Firing for Effect, the Use of Field Artillery in the Normandy Campaign
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Southern New Hampshire University Firing For Effect, The Use of Field Artillery in the Normandy Campaign A Capstone Project Submitted to the College of Online and Continuing Education in Partial Fulfillment of the Master of Arts in History By David F. Lloyd Framingham, Massachusetts September 2018 Copyright © 2018 by David F. Lloyd All Rights Reserved ii Student: David F. Lloyd I certify that this student has met the requirements for formatting the capstone project and that this project is suitable for preservation in the University Archive. September 20, 2018 __________________________________________ _______________ Southern New Hampshire University Date College of Online and Continuing Education iii Abstract Unlike today’s global political situation, World War II was a time of great cooperation between nations, the Allies that encountered and defeated the Axis powers in Europe and the Japanese in the Pacific basin. This cooperation extended down to the battlefield, where individual types of military units operated in concert with each other to present an integrated front to their adversaries. Field artillery units represented one component of this highly-integrated battlefield, contributing heavily to Allied victories around the globe. Nowhere is the use of field artillery better demonstrated than during Operation OVERLORD, the campaign to invade Northern Europe in June of 1944. Historians have however generally ignored the use of field artillery during Operation OVERLORD, instead understandably choosing to concentrate on the D-Day Allied landings on the Normandy beaches, an operation that represents one of the most dramatic days in the history of modern warfare. Those historians that do address the following Normandy Campaign (the Campaign) to gain an Allied foothold in Northern Europe address the campaign more from the perspective of the invading Allied infantry, while largely ignoring the contribution made by the field artillery. This work will examine in detail the use of field artillery during Operation OVERLORD in an effort to gauge the contribution that artillery made to the overall Campaign. By using secondary sources to discuss the planning and execution of the Operation, it will provide the reader with an understanding of how OVERLORD came into existence, how it was planned and how the Campaign unfolded. Then, by using archival primary-source material, compiled iv contemporaneously by the field artillery units involved in the Campaign, it will demonstrate that the use of field artillery was vital to the Allied victory in Northern France in June of 1944. Dedication This work is dedicated to then Lieutenant John R. Lloyd, forward observer with the 230th Field Artillery Battalion, 30th Infantry Division, United States Army. His work as an artillery observer during the Normandy Campaign helped to rid Europe of fascist aggression during World War II, the greatest global conflict in modern history. The work is also dedicated to Seaman Erik R. Lloyd, proudly serving his nation as a Corpsman with the United States Navy, and to all those who have ever donned a uniform in the service of this country. v Acknowledgments Thank you to all the faculty and students at Southern New Hampshire who supported me in developing and reviewing this work. A very special thank you to my wife, personal advisor and chief proofreader Sharon, who has put up with my often erratic and taxing behavior over the years and without whose help and everlasting patience and support my academic career would not be possible. vi Table of Contents Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iv Dedication ........................................................................................................................................v Acknowledgments.......................................................................................................................... vi List of Figures .............................................................................................................................. viii List of Abbreviations ..................................................................................................................... ix Glossary ...........................................................................................................................................x Cast of Characters ........................................................................................................................ xiii Chapter 1: Introduction ....................................................................................................................1 Chapter 2: Research Methods and Use of Sources ..........................................................................7 Chapter 3: Historiographic Discussion ..........................................................................................12 Chapter 4: The Invasion Idea .........................................................................................................16 Chapter 5: Operation OVERLORD ...............................................................................................25 Chapter 6: Invasion Planning and Organization ............................................................................31 Chapter 7: Eisenhower and the Final Plan .....................................................................................40 Chapter 8: A Brief History of Field Artillery ................................................................................49 Chapter 9: The Normandy Batteries ..............................................................................................64 Chapter 10: In the East, Omaha Beach to St. Lo ...........................................................................68 Chapter 11: In the West, Utah Beach to Cherbourg ......................................................................86 Chapter 12: Conclusion................................................................................................................102 Appendix A: Military Map Symbols ...........................................................................................106 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................107 vii List of Figures Figure 1: Operation OVERLORD High-Level Command Structure. .......................................... 35 Figure 2: LCVP Ferrying Members of the American 1st Division at Normandy. ....................... 38 Figure 3: The OVERLORD Plan. ................................................................................................. 42 Figure 4: Typical United States Army Unit Hierarchy. ................................................................ 43 Figure 5: Composition of American Assault Units....................................................................... 44 Figure 6: 3-Inch Field Gun, Model 1902. ..................................................................................... 58 Figure 7: A 29th Infantry Division 105-mm Howitzer Battery. ................................................... 60 Figure 8: DUKW Landing on Normandy Beach. ......................................................................... 66 Figure 9: The Normandy Landing Beaches. ................................................................................. 69 Figure 10: Contemporary Map Showing the Landing Area of the 110th FABN and the 115th Infantry Regiment. ........................................................................................................................ 71 Figure 11: Map of Cotentin Peninsula Showing UTAH Beach Location. ................................... 87 Figure 12: The Drive Westward. .................................................................................................. 95 Figure 13: The Attack on Cherbourg. ......................................................................................... 100 viii List of Abbreviations AFHQ ............................. Allied Force Headquarters in Algiers. BN .................................. Battalion CCOS ............................. Combined Chiefs of Staff, United States, Great Britain COPPS ........................... Combined Operations and Pilotage and Beach Reconnaissance Party COSSAC ........................ Chief of Staff to the Supreme Allied Commander DUWK ........................... Designed 1942, Utility, K, All Wheel Drive, W, Dual tandem rear axel ETOUSA ........................ European Theater of Operations, United States Army FA .................................. Field Artillery FABN ............................. Field Artillery Battalion FUSAG .......................... First United States Army Group FDC ................................ Fire Direction Center INF ................................. Infantry JCOS .............................. Joint Chiefs of Staff, United States LCVP ............................. Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel, or Higgins Boat LST ................................ Landing Ship, Tank RAF ............................... Royal Air Force, Great Britain SHAEF ........................... Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force ix Glossary Allied Force Headquarters in Headquarters for Allied operations in Africa from 1943 Algiers onward. Commanded by General Dwight D Eisenhower. Allied Powers (Allies) The combined governments and military powers fighting