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 William T. Hutchinson

President, Williams College University of Chicago

Henry S. Commager S. L. A. Marshall

Columbia University Detroit News

Douglas S. Freeman E. Dwight Salmon

Richmond News Leader Amherst College

Pendleton Herring Col. Thomas D. Stamps

Social Science Research Council United States Military Academy

John D. Hicks Charles S. Sydnor

University of California 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

iii

. . . 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

vii

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

ix

SECTION I

The Build-up in the United 

Kingdom and the Air 

Offensive, Europe*

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, largescale 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

* See Gordon A. Harrison, Cross-Channel Attack, Washington, D. C., 1951.
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.

2 INTRODUCTION
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.

NORTHERN IRELAND 3
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.

4 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.

NORTHERN IRELAND 5
INFANTRYMAN WITH WEAPONS. Soldier is holding a .45-caliber Thompson submachine gun M1928A1; from left to right are: 60-mm. mortar M2, British antitank

gun, .30-caliber U. S. rifle Ml with bayonet Ml attached, .30-caliber Browning

machine gun M1919A4, hand grenades, .45-caliber automatic pistol M1911A1, .30-

caliber U. S. rifle M1903 with grenade launcher Ml attached, .30-caliber Browning

automatic rifle M1913A2, and 81-mm. mortar Ml (top). Infantryman has just completed an obstacle course (bottom).

6 ENGLAND
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 (BAR). The man in right foreground is armed with this weapon. The

two men behind the soldier with the BAR are armed with .30-caliber U. S. rifles Ml.

SCOTLAND 7
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.

8 GERMANY
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.

ENGLAND 9
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 Ml helmet worn by the sergeant was standardized on 9 June

1941, and mass production began shortly thereafter. It replaced the earlier

M1917A1 helmet shown in preceding pictures.

10 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.

ENGLAND 11
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.

12 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.

ENGLAND 13
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.

14 ENGLAND
A REPAIRED M3 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.

ENGLAND 15
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.

16 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.

ENGLAND 17
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.

18 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.

ENGLAND 19
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.

20 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.)

ENGLAND 21
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 M4 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.

22 ENGLAND
A 105-MM. HOWITZER MOTOR CARRIAGE M7 on maneuvers in England, March

1943. This was an open-top, lightly armored vehicle and was the principal artillery

weapon of an armored division.

ENGLAND 23
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.

24 NORTH ATLANTIC
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.

SCOTLAND 25
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.

26 GERMANY
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.

NORTH SEA 27
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.

28 ENGLAND
MEMBERS OF AN AIRBORNE DIVISION loading a 1/4-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 M1903A3; .30-caliber U. S.

rifles M1; .45-caliber Thompson submachine gun M1; 2.36-inch rocket launcher

M1A1; and .30-caliber Browning automatic rifle M1918A2. 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.

ENGLAND 29
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.

30 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.

GERMANY 31
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.

32 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.

GERMANY 33
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.

34 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.

ENGLAND 35
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.

36 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.

ENGLAND 37
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.

38 ENGLAND
MEMBERS OF A FIGHTER GROUP being briefed before taking off on a mission

England, 1944

ENGLAND 39
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.

40 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.

ENGLAND 41
ARTILLERY UNITS TRAINING IN ENGLAND. A liaison plane flying over a battery of 105-mrn. howitzers M2A1 (top). A 155-mm. gun firing (bottom).

42 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.

ENGLAND 43
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).

44 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.

ENGLAND 45
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-

rnm. gun motor carriages M3. 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 M18, 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

46 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 M5A1 (top), medium tank M4A1 (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.

ENGLAND 47
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.

48 ENGLAND
P–51’S IN FORMATION. Each plane in this formation has two wing tanks attached.

ENGLAND 49
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.

50 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.

ENGLAND 51
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.

52 NORTHERN IRELAND
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).

ENGLAND 53
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 air forces, locomotives and cars

had to be supplied by both the United States and the United Kingdom for use in

Europe.

54 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.

ENGLAND 55
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.

56 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.

ENGLAND 57
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.

58 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.

ENGLAND 59
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 Ml

(bottom).

60 ENGLAND
GUN GREW 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.

ENGLAND 61
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.

62 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.

ENGLAND 63
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.

64 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 halftrack 81-mm. mortar carrier M21 maneuvering on a road in England (bottom) . The

mortar could be used on the vehicle or separate from it.

ENGLAND 65
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.

66 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 1/4-ton truck and the 21/2-ton truck. Shown in the picture are: 1/4-ton 4x4

truck, 3/4-ton 4x4 weapons carrier truck, 11/2-ton 6x6 personnel and cargo truck and

21/2-ton 6x6 truck.

ENGLAND 67
AMPHIBIAN TRUCKS CARRY SUPPLIES ASHORE from a coaster under the

protection of a smoke screen during landing maneuvers (top). A 2 1/2-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.

68 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.

ENGLAND 69
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.

70 ENGLAND
NORMANDY CAMPAIGN
72 NORMANDY
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 followup 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.

74 INTRODUCTION
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.

ENGLAND 75
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.

76 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 LCT(6), an LBV, and an LBK. 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.

FRANCE 77
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

78 FRANCE
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.

FRANCE 79
U. S. TROOPS WADING ASHORE FROM AN LCVP 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.

80 FRANCE
INFANTRYMEN WADING ASHORE FROM AN LCT(6) (top). Troops leaving an

LCVP to wade ashore (bottom). Half-tracks and 21/2-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.

FRANCE 81
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.

82 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.

FRANCE 83
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.

84 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.

FRANCE 85
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,

86 FRANCE
and the Douve River, from which the ground rises northward to the hills around

Cherbourg, restrict traffic to the established roads. Sainte-Mère-Eglise, SaintSauveur, 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.

FRANCE 87
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.

88 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.

FRANCE 89
AN ENEMY SHELL HITS THE BEACH where U. S. troops are advancing.

90 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.

FRANCE 91
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.

92 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.

FRANCE 93
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.)

94 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 exists 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.

FRANCE 95
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.

96 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.

FRANCE 97
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.

98 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.

FRANCE 99
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

100 FRANCE

AURE RIVER
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.

FRANCE 101
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.

102 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 Ml in a camouflaged position (bottom).

FRANCE 103
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.

104 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.

FRANCE 105
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.

106 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.

FRANCE 107
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.

108 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.

FRANCE 109
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.

110 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.

FRANCE 111
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

112 FRANCE

VIRE-TAUTE CANAL
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.

FRANCE 113

BASIN
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.

114 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.

FRANCE 115
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-l launching sites could

be repaired made effective bombing attacks on them difficult.

116 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.

FRANCE 117
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.

118 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.

FRANCE 119
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.

120 FRANCE
A TRUCK ON THE BEACH (21/2-ton) and one starting down the ramp of an LST

(11/2-ton). After the storm wrecked the artificial harbors emergency measures,

such as using 21/2-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.

FRANCE 121
TRUCKS FULLY LOADED with men and supplies leaving a Rhino ferry and being

helped ashore by a bulldozer (top). A 3/4-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.

122 FRANCE
TRUCKS AND AMPHIBIAN TRUCKS (each is a 21/2-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.

FRANCE 123
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.

124 FRANCE
RESULTS OF ARTILLERY FIRE AND BOMBINGS in Montebourg (top). A 

155-mm. howitzer Ml 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.

FRANCE 125
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 FlottemanvilleHague 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.

126 FRANCE

HILL 171 AREA BOIS DU MONT DU ROC
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.

FRANCE 127
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.

128 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.

FRANCE 129
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,

130 FRANCE

FORT DU ROULE ARSENAL AREA
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 highwalled 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.

FRANCE 131
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.

132 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.

FRANCE 133
.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.

134 FRANCE
A 3-INCH GUN MOTOR CARRIAGE M10 moving along a road near SaintFromond. 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 breakthrough to Saint-Lô, and the British redoubled their efforts in the Caen area where

the Germans had most of their 900 tanks.

FRANCE 135
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.

136 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.

FRANCE 137
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.

138 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.

FRANCE 139
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

140 FRANCE
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.

FRANCE 141
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.

142 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.

FRANCE 143
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 Ml 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 treetopped 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 Periers-Lessay-Saint-Lô road.

144 FRANCE
NORTHERN FRANCE 

CAMPAIGN
146 NORTHERN FRANCE
SECTION III

Northern France Campaign*

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 FalaiseArgentan 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.

* See Martin Blumenson, Break-Out and Pursuit.
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.

148 INTRODUCTION
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.

FRANCE 149
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.

150 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.

FRANCE 151
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.

152 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.

FRANCE 153
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.

154 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.

FRANCE 155
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.

156 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.

FRANCE 157
AVRANCHES AND THE SURROUNDING COUNTRY. After the fall of the city the

Allied drive gained momentum and the advancing troops swept out of Normandy.

158 FRANCE

SÉE RIVER
Turning toward the east and the west in two attacks, the Allies drove to the German

frontier and the tip of the Brittany Peninsula.

FRANCE 159
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).

160 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).

FRANCE 161
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.

162 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.

FRANCE 163
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.

164 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.

FRANCE 165
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.

166 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.

FRANCE 167
AN M4 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.

168 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).

FRANCE 169
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.

170 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.

FRANCE 171
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.

172 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.

FRANCE 173
AN INFANTRYMAN ARMED WITH AN Ml 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.

174 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.

FRANCE 175
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.

176 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.

FRANCE 177
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.

178 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.

FRANCE 179
THE HARBOR AT SAINT-MALO. In the strongly defended forts in and around 

180 FRANCE

LE PETIT BEY LE GRAND BEY CITADEL
the harbor stubborn groups of Germans held out against the U. S. attacking forces.

FRANCE 181

FORT NATIONAL FORT DU NAYE
SWABBING OUT THE BARREL OF AN 81-MM. MORTAR Ml 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.

182 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.

FRANCE 183
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.

184 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.

FRANCE 185
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.

186 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.

FRANCE 187
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

188 FRANCE
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.

FRANCE 189
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.

190 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.

FRANCE 191
AN 8-INCH GUN Ml 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.

192 FRANCE
TOWED 155-MM. GUNS Ml CROSS A BAILEY BRIDGE over the Seine. U. S.

troops advanced northeast from the Seine River bridgeheads to take Reims and

Châlons-sur-Marne.

FRANCE 193
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 ChâteauThierry was captured. On 28 August Châlons-sur-Marne was taken and the following

day Reims fell.

194 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 Rive 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.

FRANCE 195
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.

196 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.

FRANCE 197
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.

198 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.

BELGIUM 199
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 righting on their own soil

for the first time in many years.

200 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.

FRANCE 201
BOEING B–17 FLYING THROUGH HEAVY FLAK over Germany en route to a 

target (top). The Heinkel aircraft factory during an air attack (bottom).

202 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.

GERMANY 203
INFANTRYMEN CROSS THE MOSELLE as a 1/4-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.

204 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.

FRANCE 205
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.

206 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.

FRANCE 207
NEWLY CONSTRUCTED TREADWAY PONTON BRIDGE over the Moselle

River.

208 FRANCE
RHINELAND CAMPAIGN

15 September 1944–15 December 1944
210 RHINELAND
SECTION IV

Rhineland Campaign 

15 September–15 December 1944*

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 fortyeight 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.

*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.

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.

FRANCE 213
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.

214 ENGLAND
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.

THE NETHERLANDS AND GERMANY 215
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.

216 GERMANY
A 57-MM. ANTITANK GUN Ml 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.

GERMANY 217
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

218 GERMANY

WEST RAILROAD YARDS
smaller guns of tank destroyers, at point blank range to reduce the heavily fortified

buildings occupied by enemy troops.

GERMANY 219

LOUSBERG
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.

220 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.

FRANCE 221
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.

222 GERMANY
BREAD BEING PLACED ON COOLING RACKS in a Quartermaster bakery after

being removed from the ovens.

BELGIUM 223
INFANTRYMEN 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.

224 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.

FRANCE 225
THE CITY OF METZ showing the location of two of the forts which ringed the city.

226 FRANCE

MOSELLE RIVER

CANAL FORT ST. JULIEN
These and other forts presented problems to the assaulting troops.

FRANCE 227

ROUNDHOUSES FORT DE QUEULEU
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.

228 GERMANY AND 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.

FRANCE 229
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.

230 GERMANY
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.

FRANCE 231
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.

232 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.)

GERMANY 233
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.

234 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.

GERMANY 235
KOMMERSCHEIDT AND THE SURROUNDING AREA. The terrain of the

Schmidt and Vossenack areas, like that of the Huertgen Forest, was hilly and wooded.

236 GERMANY

KALL RIVER OUTSKIRTS OF VOSSENACK
The Roer River dams in this area were important objectives for the Allies during this

part of the campaign.

GERMANY 237

KALL RIVER
TIRED, DIRTY, HUNGRY INFANTRYMEN eat their first hot meal after fifteen

days of siege of the town of Huertgen.

238 GERMANY
BATTLE-WEARY GERMANS who were among the last to surrender after the battle

of the Huertgen Forest which lasted for several weeks.

GERMANY 239
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.

240 FRANCE
FIRING ROCKETS during the fighting in the Huertgen Forest area. In the above

pictures 4.5-inch multiple rocket launchers T27 are mounted on 21/2-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.

GERMANY 241
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.

242 FRANCE AND GERMANY
90-MM. ANTIAIRCRAFT GUN Ml 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.

BELGIUM 243
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.

244 FRANCE
4.2-INCH CHEMICAL MORTAR being fired during the advance of the Seventh

Army, October 1944.

FRANCE 245
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.

246 FRANCE
INFANTRYMEN CLIMB UPON AN M5 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.

FRANCE 247
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.

248 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.

FRANCE 249
SEVENTH ARMY ARTILLERYMEN loading a 105-mm. howitzer M2A1. 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.

250 FRANCE
A 105-MM. HOWITZER MOTOR CARRIAGE M7 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.

FRANCE 251
REWARDS FOR STANDING IN LINE: men receiving typhus booster shots (top);

men exchanging their French and Belgium francs for German marks (bottom).

252 GERMANY AND BELGIUM
WOUNDED SOLDIERS BEING EVACUATED in tracked vehicles during the 

winter months. Cargo carrier M29 (top) ; half-track personnel carrier M3 (bottom).

BELGIUM AND GERMANY 253
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.

254 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.

FRANCE 255
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.

256 BELGIUM
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.

FRANCE 257
21/2-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.

258 BELGIUM
ARDENNES–ALSACE CAMPAIGN
260 ARDENNES–ALSACE
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.

262 INTRODUCTION
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.

BELGIUM 263
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.

264 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.

BELGIUM 265
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

266 BELGIUM
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.

BELGIUM 267
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.

268 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.

BELGIUM 269
A BATTERY OF 155-MM. HOWITZERS Ml 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.

270 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.

BELGIUM 271
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.

272 GERMANY
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.

BELGIUM 273
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.

274 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.

BELGIUM 275
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 truckoads 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.

276 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.

BELGIUM 277
ENGINEERS UNLOADING BARBED WIRE which was used in defensive measures against counterattacks.

278 BELGIUM
ENGINEER PLANTING AN ANTITANK MINE on the shoulder of a road as a

defensive measure during the fighting in the Ardennes.

BELGIUM 279
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.

280 BELGIUM
The mission of the Third Army was to widen the corridor, push attacks on SaintVith, 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.

BELGIUM 281

BASTOGNE CREEK RAILROAD
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.

282 BELGIUM
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.

LUXEMBOURG 283
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.

284 BELGIUM
CAMOUFLAGED LIGHT ARMORED GAR M8 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 M36 throwing paint on the bogie wheels after

painting the vehicle (bottom). Tanks, vehicles, and guns were camouflaged with

white paint.

LUXEMBOURG 285
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.

286 LUXEMBOURG
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.

FRANCE 287
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.

288 BELGIUM
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.

LUXEMBOURG 289
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.

290 BELGIUM
AIRBORNE INFANTRYMEN on the alert man their .30-caliber machine gun (top).

A member of a cavalry reconnaissance squadron checks his .30-caliber machine

gun (bottom).

BELGIUM 291
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.

292 BELGIUM
LOADING A 105-MM. SHELL into the howitzer of a Priest (top); snow on the

camouflage net over a 155-mm. howitzer Ml helps conceal its position (bottom).

GERMANY AND BELGIUM 293
AN ARTILLERY PLANE with newly attached skis taking off (top) ; observation

planes grounded during the bad weather (bottom).

294 BELGIUM
MEN STRINGING BARBED WIRE DURING A BLIZZARD (top); tank crews

keeping warm as they eat their rations (bottom).

GERMANY 295
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

296 BELGIUM
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.

BELGIUM 297
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.

298 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.

BELGIUM 299
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.

300 BELGIUM
“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.

GERMANY 301
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.

302 FRANCE
A SIGNAL CORPS LINEMAN repairing damaged telephone lines.

FRANCE 303
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.

304 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.

FRANCE 305
A MEMBER OF A GLIDER REGIMENT, armed with a rifle and a rocket launcher, returning from a three-hour tour of guard duty.

306 BELGIUM
A TANKER SEWS HIS CLOTHING on an old sewing machine in front of his

M4A3 medium tank.

BELGIUM 307
SUPPLIES MOVING THROUGH BASTOGNE, 22 January 1945, on their way to the

front-line troops. By the first of the year materiel losses in the Battle of the Bulge

had been replaced and the combat units were again prepared to move forward.

308 BELGIUM
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.

LUXEMBOURG 309
A MEMBER OF AN 81-MM. MORTAR CREW listening to firing orders from a

battalion command post.

310 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.

BELGIUM 311
FIRST ARMY TROOPS, wearing snow camouflage capes, advance.

312 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.

BELGIUM 313
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.

314 GERMANY
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 Arsennes 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.

FRANCE 315
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.

316 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).

FRANCE 317
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

318 FRANCE
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.

FRANCE 319
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.

320 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.

FRANCE 321
MEMBERS OF A CANNON COMPANY near Haguenau keep warm as best 

they can.

322 FRANCE
RHINELAND CAMPAIGN

26 January 1945–21 March 1945
324 RHINELAND
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.
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.

326 BELGIUM
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.

GERMANY AND FRANCE 327
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.

328 BELGIUM AND GERMANY
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.

BELGIUM 329
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 im330 FRANCE

SAAREBOURG SAARE RIVER
portant 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.

FRANCE 331

NIEDERLEUKEN BEURIG
AN M4 MEDIUM TANK-DOZER cleaning a street in Colmar (top). German pillboxes along a road leading to the Colmar plain (bottom).

332 FRANCE
THE TOWN OF BREISACH, Germany, during a heavy artillery shelling.

GERMANY 333
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 reduc334 GERMANY

VAUBAN CANAL WIDENSOHLEN CANAL
tion 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.

GERMANY 335

RHONE-RHINE CANAL
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

336 GERMANY

CITADEL
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.

GERMANY 337

ROER RIVER
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.

338 FRANCE
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.

GERMANY 339
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.

340 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 an 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.

GERMANY 341
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.

342 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.

FRANCE AND GERMANY 343
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.

344 GERMANY
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.

GERMANY AND BELGIUM 345
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.

346 LUXEMBOURG
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.

GERMANY 347
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.

348 GERMANY
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.

BELGIUM 349
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.

350 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.

GERMANY 351
HANDIE-TALKIE. An infantryman, armed with a carbine equipped with a grenade

launcher M8, using a handie-talkie radio SCR 536.

352 GERMANY
AN ARTILLERYMAN DIRECTS FIRE, using an azimuth instrument M1 for 

spotting and observing.

GERMANY 353
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.

354 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.

GERMANY 355
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.

356 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.

GERMANY 357
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,

358 GERMANY

HONNEF AS BERG HILL 441
between Bonn and Remagen, may be seen in the extreme upper left portion of 

picture.

GERMANY 359

BRODERKONS BERG
MEDICAL AID MAN dressing the wounds of an infantryman.

360 GERMANY
WOUNDED SOLDIERS being evacuated by air to hospitals in Paris and London.

GERMANY 361
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.

362 GERMANY

SAAREBOURG BEURIG
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.

GERMANY 363
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.

364 GERMANY
ENEMY EQUIPMENT destroyed during the U. S. advance (top). Infantrymen

moving on the double past a fire started by enemy shelling (bottom).

GERMANY 365
A THREE-MAN ARTILLERY CREW preparing to fire a multipurpose 88-mm. 

gun captured in Germany.

366 GERMANY
LIGHT TANK M24 firing (top); medium tank M26 crossing a muddy field (bottom).

FRANCE AND GERMANY 367
SOLDIERS WATCHING VAPOR TRAILS left by bombers on their way to bomb

Germany.

368 GERMANY
INFANTRYMEN 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.

FRANCE 369
75-MM. HOWITZER motor carriage M8 firing on enemy positions.

370 GERMANY
TUBE AND RECOIL MECHANISM OF AN 8-INCH GUN Ml on the way to the

front.

FRANCE 371
SEVENTH ARMY TROOPS ENTERING BITCHE (top). Infantrymen marching

cross-country on their way to Germany (bottom).

372 FRANCE
DRAGON’S TEETH, part of the West Wall defenses (top). Infantrymen climbing

over obstacles as they advance 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.

GERMANY 373
155-MM. MOTOR GUN CARRIAGE M12 FIRING.

374 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).

FRANCE AND GERMANY 375
INFANTRY PLATOON BEING BRIEFED before making an assault (top). Soldiers

taking a ten-minute break during a march to the front lines (bottom).

376 GERMANY AND FRANCE
CENTRAL EUROPE CAMPAIGN
378 CENTRAL EUROPE
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.
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.

380 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.

GERMANY 381
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.

382 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.

GERMANY 383
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.

384 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.

GERMANY 385
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.

386 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.

GERMANY 387
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.

388 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.

GERMANY 389
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.

390 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.

FRANCE 391
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.

392 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).

GERMANY 393
A NINTH ARMY CONVOY on the highway leading to Muenster, Germany.

394 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.

GERMANY 395
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 biddings 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.

396 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.

GERMANY 397
MEDIUM TANKS M26 moving through Wesel on the way to the front.

398 GERMANY
P–47 FORCED DOWN OVER GERMANY (top). B–24 which crash-landed in

Germany (bottom).

GERMANY 399
GERMAN V-BOMB found by the U. S. troops as they overran Germany (top). 

An enemy jetpropelled fighter plane (bottom).

400 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.

GERMANY 401
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.

402 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.

GERMANY 403
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.

404 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.

GERMANY 405
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.

406 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.

GERMANY 407
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.

408 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.

GERMANY 409
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.

410 GERMANY
ENGINEERS, building a bridge across the Saale River, pull a tank across on one

of the ponton sections (top). Magdeburg, showing the results of bombing (bottom).

GERMANY 411
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.

412 GERMANY
TRAFFIC MOVING ACROSS THE MAIN RIVER at Wueraburg (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.

GERMANY 413
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).

414 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.

GERMANY 415
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.

416 GERMANY
ENGINEERS MOVING PONTONS 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.

GERMANY 417
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.

418 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.

GERMANY 419
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.

420 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.

GERMANY 421
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.

422 FRANCE
TANKS AND TRUCKS of a Third Army armored division fording a stream during

their advance into Austria. In the foreground is a medium tank M4A3 (76-mm. longbarrel gun with muzzle brake) with horizontal volute spring suspension and an improved, wider track measuring twenty-three inches.

AUSTRIA 423
MOVING INTO AUSTRIA.

424 AUSTRIA
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.

GERMANY 425
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.

426 AUSTRIA
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.

GERMANY 427
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.

428 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.

GERMANY 429
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.

430 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.

AUSTRIA 431
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.

432 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).

GERMANY 433
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.

434 FRANCE
U. S. LIBERATED PRISONERS OF WAR leave a plane at Reims on the first lap

of their journey back to the United States.

FRANCE 435
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.

436 ENGLAND


Appendix A 

List of Abbreviations

BAR Browning automatic rifle

cm. Centimeter

DD Duplex drive

DUKW 21/2-ton 6x6 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

SHAEF 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
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

Artillery — Continued

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

Index
Beaches—Continued 

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, German, 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

444 INDEX
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 441, 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

INDEX 445
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

Ardennes–Alsace, 260

Central Europe, 378

Great Britain, xii

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

446 INDEX
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,

423

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

Tanks — Continued

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

INDEX 447
Training — Continued

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

Vehicles — Continued

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

448

PIN : 039019–000

 U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1988 203-040/80010

INDEX