At the start of World War II, First Army was assigned to defend the United States’ Atlantic coast. But when American intelligence determined that Germany lacked the ability to invade the U.S. east coast, a shift was made from defense to offense.
On Oct. 20, 1943, Lt. Gen. Omar Bradley assumed command of First Army and the unit established new headquarters in Bristol, England. From here, training commenced for the eventual invasion of Northern France. Total strength included about 105,000 Soldiers in 10 infantry divisions and two armored divisions. By D-Day, First Army’s strength numbered 520,000 Soldiers.
Allied Commands were expecting about 43,000 casualties in the first 10 days following the Normandy landing. Because of this, Bradley requested the invasion to take place under cover of darkness. But Allies launched a daytime assault to help ensure that the landings took place on the right beaches and to make accurate shelling and bombing more likely.
Ironically, landing crafts still missed their intended sites due to strong currents. Moreover, bomber crews were careful not to shell too close to the Allied forces on the ground, so most of their bomb loads landed too far inland to be effective.
D-Day was initially to be on June 5, but weather pushed it back a day. So on June 6, 60,000 First Army Soldiers and 6,500 vehicles made the initial landings on Omaha and Utah Beaches. By midnight, casualties were being reported as 1,145 Killed, 3,184 wounded, 1,928 missing, and 26 captured.
Along with People and the Mission, History is one of three pillars that form First Army's foundation. D-Day took place 77 years ago this year but the lessons learned are as crucial now as they were then. The full 42-page First Army After Action Report on the Normandy invasion is here:
https://intelshare.intelink.gov/sites/firstarmy/Historian/Documents/Forms/AllItems.aspx?RootFolder=%2Fsites%2Ffirstarmy%2FHistorian%2FDocuments%2FFirst%20Army%20Historic%20Documents
Date Taken: | 06.02.2021 |
Date Posted: | 06.02.2021 15:53 |
Story ID: | 397971 |
Location: | US |
Web Views: | 69 |
Downloads: | 0 |
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