motor carriage M18 guarding a street
intersection in Brest (bottom). On 14 September the fortress of
Brest was still for the most part in German hands, despite all
efforts to reduce the strongly fortified positions.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
NEWLY CONSTRUCTED TREADWAY PONTOON BRIDGE over the Moselle River.
]
RHINELAND CAMPAIGN
15 September 1944–15 December 1944
[Illustration: RHINELAND
The Allied Advance during the Rhineland Campaign 15 September
1944 to 21 March 1945]
SECTION IV
Rhineland Campaign
15 September-15 December 1944[3]
On 15 September 1944 the Allied forces that had invaded southern France
came under control of the Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary
Force. This added the 6th Army Group to the forces opposing the enemy
along the German frontier, making a total of forty-eight Allied
divisions in the European Theater of Operations. In a little over three
months, 6 June-15 September 1944, the Western Allies had carried their
offensives from the Normandy beaches to the western borders of Germany.
During the next three months little, if any, progress was made. Several
factors contributed to this general slowdown. As fall and winter
approached, rain, mud, and snow greatly hindered operations and made
living conditions extremely trying. The terrain became more difficult
since many rivers and streams had to be crossed and rough, wooded, and
hilly country was encountered. Enemy resistance stiffened as the Allies
reached the German border. But more important than any other single
factor was the problem of supplying the large forces which had advanced
so rapidly that they had outrun their supplies.
During this period, as the Allies came to the West Wall and the Rhine,
severe fighting took place all along the front. Some of the most
difficult operations of the war in western Europe occurred during the
Rhineland Campaign as battles were fought in the Arnhem area, the
Schelde estuary, the Huertgen Forest, the Aachen sector, the Metz and
Saar regions, and the Belfort and Saverne Gaps. On 15 December the
efforts of the Allies in the Rhineland were interrupted when the enemy
broke through the lines in the Ardennes, causing a shift of troops to
the Ardennes to reinforce the lines there.
[Illustration: FRANCE
ENLISTED MAN WALKING THROUGH MUD in his bivouac area. The
Allied advance was halted at the German border by poor weather
conditions, difficult terrain, stiffening German resistance,
and, most of all, by lack of supplies. At this time the decision
was made to employ the greatest strength in the north to attain
flanking bridgeheads across the lower Rhine River beyond the
main fortifications of the West Wall. This area was chosen
for the drive since the terrain to the south was considered
unsuitable for a rapid advance because of the mountainous and
forested country.]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
PLANES TOWING GLIDERS take off for the invasion of the
Netherlands, 17 September 1944. The First Allied Airborne Army
launched its attack to secure a bridgehead across the Rhine in
the Arnhem area. Complete surprise was achieved and the drops
and glider landings were effective and in most cases were
made in the prescribed areas. During the following ten days
the fighting was severe with repeated German counterattacks.
However, the railroad bridge across the Waal River in the
Nijmegen area was captured on 20 September and remained in
Allied hands. By the end of September the corridor was widened
somewhat and the operation was considered a success even though
the Allies were forced to evacuate most of the attacking troops
after numerous casualties were suffered.]
[Illustration: THE NETHERLANDS AND GERMANY
PARATROOPERS ADVANCING UNDER ENEMY FIRE in the Arnhem
area (top). A captured German self-propelled assault gun
(Sturmgeschuetz 7.5-cm. Stu. K. 40) (bottom). During the entire
operation in the Netherlands which lasted for thirty days, from
17 September to 16 October 1944, over 5,500 planes and 2,500
gliders transported 34,000 men, and over 1,900 vehicles, 500
artillery pieces, and 5,000 tons of supplies. The airborne army
suffered more than 13,000 casualties in killed, wounded, or
missing.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
INFANTRYMEN FOLLOWING A TANK during the advance north of Aachen
(top). Infantrymen riding on an M4 medium tank-dozer through the
West Wall, while others follow on foot (bottom). The last two
weeks in September were spent by the First Army in probing the
enemy’s defenses along the frontier. On 2 October an attack was
launched across the German border about eight miles north of
Aachen. Progress during the next two weeks was slow as troops
fought their way through six miles of West Wall, or “Siegfried
Line,” fortifications.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
A 57-MM. ANTITANK GUN M1 being unlimbered from a half-track
during the street fighting in Aachen (top). A Browning
.30-caliber machine gun M1919A4 being fired at the enemy in
Aachen (bottom). The German troops in Aachen refused a surrender
ultimatum on 11 October 1944, and during the next three days the
city was subjected to intense aerial bombardment and artillery
fire. Infantrymen entered the city on 13 October and after
fierce house-to-house fighting almost completely occupied Aachen
by 20 October. The following day the garrison surrendered,
making Aachen the first German city to fall to the Allies. The
First U. S. Army then began preparations for a drive to the
Rhine as soon as supplies and reinforcements should become
available.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
WEST RAILROAD YARDS LOUSBERG
A PORTION OF THE CITY OF AACHEN. During the bitter fighting the
Allies found it necessary to use all types of artillery weapons,
from the 155-mm. gun to the smaller guns of tank destroyers,
at point blank range to reduce the heavily fortified buildings
occupied by enemy troops.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
BRIDGEHEAD ACROSS THE MOSELLE south of Metz near Arnaville.
While the U. S. First Army was driving toward the Rhine in the
vicinity of Bonn and Cologne, the Third Army was holding its
positions pending the improvement of the supply situation. The
Ninth Army moved up from Brittany and took its position between
the First and Third Armies in the Ardennes sector. The battle
of Brest ended on 18 September 1944, and except for enemy
resistance in the Atlantic coast port cities of Lorient and
Saint-Nazaire, the Brittany Peninsula was completely in Allied
hands.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
M4 MEDIUM TANKS on a street in Lunéville (top). U. S. troops
firing a captured German 88-mm. gun in the vicinity of Metz
(bottom). The period from 25 September to 7 November 1944 was
the most unproductive phase of the U. S. Third Army’s operations
on the Continent. Troops closed in on the Moselle north of
Thionville and consolidated their positions east of Nancy. On 18
September the Germans launched a counterattack near Lunéville
but were stopped in their tracks. Two other attacks on 22 and 24
September were also stopped and the Germans began to retreat on
the night of 1–2 October.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
FIVE-GALLON WATER CANS loaded in a quarter-ton trailer
being filled at an Engineer water point. The Engineers were
responsible for the purification of drinking water and set up
water points from which all units located in the area drew their
daily supply.]
[Illustration: BELGIUM
BREAD BEING PLACED ON COOLING RACKS in a Quartermaster bakery
after being removed from the ovens.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
INFANTRY MEN FIRING a .30-caliber Browning machine gun M1917A1
on the outskirts of Metz (top). Infantry patrol entering Metz
(bottom). For two months the U. S. Third Army was stalled in
the vicinity of Metz, the fortress which would have to be
captured before any substantial advance eastward could be
made. Metz dominated three invasion routes into Germany from
France: the valley of the Moselle through Trier and Coblenz; the
Kaiserslautern Pass through Saarbruecken to Mainz and Worms; and
the route through the Saverne Gap from Sarrebourg to Strasbourg
and the Rhine. Only once in modern times had the fortress of
Metz fallen to an attacking army--in 1871 the defending French
troops surrendered to the Prussians.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
90-MM. GUN MOTOR CARRIAGE M36 in Metz. The capture of Metz was
hindered by rain and floods which canceled the heavy air support
and made the advance difficult for the ground forces. The attack
started on 8 November with only artillery support and it was
not until 22 November that the city was finally clear of all
enemy pockets of resistance. The last of the forts which ringed
the city was taken on 13 December. The Third Army was then
confronted by one of the strongest sections of the West Wall,
and since its reduction would require a vast amount of artillery
support, the attacks were suspended until the necessary
ammunition could be brought up.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
MOSELLE RIVER CANAL FORT ST. JULIEN ROUNDHOUSES FORT DE QUEULEU
THE CITY OF METZ showing the location of two of the forts which
ringed the city. These and other forts presented problems to the
assaulting troops.]
[Illustration: GERMANY AND FRANCE
THANKSGIVING DINNER AT THE FRONT. During October and November
1944 the cold, rain, fog, and floods made living conditions of
the front-line troops miserable. The battle against the weather
was as difficult as that against the enemy.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
ENGINEERS HAULING BRIDGING EQUIPMENT in flooded areas of the
Moselle River. The flooded rivers and smaller streams made the
task of bridging extremely difficult during this period of the
fighting along the German frontier since, in addition to the
wider than normal spans necessary to cross the rivers, the
weather was cold and rainy, adding to the hardships of those
employed in the task.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
TRACK EXTENSIONS being put on the track of a medium tank. The
maneuverability of tanks and other tracked vehicles was greatly
hampered by mud along the front lines. Confronted by a problem
more serious than anticipated, Ordnance personnel quickly
designed and started production of track extensions at the rate
of 156 separate pieces for each tank. Civilian manufacturing
facilities were utilized in France and Belgium and before the
program was completed 1,500,000 extensions had been made and
welded to the tank tracks.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
AN M4A3 MEDIUM TANK fitted with track extensions maneuvering
through soupy ground. Track extensions were so devised as to
give better flotation and traction through the November mud.]
[Illustration: GERMANY
105-MM. HOWITZER M3 shelling enemy positions. After the capture
of Aachen the First and Ninth Armies prepared for a new
offensive. The initial objectives were to capture bridgeheads
over the Roer River in the vicinity of Dueren and make advances
toward Juelich. At the same time the defensive positions in the
Ardennes area were held. After a four-day delay the weather
cleared and planes of the Allied air forces began the attack.
Several towns including Dueren and Juelich were reduced to
rubble.]
[Illustration: GERMANY
MEDIUM TANKS FIRING during the assault toward the Roer River
(top). 155-mm. gun motor carriage M12 firing on enemy held
positions (bottom). In spite of the elaborate preparations made
for the attack and the great concentration of combat power,
progress was extremely slow. Each of the towns was woven into a
network in which each house had to be reduced, and each foot of
the muddy ground was defended to the last by the enemy troops.
The attack plowed on determinedly in the mud and cold and on 3
December 1944 the Ninth Army came to the Roer. The First Army
also attacked until the river was reached. (Note the newer type
track with cleats on the treads to give better traction.)]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
3-INCH GUN MOTOR CARRIAGES M10 move up in the Huertgen Forest
area. Troops of the First and Ninth Armies had been fighting
their way toward Schmidt since September in one of the most
bitterly contested actions of the war. One of the major
obstacles in the advance was the Huertgen Forest which covered
roughly the triangle of Aachen-Dueren-Monschau. In the vicinity
of Schmidt were dams which controlled the level of the Roer
River, and while these were still in enemy hands water could
be released flooding the valley of the Roer. It was therefore
considered necessary to take this area and the dams before the
river was crossed by the attacking U. S. forces.]
[Illustration: GERMANY
INFANTRYMEN pushing through the Huertgen Forest near Vossenack,
Germany (top). Vehicles moving up a muddy road through the
forest (bottom). The Germans had strengthened this natural
barrier by the clever use of wire, pillboxes, and mines, and
the U. S. infantrymen, restricted by the rough wooded terrain,
were forced to fight for the most part without the aid of
artillery or air support. On 13 December the attack on the dams
was renewed but the going was still slow. Casualties to the two
armies advancing in this area were high.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
KALL RIVER OUTSKIRTS OF VOSSENACK KALL RIVER
KOMMERSCHEIDT AND THE SURROUNDING AREA. The terrain of the
Schmidt and Vossenack areas, like that of the Huertgen Forest,
was hilly and wooded. The Roer River dams in this area were
important objectives for the Allies during this part of the
campaign.]
[Illustration: GERMANY
TIRED, DIRTY, HUNGRY INFANTRYMEN eat their first hot meal after
fifteen days of siege of the town of Huertgen.]
[Illustration: GERMANY
BATTLE-WEARY GERMANS who were among the last to surrender after
the battle of the Huertgen Forest which lasted for several weeks.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
MINE EXPLODER T1E3 attached to a medium tank. This model was an
improvement over the earlier one because of its chain-driven
exploder disks. On the first models the exploder disks rolled
freely and were not power driven. The new model also had a
higher degree of indestructibility and greater maneuverability
and could be driven in mud eighteen inches deep and across
broken terrain. The T1E3 could be driven across a Class 70
military bridge.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
FIRING ROCKETS during the fighting in the Huertgen Forest area.
In the above pictures 4.5-inch multiple rocket launchers T27 are
mounted on 2½-ton trucks and consist of eight tubes in a single
bank. Two banks are mounted on each of the trucks with the
rockets being fired at half-second intervals.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE AND GERMANY
FOG OIL being used to produce a smoke screen to limit
observation during river crossings. This function of the
Chemical Warfare companies was utilized in covering the
activities of troops at ports, airfields, docks, and harbors
in addition to concealing vital points from direct enemy air
observation during advances and river crossings. When the danger
of aerial attack was practically eliminated it was still used
against ground observation. By means of a generator the fog
oil was converted into a white fog which was used effectively
whenever the wind conditions were not strong enough to disperse
the screen too rapidly.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: BELGIUM
90-MM. ANTIAIRCRAFT GUN M 1 being fired at a German flying bomb
passing over Belgium. Liege was subjected to an attack by these
robot bombs and suffered considerable damage. Because of the
great speed of these weapons it was difficult to combat them,
but later with the utilization of the newly developed proximity
fuse, the seriousness of the threat of the flying bombs
diminished.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
SEVENTH ARMY VEHICLES CROSSING THE MOSELLE. During the
later half of September the 6th Army Group’s positions were
consolidated, boundaries were adjusted, divisions were shifted
into their proper zones, and plans were made for the advance to
the Rhine.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
4.2-INCH CHEMICAL MORTAR being fired during the advance of the
Seventh Army, October 1944.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
THREE INFANTRYMEN of the Seventh Army looking down on a village
in France from a hilltop which has been under heavy mortar and
artillery fire.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
INFANTRYMEN CLIMB UPON AN M 5 LIGHT TANK in preparation for an
advance. In November 1944 the Seventh Army was to make the main
effort of the 6th Army Group in an advance toward Sarrebourg
and Strasbourg. In the south the French First Army was to drive
through the Belfort Gap.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
ARTILLERY LIAISON PLANES grounded in the Seventh Army area.
In the Vosges mountains snow drifted over the roads, the
temperature dropped below freezing, and streams overflowed their
banks.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
INFANTRYMEN OF THE SEVENTH ARMY advance through snow and
sleet. The attack of 6th Army Group was to breach the Vosges
mountains whereupon the two armies would join in the Rhine plain
to isolate the enemy’s Vosges positions. Short of artillery
ammunition, the troops slugged it out with the enemy over
difficult terrain and in increasingly bad weather, with the
infantry carrying most of the burden.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
SEVENTH ARMY ARTILLERYMEN loading a 105-mm. howitzer M 2A 1. The
attack was launched, after an all-night artillery preparation,
in a snow storm on the morning of 13 November 1944. At noon on
14 November the French First Army jumped off in its attack. On
16 November the French broke through the Belfort defenses and
on 20 November reached the Rhine. Mulhouse fell on 22 November
despite a quickly established enemy defensive line.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
A 105-MM. HOWITZER MOTOR CARRIAGE M 7 being fired on German
positions in the Rhine Valley (top). Infantrymen wait in a
shallow zig-zag trench before advancing (bottom). On 20 November
Sarrebourg was captured and on 22 November Saverne fell. By
27 November Strasbourg and its ring of defending forts had
been taken. After the collapse of the enemy positions in the
Vosges, the Seventh Army attacked northward and by the middle
of December had crossed the German frontier on a 22-mile front
and penetrated the West Wall defenses northeast of Wissembourg.
In the meantime the German forces which had been driven from
the Vosges maintained their bridgehead in the Colmar area,
which became known as the Colmar pocket before it was finally
liquidated.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY AND BELGIUM
REWARDS FOR STANDING IN LINE: men receiving typhus booster shots
(top); men exchanging their French and Belgium francs for German
marks (bottom).]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: BELGIUM AND GERMANY
WOUNDED SOLDIERS BEING EVACUATED in tracked vehicles during the
winter months. Cargo carrier M 29 (top); half-track personnel
carrier M 3 (bottom).]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
OPENING THE VALVE ON A GASOLINE PIPELINE. The critical fuel
situation of September, which had stalled the armored divisions
at the West Wall, was materially improved by December. At
that time three main pipelines were constructed or under
construction: one for the northern armies, one for the central
armies, and another for the southern armies.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
FIVE-GALLON CANS BEING FILLED WITH GASOLINE at a distribution
point. On 15 December 1944 the armies had from a five-to
nine-day supply of gasoline on hand while the Ninth Air Force
had over 600,000 gallons of aviation gasoline and oil stored in
the Namur area.]
[Illustration: BELGIUM
ARMY SUPPLIES BEING UNLOADED at Antwerp. The greatest single
factor in the improved supply situation was the port of Antwerp
which became operational on 27 November. Despite heavy attacks
from the German “V” weapons the port discharged cargo which was
badly needed by the forces fighting along the German frontier.
Utah and Omaha Beaches ceased operations in November and then
only the larger port cities were used as supply ports of entry.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
AMPHIBIAN TRUCKS LOADING SUPPLIES into railroad cars after
bringing them ashore from ships in the harbor of Le Havre (top).
In addition to Antwerp, the major Allied ports were Le Havre,
Ghent (opened in January 1945), Rouen, Cherbourg, and Marseille.
An enlisted man reading a directive, signed by the theater
commander, concerning the conservation of tires, an effort made
to curtail the wasteful use of equipment and supplies (bottom).
While in general the supply situation was much improved over
that in September there were still critical shortages in a wide
variety of items including antifreeze, tires, post exchange
rations, miscellaneous signal equipment, and some winter
clothing.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: BELGIUM
2½-TON TRUCKS PICK UP RATIONS at a Belgian railhead (top).
10-ton semitrailers loaded with rations at Antwerp, ready to
be hauled to the forward depots (bottom). The multiple-drive
motor transport vehicles were continuously on the move and made
possible the supplying of troops during the rapid advances.]
[Illustration]
ARDENNES-ALSACE CAMPAIGN
SECTION V
Ardennes-Alsace Campaign
In mid-December 1944 the Allies stopped along the German border,
but continued to attack in the Saar and Roer regions, while they
concentrated the majority of their strength for an attack in the north.
The Germans, taking advantage of their continuous front along the
West Wall, planned a counterattack to strike the Allies in one of the
weakest portions of the line--the Ardennes sector. The ultimate goals
of this German operation were to capture the port city of Antwerp,
sever the major Allied supply lines emanating from that port, and
destroy the Allied forces north of the Antwerp-Brussels-Bastogne line.
Early on the morning of 16 December the German armies struck the
Allied troops located in Belgium and Luxembourg. The Allies holding
this portion of the line were too thinly dispersed to offer any great
resistance against the powerful enemy attack and were forced to fall
back. While the defenders fought the Germans, Allied armies shifted
their drives and troops were rushed to the Ardennes to reinforce the
hard hit units along the front from Monschau to Echternach. After
severe fighting during late December 1944 and early January 1945 the
Germans were defeated and by 25 January the Allies were once more
ready to move toward Germany through the West Wall defenses. During
the Ardennes-Alsace Campaign winter set in and the cold weather and
snow-covered terrain made operations and living conditions extremely
difficult.
During this period the British forces in the north eliminated the
Germans in the Roermond triangle and captured the enemy bridgehead west
of the Roer River. The U. S. and French troops of the 6th Army Group
fought a determined enemy in Lorraine and Alsace and by 25 January had
driven the attacking Germans back across the Moder River.
The Ardennes-Alsace Campaign, which delayed the Rhineland Campaign
for six weeks, secured no major terrain objectives for either side.
The Germans, who had employed some of their best remaining units,
lost nearly 250,000 men, 600 tanks and assault guns, and about 1,600
airplanes. The Allies suffered 72,000 casualties.
On 6 January 1945 the Fifteenth U. S. Army became operational on the
Continent and was assigned to the 12th Army Group, taking over many of
that army group’s responsibilities in the rear areas.
[Illustration: BELGIUM
GERMAN SOLDIER WITH AMMUNITION BELTS moves forward during the
enemy counterattack in the Ardennes. German morale was higher
than at any time since the Allies had landed, partly because the
individual soldier had been propagandized into believing that
this was the opportunity to destroy the Allied troops in the
west. At 0530 on 16 December 1944 three German armies attacked
on a 50-mile front in eastern Belgium and northern Luxembourg.
This battle was popularly known as the Battle of the Bulge.]
[Illustration: BELGIUM
ENEMY TROOPS PASS BURNING U. S. EQUIPMENT. The initial German
attacks, following a heavy artillery preparation, were launched
all along the front, roughly from Monschau to Echternach. The
first objective was to secure the high ground of the Hohe Venn
but the drive by the enemy met with stiff resistance and he was
forced to commit his armor before noon on 16 December. Further
attacks in the northern sector were no more successful and by
night the Germans were still fighting at the approaches to the
Elsenborn Ridge.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: BELGIUM
A GERMAN SOLDIER waving members of his unit forward. Spurred
on by expressions of the German commanders such as “Forward to
and over the Meuse” and “We gamble everything now--we cannot
fail,” enemy troops drove forward in a determined effort to
defeat the Allies. South of the Elsenborn Ridge in the vicinity
of the Losheim Gap U. S. troops were overwhelmed and forced to
withdraw. By evening the enemy, though blocked in the north, had
broken through the thinly held American line and drove toward
Stavelot and Huy, the first objective on the Meuse River. Still
further to the south in the Echternach area, the U. S. forces
stopped the enemy after he had made limited gains. The Allied
situation along the front was extremely grave.]
[Illustration:
TYPICAL ARDENNES TERRAIN. The rough, wooded tableland of the
Ardennes in eastern Belgium and northern Luxembourg is broken by
many small streams which become serious obstacles during periods
of heavy rain or thaw. The Ardennes contains a fair primary but
poor secondary road system. Because of the rough terrain the
main centers of the road net assumed great importance during the
Battle of the Bulge. Heavy snow made infantry maneuver difficult
and seriously limited tank movement.]
[Illustration: BELGIUM
GERMAN “KING TIGER” OR “TIGER ROYAL” heavy tank passing a line
of captured U. S. soldiers being marched to the rear (top).
U. S. prisoners of the enemy taken during the early fighting
in the Battle of the Bulge (bottom). Two U. S. regiments near
Saint-Vith were surrounded and most of the men were taken
prisoner before U. S. reinforcements could arrive on the scene.
The enemy attacks on Elsenborn Ridge were stopped by these U. S.
reinforcements on 17 December, but this help came too late to
save from capture the men shown above and those of an artillery
battery who were caught by an enemy armored column south of
Malmédy.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: BELGIUM
AN INFANTRYMAN PAUSING IN HIS ADVANCE through the forest. During
the first ten days of the battle confusion reigned as hastily
shifted troops arrived to reinforce the efforts of the isolated
units attempting to halt the enemy attack.]
[Illustration: BELGIUM
A BATTERY OF 155-MM. HOWITZERS M1 being emplaced (top). Members
of an airborne division moving up through the forest (bottom).
On 18 December German patrols passed through a gap between
Malmédy and Saint-Vith and continued as far west as Werbomont.
Other enemy troops tried to push north through Stavelot but
were stopped by a blown bridge over the Ambleve River and by
an improvised task force consisting of U. S. infantrymen,
engineers, and tank destroyers. Engineer demolitions and
effective use for the first time of the new proximity fuze
by artillery strengthened the north shoulder of the growing
salient. During the first week of the Battle of the Bulge most
planes were grounded because of extremely poor flying weather.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: BELGIUM
BATTLE-WEARY TROOPS being relieved of front-line duty as
reinforcements arrive to take over (top). Infantrymen batter
down the door of a house where German snipers are holding out
in the town of Stavelot (bottom). On 19 December the north and
south flanks continued to hold, and road centers of Saint-Vith
and Bastogne were still occupied by U. S. troops though almost
surrounded by the enemy. The enemy captured Stoumont but the U.
S. forces strengthened the line between Malmédy and Stavelot and
with additional reinforcements began to attack the enemy east
of Stoumont. To the south the enemy took up blocking positions
south of the Sauer River with some troops as far west as the
Arlon-Bastogne highway.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
CREW OF A MULTIPLE GUN MOTOR CARRIAGE M16 waiting to fire on
an enemy plane as vapor trails fill the sky. On 20 December
control of the First and Ninth U. S. Armies passed to the 21
Army Group, while the Third U. S. Army and a corps of the First
Army remained under 12th Army Group control. On 23 December
the weather cleared sufficiently for planes of the Eighth
and Ninth U. S. Air Forces and the British Bomber Command to
begin a large-scale aerial assault on German positions and
installations. The German planes which were sent up in greater
strength than at any other time since the invasion were no
match for the Allies. On Christmas Day the First U. S. Army
launched an attack and made contact with the British forces in
the northern section of the front. For the first time since 16
December a continuous Allied front was established.]
[Illustration: BELGIUM
PART OF AN ARMORED DIVISION of the Third Army moving into the
Ardennes. At the beginning of the Battle of the Bulge Third Army
was regrouping for an attack on the West Wall in the Saar area.
On 18 December an armored division was turned north toward the
Ardennes sector and was followed by an infantry division the
next day. The 6th Army Group was turned north to take over the
area held by Third Army, which during a period of six days broke
off its general attack in the Saar region, turned left, moved
more than a 100 miles over unknown winter roads, and mounted an
attack with six divisions.]
[Illustration: BELGIUM
C-47’s CARRYING SUPPLIES to surrounded U. S. troops in Bastogne
(top). Infantrymen in Bastogne (bottom). While Third Army
was advancing to relieve the armored and airborne troops in
Bastogne, the battle for the city was being waged. The enemy
surrounding the city numbered 45,000 while within Bastogne there
were about 18,000 U. S. troops. The commander of the troops in
the city refused to surrender to the Germans and continued to
hold out against all attacks. The defenders, cut off from their
sources, were supplied by airdrops during this period. On 24
December over 100 tons of supplies were dropped.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: BELGIUM
INFANTRYMEN FIRE AT GERMAN TROOPS in the advance to relieve the
surrounded paratroopers in Bastogne. In foreground a platoon
leader indicates the target to a rifleman by actually firing
on the target. In Bastogne the defenders were badly in need of
relief, they were attacked nightly by German aircraft, supplies
were critically low in spite of the airdrops, and the wounded
could not be given proper attention because of the shortage of
medical supplies. After an advance which had been slow, U. S.
relief troops entered Bastogne at 1645 on 26 December 1944.]
[Illustration: BELGIUM
INFANTRYMEN ADVANCE ON BASTOGNE (top). Prisoners taken during
the advance on Bastogne being evacuated (bottom). With the
arrival of U. S. relief troops were forty truckloads of
supplies which were delivered during the night of 26 December.
625 wounded men were evacuated from the area and the battle
continued since the enemy had shifted a large portion of his
attacking troops in this area. On the night of 26 December when
the German advance was halted the Third Army, consisting of
eight divisions and parts of two other battered divisions, faced
elements of eleven German divisions between the Meuse and the
Moselle.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: BELGIUM
105-MM. HOWITZER MOTOR CARRIAGE M7 of an armored unit on the
alert near Bastogne. By 27 December more than thirty-five corps
artillery battalions were firing approximately 19,000 rounds of
ammunition daily in support of the Third Army. By the end of
the year that army was supported by over 1,000 guns of 105-mm.
caliber or larger. Christmas night the Third Army’s artillery
began using the new proximity fuze, which proved particularly
effective in interdicting road junctions and harassing enemy
positions.]
[Illustration: BELGIUM
ENGINEERS UNLOADING BARBED WIRE which was used in defensive
measures against counterattacks.]
[Illustration: BELGIUM
ENGINEER PLANTING AN ANTITANK MINE on the shoulder of a road as
a defensive measure during the fighting in the Ardennes.]
[Illustration: BELGIUM
BASTOGNE CREEK RAILROAD
BASTOGNE AND THE SURROUNDING AREA. Although the corridor which
had been opened to Bastogne remained in U. S. hands it was far
from secure as it was less than 300 yards wide in some places.
The Germans were passing to the defensive in other sectors and
concentrating on their attacks in the Bastogne area. The mission
of the Third Army was to widen the corridor, push attacks on
Saint-Vith, and at the same time reinforce its attacking units.
During this period of the fighting in Europe adverse weather
conditions added greatly to the problems, and the snow-and
sleet-covered roads hampered the movement of troops.]
[Illustration: BELGIUM
SOLDIER TAKES TIME OUT TO WASH HIS FEET and put on dry socks.
The cold weather combined with the snow and dampness caused many
cases of trench foot during this period. It was difficult when
wearing the regular leather shoes to keep one’s feet dry and
warm, but frequent washing and changing of socks helped.]
[Illustration: LUXEMBOURG
AN ENLISTED MAN PUTS ON A NEW PAIR OF SHOEPACS. The shoepac,
which was supplied to as many of the troops as possible at
this time, helped to overcome the heavy incidence of trench
foot among the U. S. troops fighting in cold and extremely wet
climates. This shoe was rubber-bottomed with a leather top and
was worn with a heavy ski sock and felt innersole.]
[Illustration: BELGIUM
INFANTRYMEN WEARING SNOW CAPES over their normal clothing.
Snow caught the U. S. troops without adequate camouflage, and
strenuous efforts were made to improvise white suits out of
mattress covers and linen collected from the civilians.]
[Illustration: LUXEMBOURG
CAMOUFLAGED LIGHT ARMORED CAR M 8 and one that has not been
painted white, showing the effectiveness of snow camouflaging
(top). A crew member of a 90-mm. gun motor carriage M 36
throwing paint on the bogie wheels after painting the vehicle
(bottom). Tanks, vehicles, and guns were camouflaged with white
paint.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: LUXEMBOURG
KNOCKED-OUT U. S. MEDIUM TANKS. During the last few days
of December 1944 the main effort in Third Army zone was
concentrated in the vicinity of Bastogne, while the situation
in the rest of the army area remained static. Armored and
infantry attacks achieved small gains during which many German
counterattacks were made. Echternach was re-entered on 29
December and all enemy forces south of the Sauer River were
cleared. The armored divisions continued to advance. One, in
repulsing several counterattacks, suffered heavy casualties. On
3 January 1945 the last German attack was made on Bastogne. It
was unsuccessful.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
MEN OF AN INFANTRY DIVISION climbing into box cars to move
from the Brittany Peninsula to the U. S. Third Army zone. On 9
January 1945 a new attack was started after fresh troops had
been brought into the battle area. The Germans offered fierce
resistance in order to keep open their escape route to the east.
On 16 January elements of an armored division of Third Army
contacted those from First Army, closing the German salient just
one month after the enemy had launched his counteroffensive in
the Ardennes.]
[Illustration: BELGIUM
INFANTRYMEN BIVOUACKING IN THE WOODS (top); field mess (bottom).
Living conditions during the best of times were not too pleasant
for the combat soldier, but during the winter the hardships were
greatly increased.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: LUXEMBOURG
U. S. LIGHT TANKS which were captured by the enemy during the
Battle of the Bulge. Some of the more serious U. S. losses
during this period were 1,284 machine guns, 542 mortars, 1,344
jeeps, and 237 tanks. Not all of these losses were the result
of units being overrun--there was some evidence of unnecessary
abandonment of equipment, particularly among inexperienced
troops.]
[Illustration: BELGIUM
MEMBERS OF AN ARMORED UNIT STAND GUARD beside their dug-in
medium tank near Manhay, Belgium. From 27 December 1944 to 2
January 1945 the First U. S. Army was reorganizing and preparing
to attack the Hotton-Houffalize axis. Heavy fighting continued
all along the First Army front and by 30 December the important
traffic centers of Marche, Hotton, and Manhay were secured.]
[Illustration: BELGIUM
AIRBORNE INFANTRY MEN on the alert man their .30-caliber machine
gun (top). A member of a cavalry reconnaissance squadron checks
his .30-caliber machine gun (bottom).]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: BELGIUM
AIRBORNE TROOPS LOADING A SHELL into a 75-mm. pack howitzer M8.
Between 16 December and 27 December First army artillery units
fired more ammunition than at any other time during the war
except during the Normandy Campaign. An average of 800 weapons
fired over 750,000 shells.]
[Illustration: GERMANY AND BELGIUM
LOADING A 105-M M. SHELL into the howitzer of a Priest (top);
snow on the camouflage net over a 155-mm. howitzer M1 helps
conceal its position (bottom).]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: BELGIUM
AN ARTILLERY PLANE with newly attached skis taking off (top);
observation planes grounded during the bad weather (bottom).]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
MEN STRINGING BARBED WIRE DURING A BLIZZARD (top); tank crews
keeping warm as they eat their rations (bottom).]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: BELGIUM
MANHAY, BELGIUM. On 3 January 1945 an attack was launched west
of Manhay in the First Army zone. Visibility was reduced to
200 yards and the temperature was near zero. The few roads
were coated with ice and the snow off the roads was waist deep
making it extremely difficult to maneuver. During the first day
advances of almost 4,000 yards were made before a heavy snowfall
halted the assault. On 5 January the attack was resumed and the
La Roche-Vielsalm road was cut. La Roche was captured by the
British on 10 January. The British troops were then withdrawn
to regroup for the Rhineland Campaign. The Germans began to
withdraw from the tip of the salient after becoming convinced
that they had lost in their attempt to halt the Allies.]
[Illustration: BELGIUM
ELEMENTS OF THE FIRST AND THIRD ARMIES made contact at
Houffalize on 16 January. While the U. S. units were still
understrength, replacements to the theater had increased.
Despite heavy fighting and poor living conditions, morale was
high.]
[Illustration: BELGIUM
155-MM. GUN M1A1, with its barrel camouflaged by white cloth,
firing in the Ardennes. The junction of First and Third Armies
at Houffalize marked the achievement of tactical victory in the
Ardennes. On 17 January the First Army reverted to 12th Army
Group, but the Ninth U. S. Army remained under 21 Army Group.
With the enemy withdrawing from the Ardennes the Allies resumed
their advance toward the Rhine.]
[Illustration: BELGIUM
TWO GERMAN PRISONERS BEING BROUGHT IN (top). Papers of a U. S.
vehicle driver being checked by a guard at a road intersection
(bottom). During the fighting in the Ardennes some German
paratroopers were dropped behind the U. S. lines. Others dressed
in U. S. uniforms and driving U. S. vehicles were operating
behind the American lines.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
“KING TIGER” OR “ROYAL TIGER” (Pz. Kpfw. VI (B) “Tiger” with
8.8-cm. Kw. K. 43) (top). This tank, weighing 75 tons and
designed for defensive warfare or for penetrating strong lines
of defense, made its appearance in combat in 1944. It had
heavy frontal armor and an 88-mm. gun which could traverse 360
degrees. Germany heavy tank, the Panther (Pz. Kpfw. with 7.5-cm.
Kw. K, 42-L/70) (bottom). This tank, introduced in 1942, weighed
47 tons and had sloping frontal armor and a 75-mm. high-velocity
gun.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
BARBED WIRE BEING STRUNG as a defensive measure in the event of
another enemy counterattack. In mid-January the enemy was still
able to maintain a cohesive line, but the critical situation on
the Russian front made necessary the shifting of troops to the
eastern front while withdrawing to the security of the West Wall
all committed troops facing the western Allies.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
A SIGNAL CORPS LINEMAN repairing damaged telephone lines.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
A TRUCK-MOUNTED CRANE swinging the barrel of an 8-inch gun
from its transport wagon (top), and placing it on its carriage
(bottom). The gun and cradle were transported on one vehicle and
the carriage on another.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
A CAMOUFLAGED 8-INCH GUN M1 located in the southern portion of
the Third Army zone. This gun was capable of firing a 240-pound
projectile a distance of 20 miles. The troops left in this area
were placed on the defensive during the fighting in the Ardennes
sector. Heavy artillery in the area fired on enemy installations
in the triangle of the Moselle and Saar Rivers and West Wall
fortifications.]
[Illustration: BELGIUM
A MEMBER OF A GLIDER REGIMENT, armed with a rifle and a rocket
launcher, returning from a three-hour tour of guard duty.]
[Illustration: BELGIUM
A TANKER SEWS HIS CLOTHING on an old sewing machine in front of
his M4A3 medium tank.]
[Illustration: BELGIUM
SUPPLIES MOVING THROUGH BASTOGNE, 22 January 1945, on their way
to the front-line troops. By the first of the year material
losses in the Battle of the Bulge had been replaced and the
combat units were again prepared to move forward.]
[Illustration: LUXEMBOURG
MEDICAL AID MEN dragging a boatload of medical supplies down a
snow and ice covered road to the banks of a stream they are to
cross. From 17 to 24 January the Third Army continued to attack
through Houffalize and reached the northern tip of Luxembourg
on 24 January. In an advance to the east bridgeheads north of
Clervaux on the Clerf River were secured on 23 January. During
this period most of the area between the Sauer and the Our
Rivers was cleared of enemy resistance. In a hurried effort to
withdraw as many vehicles as possible the enemy lost over 1,700
vehicles to planes of the U. S. XIX Tactical Air Command.]
[Illustration: BELGIUM
A MEMBER OF AN 81-MM. MORTAR CREW listening to firing orders
from a battalion command post.]
[Illustration: BELGIUM
INFANTRYMEN ADVANCING UNDER ENEMY SHELL FIRE. On 15 January
1945, on the left of the First Army zone, an attack was begun
from the Butgenbach-Malmédy positions. By 19 January First Army
had secured the defiles southwest of Butgenbach. The attack
launched toward Saint-Vith continued to gain ground, and on 23
January Saint-Vith was recaptured.]
[Illustration: BELGIUM
FIRST ARMY TROOPS, wearing snow camouflage capes, advance.]
[Illustration: BELGIUM
MEN OF AN AIRBORNE UNIT preparing to board trucks which will
take them to a rest area after being relieved at the front. On
24 January the First and Third Armies’ boundary was shifted
north in the general line Saint-Vith-Losheim-Ahr River and
attacks were to be renewed on the Saint-Vith-Bonn axis. First
Army was to breach the West Wall and secure the high ground in
the vicinity of Blankenheim, while Third Army was to attack with
its left wing to cover the First Army.]
[Illustration: GERMANY
AN M5 LIGHT TANK guarding a road in the U. S. Ninth Army area,
22 January. With the collapse of the German salient in the
Ardennes, preparations were made for the offensive to the
Rhine by 21 Army Group. The Germans held the triangle south of
Roermond between the Meuse and Roer Rivers. This was a serious
threat to the left flank of the Ninth Army and had to be
eliminated before the army could advance across the Roer to the
Rhine plain. The task of eliminating this salient was assigned
to the British Second Army and by 26 January was completed.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
SEVENTH ARMY TROOPS entering a fortress of the Maginot Line,
near Bitche, France, which had been taken in the December
fighting. Reduction of the strongly defended forts of the
Maginot Line was halted when the Ardennes fighting began. The
new Seventh Army front included the three following areas: the
Saare Valley in Lorraine; the low Vosges mountains; and the
northern Alsace plain between the mountains and the Rhine.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
MEMBERS OF A SEVENTH ARMY ARTILLERY UNIT unloading powder
charges for their 240-mm. howitzer (top); 3-inch gun motor
carriage firing on enemy positions at night (bottom). On 20
December 1944 the 6th Army Group abandoned its offensive and
relieved the Third Army in the region westward to Saarlautern
to defend against any enemy penetration in Alsace-Lorraine. The
offensive was stopped even though many pillboxes in the West
Wall had been taken, and during the last ten days of December
the Seventh Army regrouped its forces and deployed its troops.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
CONVOY MOVING UP in the Seventh Army area during the fighting in
Alsace (top); vehicles moving over snow-covered roads through
the Vosges mountains (bottom).]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
BITCHE, FRANCE. The Seventh Army prepared an alternate
main line of resistance along the old Maginot Line
(Sarreguemines-Bitche-Lembach-Hatten-Sessenheim) and a final
defensive position along the eastern slope of the Vosges. On 1
January 1945 the Germans attacked in the area between Sarre and
Rohrbach and drove ten miles into the U. S. lines, where the
appearance of powerful armored reserves of the U. S. forces and
Allied counterattacks caused the enemy to curtail its operation.
Another New Year’s Day attack by the Germans in the Bitche area
was a more serious threat. After stubborn fighting on the part
of the Allied troops the attack spent itself on 7 January. In
the Bitche salient the fighting continued until 20 January
before becoming stabilized.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
TANKS OF AN ARMORED UNIT moving along a slippery road during a
heavy snowstorm. In other 6th Army Group areas there was action
along the front. As U. S. troops withdrew to the Maginot Line so
that French troops could take over this portion of the front,
the Germans followed closely. French troops in the Strasbourg
area contained an enemy attack from the Colmar pocket. There was
heavy activity in the U. S. zone near Hatten where the enemy,
after suffering heavy losses, failed to break through the U. S.
troops.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
CAMOUFLAGED TANKS and infantrymen, wearing snow camouflage
capes, moving over a snow-covered field. Toward the end of
January a heavy snowfall slowed operations and on 25 January the
enemy struck his final blow near Haguenau, France. On 26 January
the Germans were driven back across the Moder River.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
MEMBERS OF A CANNON COMPANY near Haguenau keep warm as best they
can.]
RHINELAND CAMPAIGN
26 January 1945–21 March 1945
[Illustration: RHINELAND
The Allied Advance during the Rhineland Campaign 15 September
1944 to 21 March 1945]
SECTION VI
Rhineland Campaign
26 January-21 March 1945
At the successful conclusion of the Ardennes-Alsace Campaign the Allies
again turned their attention to the Rhineland. Between 26 January and
21 March a major objective was achieved: the German troops which tried
to halt the advance were cut off and destroyed, thus eliminating future
enemy action west of the Rhine.
When the Rhineland Campaign ended the Allied Expeditionary Force
numbered over 4,000,000 men organized into a well-balanced military
machine, with combat elements ready to strike the final blow against
the disintegrating enemy forces. On 21 March 1945 the First U. S. Army
held a bridgehead across the Rhine about twenty miles wide and eight
miles deep and had six divisions on the eastern bank of the river,
while the remaining Allied troops were prepared to cross in their
respective zones.
[Illustration: BELGIUM
DEEP SNOW SLOWED MILITARY TRAFFIC. With the completion of the
Ardennes-Alsace Campaign the Allies again began their advance to
the Rhine after having been delayed for six weeks.]
[Illustration: GERMANY AND FRANCE
RIFLEMEN moving through snow-covered, wooded terrain (top). A
105-mm. howitzer M3 firing in support of the infantry advance
(bottom). On 24 January the First U. S. Army was to begin an
attack to breach the West Wall and secure the high ground in the
vicinity of Blankenheim, while part of the Third Army was to
attack with its left wing to cover the First Army. The rest of
the Third Army front was to begin an aggressive defense.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: BELGIUM AND GERMANY
ADVANCING THROUGH THE SNOW, men wearing camouflage suits blend
in with the snow-covered ground, while those without white
suits stand out plainly (top). Infantrymen waiting in their
snow-covered foxhole for an artillery barrage which will start
an offensive (bottom). On 7 February 1945 the attack was halted
with both the First and Third Armies deep in the enemy’s
fortified zone.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: BELGIUM
FRONT OF AN M24 LIGHT TANK showing its 75-mm. gun, newer type
track, and torsion bar suspension. When the offensive halted
attention was given to attacking the Roer dams. The enemy took
advantage of the wooded country, deep valleys, many streams,
poor roads, and the fortifications of the West Wall in an
effort to halt the advance. Bitter fighting developed but by 2
February the U. S. forces had reached a point within two miles
of Schleiden. On 8 February the Canadian First Army struck
the German forces west of the Rhine, the first of a series of
attacks that were to destroy the enemy.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
SARREBOURG SARRE RIVER NIEDERLEUKEN BEURIG
SAAREBOURG AND THE SARRE RIVER AREA. This picture is typical of
the rolling, wooded country, broken by river and deep valleys,
through which Allied troops advanced during the fighting along
the German frontier. The area was important during the Lorraine
campaign since the enemy forces might join the German troops
striking northwest from the Colmar pocket, or at least threaten
the rear of the U. S. Seventh Army.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
AN M4 MEDIUM TANK-DOZER cleaning a street in Colmar (top).
German pillboxes along a road leading to the Colmar plain
(bottom).]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
THE TOWN OF BREISACH, Germany, during a heavy artillery
shelling.]
[Illustration: GERMANY
VAUBAN CANAL WIDENSOHLEN CANAL RHONE-RHINE CANAL
NEUF BRISACH, FRANCE. On 20 January 1945 U. S. and French
troops of the 6th Army Group began an offensive converging in
the direction of Breisach, Germany, on the eastern bank of the
Rhine. This operation was aimed at the total reduction of the
Colmar pocket west of the Rhine. On 1 February the U. S. forces
had advanced to within three miles of Neuf Brisach while on the
same day the French troops closed up to the Rhine. By 9 February
the Colmar pocket had been eliminated.]
[Illustration: GERMANY
CITADEL ROER RIVER
THE ROER RIVER AT JUELICH, GERMANY. The U. S. Ninth Army’s
assault northeast from Juelich was to be the first of a series
of U. S. drives to the Rhine. This attack was to begin on 10
February 1945. On 9 February the Germans blew open the discharge
valves of the dams in the Schmidt area and although the area
was cleared of enemy troops by the evening of 10 February, it
was too late to stop the flooding of the area. The Roer River
attained a width of 400-1,200 yards, a high water condition
which was to last for two weeks, and prevented the scheduled U.
S. attack.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
LOADING .50-CALIBER AMMUNITION into the wing of a P-47
Thunderbolt fighter plane. On 22 February one of the greatest
aerial operations of the war was carried out by nearly 9,000
aircraft taking off from bases in England, France, the
Netherlands, Belgium, and Italy. The targets, the German
transportation facilities, covered an area of over a quarter of
a million square miles.]
[Illustration: GERMANY
DESTROYED RAILYARD AT RHEINE, Germany, on the main line leading
from Berlin and Hannover into the Netherlands. One of the most
important targets of this attack was the German railway system.
The enemy’s attempts at defense were completely ineffective
as the bombs hit control points, railroad yards, roundhouses,
and bridges. The attack so seriously crippled traffic that the
railroad system did not recover during the war.]
[Illustration: GERMANY
ROER RIVER TREADWAY PONTON BRIDGES. Early on the morning of
23 February the Ninth Army jumped off after a heavy artillery
preparation. Covering the right flank was a corps of the First
Army. Because the enemy was surprised by this attack only
moderate opposition was encountered and by the end of the first
day bridgeheads two to four miles deep were held, infantry
troops were east of the Roer River, and seven bridges were being
completed under a heavy screen of smoke.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
A PORTION OF MUENCHEN-GLADBACH. After crossing the Roer the U.
S. units advanced to within seven miles of the Rhine and closed
in on Muenchen-Gladbach by 28 February. On 1 March one infantry
regiment cleared the city which had a population of 170,000 and
was the largest German city captured up to that time. Located
twelve miles from the Rhine, it was one of the approaches to
the Ruhr. On 3 March contact was made with the British and by 5
March the U. S. Ninth Army had closed up along the Rhine on its
entire front.]
[Illustration: GERMANY
MEDIUM TANK M26 WITH A 90-MM. GUN equipped with a muzzle brake,
introduced in combat early in 1945 (top). Both the light tank
M24 and the medium tank M26 used a torsion bar type suspension
which replaced the volute spring suspension of earlier models.
Troops of the U. S. First Army approaching the Rhine (bottom).
In the First Army area an attack was launched on 23 February
simultaneously with that of the Ninth Army in the north. By 5
March First Army troops had secured all their initial objectives
west of the Rhine.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE AND GERMANY
A GERMAN ANTIAIRCRAFT GUN on medium tank chassis (Pz. Kpfw.
IV with 2-cm. Flakvierling 38) (top). German 380-mm. rocket
projector on Tiger E chassis (Sturmmorser) (bottom). The German
insistence on holding west of the Rhine cost two enemy armies
large quantities of material and heavy losses in manpower.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
155-MM. MOTOR GUN CARRIAGE M12 firing on enemy installations
(top). Infantrymen searching for snipers in Pruem, Germany
(bottom). In the Third Army area probing attacks toward the West
Wall were resumed on 7 February 1945. Self-propelled 155-mm.
guns proved particularly effective in knocking out pillboxes,
and by 12 February Pruem was cleared.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY AND BELGIUM
C-47’s DROPPING SUPPLIES TO INFANTRY TROOPS (top). 2?-ton truck
bogged down in the mud (bottom). Weather and terrain placed
a heavy burden on engineer troops maintaining the roads. As
the ground began to thaw one of the main supply lines became
impassable for a time. Over 190 plane loads of rations,
gasoline, and ammunition were dropped to one division to
maintain its attack.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: LUXEMBOURG
INFANTRYMEN MOVING PRISONERS to the rear across a river near
Echternach (top). Assault troops crossing the Our River
(bottom). Bridgeheads were secured over the Our and Vianden was
cleared by 20 February. Between Vianden and Echternach troops
pushed into the West Wall.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
FRIED EGGS BEING SERVED FOR BREAKFAST, a special treat for the
men stationed near the West Wall (top). Troops moving through
dragon’s teeth of the West Wall fortifications (bottom). By
23 February two corps of the Third Army had fought their way
through the West Wall to the Pruem River.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
CAVALRY RECONNAISSANCE TROOPS passing a German 75-mm. antitank
gun in the outskirts of Saarburg, Germany (top). Firing a
.30-caliber machine gun M1917A1 (bottom). On 21 February
Saarburg was cleared by one task force of the Third Army, while
a part of an armored division drove north and cleared the tip of
the Saar-Moselle triangle the next day.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: BELGIUM
A SIGNAL CORPS MOTION PICTURE CAMERAMAN wading through the
mud of the February thaws while photographing the activities
of a military unit. By the end of February the Third Army was
advancing toward Trier and Bitburg. By 5 March 1945 Trier was
captured and preparations were being made for the final drive to
the Rhine.]
[Illustration: GERMANY
TROOPS OF THIRD ARMY waiting for the order which would start a
drive to the Rhine. The two armored vehicles are German armored
personnel carriers (top). Tanks and infantry entering Andernach
(bottom). The Rhine city of Andernach was captured on 9 March
and contact was made with U. S. First Army units the next day.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
A MEDIUM TANK of an armored division of the U. S. First Army
knocked out by enemy artillery fire. During the first week of
March the First Army advanced toward the Rhine with parts of its
forces while others launched a strong attack from Euskirchen to
converge on the Third Army area in the vicinity of Ahrweiler.]
[Illustration: GERMANY
HANDIE-TALKIE. An infantryman, armed with a carbine equipped
with a grenade launcher M8, using a handie-talkie radio SCR 536.]
[Illustration: GERMANY
AN ARTILLERYMAN DIRECTS FIRE, using an azimuth instrument M1 for
spotting and observing.]
[Illustration: GERMANY
THE CITY OF COLOGNE on the banks of the Rhine. U. S. First
Army forces took Cologne on 7 March. The enemy had withdrawn
most of the veteran troops who had defended the city and left
its Volkssturm troops to be battered by the advancing U. S.
soldiers. By 9 March the First Army zone was cleared of enemy
troops west of the Rhine.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
FIRST ARMY MEN AND EQUIPMENT crossing the Ludendorf railroad
bridge which became known as the Remagen Bridge. This was
the only bridge across the Rhine which was left intact. The
attention of the First Army was focused at Remagen during the
critical days of securing a bridgehead over the Rhine. The
capture of this bridge was an unexpected windfall, because the
retreating enemy troops had placed charges and were to blow the
bridge at 1600 on 7 March. The first U. S. troops reached the
bridge at 1550 and as the first charges began to explode army
engineers cut the wires to the others. Thus the bridge, while
damaged, was still intact and enabled the U. S. forces to cross
the river.]
[Illustration: GERMANY
THE LUDENDORF BRIDGE four hours before it collapsed (top). The
bridge after it fell into the Rhine (bottom). After capturing
the bridge troops were rushed across in pursuit of the
retreating Germans while the engineers set to work to repair the
damage. Enemy planes made repeated attacks on the bridge and it
was shelled by long-range artillery. At 1430 on 17 March the
bridge buckled and fell into the river only a few hours before
the repairs would have been completed.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
PONTON BOATS AND FLOATS being moved to the Rhine in the Remagen
area (top). Treadway bridge across the Rhine near Remagen
(bottom). During the period 11–16 March the bridgehead was
expanded north and south and all attacks gained ground despite
the arrival of enemy reinforcements. Treadway and heavy pontoon
bridges were built across the river. As the Rhineland Campaign
came to an end, six divisions were east of the Rhine and six
more were ready to cross in the First Army zone.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
HONNEF ASBERB HILL 441 BRODERKONSBERG
ROLLING, WOODED AREA EAST OF THE RHINE, typical of that
encountered by the Allied troops in their advance into Germany.
A small portion of Honnef, between Bonn and Remagen, may be seen
in the extreme upper left portion of picture.]
[Illustration: GERMANY
MEDICAL AID MAN dressing the wounds of an infantryman.]
[Illustration: GERMANY
WOUNDED SOLDIERS being evacuated by air to hospitals in Paris
and London.]
[Illustration: GERMANY
SARREBOURG BEURIG
AN ENLISTED MAN looking across the Saar River valley between
Serrig and Saarburg. The village of Serrig is in the foreground.
In this area the forward edge of the West Wall, over two miles
deep, followed the eastern bank of the Saar River. An antitank
ditch skirting the southwestern side of the village of Serrig
and a communication trench in the lower right hand corner are
visible. U. S. vehicles may also be seen dispersed through the
area.]
[Illustration: GERMANY
SPRING CLEAN-UP. An artilleryman takes time out for a bath
during a warm spring afternoon while other members of the
105-mm. howitzer crew remain near their piece.]
[Illustration: GERMANY
A MEDIUM TANK being ferried across the Moselle River (top).
Artillery shelling Bingen (bottom). From 11 to 13 March the
Third Army cleaned out the Germans who remained north of the
Moselle. The Third Army next regrouped its forces and started an
attack toward Bingen and Bad Kreuznach to prevent the enemy from
retreating across the Rhine. The attack was then to continue
southeast to secure a crossing site somewhere between Mainz and
Worms. At the same time a drive to Kaiserslautern was to begin
and Coblenz was to be reduced.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
ENEMY EQUIPMENT destroyed during the U. S. advance (top).
Infantrymen moving on the double past a fire started by enemy
shelling (bottom).]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
A THREE-MAN ARTILLERY CREW preparing to fire a multipurpose
88-mm. gun captured in Germany.]
[Illustration: FRANCE AND GERMANY
LIGHT TANK M24 firing (top); medium tank M26 crossing a muddy
field (bottom).]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
SOLDIERS WATCHING VAPOR TRAILS left by bombers on their way to
bomb Germany.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
INFANTRY MEN USING FOOTBRIDGES to cross a river while engineers
complete a Bailey bridge. On 15 March three corps of the Seventh
Army began attacks, one in the heart of the important Saar
industrial area around Saarbruecken, the second driving toward
Zweibruecken and Bitche, and the third from the Moder River.]
[Illustration: GERMANY
75-MM. HOWITZER motor carriage M8 firing on enemy positions.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
TUBE AND RECOIL MECHANISM OF AN 8-INCH GUN M 1 on the way to the
front.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
SEVENTH ARMY TROOPS ENTERING BITCHE (top). Infantrymen marching
cross-country on their way to Germany (bottom).]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
DRAGON’S TEETH, part of the West Wall defenses (top).
Infantrymen climbing over obstacles as they advanced through the
West Wall into Germany (bottom). The advance of the Seventh Army
through the dense mine fields and fortification of the West Wall
was necessarily slow.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
155-MM. MOTOR GUN CARRIAGE M12 FIRING.]
[Illustration: FRANCE AND GERMANY
TWO TYPES OF MINE DETECTORS. At left, AN/PRS-1 type; at right,
SCR 625 (top). Mine detectors were developed by the Signal Corps
primarily for use by Engineer troops. Signal Corps repairmen
splicing wires of an underground cable which was damaged by
artillery fire (bottom).]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY AND FRANCE
INFANTRY PLATOON BEING BRIEFED before making an assault (top).
Soldiers taking a ten-minute break during a march to the front
lines (bottom).]
[Illustration]
CENTRAL EUROPE CAMPAIGN
[Illustration: CENTRAL EUROPE
The Allied Advance during the Central Europe Campaign 22 March
1945 to 11 May 1945]
SECTION VII
Central Europe Campaign
The Central Europe Campaign began on 22 March 1945 with units of the
First U. S. Army across the Rhine in the Remagen area. On the night
of 22–23 March elements of the Third U. S. Army crossed the river
at Oppenheim. As the First and Third Armies crossed the Rhine the
Fifteenth U. S. Army took over the area west of the river from Bonn
to Neuss. On 26 March the Seventh U. S. Army crossed the Rhine north
and south of Worms and, after meeting stiff resistance on the river
bank, broke through the enemy and quickly expanded the bridgehead. The
Ninth U. S. Army crossed the river south of Wesel while the British
Second Army crossed north of the city. Elements of the First Allied
Airborne Army dropped east of the Rhine and linked up with the ground
troops east of the river. In many respects this was the most successful
airborne operation that had been carried out up to this time.
After the Allies were firmly established east of the Rhine the great
German industrial area of the Ruhr was encircled and the defending
troops captured. The advance through Germany was rapid and met with
little opposition except in scattered areas. The Russians drove into
Germany from the east and enemy troops in trying to escape capture
by the Russians surrendered by the thousands to the western Allies.
As the U. S., British, and Canadian troops in the north reached the
line where it was expected they would meet the Russian forces, they
halted. The Third and Seventh U. S. Armies continued their drives into
Czechoslovakia and Austria where a junction was also made with the
Russians.
On 2 May 1945 the German forces in Italy surrendered. Two days later
elements of the Seventh U. S. Army met those of the Fifth U. S. Army,
coming from Italy, at the Brenner Pass. On 9 May 1945 the surrender of
all the German forces became effective, marking the end of the war in
Europe.
[Illustration: GERMANY
TROOPS LOADING INTO AN LCVP to cross the Rhine (top). Engineers
constructing a pontoon treadway bridge over the Rhine (bottom).
A steel treadway bridge was completed by 1800 on 23 March 1945,
and the following day a heavy pontoon bridge was completed.
By noon on 25 March a second treadway bridge was completed.
The crossing of the Rhine in the Third Army area gained
complete tactical surprise and the enemy offered only scattered
resistance. By the evening of 24 March three divisions held a
bridgehead ten miles wide and nine miles deep. These divisions
were closely followed by two more, making a total of five on the
east bank of the Rhine.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
INFANTRYMEN BOARDING AN LCVP to cross the Rhine (top). An
assault boat raft ferrying a 90-mm. gun motor carriage M36
across the Rhine (bottom). Troops of the Third U. S. Army
first crossed the Rhine at Oppenheim on the night of 22–23
March. Utilizing assault rafts and attacking without artillery
or aerial preparation, six battalions were across the river
before daybreak with a loss of only twenty-eight men killed and
wounded. Following the assault boats were landing craft and
DUKW’s. The LCVP’s were manned by naval personnel who arrived at
the river an hour after the assault began.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
JEEPS AND TANKS CROSSING THE RHINE at Boppard, Germany. On 24
March 1945 a crossing in the rugged Rhine gorge north of Boppard
was made and by 25 March a bridgehead eight miles wide and
three miles deep was held. A treadway bridge was constructed at
Boppard.]
[Illustration: GERMANY
AN INFANTRYMAN COVERS A GERMAN as he surrenders. In the First
Army area an attack from the Remagen bridgehead was carried out,
and preparations were made to advance to the Kassel area.]
[Illustration: GERMANY
ARMORED TROOPS MOVING TO THE FRONT as prisoners are marched
along the autobahn to the rear (top). Infantrymen entering
Frankfurt (bottom). The bridgeheads along the Rhine were
expanded and on 26 March Third Army troops entered Frankfurt.
The advance moved northward toward Kassel. The Fifteenth Army
was instructed to take over the west bank of the Rhine from Bonn
to Neuss by 1 April, to assume command of the division which
was guarding the Brittany ports, and to be prepared to occupy,
organize, and govern the Rhine provinces as the 12th Army Group
attacks progressed eastward.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
FRANKFURT ON THE MAIN RIVER, showing the Frankfurt cathedral.
By 28 March Frankfurt had been half cleared of enemy troops and
Hanau completely cleared. Part of a large enemy pocket west of
Wiesbaden had been mopped up and contact was made between the
First and Third U. S. Army troops.]
[Illustration: GERMANY
CAPTURED FOURTEEN-YEAR-OLD BOYS who were members of the “Air
Guard.” On 28 March First Army troops were closing up along
the upper Lahn River. Infantry divisions quickly followed the
armored spearheads to mop up enemy pockets of bypassed troops
and to clear the areas which had been taken in the rapid
advances. In six days the shallow Remagen foothold had been
expanded to a lodgement area sixty-five miles deep. The advance
to Kassel continued.]
[Illustration: GERMANY
CROSSING THE RHINE NEAR WORMS, GERMANY. U. S. Seventh Army
troops crossed the Rhine near Worms at 0230 on 26 March. These
forces met small arms and scattered mortar fire while crossing
and, after landing on the east bank of the river, met stiff
enemy resistance north of Worms. South of Worms the troops
reached the far shore with little opposition but as they moved
eastward the resistance increased. Two panzer counterattacks
were turned back during that morning. By evening of 26 March the
bridgehead had been expanded to an area of fifteen miles wide
and seven miles deep.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
A DUPLEX-DRIVE TANK (DD tank), with its flotation device raised,
entering the water (top); flotation device after being lowered
(bottom). The canvas flotation device made the tank vulnerable
to mines and objects floating in the water.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
GERMAN PRISONERS being marched westward across the Rhine as
troops of the Ninth Army move eastward into Germany (top).
Enlisted men at their .50-caliber Browning machine gun HB M2,
alert for enemy aircraft (bottom). The Ninth Army was to attack
south of Wesel with its main bridging area at Rheinberg.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
TOW ROPE BEING ATTACHED TO A GLIDER as the First Allied Airborne
Army prepares to take off for landings east of the Rhine in
the 21 Army Group area. The mission of this army was to break
up the enemy defenses north of Wesel and deepen the bridgehead
to facilitate the link-up with the ground forces. The airborne
troops took off from bases in England and France and converged
near Brussels. The troops began landing on 24 March 1945 at
1000 and during the next three hours some 14,000 troops were
transported to the battle area by over 1,700 aircraft and 1,300
gliders.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
PLANES AND GLIDERS loaded and waiting to take off for the
landings east of the Rhine (top). Aerial view of planes and
gliders before the take-off (bottom). Losses were comparatively
light for an operation of this size. Under 4 percent of the
gliders were destroyed and fifty-five aircraft were lost.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
LIBERATORS OVER THE RHINE shortly before they dropped supplies
to the airborne troops which landed east of the Rhine.
Immediately after the glider landings, a resupply mission was
flown in very low by 250 Liberators of the Eighth U. S. Air
Force. It met heavy flak and fourteen planes were shot down, but
85 percent of the supplies were accurately dropped.]
[Illustration: GERMANY
MEMBERS OF FIRST ALLIED AIRBORNE ARMY after landing near Wesel.
On the ground the airborne forces met with varying resistance.
Bridges over the Issel were seized and 3,500 prisoners were
taken. This airborne operation was the most successful carried
out to this time. The attack had achieved surprise and the
airborne troops reorganized quickly after landing. Ninth Army
troops held a bridgehead nine miles wide and three miles deep by
the end of the day (24 March).]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
A NINTH ARMY CONVOY on the highway leading to Muenster, Germany.]
[Illustration: GERMANY
SIGNALMEN ROLL A REEL ASHORE on the east bank of the Rhine after
laying a submarine cable on the bottom of the river from a DUKW
(top). Destroyed equipment left behind by the retreating enemy
(bottom). On 25 March the First Army broke out of their Remagen
bridgehead, the Third Army reached the Main River, and contact
was made between the British Second Army and the Canadian First
Army.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
WHITE FLAGS OF SURRENDER hang from buildings in a deserted
street of a German town (top). As infantry troops march through
a town, an old woman looks at a demolished building (bottom).
During the advance into Germany many towns surrendered to the
Allied troops and the buildings remained undamaged. However,
in some towns enemy troops offered resistance and fighting and
shelling ensued. In one week five Allied armies were on the east
bank of the Rhine and twenty-four bridges had been constructed
to replace those which were knocked out. During this period the
Allied casualties were much lighter than had been expected. The
last German line of defense had been shattered.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
TWO KNOCKED-OUT GERMAN SELF-PROPELLED GUNS (Pz. Jaeg. Tiger
with 12.8-cm. PJK 44). This vehicle, called a Jaegdtiger, was
the most formidable self-propelled antitank gun used by the
Germans during the war. It consisted of a 12.8-cm. PJK 44 (L/55)
(less muzzle brake) mounted on a Tiger B chassis. The gun could
penetrate 6 to 8 inches of armor at 1,000 yards. Weight of the
vehicle was 77 tons.]
[Illustration: GERMANY
MEDIUM TANKS M26 moving through Wesel on the way to the front.]
[Illustration: GERMANY
P-47 FORCED DOWN OVER GERMANY (top). B-24 which crash-landed in
Germany (bottom).]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
GERMAN V-BOMB found by the U. S. troops as they overran Germany
(top). An enemy jetpropelled fighter plane (bottom).]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
CIVILIANS WATCHING U. S. TROOPS as they advance through
Duesseldorf (top). A transportation corps train moving over
a bridge which was constructed across the Rhine at Wesel by
the engineers (bottom). With all three Allied army groups
established on the east bank of the Rhine plans were made to
encircle the Ruhr. By 1 April 1945 a trap was closed which
formed a 4,000-mile square pocket and included the Ruhr
industrial area.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
SEVENTH ARMY TROOPS ADVANCING after capturing the town of
Mergentheim (top). Engineers operating an assault ferry across
the Neckar River in Heilbronn (bottom). On 28 March the
Seventh Army launched its attack out of the Worms bridgehead.
The assault was halted on 4 April when strong resistance was
encountered at Heilbronn. On 31 March the French First Army
crossed the Rhine at Speyer and Germersheim and on 4 April
captured Karlsruhe.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
4.5-INCH MULTIPLE ROCKET LAUNCHER T34 mounted on a medium tank.
The Germans stubbornly defended the industrial area of the Ruhr
even though an army group was caught in the trap with little
hope of escape. On the Allied flanks, advances were made as the
enemy began to disintegrate.]
[Illustration: GERMANY
C-47 TRANSPORT, carrying gasoline, lands on an airstrip in
Germany (top). Ten-ton semitrailers in Germany with four
750-gallon skid tanks loaded with gasoline (bottom). The
versatility of these tanks made it possible to use them on a
number of different types of vehicles. During the last months
of the war the rapid advances of all the Allied troops made
fuel supply a difficult problem. Fuel was transported by every
available means to assure the troops an adequate supply.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
LINEMAN of a Signal Corps construction battalion fastening
wire to an insulator on the top of a telephone pole at Bingen
on the Rhine (top). Liberated slave laborers help themselves
to food and supplies in a store in Hannover (bottom). With
the liberation of the slave laborers who had worked in German
factories many problems arose, and Allied Military Government
offices were established as quickly as possible to cope with
them.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
INFANTRYMEN AND TANKERS take time out for a short rest during
their rapid advance. On 4 April the Ninth Army was to start an
attack southward and the First U. S. Army was to drive to the
north. While these two armies were eliminating the Ruhr pocket,
the Fifteenth Army was to hold the line on the Rhine.]
[Illustration: GERMANY
MACHINE GUNNERS of a First Army division covering a road
intersection (top). Infantryman passes burning U. S. vehicles
that were ambushed by enemy troops (bottom). During the first
fighting in the Ruhr the enemy showed spirit. On 4 April
ten counterattacks were launched in an attempt to break out
of the pocket. Heavy fighting continued in many towns with
the civilians fighting alongside German soldiers. Dug-in
self-propelled guns supported the German infantry. The line was
drawn tighter by the Allies and on 10 April Essen, home of the
great Krupp armament works, was cleared by the U. S. assaulting
troops. By 13 April the mopping-up stage had been reached.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
PRISONER OF WAR ENCLOSURE. On 14 April the Ruhr pocket was split
in two, and prisoners arrived in such large numbers that Allied
facilities were taxed to the limit. On 16 April the eastern half
of the pocket collapsed and two days later the pocket ceased
to exist. There were 325,000 prisoners, including 30 generals,
counted as they were taken. This represented twenty-one
divisions as well as many nondivisional units.]
[Illustration: GERMANY
INFANTRYMEN PASS A DEAD GERMAN as they cross a stream (top).
Third Army troops climbing a steep hill in the mountainous
region (bottom). On 10 April the Ninth, First, and Third Armies
resumed the attack to the east with twenty-two divisions. Only
in the Harz Mountains was any serious organized resistance
encountered. The Germans had hurriedly assembled about 10,000
men to form an army which was initially to break through into
the Ruhr pocket. When that failed it was to break through to the
Thuringian pocket. This also failed and the small army which
represented the last of the German manpower was encircled by the
U. S. forces.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
VEHICLES OF AN ARMORED DIVISION passing through a burning
German town. On 18 April the three armies were along the Elbe
River-Mulde River-Chemnitz-Plauen-Bayreuth line which was a
restraining line established because of the probability of
contact with the Russian troops advancing from the east. In the
north the 21 Army Group was advancing on Bremen and the Elbe
between Wittenberge and Hamburg.]
[Illustration: GERMANY
ENGINEERS, building a bridge across the Saale River, pull a tank
across on one of the pontoon sections (top). Magdeburg, showing
the results of bombing (bottom).]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
TANK DESTROYERS moving through the destroyed town of Magdeburg.
Scenes such as this were found in many German cities by the
advancing Allied forces. Most of the buildings were reduced
to rubble by aerial attacks and artillery shelling, and many
streets had to be cleared before the troops and vehicles could
pass.]
[Illustration: GERMANY
TRAFFIC MOVING ACROSS THE MAIN RIVER at Wuerzburg (top). A
medium tank climbing the bank of a small stream after breaking
through the light wooden bridge (bottom). There was little
activity in the 6th Army Group between 4 and 18 April except on
the northern portion of the army area where the Third Army right
flank was covered. On 5 April Wuerzburg was cleared after three
days of heavy fighting.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
AN ARMORED COMBAT COMMAND moving toward Nuernberg (top). A
German civilian, waving a white flag in surrender, comes toward
a half-track which is about to enter Geisselhardt after shelling
buildings in that town (bottom).]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
INFANTRYMEN MOVING DOWN A STREET in Waldenburg during the
Seventh Army advance. The French First Army cleared Baden-Baden
and Pforzheim and by 15 April Kehl was cleared and preparations
for crossing the Rhine at Strasbourg were made.]
[Illustration: GERMANY
INFANTRYMEN CLIMBING OVER RUBBLE as they clear snipers out of
Nuernberg. By 18 April part of the Seventh Army was in the
battle for Nuernberg. Other troops of that army were halted for
nine days around Heilbronn and along the Neckar and Jagst Rivers.]
[Illustration: GERMANY
ENGINEERS MOVING PONTOONS TO THE DANUBE to start bridging
operations (top). Infantrymen crossing the Danube over a
footbridge (bottom). The Third Army advanced down the Danube
while the First and Ninth Armies held in place, having reached
the line where the meeting with the Russians was to take place.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
U. S. OFFICERS AND ENLISTED MEN MEET RUSSIAN TROOPS in Germany.
On 30 April a division of the Ninth U. S. Army made contact with
the Russians at Apollensdorf. Troops of the First U. S. Army had
met Russian troops earlier.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
MEN OF AN ARMORED DIVISION running through the smoke-filled
streets of a German town (top). Firing on an Austrian town
across the German border (bottom). Most of Czechoslovakia and a
large portion of Austria was left for the Russians to occupy,
but the advancing troops of the Third U. S. Army entered both
these countries during the last days of the war.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
GERMAN SOLDIERS. The First and Ninth Armies, during the latter
part of April and early May 1945, handled thousands of German
soldiers and civilians who were trying to escape the advancing
Russians by crossing the Elbe River into the American zone.]
[Illustration: GERMANY
CAPTURED U-BOATS in a submarine construction and repair yard in
Bremen harbor. Over forty submarines were found by the Allies in
this yard.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
SUBMARINE PENS AT SAINT-NAZAIRE, on the Brittany peninsula. No
attempt was made to capture these U-boat pens as the Allies
advanced through France and Germany, but they were surrounded
and contained until the end of the war.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: AUSTRIA
TANKS AND TRUCKS of a Third Army armored division fording a
stream during their advance into Austria. In the foreground is
a medium tank M 4A 3 (76-mm. long-barrel gun with muzzle brake)
with horizontal volute spring suspension and an improved, wider
track measuring twenty-three inches.]
[Illustration: AUSTRIA
MOVING INTO AUSTRIA.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GERMANY
GERMAN PRISONERS being marched to the prisoner of war enclosure
by Third Army military police. During the period from 22 April
to 7 May the Third Army took more than 200,000 prisoners while
suffering less than 2,400 casualties.]
[Illustration: AUSTRIA
A GERMAN HORSE-DRAWN CONVOY moves along a winding mountain road
in Austria to surrender. From 1 April 1945 until the end of the
war the three armies of the U. S. 12th Army Group took over
1,800,000 prisoners.]
[Illustration: GERMANY
SOLDIERS CROSSING THE DANUBE (Seventh Army). The two armies of
6th Army Group launched a drive into southern Germany, the area
where the remaining German forces supposedly were to make a
determined stand.]
[Illustration: GERMANY
AN ASSAULT BOAT crossing the Danube. Seventh Army men met no
opposition here. In the Black Forest and the Schwaebische Alps
troops of the Seventh Army met some opposition and there was
some fighting as two German armies were trapped and destroyed.]
[Illustration: GERMANY
CAPTURING GUARDS AT DACHAU, ten miles northwest of Munich
(top). A few of the guards of the concentration camp remain
standing with their arms raised while the majority lie on the
ground, waiting to be taken prisoner. An enlisted man gives his
cigarettes to inmates at Dachau (bottom). On 29 April troops of
the U. S. Seventh Army captured Dachau and released over 30,000
prisoners of many nationalities.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: AUSTRIA
TROOPS TAKING COVER as members of a German officer candidate
school fire on them. These enemy troops offered the Seventh Army
considerable resistance before they were taken. In this area
snow remained on the ground until late spring.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: AUSTRIA
SEVENTH AND FIFTH ARMY TROOPS MEET at Nauders, Austria. On 4
May, Seventh U. S. Army troops captured the town of Brenner in
the Brenner Pass, and a few hours later contact was made with
elements of the Fifth U. S. Army which had fought its way up the
Italian peninsula. On the same day Berchtesgaden was entered.]
[Illustration: GERMANY
A GERMAN CIVILIAN reading of the surrender of the German forces
in a division newspaper. On 7 May 1945 the Germans signed the
surrender terms which were to become effective at 0001, 9 May
1945; 8 May, however, was designated as V-E Day (Victory in
Europe). In some remote areas fighting continued until 11 May.]
[Illustration: GERMANY
MEMBERS OF THE STARS AND STRIPES STAFF grab copies of the extra
edition as they come off the press, proclaiming V-E Day (top).
U. S. sailor and soldier celebrate V-E Day in London (bottom).]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
MEN MARCHING TO THE DOCKS AT LE HAVRE to board a ship that will
take them home to be discharged under the new point system. Men
with the highest numbers of points were sent home first for
discharge. These numbers were determined by the total number of
months of service, total number of months overseas, number of
awards and decorations, and the number of dependents.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
U. S. LIBERATED PRISONERS OF WAR leave a plane at Reims on the
first lap of their journey back to the United States.]
[Illustration: ENGLAND
FLOODLIGHTS ILLUMINATE BIG BEN on the Houses of Parliament
as the lights go on again in London on V-E night after being
blacked out during the war years. Early in May 1945 there were
approximately 4,500,000 troops under the command of the supreme
commander in Europe. Casualties for the western Allies numbered
over 800,000. At the end of the war there were nine Allied
armies, totaling ninety-three divisions, on the Continent.]
Appendix A
List of Abbreviations
BAR Browning automatic rifle
cm. Centimeter
DD Duplex drive
DUKW 2½-ton 6 × 6 amphibian truck
E-boat Small torpedo boat (German)
Flak Fliegerabwehrkanone (antiaircraft artillery gun)
Jaeg. Jaegdtiger (tank-destroyer)
K. Kanone (gun)
Kar. Karabiner (carbine)
Kw. Kraftwagen (motor vehicle)
Kw. K. Kampfwagenkanone (tank gun)
LBK Landing barge, kitchen
LBV Landing barge, vehicle
LCI Landing craft, infantry
LCR(S) Landing craft, rubber (small)
LCT Landing craft, tank
LCT(R) Landing craft, tank (rocket)
LCVP Landing craft, vehicle-personnel
LST Landing ship, tank
M. G. Maschinengewehr (machine gun)
mm. Millimeter
OCS Officer Candidate School
Pak. Panzer abwehrkanone (antitank gun)
Pz. Panzer
Pz. Kpfw. Panzerkampfwagen (tank)
SCR Signal Corps Radio
SHAEL Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force
Stu. G. Sturmgeschuetz (self-propelled assault gun)
Stu. K. Sturmkanone (self-propelled assault gun)
U-boat Submarine
WAAC Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps
WAC Women’s Army Corps
Appendix B
Acknowledgments
Acknowledgment is made to the Keystone Press Agency, Ltd., London,
England, for the first photograph in this volume. All other photographs
came from the Department of Defense and were taken from the U. S. Army
files, except for those accredited below to the U. S. Navy, U. S. Air
Force, and U. S. Coast Guard. (At the time these photographs were
taken, the Coast Guard was operating as a part of the Navy.)
U. S. Navy: pp. 24, 77, 94b, 96, 110b, 122
U. S. Air Force: pp. 8, 9, 12, 18, 19, 26, 30, 31, 32, 33, 35,
38, 39, 48, 49, 76, 78–79, 86–87, 94a, 95, 98, 99, 100–101, 104,
112–13, 116, 118, 126, 129a, 130–31, 140–41, 155, 158–59, 176,
177, 180–81, 188–89, 202, 203, 218–19, 226–27, 236–37, 266–67,
280–81, 296–97, 318–19, 330–31, 334–35, 336–37, 339, 341, 358–59
U. S. Coast Guard: pp. 80, 88a, 92
UNITED STATES ARMY IN WORLD WAR II
The following volumes have been published:
The War Department
Chief of Staff: Prewar Plans and Preparations
Washington Command Post: The Operations Division
Strategic Planning for Coalition Warfare: 1941–1942
Strategic Planning for Coalition Warfare: 1943–1944
Global Logistics and Strategy: 1940–1943
Global Logistics and Strategy: 1943–1945
The Army and Economic Mobilization
The Army and Industrial Manpower
The Army Ground Forces
The Organization of Ground Combat Troops
The Procurement and Training of Ground Combat Troops
The Army Service Forces
The Organization and Role of the Army Service Forces
The Western Hemisphere
The Framework of Hemisphere Defense
Guarding the United States and Its Outposts
The War in the Pacific
The Fall of the Philippines
Guadalcanal: The First Offensive
Victory in Papua
CARTWHEEL: The Reduction of Rabaul
Seizure of the Gilberts and Marshalls
Campaign in the Marianas
The Approach to the Philippines
Leyte: The Return to the Philippines
Triumph in the Philippines
Okinawa: The Last Battle
Strategy and Command: The First Two Years
The Mediterranean Theater of Operations
Northwest Africa: Seizing the Initiative in the West
Sicily and the Surrender of Italy
Salerno to Cassino
Cassino to the Alps
The European Theater of Operations
Cross-Channel Attack
Breakout and Pursuit
The Lorraine Campaign
The Siegfried Line Campaign
The Ardennes: Battle of the Bulge
The Last Offensive
The Supreme Command
Logistical Support of the Armies, Volume I
Logistical Support of the Armies, Volume II
The Middle East Theater
The Persian Corridor and Aid to Russia
The China-Burma-India Theater
Stilwell’s Mission to China
Stilwell’s Command Problems
Time Runs Out in CBI
The Technical Services
The Chemical Warfare Service: Organizing for War
The Chemical Warfare Service: From Laboratory to Field
The Chemical Warfare Service: Chemicals in Combat
The Corps of Engineers: Troops and Equipment
The Corps of Engineers: The War Against Japan
The Corps of Engineers: The War Against Germany
The Corps of Engineers: Military Construction in the United States
The Medical Department: Hospitalization and Evacuation; Zone of
Interior
The Medical Department: Medical Service in the Mediterranean and
Minor Theaters
The Ordnance Department: Planning Munitions for War
The Ordnance Department: Procurement and Supply
The Ordnance Department: On Beachhead and Battlefront
The Quartermaster Corps: Organization, Supply, and Services, Volume I
The Quartermaster Corps: Organization, Supply, and Services, Volume II
The Quartermaster Corps: Operations in the War Against Japan
The Quartermaster Corps: Operations in the War Against Germany
The Signal Corps: The Emergency
The Signal Corps: The Test
The Signal Corps: The Outcome
The Transportation Corps: Responsibilities, Organization, and
Operations
The Transportation Corps: Movements, Training, and Supply
The Transportation Corps: Operations Overseas
Special Studies
Chronology: 1941–1945
Military Relations Between the United States and Canada: 1939–1945
Rearming the French
Three Battles: Arnaville, Altuzzo, and Schmidt
The Women’s Army Corps
Civil Affairs: Soldiers Become Governors
Buying Aircraft: Materiel Procurement for the Army Air Forces
The Employment of Negro Troops
Manhattan: The U. S. Army and the Atomic Bomb
Pictorial Record
The War Against Germany and Italy: Mediterranean and Adjacent Areas
The War Against Germany: Europe and Adjacent Areas
The War Against Japan
Index
Aachen, Germany, 217, 218–19
Aerial bombardment. _See_ Bombardment, aerial.
Air attacks
Allied, 8, 24, 26, 33
briefing for, 39
German, 34
Air bases. _See_ Airfields.
Aircraft, Allied, 35
bombers, heavy, 8, 13, 19, 26, 32, 33, 59, 202, 399
bombers, light, 104, 116
bombers, medium, 76, 203
burning, 26
damaged, 399
fighters, 9, 48, 49, 59, 105, 338, 399
gliders, 29, 94, 95, 214, 390, 391, 393
identification of, 76, 95
liaison planes, 42, 248, 294
naval, 24
on fire, 105
transport planes, 94, 214, 345, 404, 435
wrecked, 393
Aircraft, German, 400
Airfields
construction of, 18, 105
France, 391
Germany, 404
“Alligators,” 22.
_See also_ Landing craft.
Ambulances, 317
converted jeep, 204
American Red Cross, 25
Ammunition
.30-caliber, 160
.50-caliber, 338
240-mm. howitzer shells, 316
German, 263
mortar shells, 182, 245, 310
Ammunition dump, 160
Amphibian trucks, DUKW’s, 68, 257
Amphibious landings. _See_ Landing operations.
Andernach, Germany, 350
Antiaircraft guns
40-mm., 60
90-mm., 61, 102, 243
German, 343, 366
Antitank guns
3-inch, 102
57-mm., 151, 217
British, 6, 115
damaged, 154
German, 154, 168, 348, 397
Ardennes Forest, 269, 270, 284
Argentan, France, 177
Armored vehicles, 198, 200.
_See also_ Vehicles.
German, 350
Army Post Office, England, 41
Artificial harbor, OMAHA Beach, 118
Artillery
8-inch guns, 192, 206, 371
8-inch howitzer, 192
75-mm. howitzer (pack), 292
105-mm. howitzers, 23, 42, 43, 114, 186, 232, 250, 327, 363
155-mm. guns, 42, 43, 193, 299
155-mm. howitzers, 103, 125, 270, 293
240-mm. howitzer, 186
German, 366
mortars. _See_ Mortars.
observation planes, 42, 248, 294
Artillery barrage, 364
Assault boats, 7, 428.
_See also_ Landing craft.
Assault guns, German, 215, 397
Autobahn, 384
Avranches, France, 156, 158–59
Azimuth instrument, 353
Bailey bridges, 193, 369
Ball-bearing factory, on fire, 31
Bangalore torpedo, 28
Barbed wire, 28, 110, 191, 207, 278, 302
Barrage balloons, 77, 92, 97, 107, 123
Bastogne, Belgium, 280–81, 308
“Bazookas,” 53, 185.
_See also_ Rocket launchers.
Beaches
British sector, 76
OMAHA, 78–79, 80, 81, 82, 84, 106, 118, 119
UTAH, 86–87, 88, 89, 97
Belfast, Northern Ireland, 3, 4
Beurig, Germany, 330–31
Big Ben, V-E night, 436
Bingen, Germany, 364
Bitche, France, 372, 318–19
Bivouac area, 288
Bois du Mont du Roc, France, 126
Bomb, robot, 35
Bomb damage, 139, 151, 154, 156, 217, 344.
_See also_ War damage.
fortifications, 127
France, 125, 178
Germany, 339, 340, 354
railroad bridge, 98
Bomb strike, Schweinfurt, Germany, 30
Bombardment. _See also_ Air attacks.
aerial, 8, 31, 33, 116, 202
artillery, 333
Bombers
heavy, B-17, 8, 13, 19, 32, 33, 59, 202
heavy, B-24, 8, 26, 32, 399
light, A-20, 104, 116
medium, B-26, 76, 203
Bombs, 1,000-pound, 21
Boppard, Germany, 382
Breisach, Germany, 333
Bremen, Germany, 33
Bremen harbor, Germany, 421
Brest, France, 188–89, 207
Bridges
Bailey, 193, 369
damaged, 98, 355, 356, 402
footbridges, 369, 417
ponton, construction of, 60
ponton, heavy, 387
railroad, 401
treadway, 161, 208, 240, 340, 357, 382
British troops, 4
Broderkons Berg, Germany, 358–59
Bulldozers, 129, 161.
_See also_ Tractors.
Cameras
moving picture, 349
still picture, 349
Camouflage, 103, 125, 314
8-inch gun, 305
antiaircraft gun, 61
armored car, 285
German, 91, 117, 124
gun motor carriage, 285
helmet, 108
howitzer, 277
suits, 151
tanks, 150, 204
Canals
Rhône-Rhine, France, 334–35
Vauban, France, 334–35
Vire-Taute, France, 112–13
Widensohlen, France, 334–35
Carbine M1, 184.
_See also_ Small arms.
Carentan, France, 112–13, 114, 115
Cargo planes. _See_ Transport planes.
Casualties, 83, 84, 108
evacuation of, 138, 204, 253
German, 409
Causeway, floating, 119
damaged, 120
Celebration, V-E Day, 433
Champs Elysées, 191
Cherbourg, France, 128, 129, 130–31
enemy fortifications, 127
Civilians
French, 191
German, 396, 401, 405, 414, 432
Clothing
camouflaged, 151, 265, 284
decontamination suits, 11
German, 265
paratroop, 16
pilot, 12
repair of, 307
shoepacs, 283
winter, 11, 284, 292
Colmar, France, 332
Cologne, Germany, 354
Communications, 40, 166
equipment, 56
hand generator GN 45, 85
repair of, 375, 405
SCR 284, 85
SCR 536, 85, 352
short wave aerial kite, 27
switchboard BD71, 175
telephone lines, repair of, 303
Construction
airfields, 18, 105
bridges, 369, 381
pipeline, 196
ponton bridge, 60
Convoy, motor, 155, 170, 308, 317, 357, 394, 424
Crane, truck-mounted, 161
Cub plane, 42
Dachau, Germany, 429
Danube River, 417
Debarkation of troops, Northern Ireland, 3
Depot
Engineer, 44
Ordnance, 20, 22, 43
Distribution point, gasoline, 255
Domfront, France, 178
Dreux, France, 168
Duesseldorf, Germany, 401
DUKW’s, 68, 97
Enclosure, prisoner of war, 408
Evacuation
of casualties, 138, 204, 361
of pilots, 96
Exercise fabius, 66, 67.
_See also_ Training.
Falaise, France, 176
Ferry, Rhino, 122
Fighter planes
P-38, 9
P-47, 9, 59, 338
P-47, damaged, 399
P-47, on fire, 105
P-51, 9, 48, 49
British, 35
German, 400
Fire fighters, British, 34
First aid. _See_ Medical operations.
Flak, 8, 202
Flooded area, 229, 248
Footbridges, 369, 417
Fort de Queuleu, France, 226–27
Fort du Roule, France, 130–31
Fort Saint Julien, France, 226–27
Fort Sebastian, France, 318–19
Fortifications, 216, 347
dragon’s teeth, 373
German, 91, 315, 332
German, damaged, 127
Foxholes, 142, 228, 328
Frankfurt, Germany, 384, 385
French Forces of the Interior, 190
Fuel tank, 48
Gas masks, wearing of, 4, 11
Glider pilots, evacuation of, 96
Gliders, 29, 94, 95, 214, 390, 391
British, 29, 94
wrecked, 94, 393
Gun crews
antiaircraft, 102
naval, 77
Gun motor carriages, 200, 225, 233, 234, 285, 344, 374
Guns
8-inch, 192, 206, 304, 305, 371
155-mm., 193, 299
antiaircraft, 90-mm., 102
antitank, 3-inch, 102
antitank, British, 115
German, 91, 124, 221
Half-tracks, 65, 217, 253, 414
on fire, 264
Hand grenades, 6, 142, 274
Harbors
artificial, 118, 120
Antwerp, 256
Bremen, 421
Brest, 188–89
Cherbourg, 130–31, 132, 172
damaged, 120
Saint-Malo, 180–81
Saint-Nazaire, 422
Headquarters, ETO, London, 45
Hedgerow cutter, 133
Hedgerows, 134, 144, 149, 150, 165
Helmets, 163
camouflaged, 108
World War I, 4, 6
World War II, 16
Hill,
Germany, 358–59
Hospitals
England, 50
evacuation, 109
Howitzers. _See also_ Artillery.
105-mm., 114, 232, 250, 327, 363
155-mm., 103, 125, 270, 293
Howitzer motor carriages, 23, 251, 277, 370
Huertgen Forest, Germany, 234, 235, 241
Infantrymen, 128, 129, 144, 152, 162, 163, 165, 179, 182, 187,
201, 205, 228, 238, 269, 274, 282, 376
aboard ship, 92
column of, 81, 89, 97, 167, 216, 249, 312, 372
German, 197, 263, 264, 265
in glider, 29
wounded, 197
Invasion. _See_ Landing operations.
Invasion beaches. _See_ Beaches.
Invasion operations, 96
Invasion preparations, 70, 75.
_See also_ Training.
Jeeps, 29, 244, 326
with wire cutter, 143
Juelich, Germany, 336–37
Kommerscheidt, Germany, 236–37
Landing craft
assault boat, 7, 428
converted to rocket launcher, 63
LBK, 77
LBV, 77
LCI, 64, 92
LCR, 82
LCT, 55, 64, 65, 77, 81, 96
LGVP, 66, 69, 70, 80, 81, 380, 381
LST, 55, 70, 121
LST, deck loaded, 67
LVT, 22
Landing operations, 76, 78–79, 80, 81, 86–87, 88.
_See also_ Beaches.
Liaison plane, 42
equipped with skis, 294
Life preservers, 7, 12, 82
Life raft, 27
Living conditions, 228, 288, 322, 363
London, 34, 45
Lousberg, Germany, 218–19
Ludendorf Bridge, 355, 356
Lunéville, France, 221
Machine guns
.30-caliber Browning, 11, 134, 179, 217
.45-caliber, 6
.50-caliber Browning, 389
.50-caliber Browning, aircraft, 13
German, 52
Magdeburg, Germany, 411, 412
Mail call, 152
Main River, Germany, 30, 385
Maneuvers, 29, 47, 64.
_See also_ Training.
Manhay, Belgium, 296–97
Map making equipment, 36, 37
Maps
Central Europe, 378
Normandy, 72
Northern France, 146
Rhineland, 210, 324
Marshalling area, England, 69
Masks
gas, 11
oxygen, 12
Medical aid, administering of, 19, 83, 108
Medical aid men, 19, 83, 108, 138, 197, 204, 253, 309, 360
Medical operations, 309, 360
immunization, 252
surgery, 109
Mess, 129, 238, 288, 295, 347
Metz, France, 224, 226–27
Military police, 171, 357
Mine detectors, 88, 93, 375
Mine exploder, 240
Mine field, German, 93
Mines
antipersonnel, 93
antitank, 279
Montebourg, France, 125
Mortars
60-mm., 6, 53, 183
81-mm., 6, 65, 182, 310
chemical, 4.2-inch, 245
Moselle River, 201, 204, 208, 220, 226–27, 244, 364
Motor carriages
gun, 46, 64, 103, 135, 185, 194, 199, 207, 233, 234, 285, 344,
374, 412
howitzer, 150, 169, 199, 251, 277, 370
Mud, 213, 222, 231, 234, 345
Muenchen-Gladbach, Germany, 341
Neckar River, 402
Negro troops, 10, 103, 107
Neuf Brisach, France, 334–35
Niederleuken, Germany, 330–31
Night firing, 316
Nuernberg, Germany, 416
Observation posts, 166, 353, 362
Obstacle, tank, 216, 373
Officer Candidates School, 11
OMAHA Beach, 78–79, 118
Optical equipment, repair of, 14
Our River, 346
Oxygen mask, 12
Oxygen tank, 13
Pack howitzer, 292.
_See also_ Artillery.
Parachute jump suit, 16, 75
Parachutes, 58
Parade, Paris, 191
Paratroopers, 58, 306
Paris, 190
Pillbox, German, 332
Pipeline, gasoline, 132, 196, 254
Pistol, automatic, .45-caliber, 6
Plasma, administrating of, 19, 83
“Priest,” 23
Prisoners of war
Allied, 268, 435
German, 84, 110, 128, 153, 239, 276, 300, 346, 383, 384, 386,
389, 408, 425, 429
Propaganda leaflets, German, 152
Pruem, Germany, 344
Queen Elizabeth, 25
Quonset huts, 50
Railroad
bridge, 98, 401
destroyed, 173
equipment, 44, 54, 172, 173
French, 173
yards, 218–19, 405
Railroads
Belgium, 256, 258
damaged, 339
France, 99, 112–13, 226–27
Germany, 339
Recreation, 184
Red Ball Highway, 170, 171.
_See also_ Roads.
Remagen Bridge, Germany, 355, 356
Repair shop, Ordnance, 14
Rescue launch, British, 27
Rescue operations, 82
Rheine, Germany, 339
Rhine River, 354, 356, 357, 380, 381, 382, 387
Rhino ferry, 122
Rhône-Rhine Canal, 334–35
Rifles. _See also_ Small arms.
.30-caliber M1, 6, 7, 29, 144, 162
.30-caliber M1903, 6
.30-caliber M1903A3, 29
.30-caliber M1918A2, 6, 29
.30-caliber M1919A4, 6
M1 with rifle grenade, 271
German, 52
River crossings, 201, 244, 346, 364, 369, 380, 381, 387, 402, 409,
427
Rivers
France, 98, 140–41, 161, 201, 204, 208, 220, 226–27, 244
Germany, 30, 330–31, 336–37, 340, 354, 356, 357, 364, 380, 381,
382, 385, 387, 402, 411, 417
Luxembourg, 346
Road signs, 286, 424
Roads
Ardennes, 266–67, 271
Austria, 424, 426, 427
Belgium, 198, 280–81, 296–97, 312
France, 78–79, 86–87, 126, 136, 138, 150, 155, 157, 158–59, 167,
170, 185, 195, 226–27, 229, 247, 320
Germany, 216, 234, 235, 236–37, 264, 394, 398, 425
Rocket launcher site, German, 117
Rocket launchers. _See also_ Small arms.
2.36-inch, 29, 53, 185, 306
4.5-inch, 241, 403
German, 174
Rocket projector, German, 343
Roer River, 336–37, 340
Saale River, 411
Saare River, 330–31
Saarrbourg, Germany, 330–31
Saint-Lô, France, 139, 140–41
Saint-Malo, France, 179, 180–81
Saint-Nazaire harbor, France, 422
Schweinfurt, Germany, 30, 31
Seatrain, 172
Seine River, 98
Serrig, Germany, 362
Shell fire, German, 90
Small arms, 6, 29
carbine, 184
German, 52
machine guns, 134, 179, 217, 291
rifles, 162, 271
rocket launcher, 2.36-inch, 53
Thompson submachine gun, 75
Smoke screens, 68, 242
Street fighting, 205, 217, 224, 407
Cherbourg, 128
Submachine guns, .45-caliber, 29, 75.
_See also_ Small arms.
Submarine pens, German, 422
Submarines, German, 421
bombing of, 24
Supply operations, 122, 132, 170, 171, 256, 257, 258, 308, 404
aerial, 95, 345
German, 99
Normandy, 123
UTAH Beach, 97
Tank destroyer, 412
Tanks
damaged, 136, 137
French, 157
German, 136, 137, 268, 301
light, 47, 133, 150, 247, 289, 314, 367
medium, 15, 22, 47, 62, 137, 149, 156, 160, 164, 168, 195, 204,
221, 230, 231, 233, 244, 307, 332, 342, 351, 367, 388, 398,
403, 414, 419, 423
on fire, 351
waterproofed, 62, 388
with hedgerow cutter, 133, 149
with rocket launcher, 403
with track extensions, 230, 231
Tanks, containers
fuel, 48
oxygen, 13
water, 50
10 Downing Street, London, 45
Tents, 50, 109
Terrain
Ardennes, 266–67
Austria, 426, 430, 431
Belgium, 280–81, 296–97
England, 35
flooded, 229
France, 78–79, 86–87, 95, 98, 100–101, 126, 140–41, 158–59, 176,
177, 220, 226–27, 318–19, 330–31, 334–35
Germany, 236–37, 336–37, 358–59, 362, 373, 409
Thanksgiving Day dinner, 228
_The Stars and Stripes_, V-E edition, 433
Tractors
diesel, 161
high-speed, 18-ton M4, 192
Train, German, wrecked, 99
Training
England, 6, 23, 28, 29, 42, 46, 53, 58, 60, 65, 66, 68, 69
Northern Ireland, 5, 17, 52
Officer Candidate School, 11
Scotland, 7
Transport planes, C-47, 94, 345, 404, 435
Transport ship, British, 25
Treadway bridges, 208, 240, 340, 357, 382
construction of, 161
Trench, 251
Trévières, France, 100–101
Troops. _See also_ Infantrymen.
German, 420
Russian, 418
20 Grosvenor Square, London, 45
UTAH Beach, 86–87, 88
Vauban Canal, France, 334–35
V-bomb, German, 400
Vehicles
ambulances, 19, 109, 317, 326
amphibian trucks, 68, 97, 123
armored car, 156, 157, 198, 200, 285
bulldozers, 44, 129, 161
burning, 407
cargo carrier, 253
damaged, 395
French, 190
German, 115, 195, 420, 426
gun motor carriages, 46, 103, 135, 185, 200, 207, 225
half-tracks, 46, 65, 217, 414
horse-drawn, 420, 426
howitzer motor carriages, 150, 169, 199
jeeps, 29, 326
on fire, 195
semitrailer, 258, 404
tank recovery, 65, 216
tractor, 20, 21, 44, 192
trailer, 170
trucks, 18, 121, 123, 170
weapons carrier, 122
Vire River, France, 161
Vire-Taute Canal, France, 112–13
Waldenburg, Germany, 415
War damage, 129, 155, 364, 385, 389, 411, 412, 415, 416
Water tanks, 50
“Weasel,” 253
Weather conditions, 5, 228, 229, 249, 250, 253, 255, 266–67, 288,
295, 320, 326, 430
Weather forecasting equipment, 38
Widensohlen Canal, France, 334–35
Women
American Red Cross, 25
Army Auxiliary Corps, 25
Army Corps, 40
Army nurse, 51
Wuerzburg, Germany, 413
✋ U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1988 203-040/80010
PIN: 039019-000
FOOTNOTES:
[1] See Gordon A. Harrison, Cross-Channel Attack, Washington, D. C.,
1951.
[2] See Martin Blumenson, Break-Out and Pursuit.
[3] See H. M. Cole, The Lorraine Campaign, Washington, D. C., 1950; and
Gordon A. Harrison and Forest C. Pogue, Jr., The Rhineland and Central
Germany, now in preparation for the series U. S. ARMY IN WORLD WAR II.
Transcriber’s Notes:
Obvious printers’, punctuation and spelling errors have been corrected
silently.
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