The M45 found use throughout the war as a land-based weapon, particularly during the Battle of the Bulge. Although the Allies achieved air supremacy by the invasion of Normandy in June 1944, German attack runs were still a threat. German "Jabo" fighter-bombers could approach and attack at low altitude and then quickly retreat to avoid Allied fighters. The Luftwaffe also mustered a large number of planes for Operation Bodenplatte that took place on New Year's Day 1945. On March 7, 1945 when the U.S. Army discovered the Ludendorff Bridge intact across the Rhine, M45-armed U.S. half-tracks defended the American troops crossing the bridge on March 9, 1945 to great effect. At Oppenheim, when the Allies were gathering to make a massive push after crossing the River Rhine (March 1945), 248 German warplanes were used in an effort to destroy the bridge first. U.S. Army anti-aircraft artillery battalions massed, shot down 30% of the attacking force mainly with M45 Quadmounts and prevented the bridge from being touched before the U.S. Third Army went into Germany.