Walther von Brauchitsch
Anxious to begin landing exercises, Field Marshal Walther von Brauchitsch finally ordered General of Engineers Jacob to build sea-going transports for the army. Jacob assigned this task to "Pionier-Battalion 47" of 7th Army Corps. The battalion moved to Carteret on the western side of the Cotentin Peninsula, and the men of this unit searched the French countryside for buoyant materials to construct self-propelled rafts and ferries.