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ABLETABLETAMZTAM OF CONTENTSCONTNTBCONTENTCONTENT-
SIndex
Consta-
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CONCONTNT-
BPlanning
Counterb-
alancing
TS
, , . . . _. .. . _ ___ __ ... .. _ . ' '' " . '
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IndexIndex.. ., . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ,. . . . . . . . . .11,. .-
1Bibliograph7
1-
Bibliograph7
1-
Bibliography
11-
BibliographyBibliographyBibliograph7 . . .* see. . . .* so. *. . . . . . ,. . . . .* so. . . . . . .22.# .-
2Introduction
2-
Introduction
22-
IntroductionIntroduction . . . . . . . . . . . . t. . . . . t. . . . t. . . . . 3:33-
Prelude
:-
3Prelude
3-
Prelude
3-
Prelude
:
Prelude to D-DayDDay- . . . . . . . . . . e.eQ, . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88-
Planning
8-
Planning
8-
TAMZ
Planning Phase . . . . . . . . . ,. . . . *. . . ,. . . . . . . . .1111. .1-
1Geographical
11-
Geographical
.1-
1Geographical
11-
Geographical
.1-
1Geographical
11-
Geographical
7
i
Geographical FeaturesFeatures.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1212.* 1212-
Marshalling
.1-
2Marshalling.
12-
Marshalling
12-
Marshalling.
12-
MarshallingMarshallingMarshalling.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ,. . . .1313. .13-
The
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The
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TheThe Voyage . so.so*.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .* 00*.. . . . . . . . . . 14.14. 14-
DDay
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DDay.
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DDay
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DDayD-DayDDayD-Day.Day.- . . . . . . 0. . . . . . . . . 0. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1111.1a1a.IfIf-
Analysis
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aunally
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1Analysis
11-
Analysis
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Analysis
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AnalysisAnalysis and Criticism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19.19.19-
Lessons
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9Lessons
19-
Lessons
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9Lessons
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LessonsLessons Learned.Learned. . . . . . .* so. . . . . . . . so. . .* .* .* .* .* . . .2020.2O2O. 2020-
Map
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cord
¬-
cord or a history for the period concernedconcorned is non-existantnonexistantexistentnon-exinonexiexit- stantscantstat , and despitedespit-
eall
desp-iteall care used in a five-weekfiveweek- research , and assemblyasseasses b of the materials , itit-
is
it-
sit-
is
it-
sit-
is
it-
sis recognized that the information is nobnotknob complete in all details , and unun-
doubtedly
un-unun-
doubtedly
un-
doubtedly
¬-
doubtedlydoubted involves minor errors of fact.facttact.tact. Therefore before a final officialoffioialofficial-
historyoffi-
cialoffioial-
history
official-
historyoffi-
cialhistory of this phase of the Normandy campaign is prepared , the gaps willwill-
have
will-
able
will-
have
will-
able
will-
have
will-
ablehave to be filledfillertfillet andan the errors corrected.correctedcorrected.-
Realizing
corr-ected
corrected-
.ltealizing
corr-ected
corrected.-
Iteali
correc-
ted.
RealizingltealizinglegalizingItealiItalia zing that moraornofLRolf°° t uulWILhrswithers;; : i.i. :.: rs of the ArmyAr know so little of the compo-compocompo-
dcomp-
ocomp-
osition
comp-
osition
comp-
osition
-d
sitionsitting and missionmismils ion of anC111 infantry Divisionivision , Military Police PlatoonPlat.oon. , I wouldwoul-
dlike
worl-
dlier
woul-
dlike
worl-
dlier
woul-
dlike
worl-
dlierlike to inject a few words on the subject , at this point.point. If one were toto-
look
t-ook
to-
look
t-ook
jAA-
h
;3
look at this unit in 1942 , he would find the following : Personnel included !
72 men and 4 officers , with the following breakdown :
1.1. Platoon Headquarters10Headquarters..10Headquarters.10Headquarters ,.* 0010,. *. menmen.. . . . . . 2 officers.officers.
2.2. Police oectionsectionSection..25. . . . . . . . . 25 men.men. . . . . . 1 officer.officer.
3.3. Traffic SectionSection..3Section..37Section.37Section37*. . . . . . . . 37? menmen.. . . . . . 1 officerofficer.officer.-
All
offic-er
,.
All personnel of this platoonrlatoonRaton are trainedtrainod in both policepolioepolio and traffictraffic-
duties
traf-fic
traffic-
dutiee
traf-fic
traffic-
duties
traf-fic
a
dutiesdutiee , and are interchangeable fortortore these duties as the situation demandsdemand.demand.,.
During combat operationsoperation! the police section operates the prisoner ofot warwar-
cage
wre-
ckage
war-
cage
wre-
ckage
war-
cage
wre-
ckagecage and supplements the traffic section.section. By comparisoncomparilon one oancanDoan readilyreacU.l1reacUl1readily-
see
readi-
ly.
see that this platoon is somewhat larger than a riflerUle platoon ofot an InfantryIntant.17Intant17Infantry-
Rifle
Infan-try
.4..', tt-
RifleRifle CompanyCompanl.CompanlCompany.,. This platoon is attached to DivisionD1 1.1on11on. HeadquarttriHeadquartersHeadquarterHeaRhea quarter.quarter. CompanyCOIQ&IItCOIQIItCompan-
yfor
Compa-
ny
Co )anyany-
for
San-
ford
& !
II-
forF-
orfor mess and administrationadminietrat1on , and isi8i s commandedoommandedomaandedc by the Division ProvostPrOVORPrOVO Uar-UarWar-WarMar-MarGuarUar-
shai
Ma-
rsha
Ma-
rt
- t
r
, .. .
shaiTsaiahaShaShan 1.II. ,"' whoWhtWhatwh
,isi
,
.ee,.a aleoaloea1
,
An.
a IW!aafcacix!.r:' ofaft
,.
th(LW* _gf8iiuL? ttaffstaffet ff ofWt . .thftheftt
.h
,
W.
,Pl" !'!l4ffi_
. 'WrmWrmWarm' N . ,;ftp.
_, ., -+ .IrIr W.W P4rr* * A ; i: r,\ :
r, n . MMMIf'/J/r.lMMIf'MMIfJr.lMI** ' / */ >) rMnMn r' '.' q' rq,
i, tq rf* I ,. I> wttiwattl .S\S.SS'\ t+W"Wt lrvatlarvalrvat'y15lrvaty15" ' j'jj'1/'y15'y15y15/ '
\11\ tw < r1**' Mi 1! * { I\ffNMMiM'Jii'HMffNMMiMJiiHM' 'h p h.h. 1'1' .CC.-
CHe
C-
hen
Q r M,
, . . . . .". He"He-He"- , im3haarigsHara; thebheheth ' followingfolfoolfolA.'OwifolAOwiflaw.(' Mi'ngMing' g responsibilitiesreeponetbilitieert8 Ort i'lit1.81ilit1.81ilit181' . : , , ' " ' ""
' " ', .
i
Y... .. ,.. , ,, . " , , ' . . . . . \, .. , . .II. , . ' :
3.33.-
W.OTOM
3-
WOTOM
.... ,
II-
O
.
. ,. " '
,"
...
.
.
. . .
. " , , ' , ,.. . " ' . , " ,. , \OO\( I .
' '
.' .' dyr'04'Mdyr04M. "", ' ," , '. . .. . ... , ', , . , ' ''' . "/ . . . . rr-rr" .-. . ." r. ,) I.r. " , . _ , ' , " "'" "
,'
, f'f'," . , i, :,
' '
fl , , :" :, .: ,
, 'IIII' " ;I . ,
: ;
1 , .0404-
r
... " - ' , ... . ... ,. . ' " ;. ' .. ,
f,
. . ," " " " " I'I'
*.. f<
,i'\-. '
I'I' .. .. . '. . .. . . . . ._......... H . . W.OTOMWOTOMSWOON- . MJKKX.. ....... . .. .*.... .. ', r. ...wwM.. U.U. ".flllH. A/rl.Arl...../*.*.. .' .M4AMM4AM,..MI-.>.-* MI*..(.Ml.MN.. .. ...*<l . . 1,, ' " . ....t't. ' "'-
, ' " ".. '
.
-,.
'
. .' , .. .. .. ...
. ' , I ,' ,
" '_
'::J ..t"t" "
.
... Li-.ILi.I. .; ,-, lt. .4 yEy-
Eo
y-
o
:
f"--f"ff"-I'
f-I
'"'!"
'-'::: '
-''
j'j.f"Il-
'l. I
'":
:
.."II" ',.; t.a.tat.-
a.'wt-
aw&. .
'www>
. _ . . . . . . ._ . . . _ __ ...11..-
1J.
1-
J1.1LJ.J. . Interior guard ofot the Division command postpost.*.
2.2. Collection and custodyCQltodyCloddy ofot prisonersprisoner.prisoner. of warwar.*.
3.3. EnforcementBntorcementEnticementBinforcePinafore entKent of traffic control regulations.regulationsrelulat1o8.8.
4.4. Apprehension and dispositionlpolltlol1 ofot stragglers and deserters.desertersdesertera.deserteradeserterdesertera.-
S.
deserte-
r
.,
5.5S.S. EnforcementEntorceDentAntecedent ofot police regulationsrelulatlonaregulation among members ofot thethe-military
ch-emistry
the-milita
th-eist
the-military
ch-emistrymilitarymilitamilitia forcestorcestorches and areas occupiedocoupied byq, the troops.troopstroop.troop. .
6.6. Cooperation with civil authorities on plans includingincluding-those
includ-ingthose of police protection , black-outsblackouts- , antisabotagemantissaantisabotag-eactivities
antisabotag-eactivities
antisabotag-eactivitiesactivities and the likelike.,.
7.7? . Control of the civil population , includingincludtng: circulationcirculation-of
circulatio-nof individuals and mass.mass. movements of refugees , whenwhe-ncircumstances
whe-ncircumstances
whe-ncircumstancescircumstances dictate.dictate.
8.8. Criminal investigation activities , custodycustocustom and dispositiondisposition-of
disposition-ot
dispositio-nofot offenders.offenders.
9.9. Coordination with the militarym1lita police in adjacent andand-
higherGa-
ndhiand-
higherGa-
ndhiand-
higherGa-
ndhihigher headquarters.headquarters.
10.10. Recommendations as to location of the straggler line andand-
collectingca-
ncellationand-
collectingca-
ncellationand-
collectingca-
ncellationcollecting points for prisoners oforui'ui' war.war.
11.11. Close liaison with the division engineer unit , the GeneralGeneral-Staff.
Gener-alist
General-Staff.
Gener-alist
Genera-lStaff
Gener-alistStaff.StaffStaff.-
In
Staffi-
ng
.,
In order to more fully appreciate the physical and mental conditioningconditioning-
which
condition-ing
conditioning-
which
condition-
ingwhich this rather unique element of an infantry division enjoyed at the timetime-
of
tim-
etime-
of
tim-
etime-
of
tim-
eof the D-dayDday- assault on the "OmahaOmaha" Beachhead"Beachhead" , Normandy , France , I would likelike-
to
lik-
eto take the reader back in the history ofot the division to November the 8th
19421942.*. Here we find the Division as the "CentralCentral" Task Force"Force" , attacking thethe-
seaport
tel-
eportthe-
seaport
tel-
eportthe-
seaport
tel-
eportseaport city ofot Oran , Algeria in North Africa.Africa. Upon closer analysis !, wew-
efind
de-
fined
w-
efind
de-
fined
w-
efind
de-
finedfind the 26th R.Q.T.RQTR.C.T.RCTQTCRT. . . striking the city fromfroJnfrond the west , and the 16th and 18th18th-
H.C.T.fs
18t-
hHCTfs
18th-
R.C.T.'s
18t-
hRCTs
18th-
R.C.T.'s
18t-
hRCTsH.C.T.fsHCTfsR.C.T.'sRCTsCutoffsCRTs. . . ' attacking from the vicinity of ArzewAre , to the east of the city.cityoi'1.oi1.oi1' . InIn-
the
In-
tec
In-
the
In-
tec
In-
the
In-
tecthe course of three days , hostilities ceased , and Oran felltell to this doubledouble-
envelopment.
double-
envelopnent.
double-
envelopment.envelopment.envelopmentenvelopnent.envelopnent . (1)1(1)-
Looking
1L-
ooking
(1)-
Looking
1L-
ooking
(1)-
Looking
1L-
ooking
( )
Looking at this operation in view of the military policepolicl , we findfind-
the
fi-nd
find-
the
fi-nd
find-
the
fi-ndthe Division Provost Marshal , Lt ColCool Thomas F.F. Lancer , attached 25 men andaDdand-
one
und-
one
aDd-
one
ador-
ned
and-
one
und-
oneone officer to the 26th R.C.T.RCTi.C.T.iCTCRTCT. . . The remaining membersmeabers of the platoon , 454.545r'-
M
45r-
M
.
. ,,r'MrM'.. . .+ Y._rMNMN _+ rwYwrY_ YN. .. , " . .d.d. . .. ... ' I.I.... .. ... TO'TO' . ';V -
1
(1)1( ) A-AA-2A2-? *-p.pp.t.pt. *.. 1), *.. .. ,_ . . . ,. , .
'.' ... I\I\ . ... . . YAY-
ANMwnMI1.M1I1A
Y-
ANMwnMI1M1I1A
*- h,MCKI_MACK JWlJfcr " *.
. ." *', .III\I.IIIIM! \ IM AtfVTV* . . . . ,. . .. "
' ; '. .
. , . .. ,, . . ,, . . ,. . . . . .141-
4MrM11Y1KCaR.t.MtM""_" "" ****** * .&J.J........
,.-ImImMrM11Y1KCaR<-*_*M'*.'.......* . .... .. . . , . .._. .. .
.. ,
" "" """ ', '
... , . . . . ...' ** *.-.1".11" a.aNMwnMI1.M1I1ANMwnMI1M1I1A- pW1M10Mr"pW1M10MrT UIrmI .inriflinriflunrifled.".". r.. M.M_. Yb.wYbwBow. rr.rr.... . .+ 1V,'" .M.M....... . . r.r. nr .a.a." . .. . r.r.. ,. A" . . ":. a******
.,' "
' 'IIII'
, . ' . . . ' . . iV.ww. ' >.. . ... . .. *.. . .. .. . . 1'1' . " ,
. .. - ,
- '-- - '--- '------------- . . " . .. .....tt:s:11s"-
men
s-
men
m-
en
, .),11, ,. . .
...nn. "menmen-men-'"mm" n andendnd 3 officersofficers'trfturf"
8rs'8rs' landed withwith'with'
elementst; '
oft-
thethe 16thi6th '.CC.
Combatmbmb'TembTebate-'Te'TeTe-'Team, and DivisionDivision-
Headquarters.
Division-
Headquarters.
Division-
Headquarters.
7
Headquarters.Headquarters . This operation was our baptismbaptiu ofot fire , and it was.. here thattbatbatthat-
our
stat-
ortbat-
our
Bat-
orthat-
our
stat-
orour amphibious training wasW&IWI& firsttiratirate put to a practical test.testtelt.telttel. The first pripri-prigpri-
soner
pri-
loner
pri-
soner
pri-
soner
¬-
sonerlonersooner ofot war cage , setlet up and manned byb1 the "P.W.PW" . . " section of the militaryaU1t&17aU1t17military-
policemilit-
aryaU1t&17-
police
aU1t17-
police
military-
policemilit-
ary&
police platoon , was established in a French barracksbarrack.barrack. , located approximatelyapproximatelyt-
wo
approximat-
elytwo miles east of Arzew.ArzewAre. (2)2( ) Our interrogation team from II CorpsCorplCorp HeadHead-Hea-
dquarters
Hea-
dquarters
Hea-
dquarters
¬-
quarters began operating in this cage on the 2nd dayday.*. The handling ofotof-
these
ot-
hers
ot-
these
ot-
hers
of-
these
ot-
hersthese prisoners of war was , for the most part , uncoordinated and somewhatsomewha-
thaphazard
som-ewhat
somewha-
thaphazard
som-ewhat
somewha-
thaphazard
som-ewhathaphazard , as might be expected of a new unitunit.*. During this three-daythreeday- enen-
gagement
en-enen-
gagement
en-
gagement
¬-
gagementargument approximatelyapproximate1y 2,3002300, prisoners were processedprocls.edproclsed. , mostoatI ofot whomWham were.ereerewere-
French
whe-
refore
were-
French
whe-
refore
..ere-
FrenchFrench Colonial Troops plus a few French Foreign LegionairesLegionnaires and uniformeduniformed-
public
unifor-med
uniformed-
public
unifor-med
uniformed-
public
unifor-medpublic officials.officials. (3)3(3)-
The
3T-
he
(3)-
The
3T-
he
(3)-
The
3T-
he
( )
The excellent road-netroadnet- in and around the vicinity ofor Oran affordedafforded-
adequate
affo-rded
afforded-
adequate
affo-rded
afforded-
adequate
affo-rdedadequate capacity for all organic and attached vehicles of the DivisionDivision.Division.-
Therefore
Div-ision
Division.-
Therefore
Div-ision
*.
Therefore traffic was not the obstacle it might have beenbeen.been.-
The
ben-
ter
been.-
The
ben-
ter
*.
The 19th of November 1942 found the Division being committedcom ttedted piecepiece-piece-
meal
piece-
meal
piece-
meal
¬-
meal into the battle of "Tunisia"Tunisia" " , with elements of the Division operatingoperating-
under
operat-
ingunder both French and British commands.commands. It wasn'twasnt' until March the lth17thlath?
1943 that we find the Division reconstituted as a whole again , in preparaprepara-prepareprepara-
tion
prepara-
tion
prepara-
tion
¬-
tionion for the attack on GafsaGafaaGaffsGraf , TunisiaTunisia.*. In support of this impending attack ,
the military police were called on for various reconnaissance missions, ,
working closely with the Division Engineer Reconnaissance Section , the G-3G3G3-
and
G3-
and
G3-
and
-
and G-4.G4.G4.0-4.04.0- . (4)4(4)-
Following
4F-
ollowing
(4)-
Following
4F-
ollowing
(4)-
Following
4F-
ollowing
( )
Following the capture of GafsaGaffs on the 19th ofot March 1943 , the DivisionDivision-
attacked
Divis-
ionalDivision-
attacked
Divis-
ional..
attacked anaanuManu captured the little Arab Village ofof'ElofElJoel'EJ.EJ' 1.. GuettarGuitar , extendingextenextend ingKing toto-
the
to-
teto-
the
to-
teto-
the
to-
tethe high ground east of the village , thus threatening the highway to GabesGabeGabes.GabsGable*..
4
This operation was completed on the.21stthe21stthe.the. 21st ofot MarchKarchArch , and resulted in thethe-
capture
th-
eatre
the-
capture
th-
eatre
the-
capture
th-
eatrecapture of approximately 11,00011000, prisoners , most ofot whom were ItaliansItalians.*. TheThe-
"P.W.
Th-
ePW
Th-
rew
The-
"P.W.
Th-
ePW
Th-
rew. . . . . .. ... . . . .. .
"P.W.PWnp.w.npwnw" . . "" "
. . , _cage
. . . "
waswa" .
located.
C !. . .in
. ".KLFl' . GuettarGuitar
. , ,, . . " . . _ , " .approximatea.ppr.ox1u.uapprox1u.uapprox1uuapproximtelyapproximately.
.
" '.
, .. .
..
, ,4&0404&0ards.40ards4&Q/ards.ards.andbardsandrrestpAndreas/ . . ./wast/rrestprrestpwaistrest"aat..otaatotCato" .*" .off . ., ,
III
I
. . . . . . . . . . . . " .". . 'IO.IO' .. , .'(22(, . .
,.
3 , 4)4).
Eye$ye.ee. Witnessitnessfitness,
, Self.Self.*
5.5s.s.
. , . . . . . , , ."'. . . . .Ma.Ma_. u.u. . r. W.. . . ./ F.F...... 1.1.. . . M1
" . , . , . .toto..-
tomen
t-
ome
,- - " -
J
ww-
Divi
d-
iv
\. ":f'f'
!. I
... . . v'v' " ., . . . .. . . . . .- ... . . a1v.1.1OQ\ieadqua1v1.1OQieadqua1v.1.1OQa1v11OQieadqudiehardDiviDiv: . .ioa4ieaA,\ iwikiwi etar'J.-r'J.rJ' ..-.jiliichjiliichiliac. h .1\a.1a.1a.14d14d. fcadLbeencandlenut\ ..JJ. been; ,
. setnot. ....t.t. . up in , . .!a lareClarelame! 4|! date.
_grove$ V t, thethe-
only
tho-
rnily
tthe-
only
tho-
rnily
.. .
' - - . . . . . . . . . ... ' 0"0" . _ _ , . .
only concealmentconcealment. . fortortore miles aroundaround.*. (5)5( S ) ProblemsProblemaProblem of feedingleedingbleeding and evacevac-vacevac-
uating
evac-
uating
evac-
uating
¬-
uatingeating this largelarselars number of prisonersprl.onereprlonerepurloiner. were soon mastered ; howeverhoweyer , a laterlater-
critique
later-
critique
later-
critiquecritique ofot the functioning efat the fmteiieiiit.t... l'-l'll'8.ot'- '8.ot8ot. off the "PW.MPWMnp.w.npw"P.W.PWWPMnw" *. . " sectionseotion inin-
this
lit-
chis
in-
this
lit-
chis
in-
this
lit-
chisthis operation , disclosed the facttact that due to soao manyJII&D1JIID1& prisoners comingcomin-
ginto
commin-
gling
comin-
ginto
commin-
gling
comin-
ginto
commin-
glinginto the cage at one time , sufficient time was not allowed fortortore a thoroughthorough-
search
thoroug-
hfare
thorough-
search
thoroug-
hfare
thorough-
search
thoroug-
hfaresearch of the prisoners , resulting in a& number ofot hand grenades , knives ,
etc.etc. , being found dug into the sand withinwithirlwithal the cagecage.*. Rest assured , fromfrom-
that
fro-
thfrom-
that
fro-
thfrom-
that
fro-
ththat point on, all prisoners , regardless of their number , were thoroughlythoroughly-
searched
thorou-ghly
thoroughly-
searched
thorou-ghly
thoroughly-
searched
thorou-ghlysearched before entrance into the cage.cage. (6)6(6)-
With
6-With
(6)-
With
6-With
(6)-
With
6-With
( )
With the capture of El1 GuettarGuitar the Division was in a position tot.o. drivedrive-
to
driv-
eto the east , and secure the seacoast city of Gabes.GabesGabs. Had this taken place ,
Tunisia and Libya would have beenbean split81'118111' t in half.half... Realizing this possipossi-possposs-
ibility
poss-
ibility
poss-
ibility
¬-
bilityability , the GermanG an coirmandercommandercoriander , Field MarshalMa.rshal. KrwinErwinKarin Rommel ( better know asas-V
a-s
as-
f
a-s
as-
the
as-
hen
as-
the
as-
hen
as-
the
as-
henV
f
the "DesertDesert" Rat"RatRateR t"t" ) decided to launch a tremendous offensive with the entireentire-
elite
enti-rely
entire-
elite
enti-rely
entire-
elite
enti-relyelite Tenth Panzer Division of the Africa Corps to ward off this threatthreat.threat.-
This
thr-eat
threat.-
This
thr-eat
*.
This offensive started on the 23rd2.3rd. of March , and had such momentum that itit-
was
vi-
tas
it-
was
vi-
tas
it-
was
vi-
taswas not completely stopped until two of the field artillery battalions ofof-
the
of-
ten
of-
the
of-
ten
of-
the
of-
tenthe Division , the 5th , and 32nd were run over.over. (7)7( ) As a direct result ofof-
this
O-
tisof-
this
O-
tisof-
this
O-
tisthis action the military police traffic section , with traffic controlcontrol-
stations
confro-
ntations
control-
stations
confro-
ntations
control-
stations
confro-
ntationsstations located along the El1 Guettar-GabesGuettarGabesGuitarGabs- road , operated as a stragglerstragglerl-
ine.
stragg-
lerline.line. These stragglers were stopped as they drifted back , fed , and returnedreturned-
to
returne-
dto their respective units.unitsunits.-
Following
units.-
Following
units.-
Following
.
Following the British 8th Army'sArmysArms' successful campaign in Libya , a meetmeet-meet-
ing
meet-
ing
meet-
ing
¬-
ingKing of the American and British forces was Affectedttectedeffectedtested) along thet.he. El1 Guettar-GuettarGuitarGuettar-
Gabes
Guttura-
lness
Guettar-
Gabes
Guttura-
lness
Guettar-
Gabes
Guttura-
lness
-
GabesGabs road on the 14th of April 1943194)1941943.) *. (8)8(8)-
The
8T-
he
(8)-
The
8T-
he
(8)-
The
8T-
he
( )
The 19th ofot April found the Division attacking in the north ofot Tunisia ,
toward the town ofot Mature.Maturetlature.tlaturestature. In order to accomplish this , the Division waswa.wawas-
completely
wa-
.completel.f
wa-
scompletvij
.
completelycompletel.fcompletelfcompletvijcompleting,., motorized , and a 340-mile340mile3J+Q-mileQmile-- movementI1Ov nt was controledcontrolledc t,
.b1b1.by the M.P.MPK.P.KP. .
" -' ... . . .. "" 4" . M.M,.. iM... ..
t.,
*...
.t.
..j..
(
..,
.
.. . . .
.
.uu.. .
__.
. . ...... , . '9MVg1T_
.... "% - " \ '" ' ., 4.4_."r
. r'" . . vuMMM'vuMMM_. . ' . e.e, . . . . . . .MM. 4e .MM. .
(55( s.s,. 6)6) iyeEyeye$ e Witness , Self ); (77(7s7s( , 8)8) A-3A3- >, P.P. 22.2*.
... .mm. .. ,*,, <..nv..... <,, i -KI:... . .Hr.,.> >. ... .,
. . . .q.q. . 0 . " . . . , . . . . "66-
J
6.6.
. . . . .-
-.. . ..... '
<
' ...,';)
. . . . . . . . . ., . . . .. . _. _ . ... .. . .. , .. .. . . . . .. . . _. . .. ._. . . .\0.0.\ . '. , ... . . . . ," .. . . .w.wue4. .. . r" "= w. R'-R'R_-. .' .a.aaa. ...+
_-uu_- '.llyyrwr4llyyrwr4__ __f.,11, <1.1.. .. . n . n .- r.r'"+ NIf/kNIfkIf-( / wv-wrrWraworrywart +w..rwwrwww-+ wM- + -1414-.rr"' iw. . .; .. y'IyI-':_ .+
.? rIP' "
:'.w::l.l' ' ' - wr-wr_wrY- Yr.r-'-+ w 'V--'VV'-Vtraffic
V-
trafficT-
raffic'V .r.eMlMr"reMlMremmer.l.l - "-*+M."f/M."fM-
."ftraffic
M-
ftraffic*-"*,)/
traffic sectionsection.*. This proved to be oneOM of the mostlILOstEliot effectiveeffecti.effectieffect.,.. tacticaltacticalm-
ovestacti-
caltacticalm-
ovestacti-
caltacticalm-
ovestacti-
calmoves ofot the 1stlot DivisionDiv1sion in1n the Tunisian CampaignCampaign.*. In this areaare.are. theiiheicierthe-
Division
tel-
evision
iihe-
Division
the-
Division
tel-
evision
_
II-
u..w
Division became engageden&aaectenaaectanapaest& in some.... ofot the bloodiest battles in Tunisia1'uD1.ia1uD1.ia1uD1ia' . , inin-
cluding
in-inin-
cluding
in-
cluding
¬-
cludingclouding assaults on hillsh1lls 523 , 350 , and 409.4094D9.4D9. FinallyPi'1"Pi1' " ] 1 on May 7th 1943194.3. *,
the day which the Division had looked forward to fortortore so long , the citycity-
of
cit-yof Tunis fell , and the Division was relievedrelieved.*. (9)9(9)-
Following
9F-
ollowing
(9)-
Following
9F-
ollowing
(9)-
Following
9F-
ollowing
( )
Following the relief by the 3rdJrdRd UU.U*. S.S. Infantry DivisionvisionD1 , we findfind-
the
fi-nd
find-
the
fi-nd
find-
the
fi-ndthe Division movingmoving'moving'backmovingbackmoving'
back toward Oran.Oran. These moves were by combat teams ,
and the major townalongtownsalongtonaldownscaling* the route of march were patroledpatrolled by M.P.MP. . detailsdetails-
which
deta-
ilsdetails-
which
deta-
ilsdetails-
which
deta-
ilswhich were sentlent ahead of these columnscolumns.*. Establishing itself in the vicinityvicinity-
of
vicinit-yof Oran , the Division immediately began training and planning for itsits-
third
bi-
ttier
its-
third
bi-
ttier
its-
third
bi-
ttierthird campaign and second invasion , the island of Sicily.Sicily. Following comcom-co-
mpletion
com-
plet10n
co-
mpletion
¬-
pletionplet10nplatoon of the planningpl ng stage , the Division moved to the vicinity of StaouliStolidStaouli-
Algeria
Staouli-
Algeria
Staouli-
AlgeriaAlgeria , approximatelyapproxLrapprovalapproxapron .ii. telyatelyelylately 17 ndlwadiesendwaysroil & westW t: of Algiers.Algiers. Here , afteraitergaiter completioncompletion-
of
completi-
onof small scale landing maneuvers , the Division loaded into transports ,
L.S.T.'sLSTsLasts. . . ' , and L.C.I.'sLCIsCPIs. . . ' , for the impending assault on Sicily.Sicily. The 9th ofotof-
July
so-
ftly
ot-
July
b-
otfly
of-
July
so-
ftlyJuly 1943 found the Division moving toward the southernsouthemSouth shores of Sicily ,
and at 0245 on the 10th , (10)10( ) the 26th and 18th R.C.T.sRCTsR.C.T.'sCRTs. . . !' were assaultingassaulting-
the
assaulti-ngthe fortified coastlinec09.st1inec09st1ine. of the island in the vicinity of "CllaYCllaY"Gi1birGi1birClaY"GilGilGail" << l{ On thethe-
w
the-u
thre-
w
th-e
the-
1st
the-
1stwu..;,
1st day of this operation the Provost Marshal sent 15 men into Gila as aa-
security
s-
ecurity
a-
security
s-
ecurity
a-
security
s-
ecuritysecurity uetail.uetailentail. As evening closed in , the Germans sent a number of tankstanks-
into
trans-
ient
tanks-
into
trans-
ient
tanks-
into
trans-
ientinto the town , apparently to reconnoiter and test the defense of the eses-
tablished
88-88es-es88-
tablished
es-
tablished
¬-
tablishedabolished beachhead.beachhead. The HangersRangers , who had actually secured the town , werewere-
able
wear-
able
were-
able
wear-
able
were-
able
wear-
ableable to render two of these tanks useless with bazooka firetire ; however , thethe-
rest
the-
reat
the-
rest
the-
reat
the-
rest
the-
reatrest ofot the tanks moved back into the interior , unmolestedunmolested.*. In a laterlater-
critique
later-
critique
later-
critiquecritique of this operation it was pointed out that had this group ofot MPsAmpsMPsh-
adPas-
ha
M.P.MPX *. P.'sPsP.'s-
had
Psh-
adSh-
ad
*. *' .
had some antitank grenades they may_y have neutralisedneutralized a few of those tankstanka.tankatanks.tank*.
(11)11( ) The rest of the Sicilian added verveer litLielittlet ofo interestin erestmerest toto-
the
t-ote
. , ,, __ . _ _ _ . _ ' _ '_ ' _ . . . _ _ _ . " . ' .campaign
" " _ w.-w.w-
.q.
. _ . ...... " . .- -_.. _very- .- . _ . . "
?:! . u..wuw. .
q.q. . ... . .- thethe.-, . "._. turtour "lmelmelame"lmeoflmeofLeo""' . . ' -ofof-ofn-
aDon-
na
. ' .:J.i-tal'N-"ftIJ.ital'NtalN"ftIftItalonft. - ' - " : 4e.4e. . +..hh. t.MtM. ' '. 'AA' UJUUl 1 . -- . . '"-the"turi1"'i.1.1'611.theturi1i11611.the"turi1"'i.1.1'611.theturi1i11611q.the"turi1"'i.1.1'611.qtheturi1i11611.titi* " . MQ.MQ.
.. U'U. 'StaJWrtStaJWrtStalwart'StaJWrt-
traffic
StaJWrt-
traffic
,. ,.,,,',, ,___ . . ...
_ _ ,. na =_ T .s,.'- ..& ' :..., :. :" '... . . . . " . . " -- . . . tiH'1'Iia7rtiH1Iia7r' ' ' '''r'' " .ff" ": iclili-
cltraffic
c-
alorific
'
traffic hazards , and routine security details in towns within the DivisionDiviaionDivination-' - ... . . . , . . _ . . . . . . . . " , . . -
,
(99( , 10)101U ) A-3A3A-JJ- , p.pp"p." '
*? i; (11)11CUj'CUjCU(Ll.Ll. )'
Fwd$ye ttitawatiaraWlii + nd6n s ,. Self.SelfJelfElf.
7.77.0-
.
.
.. . . ... . ... ..- ' '' ''' .. ,, ' . .. . . .. . .. . .
b&bu-
e4
zone of actionaction.action"j,. ,. ...... ...... -.. .-.."u1a. 1Ak4K-' '' \ *-' h"WhW414"414.'"" 4"4" .o'IAAt"oIAAtoatJ'WWA'JWWAWA. '' " " -"j"jj-"' "j-
MMj-
MM
M-
Mll"' ' ''1K.1K'' .11. i ,
..*..
. .....,. MMm "*'". f< tIf.tIf_tiff>.*, immvHMimamVd W0"W0. ." t4'K/Mt4'Kt4KM*.JJ! '%' / 1y....M..... W1Aw*., .......... . .. t :. 1 .. 1Ir J.J. :-": 1011 -
. ,.
. ..A.A. ,
Following the 37 day; Sicilian campaigncaapa11D the DivisionDivi.vi.ion movedmoyed into anan-
area
A-
ndrea
an-
area
A-
ndrea
an-
area
An-
dreaarea westwelt of LioataL1.oataL1oataLdaataEliotLat. , on the south.outhouth. coastCOAst.,.. with DivisionDiY1.lonDiY1lon. headquarters beingbelDibeliebeing-
set
bein-
gsbelDi-
set
bel-ie
being-
set
bein-
gsset upu.p. approximatelyapproxiuteJ.1approxiuteJ1: . 1 mile north ofot the odorous village ofot PalmaPalms did1di-
Montiehiaro.
d1-
J.lontichiaro.
d1-
Jlontichiaro
di-
Montichiaro.Montiehiaro.MontiehiaroJ.lontichiaro.JlontichiaroMontichiaro.MontichiaroMonteBlotchierMortician. . Here the M.P.MPIi.P.IiPIi. . Platoon began training fortortore the "bigbig" show toto-
come
tw-
osome
to-
come
tw-
osome
to-
come
tw-
osomecome , and on October 23rd23rd.,. the entire division boarded British transportstransports-
in
transporti-
ngin the AgustaGust harbor , and sailed for England.England., (12)12(12)P-
RELUDE
12P-
RELUDE
(12)P-
RELUDE
12P-
RELUDE
(12)P-
RELUDE
12P-
RELUDE
( )
PRELUDE TO D-DAYDDAYDDA-
YImmediately
DDA-
YImmediately
DDA-
YImmediately
-
Immediately upon our arrival in England the division headquartersheadquarters-
was
headquart-
erswas setset.. up in the.the. small village of BlanBlancBlandfordBradfordBlandfBland<UordUrduordFord , approximately 40 miles northnorth-north-
west
north-
west
north-
west
¬-
west of BournmouthBurnout , and within a very few days this headquarters becamebecam.becambecalmbecame-
a
becam.-
a
becam-
e
becal-
m
.a bee-hivebeehive- of activity , indicating that something big was in the offingoffing.offing.-
The
offi-ng
*.
The threetbreetree regiments , billeted in private homes and hotels in the south ofof-
England
fe-
nlands
of-
England
fe-
nlands
of-
England
fe-
nlandsEngland , immediately inauguratedinauguratinaugurated an intensive training program.program. The M.P.MPM.P-
.Platoon
M.P-
.Platoon
' .P.P. .-
P.Platoon
.
Platoon was billeted in the vicinity of the division command post , and, notnot-
to
mo-
tto
not-
to
mo-
ttoto be outdone by the other elements of the division , they too , started anan-
intensive
an-
ointments
an-
intensive
an-
ointments
an-
intensive
an-
ointmentsintensive training program including : rifle marksmanship , schooling inin-
chemical
in-
dexical
in-
chemical
in-
dexical
in-
chemical
in-
dexicalchemical warfare , waterproofingwaterprowaterproof ting of vehicles , command post exercises , andand-
the
ant-
hem
and-
the
ant-
hem
and-
the
ant-
hemthe like.like. (13)13(13)-
Policing
13P-
olicing
(13)-
Policing
13P-
olicing
(13)-
Policing
13P-
olicing
( )
Policing the division zone of responsibility , and maintaining thisthis-
rather
thi-
rstier
this-
rather
thi-
rstier
this-
rather
thi-
rstierrather elaborate training program , presented a number of problems , the mostmost-
of
mo-
st
most-
of
mo-
st
most-
of
mo-
stof which were solved by'by' rotating the men fromtromtromp sub-stationsubstation- duty , to dutyduty-
at
dut-
yat the division command post.post. In this manner the provost marshal was ableable-
to
tablet-
opto carry out his mission of policing the area , and training his men at thethe-
same
thre-
esome
the-
same
thre-
esome
the-
same
thre-
esomesame time.time. (14)14(14)-
In
14-
In
( )
In addition to the necessary traffic patrols , town policing , andan-
dinterior
an-
ointer
an-
dinterior
an-
ointer
an-
dinterior
an-
ointerinterior guard missions , the U.P.'sUPsM.P.'aMPaM.P.lsMPlsMPImpels. . ' were called on for a 24-hour24hour- guard onon-
a
Mo-
na
%....
a rather elaborate and highly secret planning room , set up initially; fortortorefor-
i
fr-
i. . . . . . . . _ . . .. . ,
_. -- "' . . ... . - . , . - ,...--
.:: = :;
. .. . . . , , ;:;-.
.. '- ' " - - I "-- .QQ. . . . _
."
. . ..LL.
. . . . ..( il firji"firjifiji_ -.ti..ti.-;..
:
......
.L.L, ."
. fr fTV'ft7MCiaitifTVft7MCiaiti{ ";, --i'411i'411i411-'-' '
. ..;:-;
"
; '
..,.-
.
-
-[- '
-1Ilt.
".
-
..:-J'J'J>iiiiiinriiiiiP
."..I.1I.1I1.fiiXf----fiiXffixfiiXf1. .* .
- -. . .- - = ::'
1 . ' 'tt' : " -.It.It- . I1f , ,_ I J ...."__ _ ",,, ..J.J. . ..f.--.f..f.-
L.- " -
, ... .____ . . . . . .11. < 11\111-
1zone
\
. . . . . - ; -. . . . .--- . . . .- . . . . . - "
. .. . . . . - .---,- --
.. .-
.
-. ,.-----
,
. ,
, .
.
..
.
..:
. , ,
- - :- 7.7- .: .
.
-15:,;:..
-".
. " ' : ' - - '
. . .
- - " -, " '" o.o.
, . , .. ....
\V'II' /
'
. uv00M-
AIMAIMIA.......,.1IIIIWr1IIIIWrIM.WhMFIMWhMF.. 4RrM/b.4RrMb.4RrMb./ . a'a.,' "i' wI r Ins 1_ ..,. ' . ' .
,
.::r.. :..'.;w.yrwyrwry"'." y !RWAyOIVj"" ....I. .
, . .l M... " .rr. :.'r:' .
,
":."
. . " ,ri.riri.1NMr. ... ' . |/1NMr1NMr|/M< - #..N. ' .yy%... MM.... MtWMMMI......... iHi4v.v......+. <. . '.
' n'''. ,. .w.w._i .+ .FA111/r.FA111r.FA111FA111r...i..llliil../. .Kwi1..r.._iriiiiiiriiTitirritantYY1R 't'btb' -' rRiRi-TitTit- h t.r4Mtr4M'':.','
.IMMIIHIMDIMINISHINGIMYMY' MMYMMMAMMYn mainIrWrMIYCirrin . eY..y. av/iWWYw.1wiWWYw.1waviWWYw.1waviWWYw1w-/iWWYw-
.1wthe
iWWYw-
1wthe
nmifciimisfiling, . i.{....
the division staffstaft.staftstaff.taft*. A secret security "Bigot"Bigot" " card was issued to specificspecific-
personnel
spe-cific
specific-
per.onnal
spe-cific
specific-
personnel
spe-cificpersonnelper.onnalperonnalpersonal. within thetbetube divisiond1v111on by the G-2G2- section.etionetioneton.. of the division generalgenera-
lstaff
gener-
alist
general-
staff.
gener-
alist
general-
staff.
gener-
aliststaffstaff.*. Entrance into this planning room was permitted only to thosetbol.tboltool. personsper.oneperonepronepersons-
properly
per-sons
per.one-
properly
persons-
properly
per-sons
.
properly classified under this system , and during the earlyearlrearl planning stagesstages-
only
stag-
esstages-
only
stag-
esstages-
only
stag-
esonly a limited number of personnel were briefed in the operation ; however ,
as D-dayDday- approached additional personnel were briefed as necessary.necessary. (15)15(15)-
In
15-
In
(15-
)n
15-
n( )
In]n Marchlarch of 1944 we found ourselves busilybus preparing for a full scalescale-
landing
sala-
aming
scale-
landing
sala-
aming
scale-
landing
sala-
aminglanding maneuver.maneuver. This first dress rehearsal , called exercise "Fox"Fox" " , disdis-daisdis-
played
dis-
played
dis-
played
¬-
played all phases normal to an amphibious landing , including : waterproofingwaterproofing-
of
waterproofi-
ngof vehicles , movement to the marshalling areas , movement from the marshalmarshal-marshal-
ling
marshal-
ling
marshal-
ling
¬-
ling area to the ship , a sea voyage to the landing area , an assault landinglanding-
on
landin-
gon theth beach , and the follow-up.followup.fellow-up.fellow- . This exercise and the one to follow werewere-
held
wee-
ded
were-
held
wee-
ded
were-
geld
wer-
gildheldgeld at SlaptonLampoon Sands , which had been set aside as an assault trainingtraining-
area
traini-ng
training-
area
traini-ngarea for the American forces.forces. TheThsThis choice of this area was due largely toto-
the
to-
teto-
the
to-
teto-
the
to-
tethe fact that the conditions prevailing at SlaptonLampoon Sands were similar toto-
what
to-
wboat
to-
what
to-
wboat
to-
what
to-
wboatwhat was expected on the planned landing area on the French coast , includinclud-includeinclud-
ing
includ-
ing
includ-
ing
¬-
ingKing the tide , the beach , the terrain , the road-netroadnet- , the hedgehedge"rowshedgerows"rows , andand-
the
ant-
hem
and-
the
ant-
hem
and-
the
ant-
hemthe likelike.,. (16)16(16)-
The
16T-
he
(16)-
The
16T-
he
(16)-
The
16T-
he
( )
The nd1.d1d2nd;. and last exercise "Fabius"Fabiusuplabius"uplabiusFabianslullabiesuplabius"JuplabiusJlullabies" "
J, which'Which' tooktook. . place on May 3rd to thethe-
6th
the-
6th
the-
6th6th , was identical with the first ; however , on a somewhat larger scale.scalescale.-
In
sca-
le
.
In this exercise the traffic section was put to an extreme test trying toto-
keep
t-oke
to-
keep
t-oke
to-
keep
t-okekeep the division transportation moving along the high-bankedhighbanked- , one-wayonewayoneway-
English
oneway-
English
oneway-
English
-
English roads.roads. As a result of this factor traffic became one of the majormajor-
problems
major-
problems
major-
problemsproblems in the planning of the actual invasion.invasion. (17)17(17)-
Looking
17L-
ooking
(17)-
Looking
17L-
ooking
(17)-
Looking
17L-
ooking
( )
Looking momentarily at the "big11big11"big"big" " picture we.ee. find the groundgroWldgrowled forcesforces-
with
forc-
esforces-
with
forc-
esforces-
with
forc-
eswith General Sir Bernard Montgomery'sMontgomerysKontgomery'sKontgomerysMontgomery' 21st Army Group planning to assaultassault-
the
assa-ultthe NormandyNor.manqyNormanqy. beach at 3:3: main points , utilizing 6 reinforced infantry divdiv-div-
isions
div-
isions
div-
isions
¬-
isionsvisions , and .333 AirborneirbKirby r divisions.divisionsi . 21stst Armymy Group fieldedfielde twotwo.lrmieatwolrmieatwo-ArinieatwoArinieawormierSardinia"ArmiesArmies".- , thethe-t
the-r
thef-t
ethe-r, ,, .. , .,,. r.,. .nn.rrara - :. c.c"-. _. . .. . . . t.u.cuc<.M4.:...:< w. ._.. . w_..*.., . *.. , .rr*. " -"
,. . . . ". -.
.
-. .. .. . . . -BB+-_*rw.rw.r . ", . *.*_. . *.". . ru.ru..fY-ril.fYrilaril.
...-..... tt-ttttJKffJU.!..,-_..*,. JKffJUiw ... .
*. , .1'.11..".1'.r.I ' . VWftWlv14NY1......., .. .... ' , L*,. . <t 4.M4Mnw_. *: fc . i
_. %
_linOlin OMfcMC I.I...wrwr., *+ tAWHMW.MWtAW, ,.. .. <
_& * m.win. . ..UWSOWmamavwnr.amavwnrCustom
.
f.*.*..*. , . 4*.<..*&...<-.r.--.r.rf-1WttTetttr.*....-
r.i"t..U
r-
itUr-
itual. u*.*. <_
. ew.-wew.w(,( *...-.._-w_ . M.M*..., -_. <+*,. <.. . , . 'NtfNtfNt'_
***** ****"**'*"_**"".'*..'*. T-VTVTV-
v"T-
VvV-
v... . -.... _u'u- '
... .
.
._ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . , . . . , . . . . , . .. . .. , , , . , .- - '' - ' v"v; " "
" i u :;a ' .wwysfTiafflaiwwysfTiafflai.wwysfTiafflairmMi* ' " "; - " " " -rmMirmMiramming- ; murtfc.imurtfciMauricio( ** * * *w t * MWWWW- * " i .MM * : * m + zxw * ! * r u ;i> a raz ; ; .aa :i"t..UitUsitu1st13t; U'U' ,*
'OsOsSoS.S. Army:Y-YY"thYthMythand ,
"thththe .BitBitBritish; h 2nd2niA2niA.Th"e2niAThe( Army.ArmyAr; r :. -.Th"e.Th"eTheThe 1stletttSU.U111.111. -SSS.S-LArmYLArmYSLArmYArmYSammy. ArrayArmy ,: underd command
rw. ... . I . . . . , ,. ,
(1515(15)( ), 16 , 17)1717.1717)'o17o).'.) . .syeyee WitnessWitnesa , ., SelfSett.SettSetS lf'lf' ,.. . . .
99.9*.6. ', VIIWVII. , ,_/ ". , , , , , "u.urAAraga" . . M.IM.IMIMI
_. . YM.YM_.' .AAAA. ...
_r7.rr7r.. ". , ,, n.n' , . -..nYmwnYmwNY. ) ,*,"- ' . I' . ..
..-........... ........' . trfifctiiaitwadfrtitit lJiAli aw.1It.aw1It.aw1It. . ._
. :,. r .1a1a. :t " .Q'Q; ' . ....r"-.r.r"r.r. av"_.m--pgtaflrmpgtaflrpigtail..--,-. r-.M.r.M.- _
;" . . "_ " _.,*-+*-'
with two CprpsCrpICorpsCpI, , the 7th7tb CorpsCorp.Corp. on the right and thet.he. 5th CorpsCorCora,. on the left.leftleft.-
The
lett-
erleft.-
The
lett-
er. .
The 7th Corps would land one division north ofot the VireVireo BstuaryBltuaryEstuaryBlurry on "Utah1Utah1"Utah"Utah"Utah1-
beach
Utah1-
beach
"Utah"-
beach
Utahb-
eachUt-
ah"Utah"-
beach
Utahb-
eachUt-
ah" *"
beach , and assisting this assaultI.saaultIsaaultSault. were the 62nd82nci82nd and 101stlOlatlOla Airborne.Airborne. DivisionsDivision.Division. ,
landing during the earlyearl1 hours ofot June 6th at Ste-Here-EgliseSteHereEgliseSte-Mere-EgiiseMereEgiiseSateEliseGuiseSteSate - er.-EBl1s.erEBl1s.er.EBl1s.EBl1s.- , . and northnorth-north-
west
north-
west
north-
west
¬-
west of CarentanCretan respectivelyrespectively.*. (18)18( ) On the "Omaha"Omaha" " beach , to the easteaateat ofotof-
the
of-
ten
ot-
the
ot-
her
of-
the
of-
tenthe VireVireo Estuary , 5th Corps , under command of MajorJlajorLabor General GerowGrow , was toto-
assault
t-
arsalto-
assault
t-
arsalto-
assault
t-
arsalassault with the 1stlet Iu.u) . S.S. InfantryInfant Division reinforcedreinforced.*. The Corps1Corps'Corps' mismis-milsmis-
sion
mis-
sion
mis-
sion
¬-
sionscion was to push straight south establishing a beachhead , and forming aa-
continuous
c-
ontinuous
a-
continuous
c-
ontinuous
a-
continuous
c-
ontinuouscontinuous front with the British on their left flankflank.*. The beundrybcundryboundryboundary be-bebe-
H
Be-
th
b-eI
b-
Ibe-
tween
-
tweenteen these two Armies ran from a point west ofot Port-en-BessittPortenBessittPort-en-Be88iBe88iBessiePort-en-BessiePortenBessie- - HI) generallygenera11Jgenerally-
south
gener-ally
genera11J-
southsouth through FormignyFormigny.Forming*. (19)19(19)-
The
19T-
he
(19)-
The
19T-
he
(19)-
The
19T-
he
( )
The BritishBritiBrith 2nd ArmyAr planned to attack with the 50th InfantryInfaptry DivisionDivision-
on
Divisio-
non the right , the 3rd Canadian Division in the center , and the 3rd BritishBritish-
Division
Bri-tish
British-
Division
Bri-tish
British-
Division
Bri-tishDivision on the left flank.flank. To protect the British left flank againstagainst-
attack
aga-inst
against-
attack
aga-inst
against-
attack
aga-instattack from the east a brigade of the 6th British Airborne Division waswas-
to
was-
te
was-
to
was-
te
was-
to
was-
teto be dropped across the OrneHorne River.River. (20)20(20)-
General
20-
General
(20)-
General
20-
General
(20)-
General
20-
General
( )
General Montgomery'sMontgomerysMontgomery' intention after seizure of the initial beachhead ,
was to hold in the area south of CaenCan while the U.U. S.S. 1st Army maneuveredmaneuvered-
to
maneuver-
edto cut off the CotentinContenting Peninsula and capture Cherbourg.Cherbourg. (21)21(21)-
In
21-
In
( )
In the 5th Corps sector , the initial assault unitun.itunit., ( Force 0"0non" " ) consistedconsisted-
of
consiste-
dof the 1st Division , reinforced to include four infantry regiments with strongstrong-
attachments
strong-
attachments
strong-
attachmentsattachments of artillery , armor , and engineers.engineers. This reinforced DivisionDivision-
included
Divi-sion
Division-
included
Divi-sion
Division-
included
Divi-sionincluded the 16th and 18th R.C.T.'sRCTsR.O.T.'sROTsCRTs. . . ' of the 1stlet Division , the 2nd and 5th5th-
Ranger
5th-
Ranger
5th-
RangerRanger Battalions , and the 115th and 116th R.C.T.fsRCTfsR.C.T.'sRCTsCRTs. . . ' of the 29th InfantryInfantry-
Division.
Infa-ntry
Infantry-
Division.
Infa-ntry
Infantry-
Division.
Infa-ntryDivision.Division. The remaining R.C.TRCTR.C.T.CRT. . *. ofor the 1stlet Division was attached to thethe-
29th
the-
29th
the-
29th29th Division which betaaebeeaaebeemebetakebreakagebema a part of the follow-upfollowup- forcetorcetore (Force HB"B"BVIP" ") .* (22)22( ) >
20 21)21) A-lAlA-11 . 5 (22)22( ) A-iAi- . 8.8.(1818( , 19 , , - , p.p ; , p.p. . . . .. . . . . . .... . . .... ._. ....
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.
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' y*" r.r It"' rr..l.rr..l-
.PLANXW
>. "
PLANNINGPLANXWPLAX( PHA3EPHA3ZPHA3E-
The.. ..., ... ... . . _ , , . .... ___ J . ./IiIIiI/ r
__ J_ * . ..LItLIt..L-
ItDog
l-
ido
K. /tiywtiywtidy,/ .
.
..
..'. M , . . . .
.., " ", --11-- ' p'J-6thr"IJp'JpJ6thr"IJ6thrIJ' ;- " " J""IlV'1'JIlV1" " ' ' " rrtuloAartful) Uul'-lUul'UullUsual'-
The Omaha Beach waswalwail dividedvidedd1 into six sectors.ector.ectorhector. . , from rightrigbt to leftleftIi-
I
lef-t
:
Dog Green , DogDog'VbDogVbDogWhiteWftteWafted\'Vb'VbVb\' !te, Dog Red , EasyEaIYEasily Green, EasyEaeyLeakey Red , and FoxFox.. GreenGreen.Green.-
The
Reen-
ter
Green.-
The
Reen-
ter
*.
The general plan of the 1stlet Division waaW&3W3wasWada& to have two regiments attackattack-
abreast
attac-
kable
attack-
abreast
attac-
kable
attack-
abreast
attac-
kableabreast on this beachbeach.*. On the two eastern sectorslectors ( Easy Red and FoxFox-
Green
Ox-
ygen
Fox-
Green
Ox-
ygen
Fox-
Green
Ox-
ygenGreen ) the 16th R.C.T.RCTR.C.TCRT. . . would attack with two battalion landing teams abreast ,
the 2nd Battalion on the right , and the 3rd)rd Battalion on the left.left. TheThe-
1st
The-
1st
Th-
elet
Hel-
met1stlet Battalion , in support during the beach assault , would move throughthrough-
the
thoug-
htthe 2nd Battalion to capture the village ofot FormignyFormigny.Forming,. The 116thl16th RegimenRegimen-Regime-
ntal
¬-
taltail Combat Team on the right would likewise attack with two battalionbattalionl-
anding
batta-lion
battalionl-
anding
batta-lion
battalionl-
anding
batta-lionlanding teams , the 3rd Battalion on the leftlertalert , the 2nd Battalion on thethe-
right
he-
ight
the-
right.
he-
ight
the-
right.
he-
ightrightright.*. The 1st Battalion was to land on Dog Green , proceed along the highhigh-
ground
hig-
hroad
high-
ground
hig-
hroad
high-
ground
hig-
hroadground to the west , and capture the high ground in the vicinity of Maisy.MaisyAaisy.AaisyMissyDaisy.
(23)23( )
The'rherherhea' two Ranger Battalions had a special missionmi8 lon to the west of thethe-
main
Ath-
enian
the-
main
Ath-
enian
the-
main
Ath-
enianmain landings.landings. The 2nd Ranger Battalion would land in the vicinity ofof-
Point
of-
fprint
of-
Point
of-
fprint
of-
Point
of-
fprintPoint Du Hoe , scale the cliffs , and neutralize the known enemy fortifiedfortified-
battery
forti-fied
fortified-
battery
forti-fied
fortified-
battery
forti-fiedbattery position there.there. If this assault proved successful the 5th RangerRange-
rBattalion
Range-
rBattalion
Range-
rBattalionBattalion was to land just west of Dog Green , and assault the enemy positionposition-
at
position-
alat Point de la1a PerceePearce , on the right of the 1st Division zone of action.action. (24)24(24)-
In
24-
In
( )
In support of this assault on Omaha Beach the Division Provost MarMar-Ma-
rshal
Ma-
rshal
Ma-
rshal
¬-
shalshale decided to land two officers and 2628 men on sector Easy Red at H ft 8080-
V
80-
iiiinutes.
80-
iiiinutes
80-
winutes.
80-
winutes, V\.
iiiinutes.iiiinuteslliinutes.lliinuteswinutes.winutes. Of this group ORBouo officer and 14 men would'Would' proceed up the E-lEl1-11FrlFurlEl-M
11t-.
11-t
-M-MM-
exitE-
xit$ t.tF.FF.-
M
F-
.exitF-
eint-
. >.. .
exit to the entrance of ),H.-LaurentH.LaurentI.IH.H. -LaurentiLaurentLaurent ; the remaining officer and 14 men were-werewere-
to
wher-
eto
were-
to
wher-
eto
-
to proceed along the beach to thehe E-3E3- exit and establish.atablishatablishcatabolism. control postsposts-e
poss-e
posts-
inland
posi-
tional
posts-
inland
posi-
tional
posts-
inland
posi-
tionale
inland to the village of Colleville.CollevilleCollectible. In the yent"ventventyenta," that either one of thesethese-
groups
Hes-
perus
these-
groups
Hes-
perus
these-
groups
Hes-
perusgroups were unable to accomplish their mission'81on , oneODe more officerof icerdicer and 1414-
men
14-
men
14-
men
\
men would land on EasyEaIYEasily Red at H ft 230 minutesminute.minute. , to move up to either E-lElB-1B1Fri- oror-
E3
Ii
,
Iii
i
M.. .
_ E-3E3-3.exit.exite# .: .
.
. . .II.Ifj,, by chancychangechance; ;, all ofo thesejthesethesebe ssiPjaaJfeUM.e.13m4f1.1er1e13m4f1.1er1e13m4f11er1..' _ _
_ . ,*.. thetbeUmtubeUmy-
.'XIl
Um-
yXIl
Du-
mmy
regaining.regainingt't' ' '
.
.:"
.:
"
.
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.' - -. .Ywnrwrr.r.ldLYwnrwrrrldL.TO-m.TOm... -*.--< <.nnji.unrtinnjiunrtiinjunction.. _. + M.YMY. +.4M.* iiI&AA& 1*ftmtmMI IIHIiiiiiI"I"1 e. . k.1111*. t J..pJp-. . <"> miiSi.niK'-miiSi.niK'miiSiniKmiiSi.niK'imiiSiniKimission' -.' i.to*. > +>S44bW; < uKniM-Unum -t. '. +nnw.MrrYwMrrYwryiinliinlaid ItrOON'11IItrOON11IIMISIMI m n m' *i.wiw+ A + y4 OAJDOA.' 4- AU" 41I.* ', IIVMq.IIVMqIVp M *MlM.is&PMlMisPLamias**_ *_ * .tfotfoto<& lit"litIR*"I" '4.4.Il4Il*.> <" njtfNJ+ "+"kn *. i.W frh; *.tI. -.IIIoi".IIIoi"IIIoi.yWthl.kMyWthlkM-* MUIMAUI"" II. nr11I'.1l> i1m iliin.iliinIlionL'L WMl
_MlMliMali|1N" " " i""iiir'iiiiriMWeMw| ' +wwAft< n ilUtdiluteil-
Utelements
.J.--.J.4'W4W.-
J.elent.
- A-AA-
elements
E-
lements
-
)elementselent.elentrelent_ . ofot the platoon would taketalc.talc. over the assigneda..ignedaignedaligned.. missionmilliol\milliolmillivoltmilliollanci1D&milliollanci1D\, landinglanci1D&lanci1Dlanding-
at
lanci1D-
&.7
lanci1-
D7
landing1O-
WN
landin-
g&
, . . . . . .:
....... ' :-.7.7-. - 1.. _ . . _ . . .": ! '
.'JJ' i_ .: :,, ':::.... ':" ; ,,
''::":'
, .::;:., ,;:..... .::.. . . :
.:; ;.:.. . ._ . :: .
. ." ' ." " :
'....
.
..:
1OWN.: , .:AqqWMWM% I'II'1'
.
01411010141-
101at
. . ._ . . . -1-1- """""""' 1-
at-
at H + 300.300. minutea.minuteaminute.minuteminutes.minutes. . (25)-
In
25-
In
(25)25(25)-
In
25-
In
( )
In a seriesser1es ofot conferencesconferenc.conferencconference.. with the Provost MarshalKarshal ofot the Engineer-
Special
Engi-neers
EngineerEngineerH-uu
Engine-er
EnIEMI e.l'el. '-HuuHuuiL.iLHumus- . . .-...
.f h< 11M* > cc4co..a.co..-
a.Special-444-
Special.
j
Special Brigade Group , it was deoideddecided that they would initiallyinitiall1 controlcontrol-
the
contr-
olthe beach as fartar back as&ss& the main exitsents from the beachbeach.*., fattateViramiCfataleiambicin ft *. TheTbeTube 1stletlet-
Division33-
Division3-
DivisionDivision M.P.'sMPsM.P.rsMPrsAmpsMrsK.P.KP. . ' 8 would control the exits E-lEl1-11E-1- , E-EFEandEland- , and inland asa8 fartar asas-
the
as-
hen
as-
the
as-
hen
as-
the
as-
henthe tactical situation dictated.dictated. In other words ifit the assault elementselements-
made
eleme-
nts
elements-
made
eleme-
nts
elements-
made
eleme-
ntsmade favorable progress into St Laurent and CollevilleCoilevilleCollectible the M.P.'sMPsK.P.'sKPsAmpsKips. . ' would-
follow
work-
fellow
wouldwould-
follow
work-
fellow
would-
follow
work-
fellowfollow closely.closely. (26)26(26)-
The
26T-
he
(26)-
The
26T-
he
( )
.
The 116thll6th R.C.T.'sRCTsR.O.T.lsROTlsCRTsROTs. . . ' zone of action was to be covered byqy M.P.'sMPsY.P.ISYPISAmpsYIPS. . ' of thethe-
wr
eth-
erthe-
hI'1'athe-
hI1athe-
29th/w//rwr/hI'1'ahI1ahI'1'a-
29thhI1a-
29th/'/,' , '''/' 'UU-
29th29th DiviDivDivisionion , coming in at H +10?'9. and following the assault elements asas-
closely
a-
scots
as-
closely
a-
scots
& 11-
closelyclosely as possiblepossibleJ); Their main mission being to initiate1nit1 te control of-
traffic
af-
tereffect
ofotof-
traffic
af-
tereffect
ot-
traffictraffic ( tactical) , guide personnel and vehicles into vehicle transit areas ,
and to establish and operate collecting points for prisonersprisonensofof war.war. (27)27(27)G-
EOGRAPHICAL
27G-
EOGRAPHICAL
((27)-
GmGRAPHICAL
27G-
mGRAPHICAL
(27)G-
EOGRAPHICAL
27G-
EOGRAPHICAL
)
GEOGRAPHICALGmGRAPHICAL FEATURESFEATURE-
SIn
Featur-
esIn the zone allotted to VthVt Corps fortortore this impending large-scalelargescalelargescalel-
anding
largescalel-
anding
largescalel-
anding
-
landing operation , vewe* findindbind only one favorable landing area.area. A five-nilefivenilefive-milemilefivemile-
stretch
fivenile-
stretch
five -* 1818-
stretch in the east to PointePointed dede-
la
De-
lla
de-
la
De-
lla
de-
la
De-
lla
stretch of beach extends from Port-en-BessinPortenBessinBlessing- - , ,
la PerceePearce , in the west.west. This stretch of beach is closed at both ends byby-
rock
br-
ock
by-
rock
br-
ock
by-
rock
br-
ockrock ledges and cliffs averaging 100 feetteetteeth in height.height. On this five-milefivemilefivemile-
interval
fivemile-
interval
fivemile-
interval
-
interval of favorable landing beachb68Ch , VthVt Corps planned its assault landland-land-
ings
land-
ings
land-
ings
¬-, . .
ingsdings , designating the area as "Omaha"Omaha"o""Omaha1Omaha1"Omaha'Omaha" "'*. Beach.Beach. The beach slopes quite gentlygently-o
gentl-y
gently-
below
gen-
tlygently-
below
gen-
tlybelow high-waterhighwater- mark , and on a lowloV4 tide approximately 300 yards of firmfirm-
sand
fire-
man
firm-
sand
fire-
man
firm-
sand
fire-
mansand iaieis exposed.exposed. On this tidal flat the Germans constructed numerous-r
numerou-s
numerousnumerou-
sKmderwater"obstacles
numerou-
sKmderwaterobstacles
numerou-
serwater
nume-
rousr ; :i*Kmderwater"obstaclesKmderwaterobstaclesderwater'staclesderwaterstaclesdrafterserwaterjerkwater'" staclesstales including the Element tiC"tiC"C"C"0 %" , a gate-likegatelike- structure ofotof-
p"r
of-
pr
offp-
rint
ot-
reinforced
tr-
ansformed
of-
reinforced
o-
rificereinforced iron frames with iron supportsj8upport8supports,;'p-"rp"rrp"-
rreinforcedpr-
reinforcedp-
renticed-"
heavyeavyheavy loolobolopy10'10loopy'"* driven into the sand-
at
sad-
at
sandsand-
at
sad-
at
sand-
at
sad-
atat such an angle that the mine-tippedminetipped- ends pointed seaward , and hedge-hogshedgehogshedge-hogehogehoggedhedgehoge-
made
hedgehogs-
made
hedgeh-
oghedgeh-
ogs
- ;
/
made of steel rails and strongly set into the sand.sand. (28)28(28)t(28)i(28)-
At
28-
At
(28)-
At
28-
At
(28)-
At
28-
At
( )'
. . .
t/
i/
At four pointspoi ts'tsts'ong"tsongsong'alongong"ongFongong"maongmaTonga
"
Omahama Beach'Beach' B chchsmchasm-smsm-smallsnailh'"wohwowho' ::"
woodeddeddeed ravines slopesiopeelope backback-w.
bac-k
b ck'ck'
*w.w* .., .,,* ,"'.. .,_ . . !.. ' " ... . .. . ...
. ' ..... . .. ..- ' ' .! ' * *. ' ' ' ''. .'_" 1IT*
.!'II'_ JgSiyGasify'*.*.*'!!! ! "**fl.>
.l'tlkltlktalk'.
... "'I\'II' /!' ,, \ *..l'l'. ."::"' !\ *..'. . .1A.1A.1A. v.1A.'I""f'ei|.*..*...-. .'( MaW'MaW\ ' **" 'vv' ''''' ' . yrt'yrtyurt..."' ',.. <..-'I""f''I""f'If-r.-Mtr.Mt. -'" ' " "nc' <'rdwrd'' *** *-* * 4-4- . .**. . "JSLtjuJSLtjuJustus" . -..:..: "jj". T'T'.rw.rw.::.u.u. . *t. -tt'TT! f 'jyjy ?_ " ':.
ujF-VujFVUFO.
!
._. .
! -_.._ ._.',..SjSj;,wu..r.wururn
?
.;-...-.L.v"rilttijLvrilttijLevitating
..;.
;:ca.ca_ ;
.
:
" Y.Y.. '+jy'JjyJjay. '
.
!. .
f.ifi.7-.7.7-wu..r. 7-wur '! -
... . . ..
SISKSIS,7r..Y7r.Y7rY_., . . . y_ .II., / ' ,. . ' .....Ir'Ir,.,' .
_. .... .M.M. ....
!aN - Y..n.w..r.r..nYnwrrnUnworn.. . .. . ..... - ,+ . ..IIb..rr.IIbrrLibrary.. ...._.. . . wVarawar.. ...,. Wr_ r J j'j' I'I"' J j
:2525f251:25 , 26, 27)27) Eye Witness , SelfSelfj; (28)28( ) A-3A3- , p.pP . 3.3*o> .
. . . . . . . . .
. " ' -" " ''::' _-. .. . . . . . . . , . . . . - . - - -- -
.n.n. . ,. . ... . ._ ,. 1111t.. . -t.t.--..%.. . IWr..yIWryWry... .. . . .. . . . . .w.w.. . ,. -. .a.a-. ... . r.r-- . . . ._-. .-.ii. ., . .MYJJMYJJMY-. .*... ., w_ ... . " 414> ...]"}; '""ww" ....->-. . . .. , . . .YY.. . M- 1-1.--. . .. .M. . _- , . .. . . ' . '
.rr. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . 11 .. . 1W1-
Wwwft_
wwftwaft >_ .+ .*.. N) . ., I.I. '
. . a... . . ,.
. . .-. . WerM4. . . Appal.OWNAppleton/ .OWNOWN..... r. i.i04W.... Y...,MafMa.. . ..W'W.. ' 40,004000' ..., 0M.0M. 101-
0inland
. ' . . . . , . , . y..pyp.. ".'. ., MY..0"MY.0" .". . . *"""' r.r.. A.-i1Frhi1FrhAi1Frh.... ... .. Appal/AppalAppall . j, .. . . , 'jj , ..---... . . . .",,"oo"owt"owtwt,",' -wt"wt"wt.-. . ..-"& HW.AftHWAftWAft-.- 1.00100, ... OW... b.b. . r. l'l.' .' . . . . , . . . . .. . .- .. , . . . " . " . . . , . . .- . , , . . . . .
v\v-
MMUW
. . .JJ>. lJlJiI-
f
lif-
eMMUWMMMopiIfif tem' .*...IMI/.IMIIAMBI...IMIwlf./ wlfwolf** *':wy'!:.nn. q "warwar" =iwr a *" 'i en'aenaLena!r'* *=+n +
..:=r-al rw.rw._ ." . . .* '
.
>:xkDked* :,"..:r:,:k...;
.;..,., ry.wrywcry*,. *L, , w...tr:;.
, ,
.. .., .
.;: ,: ",:.;x..r.wxrwraw:.:. . ,!:.=+ r--=-- ____,_'_ . . _ _ . . . . .. " "
_. ' ' '''.
,
.
"MM",--
. . _....
_"_... . , '
... ._ .
. , . .. .... . ... .... . ,.. .. . ._ . . . _' " . .
inland and provide naturalDaturaAtria! corridors for exit from the beachbeach.*. ThoseThe.eTheeTheseThos-
ecorridors
The.e-
corridors
Thes-
ecorridors
.corridors were keyke, areas both in the plan ofot attack and in the arrangeanuge-anugearrange-Langearrange-
ment
anuge-
mant
auge-an
arrange-
ment
¬-mentmantmeantmanta of defenses.defensesdefense.defense. . The advance inland1Dland ofot assaulting'IaultingIaultingFaulting&' units would dependependdepend-
on
depe-nd
epend-
on
depend-
ant
e
on opening these exit roads fortortore traffic and supply from the beachbeach.*. (29)29(29)-
Looking
29L-
ooking
(29)-
Looking
29L-
ooking
( ) rr-
Looking
L-
ookingLooking at the road-netroadnet- south or inland from the beach , we findtindtined twotwo-
main
wo-
man
two-
main
wo-
man
two-
main
wo-
manmain laterals : a 15-foot15foot- hard-surfacehardsurface- road paralleling the coast fromfrom-
Vierville
ro-omier
from-
Vierville
ro-omier
from-
Vierville
ro-omierViervilleVirile to St.St. Laurent to Port-en-BessinPortenBessinPort-en-BeesinBeesinBlessingBesting- - , and a still better road runningrunnin-
glaterallyrun-
ningrunnin-
glaterallyrun-
ningrunnin-
glaterallyrun-
ninglaterally from IsignyHissing to FormignyForming to Bayeux.BayeuxBateaux. (30)30.30).30(.
) The north-southnorthsouth- roadsroads-
extending
rea-sserted
roads-
extending
rea-sserted
roads-
extending
rea-ssertedextending up from the beach were secondary8econda in nature and characterizedcharacterized-
steep
characteri-zed
byby-
steepb-
yteby-
steepb-
ytesteep shoulders , and in many places , by high embankments.embankments. As a result ofotof-
this
O-
tisot-
this
G-
oths
of-
this
O-
tisthis very poor north-southnorthsouth- road-netroadnet- , it would be necessarynece8sa to do a greatgreat-
deal
grad-
ualgreat-
deal
grad-
ualgreat-
deal
grad-
ualdeal of engineering work in the development of suitable north-southnorthsouth- axials.axialsaxilsaxials.-
Ones
hailst-
ones
axials.-
Once
hailst-
oneaxials.-
Once
hailst-
one.
OnesOnce 'upup' up the steep slopesslop s bordering the beach , we find a gently rollingrolling-
plainrolli-
ngrolling-
plainrolli-
ngrolling-
plainrolli-
ngplain divided into numerous patches of land by hedgerows , which areire the-uni-theunithi--uni-thiZunithintheuni-versal
thun-ders
theuni-
versalthun-
dersthiuni-
versalthin-
kers--- -
versalversa substitute for fences in this country , and vary in character alal-
most
a1-a1al-ala1-
most
al-
most
¬-most as much as do the of theshapes fields.fields. Some are low bushes , somesom-
eare
smea-
red
som-
eare
smea-
red
som-
eare
smea-
redare thick walls of tough briarybriabriar hedge , and still others are dikes of earth.earthearth.-
(3D
earth-
3D.
(3D3D(31)31( )
UARSHAIXBiGMARSHALLDlGMARSHALLINGMarshallUARSHAIXBi-
GWith
MARSHALLDl-
GWith
MARSHALLIN-
GWith
Marsh-all
Marshall-ingWith the completion of the planning and coordination phase we findfind-
thefi-
ndfind-
thefi-
ndfind-
thefi-
ndthe M.P.MP. . Platoon moving into the marshalling area on May 22, 1944.1944. TheThe-
platoon
Te-
lethon
The-
platoon
Te-
lethon
The-
platoon
Te-
lethonplatoon was split up according to the plan , and sent to "Blocks"Blocks" " , withinwithin-
the
with-
inwithin-
the
with-
inwithin-
the
with-
inthe marshalling area , corresponding to the ships which they would be on.onon.-
The
M-
onte
on.-
The
M-
onte
on.-
The
M-
onte
.
The first section , two officers and 28 men , went to Area D-8D8- , Block 4 , fortortorefor-
loading
fol-
iatingtor-
loading
tre-
adingfor-
loading
fol-
iatingloading on L.S.T.LSTST. . . 1420.1420#420.420. (32)32(32)-
The
32T-
he
(32)-
The
32T-
he
((32)-
The
32T-
he
)
The 2nd group to land , 1 officer and 14 men , went to Area D-8D8D--8--- , Blockm.ockmock. 66.6,.,
for loading on L.C.T.LCTCTL.O.LO. .! . #138.138138.-
The
138-
The
138-
.Thi
138-
Thi
.
- . . . . . . 'M.M' . . . _ . . . . . . . . . . . ' ". .. . . . . . . . . ..
. . .. . _ 'ThThTheThiThai
'
3"rd3rd"rc "grotlptgrotlptgrot.gggroupot p ::to6Taitd/-f6Taitdf:= =1amiid-iiidiid-/ ': '
- :"officerofficerofficoff3.cer-off3.cerofficeoff3.cerandoff3cerand". r'r' :-"
and1d-1d1d"lnen''w1dlnenw- '
4'"lnen'-'w"lnen'lnen'wwlinen"
men]';;- '
wentntMtM tot "Area"bAreabArabArear r:1-m6r:1r1m6"
D-6D6,.-: 6; ,;' -
HCoclcColicBCcck'IIBCcckIIBCcck'IIIBCcckIIICockBCcck'II-w'r
BCcckII-wr
Cocki-er
, :'ii11' 1' :
.. _ _. . , ... , . , .... ...... ... . . ...... .
.. ... ... . . .
. . ,. .
. - . . .- - ,.... . ". .--. . w'rwr.. ' ,..I,
MMW_MW .W'W' ' " 1 "' F;' ".: r " w.w:;_ * , . _ . .. . .. .. .. ..
-' ,
r. .' ........-.....,;;;.;; : --.n..n.-" '-: _ . .tt 'A I.I : / *. ' ll wrV4"AwrV4A-rX.
7/77tw.7tw/,
tw.tw, , .
' > <<<6/t6t 4..e.e4tMMhffliIMiMMMM0MMMJMMVHHP4tMMhffliIMiMMMM0MMMJM-
MVHHPtarlowfrfln.4.1.41.414 'f1llf1ll Iii II r J l JJLLJILL .w.w 'rivmurim-"* kvwftN.kvwftN*mH_% * >* : - - I M
." "" : " --'J"'J"J--: ' " : __ . -. .,..--_ -tarlowfr-flntarlowfrfln"tv"i.ohCtw'ontviohCtwontallowflan-.-. " "-. aa&-aa&aa& - ' L.1T.Tntt397rivmuL1TTntt397rivmu- ' - ....w.w. "' -... qKM-KM, " 1 ----- _, WW..R._ .AA-AAA-
A(29)
A-
A29
..-......... .,.. -,...-,.. .,_.... -.M.a_
M.a-ZU Ma-ud . ..., ._ -7.7.-.. . r .. 1 4.4., ./, ,., .,,>. KVi"KViotIoo"-otIoo"otIooViontootIoo"-'J" otIo-oJ ont-o ""'-. i. .. <'*.. -. . .. .-ZU-ZUZU11aa&orsaaorsagars: ors L.1T.Tntt397L1T.Tntt397L1TTntt397l-C1'-1C1'C11lC1'1lC11; .:G:;. T:: .L.WLW. .
'".
" ... . (29)29( ) A-lAlA-l,) pV'p.pl' s.-s.s.ihsigh.-
. .
'IfcjIC:ih' ; (30)30(O}?U) A-lAlA1-l.l,._
p.p1>.' " 1717l|; :, (31)31(31)Y31Y(33( )) , . "A-lt"AAlt'AIMAIM"'A'1A1A'1-
a
A1-
a
.
-' J'J' ''JfJf#: r. I6yt3.t6-r'"tt2).t6rtt2.t6t6r'"tt2)rtt2-VIM'" : *) WM'rjjrrjjrP' :'lt.qultquletup.* wa ' KAomUdgiAloudKAomUdg-
iSelf.' '' :; '
'' ;
Self.Selfs.s. .
--... . . . .-. . a.. r. r..1.r1.r1.. .... .,. . ,. ., .. 'atat.'.. 13.131.3...
. . . . . . ._. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . - .. .. - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...w.w. . . . . .
. . . .. . . _____..4.4.4. ...
I
.II.. . . ... ... . . . . ..... ., . . .... .. .. .. ,. . . .
___ , I . . _ ..... "". , . .... . . . . .. . . , .*v M14xbjA
. .mp. > ..- . , . At,.. , Itl,.Il. . Iw.,...,+.. ... .MM_. wMMJiMt_,.. . AA-_!. YIMr-Yin- J, . I4,. .. ..*.. . *-. -* ...---- ' 4-*"
%
--
.*"' '' '' " ' ' -__
<_-" * nu.nu!-.t..t.-*. .AdoAdo f -.arar Js y.y- y. ww-+ wA_
" ' rrNw.awa.rrNwawa. . -l1lil1lir.wrwr.-wTha
. ,
.. .
.
.
. . .'jj'-- . .. ,
, . . . '.
.5&iL.4jHa5iL.4jHa5iL4jHaThaThai& J.MaawiMaawiMalawi. t.hth;. ,JMi&JMiMIJMi&caMJMicaMMica_. &: -caMcaM-.
_-. fc-- lrqttp+ tit-tittitGf"titGftit- ""tt" Gf"Gf4W.164W16.-011011- "',i'ttfTtMifnaltittfTtMifnaltniO."ul1rdniO.ul1rdniOul1rd- '- ." = M2'222' r rreaareareaarea ; - -
.' 0* 1.1\1-
.Block
1-
Block)
,.
Block 5 , to load on L.S.H.LSHLASH. . . (33)33(33)-
On
33-
On
(33)-
On
33-
On
( )
On MaylI&ylIylaylily& 242J.2J. mapsmapaNapa ofot the landing area were drawn , and all personnel werewere-
thoroughly
mer-
itoriously
were-
thoroughly
mer-
itoriously
were-
thoroughly
mer-
itoriouslythoroughly briefed.briefed. At this time all men were given an overlayoverlqoverlap with thethe-
complete
the-
rmopile
the-
complete
the-
rmopile
the-
complete
the-
rmopilecomplete plan of traffic circulation , and each man was familiarized withwith-
his
with-
ies
with-
his
with-
ies
with-
his
with-
ieshis specific part in that plan.plan. In addition , this overlay showed the popo-
sition
po-popo-
sition
po-
sition
¬-
sitionsitting of the prisoner of war cage , and vehicle transit areas.areas. They werewer-
efurther
wer-
efurther
wer-
efurtherfurther briefed in the location of the Division Command Post , and majormajor-
supply
ma-jors
major-
supply
ma-jors
major-
supply
ma-jorssupply dump areas , though this information was not included in the overlayoverlay-
for
overla-
bor
overloverlyoverl-
for
overl-
ordfor security reasons.reasons. (34)34( )
THE VOYAGEVOYAGE-
On
Voya-
geOn theth night of 2-323- JuneJunJuan , all four of these elements of the M.P.MP. . PlaPla-PlaxPla-
toon
Pla-
toon
Pla-
toon
¬-
toonton moved out of the marshalling area to the Portland harbor where theythey-
boarded
hea-
dboard
they-
boarded
hea-
dboard
they-
boarded
hea-
dboardboarded their respectivespectivezespectivespecie craft.craft. At approximately 1700 , 2nd of June , thethe-
author
he-
ather
the-
author
he-
ather
the-
author
he-
atherauthor with 28 men and 1 officer boarded L.S.T.LSTST. . . #420 , and moved out intointo-
the
inst-
ate
into-
the
inst-
ate
into-
the
inst-
atethe already crowded harbor , where we dropped anchor and waited for thethe-
"big"
th-
ebig
her-
bing
the-
"bigll
the-
bigll
th-
rillthe-
"big"
th-
ebig
her-
bing"big"big"bigllbigllbill" " day.day. The 3rd of June , spent on board ship proved uneventful ; howhow-how-
ever
how-
ever
how-
ever
¬-
ever , the 4th of June presented another picture.picture. Byay noon of the 4th thethe-
weather
the-
reafter
the-
weather
the-
reafter
the-
weather
the-
reafterweather looked quite bad.bad. The English Channel is well known for the unun-
predictable
un-unun-
predictable
un-
predictable
¬-
predictable nature of its weather and , on this one occasion , during thethe-
period
ch-
eerio
the-
period
ch-
eerio
the-
period
ch-
eerioperiod covered by this monograph , it lived up to its reputation.reputation. RoughRough-
weather
Rou-
ghest
Rough-
weather
Rou-
ghest
Rough-
weather
Rou-
ghestweather , accompanied by strong winds and rough seas , made it necessary toto-
postpone
to-
pspinto-
postpone
to-
pspinto-
postpone
to-
pspinpostpone D-dayDday- for 24 hours.hours. By this decision D-dayDday- was changed from June
5 to June 6.6. (35)35(35)-
On
35-
On
( ) .
On the eveningareningcareening of the 4th it was pouring rain, the wind whippedwhippe sprayapra7spray-
over
spr-ay
apra7-
over
spray-
over
spr-ayover the decks ofot the smaller shipsshipeship around us , andaD blottedblottec1 out the facestac.tactackfaces-
of
fac-es
..of the men in the boats.boats. On the afternoonatt.moonattmoonPatton. ofot the 5th5tb , the ship cojnandercommandercojnander-
received
comma-
ndeered
co.cocommander-
we
commandee-
red
.. d.d..
received orders to moveJDOveDOve out of the, . .
harbor , andaDd.aDdsad.sad.. withinw1t.b1n..3.w1tb1n3.w1tb1n3vithin.,3.vithin3.vithin3: . . .3Jiour. hourlOur $* w..88we* wrwv.wvwsre. .*_ . . . _*..
. . allraJ.l.aJlallalallrr-
.
al-
l
a.
.l. . ,
.. _ .0-00-
t
- . _ . - - , - .- . . . .0".00. " " - . . - . '- -_ . . . . .__ . . . . . . .
,__ . _ . _ . __ :- .p-.p.p-
0
p-
0
-
- , .. r.r..t"t. "".. 4ft-4ft4ftvff-tt- .. -.:***#:!&" , vffff. .'.9lo1 . .rj2M:.
.=' ,
tt. _.
*guejague_ . _ _ . . ..r.r.
.
. . . _hgM..._
' ljgttai,_ , . _ . .!.*. . . .gta3B' 131011131011-
M
,;- '::tIi.tIitipi..__.
" . .... .
., --1ft-rr -
(33)33( ) Personal Knowledge , SelfSeltSmelt ; (3434( ,3434, , 35)35) Eye$ye WitnessWitnea8, , Self.Self.. . , . " . . , . . . . f, ' . ,. . >. . . . . . . . . . . -. . ' " vmwmw-- . ." >"< -.
. .
" '.
.
:.
:.
. . . , . : .
14.14lJt.lJtalt..rr.
. . . . ..... . . . . . . _ . . . :,., .. . . . ...rr.MM-MM_ -_ .*. ' ry11rm. * .4N4N."*" '.*. '.*.*\.. . . . . . . _ . . . , .";:'11"-11"1111"-
J
11-
J
'MM' " .,t.'- 7q. ...-MMMM-
.r
M-m
aa-
.i'rM0MPVV
a-
irM0MPVV
..
'.>,
L*. . .. .. .. . , . ... ... . . .,.. ,.. . .. .. . . f.f. . _NI... Ia'Ia... .' fr.fr.. . i,i-
4I
. . . ', . ._ . ,... . .. ., yaY'yaYyea.' r. ' * 471 M M ' r.
'. . . . . . ., . .... .. . . .... . ., . . , . r. Y. ." .''DD r. 1 -.II
. ' , .. ... . . ' y0.y0 i.i ", r.r Nw.Nw-. . .. , .. --- . , . .. .*. %.*. . "> . . . *.*. ._ * <... ./. *...*.. . " <, - *. . . .... "I.I" . ._ ' -- ' ''-' ' W,44-V4WW'aW,44W44V4WW'aV4WWa,-- - .nn :
. ......... "... a*_* ***_"*
... W"l1'l1" ' --_ - .,- .....- . . "".>)WII'IIIII' JKM'WJJJJKMWJJJA.'IAI."'(, , ' ;
'.:
"
.: :.::"-': = .::."::" :;: .':' _. .--: . , .
4I4-
Ithese
. , . . ..
- i ''* nwmiw1 *****' .- H-H-- "* ' " " "
. *'"' ** > *Sf* A* vYYt7i'Yt7i- "/t7i't7i't7i-/ ti*' '"l*"a1- ' rLtwrelit'"- 1N7" 'jy! !" v.i'rM0MPV-V.irM0MPVV.i'rM0MPVirM0MPVV.i'rM0MPVV-1JtM
irM0MPVV1-JtM
' < - -*" ,V . .": .MM *** aY** +*IMIFIWIMF*w' _vtirofvireo1JtM - ' ;Vt.Vt ;- W-"Wi.iF-oFo- " "ttifiTottifiTotidbittffi-'ftnV6ytffi'ftnV6yftnV6ytiff'ii ydtro1; c b ;mYAK - 83xwrirOT"tttrar3xwrirOTtttrar eontOyonto destroyersr coulduldauld be seen movingIIDvingIdling fast up and downdow-
nthese
don-
atesdown-
L
dow-
n
thesetheee columnscolumnacolumnar , and frequentlyfreqfare .ntl1ntl1. a flight of fighterf1lhter planes would crosscrosarosa overover-over-
head.
over-
head
over-
head.
over-
head
*-" ,
headhead. (36)36(36)-
After
36-
After
( ) 7)7) " Dy*. y.y- -* _ _ . _
.AQ.1-.AQ1-.AQ-1._ _ _ _ _ _ _*.j.- _ _.. .:;
jAfterAtterLatter the evening meal last minute checks on equipment were made , 11,
and the men bedded down fortortore the night.night. At approximatelyapprox1ma.telyapprox1mately. 0200 , on the 6th ,
the ship slowed down to a stop , and upon inquiry , I found that we werewere-
about
where-
abouts
were-
about
where-
aboutsabout 9 miles fromtromtromp "Omaha"Omaha" " Beach.Beach. An early breakfast was served at 0300 ,
and at 0400 the men were ordered to secure equipment for a call to theirtheir-
station
tear-
staintheir-
station
tear-
staintheir-
station
tear-
stainstation which wasas on the port side of the ship.ship. Looking ogtoptRoget over the roughrough-
seas
roug-
hens
rough-
seas
roug-
hens
rough-
seas
roug-
hensseas I could see salvo after salvo leave one ofot the battleships , followedfollowed-
by
follow-
edby a red arc across the sky, a bright flash somewhere along the beach , andand-
the
anth-
em
and-
the
anth-
em
and-
the
anth-
emthe return of the sound.sound. Further inland the sky was aflameaflam , apparentlyapparently-
from
apparen-
tlyfrom the activity of the paratroopers.paratroopers. (37)37( ) At 0530 my two reinforced squadssquads-
were
squ-
adswere loaded into an L.C.A.LCACA. . . , and lowered into the water.water. As wew swung clearclear-
we
clearw-
eedwe Joined other L.C.A.'sLCAsLucas. . . ' bobbing about among the big transports stretchetretch-etretchstretch-stretch-
ing
etretch-
ing
stretch-
ing
stretch-
ing
¬-
ingKing out as far as one could see.see. A brisk northeast wind whipped up thethe-
waves
he-
aves
the-
waves
he-
aves
the-
waves
he-
aveswaves and salt spray drenched us.us. Overhead we could hear bombers , andand-
nearing
en-
dearing
and-
nearing
en-
dearing
and-
nearing
en-
dearingnearing the warships , broadsides fromtromtromp the heavy guns smacked our eardrums.eardrumseardrums.-
Moving
eardr-ums
eardrums.-
Moving
eardr-ums
eardrums.-
Moving
eardr-ums
.
Moving toward a large transport , we circled three times and added moremor-
eL.C.A.'s
mor-
eLCAs
No-
relcomor-
eL.C.A.'s
mor-
eLCAs
No-
relcomor-
eL.C.A.'s
mor-
eLCAs
No-
relcoL.C.A.'sLCAsLucas. . . ' to our wave.wave. As we moved closer toward the shore the men beganbegan-
to
beg-
anto get seasick , and soon many of them were vomiting on all sides.sides. Near-NearNear-
ing
Near-
ing
Near-
ing
-
ingKing our line of departure our L.C.A.LCACA. . . began shipping water from the heavyheavy-
seas
heav-
yset
heavy-
seas
heav-
yset
heavy-
seas
heav-
ysetseas ; however , the craftfecraftcraftbcrafted pumps were turned on and they seemed to carrycarry-
the
car-ry
carry-
the
car-ry
carry-
the
car-rythe load.load. (38)38( ) The men soon became drenched and chilled by.by
., the heavyheavy-
spray
hairs-
pray
heavy-
spray
hairs-
pray
heavy-
spray
hairs-
prayspray , cramped by ttwthe-thetttwoimmobilitytheimmobilityhemophilic- in the craft , and weakened by seasickness.seasicknessseasickness.-
1't
seasickness-
1t
.
11't1tt' SufficestoSuffimtoSufficesSufismSui'ficeSuificeSuffice' to state , they were not in the best of condition fortortore the comingcomin-
gstrenuous
co-mings
comin-
gstrenuous
co-mings
comin-
gstrenuous
co-mingsstrenuous action on the beach.(39)beach.39beach39. ( ) Nearing the beach I could make out thethe-
E
the-
I
the-
ir
the-
Er1
I
E-r1Er1l exit andd within 400 of the shore we could see harmlessharml688 fountainsfountains-
of
fountai-
ns
E& yards.. . . . . . . , - .. , . . - . . - . . . .
-:.1.1.1. . .
,. ' .. . , ... . .- .-- , , , . , .. - . ' . . . . . . . . . .- . , .- .
... - . -
.. . . . . . .- - . . ,. - . . . .. .
. . -- -...-- _ . . . . . . . . . . .- .. . . . ' . . . . .
, -
of spray fromfrom.. shellsasshellacsshallashellsshall _as. thejthEZthethe! .1p1p. j.J.ip.Qa.JipQa. . . jje.4jje4.. . jNQU"d.WlNQUdWlrQundround. " .
.. , _ uar.uarguar.A.JkAJkAk.. . itoyiftoyitoyifjgatoying>>!
__-jgajgaGA- .LaLa. > *e.tcretcretc. :; :: ''' '
:' '''' .. .
. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .............--
.. ._ .. . wrr.wrrrr._.+
": _. ,r .. ,r.r. . rw.. . . ._+ .r..r.rr. .". . , ., . ,. . .
. ---
:- - " : -" 'u.u'. ,. . =..w.rnrwrnrWarner. . :..; ' ;.:. ;.r. na.wno.nawnoawn::.:. ::..-. ,. , ...
".--. . + - ' .
. .. ..
_-,.,. .. . -.
-- ; ' -. . ' " . " - - ' - - - ' :
(3636( , 37 , 38 , 39)39J9)J939)} Eyee Witness , Self.SelfSelt.SeltSmelt.
. . . . .
.,
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. .ULICH4IVA..i1ULICH4IVA.i1ULICH4IVAi1* * *. "oame-"oameoamefoamed"oamevV".voamevVveiUlei : vV".vvVvvv" "" "' 'vnvr'vnvrnever' '" .... o ' "
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l44-
WeWe soon found ourselves among these ebstackesebstagkesobstaclesrestageseb8ta es , and the naval personnelpersonnel-
operating
pers-onnel
personnel-
operating
pers-onnel
personnel-
operating
pers-onneloperating the craft began to maneuver around the morelOre prominent onesones.ones-
.All
comme-
nsally
ones-
.All
comme-
nsally
*.
All of a sudden we came to an abrupt haltihungalthoughhalt Kung.Kungf hungruphunger. up on an obstacleobstacleI1JOurJOur-
attention
Fo-urteen
OurOu-
rattention
Fo-
urteenOu-
rattention
Fo-
urteenattention was focused on the L.C.A.LCACA. . . on our immediate right as it hadhad-
apparently
had-
apparently
had-
apparentlyapparently hit a mine and began to sink.sink. Realizing that we were a sittingsittingd-
uck
sitti-ng
sittingd-
uCk
sitti-ng
sittingd-
uck
sitti-ngduck I ordered the craft abandoned ; however , before I had finished thatthat-
order
the-
atrethat-
order
the-
atrethat-
order
the-
atreorder the right front part of the craft was hit by either an artilleryartillery-
shell
artill-ery
artillery-
shell
artill-eryshell or a mortar round , wounding 14 of my 28 men , making them ineffectiveineffective-
for
ineffecti-vefor the restr st of the operation.operation. (40)40( ) This explosion blew the ramp offoft ,
so we proceeded to move out through it.it. As we hit the water we found itit-
to
it-
oit-
to
it-
oit-
to
it-
oto be over our heads , so we\ e had to swim approximately 20 yards to firmfirm-
footing
for-
mfitting..
- 1: -uu-.oJ"-.oJ"oJ.oJ"I.o-
J"footing.o-
Jfooting<"'-- I;
" (
footing.footing.,,N,MovingNMovingMovesMovNov up the sand toward the beach , the enemy dropped three moremore-
of
More-
no
more-
of
More-
noof my men with machine gun fire , and 1I arrived at a little shelf on thethe-
beach
Th-
ebes
the-
beach
Th-
ebes
the-
beach
Th-
ebesbeach with but 11 men and one officer capable of further action.action. WhileWhil-
ereorganizing
Whil-
ereorganizing
Whil-
ereorganizingreorganizing this small group we could hear a machine gungWlgal firing off on ourou-
rright
out-
right
ou-
rright
ou-
tright
ou-
rright
out-
rightright front $; in fact , we could see men on our right drop to the sand fromfrom-
its
fro-
nts
from-
its
fro-
nts
from-
its
fro-
ntsits effect.effect. Still we could not locate it ; finally one of my men thoughtthought-
he
thoug-
hthe spotted it at the base of the slope to our right front.front. It looked likelike-
a
ike-
aa pill-boxpillbox- , but no aperture could be seen.seen. In a few moments a half-trackhalftrackhalftrackhalftrackc-
ame
halftra-ck
half -tracktrack-trackc-
ame
tra-ckcame up to the shore.shore. I pointed the target out to the crew and they tooktoo-
kit
tool-
kit
too-
kit
tool-
kit
too-
kit
tool-
kitit under effective fire.fire. Firing from the pill-boxpillbox- ceasedc asedasked and the halfhalt-halthalf-half-
track
halt-
track
half-
track
half-
track
¬-
track moved on down the beach toward the D-3D3- draw ; as it neared this drawdra-
wit
dra-
w
dra-
wit
dra-
w
dra-
wit
dra-
wit received a direct hit and began to burn.burn. In the meantime the machinemachine-
gun
machi-
negun in the pill-boxpillboxpin-boxpin- opened up again.again. Soon a tank camecue into view and somesome-some-
one
some-
one
some-
one
¬-
one apparently pointed the target out to the tank crewcrew.*. With one roundround-
a
rotund-
aa camouflage net was blown from the pill-boxpillbox- exposing the aperture , andand-
two
Sa-
nto
and-
two
Sa-
nto
and-
two
Sa-
ntotwo more rounds neutralized it.it. (41)41(41).n-
.
41-n
( )- N'N' " , --.M..M.M.- - . . ... . . _ ' . . . . . .__ ._ ..... . . _ _ ,. . , . . . . . . ..__. _ . ._ .___. ._ _ . . .
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_... .. ...... .
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r.r.dxwk.- .. # . *-mtvrmtvmtvruntfntL- *-*- -untfntLuntfntLintently-untfntLiunstinting(40741)40741(\ I.vtJIvtJCivet40..A--J".j.-AJ"-.j.
< <-\ii\ iiiii" ...
imm.immimam
..). <.. .r.dxwkrdxwkradix. .
Eye$&i4l1Wi4l1W&
.wiwWIjrere;
>:w*.*< > .
witness.ww.}
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1.l1lp
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tnbow-ii..ii.. sswrsward-naiKiiNatick
v.::gAn
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" . .
At thisthi.thithin. point I decideddeoided to send.IndIndIndo. Lt Bradford and 7 manmen down the beach. . . .
.. ... . . ., . ,. . ,. . ,. . .. . ,. ,. . , . .. . . . , , ,. . , .. . ,. . .. ...,. . . . . . .
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' . . .: . *. ".>.' " ".. .
. '. ". " -..w_* * ..titi>.*. .w.w. .ww. q.q. ,
- ,. t. v,. . ' t't.tt.' ' :" tf _. . ,". . . . . :. . .rr....,. _.. w.ww.www. ._. ,.,;. Jil.JilJill.:!' L.re/isWfL.reisWfLireis. _ */ M.MO,4dfO4dfO,4df"iCVO4dfiCV.44r .rArAA.I-"iCV"iCViCViV-: : "Ih..wIhwIwo:. : >:- -
to thethi..eastthieasttheistthi..eastandti, .'®eastast , and--and- -
up the B-3B31-311-11draw-) draw to postpoet the men along the beach , andamiamid ,upup-
the
U-
teup-
the
U-
teup-
the
U-
tethe draw asa8 fartar as possiblepo.libl.poliblpossible.pliable. . *. At approximatelyapproximateqapproximate 1110 1I proceededp oceed.doceeddceded. up the E-lEl1-11E-1Eld-
raw
Re-
draw
11d-
raw
E1-
draw
-
draw posting one slightly woundedwoWldedwolfed man at the entranceentrance.toentrance.entrance .to the draw , andand-
moved
An-
dover
and-
moved
An-
dover
and-
moved
An-
dovermoved forward with three men toward 3t8tSt Laurent.Laurent. Another artilleryartllle1'1artllle11' roundrOWldgrowledround-
drove
groun-
dcover
rOWld-
drove
round-
drove
groun-
dcoverdrove us to the groundgroWldgrowled , but not hitt/inghittinghitttinghittingittKing/ it soon800n enough , the three menmen-
were
me-
aner
men-
were
me-
aner
..00..0-
were
0-
werewere wounded , one badly, the other two only slightlyslightly.*. (42)42(42)-
By
42-
By
(42)-
By
42-
By
(42)-
By
42-
By
( )
By this time the chestcheat wound , which I hadad received on the craft , bebe-
gan
be-bebe-
8an
be-
gan
¬-
gan8anEgan giving meruenue a little pain , so I administered the morphine surretsurest , whichwhich-
we
whi-
chwe were all equipped with , into my arm.arm. Within a very few moments I feltfelt-
much
fe-
ltfelt-
much
fe-
ltfelt-
much
fe-
ltmuch better , and moved on up the draw toward St Laurent with my last twotwo-
men.
wo-
men
two-
men.
wo-
men
two-
men.
wo-
menmen.men. One of these men I posted on the bluff overlooking the beach , thethe-
other
te-
ther
the-
other
te-
ther
the-
other
te-
therother I posted in front of the designated Division Command Post.Post. ReturnReturn-Return-
ing
Return-
ing
Return-
ing
¬-
ingKing to the beach I found that Brig.Brig. General WillardMillard G.G. WymanWynn , assistantassistant-
division
assis-tant
assistant-
division
assis-tant
assistant-
division
assis-tantdivision commandercOlrunandercoriander of the 1st Division , had established a C.P.CP. . in a pillpill-pill-
box
pill-
box
pill-
box
¬-
box at the entrance to the E-lElE-11- draw.draw. (43)43( ) It was'Was' now about 1400 hours andand-
vehicles
can-
dleholders
and-
vehicles
can-
dleholders
and-
vehicles
can-
dleholdersvehicles of all types were waiting to move up the draw toward St Laurent ,
so I moved down to the nearest vehicle , which happened to be a half-trackhalftrack- ,
and sitting on the right front fenderfonder , led the column from the beach upup-
the
U-
teup-
the
U-
teup-
the
U-
tethe E-lElX1-1X11-l draw into a hastily picked vehicle transittrantrain 1t area , about 300 yardsyards-A
yard-s.l.WlW1&VU1&V-
Ufrom1V-
Ufrom,' ., .l.-
Wfrom
,&. \AA\ *
from the Division Headquarters , which wasNbeingwas\beingwasbeingwanderingwas,\ being set up a few hundred yardsyards-
east
arse-
nals
yards-
east
arse-
nalseast of St Laurent.Laurent. At this point I began to get a little tired , andan-
dfelt
Ha-
ndel
an-
dfelt
Ha-
ndel
an-
dfelt
Ha-
ndelfelt perhaps I was just hungry , so I sat down in the vicinity of thethe-
Division
tel-
evision
the-
Division
tel-
evision
the-
Division
tel-
evisionDivision Command Post , and opened a "K"KilK"ilK" " rationration.*. I didn'tdidnt' appear to bebe-
hungry
b-
egun
be-
hungry
b-
egun
be-
hungry
b-
egunhungry at all , so I started to get up , but 1 felt so80 dead-tireddeadtired- that I justjUltjUtjust-
couldn't
just-
couldnt
jUlt-
couldn't
jUlt-
couldnt
just-
couldn't
just-
couldntcouldn'tcouldnt' find the energy to do soso.soso.-
b
so-
b
*. I guess 1I sat there for a few moments/-momentsmomental-momentalmomentmoment-sU
momen-ts
momental-
A
momen-
t
moments-
and
mome-
nts//--
U\UUvt.Duvetb t.t. \ . vt.vtvt.-
andv-
itav t.t. ."
and&ftdftdtd& (finally/1\finally1finally1fellfinally.: :iI/ 'I\'II'IfellIfellFell'
\, fell over on mytq sideside.side.-
ptWae
*. A Medic gave me_ another shot ofot mormor-moormo-
rphine
mor-
(44)
mo-
r44
mo-
rphe
mo-
rphed
¬-
phineptWaephepinepotagephew and placed me in a fox-holefoxholetox-hole.toxhole.ox- ,. (44)44(44).-
u"
44-
u
( )
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T-
he"
The rest of this monographmonograpn will.111111. deal with the follow-upfollowup- elementse1.e1.. ataBata of-
the
of-
ten
ofof-
the
of-
ten
of-
the
of-
tenthe platoon , the 1stlot group of which , landed at approximatelyappro.x1mate11103Qapprox1mate11103Q. 1030 on EasyEasy-
Green
Meas-
urement
Easy-
Green
Measu-
rement
Easy-
Green
Meas-
urementGreen where theytheY'rantheYranterrain' ran into artillery , mortar and small-armssmallarms- fire.firetire.tire. LtLt-
Zaniewski
L-
itanies
L-
tzani..1d
L-
tzani1d
Lt-
Zaniewski
L-
itaniesZaniewskizani..1dzani.1dzani1dZanies.... and hishiehide 14 men tried to move to the eastealltdealt toward thethe1B-1B1E-1E-11- draw ;
as& 11 they moved down the beach enemyeneD176nWW fire forced them to the ground , andand-
they
Ant-
hony
and-
they
Ant-
hony
and-
they
Ant-
honythey sought protection ofot the shelf which ran laterally along the beachbeacb.beacbbeach.beacb.-
At
beach.-
At
back-
bit
bacch-
ant
*.I
At 1700 this group had made its way up to the E-lElE-11- draw and by 174017JJJ theythey-
arrived
the-
atricthey-
arrived
the-
atricthey-
arrived
the-
atricarrived at the Division Command Post , located in a little draw approximately
300500 yards east of St8t Laurent SurSlur MereKere.KereMere.Ere,. This group was more fortunate-
than
fortun-ate
fortunatefortunate-
than
fortun-ate
fortunate-
than
fortun-atethan the leading element in theth e landing , and were able to hang on to aoireIOI'eIOIesoreZaireIoliteaoire-
of
Cai-
ro
IOI'e-
of
IOIe-
of
Ovie-
do
sore-
of
sor-
e' ,
of their equipment.equipment. (45)45(45)-
The
45T-
he
((45)-
The
45T-
he
(45)-
The
45T-
he
)
The 3rdJrdRd and largest group landed at approximately 1130 on Easy Red ,
along v/ithvithwithitch/ most of the vehicles of the platoon includingincludlI : 14 i-toniton1-ton1- truckstrucks-
and
truc-
ks
trucks-
and
truc-
ks
trucks-
and
truc-
ksand 2 3/4-ton34ton/ - trucks.trucks. These veniclesvehicles were combat-loadedcombatloaded- and carried mostmost-
of
mo-
st
most-
of
mo-
st
most-
of
mo-
stof the platoon1splatoon'splatoons' equipment.equipment. This equipmentequiJ2lent} was badly needed and includedincluded-
the
includ-
edthe Route markers , traffic lanterns , franco plates , flashlights , batons-
for
bato-
ns
batonsbatons-
for
bato-
ns
batons-
for
bato-
nsfor night traffic , command post signs , etc.-
The
dete-
cted
etc.etcetc.-
The
dete-
cted
etc.-
The
dete-
cted
.
The L.C.T.LCTCT. . . containing these vehicles was unable to come close to thethe-
shore
Ch-
eshire
the-
shore
Ch-
eshire
the-
shore
Ch-
eshireshore due to the gradual slope of the sand.sand. As a result , 5 of thethetonTheok-tonkton4-ton4ktont-
rucks
4tont-
rucks
-tonton-ton-
trucks
con-
structstrucks did not make it to the shore , drowndingdrowning out about half way in.inin.-
Some
wi-
nsome
in.-
Some
wi-
nsome
in.-
Some
wi-
nsome
.
Some of the men in this group tried to salvage these water-loggedwaterloggedwaterlogged- vehicles ,
and finally managed to retreiveretrieve two of them beforebelore further efforts werewere-
made
sere-
nade
were-
made
sere-
nade
were-
made
sere-
nademade impossible by the rising tidetide.*. Arriving on shore they received mortarmortar-
and
morta-
red
mortar-
and
morta-
red
mortar-
and
morta-
redand artillery fire which varied in intensity , but forced them to the near-
bank
ne-
arnearDearnear-
bank
ne-
arDear-
bank
Dear-
bornbank fortortore protection.protection. Captain ReganEgan and his 47osn471BD47men moved on up thethe11-113-13-11- drawdraw-
to
dr-at
draw-
to
dr-at
draw-
to
dr-atto the Division Command Post arriving there at about 1800lBOOr1600.1600BOOrr. (46)46(46)-
In
46-
In
( )
In the meantime Lt ColeolCoolgeol LancerLanoerLanier had arrived on thetbetube beach with the pla-plaplanpla-
toon
pla"-
N
pla-
N
-. - .... .... , . ... " . . . . . ...... , . . , ' . . ---- . .........
.:
,
"
. . _':'
,
"NN" "
,itoonton" :
.headquartersq .tjirL"tjirLtwirl. ! ,
"
. andan alter. t.t..aa. . ,']jffiftpjt.jt. i Jt mWmll.llM. i "NN"M.MMM.#
__ 3VII **ft ; _- -_ ; , _ . .; ; . .
,.,
- . ' ' : ' ' :. - "=: iimii - ani".ianiianti":. '
;>' .-! *., )liiM"iliiMilimo*. .
"
. i yj' iw.:. .. .Trt"JTrtJTart.
";: < i ii. .MiSMiss :.
::: : . . .. ..ss. . . ."; E.
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. . .
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(4545( *, 46)46) Personal Knowledge , SelfSelf.,.
. . . '18.18'' . '
.
. " . . . . . . .. . . ... '. . , " . ' " , ' . . , . , . "
-! - "'* II.II.' ,11,. MiiwwummMinimumriW1, 7 . . .ll. r > '. tl/1MRitl1MRi(../*>...-!
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-
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>
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*.
y*.,i<rt.t *' '' *; ftf-
t"proceeded
f-
tproceeded
".) J . I
1
. . , . . . , . .. . . . ..
... . . w- . . . . . . .. . .- , . . .... .
,
. .
. . . .. . . . . . . .
, ,
, - . "
\+ i c.c + r r.r
." r
,nlwvNW" M + N W ' ' a' .77 - Y ! '. ' KV rrMwarm tr.rvr..wtrrvrwTrevor rw/rwrwMMlM!/ MMlMMl .rr ' '' ' WrYrWryer .w.rrW.wr.wrrWwrworrywart
"proceededproceeded'Proceeded't .'ei.deidReid( . 'up-thea'upuptheathecaup the1tfiethefie I3L-11-:i drawdraw' 'ttto) .ttthe1 DiI81oDivision,CommandilWanfPMilan( PostPost.t.t*. Thereib rt'rt'
}Heii'iiii''reor"iireordirere ' 'reor"reorrear'
reor-reorrearreor-e
remor-
sereor-
ganized
reor-
ganized
v -":;.}
e iganizedaniseed the Platoon , repostedropostedreposedroostedr.r. OstedHosted the ExitsLiltst.t. , seteetet up hishiaia interior guard ofof-
the
of-
ten
of-
the
of-
ten
of-
the
of-
ten
11-
l.
1-
ll.l.!
the Command PostPOltPot , initiated the posting ofot signslignaalign along the beach and upup-
the
U-
teup-
the
U-
teup-
the
U-
teII-
'f
I-
f
It
the draws , and organized the Prisoner ofot War squad1forsquad'forsquadforsquadsquad ' for the establishmente.tabl1abmentetabl1abmentestablishment-
of
e.tabl1abment-
ot
etabl1abment-
ot
establishme-
nt
. t'ff'f-
c.
f-c
'.c.cc-
.the
c-
ither
ofot a "P.W.PW" . . ".. cage the next dayday.*. Looking the tactical situation overoverheoverheadoverhe-
laid
overh-
ead
hehe-
laid
el-
apid
he-
laid
el-
apid
,
laid plans for the employment ofot the platoon fortortore the close fallow-upfallowupllo1f-upllo1ffellow-upfellowt - ofotof-
the
of-
ten
of-
the
of-
ten
L
the assault elements of the Division beachheadbeachhead.beachhead.-
As
beachhe-
ad
*.
As a short summarysumma one could say that heavy seas , landing of elementselement.elementelements-
on
element.-
on
elemen-
ts
eleme-
nt
.on the wrong beaches , intense fire from well entrenched positions , thethe-
drowning
het-
erodyning
the-
drowning
het-
erodyning
the-
drowning
het-
erodyningdrowning out of the vehicles , tanks and artilleryart1l1e J, abnormally high casualcasual-casua-
lties
casua-
lties
casua-
lties
¬-141-
4I
1-
4served
ties among the offieereofficersofficerofficensandofficesand N.C.O.'sNCOsN.C.0.'sNC0.sNC0sNachos. . . ' , failure to get the beach exits open ,
congestion on the beach , difficulties of making full use of naval gun firetirefire-
because
fire-
breaks
tireb-
ecause
stre-
etcars
fire-
because
fire-
breaksbecause of fear of inflicting casualties on our own troops , lack of suffisuffi-sufisuffi-
cient
suffi-
cient
suffi-
cient
¬-
cientclient gaps in underwater obstacles , and beach obstacles , failure of aerialaerialb-
ombardment
aerialb-
ombardment
aerialb-
ombardmentbombardment to dislodge or silence manymany beach fortifications , had inflictedinflictedm-
any
inflict-
edinflictedm-
any
inflict-
edmany casualties and delayed the progress of our unitsunits.units.A-
NALYSIS
units.A-
NALYSIS
*.
ANALYSIS AND CRITICISMCRITICISM-
In
Criticis-mIn analyzing this operation I QOdo so in the light of previous operaopera-opera-
tions
opera-
tions
opera-
tions
¬-
tionsions of this same sort , namely the amphibious landing in North Africa andand-
in
band-
ing
and-
in
band-
ing
and-
in
band-
ingin Sicily.Sicily. Under those conditionscunditions 1I feel that I could write a great dealdeal-
about
D-ella
deal-
about
D-ella
deal-
about
D-ellaabout the vast improvement in amphibious warfare , and therefore considerconsider-consider-
ably
consider-
ably
consider-
ably
¬-
ably less from a critical angle ; however , a number of glaring mistakesmistakes-
were
mista-
keswere made.made. Some of them are :
1.1. The Air Corps in their pre-assaultpreassault- bombardment plans , designeddesigned-
to
design-
edto neutralize all known gun positions and demoralize enemy troops in thethe-
beach
Th-
ebes
the-
beach
Th-
ebes
the-
beach
Th-
ebesbeach defenses , did not accomplish this mission.missionmi..ion.miionminion.. .
2.2. I severely criticize the planning of the initial line-uplineup- on thethe-
assault
he-
adsail
the-
L
Eth-
el
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .. .. ,. . . . .. . . . .. . .
\I
.- " " " '".
- - ' *.. .
.. - .. .. ..
-, ... .... ... _ .'. . " ' - ,. " ' ' . . .
.;;, . .
= : : : -.6.6..6. ' 'tt' f \ 't.\'t.t't."TTtTTtatty\ : "TTTT + ' 'hvhv " 'o.o'. . - . . . . assaulta.a"38"ul-
'u-l"-ul'.6., " *, wvwtvea.wtvea* o ....cau.-u.cau.u. ; .;:-
.:3: : r.r.r&trt;; &.''L.L' ..
'DD { . , J.J." " ._ .JNMIl..IdJNMIlId. . . +& .. -\ Y.JlYJlJCL. ! b-
'
b _ r'r'" 'TT.... ':'_"ir1iir1i" ..::.;;; ...x.x. . , . !t ...
...amt.amt....S&S&
. . . , .;:..<;:.. , ....
;;.:..
. . . ' ... . , ... . , _- ... . ... . ,, '
. .- V'lVlWtsskTask'
ft.ft*.
'ft&, . tattll."Ift'Jrn.ttllIftJrn±l"worslworslords". " ' . &E"E" '"a$awpgawp ttrtri; ", f-th8"-61h.fth861h.fth8"th861h.61h-J&J&"-*%&&;,& . im-imime4ifa&ime4ifa.a.a. .-
. e4ifa&e4ifa* &. to) 'll'landid .feesi&SfeesiSfreesias. 'bb.feesi&S-
Company
feesiSC-
ompany
siifi'siifiiii& ' I.I ; ' yo ' '
EL CompanyCOll/.panyCOll.panyCallpanky/. of tnethetnfotinetenfold 116th.116th11 6th . Confusion"ConfusionConfusiou"ConfusiouConfusiot " is normal on a beach and this line-uplineuplineups-
erved
line-ups
e-upup-
served.
us-
hered
I
servedserved.. only to magnifymagniJ."ymagniJymagniCy:." thet confusionvonfusi'ion.vonfusiionntusiintuit' n.n*. -. .- , . , .
,
1919.19*.
'jWWWW"", ... .
rr-
j.
.
r"4" '
. 1-vw1vw_.- "Mt-nMtn-.. 4itJIM-* MtftrMfr... <|<"('iirtjiiMnxi1I.I1II(. !! (| :.I'I. ' '!"IiIi" |!! .
'. ll1fiVJWtt*
_
'\ '*. HWW.4I.1"4I.14I1WW. ).. " * ...dWIIBP111..* .* WHBWWII . .. |. .UUIIJII.UUIIJII. 4MNAViWPi'fMipejMMRr4MNAViWPifMipejMMRr, .'*, MMl'MMlMl' 1JiMMRpMrlJI..olJIoClio.. . H.IIII. J r.r.-M * * KflffFluff!! WW-
X
I
. . . .. . . . .. . .
. .. , ., ' .. , . , - " :-;f ""-XX-""-CttlticlCttlticlXCttlticlCatalytic'ii' > - l.1i.1l1i.1l1i1..+j.j. j,3.U..Hj3U.Hj3UH, . Ut *.... ax*ju .11:.Jor.hs-.hsJourJorJiot.Orient.
- '..-Jiot.Jiot.4LJot-% . takingta--ki--I'Vintot-ak-i- -nc'intoncintoMcIntosh- '
' Into accountaccount-&CCaccountthaaccount& Unt..tbAUnttbANetball.- . thathan .ttat.tretare janr0janr0r-
unning
* r : :.-. ..- _ :. . . .
runningrunniI18 laterally eastward alonga10r18 the beach in landing the InfantryIntantry elementselements.elements-
.Practically
element-
s.Practically
*.
. .Practically allallotof the mialandedelandedmainlandlandedmielu1mi <i4M1 craft were.ereere. east.atat.. of theirheirt target pointsIpoint.JpointJpointspoint. )
4.4. One criticismcritioism ofof the enemy.enemyeneJD1.eneJD1. In preparing hishiehide defensive positionspositions-
along
positio-
nalpositions-
along
positio-
nalpositions-
along
positio-
nalIII
along this sector ofot the coast , he depended too heavilyheavilY'' on a relativelyre1ativel1relatively-
thin
re1ativel1-
thin
relativ-elythin line of fortification.fortification., In contrast to the teachings here at The InIn-
fantry
In-InIn-
fantry
In-
fantry
¬- I
fantrygantry School of establishingeetabliehingreestablishing a defensive position in depthlJdepthldepth! 1"
,/
5.5. The amphibious'lphibiouslphibiousphobias&' exercises held over a beach similar in nature to thethe-
Oraaha
the-
ocrat
the-
Omaha
Ta-
homa
the-
Omaha
Ta-
homaOraahaOmahaNorah Beach gave the men invaluable experience for this operationoperation.operation.L-
ESSONS
opera-
tion
operation.L-
ESSONS
opera-
tion
,.
LESSONS LEARNEDLEARNED-
As
Learn-
ed
"'tt'
As might be expected , the operation of the militarymil1.ta.rymil1ta.rymil1tary. . policepolic platoon onon-
the
M-
onte
on-
the
M-
onte
on-
the
M-
onte
,)
;!
the Omaha Beachhead uncovered numerous lessons in combat operations worthyworthy-
of
wort-
hyof consideration.consideration . Outstanding among these are :
?(: *' i\ii-1.i-
1'\'>''
1.1. AmphibiousR.mphibiousRmphibioushmphibious. exercises ore * a beach similar in nature to the beachbeach-
on
beac-
onon the enemy'senemysenergy'senergysenemyenergy' shore ii.eie. a invaluable.invaluable..
22.2,. Therherhea use of a relatively smokeless , flashlessfleshless powder aided thethee-
nemy
He-
nley
thee-
nemy
He-
nley
,:
."
enemy considerablyconsiderably. ,. ,.ii.
.';
33.3,. In ana.n. amphibiousamphibio11S assault , if a craftcrartcrate becomes hung UP on an obob-
stacle
ob-obob-
stacle
ob-
stacle
¬-
staclestale , move out fast , before the enemy zeroes in on youyou.,.
4.4. Once on the beach , move aggressivelygreDsivelyrestivelya inland , andan0 get away fromfrom-
the
frot-
hed
from-
the
frot-
hed
from-
the
frot-
hedthe curtain of fire placed on the beachbeach.,.
55.5. If at all possible , do not plan to use units of similar desig-
nation
desigdesig-designdesig-
nation
desig-
nation
¬- Pt
nation sidesi.de. by sidestde.stdeside.std,.
6.6. Thorough knowledge of map reading cannot be over-emphasizedoveremphasizedover-emphasized.emphasized.- ,.
7.7? . To be effective , a defensive position must be established in depthdepth.,.
88.8,. Replacements for key positions should be trained at least 2 deepdeep.deep-
.It
depi-
ct
,.
It takes time to train officersotficers and men for technical Jobsjobs.,.
9.99.rVhere9rVhere. rVhereWhererevere, possible , men should be drawn from Rifle CompaniesCompanieeCompanied fortortore M.PMPM.P.M.P.W-
4.0
MPW-
40
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