Kenneth E. Hunter

“ As infantry troops march through a town, an old woman looks at a demolished building (bottom) . During the advance into Germany many towns surrendered to the Allied troops and the buildings remained undamaged. However, in some towns enemy troops offered resistance and fighting and shelling ensued. In one week five Allied armies were on the east bank of the Rhine and twenty-four bridges had been constructed to replace those which were knocked out. During this period the Allied casualties were much lighter than had been expected. The last German line of defense had been shattered. ”

“ On 25 July 1944 the Allied forces fighting in Normandy were able to begin the offensive to break out of Normandy and carry to the German frontier. Preceding the ground attack planes of the Allied air forces dropped more than 3,390 tons of bombs on enemy positions on a narrow front in the vicinity of Saint-Lô. The air attack’s crushing power and its paralyzing effect on the German forces opened the way for a rapid and powerful drive by Allied armored and infantry units. Cities were captured in quick succession and the enemy troops were forced to flee in a disorderly retreat. ”

“ The Germans were passing to the defensive in other sectors and concentrating on their attacks in the Bastogne area. The mission of the Third Army was to widen the corridor, push attacks on Saint-Vith, and at the same time reinforce its attacking units. During this period of the fighting in Europe adverse weather conditions added greatly to the problems, and the snow-and sleet-covered roads hampered the movement of troops. ”

“ In the battle of the Falaise-Argentan pocket the Allies did not accomplish the utter destruction of the German forces in Normandy, but the enemy troops were broken as an effective fighting force and the way across France was open. ”

“ The Germans, taking advantage of their continuous front along the West Wall, planned a counterattack to strike the Allies in one of the weakest portions of the line—the Ardennes sector. The ultimate goals of this German operation were to capture the port city of Antwerp, sever the major Allied supply lines emanating from that port, and destroy the Allied forces north of the Antwerp-Brussels-Bastogne line. ”

“ But more important than any other single factor was the problem of supplying the large forces which had advanced so rapidly that they had outrun their supplies.
During this period, as the Allies came to the West Wall and the Rhine, severe fighting took place all along the front. Some of the most difficult operations of the war in western Europe occurred during the Rhineland Campaign as battles were fought in the Arnhem area, the Schelde estuary, the Huertgen Forest, the Aachen sector, the Metz and Saar regions, and the Belfort and Saverne Gaps. ”

“ During the fighting in Normandy armored vehicles found the hedgerows a serious obstacle which they could neither cross over nor break through. An enlisted man of an Ordnance unit in Normandy devised the method of attaching to the front of tanks rake-like cutters improvised from heavy angle-iron salvaged from the underwater beach obstacles which the Germans had placed to wreck landing craft. ”

“ MAIL FOR UNITS STATIONED IN ENGLAND being sorted. The handling of the mails through the Army Post Office (APO) was a function of the Adjutant General’s Department. Mail normally was delivered to the armed forces with the least possible delay as it was an important morale factor for men stationed away from home. During the last week of May 1944 an artificial delay of ten days was imposed on the forwarding of all American mail to the United States and elsewhere, and the use of transatlantic telephone, radio, and cable facilities was denied to American personnel. ”

“ For two months the U. S. Third Army was stalled in the vicinity of Metz, the fortress which would have to be captured before any substantial advance eastward could be made. Metz dominated three invasion routes into Germany from France: the valley of the Moselle through Trier and Coblenz; the Kaiserslautern Pass through Saarbruecken to Mainz and Worms; and the route through the Saverne Gap from Sarrebourg to Strasbourg and the Rhine. Only once in modern times had the fortress of Metz fallen to an attacking army—in 1871 the defending French troops surrendered to the Prussians. ”

“ FRANCE
MEDICAL AID MEN MOVE UP UNDER FIRE to give first aid to a wounded infantryman (top) . A wounded German is given medical aid by U. S. soldiers (bottom) , by 3 September first army troops had cleared most of the army’s zone south of the Belgian border. On that day the remnants of twenty disorganized divisions were trapped before they could reach the Belgian border and 25,000 men were quickly liquidated. The British entered Brussels on 3 September and were also closing in on Le Havre, one of the major port cities on the coast. ”

“ FRANCE
INFANTRYMEN TAKING A BREAK, their M1’s leaning against the wall of a destroyed building. The Third U. S. Army drove southward from Avranches on 1 August with the mission of clearing the Brittany Peninsula and securing the ports. The attacks were spearheaded by armored divisions against only scattered opposition and by 3 August Loudéac was reached, infantrymen were closing in on the fortress of Saint-Malo, armored units were striking toward Vannes and Nantes, and Rennes had been captured. ”

“ INFANTRYMEN PASS A DEAD GERMAN as they cross a stream (top) . Third Army troops climbing a steep hill in the mountainous region (bottom) . On 10 April the Ninth, First, and Third Armies resumed the attack to the east with twenty-two divisions. Only in the Harz Mountains was any serious organized resistance encountered. The Germans had hurriedly assembled about 10,000 men to form an army which was initially to break through into the Ruhr pocket. When that failed it was to break through to the Thuringian pocket. ”

“ PLANES TOWING GLIDERS take off for the invasion of the Netherlands, 17 September 1944. The First Allied Airborne Army launched its attack to secure a bridgehead across the Rhine in the Arnhem area. Complete surprise was achieved and the drops and glider landings were effective and in most cases were made in the prescribed areas. During the following ten days the fighting was severe with repeated German counterattacks. However, the railroad bridge across the Waal River in the Nijmegen area was captured on 20 September and remained in Allied hands. ”

“ While the beachheads were expanded and the build-up continued, the infantry and armored units fought their way through the hedgerow country toward their objectives. The fighting was slow and costly as enemy opposition stiffened in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent the Allied advance. With the capture of Cherbourg and Saint-Lô the initial missions of the U. S. forces were completed and the forces were then assembled in preparation for the drives south and west from the beachhead toward Avranches and the Brittany Peninsula. ”

“ In addition, 270 miles of railroad were constructed in England to facilitate movements. The Transportation Corps was responsible for the movement of men and supplies by land and water, and for the operation and supply of a great deal of this equipment. Since much of the railroad equipment in Europe had been destroyed or damaged by preinvasion bombing by the Allied airforces, locomotives and cars had to be supplied by both the United States and the United Kingdom for use in Europe. ”

“ NORTHERN IRELAND
TRAINING IN IRELAND, FEBRUARY 1942. Before leaving the United States members of the U. S. armed forces normally had completed their training, but to keep the men at the peak of their fighting fitness programs in firing, field exercises, and special problems were begun under varying weather and terrain conditions. Men in their late teens or early twenties made the finest soldiers as they had stamina and recuperative power far beyond that of older men. ”

“ AN M5 LIGHT TANK guarding a road in the U. S. Ninth Army area, 22 January. With the collapse of the German salient in the Ardennes, preparations were made for the offensive to the Rhine by 21 Army Group. The Germans held the triangle south of Roermond between the Meuse and Roer Rivers. This was a serious threat to the left flank of the Ninth Army and had to be eliminated before the army could advance across the Roer to the Rhine plain. The task of eliminating this salient was assigned to the British Second Army and by 26 January was completed. ”

“ MEN OF AN INFANTRY DIVISION climbing into box cars to move from the Brittany Peninsula to the U. S. Third Army zone. On 9 January 1945 a new attack was started after fresh troops had been brought into the battle area. The Germans offered fierce resistance in order to keep open their escape route to the east. On 16 January elements of an armored division of Third Army contacted those from First Army, closing the German salient just one month after the enemy had launched his counteroffensive in the Ardennes. ”

“ JEEP SPLASHING THROUGH A FLOODED ROAD IN NORMANDY. The rains, which held up the advance, flooded the dirt roads which by this time were in a bad state of repair from the heavy traffic and shelling. On the front of the jeep is an iron bar used to cut thin strands of wire that the enemy strung across the roads level with the heads of the occupants of vehicles, which traveled with tops and windshields down. ”

“ ENEMY TROOPS PASS BURNING U. S. EQUIPMENT. The initial German attacks, following a heavy artillery preparation, were launched all along the front, roughly from Monschau to Echternach. The first objective was to secure the high ground of the Hohe Venn but the drive by the enemy met with stiff resistance and he was forced to commit his armor before noon on 16 December. ”

“ A QUARRY NEAR OMAHA BEACH used by engineer units to supply rock and stone for the construction of roads. The tremendous amount of traffic on the roads in Normandy, as men and supplies were brought into France over the beaches required the services of many engineer units to keep the roads in good repair. Most of the roads leading to the beaches were not hard surfaced but were constructed of rock and gravel. ”

“ The U. S. Army was unquestionably better fed than any other in history. However, food in combat can never be the same as that in garrison or cantonment, since field rations must be nonperishable, compact, and easily carried by the individual soldier. Combat rations were improved as the war progressed and C rations were supplied in a more varied assortment. Engineer construction supplies stored in England in preparation for the invasion of Normandy (bottom) . The large rolls of wire netting were to be used on the invasion beaches to make improvised roadways for vehicles. ”

“ MEDICAL AID MEN dragging a boatload of medical supplies down a snow and ice covered road to the banks of a stream they are to cross. From 17 to 24 January the Third Army continued to attack through Houffalize and reached the northern tip of Luxembourg on 24 January. In an advance to the east bridgeheads north of Clervaux on the Clerf River were secured on 23 January. During this period most of the area between the Sauer and the Our Rivers was cleared of enemy resistance. ”

“ The United States Navy played a vital role in transporting men and supplies and in protecting the convoys while en route. During this period the administrative task was enormous since facilities for quartering and training such large forces and for storing supplies and equipment had to be provided within the limited area of the United Kingdom. In October 1942 some of the units stationed in the United Kingdom were sent to the Mediterranean for the invasion of North Africa. The build-up continued after this, well-trained units arriving from the United States. ”

“ As fall and winter approached, rain, mud, and snow greatly hindered operations and made living conditions extremely trying. The terrain became more difficult since many rivers and streams had to be crossed and rough, wooded, and hilly country was encountered. Enemy resistance stiffened as the Allies reached the German border. ”

“ Other enemy troops tried to push north through Stavelot but were stopped by a blown bridge over the Ambleve River and by an improvised task force consisting of U. S. infantrymen, engineers, and tank destroyers. Engineer demolitions and effective use for the first time of the new proximity fuze by artillery strengthened the north shoulder of the growing salient. During the first week of the Battle of the Bulge most planes were grounded because of extremely poor flying weather. ”

“ AN INFANTRYMAN COVERS A GERMAN as he surrenders. In the First Army area an attack from the Remagen bridgehead was carried out, and preparations were made to advance to the Kassel area.
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GERMANY
ARMORED TROOPS MOVING TO THE FRONT as prisoners are marched along the autobahn to the rear (top) . Infantrymen entering Frankfurt (bottom) . The bridgeheads along the Rhine were expanded and on 26 March Third Army troops entered Frankfurt. The advance moved northward toward Kassel. ”

“ ENEMY PRISONERS, taken during the first days of fighting, awaiting transportation to England. During the first week following the invasion landings the Germans lost some 10,000 men as prisoners. The enemy forces that manned the static beach defenses were largely Russians and other non-Germans, but were under German officers. Of the German troops, many companies were found to be composed of men either under 20 or over 45 years of age. ”

“ The following day the garrison surrendered, making Aachen the first German city to fall to the Allies. The First U. S. Army then began preparations for a drive to the Rhine as soon as supplies and reinforcements should become available.
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GERMANY
A PORTION OF THE CITY OF AACHEN. During the bitter fighting the Allies found it necessary to use all types of artillery weapons, from the 155-mm. gun to the smaller guns of tank destroyers, at point blank range to reduce the heavily fortified buildings occupied by enemy troops. ”

“ Vehicles moving up a muddy road through the forest (bottom) . The Germans had strengthened this natural barrier by the clever use of wire, pillboxes, and mines, and the U. S. infantrymen, restricted by the rough wooded terrain, were forced to fight for the most part without the aid of artillery or air support. On 13 December the attack on the dams was renewed but the going was still slow. Casualties to the two armies advancing in this area were high. ”

“ Ten-ton semitrailers in Germany with four 750-gallon skid tanks loaded with gasoline (bottom) . The versatility of these tanks made it possible to use them on a number of different types of vehicles. During the last months of the war the rapid advances of all the Allied troops made fuel supply a difficult problem. Fuel was transported by every available means to assure the troops an adequate supply. ”

“ This was the only bridge across the Rhine which was left intact. The attention of the First Army was focused at Remagen during the critical days of securing a bridgehead over the Rhine. The capture of this bridge was an unexpected windfall, because the retreating enemy troops had placed charges and were to blow the bridge at 1600 on 7 March. The first U. S. troops reached the bridge at 1550 and as the first charges began to explode army engineers cut the wires to the others. Thus the bridge, while damaged, was still intact and enabled the U. S. forces to cross the river. ”